Hearts Alive

The Art and Spirituality of Gardening

2011-05-04T19:55:00.000-07:00

"Inspiration usually comes during the work rather than before it."
--Madeleine L'Engle

This hopeful thought is the only thing that keeps me writing on uninspiring days.

A related concept I've encountered is that wisdom comes during creative work, rather than before it.

And lately I've been learning a lot about people while gardening.

I've been reading books on art and faith for a couple years now, and most of them usually feel compelled to list somewhere in the first chapter an example list of artistic categories. Writing, music, sewing, sculpting, painting, drawing, and...gardening.

I remember being surprised the first time I read "gardening" in that list. Upon further thought, it made sense, but I had never stopped to consider it an art.

But, as He does through all good art, God speaks through gardening.

Four Saturdays ago, my husband and I went on an impromptu trip to a new Menard's store not far from where we live. We left the store with seeds, soil, tomato planters, 3 strawberry sprouts, a seedling tray, and a bright red watering can. We stayed up late together, hunched over a tray of dirt on the kitchen floor and debating back and forth about how much spinach versus romaine we wanted. Our fingertips were blackened by spading holes in the rich dark soil.

That night, I was a whirl of impatience and anticipation. I felt such joy, looking forward to the morning when those dead-looking kernels would shake off the dirt and raise up as firm green flesh.

As seen above, the romaine seeds were the first to raise their heads - after just three days - with the spinach buds nipping at their heels. Teeny tiny basil bushes started to push through in the back corner. Then the thick sugar snap vines pushed aside the dirt and unfurled toward the sun. The tomatoes, bell peppers, and jalapenos came up last, all three species identical in their infant stage, two symmetrical leaves atop a short straight stalk.

In those days of sprouting, I was learning about how miraculous all life is, and I was learning about resurrection. And, between the romaine and the 14 days it took for the bell peppers to start showing, I was learning that not all living things - people included - mature at the same rate.

The same day we bought the seeds, I asked our landlady for a plot of dirt in the yard. She loaned us a patch of dirt between our building and our eastern neighbor. Using the gardening tools she also loaned, I tilled our little plot of land. I spent two hours outside with a hoe and spade and hacked up our small 13'x3' plot of garden. By the time I had finished turning the soil, my jeans were stained, my palms were blackened, and I was happy.

I was learning the satisfaction of good physical work. I was learning how much effort it takes to live well, even as a vegetable sprout.

We started with 70 seeds and 3 strawberry sprouts. And, well, they haven't all made it.

Our cats trampled and chewed up at least 15 of the first seedlings. Several seeds were duds. Half of our 16 healthy sugar snap sprouts were eaten 3 days after they were transplanted to the garden. The other half barely survived an unseasonable May frost. We moved our vibrant strawberry sprouts into a big planter bowl by the living room window, and woke up the next day to find the leaves nibbled on and the dirt compacted by curious cat paws.

I was learning about death. I was learning how miraculous it would be to get any of these plants to full maturity and fruition, how amazing and rare a good and fruitful life is.

I planted another 6 six spinach seeds in a plastic cupcake tray. I moved the unscathed basil into three white pots on the sill above the sink. I planted 6 more sugar snap peas to replace those eaten.

I learned about rebirth, and second chances.

I learned a lot.

And I'm sure as the garden matures further, I'll learn more. Because God likes to talk through art and creativity.

What about you? What have you learned about God through being creative?

The Empathic Civilization

2010-05-11T09:08:00.000-07:00

Scott McCloud (artist, writer, graphic storytelling genius) posted this video on his blog, extolling the excellent use of animation that exemplifies one of his many brilliant theories: "even the most byzantine, advanced, jargon-laced topic probably rests on a few fat visual metaphors almost anyone can grok with a little explanation."

I implore you to watch this video, and not just for appreciation of the animation communicating so well. What do you think of the speaker, Jeremy Rifkin? Do you agree with this view, that empathy is our core softwired nature? That narcissism, greed, and all those negative emotions are secondary, not primary?

I have some ideas. As far as Christianity is concerned, I see some scripture that falls on either side of this argument. Before I share, I want to hear what you think. COMMENTS!

~Dorian

No Escape

2010-03-21T09:20:00.000-07:00

source

Every Saturday morning I get coffee with my friend Katie the Dancer. We always talk about art and God and how He wants us to use our artistic abilities. A couple of weeks ago, she told me about this simple and great idea she had in the shower: start an informal group for serious Christian artists to meet, discuss, and encourage one another's art and artistic ministry.

We started drafting a list of people to invite and immediately encountered difficulties: how do we judge who is "serious"? Who is "called" to art? What determines the "quality" of their art? As we mulled over those questions, two categories formed: those on the list, and those not on the list whose feelings would be hurt. Most people love art and are creative, but not all those people are called to dedicate their life to an artistic ministry, and this group we're designing is for the latter.

She and I told one of our mutual friends about the group; one of those whose feelings were going to be hurt. She is a good friend, and she wants to be ok with it and support us, but she's having a hard time. She loves theater and wants to have an artistic ministry, but knows it is not what God has for her right now. She came to me, upset and conflicted, wiping away tears as she talked about God calling her to do things she's not good at. She had dropped a tap-dancing class a few weeks ago, and was upset that she had to quit something she feels she's good at.

I wrote her a letter the next day attempting to encourage her. She didn't like the difficult lessons she was learning, and wanted to do something else she feels she does well. Believing this touched on the common misconception that an artistic ministry is easier, I wrote to explain that artistic ministry is not an escape.

I repeat: An artistic ministry is not easy and it is not an escape.

Personally, my "writing ministry" confuses me. Often I feel (incorrectly) that my writing work is a distraction from the "spiritual work" I should be doing. I don't have a clear long term plan for my writing. I don't even exactly know what to write about. But something I do know: if God calls you to an artistic ministry, it will be inescapable and He will give you what you need. You will work your ass off with often little reward or payment, you will be confused and full of doubt, but if you are being obedient to what He has called you to do He will sustain you.

(Rom 8:31) "What then shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us?"

(Is 41:9-10) "I took you from the ends of the earth, from its farthest corners I called you. I said, 'You are My servant'; I have chosen you and have not rejected you. So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with My righteous right hand."

(Ps 138:8) "The Lord will fulfill His purpose for me; your love, O Lord, endures forever - do not abandon the works of Your hands."

What about you? Do you feel that God has called you to an artistic ministry? If so, what difficulties have you encountered?

The Boombox and Our Culture

2010-03-05T12:56:00.000-08:00

Hey all. Sorry for the lack of posts. Here's something to chew on:

Jim Mahfood (awesome artist, btw) posted this brief documentary from NPR on his blog a few weeks ago. It may seem silly, but there's something profound in the idea that the complete replacement of boomboxes with personal music players and electronics is a reflection of the shift of focus in our culture.

Is this reflection of culture in technology an accurate picture? If this is true, what should Christians do about it? Should Christians do anything about it? Tell us what you think in the comments below.

Food For Thought

2010-02-09T15:30:00.000-08:00

"The Lord does not set us here first of all to preach, or to do any work for Him. The first thing for which He sets us here is to create hunger in others. No true work will ever begin without a sense of need being created. We cannot inject that into others; we cannot drive people to be hungry. That hunger is to be created, and that hunger can be created only through those who carry the impressions of God."

~ Watchman Nee

Blog: U2 Sermons

2010-01-07T11:13:00.001-08:00

I have some personal aversion to the band U2, especially their mediocre recent music and the ego that surrounds a lot of Bono's humanitarian work. That said, you can't deny the impact the group has had on both pop music and many areas of extreme poverty and misfortune in our world. How can you dislike 80's-era songs like "Sunday Bloody Sunday" or "New Year's Day"?

Interestingly, it turns out that U2's early years were fueled by sharing biblical values with the world. Their art was not only recognized as great, edgy pop music, but also for thought-provoking lyrics and themes. Bono's lyrics reflected a Christlike view on human nature, loneliness, and that "God-shaped hole" in our lives, as explicitly stated in the song "Mofo".

These days, their motives are often in question. They may be reduced to just another crew of self-centered celebrities that capitalize on their image as selfless artists... or they may be innocent victims of our society's trend of using the media to demonize nice people who mean well. I could be wrong in my low view of U2: You would be hard-pressed to find a blog, magazine, or television program about celebrity life that is innocent of inaccurately portraying famous people as total scum at some point in time.

Anyway...

Whatever your opinion is about U2's intentions, most of their music can be (and has been) used to raise awareness of and strike up conversation about spiritual themes. U2 Sermons is a blog dedicated to exploring their music for these themes. The blog began as a companion to the book Get Up Off Your Knees: Preaching the U2 Catalogue, but continued to blossom into an awesome forum with news regarding the book and discussion over the controversial tunes and Christian themes within.

Check it out, and see what you think of U2's approach to Christian art.

Affirmation

2009-11-20T04:54:00.000-08:00

Writing is sometimes the least rewarding and most neurotic pastime. Because there are days where not only do I have nothing to write, but every word I put down is swill, second-hand spit in the bottom of a coke can. And it's enough to make a person crazy.

I heard someone tell me once that it will be ten years of hard work before concepts like "publication" and "success" come rolling around, and some days I'm pretty sure I'll die as a result of the writing before the decade is up. But, on the bright side, a whole year has gone by where I've been trying to write more seriously - hopefully it counts toward my ten. (I sound like a convict serving a sentence...)

If this first year is any indication, I'll be spending the next nine pre-publication years bouncing like a neurotic tennis ball from paranoia to bliss, and then back to contemplations of burning everything I ever wrote to save myself the future embarrassment of someone figuring out I wanted to actually publish this stuff.

Getting smacked back and forth between those emotional extremes is an exhausting game. I once spent an entire afternoon literally pacing around my apartment, holding my laptop and going from one chair to the floor to another chair, grumbling and praying that some epiphany would strike me while I was lying on the carpet. Some nights I'll come away from my laptop mentally bruised; I'll have finished a piece, but will be semi-catatonic and incapable of human interaction for a full hour. And many days the work is not even compensated with a finished piece. It's like the writing is a shifty tenant who keeps promising me that, no, seriously, he'll pay rent by the end of the week for sure, and I'm the grouchy landlord who's about to kick his ass out so I don't have to deal with him anymore.

But there's something God does, always when I'm confused and ready to give up writing to do something actually useful, like becoming a doctor to help the orphans in Uganda, or construction work. He affirms the calling to write.

He did that last week when my dad's pastor friend contacted me to use some of my writing for one of his teachings. You could've lit a Christmas tree with the electric buzz I got after reading his message. You mean I wrote something attractive and useful?! Hallelujah! Of course, I immediately told everyone I knew, and received a second wave of congratulatory encouragement. The days following were filled with ideas that came easily and had the feeling of God's breath on my keyboard. You could almost see the haloes over each of the sainted keys.

God did not give me a direction to write and then leave me to fight through it alone and figure it out myself. He has been closer to me than ever before, sending people to love me and cheer me on and books to guide me, and through his Spirit He has countless times provided ideas for what to write. He has carried me this far and I can trust that He will be faithful to carry me the rest of the way.

How has God provided for you in times of confusion or aimlessness, artistic or otherwise?

BOOK REVIEW: "Addicted To Mediocrity", by Franky Schaeffer

2009-10-25T17:06:00.000-07:00

"Addicted to Mediocrity: Contemporary Christians and the Arts" -- written by Franky Schaeffer, illustrated by Kurt Mitchell

"In the ninteenth and early twentieth centuries (in Protestant circles), a strange truncated unscriptural view of spirituality grew up. First spirituality was seen as something separate from the rest of real life. It was above ordinary things; it was cut off from the everyday working out of our lives. Spirituality became something religious and had a great deal less to do with truth, daily life, and the application of Christian principles through that life. It became something in itself. Spirituality became a thing separated from the rest of life. Thus, certain things increasingly were regarded as spiritual and other things as secular.

"The true division in the Christian life between one group of activities in life and another is that line we call sin. Those things which are specifically sinful are indeed cut off and separate from the rest of life for Christians and to be avoided, but everything else comes under the heading of our Christian life, if it is to be a true and full Christian life in the real sense. Either Christ has redeemed the whole man, including every part of him (except things that are sinful), or he has redeemed none of them. Either our whole life comes under the Lordship of Christ or no part can effectively come under it." (p27)

-------------------

I've been devouring books related to faith and the arts lately, and by far Franky Schaeffer has written the funniest one. With a cheering snarkiness for mediocre "Christian art", his 122-page book is a short enjoyable read.

Franky, the son of Francis Schaeffer, is a painter, a writer, and a filmmaker, and therefore bulks his book up with his experience. But it doesn't take an experienced eye to see the glaring tackiness of today's "Christian art" that he targets with such relish. Schaeffer speaks with rousing encouragement to believing artists and gives a vision of wholeness and freedom that can be applied to all believers.

As his father emphasized in his own book, "Art and the Bible", Franky reiterates here that "all is redeemed." The thought is that: if Christ redeemed us, he redeemed all of us, therefore our art is redeemed. Christ redeemed the whole, not just the "spiritual" side of things. And Franky even dedicates an entire chapter as to why there's a false division between the "spiritual" and the "secular", reemphasizing the wholeness of our lives.

"Wholeness" is a golden theme running through all books I've read on faith and the arts; what these artists and authors have learned should be heard by all believers. God has deeply taught people like Franky about how being of Christ leads to an increasingly full life, and how enormous the space for our freedom on Earth is.

And in that fullness, Franky challenges believers to man up and insist on quality in art; when we settle for less, we compromise our integrity in the arts, and lose much of our salty taste in the world.

Kurt Mitchell's 20-some drawings are poignantly humorous and perfectly complement Franky's writing throughout the pages. They are as much a part of this book as each of Schaeffer's words. So be sure to really give the book's illustrations some of your time while reading, and look into Kurt's history. I don't know much about him, but he's done art for several major "Christian" publications and seems to be a guy worth learning more about.

Have you read this book? Or do you want to know more? Whatever it is, let us know what you think!

--Heather

Wovenhand - Ten Stones

2009-10-25T11:24:00.000-07:00

Wovenhand | Your Russia from markalamarama on Vimeo.

Christian music is a label often used for soft, generic, sappy variations of popular music. In that sense, Elktooth, Colorado's Wovenhand defies that label.

Wovenhand's music is strange and brooding, forming a unique combination of western swagger, indie energy and sensibility, post-rock splendor, and gritty rock instrumentation. Vocalist David Eugene Edwards howls with purpose, conveying deep themes of death, sorrow, and love in the unique music crafted by his guitar, Pascal Humbert's driving bass, and Ordy Garrison's steady percussion.

It is a pleasant surprise to see that Wovenhand devote a unique musical offering entirely to God, as their lyrics reveal more clearly. "Not One Stone" (from their awesome new album Ten Stones) provides one of the group's more overt biblical references:

Behold the lamb
Behold the lamb
Given for us
Made curse for us
Behold the lamb
Behold the lamb
Not one stone
Atop another will stand

Songs like "White Knuckle Grip" groove as hard as any Delta blues-based rock I've heard carried down through the years, while "Kicking Bird" rides a wave of tumbling tribal drums and an absolutely mean, growling guitar across a compelling reinterpretation of an old Native American plains chant.

Wovenhand deliver these powerful themes not with a stale, meaningless optimism like many Christian folk artists, but with hints of anger and sorrow as they express the absolute power of Christ. These guys do not play it safe and create Christian-radio-ready pop music: They devote all of their creative power and eclectic interests to God's glory, making for a stellar example of Christian art at its most excellent.

Wovenhand on MySpace

~Dorian

Culture and the Gospel

2009-09-20T16:47:00.000-07:00

This is (all at once) strange, amusing, and deeply interesting.

This form of worship may look hilarious or goofy (it certainly does to me, and i grew up listening to Iron Maiden), but this brings up two awesome truths of life:

1. Metal will always be a subculture in and of itself, and will probably never completely go out of style. This is awesome.

...but more importantly...

2. The Gospel of Christ is not just a message for whites, or republicans, or people in poverty, or people who don't swear/smoke/drink/eat potato chips. God's gift of grace is for ALL PEOPLE.

Culture will twist and metamorphose with changes in time and location. However, for better or worse, culture is a huge part of who people are and what they believe. The people of this strange little church in Columbia feel the same way about metal as many of us feel about gospel music. Or hip-hop. Or country. Or football, soccer, or snowboarding. Or comic books, or collecting thimbles, or watching Golden Girls, or rock climbing... These are all products of a society's culture. These things are (arguably) not morally right or wrong, but they do have a bearing on an individual's outlook on life and personal philosophies.

Unfortunately, many Christian communities put obstacles in the path of the Christian worker by setting arbitrary standards on music, art, and cultural expression or activity. Rather than use these things as a medium for reaching people for Christ, we often act out of discomfort and put limitations on what our people are allowed to listen to, view, or participate in.

As Christians, what arbitrary standards do we put in God's path? God can work through any cultural differences to reach people, as we have seen in successful missions work. Cutting off sinful behavior at the root is obviously important in ministry, but we often default to that logic without considering the benefits of reaching the lost through culture. If culture is the expression of a people group's core beliefs, why shouldn't we use that as means for connecting with people and starting conversation that leads people closer to God?

Your thoughts and questions would be highly appreciated.

~Dorian

Our Mission

2009-08-28T11:09:00.001-07:00

Most people love art. Few ever really feel the NEED to make art.

We can all form opinions on our favorite music, movies, and other works of art and forms of self-expression. Does this necessarily mean that we should create art? Is there a point where we would know that we can't go on with life if we aren't creating for the duration of our time on this planet?

We don't know the answer to that one. But what we do know is this: we are two creatively-minded spiritually-renewed individuals who have been called to use our art to glorify God. Dorian plays music, and is seeking a career in illustration. Heather is starting to write. Both feel the NEED to make art.

Does Christianity have a distinct place in the art world? In music? Literature? Movies? Does art have a place in the Christian life? What does God want us to do with our gifts of creativity, and how do we engage the world's art without conforming to the fallen world system?

Join us as we attempt to answer these questions, as well as:

--share our experiences and convictions about art and ministry

--promote quality Christian art

--glorify God with our creativity

Do you also feel that NEED? Then contact us and jump on board. Got a good recommendation or three for us? Then use that comment link. Are there certain questions you have for us? Post them for us in the comments and we'll see what we can do.

And have I mentioned the comments section yet? Because you should use it.