Isaiah 64:8 “Yet, O Lord, you are our Father;

we are the clay,

and you are our potter;

we are all the work of your hand.”

Some of the people God has used to most profoundly influence my own “becoming” are mentors I’ve never actually met or rarely spent time with. Allow me to introduce four soul shepherds who have powerfully guided my creative journey:

Jody Thomae, The Creator’s Healing Power: Restoring the Broken to Beautiful

Jody writes of “a path to healing with a focus on artistry, beauty, creativity and worship. Based on the Formational Prayer Model developed by Dr. Terry Wardle, The Creator’s Healing Power is an in-depth and interactive Bible study exploring the connection between healing and creativity, prayer and redemption, surrender and beauty, worship and wholeness.”

Jody richly intertwined Scripture and imagination into a healing journey for my soul.

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Maria Pompea, Flourish: Engaging the Confluence of Faith, Art, Beauty and Restorative Justice.

Maria writes, “Engaging the transformation potential of the redemptive arts, this book calls for an awakening to what creativity is empowered to accomplish. The arts in ministry are meant to be an empowered force for good, beauty and reconciliation. They offer a means to heal and humanize entire cultures.”

Maria first validated my longing for and confirmed that, indeed, a crossroads did exist for faith, art, and mercy.

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Makoto Fujimura, Culture Care: Reconnecting With Beauty for our Common Life

Makoto writes, “This is a book for anyone who feels the cultural divide, especially those with a desire or an artistic gift to reach across boundaries with understanding, reconciliation, and healing. It is a book for anyone with a passion for the arts, for supporters of the arts, and for ‘creative catalysts’ who understand how much the culture we all share affects human thriving today and shapes the generations to come.”

Makoto first gave me hope that art is much more powerful than only personal expression, that it is a weapon to “win the war” for culture with transcendent and sacrificial love.

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Madeleine L’Engle, Walking on Water: Reflections on Faith and Art

Madeleine writes, “To paint a picture or write a story or to compose a song is an incarnational activity. The artist is a servant who is willing to be a birthgiver. In a very real sense the artist should be like Mary, who, when the angel told her she was to bear the Messiah, was obedient to the command. I believe that each work of art, whether it is a work of great genius or something very small, comes to the artist and says, ‘Here I am. Enflesh me. Give birth to me.”

Madeline first confirmed my intuition that creating had everything to do with my search for God. Not a side activity or hobby, but an act of genesis at the very heart of the Creator.

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