Called to Create
YOU WERE MADE TO CREATE!
Set sail with us for monthly creative art prompts. Creativity is a language of the soul and it builds space for community to grow!
O LORD, how many and varied are Your works! In wisdom You have made them all; the earth is full of Your riches and Your creatures. Psalm 104:24 ISV
Creativity invites us to explore and observe. To notice and play with shapes and shades, shadows and light. It is a crisp fresh canvas, ready to catch the jagged fragments of our days and speak them into unexpectedly into grace.
CREATIVITY:
- invites us to slow down and experience the journey
- inspires us to see differently, to think outside the box
- facilitates problem-solving and uncertainty
- opens the door to questions and conversations we might never have asked or started
- engages us more deeply with our Creator
- cultivates community
- relieves stress
- and changes the way we interact with our world
“Creativity … is a universal trait of those made in God’s image.” Mike Cosper
We create, because we are created in the image of the One who spoke it all into being with a word … from nothing.
As we write, sing, dance, paint, plant, weave, build, plane, sculpt, bake, capture, design, decorate, make, dream, create we echo the immeasurable, mysterious, and limitless creativity of God.
“The diversity of the universe is a glimpse into the breadth of aesthetic appreciation in God’s mind. Each of us made in his image bears that creative gift … We bear it as a tiny reflection of his own vast creativity and skill.” Mike Cosper
Erwin McManus writes, “To create is to reflect the image of God. To create is an act of worship.”
CREATIVE PROMPTS
So set sail with us on a one-year creative art prompt: Called to Create – Journey of Surprises.
Each month a brand new visionary art prompt will arrive in your inbox inviting you to dream, discover, explore, engage, and let your heart swell in worship as you courageously create.
Join us as we embark together on a Journey of Surprises.
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A Journey of Surprises Posts
Grieving with Hope • Journaling, Poetry and Lament
There are times in our lives to mourn and grieve, but it is so important not to lose hope. For those of us who know Jesus, we cling to an everlasting hope. As we grieve and mourn, let us also remember to encourage each other, to look for the joy in life no matter where we go.
Breath of Life
I put my hands gently on my lower ribs, and closed my eyes. Imagined God, in the Garden, breathing the breath of life into dust and bones. Imagined God’s breath deep within me, Pneuma, Holy Spirit, Breath of Life.
Featured Books
Walking on Water: Reflections on Faith and Art
Madeleine L'Engle
What does it mean to be a Christian artist? What is the relationship between faith and art? The author's insightful and beautiful reflections on faith and art call the reader to listen, be aware and to respond to creation through one's own art.
Scribbling in the Sand: Christ and Creativity
Michael Card
With Jesus as his model, Card shows how understanding God's creative imagination leads to a lifestyle of humility, obedience and servanthood. And he invites us to follow God's creative call through worship and community. He has articulated the story of Jesus to others through his own scribblings in the sand. This book shows us how we can do the same.
Framing Faith: From Camera to Pen, An Award-Winning Photojournalist Captures God in a Hurried World
Matthew Knisely
In this modern age, many of us fill every "spare" moment we have rather than taking an intermission to see the true works of God and realize that he is present in every moment. The author illustrates a new way to see God and to help us live in the moment through the exploration of various photography concepts.
Eyes of the Heart: Photography as a Christian Contemplative Practice
Christine Valters Paintner
More than a book on photographic technique, it is about cultivating photography as a spiritual practice. The book goes through six themes connecting the medium of photography with the Christian spiritual life, inviting readers to a new way of viewing the world--through the lens of a camera.
Even More Prompts
JOURNEY DEEPER INTO PRAYER • LORD, HEAR OUR PRAYER
Cultivate 2021
It can be hard to pray, to find the words to express our hearts, to feel that we are heard, and that our prayers for someone matter. Join us as we Journey Deeper into Prayer.
HEARTBEAT OF HOPE • GENEROSITY CHALLENGE
Inspiring challenges inviting you to excel in grace-filled generosity. Join us on this lifelong pilgrimage of learning to selflessly love one another with our time, patience, gifts, resources, and kindness.
INTENTIONAL KINDNESS • A REVOLUTIONARY SERVICE CHALLENGE
Cultivate 2021
Kindness is love in action. It’s paying attention to the people right in front of you. It’s a heart of gentleness, generosity, and compassion intentionally poured out one precious life at a time.
ACTIVATING THE WHOLE YOU! • A UNIQUE MOVEMENT CHALLENGE
Cultivate 2021
Inspiring challenges inviting you to move in step with the Spirit-led rhythms of creation, always at the pace of grace.
CALLED TO CREATE • A JOURNEY OF SURPRISES
Cultivate 2021
Set Sail for creative art prompts. Creativity is a language of the soul and it builds space for community to grow!
CREATIVE WAYS TO SERVE • LOVE ONE ANOTHER
Cultivate 2021
Courageously engage in these unique service prompts. Lean in, listen long, look with the eyes of compassion, and love one another as God incomparably loves us.