I. Overview

“She arrived with her own gifted form, with the shape of her own sacred soul. Biblical

faith calls it the image of God in which we are all created.”

-Parker J. Palmer, Let Your Life Speak

The first thing we know about God is that he created. And the first thing we know about

man is that he was made in the image of God. We never think of everyday living as art.

But we should.

In an email written on New Year’s Eve, my friend Annie said this: “2011: We

will make art.” Those five words began a revolution inside me, inside the way I see my

life and the way I’m choosing to live it.

I have prayed for a word other than art. I have searched and thesarused my way

through the English language to find a word that wasn’t all used up with definition. I

even tried to make up a new word. None of that would do.

We are timid of the word artist. We have our ideas about what it means, who

those types of people are, what they wear and eat, how they live. We think art is

something we do with paint or clay or guitars. Or if you’re sophisticated, something that

hangs in museums. We put limits on art, contrasting it with science and numbers and

order. We have put this word in a box, handing it out only to groups with a particular set

of skills.

Those who have been gifted with the skill of a painter or a singer or a world-class

dancer are living images, live testimonies, witnesses to the transforming power of art.

They reflect the beauty of God in powerful ways whether they know it or not. We respect

it in them. We admire it in them.

But what about your banker, your accountant, your mother, or your waiter at that

restaurant Friday night? What if you are the banker, the accountant, the mother, the

waiter at the restaurant Friday night? Where is the art for you? Is what you do simply a

necessary job? Do you not get a piece of the beauty? Can you not peer into the mystery?

It’s hard to imagine we have something beautiful and creative to offer if we

haven’t a voice to sing or a hand to paint. But there is another kind of art, the kind that

comes out of every believer who dares to ask what it is that makes her come alive.

That’s a scary question. We are worried to risk, to fail, to disappoint. This fear

keeps us living a small story, afraid to simply be who we really are or even take the

necessary steps to understanding who that is.

Sometimes we do our art in big, loud ways – on a stage, holding a microphone,

behind a desk in the Oval office. Most times, we don’t. Most times, our art comes out as a

quiet word, a choice to love anyway, a grace-filled glance, a still tongue, a hot dinner, a

made bed, a flint-faced belief or in a million other ways.

I am an artist, and I make art with my words, my pictures, my ladle, and my

dishrag. Art isn’t just painting or dancing or writing or singing. Art is the unique response

of a dependent believer to a living, breathing, alive God. Art is what happens when we

live like we are actually alive, blessing God and others in the process.

All our hands make a different kind of art and we create with our successes and

our failures, our talents and our shortcomings, our instruments and our yard rakes, our

numbers and our mother hands. What could be more dangerous to the enemy of our

hearts than people fully awake to their Maker and His unique making of them?

A Million Little Ways: How God brings out the beautiful in the lives of ordinary

people offers gentle yet firm nudges to inspire courage and wake up desire in worn-out

believers without shaming them into behavior modification. It uncovers the creative,

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artistic imprint of God’s image on the life of the believer, encouraging readers to turn

down the voice of the inner critic and uniquely respond to the creative heart of God.

All of life is art, and we hold the paintbrush with our lives. When a mother who

thought she had no voice begins to realize her voice matters, a student who has believed

she was biding her time to live life for real begins to discover the life in today, a writer

begins to tell her story, a servant opens her hands, a believer finally believes, and a

perfectionist finally gives up – art comes out.

When we live free, we give freedom. When we live loved, we give love, when we

are secure, we are able to offer security. This kind of living is nothing other than

beautiful, unpredictable, worshipful art. God reveals a bit of himself through every artist

in a million little ways.

And the artist is you.

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II. About the Book

A Million Little Ways: How God brings out the beautiful in the lives of ordinary people

dares the believer to uncover her own artistic heart, live a life of response to God, and

leave her own unique trail of beauty in the world.

Genre: Christian Living

Target Audience: Tired believers who feel guilty about what they really want to do, who

are drawn to beauty but doubt their role in making it, and are waiting for permission to

live for real. A Million Little Ways gives them permission.

Manuscript: 45,000 words, 8 chapters

1 Uncover

2 Sink

3 Heal

4 Listen

5 Show Up

6 Wait

7 Create

8 Delight

Potential Date of Completion: December 2012

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Why this book is needed

First, the most dangerous thing to the enemy of our hearts is a people fully awake to

their Maker and His making of them. If God has made us each with His artist hand, if

we truly believe He lives within us, then the truth is He wants to come out. And although

He is but one God, He shows Himself differently through our unique personalities. We

have become so busy denying who we truly are, feeling guilty for what we really want,

desperately afraid of our true desire, listing and practical-ing ourselves out of a moment-

by-moment adventure with him that we have missed how to live. God knew what he was

doing when he made you with that love for building things, with that perfect pitch, with

that patience for people, with that quirky passion for antiques, with that skill for

spreadsheet making and calculator ticking. There is a reason you were made with these

particular talents, gifts, strengths and also weaknesses. Could those things be more than

quirks? Could they be put there on purpose? Could those things that make you come alive

be fingerprints of the Divine?

Second, we are drawn to beauty and want to play an active part in making it. Since

it’s launch in March 2010, Pinterest (a virtual pinboard allowing users to organize and

share all the beautiful things they find on the web), reached 11 million total visits during

the week ending December 17, 2011.1 Pinterest was also listed as one of TIME

Magazines 50 Best Websites of 20112 and its popularity isn’t slowing down. The site is

heavy on hobby and craft ideas, users finding and sharing creative ideas with one another.

1Heather Daughtery, “Pinteresting Trend in Social Media,” December 2011, http://weblogs.hitwise.com/heatherdougherty/2011/12/pinteresting_trend_in_social_m.html.

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Art, both the sharing and the making, is becoming a regular part of our online activity.

But why should we compartmentalize our creativity to a pinboard online? Why can’t real

life be just as inspiring?

Third, as the use of smart phones increases, art is becoming a normal part of our

conversations. As of December 2011, there are now 14 million people using Instagram

(a photo sharing app for iPhone), up from just 1 million a year earlier.3 It was named Top

App of the Year by Apple in December 20114 for good reason – it’s awesome. My life

becomes art on Instagram everyday and then I get to watch my friend’s art stream as

well. Instagram is making art a normal part of our everyday lives. With the growing

popularity of Instagram, there is a connection between the kind of art we do with our

God-given talent and the kind of art we live with our God-breathed lives. They are not as

separate as the world tries to make them.

Fourth, with computers in our pockets, we have developed an inflated sense of our

own control and importance. We just can’t stop talking, producing, managing. In the

world of 24-hour news, 10-day weather forecasts, and maps in the palm of our hands –

well, I’m not comfortable with the mystery. It interferes with my management.

Google pushes the mystery into extinction. With a click, I can find out how many

gold medals Mary Lou Retton won in the 1984 Olympics, watch her vault, hear the

commentators, and get goosebumps from her performance. I don’t have to wonder or rely

2 Harry McCraken, “The 50 Best Websites of 2011,” TIME Specials, August 16, 2011, http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,2087815_2088159_2088155,00.html?cnn=yes.3 “How many users does instagram have?” Quora, accessed http://www.quora.com/Instagram/How-many-users-does-Instagram-have4 Hayley Tsukayama, “Apple names Instagram top app of the year,” Washington Post, December 9, 2011, http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/technology/apple-names-instagram-top-app-of-the-year/2011/12/09/gIQAg1VuhO_story.html

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on my memory.

I don’t have time for mystery. When there is a mystery, I want to solve it, define

it, explain it, or put it on a running ticker at the bottom of my screen so I can read it while

I fold the towels. I need to make the most of my time, you know.

If I can't make peace with the unknown and unknowable, I lose sleep, stay

distracted, get a stomach ache. I run into the future and try to manage outcomes for things

that haven’t even happened yet. Worry fuels the frantic wheel because there is so much I

don’t know. There is no longer an excuse for not knowing something.

But God said Christ in you is the mystery. But this mystery has to be revealed.

Revelation takes time, surrender, brokenness, smallness. From the incarnation to the

resurrection, divine creativity begins and ends with waiting. God could have made the

world in an instant but instead he took a week. Mary could have immediately told the

world she carried the Messiah but instead she treasured these things in her heart. And this

word mystery here comes from a Greek word that means to shut the mouth.

The artist is willing to shut her mouth and let God move in, through, around,

mysterious. He moves in this inner, upside down, individual way and he places himself

within us – those of us who say yes. He moves in our desires and then waters them, suns

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them, and sometimes dries them up. But he always provides and he always shows up.

A Million Little Ways offers another way to consider the mystery of Christ in you.

If life is a building, I take readers by the hand and walk with them around to the back

because maybe we’ve only been looking at it from the front all this time. Let’s stand on

the roof and go into the basement and throw back our heads in hilarious wonder at this

life, the mystery of Christ in us.

Specific Reader Benefits

“I am a good girl who wants to be free but I don’t know what that looks

like.” A Million Little Ways is born from the chapter called “Respond” in my first

book, Grace for the Good Girl. It is a manifesto for all the women who have said

to me, “I want to be free, but I don’t know what that looks like.” In the same vein

as Grace for the Good Girl, I won’t tell anyone how to live the Christian life,

rather I lead readers to the why, painting pictures of what it looks like. As soon as

we ask for the how, we lose the wonder. We need to be reintroduced to the

mystery of the walk rather than spin our wheels trying to get to the destination.

“I’m just ordinary. How can listening to my desire make any real difference

in the world?” Do you expect the world changers to be superheroes? Royalty?

Genetically altered humans? Ordinary isn’t a flaw, it’s a qualification – a pre-

requisite, actually. In the beginning, God created the world. He could have left

you out of it. But he didn’t. He made you to go in it. To fit. To have a place. The

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Artist lives within you. And he wants to come out in a million little ways.

You are not behind in the game of life. We are tricked into believing that the

only relief from feeling behind is to catch up. But this is war, and the enemy is a

foggy expectation. How can you catch up to a vapor? How can you ever run next

to perfect, look her in the eye, and pass her by? We can’t but we try, and in our

rush to get there we drop some things we hold dear in order to lighten the load.

When we live life in catch-up mode comparing our failures and successes to those

of others. When we feel rushed and behind, artful living is the first thing to go.

We cannon ball our way through life, smashing the delicate rhythm of God’s

graceful design.

A taste of beauty. A Million Little Ways inspires beauty, re-introduces wonder,

and compels readers to explore their inner life with openness and curiosity.

A change of perspective. Let life take on a new and beautiful shape. A Million

Little Ways creates a speed bump on the believer’s journey, slowing her down to

uncover her true self in Christ. When we embrace the whole of life, refuse to

compartmentalize and simply live in this moment, worship tumbles out.

Gentle yet firm nudges to inspire courage and wake up desire in worn-out

believers without shaming them into behavior modification:

Are you made in His image?

Were you woven together in the secret place?

Does the Artist, the Spirit of the living, loving, creative God live within

you? Does he want to come out?

What if your art is something other than your crazy idea?

What if it was bigger, more necessary than just a pipe-dream?

What if you taking the next baby step toward living on purpose is actually

you stepping into an intentional story?

Are you willing to be who you really are?

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Are you waiting for permission to truly live?

Who will buy this book?

Good girls who have tasted freedom but want to know what it looks like in the

middle of a Thursday

Believers tired of being guilted into certain expected behavior

Artists who have lost their inspiration

Moms who can’t see the beauty they have to offer in the midst of the gray

dishwater

Believers who feel guilty or embarrassed about their true passion

Believers who can’t tell the difference between their own desire and God’s

Leaders with an influence that feels limp rather than alive

The disgruntled secretary who desperately wishes she had a window in her office

Anyone who is drawn to beauty and wants to play a part in making it

Alternative Titles

The New Creative: Waking up the souls of remarkably ordinary people

Soul Wide Awake: The truth about those things that make us come alive

Bringing Out the Beautiful: Coming alive in the presence of Jesus

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III. About the Competition

The Cause Within You: Finding the One Great Thing God Created You to Do in This World by Matthew Barnett and George Barna, BarnaBooks, 2011. This book says there is one cause that God created for us to do and reading will lead you to the cause of your lifetime. Both The Cause Within You and A Million Little Ways suggest that we are all created uniquely and for an amazing purpose in the heart of God. But for those who may be intimidated by the task of finding “that one great thing,” A Million Little Ways walks softly beside, whispering that brave doesn’t always have to mean big.

Most of us wouldn’t describe our art as “one great thing” rather as a quiet word and a beautiful life lived bravely right where we are. A Million Little Ways makes a purposeful life accessible to the regular believer. You may have one great cause or lots of little ones, but it’s all art. Jesus wants to come out uniquely, beautifully, right where we are in a million different ways.

Soulprint: Discovering Your Divine Destiny by Mark Batterson, Multnomah Books, 2011. From promotional materials: “There never has been and never will be anyone like you. But that isn’t a testament to you. It’s a testament to the God who created you. The problem? Few people discover the God-given identity that makes them unlike anyone else.” Mark Batterson calls God’s design our soulprint while A Million Little Ways calls it art. Both Soulprint and Little Ways have a laser-like focus on God rather than self. Soulprint seems to concentrate on the inner truth of our personal identity while Little Ways will paint pictures of how that inside truth is outwardly manifested through believers in uniquely different ways.

The Me I Want to Be: Becoming God’s Best Version of You by John Ortberg, Zondervan, 2009. This book is “a straightforward and timely guide for living your best life” (from promotional materials). Little Ways will address similar themes of learning to live your best life, but will do so from the perspective of a woman and an artist, eyes always on the beautiful smallness of life in Christ. Me includes detailed tasks and exercises to help readers discover “God’s perfect vision” for their life, while Little Ways shies away from list-making and encourages reflection, curiosity, and a deep embrace of the mystery – less like an outline, more like an image.

You’re Already Amazing: Embracing Who You Are, Becoming All God Created You to Be by Holley Gerth, Revell, 2012. Written for women, this book encourages readers to recognize the unique giftedness of their own design. The book reads like a friend chatting across a table and is warm and welcoming. However, You’re Already Amazing is more of a working handbook to help women discover their own giftedness while A Million Little Ways is like a little moxie in your pocket, a poetic companion that is deeply rooted in the theology of Christ in you, the hope of glory. A Million Little Ways doesn’t focus on

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discovering our strengths and weaknesses, but is instead about uncovering how our union with Christ comes out uniquely as art in our lives. Already Amazing is written from the perspective of a coach and counselor while A Million Little Ways is written with whimsy in an image-rich, artistic style.

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IV. About the Author

I often describe myself as a writer who loves to read and a speaker who would rather listen. I feel alive while I speak, but I learn most about life while I listen. I am deeply curious about the mystery of Christ, the gracefulness of the everyday, and the sacredness of our inner lives. Everything I write or speak about comes from this curiosity and the deep conviction that every need, desire, and expectation is met in the person of Jesus Christ.

Writing

Several years ago, I started a blog and called it Chatting at the Sky. The only writing experience I had was a stack of old journals and some great grades in college English class. I had never published even so much as a magazine article. But I had a deep and long-standing love affair with words, story, and Jesus-truth. Chatting at the Sky became a place where photos and story combined to create space for souls to breathe. The blog has grown to a community of over 7,000 people who have subscribed to receive posts either in their readers or inboxes.

In the spring of 2009, I was invited to become a monthly contributor to a new blog by DaySpring called (in)courage. It has been a gift to be part of this talented, beautiful community for the past three years. During the spring of 2011, I was honored to be invited by Compassion International to travel as one of five bloggers to the Philippines to write in order to raise awareness for the needs of children living in poverty.

Since then, I have written two books published by Revell, Grace for the Good Girl (2011) and Graceful {For Young Women} (September 2012).

Speaking

While I am an eager team-player to get the messages I’m passionate about into the hands of the women who need them, my focus remains my young family and writing. Because of this, I am very thoughtful about the speaking engagements I accept. Still, over the past few years it has been an honor to speak at BlissDom (2010 – a conference for women who publish online), She Speaks (2009, 2010, 2011, 2012), The Relevant Conference (2011 – for Christian women who blog), and a variety of women’s retreats and events at various churches. On the energy continuum, I would describe myself as an introvert who wears extroverted skin. Because of that, I have an easy connection with women of many ages and backgrounds, and enjoy relating in both large and small group settings.

Listening

I attended Columbia International University to study the Bible and the University of North Carolina at Greensboro where I earned a degree in Educational Interpreting for the Deaf. For many years, it was my job as a sign language interpreter to listen and speak on behalf of those who could not hear. Though the medium has changed, I still consider my

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job as a writer to be one of a listener on behalf of others – I see life in Christ as an art-form and I believe he has gifted me to interpret that through words and images for others.

Eight years ago, my husband John and I had two babies born on the same day. Having twins will suck the art right out of life if you let it. During those early years of mothering, I thought my days of expressing art were over, considering anything creative to be childish and un-important. Now seemed to be the time to grow up and take life more seriously. The only problem was, I became a miserable, defeated shadow of my true self.

Over the past several years, as I’ve learned to listen to God’s unique making of me, I’ve accepted that one way I worship is through writing. I’ve been thrilled to discover that my vocational art is writing, but my lifestyle art is mothering, wife-ing, cooking, and launder-ing. Now that our children are all in school, I am in a season where I am a free to pursue my vocational art. But as my life is hidden with Christ, I’ve been making art all along. I have only recently learned to call it that.

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V. Words From Readers

Beginning in January 2011, I did a series of posts on the subject of art and creativity in the daily life of believers. This subject remains the topic I am most asked about writing more on. Here is a sampling of what readers have said:

Esther: “Not being particularly ‘artsy’ (a former science teacher!), I appreciate your perspective that life in and of itself is art…and I’m starting to live my art!”

Heidi: “What a gift! I’ve never considered that all the ‘non-creative’ aspects of my life are art as well. This new thought is an ah-ha moment — when it’s fully sunk in, I would venture to say my life will look different to me. Artful, beautiful, and a celebration of creation, not just creativity. Wow.”

Ashley: “Your words are like where sky and spirit meet ground and action.”

Meghan: “I will just say one more time how inspired I am by your words - this art you’ve been writing about is just unleashing my heart. The fear is melting and the excuses. All I can see are the reasons why I need to be art-full. Thank you so much.”

Jillian: “I’ve loved the series on art that you’re doing. I think a lot of Christian artists feel guilty about our art, like it’s carnal or only self-serving or something. We sometimes forget that God is the author of all real art and His limitations are endless. I’ve been reminded of this in reading your blog.”

Donna: “This art series is really outstanding and is giving me new eyes.”

Shannon: “Your writing always seems to find me where I am.”

Michelle: “I LOVE this series on art! Some of your best writing and thinking yet, Emily — and that’s saying a lot because I always love the way you write and think!”

Juila: “Thanks so much for your words. I begin to doubt that art is worthy in my world when there are so many other important things to do. I have quit many times before out of fear and discouragement but realize that I’m just back to the same place over and over again. I needed to hear this today. Thank you.”

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Introduction

Artists pull back the curtain on our inner lives, allowing us to see things lurking just beneath the surface, things that, without their compassion, creativity, and generosity, we may have missed. God reveals a bit of himself through every artist, and the artist is you. Dare to uncover your own artistic heart, live a life of response to God, and leave your own unique trail of beauty in the world.

1 Uncover

“We each have different gifts according to the grace given us.” Romans 12:6

When we’re not sure where we’re going or what we have to offer, it helps to look back in order to go forward. God planted seeds of desire in us when we were young and he wants to make them grow. Why do we insist on feeling guilty for those things we dream of? Are you keeping your dreams locked away in the name of being reasonable? Or are you willing to be honest about them, spreading them out in the open before the God who may have actually placed them there?

Definition of art and artist. What the artist can teach us about life, and what life can teach us about our art. Looking back to look ahead

2 Sink

In order for the artist to be the gift, she must first know where her giftedness comes from. There aren’t enough words to fill this grace up. There are no corners, boundaries or balance scales. There is no medal or trophy or certificate that comes with it. You cannot measure it, lose it, squash or outrun it. You don’t have to tryout, live up, or calm down to get it. You simply have to open your hands to receive it. You have to bend the knees, lift the arms, and sink into it.

Receiving grace…

cures bad vision – when you know you are the beloved, life looks different begins the story – the seeds of desire are held in place by the roots of grace uncovers the mystery – Christ in you, the hope of glory (Col. 1:27) eases the fear of failure. Psalm 46:10 “Be still and know that I am God” literally

means Sink and know that I am God or Fail and know that I am God.

3 Heal

Whole only comes after broken. Healing only comes after wounds. Are we willing to go a bit further and see? There, in the tightly clenched hand of the critic is a gift he doesn’t want you to see. But there it is, the gift of your own smallness, your own Yes, I am a mess. Yes, I want your approval. Yes, I want to be loved and admired. The critic’s hurtful words point out my insecurities – but in seeing those, he shows me myself. And when I see myself, I can be laid open before God. In that broken, dying place, God fills me up

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with his enough-ness. Full. Complete. Alive. If the critic hadn’t spoken, there would have been no movement toward God. Suffering brings movement, and movement leads to growth and critics carry unintentional gifts for the artists, gifts that perhaps can come from no one else.

An artist knows the weeds that choke freedom and creativity and learns to not merely live in spite of them but to actually use them to make life more beautiful.

The critic can lead us to our true identity Making apologies can lead us to acceptance Regret can lead us to healing Fear can lead us to love Comparisons can lead us to humility Shame can lead us to grace

4 Listen

“If we are to live our lives fully and well, we must learn to embrace the opposites, to live in a creative tension between our limits and our potentials. We must honor our limitations in ways that do not distort our nature, and we must trust and use our gifts in ways that fulfill the potentials God gave us.” – Parker Palmer, Let Your Life Speak

An artist “accepts her own gifted form,” not trying to become someone she isn’t or grieve over the someone she is. Let your inner life inform your outer life rather than the other way around. Allow the shaping that has already happened within to shape the context you live in. What are some ways to discover that gifted form, the divine hand of God in our lives? Listen to the voice of God in your unique design:

Know what makes you cry – the artist’s tears are tiny messengers to her design Know what you don’t want to do – less energy doesn’t have to mean you’re lazy,

maybe it means you’re doing things you were never meant to do Say Yes and also No – an artist’s life has boundaries Listen and see – an artist pays attention to her surroundings Tell – an artist has a story

5 Show Up

When we are moved by grace and embrace our own unique design, we are compelled to move. Not because we know where we’re going, just because we can’t not move. We have glimpsed our full potential and can’t let go of the delicate hand of Hope. You wonder if she might tell you where you’re going, but instead of pulling out a map, she stares straight ahead and whispers the same three words over and over again: Show up, friend.

10 things that keep us from showing up Show up in the world and be who you already are Surrender outcomes into the capable hands of God Believe that creativity births courage – it comes after, not before. Remain present

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Enter the story

6 Wait

“It's not important who does the planting, or who does the watering. What's important is that God makes the seed grow.” 1 Corinthians 3:7

From the incarnation to the resurrection, divine creativity begins and ends with waiting. God said Let there be light, but then he waited a full day before he spoke again. And on the last day, when the creating was done, he rested. When the angel told Mary that God would grow inside her, she didn’t rush the process. She treasured. She pondered the mystery. And the Mystery grew within her, nine months he grew. Sacred waiting paves the way for the art. So lie back on the wide green earth and let the world spin the sun right up above you. And breathe a sigh of sweet relief as you realize you had nothing to do with it.

Learn to walk in step with the natural, sacred rhythms established by God Step into the mystery Embrace smallness Waiting vs. Procrastinating

7 Create

“God is constantly creating, in us, through us, with us, and to co-create with God is our human calling.” – Madeleine L’Engle, Walking on Water

How to do art like a banker When you quit a job that makes money to start a job that makes a life Do work with respect and curiosity, believing that no job is too small Embrace your inner hostess Say it anyway

8 Delight

“Art is a human act, something that’s done with the right sort of intent. Art is when we do work that matters in a creative way, in a way that touches them and changes them for the better.”- Seth Godin, Graceful

Confront the lie that worship is something we do in a building. God made us to glorify, and when we listen to the whisper of the desire he has given, when we slow, laugh, savor, linger, listen and become – we worship. This is art.

An artist leaves a trail of beauty Build a bench that people want to sit on The Shape of Worship Quietness and gracefulness; Generosity and open hands Living like you are alive

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Introduction

She was twenty when I first saw her, old enough to look up to but not so old I couldn’t

relate. I walked into the youth room of Highland Park Baptist Church late that night,

probably stalling in the hallway looking around for that boy I liked. Michigan winters

didn’t lend themselves to much inspiration, so when I saw her sitting up front leaning

against a stool, her deep-set, mysterious eyes holding more stories than she ought to

know at so young an age, I knew right away something was about to happen. She picked

up her guitar, her small frame nearly disappearing behind it.

And she began to sing.

Her lyrics dripped heavy with questions and faith and love and longing. She

didn’t just sing notes, she sang story.

That was the night I wished more than anything to be an artist. I grieved the fact

that my singing voice was average, my painting skills didn’t exist, my dancing was

limited to jerky, stiff cheerleading moves.

Sarah Masen gave me a gift that night, the winter before I turned eighteen. She

inspired me to embrace words, to find story in life, or to make it up if I had to. She

showed me beauty and woke up a longing in me to take part in it.

This book, as it turns out, is being born out of a lot of waiting. Listening—a

willingness to pause for the words rather than plow ahead. I think it’s because this ground

feels sacred, weighty, important. And it is, because what could be more dangerous to the

enemy of our hearts than a people fully awake to their Maker and His making of them?

Sarah introduced me to my true self that night, touched something in me that was

there but sleeping. That’s what artists do. They pull back the curtain on our inner life,

allowing us to see things lurking just beneath the surface, things that, without their

compassion, creativity, and generosity, we may have missed.

The song lyric.

The exchange between those actors on the screen.

The image captured of Paris in the snow.

The tuning of the strings before the show.

Art that comes from skillful hands shows us beauty and invites a longing and

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touches us deep.

But also this:

The extra care the cashier takes with your order, the way she looks you in the eye,

asks how you are, if you need help or a price check, as if her job is important and she

knows it.

The teacher who tells stories in a way that makes history come alive, stories filled

with facts and truth and background so much that students are learning and they don’t

even know it.

How many times have we been rushing through the day, weary from the world,

grieving a loss that we don’t even know we were grieving, and all it takes is for a stranger

to offer to carry our bags from the baggage carousel to the curb and we break down as if

they offered to buy us a house or bring our loved ones back from the dead?

I wouldn’t call the cashier an artist the same way a cellist is an artist. But they

both make art and hold the same power to influence.

The dictionary says that the opposite of an artist is a scientist. And although I get

the point, I disagree.

Why?

Quite simply, science is the scientist’s art.

Numbers are the accountant’s paintbrush.

Facts are the historian’s inspiration.

It’s hard to live gracefully when only artists get to do art. It feels easy to point out

the art in others, to see them as images of the Divine Artist, to be liberal with our

admiration, compliments or, if we are envious, our criticism.

But what of our own conviction? We talk about conviction of sin, but what about

the conviction of righteousness? What about the conviction of our true selves, pointed

out, accepted, and poured out as an offering?

God plants seeds of desire in our hearts and then he makes them grow as we

cooperate with and depend on him. And as the grace roots go down deep and take hold of

truth, as we receive the beauty that comes from a life broken open, he leads us in a

divine, mysterious adventure.

Art isn’t necessarily about our vocation, although I believe as we respond to

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Christ in us, our vocation will be influenced. Art, in this case, isn’t so much about what

we do, rather how we do it.

We are a people who always seem desperate for right answers. But God does not manage

us, to-do list us, or bullet-point us. He loves us. Is with us. And believing him feels

impossible, until we do, like a miracle, like lukewarm water turning merlot red right there

in the cup. And hope sprouts new because God doesn’t tell us what to do, he invites us

into what he has already done. He brings out the beautiful in a million little ways.

That’s why there’s freedom, even in the blah.

Hope, even in the dark.

Love, even in the fear.

Trust, even though the critics.

And believing in the midst of all that? It feels like flowing skirts and wildflower

spinning; it feels risky and brave and underdog winning.

It feels like redemption.

It feels like art.

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