“But one thing true artists should never do is to abandon their calling.” ~ Philip Graham Ryken

With spring on its way, I hope to take us in a fresh direction - a little housekeeping here, a few changes there, maybe some surprises! While my primary focus is to spur us on to good writing, I’ve met many folks whose creative callings include music and various other art expressions. I’ve also discovered a few latent talents myself, and need to bring those to light. As a writer prone to paint with words, I realize that, whether our creative endeavors become our vocation or avocation, a little encouragement goes a long way.

This week I found such encouragement in a little book called Art for God’s Sake, by Philip Graham Ryken. Have you read it yet? Let me whet your appetite:

“Anyone who is called to be an artist should be an artist! God’s gifts are never to be hidden; his calling is never to be denied. And like everything else that we do, our art is to be done “in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him” (Col. 3:17). The life of an artist - like the life of any other Christian - is a life of daily dependence on the grace of God, with constant prayer for his blessing.”

Never think your creative pursuits are a waste of time. If God planted His artistic seed in you, let it grow; nurture it. Let’s encourage one another. “The church can help in this pursuit by serving as a community of encouragement that affirms the calling of artists and nurtures the artistic aspect of every human soul,” Ryken says.

So stay tuned! I might even surprise you!

Art for God’s Sake: A Call to Recover the Arts

Those ol’ winter doldrums can linger like the bad weather. Other days are just too full to write. Let not your heart be troubled; I’m brewing some blueberry tea! Here’s to a little tea therapy, a shot of encouragement, and a friendly little push in the right direction:

“Use what talents you possess: the woods would be very silent if no birds sang there except those that sang best.” ~ Henry Van Dyke

“Go to the effort. Invest the time. Write the letter. Make the apology. Take the trip. Purchase the gift. Do it. The seized opportunity renders joy.” ~ Max Lucado

“They might not need me; but they might.
I’ll let my head be just in sight;
A smile as small as mine might be
Precisely their necessity.”
~ Emily Dickinson

“Expect the dawn of a new beginning in the dark nights of life.” ~ Lloyd John Ogilvie

“Live your life while you have it. Life is a splendid gift - there is nothing small about it.” ~ Florence Nightingale

“God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.” ~ 2 Corinthians 9:8

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“The goal is to live creatively, not to experience individual creative events. Resist the pressure to create something artistic and perfect in order to prove yourself creatively. The goal of a creative life is expression, not perfection; you have the freedom to pour out your heart to God, regardless of how well you do it.” ~ Alice Bass, The Creative Life, pg. 84

“God may be invisible, but He’s in touch. You may not be able to see Him, but He is in control, and that includes you - your circumstances - that includes all of life - past, present, future.” ~ Chuck Swindoll

“How calmly may we commit ourselves to the hands of Him who bears up the world!” ~ Jean Paul Richter

“Seeing our Father in everything makes life one long thanksgiving and gives a rest of heart, and, more than that, a gayety of spirit, that is unspeakable.” ~ Hannah Whitall Smith

“God loves and cares for us, even to the least event and smallest need of life.” ~ Henry Edward Manning

“Throughout the world sounds one long cry from the heart of the artist, ‘Give me the chance to do my very best.’” ~ From the movie, Babette’s Feast

In recent years, few films have really held my attention. Fewer still have left a lasting imprint. Those that do, ignite my heart with renewed passion for the arts while stirring my sensibilities.

One such story - a Danish film from 1987 - does this. It’s quaint, artistic, endearing. Without a doubt, it’s laced with rich spiritual symbolism - things I didn’t always catch the first time. Maybe I’m reading too much into it, but the beauty of Babette’s Feast is how each of us can come away with an entirely different take. You’ll have to admit, it’s eye-opening, even heartrending, but finally elevating. I love a movie that makes us think, explore, and appreciate.

Go here to read Wikipedia’s synopsis.

I see overlapping threads in the movie - of the human condition, of course, but also mercy in spite of our choices, longing for excellence vs. the status quo, sacrificial living yet legalism, acetism/aesthetics, and looking so much to the future that we miss the present. Mostly, I see g-r-a-c-e. At times my face ached with joy. When Babette spends her entire lottery fortune to create a culinary masterpiece for these staunch, rural believers - folks who consider anything but drab boiled fish a waste - a thought struck me. God’s grace is lavish. He reaches out to us continuously to provide for us when we least deserve or recognize it. How often, then, have we merely tolerated our earthly existence while counting on Heaven, when Christ longs to be life to us, here and now?

The movie’s powerful quotes speak to the human soul, such as the General’s speech during the sumptuous meal:

“We have all of us been told that grace is to be found in the universe. But in our human foolishness and shortsightedness we imagine divine grace to be finite … But the moment comes when our eyes are opened, and we see and realize that grace is infinite. Grace, my friends, demands nothing from us but that we shall await it with confidence and acknowledge it in gratitude.”

His revelation falls on deaf ears; at least they don’t understand. They eat, repressing any compliment of the meal they’re served, considering it all excess. They determined ahead of time to speak only of the old dean’s sermons whose memory they celebrate. Strange, isn’t it?

But restraint gives way to grace because it’s irresistable. Something curious begins. While Babette gives of herself utterly and freely, pouring out her gifts and talents, she expects nothing in return. And our hearts swell to witness such a gentle reawakening of everything good. ♥

“Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.” ~ 2 Corinthians 3:17

Have you seen Babette’s Feast? What other parallels did you find?