. . . And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love. ~ I Corinthians 13

Calling all writers! From my Cup of Comfort mailbag:

Love is central to our lives. One of the great journeys we take is the search for that special someone. We have all experienced the initial butterflies when we fall in love, the deepening of that affection as we pass the years together, and the challenges that couples go through as life, well, happens. This quest is exhilarating, profound, and full of sincere and honest stories. Which Cup of Comfort and REDBOOK would love to hear.

The publishers of Cup of Comfort and REDBOOK Magazine are pleased to announce the Your Love Story Contest!

From now until April 20th, readers are encouraged to enter their 1,000 – 2,000 word true love stories. Topics can range from falling in love, celebrating love, experiences that couples have overcome, and more, as long as the love story speaks to the joys or challenges of a romantic partnership.

For more details, click HERE for contest rules, how to submit, prize money.

A Woman Inspired is hosting a new conference, January 25-29, 2010 dedicated to nurturing creativity and efficient living:

“Have you been in touch with your inner creative diva? Do you want to learn to express yourself through paint mediums, culinary masterpieces, vibrant rooms or maybe through your own life as the canvas? Well, you can get inspired here.

Whether you feel stuck in a rut or just don’t know where to begin we can help. I’m confident that many of you have a pile of unfinished projects or maybe put off doing things simply because you feel you don’t have the time. We have all been there and can definitely relate. We would like you help get some momentum going so that you can begin to create and design no matter what your canvas preference is.”

You’ll learn how to:

* develop your God given talents and gifts
* push past creative blocks
* further your education in the area of your choice
* be more productive
* be more focused
* let your light shine!

Remember, all A Woman Inspired conferences are entirely online. No travel is required, you can listen in wearing your jammies, and MP3’s are included with the cost of your ticket!

Find more info and register here!

“A work of art introduces us to emotions which we have never cherished before. Great works produce rather than satisfy needs by giving the world fresh cravings.” ~ Abraham Heschel

I’ve been pondering the works of Vincent van Gogh. Long ago, I criticized the man’s work. So ordinary, I thought. I didn’t get it. Having missed his heart, I walked away, unaroused by what he shared. But it wasn’t Vincent’s fault. I was young, naive. What did I know? Now, the more I learn about the man, the more his longings speak to me. I see sorrow lurking behind his landscapes:

“There may be a great fire in our soul, yet no one ever comes to warm himself at it, and the passers-by see only a wisp of smoke coming through the chimney, and go along their way.” Vincent van Gogh

When we encounter a work of art, what do we see? Are we paying attention?

Before Van Gogh became a painter, he read the Scriptures, wanting “to sow the words of the Bible” to the working-class people, as Ken Gire shares in his insightful book, Windows of the Soul. Van Gogh said himself: “I read it daily but I should like to know it by heart and to view life in the light of its words.”

Vincent had a passion to minister to the poor and the downtrodden. He longed to become a pastor like his father, but the religious powers-that-be prevented him from pursuing a theological education. They viewed him as eccentric, fanatical, unsubmissive - and pushed him aside with a lay ministry role. But he gladly lived among the coal miners, visiting their sick, praying with them, binding up their wounds, sharing the gospel, planting hope and encouragement wherever he could. He wrote his brother, Theo, that he wanted to draw them one day “so that those unknown or little-known types would be brought before the eyes of the people.”

But his position as evangelist was soon terminated, and according to Gire, he left angered and embittered at age 27. It makes sense that he sketched the peasant woman sewing, farmers eating around a table, and women kneeling in prayer. He loved these people. Gire describes At Eternity’s Gate with Vincent’s own words: “In this print I have tried to express what seems to me one of the strongest proofs of the existence…of God and eternity - certainly in the infinitely touching expression of such a little old man, which he himself is perhaps unconscious of, when he is sitting quietly in his corner by the fire. At the same time, there is something precious, something noble, which cannot be destined for worms.”

By all accounts, Van Gogh suffered with mental illness. Over his lifetime, he grew distant and anguished and despairing. No wonder. He felt rejected much of his life and struggled with depression, possibly bipolar. Had he lived in this day and age, with medication and treatment, surely he would have enjoyed a more robust life, painting well into his old age.

“How sad life must have been for him,” Gire tells us. “To feel so deeply, to want to communicate those feelings so passionately, and yet to have people stand off at a distance, shake their heads, and walk away. Eventually his physical, spiritual, mental, and emotional states all deteriorated.”

I wish it weren’t so. But now I understand. Van Gogh’s life may not be a perfect model for us but you have to admit, he saw things in people we often miss. That, maybe more than his art, was the gift. I read each of his paintings with great interest now, searching for the man, empathizing with the longings of his soul. Whatever critics say, I’ll remember him by this quote:

“Christ is more of an artist than the artists; he works in the living spirit and the living flesh; he makes men instead of statues.” ~ Vincent van Gogh

“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

“If writing books can be compared to having babies, there were two births on this leave. And, like a mother rejoices over her newborn children—and the end of labor—I rejoice over finishing these books.” ~ John Piper, Pastor, Author

Recently John Piper thanked his staff and congregration for understanding his need to get away to write. As it turns out, he “gave birth” to twin books. Piper tells us: “There are are five similarities between the gestation and birth of these books and the experience of pregnancy, labor, and delivery.”

As a Christian writer, I appreciate Piper’s Gospel-tethered writing. I appreciate, too, that he acknowledges the difficult beginning stages of writing:

“You stare at a mountain of notes and sermons and articles and journal entries and blogs and scraps of paper, and the thought of it ever coming together in a coherent book seems impossible.”

Ah, but like Piper we pray. Then we write, write, and write some more - the “pushing” stage.

“Being too self-conscious about style will get in the way of thinking clearly. One must be who one is. You can go back and clean it up in an hour or two,” Piper reminds us. Good advice.

Writing styles may vary, but we have the same Spirit, enabling both the labor and the birth.

To read Piper’s letter in its entirety, please go here: An Open Letter of Thanks