How the wildflowers grow: Inspiration for Christian Spiritual Growth, from an artist's perspectiv...

We need never look very far to see that beauty is all around us, in various shapes, forms and sounds that fuse together in our daily surroundings and exist solely to bring us pleasure. As Christians, we are made aware that all things came to exist, all of life when God simply uttered words and spoke all of life into being. No violin, no paintbrush, no cooking pot, no, not even a pencil. Just his word of mouth. When we consider that some artists do not even have hands or feet, then we have to humbly acknowledge that creativity is never limited to our finite understanding thereof. Art, creation, design, is a process which starts from within. It remains the inexorable driving force behind much of what we do. We work, not only to pay bills, but we work because we dream of what we would like to do (with that income) to bring us some pleasure. That pleasure usually involves art in all its various forms: music, fine art, baking, sewing, sculpting, poetry, dance, film; the list is nearly inexhaustible. Yes, it is scriptural that at the heart of our existence, there is the creativity of a Father who intended us to be here for His pleasure, and despite the fact that things have gone (dare I say 'somewhat') awry, we have constant, perpetual and irrefutable reminders each day, of this likeness of our Father's character in us, by the dreams we have to connect with those artful delights that bring us so much pleasure. This book, through the eyes and experiences (both good and bad) of an artist, recounts the many ways in which God, unchanging, roots himself into our ever-changing, fallible human experiences, and resurrects our souls by making, of love, an art.