Just got back from a weekend Silence and Solitude Retreat and feeling both centered and mildly depressed to have to leave such divine mountains and lakes so quickly. Don’t matter if you live somewhere as magical as Mazatlan, the return to the city after soaking (device-free) in nature is always a bit painful to the soul. Most likely a red-flag about our true selves’ most natural, happy state. Hmm?? For our Art Evangelists’ purposes, we were getting out of town to wrap up a week-long teaching on Heart Purity, as well as to spend some much-needed time alone, speaking and listening to God. For me, this was my first time spending 5 straight hours in silence and solitude, reading scripture, chatting with God about everything and anything, and reflecting on His utter goodness to me these past few months. The verdict: Intentional, allotted time with God, minus distractions, ideally in the company of the great outdoors, is absolutely critical for anybody seeking God’s heart. I was invigorated creatively and felt like I had just spent a solid afternoon with one of my closest friends. Also, y’know since I wasn’t plugged in and had ample free time, I got to spend an inordinate amount of minutes observing an ant hill’s trail patterns and the ripples caused by fish sporadically gulping the air. How luxurious!
Our guest speaker from the week was a feisty lady from Colorado that was a pro musician, composer, teacher, mentor, humanitarian, and sass. She practically, with an impressive ability to both push and cradle, walked us through 5 days of locating the lies in our life, the places of progress, and ultimately how we are to react as renewed beings with spirits that are forever joined to God’s. I feel like I’m gypping you greatly by giving you this super-brief summary of the week! It seems almost cruel to just wrap it up in 1-2 sentences. The best way to describe how Mary Jean gifted us this past week is close to her handing us each a hammer, a few nails, and some work gloves to move forward with building a framework to a house that won’t be done anytime soon. But by no means is there any rush to finish, because ultimately the best craftsman will be joining you on the job site to patiently show you how to place each wooden slat and screw. Rest assured, the final house will be so grand and a part of a glorious neighborhood that the King will bless and feast at!
“God has so joyfully created us to be in process, and He wants to join us in it! By you becoming what you were originally designed for, you will be the most HAPPY, most EFFECTIVE, and most like JESUS than anything else would ever make you. And out of that, God gets the most GLORY.”
teaching takeaways:
Discipline is loving myself to do what is best for me. Therefore as an artist that was gifted with a fullness of sensitivity, there is the obligation to discipline that sensitivity. And that can be a applied to a multitude of mine and your characteristics.
Creativity is honoring God. Art is an expression of spotlighting a part of who God is and He will always honor every expression of Himself.
My willingness, availability & effort. That is His ultimate platform to shine!
The purer our souls get, the purer our art gets. “You can’t give away something you don’t have!” repeated the teacher this whole week. He’s way more concerned about our character than our careers, ministries, and talents.
It’s a daily ‘Yes.’ Baby steps even. Your spirit has been joined to God’s spirit out of His deep love and relationship with us. From that, the soul follows your spirit’s lead, and then eventually the body follows along. A chain reaction that needs to be checked up on to ensure alignment and balance.
A lot of the Mazatlan houses are abandoned and taken over by foliage. Although, I’m not totally sure which came first, the homes or the trees. At this point, a symbiotic relationship has formed. Photo Cred: Kelsey Verrill
