Celestial Seasonings Surprise

Who could have known that Colorado of all places would be the home of one of the biggest tea companies around? I've never been much of a Celestial Seasonings drinker because I'm somewhat of a tea snob and go straight for my Yorkshire Gold imported from England.
But after the lovely trip up to Boulder to their plant on Monday, I might be at least a little swayed. In fact, I'll even give the herbal teas a try. I'm going to try them anyway if only because I love the whimsical artwork, the delightful quotes and the fact that the company was begun by four college kids looking to make a delicious, heatlh tea. That tea turned into the "Sleepytime" Blend so beloved of so many people.
I love stories like that, especially when they're carried out in such creative, colorful ways. Anyway, I was delightfully surprised. If any of you wonderful people ever visit, I shall take you up to see this rather fascinating little place.
And as a plus, we'll drive back home through the mountains.

Artists and Easter

I have been in a whirlwind of thought lately, especially regarding God's grace and beauty as being tangible in our lives because of His incarnation. With Easter hovering round the corner, I want to know what redemption looks like as it is lived out in ordinary lives. But I have also been thinking about resurrection reality as regards the heart of artistry and creation.

Eucharisto's latest post was incredible. (Now there is a spirit-filled artist) And it set me thinking about the validity of being called specifically as an artist. There seems to be a sense that you can be creative on the side, (do music/art/writing/whatever) but keep your day gig and do something productive with your life.

But isn't a faith-kindled imagination and commitment to make God's spirit known through crreation a worthy enough life pursuit for God's kingdom? What else is the imagining of stories, the capturing of color and light but an attempt to picture God's beauty in a tangible way. Great artistry is born of, as Eucharisto said, looking into the void and then seeing the light that lives beyond it. Art is a picturing of that eternal, hopeful light and I think it has incredible power for the drawing of hearts to God.

We need to see that creation is still possible, it's a universal yearning. Here on earth, we are all trapped in the chains of a void reality, and I think we begin to forget the possibility of grace and redemption. Even Christians begin to fall into a gridded, legalistic spirituality that is void of grace, miracles, beauty. In our sort of dungeon reality, the dank shadows begin to close in on us, forcing themselves upon our minds as the only ultimate reality.

But it is the artists, the dreamers who run forward in the shadows with kindled eyes and urgent voices to proclaim that God's light cannot be comprehended or overcome. They gather people into groups around the small struggling fires of faith, singing the ancient songs and re-telling the oldest tales of wonder, scribbling on the sandy prison floor until the real world leaps to life in the hearts and minds of the captives.

Artists are in many ways, the stewards of tangible grace, of touchable goodness. Through their Christ-enchanted pens and paintbrushes and music they speak creation into the void again. They picture beauty, they present mercy in color to the world. And their creation speaks to the yearning that keeps watch in our souls, desiring redemption, hoping for new creation.

So I've decided not to worry about whether or not I'm practical or productive in a worldly sense, as long as I am redemptively creative. I want Christ to live in me in such a way that my very life is a work of art, a new creation that speaks of His grace. May the risen Christ will be present in me in all His beauty.

Happy Easter!