Proverbs

-Proverbs-

Soo....... 

Maybe not the proverbs you're thinking of :)

My good friend Clayton is part of an improv team and this is an awesome game that they play...

Everyone sits in a circle, and you go around the circle and each person says one word that makes up one single proverb. 

And then when (as a group) you feel the proverb is complete, raise your pointer finger in the air and say in unison "Ahhhhhhhh!" 

So... sounds dumb and simple

But... in actuality its probably the best thing in the world.

The idea is to go as fast as you can and just say the very first thing that pops into your head and not really think at all. One of the basic concepts of improv! Building off of the last person to speak in a spontaneous thinking-on-your-feet way! 

Here were some of the best ones of the night, with some captions! 

(You will start to see patters of words that people like to use... and notice that the shorter ones seem to be the best!)

- Children like weave. (As in ghetto weave...)

- Llamas love hats and Jamaica People when they go to the bathroom.

- Coats sometimes are hairy if llamas were made by coats. (Llama sighting #1)

- Chairs could have babies if they broke legs.

- Cucumbers are dressed up with Earth's cucumbers because Earths cucumbers ranch.

- Waterfalls fall. (Ooohh.. Thats deep...)

- Fortune cookies break easily because when my sister steps on the cookie it crumbles like a spirit. (Depressing one of the night)

- Antilopes eat leather people on the avalanches. (Eating people sighting #1)

- Trees are eating green life out of the can.

- Pineapples are prickly because pumpkins disguised friendship into pineapples. 

- Phones call people when donkeys are singing carols around hats.

- Doors open when life jumps them out of windows. (Windows sighting #1)

- Bubbles break when bubbles are doing naughty things.

- Hammers pound with tails and Gangam style friendship. (Probably one of the best everrr...)

- Potatoes can jump around windows when they're hyper because they want to eat people. 

- Whiteboards clear off children after they're mistakes are killed by evil because evil is something children hate.

- Killing is not a sad decision to killers because they are killers that eat refrigerated people. (Killers sighting #1)

- Sheep disgust killers because of the childhood memories of leprosy. 

- Compassion makes love possible when zebras actually go to the bathroom.

- Serial swims in cows.

- Coffe tastes like smurfs.

- Dreams vomit love all the night long. (also very deep...)

- Cast my potato on eggs benedict movies, can you feel the love tonight?

- Art smells like roses when they poop.

- Fighting chickens is cool in space.

- He whom may fall into clouds will die a long soft squishy miserable death.

- Life sometimes gives lemons for squeezing because people hate juice.

Now we begin the constant use of souls, magic, gnomes and gingers... too funny!

- Sweatshirts keep myself cold because they have spiky icicles inside of my soul.

- Gingers are friendly and nice people but they bite. 

- Pain is very nice and it could save many children gnomes. 

- Zebras have trees but they aren't with fun doves because they don't really have souls just because they're souls are rotten gingers.

- Sometimes broken pieces fit together in a lovely llama.

- Vitamins eat water and souls.

- Evil people fall asleep during snow storms because frolicking frogs also are midgets and gnomes.

- Meadows create peace and packman eskimos.

- Flowers have ugly horns because flowers like mean flowers.

- Tables are strong and hold many magical gingers. 

- Dungeons keep magical swords and dragons and bamboos until life throws you off a cliff.

- Chairs are safe chairs because beat-boxing chairs have boombox legs.

- Burning fires can prevent cancer. (I'm not sure if you were aware! Let us enlighten you... and save the world while we're at it.)

Next is our ALIVE-ness themed one...

- Friendship is epic when friendship is apple picking because team likes toats magotes.

didn't go so well... but its interesting nonetheless :)

- Dreams are something that magical unicorns only dream about with gnomes and pretty clovers during special gingers dreams. 

- Lockers are safes of joy and happiness of my soul.

- Bubbles pop even when africans bernie.

At this point we said... "NO MORE SOULS, AND NO MORE GINGERS!" And this is what we got...

- Crushing cones is deceitful when midgets are soulless gingers. 

Gotta love those Alive kids! So fun hanging out with other godly creative people!

See you next time!

-ALIVE-

when words aren't enough

i LOVE looking at art.

i can't describe why exactly - but there is something about a picture that can bring a million different thoughts to mind, 

or drive home a thought that didn't make as much sense in words.

and i LOVE seeing art that you just know came straight from the artist's heart.

its powerful.

and i LOVE that God has given people that gift.  its amazing and He really didn't need to.

but its such a beautiful thing.

i came across this artist while doing some other research and was so moved by the paintings...

her name is Caitlin Beider.  i don't know much about her, but she does live paintings and that is just really impressive.

she's also a Christian who uses her art to share the gospel of Jesus.

i want to share some of her paintings - i hope you take a second and just rest in each one.

art that seems to capture that "moment" where something is happening... is usually some of the most powerful visuals.

these each pointed me back to God in some way - i pray they do the same for you :)

"i find you here"

"pressed, not crushed.  knocked down, not destroyed"

"indeed, I am set free!"

"rain down on me"

"rise above"

"washed."

beautiful.

this is actually a picture that God gives me all the time of my time with Him.  

i love this.

obviously we should learn and read and talk to other believers - 

there are so many ways to learn from God.

sometimes its really nice to do a little "out of the box" thinking - to see not just what a person is painting or drawing or dancing or whatever - 

sometimes you just have to let God speak through His creation.

:)

-ALIVE

a christian's creativity

i stumbled upon this quote from an author named Thomas Merton.

i wanted to share it because i think its a really cool reminder of how the gift of creativity (that we ALL have in some way, shape or form) works...

The way for sacred art to become more “creative” is not just for the artist to study new and fashionable trends and try to apply them to sacred or symbolic themes. It is for the artist to enter deeply into his Christian vocation, his part in the work of restoring all things in Christ. But this is not his responsibility alone. This is the responsibility of the whole Church and everybody in it.

-- Thomas Merton

we can study,

we can learn,

we can practice,

we can perfect techniques - 

but because the gift, the inspiration, the ability ALL come from God-

we can't do any of it without Him.

we can't create anything without Him.

we wouldn't have the gifts, wouldn't have the material, wouldn't have the ideas or the ability if He didn't give them to us.

so the only way to really grow in it or to know creativity to its fullest potential - 

is to know God.

it needs to be an overflow, a response to what God is doing in us.  

and the amazing thing about how God put it all together?

is that not only do we need to know God in order for our creativity to grow -

but once we make the time to be intentional about using our gifts?

we get to experience GOD on a whole new level.

its not just a gift we're tapping into - 

its God Himself.

and the rest is up to Him.  its amazing.

truly amazing to look at all that He is and all that He has done for us.

amazing.

-ALIVE

team art.

on the off chance you aren't familiar with the term

"team art"...

here is an example.

well... an example of our version, at least.  :)

you take 1 piece of paper.

split it into 10 (ish) parts.

and then each person fills in one section at a time.

and the next person has to build off of the other one - so all the lines need to be continued.

and then at the end - 

you erase all the pencil lines.

and it looks like one!

so this piece is a combination of 7 or so different people...

cool, huh?

and now we're working on one in color....

its a lot harder.

:)

so far only 3 people have worked on it.

and we've only used watercolor pencils.

so...

it is to be continued.

so if you want to fill in one of those remaining pieces - 

you are welcome to join us :)

love it.

:)

tonight we also talked about how God has given us the ability to create.

He's given us gifts.

and we use those gifts to show the world how we see God.

how we know Him.

how we see the world BECAUSE we know Him.

we have an ability to share what it is we see,

what we experience so deeply.

my prayer is that christians will use their gifts,

use their art to show the world what God has shown them.

how God has revealed Himself to them.

whether it be through words, painting, dance, drama, writing, whatever - 

but that it all directs the viewer and the artist back to God.

that you would be able to “see exactly what it is he is calling you to do, grasp the immensity of this glorious way of life he has for his followers, of the utter extravagance of his work in us who trust him—endless energy, boundless strength!”

 Ephesians 1:18-19, (Message Bible) 

-ALIVE