you never know til you try

this past week we gathered in the dungeon to do some arting.

we got a little inspiration and, taking a picture of Jesus' face from the internet - 

decided to try a little project.

Austin sketched out the drawing on a piece of canvas...

and we found every black marker in the dungeon...

and put on chris tomlin's new album...

then had everyone just start writing the names/ descriptions of God out...

and with some instruction and guidance from Austin,

and the team being willing to try something new - 

we ended with this :)

pretty cool huh?

i've heard so many people say they can't do art or they don't know how...

but then i've seen some of those same people be a part of making something like this.

we may not all be naturally gifted to the extent where everything we touch is a masterpiece (although we love those people...right?  ;) )

but we were created in the image of the most creative One of all.

and i really believe that we should all be using our imagination,

being intentional about trying new things,

about getting past what is comfortable for us,

and seeing what God might want to do with/ for/ through us.

obviously this is just a piece of artwork - 

but it was such a fun time working together and seeing a final product that turned out so good in such a short amount of time.

and how can spending time thinking on and writing down how good God is in so many ways be bad?

love it.

:)

-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

a morning with the kids :)

this past sunday we got to do something different :)

we spent sunday morning with the kids ministry!

the theme of the morning was that we are all an important part of God's plan.

that no matter how small or insignificant we might seem - we are an important part of His plan.

the group started off our time helping sing with the kids.

and then they did a drama called "KaBlinka".

it is about a machine that an inventor has built - 

and all the parts of the machine think that they are the greatest part...

except for one.

and the others make fun of that part.

but what they find out (dun dun dun..........) is that even though that one little part wasn't doing what it should - the machine didn't work.

sound familiar?

they did an AWESOME job.  so fun.

and then they did some arting.

this was something new - we'd never done anything like this before.

but we played the song "in your hands" by je'kob... love that song.

and then they lined up - each with their own piece of tracing paper and some pastels.

and kellie was set up with a marker.

and they went to work...

each coloring in their own, seemingly random pieces in blues and greens.

and then, as they finished - they piled the pieces of tracing paper on top of the others.

and once they were all put together - 

they formed a picture!

"you hold the world in Your hands".

:)

without any one of those parts being colored in... it wouldn't be whole.

so even when the parts seem insignificant, or like the details just don't matter...

they do.

because they are PART of the picture,

and its all working together.

God's got it all in His hands, He's the one with the picture - 

are we trusting Him to guide us?

are we actually doing our part?

or are we waiting for someone else to do it for us because we'd just rather not?

just something to think about.

:)

and then we got to talk a little about our jamaica trip that the kids gave their offering to :)

toward our construction project.

so cool

and we did another fun little drama,

and then the group went up onstage and finished off the morning with another song.

and oh man...

SO fun.

there was dancing and jumping and singing - 

amazing.

i need to worship with kids more often.

so much joy.

i LOVE it.

so our morning with the kids was a great one!

we had so much fun and we got to share God's message of how the body works together and how important it is that we all take responsibility for doing our part, doing what God calls US to do - 

and encouraging each other to do the same.

so thankful for people who pour into these kids all the time!!!

and so thankful that they let us come :)

and so grateful for a group that is willing to do the crazy things i ask them to!!!

and that they can have so much fun doing it.

i LOVE it.

it was a great opportunity to show the kids different ways that gifts can be used, too.

that art, drama, speaking, missions - all can be things that God can use.

and there is no end to all the different ways He can work...

so good.

our God is GOOD!  :)

:)

-ALIVE

beautiful things

three weeks ago(ish) we spent some time talking about the things that come up in life,

the things happening right now,

that don't make sense.

the things that don't seem to be working for good -

in fact they seem to be pulling us farther and farther away from where we want to be.

i posted on it at the time...check it out and then keep reading.

"He is working all things together for the good of those that love Him -

according to His purpose."

do we believe that? 

like - can we take big steps into the seemingly crazy,

because we TRULY BELIEVE that God is in control of it.

that He knows EXACTLY what is going on.

do we TRUST Him like that?

we had people write things down on paper...

giving them to God.

all the "WHY, God?"

all the "I'm DONE with this, God."

all of it...

and for the past few weeks Austin has been painting during worship.

and last night the papers were added to it...

all the things that make no sense...

all the things that don't seem to follow with what we expected from God...

even though they seemed so random and insignificant and solely for US in that moment that they were written down...

 

all it took was someone, an artist, to come in...

to see them in a different way...

to take all the pieces and work them together...

to place them in the right way...

so that they are no longer all alone and random -

but part of a bigger picture.

and to not only just place them in the picture...

but to place them in such a way that they work together and become BEAUTIFUL.

your situation is not hopeless.

God has not given up on you.

He has not lost track of His plan.

You will never been in a situation where God cannot make something beautiful from it.

He created the world from nothing...

The world, the Heavens, the universe - its all His.

He makes beautiful things from dust.

He will make beautiful things from you.

don't hold back from Him -

trust Him.

He won't let you down.

-ALIVE

just a part...

i'm going to share something that was shared tonight during worship with the youth group...

how many of you reading this have heard the words "we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose."?
if you've been to church a few times...you most likely have.
next question - how many have a hard time believing it?
i mean - do you ever feel like "hey God...i'm LOVING you here...but i DON'T. GET. THIS.   FIX. IT."

things don't always make sense.
in fact - probably the majority of time, things don't make sense.
God has this great big plan, this picture that is so so so much bigger than we could ever see - so its hard to wrap our minds around the fact that our time here on earth, our lives...are just ONE part of a bigger picture.
i heard a pastor say just the other day that

 "looking at our lives compared to eternity is like putting your face right up to a stained glass window.  you'll see some color and some texture - maybe even a shape or two.  but what you don't see is the hundreds of OTHER shapes and colors that make up the whole rest of the picture to make it truly breathtaking".

interesting, huh?

and sometimes things just don't make sense.

BUT what the truth of that verse from Romans says - is that its not random.

our lives are not left up to chance and God isn't just watching and saying "oh...hmmm - yeah, idk how we're gonna turn that one around..."

He's not surprised!

He's not caught off guard!

how COMFORTING is that???

hard to believe? yes.  but comforting if its true??? yes!

and He said it - so guess what?  its true.

and if that's true...

then the incredibly frustrating situation you are facing right now - is in His hands.  

all hope is not lost.

the person you've been praying for for YEARS that seems like a lost cause?

they're not.

the times you feel so confused because God just isn't doing anything remotely resembling what you thought He would in your life?

He sees the bigger picture...and He's getting you there.

its tough stuff.

its not easy.

so tonight we had the youth write down things that God is doing on pieces of paper that don't make sense.

or that they don't understand.

or that is just HARD and it doesn't feel like there is hope left.

and just surrendered them to Him...

admitted that while its frustrating and lonely and difficult - 

we are CHOOSING to trust that He knows.

that He has not lost track of us.

and stay tuned...because we're not done with those pieces of paper.

just like God is not DONE with our situations.
so if you are reading this and want to add a "piece of paper" by commenting here or messaging me or something - just somehow surrender these things.
we will worry ourselves to death over things we can't control and really - if we knew the whole picture, we probably wouldn't want to.

we just have to keep our eyes fixed - just like Hebrews 12 says.

keep our eyes FIXED on the author and perfecter of our faith.

He's doing it...

choose to trust Him for it today.

-ALIVE

trading in a heart of stone...

Today we had a cool opportunity.

I, along with Erika Sanborn, Sarah Slegh, and Jordan Cross got up onstage during a wedding of a Liberian couple in our church,

and painted.

we painted this during a church service last year to end a sermon series called Morph...

the transformation from a broken heart to a new, healed heart that only God can make happen.

well this couple was really touched by these paintings and asked if it could be done during their wedding ceremony.

and after talking to the bride - she explained that it told their story.

they had gone through some hard situations not too long ago and their hearts were broken...

but God was healing them and putting them back together.

so it was an honor to do it again for their wedding.

and it was such a cool opportunity to be a part of their day!

bright colors and 13 sets of bridesmaids/groomsmen (yeah...crazy, but so fun to have so many loved ones up there for you), FUN music that you just had to dance to, so much laughter, so fun and SUCH a supportive, attentive audience.

it was so cool.  

such a blessing.

so like i talked about in the last post - visuals that resonate and stick with you.

Holy Spirit led art - inspired by Him.

it speaks in ways we might not expect it to.

so cool to be a part of it.

here is the finished product!

thanks ladies for painting!!!!!!!

and thanks to Chelsea Kimball for playing our music for us!!!

:)))

it was perfect.

and just so we didnt waste paint...

:)

spontaneous team artwork.

good stuff.

-ALIVE

testimony collage

hey friends!

so i know its been A LONG time since i have updated this...

but its been busy.

life has gotten crazy.

change of pace?  haha...

anyways...

thursdays have been half revolution practice/ half art project time

both are coming along quite nicely :)

God's just doing His thing...

and on Friday sarah and i met up in the dungeon and did some arting...

we cut out a cross and started covering it up...

basically the idea of this project is to do a collage of things that God has done in people's lives.

pictures, drawings, words, stories - whatever people share with us.

its going to be really cool.

and the cross will sit on top of a background that will have written on it - what life BEFORE God was like...

so you'll see the contrast.

and its a huge contrast.

life with God?  its just so much better.

so i decided to go into detail about this a little and share because i had a thought...

why not get as many responses from as many different people as possible?

so if you are reading this and God has done something powerful in your life or if you have a story about it, a statement,  a word, an image, whatever - let us know!

and maybe we'll add it to the art! :)

and then you can come on June 3rd to Revolution and check it out! 

;)

so share with us!

-ALIVE

We are blessed!!!

So there's something thats just been on my mind lately!! Felt like I should share it. When I went on the winter retreat to Trout Lake with the youth group, (which was only a youth event, but I got to go cause I was in ALIVE and we were doing some dramas, SUPER happy I was able to go cause it was an amazing weekend! Mark, Steph, and Josh preached it, so good!) and one night I was reading in Matthew, and a verse totally just blew me away...

Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me.

Matthew 5:10-11

I just loved that so much... Just because in those situations, that seems to be the last thing on my mind I can't say that I've ever been put in a situation where someone has been attacking my faith directly, like insulting me to my face, but I'ver certainly been offended, hurt, and felt outcast before. It's not fun, and I certainly do not feel like I'm blessed. But ever since I have read this, it doesn't phase me... Just knowing that when someone is ridiculing me, insulting me, and making me feel horrible because of my faith in Jesus Christ, that I am BLESSED... It's SO amazing. He's that awesome!!! :D Just gotta love it! Just thought I'd share.

So... just so you know, in my 2D Design- Basic Visual Theory class, my final project is... fun? Haha, I have to design a whole entire deck of cards...And if you were wondering, the answer is yes,Its extremely stressful... and repetitive :) So fun!!!BUT, we have to base our design ideas off an artist,

I chose FIONA RAE, she's an abstract painter from Britain.

Her work = Soup Rod.

Love her style SOOOO MUCH!!!

I'm excited to finish them (my cards)

only one more week left of school for the semester!!

Here we go!!

And here's one of my pieces... just for fun :)

My teacher said it reminded her of Fiona Rae's work,

So it thought it was fitting.

TEAM!!!

Happy sunday, and God bless!

-Austin

-ALIVE

Hope

a glimpse at Mega Wednesday! 

Austin and Jordan rocked the Hope drama/arting.

it went really well - and its really really amazing to have people that will just roll with our crazy requests sometimes...(we dont ALWAYS give people what you might call "sufficient notice" haha)  but thats when you know its God you're depending on...when you know its something you shouldnt be able to do.

so its cool to see these things come together the way they do.

:)

God's got it!

 austin and jord getting in one last practice...

the performance! 

they arted during the worship team's last song "Fix You" by Coldplay

...then went into the script portion of the drama. 

they spoke while they painted, going back and forth between the characters.

both characters going through the same situation - but with different perspectives.

Austin - is relying on himself.  looking to the world for hope

Jordan - looking to God for her hope, relying on Him to get her through

Austin - his hope runs out.  his picture is unfinished...because he cannot do it, cannot survive all that is happening on his own. 

the world WILL disappoint.  the world WILL fail us.  it cannot and will not satisfy us.

we will reach the end of ourselves...and what then? 

Jordan - she has an abundance of hope.  more than enough to get her through.  her painting is finished.  her path leads all the way to her destination.  she might not understand exactly where its going or how she'll get there - but she has hope that she WILL.  that God will lead her.

God will never disappoint.  ever.  He is more than enough and He sees the WHOLE path we're on...so lean on Him for hope in every situation.  its the ONLY way we'll make it through.  and how great that is also happens to be the BEST and MOST EXCITING way to do it!?!

and i dont put a lot of pictures of us leaders on here.......so here is a glimpse.  ;)  haha

aren't we so cute?

thanks Ria for these fun pics :)

so it was a GREAT night, God did His thing, Josh spoke some amazing truth and hope into us all...really great time.

such a blessing to be a part of this ministry!!!

For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.

Jeremiah 29:11

-ALIVE

a new art project...

This past week I had an idea…I’ve been reading through the gospels and ended up on Mark 16 – the story of Jesus going to the cross. And as I was reading it – images just kept forming in my mind, mostly of the intense emotions behind what was happening at that time and what these different people must have been going through spiritually - trying to believe that Jesus really is who He says He is...even though He is about to die, watching Him give in and just wanting Him to prove Himself, standing in Pilate's shoes - being pressured to sentence Him while believing He isn't wrong, or - like the moment right after He dies and the curtain is torn and ground shakes - realizing that He was who He said He was...and it looks like its too late.  its really incredible stuff!  because then 3 days later He did the impossible...amazing.
And I felt really inspired to get these images out on paper – and create kind of a visual telling of the story leading up to the cross (which I shortly after learned is kind of similar to the stations of the cross…just a few different events). And not just the events but the intensity behind them.
But then I had a thought – how cool would it be to make it a group effort? To give different members of the team different parts of the story and have them really dig into that passage – not just take it at face value, but read it and feel what was happening at the time. What would it have been like to be there? what does it make you feel? What does it teach you? etc…
So we passed out sections of the story – and our team is interesting because there are SO many different gifts. Everyone has different things that stand out, which means that people are at different experience levels when it comes to painting/drawing/etc. :) so a few people were definitely overwhelmed and some people just jumped right in. we got to talk to mostly everybody and start to form some ideas.
It’s new…its something we haven’t really done. and we opened it up – the different parts can be drawn, painted, written words, whatever will get the idea across – however God leads. And, for me at least, it’s a really cool way to dig into scripture and make it personal- I pray that it does the same for the team. It makes me get inside it and not just read it as a story or as facts – but makes it real. And different parts of the story teach so many different things that you would never get if you just read it through once.
So we’re still working on it and I am really excited to see us work together and just get past what we THINK we can do – and let God do it. He knows what our gifts are and He knows how to use them. Its so easy to just say – oh, well I cant do that. I’m not good at that – and that will for sure be true if we never try it! but what if we miss something amazing, just because we assume we can’t do what we’ve seen others do? so many times we look at things other people have done and say – “oh, I cant do that…” and you’re right – you cant. That’s their gift. you aren’t supposed to do what they can do – if we all had the same gift and could do everything ourselves – why would we ever rely on each other? God didn’t create one kind of gift. He created unique ones…so don’t get discouraged by what you can’t do. and don’t NOT do something just because you don’t think you can do it just like someone else. Try it. be sure that you’re taking time with just you and God- let Him mold you and show you what He can do through you. you will not be the greatest at some things, and that’s fine. But somewhere along the way - He’ll probably surprise you…;)
He’s creative-
See what He can do…

-ALIVE

another thursday night

this post is going to be mostly pictures. just a look at what we've been working on! :)

this one was inspired by a verse in Hosea

"your love is like the morning dew that goes early away...but I desire steadfast love"

break free from our chains!

a glimpse of the Fear Dance :)

jump from the Yesterday, Today, Forever dance...:)

just so excited! :)

such a fun, gifted team. love it and love spending every thursday with them. we had some very productive time last night - using everyone's gifts...:) we had a team of ppl with drama ideas brainstorming and a team of dancers/choreographers brainstorming and came up with some really cool ideas!!! we're planning for MegaWednesday and praying that it all comes together - cuz if it does...its gonna be epic. so everyone will have to come and bring all their friends to see it! ;)

-ALIVE

the power of WORDS

i was just noticing some pictures that the YWAM base i lived at for a few months put up...and i kind of love this :)
they did a wall mural in the city of Puerto Madryn, Argentina on the power of words.
in case you don't speak spanish - it says "your words can hurt or heal".

Proverbs 12:17-19
Whoever speaks the truth gives honest evidence,
but a false witness utters deceit.
There is one whose rash words are like sword thrusts,
but the tongue of the wise brings healing.
Truthful lips endure forever,
but a lying tongue is but for a moment.

powerful verses...the words that come out of our mouths - WILL hurt or they WILL heal. its not whether or not they'll have an effect...we dont have control over that.
so we need to be aware of what is coming out of our mouths...
use our words to encourage, build up, love, heal - bring TRUTH into this world!
:)

-ALIVE

Light Arting!

so we decided to play with something we have named "Light Arting". i'm pretty sure its a technical term...;) but we basically found a room, turned on some music, gave everyone glow sticks and lights, turned off all the lights...and well - you can see what came of it :) im only putting up a few of the pics, there are many many more really cool ones......

when i look at some of these i just really love to think of the light as what the Holy Spirit looks like when He's moving. as we celebrate or as we pray for Him to rain down or as we pray for His fire to ignite - i just feel like these lights give this visual to it. obviously the Spirit is so much bigger and greater than glowsticks in a dark room...but its just a glimpse...

this first one is one of my favorites, its one of a few we took of ashley doing some dancing with the lights...love it.
this orange one was made while sarah did a "celebration" dance :)

this one is one of our attempts at creating fire...love this one.

:) this one just makes me laugh everytime...we spelled a few different words - but this was a challenging one...

-ALIVE

team arting

for the last two weeks, for part of our ALIVE meetings, we have been working on a little team arting project. i wrote more about it in an earlier post - but we set down one piece of cardboard and all the supplies and told them to all work together on it.

Abbie gave us a verse for inspiration, so we used that to start.

the verse is 2 corinthians 3:15-18.

Even to this day when Moses is read, a veil covers their hearts. But whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplatethe Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.

its still a work in progress, but its getting there :) and its fun to work on it together and also to see people who normally dont "art" play with it and have fun with it. :)

we definitely have a creative group...so fun.

i'll add more pictures as we finish more! :)

-ALIVE

Morph Painting

In one of my last posts i wrote about our "Morph" painting/drawing that we did at Edinbrook Church during the worship time. these are pictures of the painted versions. :) from broken to healed...a picture of God's grace. and how he takes us from broken to whole. love it. we are so blessed to be able to work with people who love using their gifts for God's glory :)

-ALIVE