Wonder:
A feeling of surprise mingled with admiration, caused by something beautiful, unexpected, unfamiliar, or inexplicable.
And In Conclusion
Today we discuss the final phrase of my tagline, but before we get into that: I want to know what YOUR tagline is, or would be if you had one? Or maybe you call it a mission statement? That’s ok. I’ve been sharing about myself, but now I really want to know about YOU. If you don’t have a tagline, why not make one? You could read through the last several blogs to get an idea of how I wrote mine. I’d love love love to hear what’s important to you.
The final, but not the least important phrase of my tagline is “awaken the wonder and worship in your heart.”
That used to be shorter, too. Originally it was just “awaken the wonder”. I suppose that would still do, except that I want the wonder to stir up worship in your heart.
Wonder AND Worship
That’s what it does for me. When I see the red-tailed hawk on my neighbor’s fence or see how the clouds create dragons in the sky; when I hear the song of the Bewick’s Wren nesting in the birdhouse chime next to my door or notice the teensy insect on the tiny pink wildflower; when I realize that a prayer has been answered…each of these things awakens wonder in my heart–an intense feeling of delight mixed with curiosity and bundled up with a little surprise–and then it moves me to worship the Creator Who orchestrated it all and continues, nanosecond by nanosecond to orchestrate it.
A similar feeling occurs when I look at art that I have created and “see that it is good”, just like God Himself looked at His creation and saw that it was good. I’ve stated before that it seems like magic. How did that art come out of me? I hardly even remember learning how to do that? How can it be so quintessentially me and yet come from God?
This all makes sense when you consider the dictionary definition of “wonder”. On my old website I used to have a gif I created with this that blinked (probably annoyingly) on the home page.
Wonder: a feeling of surprise mingled with admiration, caused by something beautiful, unexpected, unfamiliar, or inexplicable.
I want (and I want to encourage the desire in you) to live life in a state of wonder. I mean, it really doesn’t get any better than constantly moving through every day in surprise mingled with admiration caused by something beautiful, unexpected, unfamiliar, or inexplicable, does it?
And what is God the Lord if not surprising, beautiful, unexpected, unfamiliar, and inexplicable that we can always admire?
Psalm 40:3-5 (NLT) says it this way:
He has given me a new song to sing,
a hymn of praise to our God.
Many will see what he has done and be amazed.
They will put their trust in the Lord.4
Oh, the joys of those who trust the Lord,
who have no confidence in the proud
or in those who worship idols.5
O Lord my God, you have performed many wonders for us.
Your plans for us are too numerous to list.
You have no equal.
If I tried to recite all your wonderful deeds,
I would never come to the end of them.
Verse 3 is the one that describes my hope for the art and the music He has given me. I hope that my “new song”–whether it is in pastels on paper, in clay, or in the music I make and teach–will bring you to amazement at His goodness, and that you will trust Him more and more.
So, how am I doing? Are you being encouraged to live in wonder and worship through the blog? How about the Vlog? Does my art stir that up in your heart?
Listen. If my writing, painting, and pottery are not doing those things for you…please go find something or someone that does! Find it anywhere! But FIND IT. It’s more important than wasting time watching my bumbling attempts.
Join the Mission and Spread the Word
If my stuff IS doing that for you…then I invite you to join the mission and spread the word. Share this blog. Share the vlog. Share a painting or a piece of pottery from my collection. Someone out there needs to be encouraged! I may not know them or have a way to share with them…but you do. They are in your circle, not mine.
Better yet, start singing your own “new song”! Whether that’s actual music you create and sing, or drawing, painting, sewing, forging, weaving, pouring, potting, growing…whatever it is that you do, do it and put it out there for the sake of encouraging others in a life of wonder and worship. And if you want company on your mission, let’s walk together. I’m happy to encourage you in your creative pursuits, whatever they may be. I’ll even help brainstorm your tagline!
Come along with me and look for the music, listen for the colors, reach out for the magic, and awaken the wonder and worship in your heart.
This Week in the Studio
Announcements: I am officially one of the featured artists for the March Engage Art Bible Cluster on March 28 at 8 pm central. This is a LIVE zoom meeting which is also live on the Engage Art Facebook page. If you’d like an invitation to the zoom meeting, let me know. You can attend by zoom, or you can view and participate in comments on https://fb.me/e/H7W4dw69
Our featured artists have created art that speaks to a scripture passage. We listen to a reading of the passage, and then discuss each work of art as it relates to that passage. It is a really great experience, and I participate every month as a viewer and zoom attendee. But on March 28, it will be a piece of my own art that will be one of the pieces discussed. So come join us!
ALSO: I am very excited to say that in May I will be beginning to host a Bible Cluster on my own page! This is still in early stages right now, but as soon as I am able I’ll be sharing links and asking for artists to be featured during the Bible Clusters. If you have art that you would like to share in such a context, please reach out to me via the comments below or my email estherjones1960@gmail.com.
Further Announcements: I will be in person at three events in April–hence the mad arting in the studio right now! Here they are, in chronological order, with all info:
I had a beautiful kiln opening on Monday! Two items were slightly flawed, but they were projects made for family members and those family members are happy to use them even with their flaws, (which is good because one of them is a GIGANTIC BOWL that took a lot of clay to make. I really wasn’t looking forward to making another one! It’s just got a crack in the foot ring–nothing that makes it unusable).
Here are the pictures. It will be some time before any of them are up in the shop: I am, after all, trying to make enough pottery for the three shows where I’ll be vending in April. If you see something you just can’t live without, give me a holler and we’ll see if I can make an exception for you.
And with that, I’ve got to get back in the studio! Don’t forget to share your tagline!
Godspeed
