Praise him with the tambourine and dancing; praise him with strings and flutes!
Praise him with a clash of cymbals; praise him with loud clanging cymbals.
Let everything that breathes sing praises to the Lord!

Psalm 150:4-6

I’ve always loved the arts. They’ve been the area of my greatest joy and greatest success. My family was a very arts and crafts family, my parents’ specialties being woodworking and needle arts. As an only child I had plenty of time to let my imagination run wild –drawing, writing, singing and dancing just to amuse myself.

Later I slowly came to understand that some talents and subjects were more practical and useful than others, especially in the working world. The school system and my parents tried hard to make me a practical person. Alas, their efforts failed.

It was hard for me to justify pursuing the arts as a vocation, or even an avocation above all the other things that would make money or serve God better such as lawyering, administration, finance, grant writing, teaching, directing non-profits, etc. But as I continued to read the Bible, I began to see evidence of the value of the arts and craftsmanship to the Lord. Craftsmen and women wove and embroidered cloth and worked wood, metals and precious stones to make the Temple and all the things used in it. Singing and dancing and making music to the Lord was well established by the time Miriam led her praise parade. David was writing poetry and music while he was still tending sheep. The Bible itself is a masterwork of literature and poetry, with wordplay and double meanings that we are still unravelling centuries later.

God is the Creator. And it only makes sense that He inspired us with His breath of life to be creators too. Art, music and dance communicate to our hearts and souls in a deeper way than words. As they say, ‘a picture is worth a thousand words.’ One of my greatest joys in discovering the Bible was finding all the poetic word pictures used to describe complex ideas. For instance, thinking of God’s kingdom as a lush garden reveals so many truths, and that metaphor just goes on and on (sowing and harvesting, pastures, vineyards, the of water of life, fruits of the spirit, trees, soil, etc.)

I have come to believe that Beauty is a representation of God in as much as it is a representation of love. Many war movies have a scene where the horror of war is contrasted with music or art. I often wondered at that. But whereas war represents the worst of humanity, a Bach concerto represents the highest and best of humanity. It’s quizzical that mankind is capable of both. But it is not quizzical that God would be pleased to be praised with music, dance, art or poetry dedicated to Him. It is His creation using the spark of creativity He gave to us to return the praise so richly deserved by our Lord and Master. Perhaps it is our spirit calling out to His spirit within us.

This is definitely the intention behind Liturgical Dance. Some of our United Women in Faith recently attended a workshop on Liturgical Dance. It was a little awkward removing our shoes and our inhibitions in order to praise God with our whole bodies. The movements were simple and symbolic in order to communicate the meaning of hymns on a more profound level than mere words. The leaders told us stories of worshippers who had unexpected emotional responses to the dances. I don’t doubt it. After the nervous laughter faded, we all had pretty profound responses to the dances ourselves. Perhaps one day we’ll have the nerve to share one during a worship service.

In the meantime, expand your concept of worship to include your imaginative and creative side. There are many ways to give it a try. There are Bible coloring books that allow you to creatively color scripture as you meditate on it (so fun). There are Bibles designed to be doodled in, so you can illustrate your own favorite scriptures, or use stamps and stickers. Sing your favorite worship songs and make up your own dance moves (my favorite while doing dishes or cleaning house), or be more intentional and start a project dedicated to the Lord (woodworking, quilting, painting, drawing, sculpting, knitting, etc.) I know the prayers and praise that go into all my illustrations, and into Erica’s beautiful tapestries that adorn the altars, into all the handmade items sold at the Holiday House Bazaar, and into the prayer shawls donated to the Care Committee. These are wonderful ways to glorify God with the creative talent He has breathed into each of us. Or write a song, poem or devotional and send it to me here for everyone to enjoy! 😉

Happy creating,

Jen