I really enjoyed this. I have a post on the difference that community makes to my creativity percolating for next week, so your words were food for that reflection. There is a special kind of belonging in creative groups that I haven't found elsewhere, but I find it hard to define or explain - maybe I just need to be grateful I've discovered it!
"We’re technically no longer limited by our imagination, abilities and resources. Yet, this way of making is also a new and awkward dance we must learn." — so true! 🔥Creating with Jesus is different from creating on our own. ☺️
Thanks for sharing your experiences! Beautiful post! 🕊️
But, sister, I’d love to see your art! Where can I find it? 🤍
Love this post. There was a lot I resonated with and am excited for how God is moving in and using Abiding Practice to connect creative people like us.
One thing that stood out to me: “In the blur of pain and loss, art was a secure hinge, connecting my heart with heaven. Painting became my prayer in a way it never had before.”
This hit me because the same was true for me in 2024 under different circumstances, but the Lord brought me back to painting after about 8 years of not picking up a brush or tube of paint. It was first and foremost an extremely vulnerable and healing act, but it has now turned into a regular practice of simply meeting with the Lord. He took the lowest point in my life and gave me joy.
Anyway, thank you for the transparency and obedience to write this and live out your creative calling Hayley!
Yes it's so exciting to see how God's bringing us creatives together! Thanks for sharing a bit of your story, Mark. That's so cool how you were drawn back to creating. I'm really inspired by your art and I can tell it comes from a very deep and meaningful space you've cultivated with the Lord.
Hayley, this landed with quiet force. That reframe — the provision isn't delayed, it's hidden in relationship — is one of those sentences that rearranges something.
I've been finding this out slowly through my own Substack community. I came here primarily as a writer with things to say, and discovered I was also someone with things to receive. Conversations in the comments have taken my thinking into territory I wouldn't have found alone. The community turned out to be part of the work, not just an audience for it.
What strikes me most in your piece is the suggestion that collaboration isn't a supplement to the calling — it may be woven into the calling itself. That what God is growing in you, He's also growing in others, and the convergence is part of what He's making. That feels like genuinely good news for anyone who's been quietly wondering why the solo route keeps hitting a ceiling.
Hayley, this was such a beautiful reflection on the gift of community. Your words reminded me that while God certainly meets us in solitude, He also delights in using His people to encourage, sharpen, and strengthen us. I especially loved your thought that "the answer wasn't a what, it was a who." That really stayed with me. As someone who has lived with cerebral palsy and walked through breast cancer, I've experienced firsthand how God often provides the strength, wisdom, and encouragement I need through the people He places in my life. Community doesn't diminish what God is doing, it often becomes the very means through which He does it. Thank you for this encouraging reminder that some of His greatest gifts are found in relationship and that we were never meant to walk our calling alone.
A wonderful opportunity but excludes European subscribers sadly. 6pm pst is 2am in the UK where I am. Perhaps a weekend morning could work for non USA residents as that would be early evening in Europe and hopefully accessible to more folks.
I really enjoyed this. I have a post on the difference that community makes to my creativity percolating for next week, so your words were food for that reflection. There is a special kind of belonging in creative groups that I haven't found elsewhere, but I find it hard to define or explain - maybe I just need to be grateful I've discovered it!
Thank you Phoebe! So excited to read more of your thoughts on creative community. Will be on the lookout for that in my inbox! :)
"We’re technically no longer limited by our imagination, abilities and resources. Yet, this way of making is also a new and awkward dance we must learn." — so true! 🔥Creating with Jesus is different from creating on our own. ☺️
Thanks for sharing your experiences! Beautiful post! 🕊️
But, sister, I’d love to see your art! Where can I find it? 🤍
Brigita
Thank you so much Brigita! You can find my art on my site desertsblooming.com.
Thank you! Wonderful! 🤍
Love this post. There was a lot I resonated with and am excited for how God is moving in and using Abiding Practice to connect creative people like us.
One thing that stood out to me: “In the blur of pain and loss, art was a secure hinge, connecting my heart with heaven. Painting became my prayer in a way it never had before.”
This hit me because the same was true for me in 2024 under different circumstances, but the Lord brought me back to painting after about 8 years of not picking up a brush or tube of paint. It was first and foremost an extremely vulnerable and healing act, but it has now turned into a regular practice of simply meeting with the Lord. He took the lowest point in my life and gave me joy.
Anyway, thank you for the transparency and obedience to write this and live out your creative calling Hayley!
Yes it's so exciting to see how God's bringing us creatives together! Thanks for sharing a bit of your story, Mark. That's so cool how you were drawn back to creating. I'm really inspired by your art and I can tell it comes from a very deep and meaningful space you've cultivated with the Lord.
I love that Hayley.
Hayley, this landed with quiet force. That reframe — the provision isn't delayed, it's hidden in relationship — is one of those sentences that rearranges something.
I've been finding this out slowly through my own Substack community. I came here primarily as a writer with things to say, and discovered I was also someone with things to receive. Conversations in the comments have taken my thinking into territory I wouldn't have found alone. The community turned out to be part of the work, not just an audience for it.
What strikes me most in your piece is the suggestion that collaboration isn't a supplement to the calling — it may be woven into the calling itself. That what God is growing in you, He's also growing in others, and the convergence is part of what He's making. That feels like genuinely good news for anyone who's been quietly wondering why the solo route keeps hitting a ceiling.
Thank you for writing this with such honesty.
Hayley, this was such a beautiful reflection on the gift of community. Your words reminded me that while God certainly meets us in solitude, He also delights in using His people to encourage, sharpen, and strengthen us. I especially loved your thought that "the answer wasn't a what, it was a who." That really stayed with me. As someone who has lived with cerebral palsy and walked through breast cancer, I've experienced firsthand how God often provides the strength, wisdom, and encouragement I need through the people He places in my life. Community doesn't diminish what God is doing, it often becomes the very means through which He does it. Thank you for this encouraging reminder that some of His greatest gifts are found in relationship and that we were never meant to walk our calling alone.
A wonderful opportunity but excludes European subscribers sadly. 6pm pst is 2am in the UK where I am. Perhaps a weekend morning could work for non USA residents as that would be early evening in Europe and hopefully accessible to more folks.