Creative and Free

By Christina Hubbard

Where creative hearts come fully alive to the pursuit of joy. Join writer Christina Hubbard for interviews with creative leaders and spiritual practices to help you deepen your relationship with God through the arts.

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3 Poems to Shore Up Hope [Eps 32]

Creative and FreeFeb 02, 2021

00:00

22:38

3 Poems to Shore Up Hope [Eps 32]

Poetry puts the past in perspective, positions us in the here and now, and propels us toward what is possible. Host Christina Hubbard shares three poems that have the power to sustain through trying times and give hope.

Poems include:

"Everything Will Be Alright" by Derek Mahon,
"Thanks" by T.S. Merwin, and
"For Those Who Have Far to Travel" by Jan Richardson.

To get podcast updates, poetry, helpful links on art and faith, and a FREE MEDITATION, subscribe to Christina's letter at christinahubbard.com.

Feb 02, 202122:38

Divine Drawing with Charlotte Donlon [Eps 31]

We can learn to see God anywhere. Author and spiritual director Charlotte Donlon leads us in a spiritual practice called divine drawing. Using a story from her book The Great Belonging: How Loneliness Leads Us to Each Other, Charlotte helps us engage our senses and memories to discover God in familiar places. Allow 20-30 minutes for the practice.

Charlotte is the artist of the month. Check our Part 1 and Part 2 of our interview: The Privilege of Shared Loneliness.

Links:

Charlotte’s book: The Great Belonging: How Loneliness Leads Us to Each Other.

Find her at charlottedonlon.com and on Twitter and Instagram @charlottedonlon.

Share this podcast with a friend!

Dec 22, 202013:29

Charlotte Donlon: The Privilege of Shared Loneliness Part 2 [Eps 30]

What if your loneliness was space meant for God? Charlotte Donlon and I continue the conversation about sharing the universal burden of loneliness in Part 2. She also reads a chapter from her book: The Great Belonging: How Loneliness Leads Us to Each Other.

Other things we talk about include:

Grief, loss, and Advent,
The joys of having books and family around,
Practical ways we can share loneliness with God and others,
Inviting God into our creative spaces,
How the arts help us to really see.

Links:

Charlotte’s book: The Great Belonging: How Loneliness Leads Us to Each Other.

Find her at charlottedonlon.com and on Twitter and Instagram.

Leave a review via Apple Podcasts/Itunes: : https://apple.co/3gB9leH.

These notes may contain affiliate links, which support the production of this podcast.

Dec 15, 202026:53

Charlotte Donlon: The Privilege of Shared Loneliness Part 1 [Eps 29]

There should be no only in lonely. Author, spiritual director, and podcast host, Charlotte Donlon believes its a privilege to share our stories of loneliness, including her own. She joins the podcast as artist of the month. We chat about her first book, The Great Belonging: How Loneliness Leads Us to Each Other.

Other things we talk about include:

Becoming a writer later in life.
Paying attention to God during spiritual conversation.
When rejection launched her deeper into her own loneliness.
Her decision to live authentically with bipolar disorder.
How gratitude helps us grieve well.

Links:

Charlotte’s book: The Great Belonging: How Loneliness Leads Us to Each Other.

Find her at charlottedonlon.com and on Twitter and Instagram.

Leave a review via Apple Podcasts/Itunes: : https://apple.co/3gB9leH..

Dec 08, 202028:17

3 Ways the Arts Heal Through Compassion and Open Wounds [Eps 28]

Compassion allows a person to suffer with another. As creative influencers, we have an amazing power to share bits of ourselves through our creations: a joy, a heartbreak, or even an open wound from which we are still trying to heal.

This episode describes three ways the arts help us show compassion as wounded healers.

A guided 5-minute breath prayer is included to help you experience God's compassion personally:

Inhale: Compassionate God

Exhale: You see me.

Inhale: Loving Father,

Exhale: You welcome me.

Inhale: Trusted Counselor,

Exhale: You hold me.

Inhale: Faithful Emmanuel,

Exhale: You stay with me.

Inhale: Gracious Healer,

Exhale: You restore me.

Links from this episode:

Image of Pope Francis with Vinicio Riva

CNN article on Vinicio Riva

Return of the Prodigal bronze sculpture by Charlie Mackesy

Nov 24, 202018:56

2 Ideas to Train Yourself in Courage [Eps 27]

"Courage---you develop courage by doing small things like just as if you wouldn’t want to pick up a 100-pound weight without preparing yourself. " -- Maya Angelou. This is a different kind of courage: the courage to slow it way down and how to train for it.

It's less about a big, bold leap and more about training one’s heart to make micro movements of faith. Imagine climbing a mountain, like a Colorado fourteener. You don’t typically just go out and hike one without preparation (especially if you’re from the Midwest). You train over time, day after day. You get stronger with small choices of effort and faith that propel you toward this goal to successfully climb a mountain.

The courage to slow down is to dare to move at an unhurried pace and take a breather in the face of a frenetic culture. Here are some ideas to help you press into the resistance.

Get your free audio meditation on Psalm 23: https://bit.ly/3kpSRa0.

Leave a review via Apple Podcasts/Itunes.

Nov 17, 202015:03

How to Reignite Your Creativity [Eps 26]

The central challenge is how to make space for the creative gladness we require in order to create. In this episode, I share about the core value of creativity and five ways to reignite your energy when it seems gone.

I attempt to answer the questions: what do we do when our lives are constricted as they are right now with stress upon stress, fear, and anxiety? How do we create in unstimulating spaces?

This podcast is all about giving artists confidence and motivation to arrange their lives to do their art and reveal God’s glory to the world. It stands for a well-functioning life cultivated and shaped by creative rhythms that restore and empower through story, celebration, rest, and play. A creative life is about making space to receive sustenance from God, the ultimate creator. Creativity itself is a sacred act, in which we participate in the act of creation like and with our God. Make space to receive and become the poema.

The Collegeville Institute

How to find creativity when yours feels sapped, blog article

Cosmos from Chaos, interview with Luci Shaw, Andrew Peterson, and Carolyn Arends

Leave a review via Apple Podcasts/Itunes.

Nov 10, 202017:13

Visio Divina—Rainbow Hands with Vesper Stamper [Eps 25]

Hands tell a lifetime of stories. So does art. Using a piece called Rainbow Hands from the book A Cloud of Outrageous Blue by Vesper Stamper, Christina Hubbard leads a 10-minute visio divina exercise.

Visio divina means “divine seeing” in Latin, as we gaze upon a work of art and experience God’s presence through it.

Visio divina engages the eye and the imagination. It can be done with a piece of art, religious or not, or even a leaf or landscape you discover outside. Artist Tim Mooney says of visio divina: "It invites us to be seen, addressed, surprised, and transformed by God who is never limited or tied to any image, but speaks through them.”

Access an image of Rainbow Hands and a transcription of the meditation here.

Find Vesper's work at VesperStamper.com and on Instagram. Purchase a print of Rainbow Hands here: https://www.etsy.com/shop/vesperillustration.

Book giveaway of A Cloud of Outrageous Blue through October 30! https://www.instagram.com/p/CGi_9JZhjJQ/

Check out Parts 1 and 2 of the interview with Vesper.

Oct 27, 202016:16

Vesper Stamper: No Time for Shame Part 2 [Eps 24]

“It’s possible that 2020 is the year of the sketch phase.” Author-illustrator Vesper Stamper is the artist of the month. She joins me to talk about embodied art and fighting for joy. She also reads from her new book A Cloud of Outrageous Blue. The premise: a young woman with unique giftings finds herself in the middle of the plague of 1348. Pretty relevant.

We also talk about:

Humanizing others.
Why the pandemic didn’t surprise her.
Choosing faith over fear.
Joy-bringers (like hummingbirds and chickens).

Vesper’s thoughts on embodied art:

"…We are creating unto something that other people will encounter and experience, right, so as much as God is creating through us—it really is part of the ministry of reconciliation, you know. We are reconciling the world back to God through these bodies, through what our bodies take in and produce. And that’s so important and that’s something to be embraced and there is no shame in that."

Find Vesper at VesperStamper.com and on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vesperillustration/. She’s also on locals.com and thinkspot.com.

Links:

These notes may contain affiliate links, which support the production of this podcast.

Oct 20, 202031:42

Vesper Stamper: No Time for Shame Part 1 [Eps 23]

Does shame hinder you from being the artist you are? Artist and writer Vesper Stamper came to faith in a creative environment that was “decidedly unshameful.” She’s the artist of the month. Her book What the Night Sings won multiple awards and her new book A Cloud of Outrageous Blue recently released. Vesper and I discuss restraint as the key to artistic longevity and joining spiritual practice with art.

We also talk about:

Being grounded to home.
Solace and lifegiving input from gardening.
The accident that propelled her into grad school, and unsuspectingly, historical fiction.
Using her art to battle anti-semitism and dehumanization.
Being believed.

Find Vesper at VesperStamper.com and on Instagram @VesperIllustration. Find her work on locals.com and thinkspot.com.

Links:

Vesperisms podcast: Artistic Action-Creating a Final Work episode.
What the Night Sings: https://amzn.to/2H2QL15.
A Cloud of Outrageous Blue: https://amzn.to/33SBKIl

These notes may contain affiliate links, which support the production of this podcast.

Oct 13, 202035:05

Prayer Practice—Vanessa Brantley Newton: Good Things Are Happening [Eps 22]

Does your day begin and end with God? Illustrator and storyteller Vanessa Brantley Newton leads a traditional Jewish morning prayer, the modeh ani, to set the day right and remember God is faithful.

The two-minute prayer meditation declares:

God is our unfailing supply of wisdom, grace and mercy.
He hears us.
We can be instruments of healing.
God speaks when we listen.

Find Vanessa at her website VanessaBrantleyNewton.com and on her socials:

Instagram: https://rb.gy/3r1jel.
Facebook: https://rb.gy/7tup90and.

Links:

Interview with Vanessa: "I See You" Part 1: https://bit.ly/2FzmnuF and Part 2: https://bit.ly/3315sKI.
Alexander Massey on the Modeh Ani (including the full prayer): https://bit.ly/3kQLyIG.
Historical background of the prayer: https://bit.ly/2RVTxYt.
Get my free Psalm 23 meditation: https://bit.ly/3kpSRa0.

Full-length shownotes including quotes from this episode at christinahubbard.com.

These notes may contain affiliate links, which support the production of this podcast.

Sep 29, 202009:35

Vanessa Brantley Newton—I See You Part 2 [Eps 21]

Dear Artist, are you kind to yourself? Vanessa Brantley Newton believes its crucial so we can show kindness to the world as Christ would. This is Part 2 of my interview with this vibrant illustrator and storyteller. Vanessa knows how to shake things up with the likes of Judy Blume and find out why she says she is perpetually 5 years old.

We talk about:

Biscuits and jam at Hutchmoot,
How song and fashion inform her art,
Artists who have influenced her like Ezra Jack Keats and Eric Carle,
Finding joy in music, dance, and salty water dogs.

Find Vanessa at her website VanessaBrantleyNewton.com and on her socials:

Instagram: https://rb.gy/3r1jel
Facebook: https://rb.gy/7tup90and

Links:

Vanessa’s TED talk: Diversity Designed by Adversity: https://bit.ly/3iDViFp.
The Rabbit Room Arts Conference: Hutchmoot Homebound: hutchmoothomebound.com.
Get my free Psalm 23 meditation: https://bit.ly/3kpSRa0.

These notes may contain affiliate links, which support the production of this podcast.

Sep 22, 202030:25

Vanessa Brantley Newton—I See You Part 1 [Eps 20]

Artists see the world differently, and yet, we desperately want to be seen and heard. Illustrator and storyteller Vanessa Brantley Newton's mission is to help children of all backgrounds know they are valued. Her work touches adults just as profoundly, and her story of harnessing dyslexia, synesthesia, and stuttering makes her a powerful advocate for those who feel invisible or out of place.

In Part 1 of our two-part interview we talk about:

A childhood rich in diversity.
Tenderness and hardship as an African American child who wanted to be an artist in the 60's.
When loss helped her rediscover art.
How all sorts of people find themselves in her books.
How her characters talk to her.

Vanessa is the featured artist this month. Find her work and a reading of her beautiful book Grandma's Purse at her website VanessaBrantleyNewton.com.

Vanessa on Instagram: https://rb.gy/3r1jel

Facebook: https://rb.gy/7tup90

These notes may contain affiliate links, which support the production of this podcast.

Sep 15, 202023:31

Meditation—Josh Banner: Alive to Resurrection Hope [Eps 19]

How am I using my creative capacities to know God? Am I living in resurrected life? Josh Banner, host of the Invitation Podcast, leads a 20-minute lectio divina style meditation based on Phillipians 3:10, “that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death” (NKJV). Specifically for creative people and artists, the meditation asks us to consider sharing our burdens with one another and with God so we come alive to resurrection within a deep awareness of fellowship.

Check out Parts 1 and 2 of this featured artist series where Josh talks about how creativity and contemplative prayer help us come alive to God.

Find Josh at The Invitation Podcast.

Links from this episode:

Music: "Rhodes REST" by Ordinary Neighbors.
40 Ways to Spend Five Minutes with God (and other prayer resources): https://www.invitationpodcast.org/downloads.

These notes may contain affiliate links, which support the production of this podcast.

Aug 28, 202024:05

Josh Banner—Stay Alive to God Part 2 [Eps 18]

Josh Banner is a spiritual director and host of the Invitation Podcast. This is part two of our deep dive interview. (Here is Part 1). We discuss spiritual direction, how contemplative prayer helped him have more fun, and ways to find deep rest in things you are already doing.

We also talk about the following:

A rule of life and using time well.
Josh’s mancrush with superheroes of the faith.
The summer book series with A Sunlit Absence by Father Martin Laird.
How to pray during covid-19 and how to start praying with 5 minutes a day.
Rich Mullins.
The connection between creativity and contemplative practice.

Find Josh at The Invitation Podcast: https://invitationpodcast.org/. Check out his free resources on praying to Examen & 40 Ways to Spend 5 minutes with God HERE: https://www.invitationpodcast.org/downloads.

Links from this episode:

Part 1 of this interview: http://bit.ly/jbannerP1,
Poet Susanna Childress: https://awst-press.com/susanna-childress,
With Head and Heart: The Autobiography of Howard Thurman: https://amzn.to/3l1IRVt,
Phoebe Judge’s podcasts: Criminal: https://www.wunc.org/people/phoebe-judge. This is Love: https://www.radiotopia.fm/podcasts/this-is-love,
Father Martin Laird’s books:
Into the Silent Land: A Guide to the Christian Practice of Contemplation: https://amzn.to/2YAN60L,
A Sunlit Absence: Silence, Awareness, and Contemplation: https://amzn.to/2QcwuHW,
An Ocean of Light: Contemplation, Transformation, and Liberation: https://amzn.to/31harWZ,
Norman Wirzba’s Living the Sabbath: https://amzn.to/31gWc4u.

Music is by Ordinary Neighbors: https://rebrand.ly/b08f8.

These notes may contain affiliate links, which support the production of this podcast.

Aug 21, 202027:05

Josh Banner—Stay Alive to God Part 1 [Eps 17]

Josh is the host and creator of the Invitation Podcast. He is a certified spiritual director, a retreat leader, and facilitator of contemplative prayer practices in prisons. In part one of this interview, we talk about rediscovering the art of brewing beer, being human, and wakefulness.

We also delve into the following:

Living well in a day.
The balance of prayer and art.
A theological anthropology of a farm shaping his imagination.
The patient process of being an artist.
Being both a spiritual and earthly creative being.
Ignatius of Loyola and the prayer of examen.
Deep art: what Rowans Williams calls “meaning plus” and Scott Cairns notes as “the generative meaning of art.”
Developing a rule of life.

Find Josh at The Invitation Podcast: invitationpodcast.org.

Links from this episode:

Josh’s essay in For the Beauty of the Church: https://amzn.to/3iHnvuo.

Music is by Ordinary Neighbors: https://rebrand.ly/b08f8.

These notes may contain affiliate links, which support the production of this podcast.

Aug 14, 202024:57

Write a Letter to Your Pain [Eps 16]

“2020: I wouldn’t recommend.” Have you seen the t-shirts? It’s funny and true but 2020 has something deep and meaningful to teach us. Pain is not in itself inherently bad or evil. Pain is a signal that something needs mending. Suffering is part of us. How we frame it matters.

In this episode I share a letter I wrote to a tough season in my life: 2019. It was a year of caring for a loved one through their trauma. It was difficult and frankly, I wanted to forget the year completely, but the practice of blessing it transformed it into a teacher.

Next I guide you through a process to write a letter to your own pain (whether that is pandemic, racial injustice, or something else) so you can speak new life into the experience. We will name it, describe it, react to it, learn from it, release it, and bless it.

It may help to listen to episode 15: Say Your Suffering and Bless It before engaging this practice.

I recommend finding a place to be quiet for 30 minutes. Have a piece of paper and a pen close by and get comfortable. It can be of great assistance to share your letter with a spiritual friend who can affirm your story.

Printable guide to help you craft your letter: shorturl.at/hrQX8.

My letter of blessing to 2019: the year I wanted to forget: shorturl.at/cwEIZ.

Aug 01, 202022:12

A Meditation: Say Your Suffering and Bless It [Eps 15]

Blessing changes our experience. Liturgy gives voice to groanings and prayer we don’t have the words to say. This episode is a meditation with readings of blessing for today’s struggles of pandemic and injustice. It includes texts from poet John O’Donohue and author Douglas McKelvey. The sequence includes a blessing for our lives, a blessing upon the world, and a liturgy for a time of widespread suffering.

Full liturgy text HERE or at everymomentholy.com/liturgies.

The readings:

1. “For One Who Is Exhausted” from John O Donohue’s book To Bless the Space Between Us: https://amzn.to/3eTFHyJ.

2. Excerpt from a section in that same book “Blessing Our World Now.”

3. “Liturgy for a Time of Widespread Suffering” by Douglas McKelvey. Also found at Everymomentholy.com/liturgies. Available in the new book called: Death, Grief and Hope, Liturgies for Seasons of Dying and Grieving, available in fall 2020 from Rabbit Room Press.

These show notes may contain affiliate links. Proceeds go to keeping this podcast in your earbuds.

Jul 22, 202017:45

Tending Gardens in Exile: Carolyn Arends :: On Pause [Eps 14]

Carolyn Arends is a recording artist, speaker, author, and college instructor. We talk about the ebb and flow of creative rhythms and bringing our doubts to God. Carolyn is the author of 3 books and 12 musical albums, many of them award-winning. She's also the Education Director at the Renovaré Institute for Christian Spiritual Formation. She lives near Vancouver, British Columbia, with her husband Mark and their two children.

We chat about:

tending to your garden during exile as a creative person,
trusting the creative wind to blow as a gift of grace,
setting the table and showing up to the work even when you don't feel inspired,
expressing emotions with God during disorientation through prayer and art,
and how to watch, wait, and listen with God.

She reads an excerpt from a sermon in Frederick Buechner’s book: The Magnificent Defeat. The sermon itself is called “Message in the Stars.”

She plays a song "There You Are" from the album Seize the Day and Other Stories. Please check out another recent song with video called "After This" at Carolyn's website: CarolynArends.com.

Find the Renovare institute at Renovare.org/Institute/.

To stay in touch, subscribe to my newsletter at: ChristinaHubbard.com.

On Pause: Healing Words from Everyday Artists during Isolation is a special series to help creative people find groundedness, belonging, and courage during the coronavirus outbreak. I’ve asked artists to share words that are beacons of honesty, truth, and goodness to their souls during this time of distance as a global community on pause.

These notes may contain affiliate links which sustain the production of this podcast.

Jun 12, 202025:30

Monastic Bells and the Interrupted Life: Christiana Peterson :: On Pause [Eps 13]

Christiana Peterson is the author of Mystics and Misfits: Meeting God through St. Francis and Other Unlikely Saints. We talk about the artist as contemplative parent, story, and mental health. Her writing on the mystics, community, the spiritual disciplines of motherhood, and death have been featured in Christianity Today, Art House America, The Christian Century, and Bearings Online. She's a regular contributor to Good Letters, an Image Journal blog. She lives in Ohio with her husband and four children.

We talk about:

finding space to process crisis in music and story,
making meaning from experience through writing and narrative,
bringing a rule of life to home,
disruption as an invitation to experience God and contemplation,
mental health and sharing the things that do not fade.

Christiana reads from: Padraig O'Tuama's Prayer: https://www.corrymeela.org/news/126/the-prayer-of-courage and Ronald Rolheiser's Domestic Monastery: https://paracletepress.com/products/domestic-monastery

Find Christiana at christiananpeterson.com. Her upcoming book Awakened by Death: Life-giving Lessons from the Mystics is available for pre-order at Indiebound, Barnes and Noble, and Amazon. It releases October 2020.

Other resources mentioned: The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien

Hutchmoot Conference: http://www.hutchmoot.com/

This post may contain affiliate links.

Jun 10, 202019:31

Walk in Light and the Importance of Small Things: Ted Harro :: On Pause [Eps 12]

Ted Harrow is a strategy and leadership development consultant and marriage retreat leader. He's the founder of Noonday Ventures, a business training and consulting firm. He also provides leadership coaching to a select group of senior and emerging leaders. He has a marriage ministry called Bright Star Marriage which he leads with his wife Gretchen, who happens to be marriage therapist. Ted also calls himself the "bread dude."

We talk about:

shifting creative energy in writing during crisis,
resilience and managing ourselves well,
feelings as friends to help us participate in a life of joy and wholeness,
self talk scripts in marriage, and
being people of light in the middle of confusion.

Ted reads a prayer from Richard Foster, "Go forward in the power of the Lord, walking in the light, being confident that the Spirit of God is with you, leading you, teaching you, loving you. Do not be afraid."

Find Ted at noondayventures.com and brightstarmarriage.com.

Ted's presentation about feelings as friends at The Practice: Letting Go of the Lies We Tell Ourselves: https://thepractice.libsyn.com/letting-go-of-the-lies-we-tell-ourselves.

Blogpost: Ask the Therapist: How to Build Connection in Crisis: https://brightstarmarriage.us4.list-manage.com/track/click?u=b6cba713dabc43b2ec8693136&id=60067e16a4&e=4628cb0e2e.

Renovaré Institute: https://renovare.org/institute.

Jun 08, 202017:12

The Link Between Crisis, Creativity, and Prayer: Lizzie Mattson :: On Pause [Eps 11]

Lizzie Mattson is a social media manager and fiber artist. She's a small business owner at wildfeatherco.com. With her pyschology and art degrees, she uses her eye for design to help clients use social media for good. She's an ENFJ and a 4 on the Enneagram and hospitality is her gift. She is a prayer warrior, a true servant, and wise beyond her years.

In this conversation, we talk about:

managing stress with creative routine and picking up old art forms,
finding balance between art and business,
the challenge of being an extrovert during quarantine,
supporting small businesses, and
boundaries in social media, business, and emotions and prayer walks.

She reads an excerpt from: You are the Girl for the Job by Jess Connelly.

The Forge is a leadership community for kingdom-bringers in business. Check it out at: https://www.theforge.community/. Use code CHRISTINAHUBBARD to get $5 off your first month and receive a free master class on using your spiritual gifts in business just for subscribing.

Jun 05, 202025:36

Creative Practice and the Thread of Unknowing: Elizabeth Ivy Hawkins :: On Pause [Eps 10]

Elizabeth Ivy Hawkins is a painter, professor, and writer. She is a Professor of Creativity & Innovation and holds faculty positions at The Creativity & Innovation Honors Institute at Cornerstone University and Grand Valley State University in Visual & Media Arts. Recently, she was accepted as a student in the Living School at the Center for Action and Contemplation. Her art has been exhibited regionally and nationally, including the former Rouge Space in New York and the Los Angeles Center for Digital Art.

Her story Where I Fell in Love was published on The Story Gathering Podcast. Her writing has appeared in Ruminate Magazine, Off the Page, and most recently, she painted as the protagonist Wren Crawford in the book Remember Me, by Sharon Garlough Brown.

In this podcast we talk about:

developing creative rhythms for home, work, and faith,
silence, solitude, and movement as contemplative practice,
what art can teach us about letting go and moving forward in pandemic and unknowing,
facing fears and darkness, and
the artist becoming art both as a maker and a conduit.

She reads William Stafford's poem, "The Way It Is" from his book The Way It Is available at Gray Wolf Press.

Find Elizabeth and her new course: Processing & Healing through Creativity (beginning June 29) at https://www.elizabethivy.com/. If you sign up for the course, she's offering a bonus week and a piece of art at the course's end.

Like what you heard today? To support the work of this podcast, please go to anchor.fm/creativeandfree and click "Support." These notes may contain affiliate links which sustain the production of this podcast.

Jun 03, 202027:04

Don't Wait, God's Abundant Life is Right Here: Niki Hardy :: On Pause [Eps 9]

Niki Hardy is a Brit in the USA, a cancer survivor, pastor’s wife, tea drinker and teller of bad jokes. As a speaker and an author, she’s all about meeting you when life’s not fair and embracing the reality that with God, life doesn’t have to be pain-free to be full.

A Londoner born and bred, Niki and her family moved to Charlotte, NC, to plant CityChurch Charlotte. Her work has appeared in Christian Today, RELEVANT Woman to Woman (Premier Radio), and is a contributing writer for ThriveMoms.

Today we talk about:

working as a writer and speaker, pastor's wife, and being a mom of high school/college students during corona,
dealing with disappointment,
how cancer trained her to find abundant life in the middle of pain,
life is still going on and there's good to be found,
listing worries with God and not picking them back up again.

Niki reads a letter from God to us called "My Dear Sweet Child" based on scripture. (Author unknown.)

Grab your free chapter of her book Breathe Again here.

You can find Niki at www.nikihardy.com.

For weekly episode updates, subscribe to my newsletter at: ChristinaHubbard.com

These notes may contain affiliate links which sustain the production of this podcast.

Jun 01, 202016:58

Becoming Agents of Shalom: Tamara Gurley :: On Pause [Eps 8]

Tamara Gurley is a racial educator, consultant, seminarian, and creative artist in spoken and written word. She has served in business + ministry leadership for over 14 years as she blends her love for people, education, and creative arts into serving and growing faith-based and corporate communities. She is an advocate for freedom and justice. Tamara lives in Michigan with her family.

In this episode we talk about: anti-racism work, taking care of ourselves and boosting mental health as a family, laying down our lives for one another and counteracting negative narratives, linking love for neighbor with how God wired us to give, permission to feel, process, and lament, and how to practice justice beyond social media reposts. Tamara shares an original poem called: "Not Yet."

Find Tamara at her website: https://lifespilledlikewater.wordpress.com/.

Other links mentioned: "Cheap Justice" article by Tamara: https://tinyurl.com/yco6n55l

Pray as you go: https://pray-as-you-go.org/

and Headspace https://tinyurl.com/y8fvsjqy

To support the work of this podcast, please go to anchor.fm/creativeandfree and click "Support." These notes may contain affiliate links which sustain the production of this podcast.

May 29, 202025:15

Breathe in God's Presence: Sheridan Voysey :: On Pause [Eps 7]

Sheridan Voysey is an author and broadcaster. His books include: The Making of Us: Who We Can Become When Life Doesn’t Go as Planned and Resurrection Year: Turning Broken Dreams into New Beginnings, plus Resilient and the award-winning Unseen Footprints. He's a presenter for Pause for Thought on BBC Radio 2 and a regular contributor to other media including ABC and Moody Radio. He lives in the UK with his wife Merryn and a cute canine named Rupert. He speaks at conferences and events around the world. In this episode, we discuss: How his journey with Merryn through the broken dream of infertility informs his approach to life's difficulties. Developing a deep and "precious reality" of what it means to be a child of God. Trials being the very things God can use to shape us and often grow greater fruitfulness. The shift of creative work from in-person to online. God's invitation to slowness. The need for virtue and a way to cope with anxiety during coronavirus.

Sheridan guides us through a breath prayer based on the fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5 .

A lovely visual guide of the prayer created by Joanne Wilson https://www.facebook.com/sheridanvoysey/photos/a.2267076770230416/2638456663092423/?type=3&theater.

Connect with Sheridan at SheridanVoysey.com.

On Pause: Healing Words from Everyday Artists during Isolation is a special series to help creative people find groundedness, belonging, and courage during the coronavirus outbreak. I’ve asked artists to share words that are beacons of honesty, truth, and goodness to their souls during this time of distance as a global community on pause. Like what you heard today? To support the work of this podcast, please go to anchor.fm/creativeandfree and click "Support." These notes may contain affiliate links which sustain the production of this podcast.

May 26, 202023:23

The One Who Sets Our Boundaries: Kate Motaung :: On Pause [Eps 6]

Kate Motaung is the author of a beautiful memoir, A Place to Land: A Story of Longing and Belonging and co-author of Influence: Building a Platform that Elevates Jesus (Not Me). She also leads the Five Minute Friday writing community.

In this episode we talk about:

The importance of checking in with creative friends,
Releasing the pressure to be super productive during quarantine,
Reassessing commitments as we transition,
Practicing gratitude instead of being frustrated, and
How we can know God is still in control.

Kate reads from Psalm 104.

Find her at KateMotaung.com and Refine Services.

Like what you heard today? To support the work of this podcast, please go to anchor.fm/creativeandfree and click "Support."

These notes may contain affiliate links which sustain the production of this podcast.

May 15, 202016:40

The Magic of What Could Happen: Patrice Gopo :: On Pause Series [Eps 5]

Patrice Gopo is an essayist and the author of All the Colors We Will See: Reflections on Barriers, Brokenness, and Finding Our Way. She explores issues of race, immigration, and belonging. Her essays have appeared in places like Catapult as well as The New York Times and The Washington Post. Her work has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize.

In this episode we discuss:

Capsule wardrobes during pandemic,
Unrealized anxiety paired with sweet family moments,
The riskiness of writing a poem,
Slowing down the spinning mind by journaling, and
Opening ourselves to the magic of what could happen.

She reads from her poem "The End of March." Find her at PatriceGopo.com.

Meeting God in Coronavirus: Alice Parente :: On Pause Series [Eps 4]

Alice Parente is the Executive Director of Process Theatre Inc. and I Can Do That, an arts for all abilities non-profit. She is also the Director of Spiritual Formation at Faith Presbyterian Church in Sacramento, California.

In this episode, Alice and I talk about:

What she's doing to make the arts accessible to all kids,
How Hip hop lessons on Zoom are keeping students connected,
What happened when coronavirus took the lives of 6 people in her church community,
Presbyterians' casserole obsession,
Symbols of comfort, and
Finding God's will in coronavirus.

Alice reads from Jan Richardson's poem "Blessing at the Burning Bush."

Surrender in the In-between: Kris Camealy :: On Pause Series [Eps 3]

Kris Camealy is the founder and director of the Refine {the retreat} for writers and the author of Everything Is Yours: How Giving God Your Whole Heart Changes Your Whole Life. She created gracetable.org and writes for The Cultivating Project and Joyful Life.

In this episode, we discuss:

baking scones, tortillas, and bready things as real therapy,
art journaling,
being creatively jammed up,
releasing a book during coronavirus,
the idol of achieving,
and the spiritual freedom of surrendering to what God has for us and why it's better than what we have for ourselves.

She reads from John O'Donohue's blessing "For the Interim Time" and a prayer from her new book.

Join the Everything Is Yours Book club. Find Kris at her website.

On Pause: Healing Words from Everyday Artists during Isolation is a special series to help creative people find groundedness, belonging, and courage during the coronavirus outbreak. Creating and absorbing beautiful words plants us firmly in awareness amidst the tsunami of thoughts and emotions we are all experiencing. I’ve asked artists to share words that are beacons of honesty, truth, and goodness to their souls during this time of distance as a global community on pause.

These notes may contain affiliate links. Proceeds help to support this podcast.

May 03, 202020:39

Rehearsing God's Goodness: Michelle Nezat :: On Pause Series [Eps 2]

Michelle Nezat hosts the More Than a Song podcast, where she connects contemporary Christian music to God's truth. She's also a writer, speaker, school administrator and Cajun girl. In this episode, we discuss:

Praying the daily office. Here's the one we've both been praying with The Practice,
Rehearsing the character of God instead of our sorrows,
Running on spiritual fumes.
Lectio divina.

Michelle reads the lyrics to an old hymn by Annie Johnson Flint, "He Giveth More Grace." It speaks directly to hoarded and exhausted resources when extra strength and mercy is needed.

On Pause: Healing Words from Everyday Artists during Isolation is a special series to help creative people find groundedness, belonging, and courage during the coronavirus outbreak. Creating and absorbing beautiful words plants us firmly in awareness amidst the tsunami of thoughts and emotions we are all experiencing. I’ve asked artists to share words that are beacons of honesty, truth, and goodness to their souls during this time of distance as a global community on pause.

Apr 24, 202015:22

Shelter in Peace: Bonnie Gray :: On Pause Series [Eps 1]

Bonnie Gray is the author of Whispers of Rest. She's also a speaker, soul care mentor, and Bible teacher. Her work has been featured at Relevant Magazine, (in)courage, and Christianity Today. We sit down to chat about:

art for soul care,
words derived from music and vulnerability,
how past trauma informs her current sense of peace,
a tender moment with a Walgreens pharmacist at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic,
the spiritual practice of listening and noticing in anxiety-driven situations,
really seeing and validating what people are going through, and
letting God love us more instead of doing and planning more.

She reads a chapter from her book "Choose Quiet Love." Bonnie is giving away 7 Prayers & Promises to Calm Your Soul. Her book club for Whispers of Rest, containing 40 practices to restore your soul, starts May 4. Sign up here. Find Bonnie at her website.

On Pause: Healing Words from Everyday Artists during Isolation is a special series to help creative people find groundedness, belonging, and courage during the coronavirus outbreak. Creating and absorbing beautiful words plants us firmly in awareness amidst the tsunami of thoughts and emotions we are all experiencing. I’ve asked artists to share words that are beacons of honesty, truth, and goodness to their souls during this time of distance as a global community on pause.

Apr 22, 202021:38

SERIES PREVIEW--On Pause: Healing Words from Everyday Artists During Isolation

Do you crave true and beautiful words spoken over your life? Writer and podcast creator Christina Hubbard gives the backstory and a preview of the special series for creative people yearning for real, meaningful expressions in this surreal season of coronavirus and social distancing, otherwise known as life on pause. Specially crafted for this time of global pandemic, the series highlights interviews and healing words from ordinary artists to help you connect to yourself, God, and others.

In this episode, Christina talks about the power of faith-filled words to help us hold the tension we are all experiencing. She asks the question: what if this time of crisis is really a space of renewed creativity and resurrection? She reads an original poem for Eastertide based on Psalm 138, "A Blessing for a New Season."

Apr 21, 202011:09