The Yellow Ochre Newsletter
A weekly curation of encouragement and practical wisdom to turn your art from a hobby into a purposeful blessing for your community and culture.
My Advice for Songwriting
A friend recently asked if I could teach songwriting. After writing songs for over 20 years, I had never considered sharing my version of the “secret sauce.” Here’s my attempt...
A friend recently asked if I could teach songwriting. After writing songs for over 20 years, I had never considered sharing my version of the “secret sauce.” Here’s my attempt:
Try it. Seriously, this is step one. No fluff. Literally, just try! If you don’t do anything else on this list, do this one. I once heard Tom Morello of Rage Against the Machine say that he assigns his new students their first homework after the first lesson: to create a song using only the two chords he teaches them. Why many of us don’t try: trying to make up a song requires thinking about something we don’t often get permission for. Push past this resistance. No matter your skill level.
Lyrics: Write what frustrates you. Write down ten things that bother you most about life, the world, gaps in your life. What heartaches have you had recently? What core memories from your life make you most sad? Most happy?
Lyrics: Write what hope you have. Write down ten hopes you have. Where did those hopes come from? What do you hope is the outcome of those frustrations?
Genre: Choose your weapon. What genre or art form expresses this best within your skill set (no matter how skillful you are)? The genre provides the natural limitations needed to force your creativity. Do the genre that feels most natural.
Build it! Pick two or three combinations of notes. Pick a song structure that makes the most sense for you (ex. intro-verse-chorus-verse-chorus-bridge-chorus). Regurgitate and repeat what sounds the coolest to you (it’s ok if you don’t know why it sounds cool). If you don’t like what you’re hearing, throw it out.
Practice + Share it. Don’t bypass this step! Practice and share. Practice and share. Practice and share. Use a voice memo app to record yourself to remember it.
Congrads. You’ve just written a song.
“Everyone is born creative; everyone is given a box of crayons in kindergarten. Then when you hit puberty they take the crayons away and replace them with books on algebra etc. Being suddenly hit years later with the creative bug is just a wee voice telling you, “Iʼd like my crayons back, please.”
Transforming Your Trouble into Your Work
"The working artist will not tolerate trouble in her life because she knows trouble prevents her from doing her work. The working artist banishes from her world all sources of trouble. She harnesses the urge for trouble and transforms it in her work." (The War of Art, 24).
I love this quote from Steven Pressfield:
The working artist will not tolerate trouble in her life because she knows trouble prevents her from doing her work. The working artist banishes from her world all sources of trouble. She harnesses the urge for trouble and transforms it in her work. (The War of Art, 24).
What We Pass On
Did you know that as bees consume pollen, some gets stuck on their bodies? This pollen then drops onto other flowers as the bees fly by.
We are not so different though, are we?
Directly or indirectly, we pass onto others what we consume ourselves: bad habits and good ones, what we say as well as our manner of speech, the products we find useful, stories we love, and news we care about.
What we treasure, we feed others with.
The other day, I was reading my kids Flower Talk (Levine and D’yans), a children’s book about the purpose of plant colors.
Did you know that as bees consume pollen, some gets stuck on their bodies? This pollen then drops onto other flowers as the bees fly by.
We are not so different though, are we?
Directly or indirectly, we pass onto others what we consume ourselves: bad habits and good ones, what we say as well as our manner of speech, the products we find useful, stories we love, and news we care about.
What we treasure, we feed others with.
Our Yellow Ochres
Starting a new canvas can be intimidating for artists. For some reason, staring into that 11X14 inch rectangle can evoke more out of you than a completed piece. “Fear,” “worry,” “joy,” “overwhelmed” are all words to describe how the artist might feel.
Starting a new canvas can be intimidating for artists. For some reason, staring into that 11X14 inch rectangle can evoke more out of you than a completed piece. “Fear,” “worry,” “joy,” “overwhelmed” are all words to describe how the artist might feel.
Insert a color. Fears go away.
Color is always interpreted by the context it sits. A green looks differently next to blue than it does red. With the color white, there is no color anchor point. When one bungee jumps, we at least know the cord is tied to the ankles. No so with a white canvas.
One color (there are several) artists often use to help kickstart their work is by applying yellow ochre all over the canvas.
The takeaways are endless to this metaphor. But I’ll offer a few:
What are some “yellow ochres” in your own life to kickstart certain practices you’d like to develop?
What “yellow ochres” do you offer others to their better serving the world?
The Gift of a thing learned
As a young person, I didn’t fully recognize the significance of the choices I was making at the time, whether they were decisions made, skills learned, or habits formed. Often, we don’t immediately feel the impact of how we spend our youth.
As a young person, I didn’t fully recognize the significance of the choices I was making at the time, whether they were decisions made, skills learned, or habits formed. Often, we don’t immediately feel the impact of how we spend our youth.
I never imagined that my food jobs would later equip me with the skills to make pizza for our weekly family nights (one of my favorite things to do). And who could have predicted that those golf lessons would eventually lead to special moments shared with friends at the driving range? How could I have known that watching my dad wake up each morning would make it easier for me to start that habit?
The reality is, we never know how all the inner workings of our past could be used to bless and serve others today. What are some of your gifts, talents, or skills that could be used to serve others?
I Asked the Lord
Sometimes, someone else says something so much better than I could ever say. I think others agree John Newton’s famous hymn, “I Asked the Lord that I Might Grow” accomplishes this.
I love the journey of this hymn. It starts with his desire for growth as a Christian. It ends with God’s response. But along the way, it appears God is silent.
Sometimes, someone else says something so much better than I could ever say. I think others agree John Newton’s famous hymn, “I Asked the Lord that I Might Grow” accomplishes this.
I love the journey of this hymn. It starts with his desire for growth as a Christian. It ends with God’s response. But along the way, it appears God is silent.
“1 I asked the Lord that I might grow
in faith and love and every grace;
might more of His salvation know,
and seek more earnestly His face.
2 ‘Twas He who taught me thus to pray,
and He, I trust, has answered prayer,
but it has been in such a way
as almost drove me to despair.
3 I hoped that in some favored hour
at once He’s answer my request,
and by His love’s constraining pow’r
subdue my sins and give me rest.
4 Instead of this He made me feel
the hidden evils of my heart,
and let the angry pow’rs of hell
assault my soul in every part.
5 Yea more, with His own hand He seemed
intent to aggravate me woe,
crossed all the fair designs I schemed,
humbled my heart, and laid me low.
6 “Lord, why is this?” I trembling cried,
”Wilt Thou pursue Thy worm to death?”
”‘Tis in this way,” the Lord replied,
”I answer prayer for grace and faith.
7 “These inward trials I employ
from self and pride to set thee free,
and break thy schemes of earthly joy
that thou may’st find Thy all in Me.””
I love this hymn so much that I created my own music for it. Sometimes, the best thing we can do for someone else’s words and for our own heart is to reimagine it in our own way. I’ve found that nothing helps me internalize a thought quite like crafting my own art to showcase it. I do this by asking myself a few questions:
What does these words bring to my imagination?
What is the feel of these words?
What artistic genre do I have in my toolbox that would best capture the essence of these words?
For Newton’s hymn, is was this eerie kind of guitar part.
What about you? How would you remake these words with an art form?
***And a special thanks to my good friend, Randy Turner of Gooder Studios, for shooting such a nice video in Alaska.
Words reimagined from "I Asked the Lord That I Might Grow" by John Newton. Music by Matt Taylor.
Christ in Culture: A New Proposal
Christ in Culture: A New Proposal from Teddy Ray.
How should Christians interface with culture? One could argue this question has perplexed God’s people ever since Adam and Eve. I’ve enjoyed wrestling with this topic ever since I read Andy Crouch’s Culture Making.
So, I was excited when I recently came across Teddy Ray’s proposed model for Christ in culture. Ray provides an adapted (or updated?) version of Tim Keller’s model shown here:
From Center Church by Tim Keller.
What I appreciate the most about Ray’s prescribed model is his emphasis on Jesus’ love as the guiding principle. Ray explains:
Let’s use Jesus’ great commandment as our first guideline. Jesus says, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ Everything we do should be aligned to loving God and loving God’s creation.
I took it upon myself to chart Ray’s Christ in Culture model in visual form:
Christ in Culture: A New Proposal by Teddy Ray
Head over to Ray’s blog for a further explaining of each quadrant.
Make Haste, O God
Below is a poem by Charles Spurgeon as he concludes his commentary on Psalm 70:
Make haste, O God, my soul to bless!
My help and my deliv’rer thou;
Make haste, for I’m in deep distress,
My case is urgent; help me now.
Make haste, O God! make haste to save!
For time is short, and death is nigh;
Make haste ere yet I’m in my grave,
And with the lost for ever lie.
Make haste, for I am poor and low;
And Satan mocks my prayers and tears;
O God, in mercy be not slow,
But snatch me from my horrid fears.
Make haste, O God, and hear my cries;
Then with the souls who seek thy face,
And those who thy salvation prize,
I’ll magnify thy matchless grace.
C. H. Spurgeon, The Treasury of David: Psalms 56-87, vol. 3 (London; Edinburgh; New York: Marshall Brothers, n.d.), 204.
A Global Sneeze
Psalm 67 begins and ends with blessing.
It starts with a request for blessing.
It ends with a promise of blessing.
May God be gracious to us and bless us;
look on us with favor. Selah (67:1)God will bless us,
and all the ends of the earth will fear Him. (67:7)
The surprise in this Psalm is how God’s people are blessed. In these seven verses, some form of the word “nations” or “peoples” are mentioned. To truly understand God’s blessing to us, we must understand the total scope of salvation to the ends of the earth.
If we miss that, we misunderstand his blessings to us.
From Thirsty to Satisfied
Read Psalm 63 if you wake up thirsty...knowing full well that everything to come in the day will not satisfy that thirst.
WAYS ARTISTS CAN INTERFACE WITH GOD’S MISSION (PART 3)
Well, I was going for an even 30, but this post will conclude my series on “Ways Artists Can Interface with God’s Mission.” You can find here: parts 1 and part 2. In total, I've compiled 33 bullet points outlining ways artists can creatively engage the world for kingdom impact.
In this concluding post, I emphasize how artists can contribute to establishing God’s kingdom. While part 2 emphasized expanding the kingdom, this section highlights how we can edify and empower other believers through our gifts.
Expand your concept of what being a “maker” means. We create not only music, poetry, or visuals but also families, the culture of our homes, hospitable moments, and words of blessing. We make food to share, humor for joy, and expressions to embody our values. Indeed, we are all makers.
Express what you learn from Scripture creatively. It may take time for your artistic craft to find acceptance among believers, but consider the impact of Luther's songs compared to his books. God uses the arts powerfully to ground believers in truth. The church needs your unique artistic gifts.
Aim to be a commendable and trustworthy Christian. Love Jesus, love others, and let God handle the rest. As Francis Schaeffer noted, “Even for the great artist, the most crucial work of art is his life.” Imagine the impact of embodying the fruits of the Spirit, the beatitudes, and a cruciform love.
Grow in your understanding of God’s Word, His mission, His church, and His gospel. Don’t feel like it is seminary or bust in order to be useful to the Master.
Consider artistic communication as you teach others. I assume here someone takes seriously Jesus’ command to “Make disciples of all nations” (Matthew 28:16-20). When I say “teach with artistic communication,” I do not mean, “make sure you teach using visuals” (though it could be that). No, consider the fact that we use artistic communication all the time. Mankind does not engage each other outside of our senses. Artistic communication seeks to honor that fact. We are always making context with our words, mannerisms, non-verbals, language, sound, etc.
Encourage others to discover their expressive qualities. Are not good works the manifestation of our faith towards others? While artists are highly in touch with their own navigation and internalization of their dealings in their surroundings, this principle emphasizes, “now, don’t forget your mission is to help others on their journey as well!” The artist embodies these two concepts: deep internalization of self and the call to deny self for the sake of others.
Contribute to the beautification of the gathering spaces. This encompasses not only the Sunday morning experience but also the creation of any moments believers find valuable.
Foster community among artists. Seek out fellow artistic believers to invest in and be inspired by. Collaborate, exchange ideas, and if these groups don’t exist, initiate your own!
Join a church planting team. Give your talents! You can assist teams in learning other symbolic languages (written and verbal are not the only languages on a mission field!).
Exist in both spaces. The Christian life for artists is not an either/or decision of “do I hang out with my Christian friends OR my non-Christian ones?” It is both. Immerse yourself in your faith community and arts community. If there is one thing I regret early on as a new believer, it is that I distanced myself from the arts community too much when I came to Christ. I simply didn’t know how to be a friend in light of my new identity in Christ. I mistakenly thought it was either preach or go out swinging.
Advocate for cultural creation. Artists naturally shape culture. Nurture your sense of discernment, cultivate it, and foster trust with church leaders. As opportunities arise to provide input, respectfully share your insights.
Learn about all the amazing ways God uses Christian artists for the kingdom around the world. Check out these amazing networks of Christianity, mission, and the arts:
That does it for this thought!
Box of Crayons
Everyone is born creative; everyone is given a box of crayons in kindergarten. Then when you hit puberty they take the crayons away and replace them with books on algebra etc. Being suddenly hit years later with the creative bug is just a wee voice telling you, “Iʼd like my crayons back, please.
Hugh Macleod
Job’s Friends
If Job’s friends wrote a book on the attributes of God, which attributes would be included?
Which would be missing?
