Poem: A Christmas Gift for Artists

This year, I give you artists out there something surprising…

A Shovel

Yes, a shovel.

I summon you, in 2025, to dig those God-given gifts, skills, and talents out of the ground. Put them to use.

No matter how far you have to dig,

how much broken cement obstructs the way,

how many bugs must be sliced,

how much mud and clay coats them…

Do not allow them to remain in the ground.

Do not plateau.

Do not compare yourself to Noah, digging for “seemingly no reason.”

Do not continue to walk over the sacred ground they lie beneath.

The Master may grant us yet another year to excavate, wipe clean, and make use.

Though he is clean, he looks for dirted hands.

He has custom-ready recipients your tools align perfectly with.

This is what he holds us accountable to.

Doing Good

Galatians 6:9-10, “doing good”

The Restoration of Old Man Marley

“This is the place to be if you’re feeling bad about yourself.”

Old Man Marley

Home Alone is, of course, a classic. The nostaglia hits the instance the opening scene begins.

I always loved when Kevin sets up the traps. Child-made justice rummaged onto wicked robbers hit the 10 year old heart.

Childhood movies become part of our scenic background of development. And such memories can be most challenging to think critically about.

Last time I watched Home Alone, something dawned on me: Old Man Marley’s character arc.

He is initially portrayed as a spooky old man. Lore, myths, legends abound from the McAllister children. This fear drives Kevin through much of the movie’s background. The audience is left wondering, “Is Kevin more afraid of Marv and Harry OR Old Man Marley?”

Kevin, at least, engages Marv and Harry. He confidently prepares for their return multiple times. But with each glimpse of the Old Man, Kevin hides, runs away,

We finally discover the real Old Man Marley through the lens of Kevin’s transformation.

It’s no accident that the church building is where Kevin seeks help, and in walks a smiling Old Man, wishing him a Merry Christmas. We soon learn that the Old Man has a story—he carries worries and fears. He has an estranged relationship with his adult son. He is not welcome in his family’s lives nor their Christmas celebrations. Yet, he’s open to the perspective of a young child (Kevin).

Home Alone is about transformations. Two in particular. As I child, I figured it was Kevin’s. As an adult, I see it more as Old Man Marley’s. In the final scene, we find both he and Kevin joyfully restored to their families. The turmoil of Kevin’s few days without his family was a metaphor for what the Old Man felt for years being estranged from his son.

There is hope and restoration for all this and every Christmas.

“Old Man Marley” (2023), Matt Taylor

The Nations will Flow To The Lord

Reversed Waterfall (1998) by Olafur Eliasson @studioolafureliasson

“Now it will come about that In the last days The mountain of the house of the LORD Will be established as the chief of the mountains, And will be raised above the hills; And all the nations will stream to it.”

Isaiah 2:2

“There’s Nothing But This Manna!”

God had provided.

He provided redemption to his people.

He provided a way out of slavery.

He provided guidance.

He provided miraculous wonders by dividing the Red Sea.

He also provided manna, God’s choice of sustenance for the people.

The people, however, complained, “who will feed us meat?” “There’s nothing…but this manna!” (Numbers 11:4-6).

Sometimes, artists wish they had other people’s gifts.

Sometimes, we’re like Asaph the temple worship leader wishing he had what others had (Psalm 73).

Sometimes, artists view their gift of manna as a curse rather than a blessing.

Forget not God’s provision for you.

Do not forget your gift brings a certain aspect of life to others.

Remember your unique gifting might be what your community needs for the next 40 years.

2024 Felt like a bust until I did this one thing…

I’m not sure how you felt, but 2024 felt like a bust. The mundane seemed all consuming. The toils of tiredness elongated the hours. And the sleepless nights made my feet feel like cement.

But then I got out a notebook and decided to do one simple thing:

Reflect.

Yes, that’s it. I asked myself,

“What did our family make in 2024?”

By the end of my few minutes, I had 45 bullet points (and counting)! The list included things I had made, my wife had made, and things our kids had made.

By the word, “make,” I do not mean the things common (though you could include those) to our day such as, “I made 3 meals today.” I am more thinking about the actions and words of benevolent intentionality. The playful expressions of joy and purpose. The hands and feet of Christ expressed.

Make fruit.

Take a look back at 2024, and ask yourself:

• What tangible thing(s) did you make?

• What service did you make for someone?

• What moments did you create to bless another?

• How did you make the love, peace, joy, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-controlling nature of Jesus manifest for others?

Gift the Benefit of the Doubt this Christmas

Love…believes all things (1 Corinthians 13:7)

What if we gift each other the benefit of the doubt for Christmas this year?

Like… give it as a gift.

Got Some Frankincense You Wanna Share?

"On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh." (Matthew 2:11).

Got some Frankincense you’ve been wanting to share? Any allusive myrrh you’d like to pass on?

If you’re an artist wanting to share some Advent reflections, jump onto this event put on by the Network of Christians in Visual Arts (NCVA). The one-hour zoom meeting looks to be quite interactive.

Here’s how they describe the time: “Our Zoom-based gathering will include a Member Art Share and Fellowship in breakout rooms as we make room in our hearts and lives for the treasure that is Christ.”

Thanksgiving: A Freewill Offering

If you were to die tomorrow, read Psalm 50. Then, God spared your life and he happened to grant you another 60 years, how would Psalm 50 impact those remaining years?

God was upset with Israel. They brought sacrifices to the temple, sure. And they did so over and over again. But there was a problem: They missed the heart of God by only offering these. They were religious, yet, did not take care of community/poor. They performed their services, offering temple sacrifices of bulls and goats. But Psalm 50 paints a fuller picture of their problem.

If you are only going to God to give him sacrifices, fine. God was not rebuking Israel for that. But God desires sacrifices of thanksgiving, or, freewill offerings.

Freewill offerings are different than burnt offerings. Burnt offerings would have been animals representing the sacrifice required for sins (Leviticus 1). Grain offerings would have been from your harvest, showing dependence on God (Leviticus 2).

But freewill offerings (or, “fellowship,” “peace” offerings) would have been spontaneous. They were voluntary, personalized, responses to God’s goodness. They acknowledge absolute dependence on God; expressions of thanksgiving. Imagine a potluck for the world’s best BBQ. Your contribution was as if you were sharing a meal with the Lord, emphasizing the peace one has with Him.

God says these types of offerings glorifies him (Psalm 50:23). They are not offerings to get something from God. They’re for you to say, “You’ve given me all!” It is the kind of reactive joy one feels Christmas morning opening gift after gift.

How to cultivate thanksgiving

“Our faith as to the present is revived by glad memories of the past.” (Spurgeon)

“Offer unto God thanksgiving is the everlasting rubic of the true directory of worship.” (Spurgeon)

The only way I’ve come to learn how to cultivate this kind of thanksgiving comes from A Praying Life by Paul Miller. Miller says, “Cynicism looks in the wrong direction. It looks for the cracks in Christianity instead of looking for the presence of Jesus…In order to see Jesus…I would have to look at people simply, as a child does. I began to ask myself, ‘Where did I see Jesus today?’”

Miller’s book has been in my top 5 books outside the bible since I read it in 2011. But it wasn’t until this last year I put something into practice, inspired by his writing. Each day, I would try to think back on the day before and write down as many attributes of God I saw that day. Where was Jesus in the “hiddenness” of the day? Did I see someone show humility? Did I see God provide? Answer a prayer? Show up in someone’s act of courage? Where did I see truth, honor, righteousness, purity, love, excellence, and other praise-worthy things?

Suddenly, I’ve had myself a year-long Field Notes booklet of kingdom goodness. Don’t be a cynic, Miller says. Instead, fight for joy. Aim at remembering. And respond accordingly.

Thank Thanksgiving!

**Learn more about free will offerings:

• Leviticus 3

• Psalm 27:6

• Psalm 69:30-33

• Psalm 107:22

• Psalm 116:17

A New Batch of Stickers

I just posted a slew of new sticker ideas for my fellow makers out there! Head over to Taylor Make Art Shop.

Jesus Answers Emos - “Bring me to Life”

I remember this beautiful song that came out my junior year of high school. “Bring me to Life” by Evanescence. My friend and I listened on the school bus daily until tragedy struck. She and 3 of our friends were in a car accident. This accident shook me and our community of friends. Two of those in the car died.

Though my listening-friend survived, those days on the school bus were lonely without her (as she fought for her life in the hospital). Her absence was a symbol of the friends we had just lost.

What I didn’t realize was that the Evanescence song quickly turned into a prayer:

“Wake me up (I can’t wake up).”

“Save me.”

“Call my name and save me from the dark.”

“Wake me up.”

“Bid my blood to run before I come undone.”

“Save me from the nothing I’ve become.”

Thus opened the floodgates of the catalogue of emo-screamo-metal songs. Songs which are cries for help. Screaming in community of mosh-piters to our own “unknown gods.”

What I didn’t realize at the time was how Jesus would bring those answers. Over the years, I’ve come to understand him as a shepherd near to the broken-hearted (Psalm 34). He provides life (John 10:10). He is, in fact, life (John 14:6). Dying with him means we raise with him (Romans 6). He is the Savior my little emo heart cried out for (Ephesians 2:8).

Consuming Media

From the Every Moment Holy Vol. 1 book. A snippet of a liturgy before consuming media:

O Discerning Spirit, who alone judges all things rightly, now be present in my mind and active in my imagination as I prepare to engage with the claims and questions of diverse cultures incarnated in the stories that people tell.

Let me experience mediums of art and expression, neither as a passive consumer nor as an entertainment glutton, but rather as one who through such works would more fully and compassionately enter this ongoing human conversation of mystery and meaning, wonder and beauty, good and evil, sorrow and joy, fear and love.

Read the rest here.

Change the Metaphor

“If you want to change the world, change the metaphor.”

Joseph Campbell

Hip Hop Church

Check out my interview with my friend and church planter, Abraham Barberi, who I interviewed for the “Sparking Arts” podcast. He shares his story about church planting among the hip hop community in Mexico:

Hear the podcast at https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/s3e4-hip-hop-church/id1552338475?i=1000675608077

What is the Magistrate?

“The magistrate is an instrument of “common grace,” to thwart all license and outrage and to shield the good agains the evil. But he is more. Besides all this he is instituted by God as His Servant, in order that he may preserve the glorious work of God, in creation of humanity, from total destruction.”

Abraham Kuyper

Halloween Social Imaginery

Image: Diet of the jelly worm bobbing.

No matter which way you cut it, Christians have liberty to use biblically-informed wisdom in making decisions about Halloween based on their convictions.

I have found, as a parent, that year after year, my thoughts on this permeate, grow, and get challenged this time every year. Ideas from Jonathan Pageau, W. David O. Taylor, Paul Anleitner have helped in recent years to grasp Halloween’s imagery from a more philosophical and symbolic perspective. And affectionate uncle Screwtape’s letters reveal themselves to be far closer to non-fiction than fiction.

I want to consider a specific angle in this dialogue about Halloween celebrations. That being, the imagination. Consider this an annual, ongoing, work-in-progress on the topic.

An Ever-Changing Social Imaginery

Charles Taylor defines social imaginary as “the way ordinary people ‘imagine’ their social surroundings.” He goes on, “this is often not expressed in theoretical terms, it is carried in images, stories, legends, etc” (A Secular Age, 171-172). Our imaginations are different from our intellect. C.S. Lewis calls the imagination the “organ of meaning.”

The implications are important: our imaginations and therefore our lives become shaped by the context we find ourselves in. While direct words preach at us, context preaches are our imaginations. For children (and even adults), the symbolism of Halloween becomes attached to certain realities. And those realities were formed via the symbolism and meanings assigned to the symbols throughout life.

Let me illustrate the implications of this. My wife and I know someone who grew up in a Satanic cult. As an adult convert to Christianity, it took this person many years to realize that what other Christians were doing by trick-or-treating did not equate to her childhood experience. She literally could not separate cultural Halloween practices with the grotesque things she she and experienced growing up. But if you were to ask 7-year-old Matt about Halloween’s symbolism, I would have merely said, “I get candy, and I like candy and friends and playing on Halloween.”

By celebrating the Reformation, Halloween imagery symbolizes liberation.

By celebrating Dia de Los Muertes, Halloween imagery might symbolize one’s beloved, deceased and yet living, abuella.

By celebrating trick or treating, Halloween imagery might symbolize nothing more than consumerism.

By celebrating Halloween, some might regard is as idolatry and participation in witchcraft.

What our social surroundings do with it’s Halloween imagery tends to dictate what realities get “painted” in that community’s imaginations.

Scripture & The Spiritual

“Our senses are not infallible…What we learn from experience depends on the kind of philosophy we bring to experience. It is therefore useless to appeal to experience…"

C.S. Lewis, Miracles

Pin pointing where in Scripture to talk about Halloween is a tricky one. It depends on what issues with Halloween one might have. In this post, I’ll address the spiritual realm and spiritual warfare. Are we worshipping demons on Halloween by dressing up? Are we celebrating idols?

It is important to realize a few objective realities at play.

First, Christians have mission and purpose in their lives. We ought not be ignorant of that. Our mission in life is to make disciples of all nations (Matthew 28:16-20). We are to walk in the good works God has allotted for us since before he created the world (Ephesians 2:10). Showcasing ourselves as light and salt of the world (Matthew 5:13-16; Philippians 2:15). And parents are to train their children (Deuteronomy 6; Psalm 127:3-5). Dad’s especially are supposed to nourish their kids towards maturity (Ephesians 6:4). Just read through Proverbs to see an example of dad-to-child the interactions!

Second, demons, spirits, and a wicked unseen council absolutely exist (Psalm 82; Luke 11:24-26; Ephesians 6:12). But we ought to take comfort because they are all subject to King Jesus (Matthew 28:16-20; Colossians 1:15). Even if they seem to be succeeding, God will ultimately judge them and they’ll die like men (Psalm 82). Still, this unseen realm has authority to operate in the world. While God expects them to govern justly, sin’s reach has impacted their ruling. God originally assigned them to oversee different nations (Deuteronomy 4:19-20; 32:8-9). In 1 Kings 22:19-23, we even see this unseen council discussing and making decisions about who will entice King Ahab. They are shown as an army (Psalm 108:12; Deuteronomy 33:1-5), seen at times subject to God’s commands (Isaiah 40:1-3; Amos 3:10, 13). If you ever read C.S. Lewis’ The Screwtape Letters, you get a further idea (though fictional) of their tactics.

Third, it is true that the Old Testament is filled with worshipping false gods and animism. Rather than serve and offer their lives to the one true God, his people are often found in service to false gods. Child sacrifice, divination, fortune telling, interpreting omens, casting spells, consulting mediums, and necromancy (consulting the dead), were all practices God’s people would have been tempted by and God condemned against such practices (Leviticus 19:31; Deuteronomy 18:10-12; 1 Samuel 28:9). Such activities were considered abominations by God, punishable by removal from the community.

Does dressing up, receiving candy from strangers, and painting our social imaginery with everything from Elsa to Michael Myers equate these kinds of Old Testament practices? Are our kids participating in Satanic rituals when doing such things? I understand completely the hesitancy we might have and why the topic is so spicy.

Scripture Principles

What then does God expect believers to understand about spiritual warfare and Halloween? Paul, of course, stated that we are not ignorant of Satan’s schemes (2 Corinthians 2:11). What kinds of schemes ought we be on the lookout for then? A few principles to consider:

• Understand the nature of our war: We are absolutely in a spiritual war against rulers, authorities, world powers of this darkness, and the spiritual forces of evil in the heavens (Ephesians 6:10-18). We are not expected to be at war with each other (Ephesians 6:12). When we fight and do not seek reconciliation, we are at risk of dividing what Christ brought together. We ought to be careful. For the sake of our Halloween convictions and not wanting to be “demonic,” we actually end up letter our emotions entice us to fight with others about those convictions. Thereby, acting demonically inso doing!

• Satan’s end goal would be for the world (Christian and non-Christian) to believe lies, suppressing truth (Romans 1:18). This battlefield is experienced cognitively against the knowledge of God (2 Corinthians 10:1-6), with temptations to believe lies (James 4:7). When we allow our feelings to govern truth, Satan is whispering in the background.

• Our fleshly desires for sin ought to be crucified (Galatians 5:16-24). When we don’t fight our flesh, we remove Jesus from his throne.

• We face attacks in such a way: truth, righteousness, gospel of peace, faith, salvation, the Spirit, God’s word (Ephesians 6:14-17). These are everyday, never-ending-in-this-life occurrences, not just one hour a year trick or treating. Not arming yourself with this outfit of protection makes Satan’s attacks easier. Don’t fight so heavily for the sake of one hour a year and bypass the other 8759 hours a year.

• Do not let the imagery fool you. I can imagine Satan saying something like, “Let them decorate with these images representing us. It’ll cause all kinds of confusion about our existence. They will get to the point where they’ll entertain the decorations and believe we are just pretend. We’ll mask our true existence behind such a lie!”

So, I guess my question remains for myself, whatever I decide to do on Halloween, what does shaping my kid’s imaginations look like given these verses? I think my greatest “daddy fear” would be that Satan would deceive my kids (2 Corinthians 11:1-6).

Crafting a Halloween Social Imaginery

Halloween is a Mutt Holiday: Whose traditions do we react to? In my ever sharpening thoughts, I feel like I get to assign the imagery to whatever symbol I want to as a dad for my kids. I get to prepare them for the onslaught of other people’s influences they will encounter. I recognize the power of the larger culture that will work for or against their imagination battle-ground. Given this, here’s my best efforts to “connect the dots” of the symbolism my kids see (rather than a checklist of “do this” and “don’t do this”):

• God gave us imaginations to steward and nurture.

• We love life, not death.

• We create over consume.

• We believe truth, not lies.

• Skull & death imagery can help us remember that it is wise to think about our last days (Psalm 39:4-6, 90:12; Ecclesiastes 7:4).

• Culturally, Halloween means different things to different people. And we want to respect the various reasonings and convictions others have. Love helps us do this.

• Demons are real. This is not a game.

• Those Halloween decorations might not literally be real (beyond the batteries, paint, and fabric), but they symbolize real things.

Takeaway questions

This was written largely for myself. Rather than concluding with a here’s-what-you-should-now-do thought for myself, a few questions would serve me more (regardless of what you choose to do this halloween):

1. What truths can I focus on and highlight from [this practice] for myself and our family?

2. How can we display love for our neighbors today?