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Howdy fam!
I pray that you are experiencing the Lord’s faithfulness in these wild times.

Romans 12:2 talks about being transformed by the renewing of our minds, and I’m intrigued by the ways the Lord periodically reframes how I talk about and understand this Kingdom artist experience.

A reframe by a new way of understanding. ​
The last big reframe came in 2024 regarding the pursuit of integration. The Lord corrected the language I had adopted: “integrating our faith and art.” What is there to integrate when you are already whole in Christ (Col. 2:10)? This was the question He posed to me to begin to shift my understanding and pursuit. Instead of asking, “How do I integrate my faith and art?”, the true question asked by an artist who already understands they are whole in Christ should be,

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A reframe by a refining of what I’ve understood.
Recently, another reframe began around how our faith and art work together and honor God. Where the first reframe was about showing up in our faith and art spaces as whole and complete pictures, this reframe feels like an issue of initiation. Maybe coordination. My metaphors and analogies are still new so some language is not as locked in yet. But, as I continue to work it out, I’d love to share what I’ve got so far.

When I hear artists ask questions like, “How do I make my faith and art work together?” or “How do I honor God with my faith?”, it sounds like they’re wanting to know how to manufacture or coordinate some kind of connection between these two parts of their lives. I imagine that approach feels external, disconnected, and clunky.

And I know we don’t even need to try to manufacture such connection.
I know that all we have to do is show up and be what we already are in Christ.
But I didn’t really have a good way to explain why.
…until now. It’s still clunky, but here goes.

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​From the Inside Out.
​Instead of trying to find ways to infuse my faith or art into the other, or honor one in the way I do the other, I can just live, create, build my art life, and serve God out of who I am.

Here’s why.

As Kingdom artists, we say our identity is rooted in Christ, which is nice but I don’t know what to do with that on it’s own. It’s not just that our identity is rooted in Christ, it’s that being in Christ has changed our identity.

In Christ, we are new creations (2 Cor. 5:17) with new identities. We are adopted as, and are now the sons of God (Eph. 1:5, Gal. 4, 1 Jn. 3:2). “Sons” (huios) is not a term of gender, but disposition. It speaks to those with the nature and character of their Father.

My identity is now a son/daughter who lives out and reflects the nature and character of my Father in my activity building a life and career in art. My identity is not an artist who just happens to be Christian. My identity is that of one who is being transformed as the Holy Spirit renews my mind (Rom. 12:1). My identity is that of one who is being conformed to the image of Christ (Rom. 8:29), one who is more and more taking on Christ’s way of thinking (Phill. 2:5).

So as I walk with the Lord, as a son who submits themselves to His work within me, He is transforming and shaping my character, my worldview, my habits and methods. If I’m submitted to the Holy Spirit, He is shaping and refining who I am and how I see things.

And don’t we make art out of who we are and how we see and experience things?
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So if the Lord is shaping us, when we make art, transact in our careers, or share art with the world, that is automatically a Christian worldview. Our faith and art are already infused.
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Why?
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Because I am a person who is and continues to be transformed. So the art that I create is coming out of a faith-led, faith-infused reservoir—because I am faith-infused, and the art comes out of me, the perspective comes out of me.
The habits come out of me.
The way that I work comes out of me.
And if me is being transformed and shaped by the Lord, then anything I do, how I see, what I create, was also shaped by the Lord.
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Just as the first reframe shifted the questions we’re asking, so does this one. With this understanding, instead of asking how we manufacture or coordinate a connection between faith and art, or how we honor God with our art, the better question to ask is,

Because if you are, then what you produce can’t help but be. You can only give what you have, right? And you can only be what you are.
The art comes out of us.
The perspective, the story comes out of us.
And it’s shaped and led by the Lord at work in us.
So you don’t have to worry about whether your art honors the Lord.
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You honor the Lord!
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And if you are honoring the Lord by submitting yourself to his shaping, to His refining, then those creative works and decisions that come out of a refined, led, transformed person can’t help but be honoring to the Lord. Amen!!!!!!!!

A good tree produces good fruit. A bad tree cannot produce good fruit, right? (Mt. 7:17) Fruit is that which originates from, that which is produced from something. For you and I, that includes our character, our works of art, our decision making, our beliefs and thinking, our actions, etc. If you are good and connected to your Vine (Jn. 15), (being fed and sourced by that Vine), then you, as the branch, cannot help but produce good fruit. (Minus the times our humanity gets in the way. We are complete, and yet are still growing into that completion. But you know what I mean.) As a Kingdom artist, when I step into my art practice, I am just being who I am in Christ: a transformed artist making work from a transformed perspective, with transformed and Holy Spirit-led ways of working.

Ok, I think I’ve beat this enough for now. Man, I love God and how He teaches us how to live out His word! I’d love to know your thoughts. What stuck out for you?
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Prayer request: ​
​I’m going to Africa!!! In June 2026, I will be going to Africa for 3-4 weeks to be with two dance communities. I’m so excited. This will be my first time. I could use your prayers that all the resources I need will come in.

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We have a map!!: ​
I have started to build the map for artists to connect. There is only me and my good sis, Celeste, on it right now. I haven’t told anyone else yet because there is more to get ready and clean up. But you guys are family. I can be messy in front of you. If you want to put your pin on the map, now, I’d love that! And it will give me more pins to work with! The form to put your info in the map is short, I promise! And you don't have to create a profile =/. Click on the East Coast pin so you can see what it would look like.
Link to map: View here​
Link to form: Complete it here​
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See you next month!
Marlita

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