A life full of stories worth telling doesn’t just happen. It’s chosen. And part of m story is helping create moments of beauty that reflect God’s heart into the culture. Here’s one of the next iterations of that.

We have the opportunity to create culture. But instead, we sit by and critique or we just copy what we see somewhere else. Let’s start moving forward.

(Photo by Lionel Deluy, part of Snap Orlando, this week)

Take a look at how this short HBO spot has inspired modern artists to create new work based on the sights and sounds of the past.

Helping people pursue their passions sometimes means helping the farmer become less dependent on his income from Starbucks by paying him for the food he grows in his urban garden. In return, he has the freedom to devote more time to his passion. He becomes more skilled at his “art,” and his crops produce more food… sending him in the direction of living out his passion full time.

Rod Serling, creator of the Twilight Zone, has a lot to say about the role of artist in culture. By looking at the sad state of television programming in 2009, one would never think that these conversations once took place.

We’ve heard the Christmas story – and every variation thereof – dozens of times. We’ve sung the songs to the point of exhaustion. So, with these two things in mind, I’m supposed to help create a Christmas worship gathering? Quite a daunting task… but it was a powerful night, and – best of all – we actually engaged together.
We brought everyone together for one service, and for this reason as well as our desire for people to engage in experiences around the room, we removed the chairs. …

I’d like to think I’ve always had some innate value and eye for aesthetics, but I can’t remember thinking about fashion for the first 18 years of my life. Just like most kids, I woke up every morning for school and put on whatever shirt and pair of shorts were laying on the floor of my room. I didn’t think much about the words “fit,” “match” or “cut.” I just wore what was around. 
One afternoon, when I was about 19, I walked into Nordstrom at the Florida …

Here is a list of book I’ve read in the last few years that are worth the hours of investment. Do it.
Books that reveal truth about the human condition (aka… art)
1. The Picture of Dorian Gray… Wilde
2. This Side of Paradise… Fitzgerald
Prophetic Genius
1. 1984… Orwell
2. Anthem… Rand
Beauty of life and nature
1. The Sun Also Rises… Hemingway
2. A Land Remembered… Smith
Non-Fiction
1. Walking On Water… L’Engle
2. Irresistible Revolution… Claiborn
Short Stories
1. The Best Creative Nonfiction, Vol 2
2. The Sons… Kafka
Different Time or Place (Nostalgic)
1. Their Eyes Were Watching God… Hurston
2. The God …

My friend Michael Dalton and I co-created a film called “Luke.” It’s part of the Doorpost Film Project – a competition based out of Jacksonville, FL. It’d be amazing if you went and watched it and then took the time to vote for it.
I hope you enjoy.
Watch It Here

Thanks
cole

I walked into the Westhaven Country Club and was only there for five minutes before realizing why murderers were driven to kill in places like this, and it was no more than a sense of decency that kept me from joining that class of the insane. It wasn’t that I didn’t desire to right the wrongs in the room. It’s only that there was no other way to tumble this tower apart from bringing it to a crashing pile of putrescence, and I was not prepared to be …