Erwin Raphael McManus - The Artisan Soul: Crafting Your Life into a Work of Art

S o many people are involved whenever anything of value is created. I have the privilege of working with the best people in the world.

I want to thank the amazing team and tribe which is Mosaic. You have been such a huge part of not only this project but have lived out this creative manifesto. You are the creators of the future! You are the beginning of a new humanity where every person knows their intrinsic value and lives out their divine potential.

Thank you HarperOne. I want to especially express my gratitude to Roger Freet, who invited me to return to this beautiful world of words, books, and ideas.

Thank you Jan Miller, Shannon Marven, and Nicki Miser at Dupree Miller for their belief in me and my voice.

I want to especially thank Holly Quillen, Alisah Duran, and Meg Miller who run command central in Los Angeles!

Thank you, to all who allowed me to share their stories. You are my inspiration!

A special thanks to Hank Fortener who not only shot the back cover photo but also leads our team at Mosaic.

I must also acknowledge the creative direction of Aaron McManus who brought the cover-photo shootand so much moreto life.

Thank you Kim and Mariah for being there for me when I needed you most.

Most of all I want to thank the One who saw in me what no one else could see, and what I could never hope or believe would ever be true about me.

Thank you Jesus of Nazareth for seeing me and calling me out to follow You. I will never be the same.

SOUL CRAVINGS:

An Exploration of the Human Spirit

CHASING DAYLIGHT:

Seize the Power of Every Moment

WIDE AWAKE:

The Future Is Waiting Within You

UPRISING:

A Revolution of the Soul

THE BARBARIAN WAY:

Unleash the Untamed Faith Within

UNLEASHED:

Release the Untamed Faith Within

AN UNSTOPPABLE FORCE:

Daring to Become the Church God Had in Mind

STAND AGAINST THE WIND:

Fuel for the Revolution of Your Soul

T he artisan soul demands of us the hard work of beating out the metal into the form that expresses its greatest beauty.

We stand between the anvil and the hammerpositioning ourselves in the very place where God can form us into his work of art.

Below are practices to guide you through this creative process. Remember that you are both an artist at work and a work of art. Take time to allow God to make you a work of art, so that your life can be the most beautiful expression of your artisan soul.

Soul: The Essence of Art

The hard work of caring for our soul

Make love the unifying principle of your lifelet love inform all your motives, decisions, and actions.

Set time apart to be alonebegin with fifteen minutes a day to decompress and reconnect with God.

Begin a practice of prayer and reflection focused on gratitude.

Use the Psalms as a guide to work through your emotions, questions, and aspirations.

Allow the Scriptures to inspire you and awaken your artisan soul.

Take time to see and absorb the beauty and wonder all around you.

Take time to enjoy life, and make sure you laugh a lot.

Connect to a community of faith and open up your life to others.

Do more of the things you love and less of the things that kill your spirit.

Spend more time with people who inspire you and less time with those who crush your spirit.

Invest in yourself by bringing into your life voices who inspire you and refresh your spirit.

Let me invite you to join our organizations podcast at Mosaic.org/Podcast and to follow me on Twitter at @erwinmcmanus.

Voice: The Narrative That Guides

The hard work of finding our own voice

Think through all the voices that have informed you throughout your life.

Write down each and every person who has influenced you for good or bad.

Identify what their narrative for your life was and how it has shaped you.

Make an honest assessment of which of those voices have had a dominant role in shaping your internal narrative of yourself.

Ask a few close friends to hear how you understand your story, and ask them to reflect back to you if your assessment resonates with them.

Take time to study what the Scriptures say about who you are, and think about what your life would look like if you embraced this narrative as your own.

Focus on what it means to be created in Gods image.

Reflect on Gods declaration that you are wonderfully and marvelously made.

Place into your narrative that God knew you before you were born and calls you out with intention and purpose.

Decide who you want to become: What is the story you want to tell through your life?

Write a declaration of who you are!

Share it with at least one friend who will celebrate your new life narrative.

Interpretation: Translation of Life

The hard work of changing our perspective

Begin a process to investigate how you see the world.

Make two lists:

everything good in your life;

everything bad in your life.

Now examine your lists.

Which list is longer?

Which list came more naturally?

Is it easier for you to be pessimistic or to be optimistic?

Place yourself on a scale of optimism versus pessimism.