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Christian Nonfiction. Religion & Spirituality. Self-Improvement. Nonfiction. HTML:From the bestselling author of The Wingfeather Saga and award-winning musician and storyteller, Andrew Peterson. Christianity Today, The Gospel Coalition, WORLD Magazine each named Adorning the Dark as one of their books of the year. Making something beautiful in a broken world can be harrowing work, and it can't be done alone. Over the last twenty years, Andrew Peterson has performed thousands of concerts, published four novels, released ten albums, taught college and seminary classes on writing, founded a nonprofit ministry for Christians in the arts, and executive-produced a film�all in a belief that God calls us to proclaim the gospel and the coming kingdom using whatever gifts are at our disposal. He's stumbled along the way, made mistake after mistake, and yet has continually encountered the grace of God through an encouraging family, a Christ-centered community of artists in the church, and the power of truth, beauty, and goodness in Scripture and the arts. While there are many books about writing, none deal first-hand with the intersection of songwriting, storytelling, and vocation, along with nuts-and-bolts exploration of the great mystery of creativity. In Adorning the Dark, Andrew describes six principles for the writing life: serving the work serving the audience selectivity discernment discipline and community Through stories from his own journey, Andrew shows how these principles are not merely helpful for writers and artists, but for anyone interested in imitating the way the Creator interacts with his creation. This book is both a memoir of Andrew's journey and a handbook for artists, written in the hope that his story will provide encouragement to others stumbling along in pursuit of a calling to adorn the dark with the light of Christ..… (more)
User reviews
Peterson writes: “...this book is a glimpse into my own faltering journey as a songwriter, storyteller, and Christian. It’s a love song, if you will, about the life God has given me.” That faltering journey, as he calls it, made for one of the best books on the creative life that I’ve read. Adorning the Dark takes us back to Peterson’s beginnings as a young songwriter and poet and walks us through what he has learned over the years living not just a creative life, but a creative life as a Christian.
When Peterson discusses looking for our identity in our work or creativity, He writes:
We need not look anywhere but to the eyes of the Savior for our true identity, an identity which is profoundly complex, unfathomable, deep as the sea, and yet can be boiled down to one little word: beloved. That’s it. And that’s why it’s so silly (and perilous) to use your gifting to clothe yourself with meaning. Those clothes will never quite fit.
I don’t know how many books on the creative life you’ve read, but there’s often a cliquish sense of otherness or elitism. As in, “I’m a creative, and to even begin to understand my words, you have to join this exclusive group and be a creative too.” There’s nothing pretentious in Adorning the Dark. I love how Peterson includes songwriters, poets, writers, painters, and also pastors and teachers writing sermons and lessons. It all feels like a friend sharing his tips and wisdom with you.
Ultimately, Adorning the Dark is about how we (as in everyone) can use our God-given creativity to bring light and truth into the world, not because we’re so great, but because God is. I can’t remember a book that felt more genuine than this one. It was joy to read.