I have two questions for you today.

And I will keep it very simple...

The first is, "Why are you an artist?"

How you answer this question will say a lot about you. 

Your identity. Your sense of vocation and calling. Your purpose. The aim and focus of your life.

The second question, for many of you, is a much more dangerous question.

...

Are you traveling the way of weakness?

It's a path many of us do not want to take. Nor willingly choose. Or want to be dragged down.

When I was a kid, I vividly remember reading ads in the back of my comic books that warned me not to be a skinny weakling who got sand kicked in my face at the beach.

This was really important advice for me because...

The past month has been very difficult.

It's one of those times as a parents that Krista and I would wish upon no one.

More tears and heartache with one of our four children — yes, a teenager — than we've ever experienced in our lives.

I'll save the details for now, but suffice to say, all the grief, the tears, the waiting, and the...

As an artist, is fear consuming all your spiritual, emotional and creative energy? Does fear have you sidelined instead of seeking everything your heart desires for creating your art with meaning and purpose? Maybe it's not outright fear you struggle with as an artist, but it's the familiar themes of worry, anxiety, and...

"The raging bitch inside my head is gone!"

Heidi's words were music to my ears. And for every artist gathered around our long picnic table at The Grove, we all burst out laughing with her in her bold declaration that the raging bitch inside her head was dead and gone.

I could almost imagine The Wizard of Oz Munchkins springing out from behind...

As you can imagine, I know a lot more about organic lemons and avocados than I do about running a vineyard. But as I was recently reminded, a vineyard can teach us a lot about the important practices of abiding, rest, and renewal.

For the first time in a long while, my wife Krista and I took off for a few days of vacation in the vineyards of...

I feel sorry for Tom Clark's poor neighbors. At this month's Gathering, I'm sure we broke at least ten sound ordinances for the city of San Juan Capistrano. Everyone was just LOUD! Meeting. Greeting. Laughing. Sharing. A crowd of fifty artists is going to be anything, but a quiet, solemn affair.

At the end of the evening, when our cluster of...