Walking on Water: Reflections on Faith and Art (Wheaton Literary Series) - Hardcover

For years, beloved author Madeline L'Engle has commingled her writing with her faith in such titles as A Wrinkle In Time and A Swiftly Tilting Planet. In Walking On Water, L'Engle takes a fresh look at what it means to be a Christian artist and what separates "Christian art" from that which is supposedly secular. This first person account draws the reader into L'Engle's mind-frame and sphere of reference--uncloaking her frustrations with bad art (from poetry to painting) which claims to be religious--and explains how the true artist can only serve the world by imitating the ultimate Creator, the Lord Himself. When asked to describe where faith stops and art begins, L'Engle explains that there is no separating the two--"it means attempting to share the meaning of my life, what gives it, for me, its tragedy and its glory". Words of wisdom seep from these pages in a practical, faith-filled manner by encouraging the reader to slow down amidst the business of life, to listen to the spirit, and to be more fully devoted to God by seeking to be more truthfully artistic. "Unless we are creators, we are not fully alive", L'Engle writes, hoping readers are inspired to turn the "chaos of life" into the "cosmos of art". --Jill Heatherly

When I discovered "Walking on Water" years ago, my creative self underwent a sort of liberation. I had always sensed that there was a wonderful connection between spirituality and creativity, but Madeleine s insights about both of those worlds helped me claim with more confidence my own creative gifts. This is a wise and inspiring book that should be in every artist s library. --Vinita Hampton Wright, author of "Grace at Bender Springs" and "Velma Still Cooks in Leeway"

Once again, L'Engle touches the deepest parts of our psyche and heart with her artist s wand. She writes with an earthy rhythm that not only reveals the mysteries of our artistic natures, but also qualifies all along the way her inimitable wise-woman philosophies. L'Engle s writing is God s gift to a generation who needs to sit on a stump and lend an ear to what the right brain is saying to the left and to what the soul is saying to the heart. "Walking on Water" guides the wandering artist back to the Savior and says There, you've come home again where you belong! --Patricia Hickman, award-winning author of "Katrina's Wings"

There are those who write about art-making as if they re detailing the techniques of a heart surgeon. Then there are those, like Madeleine L'Engle, who simply show you their heart. Like the words of Jesus to the fisherman brothers, the words of Madeleine are follow me words. Through the pages of "Walking on Water" hungry, thirsty folks have been following for two decades quickly recognizing that the reason Madeleine is worth following is that she follows Jesus. --Charlie Peacock-Ashworth, record producer and author of "At the Crossroads: An Insider's Look at Contemporary Christian Music"