Beginnings....Show and Tell

The Chai is pulsating through my veins like inspiration flowing through a pen.

Tonight (or should I say "last night" since it is now almost 5 A.M. the next day?), for perhaps the first time since moving into this city, I felt like I got to do what I was sent here to do: pour the Chai into the river and invite others to do the same.

It's been a long-held desire of mine to share original artistic work and enable other artists to share their work at the same time. It has been a goal of mine in coming to Chicago to provide encouragement and support to artists through providing a framework in which we can all share our gifts together. I believe that as we pour out our gifts for others to enjoy, we are pouring out a bit of ourselves. And if Jesus is inside, all the better.

Tonight--Last Night---saw the fruition of the first "Show and Tell" party, an idea that started percolating in my mind a few months ago while sipping on a beverage at Borders and strategizing with God about how to do more of what I want to do with others. This vision began to become more of a reality when I met with a few other friends a little over a month ago to plan out the logistics for such an event.

It wasn't very complex, really: just a bunch of creative people coming together to share some good food, drinks (Chai included, of course), conversation, and art-in-process. We had everything from stand-up comedy to breakdancing, poetry and set-design. Many played instruments and sang, one shared a short play (can you guess who that was?), another played a recording of a smooth, 80's inspired jazz composition he had written. I was amazed by the end of the night that we had spent a whole evening showing and telling about what we had been working on, and it didn't even seem that long. (There were some breaks in between, of course.) And I was equally amazed at how much talent was concentrated into one area. We must have had 14 or 15 people share something creative that they were working on or had created sometime in the past. Another beautiful element was the mutual appreciation each artist showed for one another, providing words of encouragement, affirmation, and and constructive feedback specific to each artist's humble offering. I say humble because it takes humility to put yourself out there in front of people, especially when you're bringing something that's not necessarily complete and quite possibly in need of further process.

I liken this evening to a good cup of Chai. Many ingredients all blending together to make a most heavenly brew.

The Revolution of Chai has begun. Drink up, Chicago! Drink up my God.

"Taste and see that the Lord is good. Blessed is the one who trusts in him." -Psalm 34:8.