This July marked the five year anniversary of "Creative Cafe with Debra Hart Studio." This free online international community of creatives began in the summer of 2020 - smack dab in the middle of what's now known simply as 'The Pandemic,' or '2020' - you know the one.
Creative Café with Debra Hart Studio online monthly chats provide us with some of the best convos & global community! ☕️
Creative Café was birthed out of obedience to a nudge from the Lord, an attempt to make sense of the crazy, unsettling times we all found ourselves in, and also of a desire to connect with artists I'd met over the years around the globe. As the months stretched on here in the U.S. from the initial 'shut down' in early March 2020, being quarantined did its work. We had time. We evaluated what our lives had been in the years prior, and I was finding that many of were hungry for something real, honest, and vulnerable ... and well, it seems I do those things well, lol. So I listened to the nudge and to my own heart not knowing where it would lead, and opened up my life and creative journey to friends of all backgrounds, creative practices, and countries.
I host two live Zoom calls for my Creative Café with Debra Hart Studio online community. Recently, I shared a short list of Scriptures, encouragements and prayers focused on our creative practices. We took time to read through them, ask the Lord to speak to us, and then pray for one another during breakout sessions. the latest Café PRAY Live! It was so helpful and well-received that everyone on the call wanted a copy! So today I invite you to grab a cuppa, your favorite pen or highlighter, and maybe your journal — and enjoy a little read with Jesus. Please enjoy! And thank you for being a part of my creative world.
🩵 🩵 🩵EXODUS 35:31–32 (NLT): “The Lord has filled Bezalel with the Spirit of God, giving him great wisdom, ability, and expertise in all kinds of crafts. He is a master craftsman.”
🩵 Encouragement: You don’t have to create from your own strength. God delights in filling artists with His Spirit. Ask, and He will guide your hands.
🕊️ Prayer: Lord, fill me with Your Spirit—the way You filled Bezalel. Thank You for giving me wisdom, expertise, tools, and materials. I’m so grateful for Your heaven-sent inspiration for the work You’ve called me to do!
JOHN 7:38 (TPT): “Believe in Me so that rivers of living water will burst out from within you, flowing from your innermost being.”
🩵 Encouragement: When you feel blocked or dry, the Spirit can bring a fresh, unstoppable flow. Trust that He is already stirring within you.
🕊️ Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank You for Your Spirit flowing through me like a river. Give me the grace to create just like that – becoming alive with paint, ink, words, movement, and life through my creative endeavors.
2 TIMOTHY 1:6–7 (NIV): “Fan into flame the gift of God... For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline.”
🩵 Encouragement: Fear doesn't get the final word. You were created with a fiery, God-breathed gift to create, born out of love! If stepping back is where you are, allow His gifts within you to rise again—even if it’s just a flicker today.
🕊️ Prayer: Thank you, Jesus, for the creative gifts You’ve given to me, and for fanning the flame to give me courage. I break off anything holding me back, as fear doesn’t get the final word. I’m so grateful for Your Spirit and Your love that replaces fear, implants Your power, and grants boldness in my art.”
GALATIANS 6:9 (NIV): “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.”
🩵 Encouragement: Even when no one sees your progress, God does. The harvest is coming — keep showing up!
🕊️ Prayer: Thank you Holy Spirit, that whenever the process feels slow or hard, You help me keep going. I am trusting that You’re at work in and through me and what I create.
MATTHEW 11:28–30 (TPT): “Simply join your life with Mine... You will find refreshment and rest in Me.”
🩵 Encouragement: You don’t have to earn your worth through productivity. Creating from rest is the best way – it brings deeper beauty, meaning, and joy to your practice!
🕊️ Prayer: I’m so grateful today, Lord, that You don’t require me to produce, but instead invite me into a place of rest in You. Thank You for helping me slow down and create from a space of rest rather than pressure. Thank You for my studio becoming a sanctuary of peace and Your Presence.
ROMANS 11:29 (ESV): “For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.”
🩵 Encouragement: No mistake, detour, or delay can cancel your calling! The gifts in you are still alive, and still needed in this world.
🕊️ Prayer: Thank You, Jesus, that my creative calling still stands. I am grateful for the ways that You strengthen me to use it boldly and to steward it well, especially in the moments I feel like I’ve been derailed from all You have for me.
1 CORINTHIANS 3:9 (TPT): “We are coworkers with God and you are God’s cultivated garden – the house He is building.”
✨ Encouragement: You’re not creating alone. The Spirit of God is your Holy Collaborator — always near, always involved. You are His precious, cultivated garden, a place He is happy to build in!
🕊️ Prayer: Holy Spirit - thank you for being my Holy Collaborator! Help me to remember to work with You, not just for You. I invite you to come alongside me and be present in every idea, studio struggle, mark I make—in every creative endeavor I undertake. Thank You in advance for all You are doing when I am unaware.
ISAIAH 26:3 (NIV): “You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you.”
✨ Encouragement: Peace comes when your gaze is fixed on the Lord. There’s no need to chase every idea, voice, or trend. Stay rooted in His Word, trusting that He is able. He is your secret weapon!
🕊️ Prayer: Thank You, Lord, that I can always come back to You when I’m overwhelmed, distracted, and unsettled. It is my heart’ desire to keep my mind steady and focused on You, O God. When I’m pulled in too many directions, bring me back to a place of trust and belief in Who you are. Thank you for being my Secret Weapon!”
ISAIAH 61:3 (NIV): “…to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes…”
✨ Encouragement: God brings beauty even from your ashes. Nothing is wasted — not your pain, not your past, not your process.
🕊️ Prayer: Thank You, Father, that even when I feel broken or discouraged, You take it all and turn it into beauty. Who else can do that?! I’m in wonder that You bestow a crown of beauty on me and my creations, using my art to carry hope. What a privilege it is that I can rest in Your grace, knowing You waste absolutely nothing in this life journey. I give you all the ashes of failure and disappointment, expectant for You to move on my behalf and create something beautiful where I can only see waste and despair, frustration and ugly. I love Your ways, Lord, thank You for being You!
xoxo, Debra