> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.theartnewsletter.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Issue 8 - URL: https://www.theartnewsletter.com/issue-8-2/ - Published: 2026-10-22T20:13:43.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-22T20:13:43.000Z - Description: What happens when the tool you create with is taken away? - Author: Jesog Brian Lee **Section 1 - grounding** ****1 Kings 19:11-13** 11 The Lord said, “Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by.” Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. 12 After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. 13 When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave. Then a voice said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” **Sometimes God's voice is a whisper, so we must learn to listen** Last week I lost my voice. I'm not sure if it was a cold or COVID or something else, but on Tuesday I was talking in a rasp and on Wednesday I shouldn't have been talking at all. Everything I said came out squeaky and weak. This was particularly painful for me because my performance at work and school depends heavily on my volubility, and because I knew what I had coming up: Friday would bring a full-day interview at one of the most prestigious firms in my field, and that weekend I was going to the Quinceañera of my wife's close cousin in Mexico. I couldn't afford to botch either, but it wasn't up to me. I should have called out of work on Thursday, but seeing three others beat me to the punch made me feel like I had to save the day. They stayed home because they were sick, but a sore throat wouldn't stop me! I was built different! So, to work I went: a 9-hour shift of vocal torture. It started okay, just a little scratchy, but my voice was not content to stay there. Soon, I had progressed from the occasional crack to an irritatingly rough tone interrupted by the occasional syllable leaping to a mezzo-soprano-style pitch; the kind of voice breaks that I hadn't heard since puberty. By the end of the day, I decided to resign myself to less customer-facing tasks and spent the last few hours dejectedly filing paperwork. Tomorrow was a big day for me, but I would have to face it with my now little voice. Friday morning, I arrived at the HR department of my dream company. I was told that I would be interviewing from 9 AM to 3 PM with a "few" of the people I would be working with, which turned out to be an understatement. "Few" in my mind meant three or four, *maybe* five, but apparently, few can even mean ten. Running low on quippy ways to describe voice cracks, I'll cut to the chase: I accepted every hot drink my various interviewers offered, asked lots of questions to give my own voice a rest, and made it to the end of the day feeling more confident than I had expected. One big task down, one even smaller voice left, and one weekend of international travel to go. By 2 AM, zipping from red, white, and blue to green, white, and red, talking was out of the question. So, as I was transported mutely above the clouds, I began to reflect mentally. All this talking, talking, talking, and still more to go. What happens when the tools you use to create are taken away? When Matisse could no longer stand at his easel, or Beethoven lost his hearing? Not that I consider my voice on the level of Henri's or Ludwig's art, but these soporific thoughts were enough to get me to sleep. Once in Monterrey, my wife and I decided that as I was still quite sick and still totally unable to speak, I should miss out on the quince. I didn't say a word the entire trip - from Saturday morning to Tuesday night. I expected to be frustrated with my forced reticence, but I found, interestingly, that with nothing to project, I started to perceive. I felt more present, wrapped in the beauty of the particolored houses stacked up the many mountainsides of Monterrey. I noticed the little things, the way a cockroach seemed to have died in an attempt to climb over a fence spike and now lay funnily at its tip as though impaled. It seemed elegantly symbolic up there in the setting sunlight, though symbolic of what I wasn't sure. In this state, Elijah came to mind. He knew that feeling. Worn out and on the run, he lay at the heart of a cave while a great wind tore the mountains, an earthquake shook the ground, and fire engulfed his surroundings, and God was in none of them. Then came "a gentle whisper" and Elijah pulled his cloak over his face to listen. He couldn't hear it until the noise was gone, and I think I couldn't either. Constantly obsessing over what I was *doing*, and *saying*, and putting into the world, I had missed that gentle whisper. I had been unable to hear, until I was unable to speak. My experience during that time was filled with thoughts of God and appreciation of those around me, especially the wife God gave me, who helped me the best she could despite my incompetence at charades. For those of us who make things, this matters. Everything in this world pushes us to produce, post, pitch, hunt attention, and project, but sometimes what we seek is not in the grand or the flashy but in the whisper. When my voice came back, the first thing I wanted to say was thank you, and the second was that I’d gladly never play charades again. However, I'll carry something of that silent weekend with me: the habit of listening first and of noticing who is standing beside me while I do. Through all the winds, the earthquakes, and the fires, I want to keep listening for the gentle whisper. And I hope y'all do too, without needing to lose your voice. **Section 2 - thoughts and ideas** [Christian Films You've Probably Never Heard OfThis is a part of our series of Exploring Christian films and TV shows that most people would never have heard of. This document will be updated weekly with new films, so feel free to come back anytime and check on it as we continue to update.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/34/b5/34b542d7-662a-4b6d-b229-2d284cd24c37/content/images/icon/TAN_LINKEDIN-Profile--2--3-4988e1d2-b1ef-4c7a-9c42-a7d1e0a077fe.png)The Art NewsletterWolfgang Bakari Burst![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/34/b5/34b542d7-662a-4b6d-b229-2d284cd24c37/content/images/thumbnail/5903-125fca64-ff12-4863-b3b8-15db5474c22b.webp)](https://www.theartnewsletter.com/christian-films-youve-probably-never-heard-of/?ref=the-art-newsletter-weekly-newsletter) Check out our updated list of Christian Films You've Probably Never Heard Of above! **Section 3 - exploration** ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/34/b5/34b542d7-662a-4b6d-b229-2d284cd24c37/content/images/2026/10/Las-Lajas-Sanctuary-3.jpg) "Las Lajas" by Bethany Ciullo Las Lajas Sanctuary in southern Colombia, a Gothic Revival basilica built into the wall of the Guáitara River canyon. According to local legend, it stands where a mute girl found her voice in 1754\. Fitting, perhaps, for a story about finding what’s waiting on the other side of silence. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/34/b5/34b542d7-662a-4b6d-b229-2d284cd24c37/content/images/2026/10/Las-Lajas-Sanctuary-Inside.jpg) "Virgen de las lajas" by David Alejandro Cabrera Ortiz Inside, the altar is set into the bare rock of the canyon wall, where the image of the Virgin and Child is painted directly on the stone. Candles burn below it, and “Ave Gratia Plena” (Hail, full of grace) is inscribed in gold above the arch. --- This week’s song is [“Perfect” by Ochaè](https://open.spotify.com/track/1ZE95YrQTRP8zqMNWhySjP?si=ebe30d76feb14591&ref=theartnewsletter.com). It’s been on repeat since I lost my voice, and it’s a good reminder that sometimes the best thing to do with a song is just listen. All songs we find are collected here in our [weekly updated playlist](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3CykX4VuY03ZQIpEk9Pl30?si=68d9c55b5eba49e2&ref=theartnewsletter.com). If you are a musician and have a track you would like to feature, email us at: info@theartnewsletter.com **Section 4 - action** There is a cost to making something that enriches people’s lives, and it does not disappear just because the work is done for God. We are a team of college students and young professionals who believe in our mission of showcasing contemporary Christian arts to the world. [Become a paid member here ](#/portal/signup) It costs little and gives much. Become a paid member here, and let us know what you think of this week’s newsletter by leaving a like or dislike below. And to each and every one of you: thank you, and God bless. Jesog & Wolfgang Co-Founders The Art Newsletter