Why Fire & Mud?

​Fancying myself an amateur Christian Apologist, a professional Artist and an emerging Social Reformer, I’m committed to moving in the liminal space between catastrophic reverence of God and a quaking humility that intentionally keeps the tremors of Grace close at hand. I am actively seeking deep ways to explore this robust Christian faith through an artistic lens.  I needed a personal place to create and to write about matters of faith and worldview frameworks within the arts, specifically the profoundly personal faith stirred within a dance artist who desperately wants to engage in intellectual rigor.  Reverence is like fire that is both thrilling and terrifying, as I think of the revelation of God as something to put us in a state of awe and makes us tremble at His presence, becoming the context in which to move through our formation as persons.  Humility is like mud coming from the scriptural imagery of repentance and making oneself low with sackcloth and ash and imagines of mixing those acts of repentance with the tears of the repentant to form a mud that becomes the soul content of the person being formed. Both elements are active and willful on the journey, serving both as reminder and embodiment of things beyond oneself, pointing to the Creator who created us as persons. 
 
I am realizing and recognizing that a common human dignity is key in tethering to touchstones of common human experiences in order to bridge differences for common understanding.  This is vital, in my opinion, to create the kind of diverse communities that really generate and uphold human thriving, making life worth living. 

Founder of the non-profit, The Bell House, I have worked as a dancer, choreographer and video artist for various companies across the U.S. and abroad.  
pc: Nikki Riggs, design by The Bell House

My foray into apologetics came several years ago when I realized there weren't many answers I could adequately give the people I cared about that didn't profess Christ. I ran across several apologist videos who spoke so robustly about the Christian faith that it bolstered my faith with confidence to address my doubts and questions about the truth of Christ's life and resurrection. At the time, I didn't seem to be able to explain much without saying, "scripture tells us", which had little effect on friends that didn't care what scripture had to say.  After a significant loss in my life, I was even more determined to be able to articulate why faith in Christ was necessary and why God is reality. So, I found information in YouTube videos, many, many books, and have attended many apologetics conferences. I was thrust into a learning season once again that felt alive and transcendent. Although, I'm grateful that there are others interested in learning and knowing and growing, I often feel alone in my particular interests in my career field in the arts. 

Thus the Fire and Mud website was born. This is a space for me to collect my thoughts, discuss current social issues, build community and work out my faith in 'fear and trembling'; guided by God's Spirit (FIRE) and housed in humility (MUD) because I desire Truth above winning the argument, Love beyond logic. I believe it is the only place where Life can be truly found. 
 
Thank you for taking this journey with me. ​