(Photo by Selma Komisky)

Marked Ministry Online Magazine is not sponsored or endorsed by Disney or Pixar. Views and opinions expressed here are made independently from Disney and its affiliates. Disney and Pixar hold all rights for all films, stories, and artwork.

Editor’s Note: October, 2020

By Sarah Komisky

“We keep moving forward, opening new doors, and doing new things, because we’re curious and curiosity keep leading us down new paths.”

– Walt Disney

2020 has been the year many thought of as the death of dreams when our world turned upside down. Yet, in many ways, we surprised ourselves. Our dreams weren’t dead, they were just getting reinvented. Isolation brought us back to basics with art reemerged. We played music. We danced. We read books we always wanted to. We worked with our hands. Crafted. Designed. Devised. Discovered. Finally, we made an excuse to open up that adult coloring book you always wanted to use. We took classes online, shared our art with the world on social media lives, and even picked up some old projects that brought a smile to our face.

To those who think they were not creative, think again. We got creative in how we did relationships, budgeting, parenting, business, healthcare, communication, politics, and life in general.

This year was a year we created.

We had time and time gifted us with freedom to explore and as Walt said, be curious.

Yet, with all our creating, some of us still overlooked (or did not deliberate) over carving out moments to slow down daily rhythms and create for the simple sake of self care for the soul.

We say we’ve been wanting to do in this or that in this scared space of time we’ve been given. And then, this or that seems to fill that time, even when our plates are less full!

Whether we’ve gone through the motions or somehow lost the ability to create for the sake of creating, we are in desperate need of art recovery.

And what happens if the time we’ve been given suddenly passes us by?

Creating overall takes intentionality, and that’s why one of our heroes has been Mr. Disney himself who so carefully and skillfully created a place we all love known as Disneyland. Disney films also became classics we call “beloved” for their vibrancy and ability to transport us to a different world.

Today, his legacy lives on in countless Disney theme parks and films we all know and love for their fantastical characters and imaginative songs, dance, and unparalleled art in animation and live-action film.

To honor the spirit of Walt’s creativity, we wanted to create a Disney-inspired issue focused on a variety of Disney film favorites. We, this month are celebrating creativity, imagination, and art.

This issue is a reflection of a collective work where we, as a team, decided we would not miss out on this time to have fun and create. Together, we put our own spin on film interpretations, pulling out life lessons, and incorporating our faith to the film lens. In turn, we hope this issue can pay homage to the simpler times of Disney’s early years with our very own hand-drawn and home-spun Disney-inspired artwork. In addition, we sprinkled in Marked Ministry’s urban flair and signature quirkiness into our photography and layout.

To join us, we invited some of our friends including showcase guest, dancer, model, influencer, and former “Dance Moms” TV star, Sarah Ashely Hunt and her mom, Christy, for the adventure where we will talk dance and faith. And, to add some extra fun we surprised our readers with a surprise showcase guest, CCM artist, Jeremy Camp! He will share on the his creative process, collaborating with his wife Adrienne, and more. In order to stay with the theme, we’ve brought back rapid-fire Disney-inspired questions that you are not going to want to miss with our showcase guests. And, to keep with the Disney theme, we’ve also included a book excerpt from Lisa Bevere from “Godmothers,” which we can’t wait for you to check out!

As a special note, we are thrilled to announce the re-laucnhing of our guy section with a new title, “Marked Men” with our new teammate Iain Dick and collaboration with The Rock Church San Diego pastoral staff. This month’s contribution coming from Rock Church San Marcos campus pastor, Jason Mayer.

Our team is so excited to share with you all our original articles and ultimately hope this issue highlights and celebrates the ingenuity of our Creator God.

In these difficult times, may this issue cultivate your immigration, fill you with joy, inspire creativity, and give you permission to always remain curious.

May you never loose your wonder,

Sarah