Have you ever heard the expression “Everyone has a book in them”? What if your book needs to be written? Where do you start? What would you do? What would you write about?

Celina Mina asked the same question in 2022, and after months of work, she has finally launched “Seasons,” a hybrid memoir.

Maybe your future is only a decision or pen stroke away!

Grace and Peace,

Cass & Rich

In today’s issue:

• Our first-ever video cast: Join us for a fascinating interview on the creative process of an author.

• Meet the author, then read her book: Check out the excerpt below.

• Be inspired: Music, words, and art in the Rapid 5.

• and more…

Forwarded this email? Sign up here.

1. ART - Books with Beautiful Book Covers - Hazel Lam, who designed Celina’s book cover, is an amazing freelance book designer. She also designed the cover of Julia Baird's acclaimed book Phosphorescence. (LINK)

2. MUSIC - Strings Anyone? George Winston’s take on Vivaldis seasons is spectacular - here is the December album. (LINK)

3. WORDS - Hybrid Memoirs - Feeling inspired to put pen to paper this holiday season? Maybe start here 👉 (LINK)

4. PLACES - Take a virtual trip to Copenhagen this Christmas - Nowhere does Christmas like they do in Denmark! (LINK)

5. BOOKS - Seasons - Celina's first book is great holiday gifting or reading - Seasons of Loss Light, Hope, and Harvest. (LINK)

On Becoming an Author.

This week, we caught up with our friend Celina Mina, who has recently released her first book, a hybrid memoir. She’s a wonderful friend and writer - her experience and background as an editor served her well as she embarked on the quest to write a legacy piece that became a volume to help a much wider audience.

Here’s what her official bio says…

Celina Evelyn Mina is an Australian preacher, teacher, and writer based in Copenhagen, Denmark. She is a part of the communication team at ARK CPH and loves helping people apply biblical principles to everyday living. Celina is a gifted communicator known for the way she unpacks Scripture and weaves personal stories into her messages to illustrate the relevance and power of the Bible in all areas of life.

We hope you enjoy the video recording of our conversation. There are nuggets of wisdom for us all as we aim to please God, live well, and create things that go beyond ourselves.

Celina was good enough to share an excerpt from the book, which is available for our paid subscribers below. Enjoy!

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Who comes to mind when you read this quote?

Perhaps Marco Polo, Da Vinci, Einstein, Edison, Marie Curie, Lin Manuel Miranda, Steve Jobs, Elon Musk, Kanye,…

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Christmas is loud in our house…

Cousins, board games, reunions, and all the feels from a year of commitments. After Boxing Day, cricket games are left lingering, and there is a moment when we struggle to remember the date and try to remember what day it is.  

The hours merge when our brains have time to decompress …

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I thought I was ready, but I wasn’t…

We’d been in New Zealand for a week before we plucked up the courage to try the national pastime of bungy jumping. The reality was the drop was way higher than we were expecting.

It was more ominous; the river was flowing faster than you could imagine, and the screams from other falling tourists were more ear-piercing and intense.

We slowly backed away from the edge of the bridge and opted for the zip line instead. 

That was not our time to jump!

But 2023 was our time, and we jumped, not off a bridge, but into a new adventure, community, dreams, and way of life.

So as we wrap up an incredible year, we wanted to thank you for jumping with us; you have truly been the highlight of the year!

Firstly, thank you for subscribing!! And a special thank you to our paid members who have supported us through the unknown times of not knowing how we were going to make ends meet.

Thank you for the emails you have sent with encouraging words, the questions you have asked, the forums and discussions, and the comments on posts. 

Not to mention the invitations to come and minister to your teams and churches and the recommendations to friends which have meant the world.

To the creatives and pastors who have been "all in" with us and allowed us to help you shape your communities, we say a huge thank you!

There have been some great moments that stand out.

We especially remember launching the newsletter back on February 6. We nervously wondered if anyone would read our humble weekly offerings. 

And you did!! This email marks our 79th newsletter for the year - wow!! 🤯

The Hopeful Rhino has become a blend of free weekly Rapid 5 emails full of links to keep you inspired and our long-form journal articles for paid subscribers around topics related to faith and creativity, culture, church, and Christ.

Although we know the chat needs some reinvigorating, and our comment section is a little quiet (more on that below), we’ve been blown away by the fact you’re reading every article. The quality of our members who create, lead, pastor, and disciple in many different spheres around the world is incredible.

Each week, we sit at The Farm and talk about you - what would be helpful for you this week? If we were in your position, what would we want someone to encourage us with? How can we help you discover Jesus is always better than you imagine, that your art matters or that worship is your home country?

Yes, you are often on our minds!

And so, when you have called us from Taiwan, Scotland, Northern California, Hawaii, or Texas to ask a question or seek guidance, it is our honor to be allowed into such sacred spaces.

To our friends at Bethel, The Father's House, Celebration Church, Life Church, Mariners, THE Church, Saddleback, Passion, Leading Second, YesHeis, and the many other ministries around the world that we have FaceTimed, coached, connected, recorded podcasts with, or been friends with across the ocean - thank you for enriching our lives.

For those who were part of our team at Hillsong and have come on the Rhino journey with us - your friendship and partnership are a gift.

So, what does 2024 look like?

We are just getting started!! This year has been a great start, full of experiments, and we have big dreams to roll out over the new year. 

• We intend to add to our membership space and build the things we couldn't do in 2023.

• We'll add group coaching calls with more tailored content for leading creatives and following Christ creatively. 

• We also hope to relaunch the podcast and include member-only portions with great guests to enrich your lives.

• We also dream of launching several courses and downloadable resources to help you live and lead creatively.

We're looking at more in-person events too. 

Conversations have started about being in Hawaii in January, the mainland USA in the first quarter of 2024, Africa and Europe in May, and the Paus conference in Canada in October. 

So, who knows, maybe there is space for some meet-ups and ministry (drop us a line if you are interested in connecting or having us speak at your church).

And a lot is happening where we live, too.

We have dreams of a little Church community forming here in Sydney. There's new passion and new songs on the horizon as we work on ways to continue to empower worship in the church.

New generations are coming through, and yet again, Aslan is on the move!

We have a deep hunger and desire to go with him - to see our world fall in love with Jesus, to find ways to speak about him, compel others to follow, and wear him well.

So, if you are up for the journey - let's do 2024 together!

Tell us what you have most enjoyed this year. Let us know what would be helpful next year.

If you're willing, please forward this to a pastor or creative/worship pastor you know and invite them to be a part of the Hopeful Rhino in 2024.

Share

We believe in this space and its potential to help pastor and lead those who pastor and lead.

Once again, thank you for being with us this year! May your Christmas season be full of grace and peace. 

Love and gratitude,

Cass and Rich

One last thing…

We will take a break next week to let your inbox breathe between Christmas and the new year. Then, in the first week of January, we will have a fantastic Rhino Journal article to kick off the new year!!

Creative writer Amanda Viviers will join our paids members and teach us all how to journal our way into creativity in 2024. Here's to the most productive start to a New Year you have all ever had!!

"I hate Christmas!" he said.

It was a surprise because we all knew he was a worship leader.

We sat at lunch, and I almost choked on my food.

It was unexpected - who hates Christmas?!

And why? Why would you ever say such a thing?

He went on to tell us - but more on that in a minute.

Christmas - the most wonderful time of year!

The Langton family are firm believ…

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It was squeezing the joy out of life.

Like the crushing grip of a giant snake that had silently wrapped itself around its prey.

It all seemed okay until it wasn’t.

Have you ever felt like that?

That overwhelming sense of the world starting to lose its color, where the path ahead is disappearing right before your eyes.

I’d had…

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The room was a buzz.

It was conference time again.

I was reviewing all the last-minute details before the service began when, out of nowhere, Steven Furtick, the guest speaker, walked in with his team from Elevation Church.

I can still feel the moment.

I was pleased to meet them all and was really looking forward to wha…

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In the quiet hum or perhaps noisy chaos of our childhood home, the table stood as more than a piece of furniture; it was a sacred space where stories unfolded, laughter echoed, and strangers became family.

It wasn't a fancy table, more like a '70s piece of the future that expanded and contracted to meet the requirements of the time, but that table anchored our house. Its old surface bore witness to the rhythmic dance of guests who came as strangers but left as kin.

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What kind of faith are you passing on?

Is it a frenetic faith?

A busy faith?

Or a faith that reflects the rhythm that God established and that Jesus exemplifies?

Lately, we’ve been asking ourselves these questions.

To encourage and inspire you to do the same, we recorded a short conversation on the topic.

It’s easy to choo…

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There was a time when my calendar felt more like a hamster wheel.

Round and round the weeks would go as I madly scurried through life, trying to keep up with the endless cycle. It was predictable, which I liked, but the repetition was hard to bear.

At the time, it seemed the only way to be "excellent" and to work alongside God to see "His Kingdom come" was to be constantly working long hours and never switching off. 

Have you ever felt like that? It seems it's on par with modern life - especially in ministry. Everyone is busy, serving the Lord, but also serving the calendar.

These days, my calendar plays a different role. It instead steadies my days and keeps life moving forward. It's become a gift rather than a taskmaster.

So what's changed?

Well, it’s not the calendar. But there was a time when it did.

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Have you ever had a conversation where you thought you were on the same page as the person you were speaking with, but it turned out that you were missing each other?

I've had that sensation when talking about pre-service prayer meetings.

You may have read the title of this article and thought, I don't need to read this beca…

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Meet John Cassetto.

Married to Stefanie. Father of Noah, Hayden, and Judah.

Global Worship Pastor at Saddleback Church.

Devoted disciple.

Lover of all things Disney, fun and whimsical.

Great friend, loyal leader, trusted pastor.

John has been a friend of Camp Langton for …

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I read that quote recently - it stuck in my head.

Side note: Austin Kleon quoted Andrew Potter and made my head spin. Given the topic I'm writing about, it only se…

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Is it true to say that prophets always seem a little crazy?

They're wild and free and otherly. And they point to God's way with imagination and symbolism.

John the Baptist was no exception.

He was indeed a wild and crazy prophetic voice. Crying out in the wilderness;

Matthews's gospel describes Jo…

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The Exodus has always been one of my favourite stories in the Bible, especially the part where Israel has made their way to the edge of the Red Sea. A sea of water confronts them, and an obstacle in the shape of the armies of Egypt is coming after them.

God had orchestrated for them to stage the biggest heist in history…

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Trying to discern the will of God, especially when at the crossroads of life, and needing to make big, scary, life-altering decisions can be one of the most exhilarating, joy-filled parts of following Jesus.

And…

Working out what the right decision to make can sometimes, if not at all times, be the most difficult and ten…

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I know what it's like to belong and what it feels like to be an outsider. Latel…

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Have you ever stood on the ocean's edge, watching the clouds roll in, feeling the apprehension of an impending storm?

That's what reading 2 Chronicles 20 feels like to me. You know the one. Every good Worship Leader or Pastor has preached on it - it's a classic.

The worshippers lead the way into battle.

Recently, I've been wondering if there's something more going on - something far better than I have thought for years. Something that can help us all as we face life, wanting to respond well in the face of opposition.

Picture this...

For God's people, Israel; 

There is a war coming.

The enemies are rallying.  

They are about to descend.

And as King Jehoshaphat is ruling Israel, he receives a message.

And the message has its desired effect - it causes terror and alarm in the hearts of the king and the people. Israel is at a loss to know how to face the battle.

But Jehoshaphat isn't just any King (if you have read the Old Testament before, you know that most of the Kings fail to please God. They don't lead with righteousness or seek God - they do whatever they please). 

Not Jehosophat because he is a good King. The Bible tells us that he;

In the face of a challenge - right in front of the battle, he decided to wait and call the nation to prayer. And the people do it. The scripture says;

And they ALL stop and wait on the Lord. 

Then, as they do, the King says something that has become my heart's prayer since I reread this story during Covid, as if for the first time.

Jehoshaphat says in verse 12;

"We do not know what to do, but our eyes are fixed on you."

Don't you love that!

Never has a more true prayer been prayed. When we are at a loss, fixing our eyes on Jesus is the very best decision we can make. It reminds me of Peter stepping out on the water - fixing his eyes on Jesus caused him to be able to endure, and it was only as he diverted his gaze from the Lord that he sank.

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I remember the first time I fell off a unicycle.

I was about eight years old; that's what my memory tells me. My uncle had built the unicycle from scratch in his shed, welding the pieces together.

I had borrowed it to learn to ride for a church Sunday School concert. I thought it was so cool - I knew no one else probably did, but that was okay with me.

Although the fall hurt, it wasn't that bad compared to the joy of success that awaited me on the other side. A couple of grazed hands amounted to a little burn here and there, and a few rocks embedded in my palms. I remember hitting the ground time but then getting straight back up and trying again.

That happened a lot.

On another occasion, I grazed my knees and had to wipe blood off the ground, which was a little gruesome. Once, I came pretty close to hitting my head on the concrete sidewalk. But through it all, I never considered stopping though. It never entered my mind.

Those types of adventures have always interested me. Whether juggling or balancing on a slack line (which was a great Father's Day gift one year) or the fire clubs I've always wished for. So when I recently stumbled across an article about the Wallenda family, I was intrigued.

Who are the Wallendas?

The Wallendas are a family of generational high-wire walkers.

Their story is fascinating.

The long line of aerialists began with Karl Wallenda, who started doing stunts as a 6-year-old. At 17, he formed the "Flying Wallendas," a high-wire act with a couple of school friends, one of whom would later become his wife.

They toured Europe for several years before moving to the United States with a dream to become part of the famous Ringling Bros circus.

The act became a family thing. Karl's daughters Jenny and Carla joined the troupe at a young age. Carla's debut on "the wire" was when she was just six weeks old. High in the air, her mother carried her while she sat on the shoulders of Karl... who was riding a unicycle.

The risks they took to walk the wire are hard to fathom.

They had two signature moves: performing without a safety net and a seven-person chair pyramid. If the first wasn't crazy enough, the second made performing without a net even more terrifying.

It's mind-blowing to think they started performing without a net because of an administrative mistake. Before their debut with the Ringling Brothers Circus in 1928 at Madison Square Gardens, their safety net had been lost in transit. 

And this is where the saying "the show must go on" probably came from because they chose to walk the wire anyway - despite having no safety net to catch them, should they need it. And on that occasion, the performance went well. They received a 15-minute standing ovation. But later, this decision would be the one that had a lasting impact for generations to come.

In 1962, the lack of a safety net proved fatal at the Shrine Circus in Detroit. Karl's daughter Jenny had taken a night off. She watched as her husband Richard and cousin Dieter both fell to their deaths as the seven-person pyramid collapsed in front of her and a gasping audience. Karl fell three stories onto the concrete floor but survived with only a cracked pelvis. He returned the wire the very next night.

The tragedy continued the following year when Karl's sister-in-law, Henrietta, died in another fall. And Karl's son-in-law, Chico, was killed in 1972 when his balancing pole touched a live wire during a performance in West Virginia.

Then, on 22nd March 1978, at 11 a.m., it was Karl's turn. It was on a day when the wind was blowing, and his family tried to persuade him not to step onto the wire. He made it halfway, but when his foot slipped and he grabbed for the wire, it was an impossible task. He couldn't hold on. Karl fell 121 feet and hit the ground below. All in front of a T.V. audience. The tragedy was palpable.

But Karl was not the last of the Wallendas to fall from the wire.

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Redding, California, November 2022  

The hotel was quiet. It was in the early morning hours when most guests had long retired. Sleep had come over the building, and yet, in the hotel lobby, five friends sat in a conversation that may prove to be a defining moment and be looked back on as that spark that ignited a fire.

The Eagle and the Child was another place of robust, animated conversation between friends. It was a meeting of the minds, somewhere between Narnia and The Shire, where fictional worlds felt almost real. In the company of C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien, possibilities became plausible, and history now records those casual interludes as moments of philosophical genius that resulted in some of the most significant literature the Western world has ever known.

I wonder now if the conversations and dreams that we all shared over hot chocolate and popcorn from the hotel lobby, could well have a similar effect.

I hope.

I pray.

I guess you never know the significance of a moment when you are in it.

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