You are Your Most Whole When you Find That Thing - Part 1 (episode 277-1)

Join us for a heartfelt conversation about resilience, rediscovering passion, and what it means to live boldly and beautifully in this season of life.

It had been far too long.

We hadn’t connected in a while, and I got to remember what an inspiration this woman is!  Scotti Taylor is a vibrant artist whose story is equal parts courage, faith, and creativity. Once a graphic designer, Scotti followed a divine nudge to pursue painting full-time, uncovering new layers of self-discovery along the way. In this inspiring conversation, she opens up about life after 50, caregiving for her daughter, hormone replacement therapy, and how faith and community shaped her journey. From her European adventures with her kids, to lessons learned from her grandmother, Scotti reminds us to relax, trust God, and embrace the beauty of becoming.

Scotti is our guest this week for Spicy Christian Women - Becoming All that and a Bag of Chips. This is part one.

Scotti has been on the podcast before in I Will Not Be Silent episode 33; Takeaways and Looks Ahead episode 40 and How to Show Up for Each Other episode 108.

You can find Scotti on Instagram Hey Scotti Taylor.

Resilient. Energized. Aware.

— Scotti Taylor


For Heaven’s Sake

Thoughts from You are Your Most Whole When you Find That Thing - Part 1

Let’s start here. How much I love Scotti’s dress as pictured above, “No Kings.” I applaud her right to express her views through her art. That is one of the reasons we have art in the first place. As long as there has been human beings, there has been art. It is a form of creative expression, a way to communicate thoughts about culture, history, and it reflects emotions. When we look at a particular piece we be moved, learn something, and/or wonder about some of life’s biggest questions.

In googling the 5 most famous pieces of art, we get these results:

  1. The Mona Lisa - painted by Leonardo da Vinci in 1503, it is a portrait of Lisa del Gioncondo, a member of the Gheradini family. (I did not know who this woman was, pre-google. I have seen the painting at the Louvre and it felt like a bucket-list moment. There were a gazillion people waiting to see it in a long, serpentine-line that was reminiscent of waiting for Splash Mountain in Disneyland. It ends up being much smaller than you think it’s going to be, measuring at 30 inches x 21 inches.) It is considered famous for its innovative techniques and realistic portrayal which created a sensation then and up to today.

  2. The Last Supper - also by da Vinci, painted in 1495-1495, housed in Milan. (No, I haven’t seen it.) Its merits include the dramatic realistic portrayal of the key biblical moment, the unique (for that time) way he composed the painting and the perspective used, along with the emotions that are evoked by the subject matter.

  3. Starry Night - created by Vincent Van Gogh in 1889 while he was in the asylum at Saint-Remy-de-Provence in France. It resides at the MoMA in New York City. (I believe I’ve seen it as I’ve been to that museum and can’t imagine that I would have missed out on seeing this as I would consider Van Gogh to be my favorite artist - if we are asking people who their favorites are which really only happens when you are very young or at dinner parties. Wouldn’t I remember such a moment? You would think…) This painting is famous for its new-for-the-time techniques with his brushwork of swirling colors, the intense emotional power, and the fact that it is his view from the asylum window. It is thought to have scientific and spiritual themes as well.

  4. The Scream - painted by Edvard Munch in 1893. It resides in Oslo, Sweden and is thought to be an autobiographical moment during a walk wherein Munch saw a blood-red sunset which he interpreted as ‘a great scream’ through nature. Some see it as a commentary on the human condition of emotional turmoil. It was a key piece in the Expressionist and Symbolist movements. (No, I have not seen this one.)

  5. The Creation of Adam - created by Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni or better know as Michelangelo. It took sixteen days to complete this specific portion of the greater work that is in the ceiling of Sistine Chapel in Rome, Italy. It is famous for many things: composition, focal point, anatomy, imagery, religious significance along with its symbolic meaning and interpretations.

So we’ve had a brief art history lesson here. I rather enjoyed it and I hope you did too. This all started with Scotti’s work as an artist and it took some scrolling through her Instagram account in a deep-dive to see and appreciate all the pieces she has painted. Her art is like her: bold, powerful, colorful, intentional, with plenty to say. Here here! She is unabashed - she is herself. And that is the best thing I can say about anyone. For heaven’s sake, be you. (And you can take that literally if you like.)

The word “inculcate” is the first layer of this piece.

inculcate - to teach and impress an idea, attitude, or habit upon someone by frequent and persistent repetition. 

— by Scotti Taylor, artist


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Brave but Not Always Confident - Part 2 (episode 276-2)