Masterpiece Material: Your Maker-Made Material That Was Worth the Saving.

By Casey Haist

Let's remember who God is and be reminded together what that means for us. There's a journey ahead of unlocking the masterpiece within us that so desperately wants to be set free. Let's walk through each chapter like we've met at your favorite coffee spot and remind ourselves of our worth, our value, and why it makes sense that we were always meant to live in the light.

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Oct 23, 2020
• ISBN: 9781664202856

Casey Haist

Casey Haist is a mom of two crazy amazing boys and has been married for 14 years to her favorite person, Bryant. Casey is an identity and creativity advocate, worship leader, clay jewelry maker, abstract painter, and rainbow chaser. She inspires others to see the masterpiece in the mirror. She creatively communicates God’s truth through writing, expressive art, song and speaking. Casey has helped create vision and atmosphere for local Chosen women’s events and special gatherings, blazing a path of inspiration and encouraging others to step boldly into who God created them to be.

Book preview

Copyright © 2020 Casey Haist.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical,

including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written

permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

WestBow Press

A Division of Thomas Nelson & Zondervan

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Bloomington, IN 47403

www.westbowpress.com

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Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed

since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not

necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

Stephanie Lancione-main photographer

Jessica Flores-watercolor art and block prints

Rosy Golupski-graphic illustration

Debra Mantey-Ell-Jesus sketch

Don Mantey-photographer

Kara Lewis-author photographer

Casey Haist-abstract art

Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale

House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Scripture taken from The Message. Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000,

2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group.

Scripture quotations taken from The Holy Bible, New International Version® NIV® Copyright © 1973

1978 1984 2011 by Biblica, Inc. TM. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version® Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

ISBN: 978-1-6642-0284-9 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-6642-0285-6 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2020916053

WestBow Press rev. date: 10/21/2020

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WHAT READERS ARE SAYING ABOUT

MASTERPIECE MATERIAL

As soon as I finished reading this remarkable book, I had two immediate thoughts. 1) I’ve got to read the chapter, EVERY BIT OF THE BODY, again. It gave me a new love for the church and insights I’ve never thought of before. AND 2) how could an author this young be this wise?

Casey Haist’s voice is fresh, her concern for the reader is genuine, and her honesty makes you want to keep turning the pages. Here is a writer in whom there is no guile. In fact, when reading these pages, you feel like you’re having an intimate heart to heart with one of your best friends — who has only your mental and spiritual health in mind.

Casey is a fighter. I’ve known that for some time now. And in this book she is fighting for you even as she fights for the truth. We are at a crossroads in America, and many people are giving up hope. It’s because we’re living in a post-truth world where the blind are leading the blind. Partisan politics have poisoned journalism so that political parties now set the media narratives and spin every story to support their own biased agendas. The truth is that no one is telling the whole truth anymore, and partial truths are anathema to freedom. So Casey has written this book to fight for God’s truth and the reader’s freedom.

The most toxic virus we face today is a pandemic of lying, spread by untrustworthy media outlets that stir up our anger and feed our divisiveness. You hear a lot of people nowadays talking about their truth. I’ve been trying to live my truth lately, you’ll hear them say. Or, We just disagree, because you have your truth, and I have mine. Or, You can’t contradict me, because this is my truth! This kind of nonsense hurts my brain and makes my eyes cross. Your Truth? My truth? That’s just abusing the English language.

And in this wonderful book, Casey tells us that truth is not relative. Truth is like the sun: you can shut it out for a while, but it’s not going away. And the truth is that you are God’s masterpiece and His love is going to change your life. So buckle your safety belt and keep your mind in an open and unlocked position as you read these pages, because you, my friend, are in for quite a ride.

— Dr. Bob Laurent, TEACHING PASTOR AT Granger Community Church,

AUTHOR OF Thin Places

Masterpiece Material is a book of armor for every reader. Author Casey Haist is an edgy, creative, and passionate writer that paints beautiful imagery with her words as she shares God’s heart on identity. Have you ever thought, Am I too much? How can I fit into a world where I constantly stand out? Why am I so crazy?

Casey will enthusiastically meet with you in these questions and many more to saturate you with truth and equip you with rich perspectives that are life-giving and life-transforming. Casey wages war on the false identity we so often believe, as she shares with us the artistic side of our Creator who designed us intentionally with each detail. Her words are captivating, moving, and full of depth.

I recommend Masterpiece Material to everyone that is ready to discover, rediscover, and strengthen their beliefs of who they are and who God created them to be. You will find your soul being refreshed in every page as you dive into Casey’s kaleidoscopic views on what it means to live, love, serve and shine like the Masterpiece God says we are.

— Mattie Book, SPEAKER AND BLOGGER AT Dwell at The Well

You know those moments when a child walks up to a beach or sees a new playground for the first time? It’s as if pure delight gets unleashed. You don’t have to convince precious young ones to ignite excitement, passion, wonder or delight. The marvel in their eyes can be seen, it can be experienced. This is how Casey Haist resembles life in the everyday. Pure Delight. And out of that delight and creative fervor, she chooses focus.

Why? So that you and I may be awakened to the inviting heart and mind of our heavenly Father. So we may be seen, truly seen, and loved, even if for perhaps the very first time. Casey guides in such a unique way as to capture the truth of Proverbs 2:9,10 (NIV): Then you will understand what is right and just and fair — every good path. For wisdom will enter your heart, and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul.

She paints with words that bring color and vibrancy into our view.

A few years back Casey was creating an experience by pulling petals off a flower one at a time. But rather than reciting the infamous ‘he loves me, he loves me not’ from rote memory, she changed our perspective by confidently speaking ‘He loves you. He loves you. He loves you’ with EACH petal. Mic drop. Pen drop. Keyboard drop.

Be awakened in the writing of this book, that there are ZERO ‘He loves you not’s’. May your journey through these pages invite you into a freedom unlike any other with the very One who IS love.

— Angela Bryant, DIRECTOR OF SPIRITUAL DEVELOPMENT AND FACILITATOR OF WOMEN’S SPIRITUAL GATHERINGS AT Granger Community Church

A note from Casey

My heart behind these pages is that you’ll get it. Whatever it God has for you to get. That any veils in front of your eyes will be lifted when you’re searching for freedom. I pray that as you read these words you’d know they aren’t just for you, they’re for me too. Anything good I’ve ever captured on paper is a grace-filled result of walking and learning in relationship with God, as I step one step at a time in the direction of truth that I know.

The One who created you is trustworthy and wants to partner with you, wants to create beautiful things within and with you if you’re willing to listen. Faith is a journey that takes reminding ourselves of truth, worthy risk, intentionality, choosing and action. This book was an act, an obedient step of, Hey, if this heart language of truth I captured on paper is helpful to me, maybe it’d be helpful to someone else too. Maybe they’d ‘get’ God’s heart for them in the same way I have through receiving it.

This book was written out of a partnering with God in sacred spaces like my messy, crumb-filled kitchen table, where I leaned in and listened with a thirsty soul. I listened for truth and simply wrote down the interpretation my heart heard, savoring every word. These words are my heart-response translated onto paper in a way that could only be accomplished with my Creator, the One who supplies the words, a language of the heart only He could give words to. It was a partnering of listening, trusting, obeying, pruning and perseverance I could not have done on my own without His help, His gift of words to describe what my heart was saying.

He’s the supplier and the One who invites us into holy and sometimes hard work, not because He needs us to but because it’s what we were created for. It’s because He loves us and knows that what He designed within us long ago is beautiful — a beautiful dance between us and Him in reflecting who He is out into the world. We get to reflect His character of GOOD. Freely using the gifts and talents He’s given us. We don’t HAVE to, we GET to. To partner with the One who made me? The One who knows every bit of my heart’s desire to create with purpose? Yep, I’ll listen to Him and move. He wants to watch us use the gifts He planted within us, create and discover the good he has for us and for His glory. Because the beauty within relationship with our Maker, within creating life-giving things together, is part of what Jesus died for, part of the design and worth we carry. He wants a front row seat in our lives, He wants to guide us in freedom and teach us how to show others the way.

This book isn’t mine, but a gift for His glory, an altar that I pray burns and refines hearts wherever His wind wants to take it. These words aren’t something I magically came up with, they’ve been a continuous gift I could not have received without Him. There’s no way I could have done this without the supplier of words. This is all to honor who He is and who He’s shown Himself to be in my life. I give Him all the glory.

So, sister. Brother. I pray that you get it. The love that God has for you is unlike any other. You’re His, and you were His long before anyone or anything else could ever have a say.

He calls you a masterpiece. I want to see your colors shine. Because I know that when you let Him light you up, the floodgates of truth and freedom open wide.

Life’s too short to not fully grasp the freedom Jesus bought for us. We were and still are worthy of it, He proved it. Let’s run with it, masterpiece, and give Him all the glory.

— Casey

Dedication and

appreciation

I dedicate these pages to my Creator, the maker and supplier of all things good. Thank you for trusting me, partnering with me and showing the world that we’re worthy, loved and capable of creating beautiful things with Your help. You’re the truest thing I’ve ever known. To my super wise and servant-hearted husband, Bryant and our beautifully-crafted kiddos, Kaden and Riley. You — are — awesome and always remember that you’re God’s artwork! You help mold my heart in the direction of good every day. To the friends, artists, sisters and brothers within the body of Christ that came alongside me and provided their gifts and talents to help make this happen — I appreciate you.

Contents

Masterpiece

Somebody with Jesus in their eyes

No Trespassing

Surrender feels like weakness on purpose

The Jump. The Fall. The Catch. The Soar

Create

Your personality type has nothing to do with obedience

Every bit of the body

Come as you are and set the bar

His form of self-care was dying to self

Hey, crazy! Take up your sword!

Stay Moldable, Masterpiece

Masterpiece

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An artist will always recognize their work for what it is. Theirs.

They’ll create, study, have a vision in mind, and make their mark of ownership. It’s an original and they’re downright proud of it.

In the same way, God created you, sees you, knows you, took time on you, and chose you.

Think about it this way.

If God sent you a