Mindi Oaten has always been creative, but it was an encounter with God that changed her path moving forward.

"I got a fine art degree in studio arts. I left school not knowing what to do with an art degree," said Oaten. "I believed I wasn't good enough to be a working artist. So, I left my art at school. I got a job, got married and had kids."

14 years later, Mindi experienced a dream where she was on a stage with a painting and an easel. She says it left her with a burning sensation that she should be doing artwork.

"Shortly after that dream, a friend of mine was homeschooling her daughter and asked if I would do a little art lesson for her," said Mindi. "I can see now that God was sending me people to do art all the time at that point because he was pursuing me to get back into art."

Mindi agreed to do it and began looking for her art case from school. She found it in the garage covered in dust. 

"I brought my art case in the house. I was by myself getting it prepared for this girl to come over. I just felt in my spirit, that there was something that was going to hit me when I opened this thing. It had been over a decade since I last opened it," Mindi explained. 

To her surprise, Mindi opened up her art kit and found a picture of Jesus taped inside from ten years prior. 

"That was a real encounter moment where I knew my art gift was from God, and I had to do it for him," said Mindi.

Since then, she has painted her way through all 66 books of the Bible. For two years straight, from late 2017 to 2019, Mindi studied the books of the Bible and painted a piece for each one. 

"I learned so much about the word of God and the character of God through that process," said Oaten. "It was amazing."

Mindi is now sharing about her journey as a prophetic artist and her story of painting through the Bible in hopes that she can teach and inspire others to see the Bible in a fresh way, as well as inspire and activate other creatives to use their gifts to glorify.

Today on Connections, Mindi shares about her journey as a prophetic artist. She'll also chat about her story of painting through the Bible.