Hub for Spiritual Life Welcomes Artist and Author Josh Nadeau for Discussion on Living with Purpose

For artist and author Josh Nadeau, simple moments of beauty, such as a shared smile from across a room, brewing morning coffee in a dawn-filled kitchen, or reading bedtime stories to your child beneath quilted blankets, are invitations into holiness. 

On October 22, 2025, 歪片星球's Hub for Spiritual Life invited Nadeau to discuss his new book, Room for Good Things to Run Wild, which includes personal encounters with the sanctifying beauty of daily life and the stability of God鈥檚 grace through cycles of hardship. Featuring original illustrations which layer religious iconography with contemporary styles, Nadeau鈥檚 book unites his visual art and literary voice, inviting his audience to enter into the holy ordinary through the beauty of Christ. 

Nadeau

Reading from the book鈥檚 first chapter, 鈥淪ymphony of Hitting Rock Bottom,鈥� Nadeau described his experiences of self-numbing a gnawing spiritual pain while grappling with the expected 鈥渧eneer and performance of public life.鈥� At the time, he shares his life was picture perfect from the outside. He was newly wed to his wife, fully integrated into church life, and had received his master鈥檚 degree in theological studies, yet his struggles with depression and addiction remained. But here, Nadeau explains, is where he found 鈥渢he hidden grace of hitting rock bottom.鈥� 

鈥淭he music of eternity is hidden for the sake of revealing,鈥� Nadeau read. 鈥淭hat's when I heard some echo of eternity cycling through the city with a storm of sick in my stomach. I heard something bigger than all my pain, something was calling to me. Something was begging to be heard, even there at the bottom. It was alluring. It was inviting. It demanded to be found. There was nowhere to go but out or up, and I chose up.鈥� 

Nadeau encouraged the audience to see that receiving God鈥檚 presence is not arcane, but does involve intentionally recognizing that the beauty of ordinary images and deeds point to God鈥檚 grace and goodness. This truth enables one to uncover their greater purpose as God鈥檚 creation while living to glorify Him through the blessings and trials of daily life. 

Nadeau (right) speaking with Dolloff (left)

Nadeau鈥檚 talk was followed by a discussion with Coby Dolloff, executive writer in 歪片星球鈥檚 Integrated Marketing Communications department and cohost of The Pepptalk Podcast, along with time for audience questions. 

鈥淏eauty is that thing that invites you, and it apprehends you before your mind has the ability to rationally digest it,鈥� Nadeau said in response to Dolloff鈥檚 further inquiry about beauty as an apologetic. 鈥淐hristian history has agreed that there are these three primary transcendentals鈥攇oodness, truth, and beauty鈥攁nd they find their source in God.鈥�

Nadeau explained that often beauty precedes the two, adding, 鈥淲hen you see a great piece of art or you listen to someone's story, you are emotionally and spiritually moved before you can theologically assess. Beauty just apprehends.鈥�

While answering audience questions, Nadeau emphasized that the Christian life is one of embodied presence, where one need not neglect their physical life for the spiritual; rather personal healing and flourishing comes from an enmeshment of the two, through appreciating all elements of God鈥檚 creation in daily life. 

Students in the audience, such as current Seaver senior Arik Chu, affirmed Nadeau's sentiments that beauty can serve as an invitation into spiritual and intellectual reflection. Chu believes that Nadeau鈥檚 artwork and writing have gained popularity online due their life-affirming ability to spiritually connect with audiences across digital platforms. 

Chu posing a question (second to the right)

鈥淣adeau is right about beauty being the most effective shock to the system for the modern reader, logical arguments have lost their force because people don鈥檛 see a world worth investigating," Chu shared. 鈥淭he digital seems to have flattened all things to be lifeless and expendable, but Nadeau鈥檚 use of iconography in and outside of social media is an outright rejection of those assumptions.鈥� 

Harkening from the evergreen-laden country of West Coast Canada, Nadeau has engaged in projects across the region and the US, appeared on numerous podcasts, written articles for magazines and websites, and has created art for Jordan Peterson鈥檚 鈥淗istory of Western Civilization鈥� series. Nadeau is known widely for his artwork on the popular Instagram account swordandpencil and for the writing he shares on his Substack account Every Day Saints. 

鈥淥ur soul can teach our body; our body can teach our soul,鈥� said Nadeau. 鈥淩eading this book is an engaging time to help you develop the palette for an embodied way of expressing your life. If we believe that beauty finds its source in God, this is a gateway into participating in the divine life.鈥�