A work of art is the unique result of a unique temperament. ~ Oscar Wilde

(I found this in my facebook memories from six years ago today. I don't remember writing it but I like it.)

Abstract art to me reminds me of how God calls us out of the known and asks us to trust him entering into the unknown, as a lamp unto our feet, not a crystal ball unto our future, and he gives us only as much forsight as we need, which is usually where our feet are going at that moment. The future is a mystery, the past is dead, and only today can we hear God's voice, here in the moment.

Yesterday I was in so much pain from my fibro that I couldn't move and decided to watch Hallmark movies, since I was gonna be laid up on the couch with my little puppy companion who helps me through these days. And God met me in one of the Hallmark shows with profound messages. And I probably would not have heard them had I not been miserable enough to just lay there and just watch the show. And it was a show about an artist who people were judging because he wasn't rich or pedigree enough for them. And he ended up NOT being represented by them afterall, but represented by a simple flower shop owner. It wasn't as fancy as the world would think he needs, but just enough for him. And that was enough.

(The movie called "The Art of Us" will be airing again on the Hallmark channel again tonight.)

We were born to love God and love one another and to bear the fruits of the Spirit and to do good deeds that God prepared in advance for us to do. We were born not for bread alone but for every word that comes from the mouth of the Father. Our natural gifts are temporal, but use them to the best of your ability and leave the rest to God. Faith, Hope, and Love will remain throughout it all. Whatever you do, do it as if you are serving the Lord and not men. If you feel connected to God intimately when using the gifts He has given you, that reason alone is enough. No one else has to even approve of it. As long as your Father in Heaven approves and is smiling down on you saying well done good and faithful servant, then that is the only audience that you need. And remember, God loves you for who you truly are, not just what you do. Let what you do be an overflow of who you truly are. And most of all, we were born to be loved by God, who loved us first, and that is why we love in the first place.

Your sister in Christ
Dawn Maureen

"How you spend your days matters much more than how much it pays."

from "The Art of Us"

“Remember He is the artist and you are only the picture. You can’t see it. So quietly submit to be painted—i.e., keep fulfilling all the obvious duties of your station (you really know quite well enough what they are!), asking forgiveness for each failure and then leaving it alone. You are in the right way. Walk—don’t keep on looking at it.” ~C.S. Lewis, The Collected Letters of C.S. Lewis

"An intellectual is a man who says a simple thing in a difficult way; an artist is a man who says a difficult thing in a simple way." Charles Bukowski, writer

If Thou the Spirit give by which I pray:
My unassisted heart is barren clay,
That of its nature self can nothing feed;
Of good and pious works Thou art the seed,
That quickens only when Thou say’st it may;
Unless Thou show to us Thine own true way
No man can find it: Father! Thou must lead.

~ MICHELANGELO

No art or beauty, no strength or riches, no genius or eloquence, are of any worth to you, O Lord, unless accompanied by Your grace. ~ Thomas Kempis