Artists Ramble

Have you ever studied the lives of any of the great artists in history? I don't mean just the artist that painted or did art, I mean artist in the terms of creative people...writers, singers, and so forth...

I majored in art in college, (not that I ever finished and got a degree or anything but I did take every art class they offered...lol) and in studying the ones admired the most, they all seem to have suffered either from deep depression or went through some terrible times in their lives.

Beethoven wrote the Moonlight Sonata (spelling?) but its one of the most beautiful but also mournful pieces of music ever written. The story behind it was that he was in love with this young lady but her family rejected him and he could not marry her. He was utterly heart broken and it came out in this music. Later on some of his most wonderful music came after he had gone deaf!!! Could you image writing music and not being able to hear it?

I image somewhere he told someone he could hear the music in his head, he didn't need to hear it with his ears.

Wolfgang Mozart was considered insane I think...or seemed to be, but actually it was due to the terrible treatment he got by others in most of his life. There is a movie that was done on him a number of years ago...you ought to check it out and watch it.

Edgar Allan Poe, was an extremely depressed person, in fact I heard he had bipolar, but not real sure on that. Just reading his stuff, while so well written and required reading in many schools (or used to be), you can image how the depression affected his writings.

Van Gogh...he cut his ear off....I think it was over a woman too....grief and despair can do funny things to ones mind.

Michelangelo was also a nut case...lol....He had a learning disability, depression and a recent news article said he may have had Aspergers ... what that is....well we call it being a geek....awkard, no social skills and gets super focused on ONE thing. His one thing was art...

I think all these people obsessed to some degree or another with their work to the point they neglect family, friends and other normal day activities. Which caused people to think they were nutty...I don't think they were really nutty, they were gifted...

But also in all their lives some kind of grief and heartache and depression affected them and because of it, it actually enriched their art, be it painting or writing or acting...whatever and it made them outstanding in what they did.

They have all left us with their 'gifts' and something to learn by and appreciate and make kids have to learn in school....

When I was younger and wanted to 'create' something, whatever...I wrote and did "art" well kinda ....I was told SO many times that to be a good artist I had to SUFFER! Had to go through hardships and all kinds of bad stuff in order to add that richest to my art....sounded real appealing ... Right!

I find it amazing that our most talented people throughout history really had such rough lives! And there seems to be a correlation to great Christians ...I also think it helps the rest of us too ...

Tim

Which One of Jesus' 12 Disciples Are You?

One of those quizzes I just had to try out!

Click here: Quiz Farm - Which One of Jesus' 12 Disciples Are You? http://quizfarm.com/test.php?q_id=182065&first=yes

My result: You scored as James the Lesser. James is the brother of Jude (the good Judas) and the half-brother or cousin of Jesus. He authored the very practical Bible book of James. The book of James has many references to the power of what we say. The potential harm it could do, but also the good it can do.

James the Lesser 75%

Thomas 67%

Matthew 67%

Philip 67%

John the Apostle 58%

Simon the Zealot 58%

Peter (Simon Peter) 50%

James the Greater 50%

Andrew 42%

Thaddeus (Jude, aka the good Judas) 33%

Bartholomew 25%

Judas Iscariot 25%

A Fathers Love

I don't share that many devotionals but I really liked this one!

Tim

Reflections For Ragamuffins - A Daily Devotionalby Brennan Manning Copyright © 1998 by Brennan Manning

ABBA'S LOVE - Sunday, February 8th

The prayer for the poor in spirit can simply be a single word: Abba. Yet that word can signify dynamic interaction. Imagine a boy trying to help his father with some household work or making his mother a gift. The help may be nothing more than getting in the way, and the gift may be totally useless, but the love behind it is simple and pure, and the loving response it evokes is virtually uncontrollable. I am sure it is this way between our Abba and us. At the deepest, simplest levels, we just want each other to be happy, to be pleased. Our sincere desire counts far more than any specific success or failure. Thus when we try and pray and cannot, or when we fail in a sincere attempt to be compassionate, God touches us tenderly in return.

Happy Independence Day, USA!!!

Happy Independence Day, USA!!! Naturally, being in a small town USA, we had to have a big parade and BBQ! Here are scenes from Chiloquin, Oregons 4th of July Parade extravaganza... Gotta love small towns!

We are the ones we’ve been waiting for

This is not really a poem... but it's beautiful like a poem and I wanted to share it with you all.

This Is The Hour

You have been telling the people that this is the Eleventh Hour.

Now you must go back and tell the people that this is the Hour.

And there are things to be considered:

Where are you living?

What are you doing?

What are your relationships?

Are you in right relation?

Where is your water?

Know your garden.

It is time to speak your Truth.

Create your community.

Be good to each other.

And do not look outside yourself for the leader.

This could be a good time!

There is a river flowing now very fast.

It is so great and swift that there are those who will be afraid.

They will try to hold onto the shore.

They will feel they are being torn apart and they will suffer greatly.

Know the river has its destination.

The elders say we must let go of the shore,

push off into the middle of the river,

keep our eyes open and our heads above the water.

See who is in there with you and celebrate.

At this time in history,

we are to take nothing personally.

Least of all, ourselves.

For the moment that we do,

our spiritual growth and journey comes to a halt.

The time of the lone wolf is over.

Gather yourselves!

Banish the word struggle from your attitude and your vocabulary.

All that we do now must be done in a sacred manner and in celebration.

We are the ones we’ve been waiting for.
~The Hopi Nation Elders

Have a blessed weekend everyone!

Numbers 6:24-26 The LORD bless you and keep you; the LORD make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you; the LORD turn his face/lift up his eyes and give you peace.

Tim

Tim ..... On the other side

Since coming home fron the hospital, barely surviving a major heart attack with complications, doing the near death thing .... I have been asked often in various forms, "What was it like?" Here is how the question was put in the Yahoo group "a_savedsinglesgetaway":

Tim, what was it like ? what were you thinking and feeling during the whole time ? Did you think you were going Home ? Any Visions ? Any Voices ? Was there a Light in a tunnel ?

Would you be interested in sharing ?

As you know we all were praying for you, Melissa and your family did you ever think at some time during the whole time going to the hospital or in the hospital that things may have turned out different ?

I'm not really ready to answer this question yet but this is the answer I gave to the group:

I'm afraid I'm going to be disappointing answering this. My experience through the whole thing is so much different than for my family those around me. Never once did I think about death or dying ... It just never entered my mind! I don't really know what happened the first days other than I dialed 911 to have the Chiloquin ambulance to the hospital. I remember only very little of the emergency room and nothing after that until I woke up in Medford a few days later. All I can really say is that whenever I went through big anxiety or whatever (I was real sick for a couple of weeks in Medford and had to have 3 more surgeries) the Lord always provided this peace, a feeling of warmth and assurance no matter how much "faith" I had at the time.

The effect on Melissa, Ben, Xalina and Shay, was totally different. They were told I had next to no chance of living more than a few hours. I can only begin to imagine what that was like! Xalina in fact was told that if she wanted to see her Dad alive she better get in the car right now and make the trip to Klamath. She lives 6 hours away (I guessed it was 5 hours this trip) in Lincoln City. It was only a couple of days later after the "life flight" to Medford and many hours of surgery that the story changed and I was going to make it after all. My eyes still tear up thinking about all this ...

One thing I would like to point out is that a whole lot of Christians were involved in this which shows to me Gods hand in all this. My main surgeon Dr. Yondell, the greatest heart Doctor on the Left Coast, is very up front about his faith as well as the other surgeons. Many Nurses as well.

One last thing ... Please keep us all in prayer. Melissa and I are still sorting things out, My son Ben has lost it more than a couple times but is coming around with me and other issues in his life. The toll of Ben and his stuff on our marriage has been high. Xalina still calls me everyday to see if I'm alright. I have to see her again someday soon so she can see with her eyes I'm getting better. Its going to take awhile for things to return to normal ... In fact it never will as this has been such a life changing thing for all of us. Thank God for each new day ... I know now how precious they are ... troubles, hurt or not ...

Have a blessed afternoon everyone!

Tim

A Christian Fairy Tale?

Something I posted at my Christian singles group "savedsinglesgetaway" ...

Its come up a lot and I've seen in devotions, singles advice lists and a host of other places. Its about waiting for "God's best" for you as a mate. There seems to me anyway, a connotation that this person is going to be perfectly suited for you, meet a whole list of qualifications ect. But I have to wonder if while waiting for this perfect mate, or "God's best" for us, we are somehow are missing out on God's choice for us?

This person God has in mind is going to be flawed like we are, and have freewill like we do. Gods best is going to be a sinner as we are. They are going to have "baggage," maybe emotional hang-ups of one kind or another, and a host of other things "wrong." Could it be that God's choice for us won't really look like what we envision? Maybe this person is going to challenge us in ways we don't want to be challenged, or dealing with things we don't really feel like dealing with. After all God's ways are higher than our own. Maybe God's best is going to have weaknesses where you have strengths and vice versa, and in the relationship you both are going to be more Christ like and better for it. Some of the things I read, maybe a lot of what I read, sounds like a Christian fairy tale where the prince comes, marries the fair maiden and lives happily everaftermore. Maybe God's best is something else which involves overcoming human limitations and being a whole lot better for it.

Just some thoughts...

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/a_saved_singles_getaway/