Happy Birthday, Jackson Pollock!

"When I am in my painting, I'm not aware of what I'm doing. It is only after a sort of 'get acquainted' period that I see what I have been about. I have no fear of making changes, destroying the image, etc., because the painting has a life of its own. I try to let it come through. It is only when I lose contact with the painting that the result is a mess. Otherwise there is pure harmony, an easy give and take, and the painting comes out well." (From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jackson_Pollock)

What a neat quote! I am not an artist by nature; mostly because art doesn't fit very well with my perfectionist-self :) However, I really like this view on art. "The painting has a life of its own"...it makes art sound like such an incredible, magical thing that just happens. Sometimes I feel like that with writing; like these words just come and the stories and poems have lives and minds of their own, too.

Pollock was famous for his very unique style of painting. Rather than use easels and paintbrushes and careful strokes, he often used sheets or giant pieces of paper -- or even walls! -- and other tools, like trowels, sticks or knives to make his abstract paintings. Often he'd mix foreign substances, like crushed glass or sand to his paint to give it a different texture.

Many people have criticized both Pollock's methods and paintings as being something "a five year old could do", because his style included flinging, dripping and splattering paint onto his work surface, to make things like this:




According to Wiki, "Pollock denied "the accident"; he usually had an idea of how he wanted a particular piece to appear. It was about the movement of his body, over which he had control, mixed with the viscous flow of paint, the force of gravity, and the way paint was absorbed into the canvas. The mix of the uncontrollable and the controllable. Flinging, dripping, pouring, spattering, he would energetically move around the canvas, almost as if in a dance, and would not stop until he saw what he wanted to see."

Pollock had a very original take on painting. His work was truly his; it was his individual form of expression, and I love that about him. Maybe art doesn't have to be a perfect, realistic, carefully calculated work; but rather an intense, unique, even mysterious creation?

If Jackson Pollock were still alive, he would be celebrating his 97th birthday today! Happy Birthday, Jackson Pollock!

See More of Jackson Pollock's Work

O Happy Days...!

I LOVE birthdays. Not my birthday, particularly; that's never been a huge deal to me. No, I love OTHER people's birthdays. I love secretly finding out when birthdays are. I love whispering other people's birthdays to their friends so we can surprise them on their special day. I love suprising them with cards and I love giving gifts and I love singing "Happy Birthday" and I just love the whole concept of birthdays. I love how everyone has one day...one day of their very own...to be celebrated.

Today is my very bestest friend in the whole world's birthday (Happy Birthday, dear!!!) and I am so happy about it!!! I have been counting down the days to her birthday for months now. She does EVERYTHING for EVERYONE ALL THE TIME, but on her birthday, at least, it's a chance for the whole world to do things for HER, and to let her know how special and wonderful she is and how much we love her and how happy we are to have her in our lives :)

But it got me thinking, too.... as wonderful as it is to celebrate someone especially on their birthday, and let them know how special they are, why can't we do that every day? Why only once a year? Birthdays don't come nearly often enough, you see....I would never survive if I had to wait a WHOLE ENTIRE YEAR to tell my friend how amazing she is and make her feel special again....I mean, after all, I try to do that every day!!!!!

Remembering someone's birthday shows that you care about them, but you can show you care on the other 364 days, too!

One neat thing I LOVE to do is surprise people on their HALF birthdays -- it's a fun way to let them know you're thinking about them when they least expect it. Send a card, give a little gift or just call them and sing "HAPPY HALF BIRTHDAY TO YOU....". You will be surprised how happy this makes both of you!

Even more fun is celebrating an UNbirthday -- celebrating someone you love on a totally random day. Not because it's their birthday (or half-birthday!); but simply because you love them :)

Look for ways to let someone know how very special they are to you today. Look for ways to encourage people today. Send them a card in the mail for no reason at all, bake some cookies to share, draw a picture, write a poem, give them a call or even just a big hug!

"Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!" -- Phillipians 4:4

"For this is the day that the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it!" -- Psalm 118:24

We can and SHOULD celebrate things that bring us joy and rejoice in our blessings EVERY DAY!!!!! And my friends are certainly some of the biggest blessings in my life :)

Advice from Dr Seuss

EEEP! This blog has been getting altogether too serious for me lately. Too...dark and intense. I think that's why I haven't written lately, because I haven't been in this deep contemplative mood...I've been too busy loving life :)
I think I need to change layout, too...with Spring just around the corner and my current intense good mood, I'm feeling the need for something much happier and brighter!!


(Thank you, Hannah dear, for the idea that sparked this post. Your "bumper sticker" did it!)

So! Last week (March 2) was Dr. Seuss' birthday. (Yes, you guys remember....good ol' Cat in the Hat, Green Eggs and Ham, Fox in Socks, the Biddle Beetle Battle Bubble [I can't ever remember the name of that one!!! Anyone else know the real title?!], How The Grinch Stole Christmas, The Lorax, Oh The Places You'll Go! (a personal favorite!) and so many other classics)... I celebrated this momentous occasion by dressing up as Cat in the Hat himself and reading "Green Eggs and Ham" to the preschoolers. It was incredibly exciting, actually :)

Dr Seuss is one of my all time favorite authors -- he always has been. I mean, how can you not love a writer who rhymes nonsense words and still makes sense!? In all seriousness, though, look at the themes of his books -- the spirit of Christmas is about more then gifts, there are plenty of things to do on rainy days [creativity and optimism], and even (*gasp!*) trying new (green!) foods might actually turn out to be a positive experience [open-mindedness]!! But on top of that, Dr Seuss has some truly insightful words of wisdom to live by as well.

Take this quote, for instance:

"Be who you are
and say what you feel,
because those who mind, don't matter,
and those who matter, don't mind."

Ever struggle with self-esteem? With being to shy or self-concious to be yourself? Everyone's always loudly proclaiming, "BE YOURSELF!" "STAY TRUE TO YOURSELF!" but the majority of the time, "everyone" fails to acknowledge how scary that can be. Sometimes it's much easier to conform and melt into the crowd. (Trust me, I know!) To become just one more of the sea of faces out there, and not worry about being singled out. To silence your own voice for fear of being heard.

Today in Sunday School we talked about love, and all the different facets of love. How the media portrays love. How this country sees love. How the world as a whole defines love. How we as individuals understand love. Ways to express love and how love is manifested...you get the idea.

Love is supportive. (See 1 Corinth. 13: 1-13 for more on the Biblical definition of love). It is through love that we find the courage and support we need to become who we are!! Whether we're kids, teens or adults, or anywhere in between, it seems to be a lifelong struggle to find our "place" in this world, doesn't it? We are constantly trying to figure out how we fit in and who we are....

And it is through and because of the love of our family, friends and God that we have the freedom to take some leaps of faith, try new things and figure out just WHO we are!

Don't be afraid to go out there and do something crazy! Wear mismatched socks. Watch a VeggieTales movie. Go skipping down the streets of Argentina singing Dora the Explorer songs. Eat dessert first. Speak your mind. Take a walk in the rain. Re-read one of your favorite books from eons ago, back in your childhood days. Wear your clothes backwards and see how many people notice. Go out to eat at midnight in your pajamas. Smile at 50 specific people today and tell them you hope they're having a great day. Give hugs to someone you care about.

It's OK to defy the ordinary and be unique! I'm finding that the people in your life who truly care about you will love you despite..or perhaps because of!...your zaniness. When you do something silly, they'll still love you. When you speak your mind, whether they agree with you or not...they'll still love you. And it's love like this that gives us strength, hope and courage.

Don't let yourself become consumed by other's opinions. After all, EVERYONE has an opinion about EVERYTHING, somewhere deep down, and yes, there are going to be people who will look at you funny and point and whisper when you wear mismatched socks. But hey, that's OK. You've got the love of those who care about you backing you up -- because "...those who matter won't mind".

So take the immortal words of Dr Seuss to heart (No, no, no, not, "Would you eat them with a goat? Would you eat them on a boat?!"...) and I challenge you today to go out there and say what you feel. (And maybe wear mismatched socks while doing it???)

Words and Meanings

Happy Birthday, C. S. Lewis!!

Today, (November 29, 2007) one of my favorite authors would have been 109! In celebration of his birthday, I googled some C.S. Lewis quotes. Here's one of my favorites:

"Don't use words too big for the subject. Don't say "infinitely" when you mean "very"; otherwise you'll have no word left when you want to talk about something really infinite."

I love this quote because it applies directly to me :) I am forever using humongous, gargantuan words in place of teeny tiny normal (and rather dull, I must admit) ones, because I, being the crazy homeschooler that I am, loooove vocabulary :) However, Mr. Lewis is entirely right. But really, this whole phenomenon of stripping words of their true value is something that really bothers me. When we use strong words in situations when we don't really need them, their meaning becomes less and less intense. And slowly, throughout time, we begin to get desensitized to the true meaning of some amazing words.

Take love, for example. We have so over used love that it has lost so much of its meaning. "I LOVE chocolate!" or "Have you watched American Idol this week?! I love that show!" are exclamations we hear all that time. But what does "love" mean? Well, that could be a rather long, off-topic post, so let's check dictionary.com:

Love (v): to have a profoundly tender, passionate affection for someone

So, as much as you might enjoy, savor or appreciate chocolate, or your favorite TV show, chances are, you probably don't feel "profoundly tender, passionate affection" for either of these things. (If you do, well, then you really need to get out more!!)

Love is a powerful thing. Love is what, more then anything else, characterizes our relationship with God. Through love for us, He sent His Son. Through love for us, Jesus took our place and died. Through love, we are forgiven -- over and over again. Through love, we have a place in heaven -- a place we do not and can not ever deserve. We cannot afford to lose the meaning of love, because it defines so much of what we believe in. Never forget John 3:16:

For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, so that we may not perish, but have eternal life.

That's a pretty powerful love, if you ask me!! Something far more powerful then that which could descibe chocolate or TV :)

Now, please know that I'm not saying you should strike the word love from your vocabularly in order to preserve its meaning. All I ask is that you really consider what love means. We can see love whenever we look at God; we can learn about love whenever we read the Bible; we can experience love through our relationships with Him. Bear all this in mind -- because this is the true meaning of love.

With that being said, just remember to think about the meaning of the words you're using.

So, once again, Happy Birthday C. S. Lewis!

And, just a thought: even if you've all read "The Chronicles of Narnia", I highly recommend you read the series...or at least, the first two books...again. They just get better every time! Also, The Screwtape Letters is one of my all time favorite books -- a must-read!

Happy **** Birthday???

I walked into CVS today with a mission -- I had three birthday cards to buy, for friends’ upcoming birthdays. I made a beeline for the colossal aisle dedicated to cards, and was happy to find that a significant portion of it was dedicated solely to birthday cards. I figured with all these choices, I could easily find “the perfect card”. (Now, I don’t particularly LIKE birthday-card-shopping, because I can never find, in my opinion, “the perfect card”. But like I said -- there were SO MANY choices here!)

Hours later (OK, not quite, but you get the point), I still had nothing. But you would be amazed at some of the things I found. Apparently, birthday cards NOT containing curse words are in the minority. It’s awful! Now, call me naïve, but I’ve always assumed that cursing is something we should AVOID, not sanction by using profanity in birthday cards! Have we, as a society, become so used to and therefore immune to the effects of cursing that we don’t even notice the fact that foul language has permeated nearly every part of our lives? TV shows and commercials use cursing all the time. Even many PG movies contain a curse word or two; I’ve even stumbled across a few G movies that have questionable language!! Books, music, talk show hosts, websites; every form of media possible -- and now, even in birthday cards. It finally got to the point where I‘d found a card that said, “Happy **** 13th Birthday”. Did you see that? 13th birthday -- this card wasn’t even geared toward adults! At that point, I’d had enough and I left the store.

I wish I could say that maybe it’s just this particular store; that not all birthday cards are that bad, but the truth is, this is the fourth store I’ve been in that is packed with inappropriate cards. Personally, I find it absolutely revolting.

“…bless and do not curse.” -- Romans 12:14

I absolutely, positively CAN NOT STAND profanity. And there are so many reasons why…I think that use of curse words makes you look like you are an uneducated individual who is unable to come up with a more fitting and appropriate word to describe whatever situation you’re currently in. I think in some cases, cursing is just a bad habit (in which case -- break the habit!!). But, I also think cursing is often used simply as a way to “fit in”. Whether we intend to or not, our society sends the message that using curse words makes you special, important, even “cool”. We need to do our best to fight that image, and declare to the world the profanity is simply unacceptable.

The first step in doing this is obvious: Don’t allow yourself to indulge in the temptation to use curse words. But this alone is not enough. Edmund Burke once said, “All that is require for evil to triumph is for a good man to stand by and do nothing”. Are you standing by and doing nothing? Or are you ready to stand up for what you believe in? You must also make it clear to your friends that you will not listen to inappropriate language.

“Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” --Romans 12:21

Don’t kid yourself, and pretend that cursing isn’t that big of a deal, or that God doesn’t really mind, or that if you only do it once in a while, it doesn’t matter. The fact is: it matters. God states it pretty clearly in Leviticus: “Do not misuse my name. I am the LORD your God, and I will punish anyone who misuses my name.”

There are so many GOOD things we can do with our speech -- God didn’t give it to us so we can curse! God clearly states what he expects of us in Ephesians:

“Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen…Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving.” --Ephesians 4:29; 5:4

I never did find those original three birthday cards, but that's OK -- God had a plan there, too. I ended up calling each of my friends to really wish them a Happy Birthday, and the resulting conversations were wonderful!!

Speaking of birthdays, today happens to be my brother's birthday....Happy Birthday, J! Love ya!