WQ - Abstract Beauty

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Oh, I do love hunting up interesting quotes, so I've been enjoying the Wednesday Quotes link-up hosted by Marsha at Always Write. I realize that I'm not publishing this on a Wednesday, but since Wednesdays tends to be busy here on A Fresh Cup, I'm allowing myself to share these collections on a day other than Wednesday most weeks.

People like abstract art because it makes them feel clever. ~James Acaster

I don't know how much I agree with this statement, perhaps because I'm not sure whether it was meant very seriously or rather tongue-in-cheek. When I've been in art museums, it seems like people are more likely to be puzzled, impatient, or confused by abstract art. Myself included. I don't feel clever when I am befuddled by what an artist is trying to portray and at a loss to understand how the museum's description of the author's intentions line up with the image I'm viewing. I sometimes feel like I'm missing something! 

That doesn't mean I don't enjoy or appreciate some abstract art. I like pieces that make me think or that are just pleasing to my eye. 

There is no abstract art. You must always start with something. Afterward you can remove all traces of reality. ~Pablo Picasso

Traveling Circus by Paul Klee

Composition V by Piet Mondrian

Just as pure abstract art is not dogmatic; neither is it decorative. ~Piet Mondrian

And yet we found Mondrian's work―so simple with just lines and blocks of color―fascinating to look at, and I would certainly hang this kind of piece in my home to enjoy it for decorative value.

Abstract painting is abstract. It confronts you. There was a reviewer awhile back that wrote that my pictures didn't have any beginning or any end. He didn't mean it as a compliment but it was. ~Jackson Pollock

I think that's a compliment as well. I like Pollock's work.

Water Birds by Jackson Pollock

Concepts, ideas, virtues, thoughts . . . these are described as abstract, because they are things but do not have substance and they can't be touched. Abstract art, I suppose, doesn't necessarily depict recognizable things or objects, but uses color and line and form to represent ideas. This is why it can be confusing or puzzling to many people, and perhaps explains why a piece of art might be perceived by some people to be ugly. Isn't art supposed to be beautiful? One might ask what is the point of a piece of art if we can't tell what it's supposed to be?

Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting;

but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.

~Proverbs 31:30~

Standards of beauty change through the generations and even from one person to another. Loving and honoring God is also an abstract thing, but it gives us a lasting beauty and purpose.

Wednesday Quotes is hosted by Marsha at Always Write. This post will be linked at #WQ #17: Abstract

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Scripture and a Snapshot - Working For the Lord

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Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.

~Colossians 3:23-24~

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Five Minute Friday - Have

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One word. Five minutes to write about it. This is the idea behind Five Minute Friday and this is today's free-writing post.

have or have not

to have and to hold

what do you have on hand

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I'm intimidated by the lists of all the things that I should have on hand in case of an emergency. I'm totally on board with being prepared, but there's not way I can plan for every possible contingency, and I don't even have room to store all the things that I think I should have. Occasionally I get a little anxious about the "what if" scenarios that I'm not prepared for.

What you have in hand may be of less essence to knowing and using what you have in hand. ~Ernest Agyemang Yeboah

Sometimes I get concerned about how I'll handle one situation or another if I don't have a plan in place or the specific skills or knowledge it would require. Even thinking about looking for a job - should I even apply if I don't have one of the specific qualifications? How can I do the things I want to do, or the things that are asked of me if I don't have the skills or tools I need?

Don't let the things you don't have prevent you from using what you do have. ~John Locke

Just a couple days ago, my Bible reading was Moses' encounter with God at the burning bush. God gave Moses a big job―spokesman to tell Pharoah to let the Hebrews go―and Moses was understandably concerned about his ability. He was worried that he didn't have the necessary skills or tools to do it.

Then the LORD asked him, "What is that in your hand?"

"A shepherd's staff," Moses replied.

~Exodus 4:2~

God then showed Moses that the tools he had and knew how to use could be used for God's purposes as well. He took what Moses already had and used it to do miracles.

When Israel was at Mount Sinai and was given instructions for building the tabernacle, they were told to offer what they had for the project.

From what you have, taken an offering for the LORD. Everyone who is willing is to bring to the LORD an offering of gold, silver and bronze.

~Exodus 35:5~

The prophet Elijah instructed a poor widow to bring food to him from what she had on hand, and when she did that, God miraculously made that tiny bit of oil and flour last until the famine was ended. When the prophet Elisha wanted to help the poor widow, he asked her, "What do you have in your house?" She had a jar with a little bit of olive oil, so that is what God used to do a miracle of provision for her through Elisha.

Jesus commended the poor widow who put her little coin into the temple treasury, because she had given all she had. 

God is in the business of using what we have on hand if we're willing to give it back to him. He's also in the business of making what we have enough for what we need, and providing what we need when we need it. Being prepared is good. Acquiring skills and provisions is good. Using what we have in obedience to God is best, because he will make sure we have everything we need.

Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God's grace in its various forms.

~I Peter 4:10~

For if the willingness is there, the gift is acceptable according to what one has, not according to what one does not have.

~II Corinthians 8:12~

********************

Life is like looking for your phone. Most of the time, it's in your hand.

********************

This post is linked at Five Minute Friday for the word prompt "Have".

This post will also be linked at Inspire Me Monday hosted by Anita Ojeda 

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 ©2006-2023 HS Coffee Break/Just A Second/A Fresh Cup of Coffee. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. https://morecoffeebreaks.blogspot.com/ 

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Wednesday Hodgepodge - Thoughts on Travel and Sports

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A hodgepodge is a jumble or assortment of things that might not appear to belong together. Joyce at From This Side of the Pond hosts a weekly link-up called Wednesday Hodgepodge that is a little collection of questions for bloggers to answer just for fun and to get to know each other. I always look forward to chatting with friends over coffee, so pour a cup of your favorite and let's visit for a few minutes!

Here are this week's questions - and my answers - for this week's Wednesday Hodgepodge.

1. Last time you drove/flew 500 miles (ish)? What's a place you'd like to visit that lies approximately 500 miles from your current location?

Just yesterday, I guess! It's a bit under 500 miles, but I flew from Columbus to Baltimore to visit my kids in Maryland. From my current location, I'd love to visit Montreal or Ottawa. From Columbus, Montreal and Ottawa are a bit closer, but I'd also like to go to St Louis which is just a bit more than 500 miles, I believe. I have a very good friend who is moving to the St Louis area this week, and I'd love to visit her, plus I've been a St Louis Blues hockey fan for a long time.

 

2. Tell us about a time recently it felt like you were 'racing against the clock'?

 

Yesterday morning when I was looking at my to-do list and knowing I needed to get packed, it briefly felt like I was in a race. My original plan was to be ready by noon, but then I knew my ride wasn't coming until mid-afternoon, and my flight was delayed so I could relax!

 

3. Have you ever attended any really large sporting events? What was your impression of the experience?

The Superbowl, The Kentucky Derby, The World Series, FIFA World Cup, The Indianapolis 500, The Daytona 500, The Olympics, The Masters, Wimbledon, The Boston Marathon, March Madness, Tour de France, Monaco's Grand Prix, The Open (golf), The Ryder Cup, The Stanley Cup Finals . . . of the events listed, which would you most like to attend in person? Or maybe one that's not listed?

 I have attended NHL hockey games (often!) and quite a few MLB baseball games. Baseball stadiums hold a lot more people, so those games would be biggest in terms of arenas. I've attended Canadian Football League games, and Olympic hockey games. The Olympic hockey games were the biggest in terms of importance, I think, even though they weren't medal round games. I love being at the events in person! Especially baseball. Baseball is way more interesting when you're at the stadium than watching at home. 

 When it comes to championships, I would most want to attend Olympic events. Hockey again, or figure skating. Very close second would be the Stanley Cup finals, or World Series. One that's not listed that I'd like to attend is the Grey Cup, which is the championship game of the Canadian Football League.

 

4. Are you an iced tea drinker? If so, do you drink it year round, or only in the spring and summer months? Do you make your own or buy it bottled? Sweet or unsweet? Flavored? Lemon or no lemon? How about a Long Island Iced Tea?

 Yes, I love iced tea and drink it year round. More in the summer, of course, yet a lot less now than I used to a few years ago! I used to make my own sweet tea most of the time, but usually I buy it. Definitely prefer sweet tea, no lemon, and although I like a raspberry tea occasionally, usually not flavored. Not a big fan of Long Island Iced Tea, but it's okay.

5. April 20th is Volunteer Recognition Day . . . do you volunteer in some way? Tell us about it. If not, tell us about a volunteer you appreciate.

Most of my volunteering has been done through the church, or through homeschool groups. I've led or worked on a number of homeschool curriculum fairs and events. Last year I volunteered some for the election campaigns of a couple of candidates I supported. 

6. Insert your own random thought here.

How much thought do you put into what to wear to travel by air? I made my decision without overthinking too much, but the considerations have changed. Not only do I want to be comfortable, but I have to remember that I'll need to take my shoes off at security (and post-knee replacement, I don't want to be bending down to wrestle with boots or shoelaces), and I still prefer to look somewhat put together rather than fly in my pajamas. Remember when flying was an event that you would dress up for? Yeah, I'm old enough to remember that. Things have changed.

Have you traveled recently? What are your thoughts about attending big sports events? Leave a comment and let me know!

I'm sharing in this week's Wednesday Hodgepodge at From This Side of the Pond.

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 ©2006-2023 HS Coffee Break/Just A Second/A Fresh Cup of Coffee. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. https://morecoffeebreaks.blogspot.com/ 

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WQ - In Honor of Gardens

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If you've read much here at A Fresh Cup, you might have noticed that I like to insert quotes into my writing. Especially when I write Five Minute Friday pieces. So when I stumbled across the Wednesday Quotes link-up hosted by Marsha at Always Write, it seemed really well-suited to me! I've realized that Wednesdays usually have a lot already going on in my blogging world, so I think I'll usually publish this on a day other than Wednesday.

The theme for WQ#16 is Earth/National Gardening Day. At first glance, I thought I would have little to offer other than some quotes I found interesting, because I don't have a garden of any kind, and I don't even like to garden. There, I said it. My husband has been a grower or manager of a greenhouse through our entire marriage, and I have no interest or knack for planting gardens or even keeping plants alive. But! I do enjoy gardens. I love to visit botanical gardens and conservatories, and I'd love to have my own garden. I just don't have any ability to actually plant or maintain it myself. 

As it turns out, I was able to attend the Members Only tour of the Japanese Garden at the Dawes Arboretum this past weekend, so that is the focus of my quotes and photos.

 This garden incorporates four styles associated with Japanese Gardens: Hill and Pond; Dry Landscape; Tea Garden; and Stroll Garden.

Gardening is the slowest of the performing arts. ~Anonymous

The first feature is the Dry Landscape, which is sort of a scaled down version of the much larger landscape, created with stones and gravel. This area is representative of the rolling hills and many winding valleys and rivers.

Then we were met with our first view of the Hill and Pond, another smaller scale depiction of mountains and ocean.

A Japanese Garden is at once a picture and a poem; perhaps even more a poem than a picture. ~Lafcadio Hearn

This Garden doesn't have a tea house, but there is a 'Resting House' or meditation house. This is the Tea Garden area.

The path around this end of the pond, with bridges and stepping stones to the islands constitutes the Stroll Garden.

A last look back at the pond and islands before the path reconnects at the Dry Landscape area.

Japanese Gardens usually have the features above, and are known for several characteristics that are part of the philosophy and design. There is a deep sense of respect and reverence for the earth and its plants and creatures, and the understanding that nature can renew itself without man's help―that we should step back and allow this to happen without interference. The designer's goal is to create a balance between man and nature, not just a beautiful place. 

The garden suggests there might be a place where we can meet nature halfway. ~Michael Pollan

A society grows great when old men plant trees whose shade they know they shall never sit in. ~Greek proverb

And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom. ~Anais Nin

Zen opens a man's eyes to the greatest mystery as it is daily and hourly performed; it enlarges the heart to embrace eternity of time and infinity of space it its every palpitation; it makes us live in the world as if walking in the garden of Eden. ~D.T. Suzuki

I don't call it "zen", but there is something about a garden that reminds us of that original beautiful garden of Eden, and perhaps inspires us to reconnect with God, the original Gardener.

Now the LORD God had planted a garden in the east, in Eden; and there he put the man he had formed. The LORD God made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground―trees that were pleasing to the eye and good for food. In the middle of the garden were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. A river watering the garden flowed from Eden; from there it was separated into four headwaters. . . The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. 

~Genesis 2:8-10, 15~

Wednesday Quotes is hosted by Marsha at Always Write. This post will be linked at #WQ #16: Earth/National Gardening Day

Source for some information and quotes included above: Japanoscope 

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 ©2006-2023 HS Coffee Break/Just A Second/A Fresh Cup of Coffee. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. https://morecoffeebreaks.blogspot.com/ 

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