Look at this picture. Don’t you want this moment? Don’t you want to be there right now? Doesn’t it seem kind of like you are? Can’t you feel the sun on your face, hear the river flow, smell the flowers, catch the warm breeze, feel the freedom in your bare feet, and the sun on the pages of a book?
No iPad, no Kindle, no cellphone — no whirrs or beeps — just strictly unmitigated experiences with nature and quiet reading, captured through the eye of an artist. This is as good as a photograph. No, better than a photo, because it is an interpretation from an artist. We are seeing what the artist saw and has chosen to reveal to us. We are seeing the world through the lens of her eyes. And all of it was done with some paints, a few brushes, and a canvas. Isn’t it amazing not only what God has done in His creation, but what God has allowed and empowered us to do as sub-creators of His?
We are all artists in our own right — each manifesting different aspects of God’s creativity. My wife has a gift in how she arranges our home that turns it into a work of art. Everywhere you look there is something pleasant that meets your eye. There is a certain way in which pillows are placed on a couch, or items are arranged on a table, or a blanket is draped on an armchair. If I move something, it will be moved back or rearranged to where it is again balanced with everything else around it.
In her book, “Hidden Art,” Edith Schaeffer describes what she means by that title. “I would define ‘hidden art’ as the art found in the ordinary areas of everyday life. Each person has, I believe, some talent which is unfulfilled in some hidden area of their being — a talent which could be expressed and developed.”
We are all creatives; we just express it in different ways. It’s a part of bearing the image of God. And I am sure we could be even more so in the way in which we live if we were more aware of it. Sometimes our art might be hidden even from ourselves. Our life would be enriched if we gave more thought to how God has gifted us creatively and then put it to use in everyday life.
John Fischer The Catch 
A timely topic as we finish the week of Memorial Day.
Art “inspires dialogue…”
Shalom, Peace…
Very cool News Report – I jus happen to see it!
Thanks, Bob.
In case you’re wondering about the origins of this lovely painting, it’s entitled “Summer, 1992.”
It was painted by either Alexei or Sergei Tkachev (both are credited), noted brothers whose paintings won many accolades from both the former USSR and the present-day Russian Federation.
Their paintings are displayed in more than a hundred museums in Russia, the US, Italy, China, and as well as in private collections in twelve foreign countries.
According to the website ‘Soviet Art, USSR Culture’:
The brothers (born in 1922 and 1925) came from a large peasant family and had to go through war and poverty to obtain their dreams.
Their ordeals tempered their character, and the theme of heroism of [the] common man had become central in the work of the brothers.
Alongside with heroism, the theme of ordinary life in their Russian village – real people, contemporaries, family, friends, neighbors – was also the focus of the artists.
Through the prism of rural life, the Tkachev’s conveyed the “truth of time,” the drama of their country.
Here’s more about the Tkachev brothers if you’re interested:
https://www.tretyakovgallerymagazine.com/articles/1-2011-30/force-truth-tkachev-brothers
Loved Today’s Catch Pastor John for a few reasons:
When getting out of bed a fixing my couple cups of coffee & listening to Dr. Shad Hemsetterter (sp) podcast “…self talk & what to say when u talk to yourself…” and this just hit me very hard, when in it (which I have listened to it ALOT on my smartphone) “You can change how you feel about something, by changing the way you think about it.”
And SURE enough I get a phone call from the Energy company once again threating me w/ a shut off! Even though I sent them copies (Via email) of my Checking Acct. for six months back on May 14, 2023. And she tells me they haven’t received it, so getting a bit FURSTRATED with this complete bologna & this being & being the 3rd time I spoke to them about this issue!
Finally I speak to an very kind & helpful operator that looked into deeply 4 me! Praise God and hopefully come Monday I should be able to Fax them the copies of my Checking Acct. to PROVE I’ve have been paying them – Thank God for answered Prayer & for Dr. Shad self talk podcast for teaching me to control my anger by controlling my thoughts!
Such a lovely vision of God’s art. That looks like the ideal place to read a book being surrounded by the beauty our God has created and totally unforgettable for all time.
Agree!
Try Again