Daffodils at the Farmstead
Daffodils donned their May bonnets here at ‘The Farmstead’ in Central Maine today. Wishing you all an amazing week, my friends! ~ Bette A. Stevens
Archive for the ‘ART’ Category
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685. Man is a knot into which relationships are tied. ~Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
Why MUST we tell our stories? ~ Bette A. Stevens http://www.4writersandreaders.com
Someone to tell it to
is one of the fundamental
needs of human beings.
~Miles Franklin
Have you ever pondered why we, any of us, blog? Or write books? Or pen poetry? Or compose music? Or draw? Or paint? I have and I think the quote above by Miles Franklin hits the proverbial nail squarely on the head. We, who pour out our lives or thoughts or passions or joys or hurts or whatever in some way, do in fact appear to have some compelling and fundamental need to do so. Emily Dickinson added another aspect to this idea when she described it, “as a shelter to speak” to some trusted other in her life. Like her, many of us, I believe, find not only great comfort but also a kind of self-soothing safety when we, individually or collectively, find ways to express ourselves to those we come to trust and…
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684. God writes the Gospel not in the Bible alone, but also on trees, and in the flowers and clouds and stars. ~Author unknown, commonly attributed to Martin Luther
Beauty abounds! ~ Bette A. Stevens
Morning is the best
of all times in the garden.
The sun is not yet hot.
Sweet vapors rise from the earth.
Night dew clings to the soil
and makes plants glisten.
Birds call to one another.
Bees are already at work.
~William Longgood
Hold on to what is good even if it is a handful of earth.
Hold on to what you believe even if it’s a tree which stands by itself.
Hold on to what you must do even if it is a long way from here.
Hold on to life even when it is easier letting go.
Hold on to my hand even when I have gone away from you.
~Pueblo Blessing
You will go out in joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and hills will burst into song before you, and all the trees of the field will clap their hands. ~Isaiah 55:12…
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679. All the great things are simple, and many can be expressed in a single word: freedom, justice, honor, duty, mercy, hope. ~Winston Churchill
Look for the good, for we will surely find it! ~ Bette A. Stevens
Although the world is full of suffering,
it is full also of the overcoming of it.
My optimism, then, does not rest
on the absence of evil, but on a glad
belief in the preponderance of good
and a willing effort always to cooperate
with the good, that it may prevail.
~Helen Keller
Each day, awakening, are we asked to paint the sky blue?
Need we coax the sun to rise or flowers to bloom?
Need we teach birds to sing, or children to laugh, or lovers to kiss?
No, though we think the world imperfect,
it surrounds us each day with its perfections.
We are asked only to appreciate them, and
to show appreciation by living in peaceful harmony amidst them.
The Creator does not ask that we create a perfect world;
He asks that we celebrate the world He has given us.
~Edited lines by Robert Brault
And the Lord said…
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Starlight
I love art: Enjoy a winter watercolor scene from nutsfornature blog, one of the ‘homes’ of my talented New England artist and photographer friend Eunice Miller! ~ Bette A. Stevens
HIDDEN IN PLAIN SIGHT: THE OTHER PEOPLE IN NORMAN ROCKWELL’S AMERICA – JANE ALLEN PETRICK
Heading over to get my copy! ~ Bette A. Stevens http://www.4writersandreaders.com
This beautifully written book about Norman Rockwell, the artist and his work focuses on the non-white children and adults who are his legacy. The book will be an eye-opener for many readers despite the fact that anyone who goes to the Rockwell Museum in Stockbridge, Massachusetts — or seriously looks at Rockwell’s body of work — can see that Norman Rockwell never portrayed a purely white America. This country’s non-white population have always been there, even when he had to more or less sneak them in by the side door.
These people — Black people, Native Americans and others — are not missing. Rockwell was passionate about civil rights and integration. It was his life’s cause, near and dear to his heart. It is merely that the non-white peoples in his pictures have been overlooked, become invisible via a form of highly effective selective vision. Despite their presence, many people…
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531. Music doth uplift me like a sea… ~Charles Baudelaire, French Poet
Music is magical! ~ Bette A. Stevens
Music, oh, how faint, how weak,
Language fades before thy spell!
Why should Feeling ever speak,
When thou canst breathe her soul so well?
~Thomas Moore, Irish Poet
Music gives a
soul to the universe,
wings to the mind,
flight to the imagination,
and life to everything.
~Plato, Greek philosopher and mathematician
The Bird her punctual music brings
And lays it in its place –
Its place is in the Human Heart
And in the Heavenly Grace –
~Emily Dickinson, American poet
Music speaks what cannot be expressed,
soothes the mind and gives it rest,
heals the heart and makes it whole,
flows from heaven to the soul.
~Author Unknown
First was the world as one great cymbal made,
Where jarring winds to infant Nature played.
All music was a solitary sound,
To hollow rocks and murm’ring fountains bound.
~Andrew Marvell, English poet
It is good to praise the Lord…
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For The Beauty Of The Earth
Watching the late afternoon sun reflect upon earth and sky brought back memories of a hymn I learned as a child. ‘The glory of the beauty which over and around us lies’ rang rhythm through my mind as I ran outside to capture the majesty of today and yesterday memories. I invite you to enjoy the lyrics and take time to visit the website at the end of this post to listen in (link at the end of the post) and share one of my childhood memories. ~ Bette A. Stevens, a writer inspired by nature and human nature
For the Beauty of the Earth
Hymn by by Folliot S. Pierpoint (Hymn Number 092, United Methodist Hymnal)
For the beauty of the earth,
For the beauty of the skies,
For the love which from our birth
Over and around us lies,
Lord of all, to thee we raise
This our grateful hymn of praise.For the beauty of each hour
Of the day and of the night,
Hill and vale, and tree and flower,
Sun and moon and stars of light,
Lord of all, to thee we raise
This our grateful hymn of praise.For the joy of human love,
Brother, sister, parent, child,
Friends on earth, and friends above,
Pleasures pure and undefiled,
Lord of all, to thee we raise
This our grateful hymn of praise.For each perfect gift of thine,
To our race so freely given,
Graces human and divine,
Flowers of earth and buds of heaven,
Lord of all, to thee we raise
This our grateful hymn of praise.For thy Church which evermore
Lifteth holy hands above,
Offering up on every shore
Her pure sacrifice of love,
Lord of all, to thee we raise
This our grateful hymn of praise.
- Print the pdf version and listen to the music at https://www.lds.org/music/library/hymns/for-the-beauty-of-the-earth?lang=eng
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For The Beauty Of The Earth
Watching the late afternoon sun reflect upon earth and sky brought back memories of a hymn I learned as a child. ‘The glory of the beauty which over and around us lies’ rang rhythm through my mind as I ran outside to capture the majesty of today and yesterday memories. I invite you to enjoy the lyrics and take time to visit the website at the end of this post to listen in (link at the end of the post) and share one of my childhood memories. ~ Bette A. Stevens, a writer inspired by nature and human nature
For the Beauty of the Earth
Hymn by by Folliot S. Pierpoint (Hymn Number 092, United Methodist Hymnal)
For the beauty of the earth,
For the beauty of the skies,
For the love which from our birth
Over and around us lies,
Lord of all, to thee we raise
This our grateful hymn of praise.For the beauty of each hour
Of the day and of the night,
Hill and vale, and tree and flower,
Sun and moon and stars of light,
Lord of all, to thee we raise
This our grateful hymn of praise.For the joy of human love,
Brother, sister, parent, child,
Friends on earth, and friends above,
Pleasures pure and undefiled,
Lord of all, to thee we raise
This our grateful hymn of praise.For each perfect gift of thine,
To our race so freely given,
Graces human and divine,
Flowers of earth and buds of heaven,
Lord of all, to thee we raise
This our grateful hymn of praise.For thy Church which evermore
Lifteth holy hands above,
Offering up on every shore
Her pure sacrifice of love,
Lord of all, to thee we raise
This our grateful hymn of praise.
- Print the pdf version and listen to the music at https://www.lds.org/music/library/hymns/for-the-beauty-of-the-earth?lang=eng
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POETRY: Seasonal Changes
The Wonder of It All
A few flitting monarch butterflies and my favorite fall asters will soon dissipate into grand memories awaiting reincarnation.
As we expect this dawn of change, shimmering monarchs are heading south to aggregate in the warmth of southern groves. Meanwhile, I’m settling in for the evening with wood stove ablaze—I think I hear autumn’s tendrils softly tapping at the door. I close my to dream of butterflies and dancing blooms.
Although summer is coming to an all-too-soon close here in Central Maine, fall is sure to welcome us anew with its shimmering colors too.
Blessings to you at the close of one grand season and the opening of another! ~ Bette A. Stevens
- Find out more about monarch butterflies and download your FREE pdf from author Bette A. Stevens at https://4writersandreaders.com/fun-learning-with-monarchs-2/
- Help protect monarch butterflies and PRINT your FREE POSTER at https://4writersandreaders.com/help-protect-monarch-butterflies-free-poster/
Bette A. Stevens, Maine Author 
Written
on 05/02/2015