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I wrestled with the thought, should I paint here or not.  Hmm, it's not my favorite spot, but it's OK, well, sort of.  Maybe I'll crop it close.  Nah, but, well I'm here already.  No, I don't think so.  Perhaps a smaller canvas, yeah, smaller.  I'll be in and out in no time....etc

I think that perhaps that was more than one thought I wrestled with, but I'll tell you the real reason I painted here.  Ready?  The name, good ole Schimelpfenig Park.  I had already determined that I have to do a painting from Schimelpfenig Park.  So on a warm sunny summer day, I was found to be traversing Schimelpfenig Park, scoping angles, composing finger framing crops with my hands.  There had to be an image that said Schimelpfenig somewhere.  Through the picnic shelter, around the horseshoe pits, into the bathroom (too much coffee this morning), and unto the perimeter.  Dry!  Argh!

Sadly I climbed back into my car, no Schimelpfenig Park painting.  The world will not know.  I had seen the title plate in my mind, but the frame was empty.  As I pulled out the stony lot and onto County 10, I thought perhaps I got a glimpse, a possible vantage, a view of stillness and peace.  I circled back to see.  And here it was that I considered, mentally composed and thought again and again.

Now you know, now the world knows the mental tumoil that preceded the painting.  Once I made the decision and commenced to paint, sheer joy embraced me.  I looked towards the glaring sun and standing on the edge of Schimelpfenig Park I painted.  I trust some of that joy you feel as you look at my product.

Plant a seed and what do you get?  Well, depends on what you plant, you say.  Correct you are!  You plant, and up springs the product.  It follows that the resultant product will follow the attributes of the parent seed.  Simple.eh?

I painted this picture at a garden that I took my summer landscape class to this past week.  The showy exuberance was a joy to try and capture.  These annuals, springing from seed, grew into this lovely pattern of radiant delight!  In a few short months, tiny insignificant seeds burst forth into a visual mouthful of color.  Bam!  Consider that!  We are instructed to do so in Luke's gospel, chapter 12.

When's the last time you did that?  Consider a flower I mean?   All the depressing clutter of the "news" doesn't get us to consider that, does it?  We're thinking about oil spills, conflicts in Afghanistan to Washington back to Africa, black, white, Muslim to trans-whatever. Yet here we have the gospel, meaning "good news" and the message is clear...and good...real good!  Little nondescript seed, h mm, plant in ground...look out.  Check out God's provision, his seed and harvest, and get blown away!

So quit planting seeds of discouragement, all the stuff that weighs down and bears the it's negative results in our lives.  Plant good seed, consider the words in the good book, and bear much fruit.  Bam!  Live a life more than abundant!