Monthly Archives: March 2022

Not even Solomon

See oil painting “Lily” come to life in just over 1 minute (time lapse)

“Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you” Matthew 6:28b-30a

I’ve fallen behind on my plan to upload my painting videos to YouTube, making edits as needed (due to copyright claims on the music or some other reason why the video would be better if updated). This lily painting video is one that could use a little sprucing up. But, for now, I’ll re-share the original version. The message feels important to share today rather than wait for a revised video.

I see a lot of worries cast about, and it seems like a good time to focus on flowers, like lilies and wild flowers. I’ve started a new butterfly garden– in a container this time, as we are still living in a temporary place. Today I noticed that many of the flowers have germinated. I look forward to seeing them! I also look forward to the hummingbirds and butterflies they will attract. But, meanwhile, I need to look after them.

There is a danger of frost tomorrow night so I’ve covered my butterfly garden pot, as well as my other plants. I did this tonight because I was disoriented by a chaotic schedule and thought today was Saturday. But, tomorrow is forecast to be very windy and cold- with a possibility of a severe thunderstorm with large hail, so it is probably good to have done this tonight instead of tomorrow. Hopefully all will be well, and I’ve not made things worse.

Chances are good that my flowers will be just fine, regardless of the storm and the cold coming in. And most of the time, we humans are fine too. We weather through many hardships and, through it all, we’re taken care of. Just like I tried to protect my flowers, we are protected too. While someday we may need a miracle that never comes, most of the time we move from one day to the next without anything bad happening to us that we can’t endure.

Worrying won’t prevent bad things, but it will definitely make life more difficult to persevere, overcome, and thrive. An image of a lily may be helpful to meditate on when anxiety settles in. If you’ve not yet planted any flowers this season, may I strongly suggest that you do so? It’s hard to explain why flowers bring encouragement, comfort and hope– they just do. And those three things I wish for you, dear friends. God bless you and keep you, this day and always.

The Unexpected

See oil painting “Porch Flowers” come to life in about 30 seconds (time lapse)

Here’s what I originally wrote about this art:

“When we moved here, I didn’t know that the shrubs near the front porch were the flowering kind, until one day they burst out in beautiful pink and white blossoms. The flowers graced the ground when they fell, leaving a carpet of petals. The floral shower right outside our door was such a nice surprise!

Sometimes in life we fear the unexpected- the call we don’t ever want to receive, the news we can’t bear- but there are times when the unexpected is a blessing. From the big surprises we didn’t see coming, to the small ones, an ordinary day can change in an instant over a cascade of flowers.”

So, here we are several years later, and these flowers are in bloom again. If you’ve read my recent blog posts, you might recall that there have been some unexpected developments- shocking sudden deaths- four of them within a few months of each other. I thought there were five, but my mind seems to have inflated that count. Now I’m worried that there IS a fifth one that I’ll learn about soon.

That’s a lot of “unexpected”- and not the good kind. Yes, an ordinary day can change in an instant. This time around, I feel sad when I see these flowers. They seem to be funeral flowers at the moment.

This is how life is, beauty is in the perspective. We can see something beautiful and feel joy, or feel sadness, or something else entirely. Here’s hoping that the next unexpected thing that comes our way is a blessing.

Peace be with you and your family.

Storm Rollin’ In

See oil painting “Eye of the Storm” come alive in under 2 minutes (time lapse)

The above painting was inspired by our first hurricane evacuation after moving here to Georgia about five years ago. It’s not hurricane season yet, but it looks like we might get our first spring thunderstorm tonight. The sky is ominous. Two of my family members are on their way home, so I hope they get in before the rain starts.

Below is a video I’ve shared before of me singing “How Great Thou Art”, the hymn in the painting video. I always feel the inspiration of these lyrics when a storm rolls in.

Natalie singing “How Great Thou Art” (hymn from the above painting video)

These are tough times. Every day can feel like a storm, even if the skies are sunny. Whatever you’re facing today, please know that you are not alone. I’m still reeling from the shock of a few things- such as the sudden death that occurred on our recent wedding anniversary- serendipitously, the death was our young ringbearer (grown up, but still too young)! I want to talk more about this, but I really must respect that the family may stumble upon my blog and I don’t want to cause them any distress. I will say this: I am deeply saddened and I wish the news weren’t true.

Grief is a storm. Any of you going through grief, it’s a dangerous and frightening time of emotional chaos, and a surreal view of what it means to be alive. And just like a storm, the worst of it ends, leaving behind a spiritual mess to sift through. It can take years to feel a sense of normal again, and some losses can never be recovered. Every life matters, and every heart matters when a life is lost. I find it helpful to make it a mission to live my life to the very fullest- out of respect for those who can no longer be here, while I’m still here, still alive another day.

As I typed that last line, a beautiful cardinal is sitting on the patio bird feeder. He’s taking his time nibbling seeds and making eye contact with me as I sit here clacking away at the keyboard in view of the glass patio doors. Now he’s closer! I don’t think he will let me take a pic of him. He’s drinking from the bird bath and staring right at me! Darn, I reached for my phone to take a pic and he flew away. Didn’t think he’d let me do that. I have to stand from the side and take photos of the wild birds when they can’t see me. Well, you’ll just have to imagine him there. Moments like these validate everything good, don’t they? That cardinal is alive. And seeing him made me happy.

God bless you and keep you, this day and always. We are here for a reason.

Tired, Weak, Worn

Natalie singing “Precious Lord, Take my Hand”

Sharing this hymn again. Maybe someday I’ll sing this properly instead of just standing near the patio doors while reading the lyrics I’d forgotten off my computer screen. But this will have to do. I haven’t the heart to write much of a blog post. I lost another young relative who “died unexpectedly“. I knew no one who died in the past five years. Now the death toll is FIVE within the past six months- none of them old enough to have died from natural old age related causes.

For privacy reasons, I won’t say anything else, but I do want to say- how did I find out? That little bird was acting weird again and I was thinking, “oh no, not again!” Surely just a coincidence THIS time, right? (read about the other incident I blogged about from last month) But a quick search for a family surname showed another fresh obituary. So it’s been dreams, messages from beyond, and birds acting funky until I pay attention. The bird has left now. I guess I got the message. If you are going through a season of grief, may I offer you these words of comfort: God sees, and we are getting help through this.

What can we do?

Oil painting “My Son Praying” by artist Natalie Buske Thomas

I’ve been hearing a lot of military air craft today, probably due to the deployment of troops out of Hunter Army Airfield. There’s nothing we can do to stop certain things, but we can remain independent sovereign humans, refusing to comply with unlawful demands that we do not consent to. We can offset economic hardship and health fears by being resourceful, the way our grandparents were during the Great Depression. Most of all, we can pray.

Breathtaking Nature!

See this eagle and dove oil painting come alive in 2 minutes (time lapse)

I haven’t done a falcon oil painting yet, so this eagle will have to do. About an hour ago I was at the glass patio door, just about to step outside, and there was a sudden flurry of wings as a falcon took off from where he was perching on my potting table, only about three feet from where I was! Last week there was an eagle nearby, so this painting isn’t too out of line, but the falcon was very near. Nature is breathtaking when something wild is so close, and maybe we don’t even know its there until we see it fly away.

I also saw a gorgeous yellow butterfly, a flock of tiny sparrows, and a chickadee. The cardinal family is also still living nearby. They have trained me to refill their bird feeder when they’ve run out of sunflower seeds. They certainly won’t starve without their favorite seeds, but they have become picky and will demand their favorites when all that’s left is the other kind of seeds that the smaller songbirds like. They’ve made a habit of picking at my salad greens near the glass door, because they know it will get me on my feet and out the door fast to fill their feeder. But today they found that the salad green trays were empty, ready for a new planting, and they couldn’t cause mischief. So instead, one of them sat in the tree when I came out and cheeped in an outraged tone, over and over- making his complaint quite clear.

I love the personalities of the wild birds and it’s always such a wonder when a predator like a falcon or eagle makes an appearance. We also see ospreys and water birds like egrets and herons. The Canadian geese have made a few returns, but since they pooped all over the area by the patio on their last visit, we’d prefer those guests not come back – at least not so close to the house!

Something Happy

Watch this oil painting of a dolphin come alive in about 2 minutes (time lapse)

Thought this was a good day to share my oil painting of “Fungie” the dolphin again. He’s a wild dolphin from Dingle, Ireland. I fell in love with this cheerful little guy when I was lucky enough to see him playing in the sea, chasing the boat we were in.

“Stone’s Throw Away” is one of my posts about Ireland. I had a blog about our life there, but I took it down for privacy reasons. I had many photographs of friends and people we met there, and there are now too many visitors to my site for that to be a good idea, especially since it would be hard to track everyone down to ask for permission. But, eventually I will share more of my stories from that time.

These are challenging days. I hope that you are able to put your time and energy into things, people, and places that you love. For all of those that we cannot have back, may our memories of the past bring us peace, and our thoughts of the future give us hope. No season lasts forever. Change is coming.

Singing to You

See oil painting “Mountain Landscape” come alive in 2 minutes (time lapse)

I was thinking of this song today, and decided to sing it to you when sharing my art on today’s blog. It’s how I feel when we have empathy for our fellow humans- our sorrow when troubled times come- and how even if we’ve never met, we lift each other up. May you know that you are never alone. You are loved by God, and there is a special kindness among the best of us that raises us all up, to stand on mountains. God bless you and keep you, this day and always.

Natalie singing “You Raise me Up” cover

Need a laugh? Goofy today.

See this oil painting illustration from children’s book “Fred” come to life in 1 minute (time lapse)

LOL! Today I did something as silly as the “Rock Juggling” incident from when I was a child, shown in the above video. In the scene from the Fred book (my dad’s nickname for me was Fred), I talked about the time when I was bored and I decided for reasons unknown to lie on my back and juggle a ROCK with my feet, passing the rock from toes to toes. Of course the rock fell and hit me smack on the mouth, giving me a fat lip. My father laughed about that for a long time and asked me why on Earth I’d think juggling a rock over my face was a good idea.

Today I was trying to get a folded up grow bag out from under a full one that was heavy with soil and a small tree growing in it. I couldn’t get it out, as it was wedged under the tree bag. I’d put it there, actually, as a wedge on purpose to shim it up since it wasn’t level. But now I’d run out of that small size grow bag that was under the tree and I wanted to get it back to use it.

Well, I couldn’t get it out, so my daughter offered to lift the tree bag up. I didn’t expect her to be able to lift it very high, so I gave it a very big yank when she tugged at the tree bag. You guessed it, I flew backwards. And with such force that I actually tumbled down a small slope!

It was hilariously acrobatic. My daughter said it looked like part of a dance I’d done on purpose. LOL! I laughed so hard every time I thought about how silly that was. The slope is very small and the rest of that part of the yard is flat. How did I manage to fall down a rather nonexistent hill in such a spectacular tumble? I actually rolled about three times before stopping only a few feet from where I fell backward.

I will tell my husband about this and the thought of this happening to me will amuse him for weeks. He will probably want me to show him where it happened, as he will be baffled about how I could have tumbled down a “hill”. I don’t know. It’s because I’m “Fred”. LOL!

Season of Lent

See this oil painting “Lenten Flower” come alive in 1 minute (time lapse)

It’s that time of year again, when many people reflect on what redemption means. For those who practice Lent, this may mean taking part in fasting or giving something up. For many who don’t religiously participate, the Lenten season may still be a time of reflection. These challenging times are especially focused on what it means to be set free, both literally and spiritually.

Last night I had a nightmare that my husband, oldest daughter and I were in a car that was flung off a cliff. As the car descended, I told both of them that I loved them, and I reflected that I had a good life, if this should be the end. But I prayed frantically for a miracle. Then we landed- onto a thick black mat that seemed made of melted rubber, like children’s indoor commercial play-area flooring. The mat was floating on foamy water, as part of a landfill. Our car was nearly on the center of the mat. We had survived! My dream self said, (because we are alive) “We must be here for a reason.” Then, my awake self thought the same thing: We are alive. We must be here for a reason.

I spent the day doing more than I usually do. I am grateful to be here. Let every moment we’re here be heavy with purpose. May we treasure our time and our energy, lest our purpose be frittered away by the manufactured realities that others push on us. We were made for so much more than this. This Lenten season, let us reflect on what mercy is, and know that we are loved by God.