Poetry Beyond the Walls

This year I am making an effort to get to know more people in the community. Well I found a writer’s group in the area, and I decided to go. It was really good. We did a project where we let works of art inspire poetry. I ended up doing two. The first was based on Freedom from Want by Norman Rockwell and the second is based on an interesting painting by Georgia O’Keeffe. Since I try never to post other people’s art on this page, I have linked each title to a picture of the painting the poem is based on. I’m not a poet, but I had a good time and more importantly I got to meet another creative community in my area and I hope to make some friends.

Save The Neck

Rockwell’s piece I like the most
Thanksgiving Thursday on Saturday’s Post.
Fifty pound turkey on a tray,
Grandpa stands lovingly in the way.
Peeking through is little sis,
making sure that nothing’s missed.
Brother Sam with sheepish grin,
Uncle Bob has tales to spin.
The poet sits in humor dark,
trying not to add, “Save the neck for me, Clark.”
Sisters whisper cross the table,
Faceless man, I hope he’s stable.
Uncle Tom’s a happy man,
there’s cranberry sauce shaped like the can.
Aunt Bethany with smiling face
won’t fill her plate til she says grace.
Norman lay those brushes down,
it’s time to pass the taters round.

Negative Space

Floral forms reveal a path.
The Valley of the Shadow.
Petals become mountains,
Casting shadows deep.
The Valley of the Shadow.
Forked paths lead to mystery,
obscured by shadows deep.
The deep, deep valley of the shadow
Destiny determined by the path we choose.
from above the choice is clear.
I might find myself in a negative place
the valley of the shadow,
but I’m only passing through.

Art… For Christ’s Sake!

Let’s start with the basics. I know some people use the phrase “for Christ’s sake!” in a “taking the Lord’s name in vain” kind of way. That’s not what I am doing here. I am being literal. You see every so often I try to evaluate my life and my work for the purpose of staying on mission. Also before I go any further, you may be on a different mission in your creative life and that is okay and between you and God. Today I am speaking for me, in the hopes of giving others clarity as they seek to follow their own mission.

My personal mission is pretty simple and not at all original. I want to know Christ and make Him known. Fleshing that out a bit more, I believe every human being is gifted by God to do something great in this world. My life was radically transformed by two things. Someone cared enough to introduce me to Jesus Christ. That is first and foremost, but secondly someone showed me I could use my gift to serve the Lord. Those two things took a suicidal young man with a drinking problem and an extreme and profound fear of speaking in public and made me who I am today. For that I am eternally grateful and part of my “make Him known” mission is to live that out by helping others to come to know Jesus and find and use their gifts to serve the Lord. Another way that this manifests for me, is that I want to help the church embrace creativity and creative people and I want to see creative people embrace the church. And that brings me to art.

Some would say, as artists, that we just need to make art for arts sake. I know I do some of that, and I do it unapologetically. As artists, we all have to continually hone our skills, but it’s funny. If I want to be truthful, even when I am trying to do art for art’s sake, I’m thinking, and praying, about how I can use it to open the door to sharing the Gospel. I can’t really get to artists who have not yet embraced the church if I only create in the Christian realm. If this is my motivation, is it really art for art’s sake? Probably not. More than likely, it’s art… for Christ’s sake, and I’m okay with that.

In my ministry to the church, art for Christ’s sake is, of course more expected and I know for a fact I could not do it any other way, for this reason: a lot of what I do in the church is live, speed painting. Were it all about the art, I don’t think I could do it, because the time limitations would make the level of perfection I desire impossible. It’s really difficult to do a perfect painting in six minutes or less. On the other hand if I am doing art for Christ’s sake, the art is a tool to draw people in to the message. If it does that it has served it’s purpose, even if the finished piece is imperfect. Staying on mission allows me to hold that perspective.

At the end of the day, the art I create will not last. When God makes all things new, my work will likely pass with the old order of things. What will matter is, was this art used to bring people into a saving relationship with Jesus Christ and/or did it spur them on to love and good deeds that were use to serve people and bring them into a saving relationship with Jesus Christ? My prayer is that this is the end result of everything I create.

My name is Dave, and I do art… for Christ’s sake. For me that is more than enough. How about you?

“Touring”

Back in my teen years, I dreamed of being a rock star, touring night after night in town after town. Lack of musical talent pretty much put an end to that idea and that’s okay. Nonetheless here I am decades later, and I find myself in a very real sense “touring,” though in a very different way. I’ve been privileged to spend most of the last month traveling from place to place, painting and preaching and it’s been really good, at least in some ways. This year started off slow on the speaking schedule, but for some reason most people wanted me from July to October. As I write this, I’m doing the final packing for a three day trip to the Jersey shore ministering at a chapel on the boardwalk, from there I come home, do some church work, before heading to Maryland to speak at a family camp, if the Lord wills.

Like I said, it’s been really nice, for the most part, but I’ve learned a few lessons. First, it’s really important to have a system. A place for everything and everything in it’s place. This does not come easily for me, because I am usually organizationally challenged, but when you’re hundreds of miles from home base, it’s hard to get back home to get what you need.

Secondly, be prepared and flexible. Each venue is different. I’m not to the point of having contracts and riders to make the venue provide everything I need and I’m not sure I want to be that guy anyway. Last thing a minister of the Gospel should be is demanding. That being said, this means if I have something I need to do my best presentation, I need to make sure I take it with me or that I know a way to do without it. Further, even if I’ve done a presentation a hundred times, it is important that I go over it so that I can present well. This is the Gospel I’m sharing, and God and the “audience” deserve my best.

Thirdly, things tend to happen when I’m away. I need to be “prayed up” and to be bathing my family, my church, etc. in prayer.

Fourth, I need to be mindful of my health and well being. It’s really easy to gain weight on the road and to be honest, I often do. If I’m going to be in this for the long haul, I need to take care of myself on the road. I also need to make sure that I am staying strong and wise, making good choices and avoiding anything that even looks like impropriety.

In my teen years, I got the idea that touring was glamorous. It’s not. It’s a whole lot of driving, mostly alone, followed by a lot of set up and tear down, and there are no roadies on this tour, mostly it’s just me and the wonderful people who stay after to help. Bottom line, the road is a lot of work. Oh but the time and privilege of presenting God’s word makes it all worthwhile. Also I have made a lot of friends I would have never met were it not for me being out on the road. I’ve experienced a wide sampling of the body of Christ, and have seen God move in many ways that have bolstered my faith. “Touring” can be really great, but being away from my family is hard, and there’s no place like home.

If you are called to this kind of ministry, you need wisdom, a work ethic, flexibility and a good dose of humility. God is faithful to provide all we need.

What’s So Good About Good Friday?

That title may sound a little heretical, but think about it. Imagine telling Peter, James, John or any of the rest of the disciples that we call this day Good Friday. Not now, when they can see the ramifications of all that happened, but on that Friday so long ago, while most of them are in hiding, fearing for their lives, as their friend, teacher and Lord is hanging on a hard wooden cross. The sky had gone dark, it looks like the end of the world and then they hear we call this day Good Friday. What do you think they would think?

It had to seem like the end of their world. It was just days ago that they were jockeying for position in Jesus’ Kingdom, James and John wanting to be by His side, one on the right the other on the left, but at that moment I am sure they were really glad those positions were occupied by others. Would they be next? I’m pretty sure that day, to them seemed anything but good.

So why do we call it good? Because we have the luxury of knowing the rest of the story. Yes Jesus died. Yes it was torturous. Yes it was unspeakable but it was part of the plan. You see sin requires death and justice requires that that debt be paid. If you’ve ever sinned, even once, that penalty was yours. This Friday is good because on it, Jesus, the innocent Son of God stepped in and said, “(fill in your name here) sinned and I love (him/her) so I’ll pay (his/her) price. I’ll pay a price they could not pay and give them a reward they could not earn. Eternal life in paradise.” That’s what’s so good about Good Friday. You are loved so much that the Lord of all creation, sacrificed Himself in your place and died on the cross. Place your faith in Him and you will receive eternal life in a place far beyond your greatest dreams.

Now a lot of you reading this, already know the story. It’s our job to share it. How would you express what’s so good about Good Friday? Someone needs to hear the story today. Share it.

Roseanne, The Connors and Dying With Dignity

Okay, to start off, this post has little to do with the plot line of last night’s “premiere” of the Roseanne spinoff, The Connors. You’ll recall that last year’s reboot of Roseanne was seemingly heading for good things ratings wise, before Roseanne Barr made some racist comments, landing the show on the ABC scrap heap, and for good reason. It looked like it was over, but almost immediately, there were rumblings of another series, Roseanne without Roseanne. It aired last night and this writer was not overly impressed.

That’s not to say there wasn’t some good acting. There was. John Goodman has always been a good actor and he played the grieving husband very well. Laurie Metcalfe’s scene of grief at the end of the show was also a solid performance. The problem was the writing, but the writers aren’t entirely to blame either. How do you restart an iconic show without it’s title character? Well I think their solution very quickly became the problem. They made Roseanne a victim of the opioid epidemic. I get that. It’s a hot button issue and it’s on a lot of people’s minds, and this is a show that has never shied away from hard topics. The problem is how do you make it funny, because this show is known as a comedy, and comedies have to, by definition, be funny, especially in a premiere. That’s where they got into trouble. Most of the jokes, and all the jokes surrounding Roseanne’s death by opioids, were in horrendously, horrible taste. There is simply no way to make that funny and I think that’s the ultimate issue. Sometimes we artists have to admit defeat and let our creations die with dignity (or whatever you can call what happened to Roseanne). There was simply no way to replace Roseanne, and there was no way to make her disappear.

To my mind there were only two possibilities for this show to work. Rehabilitate Roseanne (the person), or let this thing die. In our current climate, the first was pretty much impossible, though I’d like to hope repentance is still a viable alternative. Otherwise we’re all doomed. At the end of the day, in my opinion, this experiment failed. Some things are just not going to work.

As creatives, sometimes we need to look at our wounded creations and make a hard decision. Is it worth the effort to resuscitate this thing, or would our efforts be better spent on creating something new? I usually lean toward something new.

Get “Enough” Today!

Hi All,
Just wanted to let you know, my new book “Enough.” Is now available on Amazon in both the print and Kindle Formats. The Print version is available for $12 and the Kindle version is just $2.99. I can’t wait for you all to read it and I look forward to your input.

Basically this book is for anyone who has ever questioned if they have what it takes, if they measure up or if they just plain wonder “Am I Enough?”

Discipline and the Art of Getting It Done

One of the creative lies a lot of people believe is that they’re just not disciplined enough to do what they need to do. I don’t believe this is correct. Oh I have no doubt they may struggle to get things done, but I doubt it’s because they lack discipline. They have discipline. I bet they meet deadlines at work. I bet they pay their bills on time. I bet the things that are genuinely important to them get done on time. It’s not really a matter of discipline, but rather one of priority. If you’re one of these people, I’m not trying to beat you up here. I thoroughly understand how life happens and how sometimes our creative projects get forced to the back burner. If that’s you, this is not a beating. My purpose in writing this is to eliminate false creative beliefs and lack of discipline is often if not usually one of those.

So let’s start there. If you’re not blessed to make your living from your creativity, there will be times when the necessities of life squeeze out your time to create. This is probably not a lack of discipline. You’re doing what must be done and your creation can’t be priority one right now. It’s okay. Just try to find some time and work it in as often as you can. Break the project down into small, but meaningful steps and chip away at it until its done. Yes this may make for a long drawn out creative process, but claim the small victories in each step being completed and enjoy the journey. That in itself is discipline. I feel the need to do a little aside here. Remember, you need to rest, your creativity and your health will suffer if you don’t. Also remember family time matters. Don’t push the people you love to the back burner to reach your goals. After all, it’s supposed to be them, at least in part, that you’re doing this for.

But let’s suppose that’s not the case, you have the time, you just don’t feel like doing it. I have a couple of questions you need to answer:

1. Why don’t you want to accomplish this goal?
At the end of the day we do what we want to do. So if you’re not finishing it, maybe it’s not your dream or your goal. If this is the case, it may be time to reassess your priorities and passions and lay it aside in favor of something you’ll want to actually finish. Now if you’re saying, “…but I do want to finish my project I do want to accomplish this goal.” then we’ll need to look at the remaining questions.
2. Have you lost passion for it?
Maybe this project really fired your imagination in the beginning, but as time has worn on, you just aren’t into it anymore. Maybe conditions have changed. Maybe you got so far and realized it will never work. Whatever the reason, maybe it’s time to can the project and move on. I can’t answer this for you, but I will say this. If this is a pattern for you, finish that project before moving on.
3. Is it more difficult than you thought?
In our society, people seem to be drawn to things that are easy and things that become difficult are often easy to ditch. Let me try to discourage you from ditching. If it was easy everyone would create what you’re creating. The ones who stick with it and finish are the ones who generally succeed. The rest kick themselves when someone else succeeds at what they gave up. Don’t give up. Enlist help, collaborate, find a few people who believe in your dream and get them to help you.
4. Are you stuck?
Sometimes even the best creatives get stuck. They take the project as far as they can and there comes a point where they can’t move it any further. They’re stuck. If you get to this point, there are ways around it. As mentioned earlier, if this is a creative block, start another project. This is different from giving up in that, this project is what you work on when you get stuck on your primary project. The reason for this is really simple. We often get stuck because we’ve been on something too long. So long that we can’t see our way around the problems anymore. Jumping to a second project when this happens will allow you to think on something else for a while which will generally serve to unblock your mind.
I have a lot more to say on this… tune in tomorrow.

Happy Easter

Wishing you a very blessed Easter Sunday. He is Risen and with Him comes HOPE!

New Coloring Title from Dave Weiss/AMOKBooks

One of the things that has brought me a lot of joy lately is illustrating adult coloring books. I became enamored with the mandala style, but my images have nothing to do with anything but creating multifaceted fun images to color. For that reason, I call mine Kaleidoscopics. One of the things I love about this style is it’s quite mysterious. While I may have some idea what the final piece will look like, I never know until I assemble the final piece. The reason is simple, I only ever draw an eighth of the image, then mirror it over and over again. the same basic thing that happens in a kaleidoscope, hence the title I love to see the final image. I design these to be highly detailed, challenging and fun. The book is available now through Amazon.com and at many of my speaking appearances.
I hope you like it.
Dave

The Other Side of Grace

The last few weeks at church, I have been exploring grace. Of course we have this one form of grace that most people understand. It’s the unmerited favor of God that allows us to be forgiven of our sins and receive eternal life.

But there’s another side to grace. It’s the grace that allows us to endure to get through things. It’s important that we understand this. We do very little in our own strength as a matter of fact you could go so far as to say our strength is an illusion. What we are really experiencing is the supernatural power of God allowing us to overcome.

In 2 Corinthians 11, we see Paul boasting about all the things that he has gotten through. To the average person, this can make us feel very weak. But if we look closely we will see that Paul says that when he boasts like this he is acting like a fool. In the following chapter we see Paul speak about his thorn. “A messenger of Satan that God gave Him to keep Him humble.” While Paul endured my things, the thorn brought him to His knees, begging God to take it away. God in effect said, “No.” Rather he said “My grace is sufficient for you and my strength is made perfect in weakness.” This is another form of grace. We don’t have to do everything in our own strength. We can instead lean on God and depend on Him, and when we do that we start to find God’s way through life.

Paul goes on to say that if he boasts he will boast about his weakness for when he is weak, then he is strong. Maybe we Christians need yo stop trying to show the world how strong we are and show them the One who carries us in our weakness.

Give may get us into Heaven, but the other side of grace allows us to survive this world.

When we are weak, He is strong and His grace pours over us.