Start date
September 28, 2007
Last updated
March 2, 2021
Art is a celebration of God's gifts, both in our minds and in the rest of His Creation.
God's Morning Art
captured by my youngest
Artists finish their work, and an audience completes it.
Ed's Art Net aspires toward spiritually and mentally engaging you with aesthetic art and compelling words predominantly inspired by God's truth, beauty and goodness. Plus motorcycle adventure accounts and a zany nerdy humor page, then finally with an abridged bio focusing on bipolar disorder.
Page Design:
1. Workings
drawings, paintings, expositions, Bible references
2. Writings
Page Contents:
Photo credit: Phoebe Chen
Credits:
Glory belongs to God!
God's incredible Art and Word awakens our senses and heals our soul. Isaiah 53:5
God's Little Cloud
God is the reason I have survived, the reason I have a loving family and is the only reason I have this art to display to the Net. God inspires and helps me every step of the way. And Jesus Christ is the only reason I will survive the new heaven and new earth.
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Ed's Art Net has undergone a lot of changes since I retired. I diligently seek improvement, have high aspirations for new works and am grateful that my audience continues to grow.
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Good ultimately prevails over evil...
God's bridge between darkness and light painted with morning color!
darkness seeps...
only 'til light casts it back to the deep
"There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love." 1 John 4:18 NIV
If we are mentally without God, we are spiritually alone and left to our own designs and conclusions. Without God we have to explain away our world so
that the universe conforms to our man made rules... And without God our rules are imperfect leaving us with an artificial sense of purpose or no sense of purpose at all. Without God we become our own
flawed god and remove ourselves from the great goodness and reward that comes from seeking a relationship with our Creator. see
Hebrews 11:6
Without God we easily hate and raise ourselves above others since we perceive ourselves as the highest authority. We need God because we cannot grow properly without Him. Without God we are like lost or spoiled children living without supervision pretending to successfully fend for ourselves. see Ezekiel 5:10
We need God so we can more readily overcome evil. All of us need God's love! We need God because without Him we become self-righteous. Even us good intentioned Christians can act with self-righteousness by uninvitedly imposing our own belief doctrine onto non-Christians. We need God's Word to guide us into properly loving others to celebrate that we are all different. see 1 Peter 3:15
God communicates with everyone and everything at the same time
without blinking an "eye"... which is mind boggling to us... but must be routine for Him. I love God with all my being. It's the easiest thing I do. When you know
God, you will agree! Knowing God means that you realize He is beyond our understanding. see Job 37:5
God disciplines us when we seek Him and listen. Listening is not always easy. Sometimes, I realize there’s a message that He’s been sending me for a long time. I deeply love His patience and especially appreciate His sense of humor. I cannot fathom His degree of understanding, but I know it’s there. When I’m actually able to finally listen, I sense unimaginable compassion for all of us. He let’s me know that He loves me deeply and knows I love Him too! see 1 John 4:16
Problems we face usually work out for the good, even the difficult ones when we persevere. Jesus tells us not to worry about our lives. see Matthew 6:25-34 I know that's a tall order but trusting in His goodness and light is what He wants us to do, especially in trying times. Not all of us are equipped to battle evil at the same level, but all of us can certainly trust in God... Evil can win a battle but it cannot win a war... In time, and most definitely at the end of time, goodness and light will prevail. see Revelation 21:1-8
Ed (Bear)
Casting Art to the Net
God's Little Cloud
A single perspective, path and purpose...
We are all traveling a spiritual journey. We are constantly making "steering wheel" decisions. Our final destination is determined by our interaction with others which is a reflection of our relationship with God.
Blue Ridge Parkway
In the above BRP photo, we are heading north. North is up. Up is toward Heaven. In my imagination I can see a pareidolia of a cross in a tree that’s up and around the bend on the horizon. I enjoy finding subtle messages from God like that. It’s affirmation for me because that’s what I choose to see. see 1 Corinthians 1:18
God is reflected in everything. Also in the above BRP photo, the reflection of the sun on the camera lens is another pareidolia that I choose to see... God explains to us in His Word and when we study the intricacies of life and the universe that He is beyond our understanding. God loves and seeks us when we seek Him and He rewards us infinite times over what we deserve when we do... I see the sun reflecting on the lens (apparently pointing at the pareidolia tree forming a cross) as God beaming with pride in His Son Jesus Christ (God in human form) who died on the cross as spiritual payment for OUR sins. see John 3:35-36
“Peace be with you”
God in Christ Jesus sacrificed His human mortal life so that we would be able to live in His holy presence. see John 11:25 This will physically happen for those of us who are still living our mortal life - when Jesus returns for the second time after His resurrection (the Rapture). see Thessalonians 4:17 God's home will be among us. We will live our second life eternally in His incredible, wonderful Holy presence... without pain or sorrow... all things will be new. see Isaiah 65:17 Knowing that helps ease the struggles in this life. Those that had already passed and followed Christ's teachings will have been with God in Heaven "waiting" for us. We will live eternally outside the dimension of time after we pass. Jesus demonstrated that for us after He was resurrected. see John 20:26 Therefore, we can surmise that we enter Heaven at our time of passing since the afterlife transcends time and space. see 2 Timothy 1:9
Road to Death
Road to Life
But if we repent, we can overcome the second death. All it takes is seeking a relationship with Him. see Luke 23:38-43 I recommend beginning with the Bible book of Job. Some Bible scholars believe Job is the oldest writing in Scripture. Job teaches us a fine lesson in humility, which is a good preparatory introduction into meeting with God. If you want to find God, you will... and you will be amazed by how loving and receptive He is and at how prominent He is reflected in everything. see 1 John 4:16
Jesus replied, "No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God." Luke 9:62 NIV
I would love to know more about the writers of Scripture. I expect they would be fascinating people to meet. Much of the Old Testament prophet Isaiah's writing is beautifully and emotionally charged. John had a special relationship with Christ. James grew up with Jesus and although she probably didn't write about it, Mary would most certainly have more stories to tell about Jesus's childhood. I'm looking forward with hope to living outside time constraints.
God exists both inside and outside our space time continuum. That is demonstrated by Christ’s appearance to the disciples in a locked room after His
resurrection. see John 20:26 God's omnipresence is also apparent when we realize God's awesome and all encompassing power over all things. After all, God created this universe. Deductive
reasoning and Scripture reveals that His power is beyond our understanding. God knows all that has happened and all that’s going to happen. God loves all of us but it’s up to each one of us to
love Him back... we get to decide that for ourselves. Faith in God means we shouldn’t worry and that we should keep a positive eye on the future.
"Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid." John 14:27 NIV
The Right Path
It is my belief that each of us is inspired daily by what goes on around us. And that each of us have a choice as to how
we react to those inspirations. God gave all of us independent thought. We can choose to be inspired by the abundant miracles in life we encounter or we can pick our inspiration from a perceived
single endpoint of death... everything points from and to nothing. If we choose death as an end, we won’t mind lying, cheating and disrespecting others. That destructive road is well
traveled. see Matthew 7:13
But if we choose to focus on life, then we will want to respect others and take inspiration from even the "simplest" things that God has provided. The living road leads to God’s plan for us to meet Him in His loving and peaceful presence... for the rest of eternity. Do the research. see Job Chapter 1 > then keep reading... and seeking!
"My ears had heard of you but now my eyes have seen you. Therefore I despise myself and repent in dust and ashes.” Job 42:5-6 NIV
There’s strengthening power in the realization that after Jesus’s next return, life for Christians will dramatically improve. That knowledge helps us overcome this world’s evil.
God teaches us how to behave through the writers of Scripture. see Matthew 7 God also tells us that He loves us through Scripture (see 1 John 4:16) and His love is also revealed to us by the Natural World/Universe He created around us. God's signature "fingerprints" are everywhere. So we are without excuse. see Romans 1:20 He explains through Scripture (see Job 36:26) and we learn through our own scientific study that we cannot fully understand Him nor can we explain life's intricately designed detail without Him. see Job 37:5
God‘s fingerprint is everywhere in nature. If we look at our universe as originating from the miracle of creation, we can more easily see His handiwork in the natural world we observe. Just as faith is required for the hope that we have in Jesus Christ, a little faith is required to see God in a twig. Once we understand this, we begin to see and feel God’s presence in everything.
God lovingly teaches us how we can die or else live renewed in His truth, beauty and goodness for eternity. see Galatians 6:8
No one but God the Father knows when this world will end. see Mark 13:32-33 He has always known... He knows EVERYTHING! We do well to listen. When we listen, we realize that God works everything out in His good and final earthly purpose. see Revelations 21:1-8
Ed (Bear)
Casting Art to the Net
Glory belongs to God!
Signs, Space and Hope...
Since childhood, I’ve always felt like I had three voices in my head... one bad, one good and my own... Mine being the one in charge MOST of the time. Maybe you can relate.
This website reflects me... but God’s Spirit and Satan’s influence are also present. When we pursue God, we learn that He is, and always has been, walking with us. He loves us more than we can fathom! He is infinitely communicating with us but we mostly choose to ignore Him. (How great and patient is God!) We get caught up in the daily grind of dealing with life’s stresses and shut Him out. And we sometimes take the miracles of our surroundings for granted. God understands us better than we understand ourselves. He has infinite patience for us and is always here for us whenever we are ready and willing to listen. God helps us deal with Satan's pursuit when we pay attention. The more we pursue God the easier it is to listen. If we choose to pursue EVIL instead, we move closer to Satan and further from Heaven. see Luke 8:12
Satan will perish along with his alive following at Jesus's second return to Earth. Jesus's alive following will join our God fearing ancestors and be in Heaven for eternity... Perhaps traversing space exploring new worlds and meeting MORE old and new friends than you can shake a stick at... Imagine conversing with Moses!
When you seek God, you will discover God's redeeming Message. The Message is as old as time and has been relayed by countless people. see Job 19:25
see Job 32:8 When I was a child my parents wanted me to learn about Jesus so they took me to church and enrolled me in Sunday School at Concord Baptist Church in Mableton, Georgia. They also took me to hear the Sunday sermons.
Preacher Davis wore glasses and was a heavy set man with thinning grayish white hair that he oiled and combed straight back. He rendered fire and brimstone style of sermons. He would shout, scream and sweat profusely at the pulpit while delivering his messages. He always had a handkerchief nearby. When he preached about Hell, he told us that we must be saved or else burn for an eternity if we weren't baptized. So when he invited the congregation to come down the aisle to be saved and meet Jesus, I quickly did so without fully understanding. I did know however, that I wanted to be saved from that terrifying prospect.
I know Preacher Davis meant well and I'm not even sure if I am relaying accurately what he preached that day. But the most important lesson I’ve learned since then,
is that Jesus loves us. I have also since come to realize that God would not burn any one of His creations for an eternity
If we deny God and continue to sin, we will die a second time. But if before we die for the first time... we ask for forgiveness of our sins and do our best to follow Christ, we will live a second life eternally in God's presence. see Luke 23:38-43
God is omnipresent and omnipotent... in simple words He is everywhere and anywhere at the same time and in control. Our free will can make it seem to us that God’s not in control but that is due to our limited sight distance perspective. As soon as we recognize that God has no limits, we begin to understand how great He is. The more we seek to know God, the more our eyes are opened to His power and compassion. God knows everything... past, present and future. His plan for us has always existed. God's timing is impeccable. Jesus Christ was born at just the right time to seed earth with His message.
Image credit: NASA
The more we counter life’s evil influences and make ourselves aware of Satan and his evil ways, the weaker his influence on us. Satan wants us dead. see Luke 22:31 He was cast out of Heaven and is extremely bitter. Satan is God the Father's most beautiful angel creation, but he has a kink in his get-a-long. He wanted more power to do evil so God kicked him out.
Satan is not funny. Beautiful, but not funny. He is deadly like a black hole. And just like a black hole, Satan wants to draw us into his singularity of death. Talk with God and ask Him to help you... He WILL and you will grow stronger in God Christ Jesus! see 1 Peter 4:11
Satan has been around for a long while. But his days are numbered. Satan and time will perish along with every other evil living creature when God Christ Jesus returns to Earth. Hold fast to the light Jesus offers and be faithful to the hope that He provides. That day will be the final glorious event in our space time continuum. All living God fearing people will transcend to Heaven where evil will not exist or be remembered (no pain or sorrow) and all things will be new forevermore! Amen
God has a plan. He loves us all. His plan is proof... His good, pleasing, and perfect plan! He spells His plan out for us many times over. His message is broadcast multiple times throughout Scripture and Nature. Sometimes we miss God’s show because we are too caught up in producing our own show.
God will wait as long as it takes for us to recognize His good, pleasing and perfect will. But the Devil is strong... scary strong... it takes a lot of prayer and perseverance to overcome the Devil's influence. Satan does not want us to know God’s plan because when time terminates... it will be the end of evil, and of course, Satan’s demise. The Devil works hard to confuse us. Satan knows he is doomed but he doesn’t know when. So he's always desperate. Satan knows he is evil and that God rules over him but he is hardened in his purpose. It would be easier for Satan if he changed heart and followed Jesus's lead... but Satan is the Devil and has no desire to change. Satan accepted his fate when he was cast out of Heaven. He knows and lives up to his purpose. And so should we. see Philippians 2:13
Glory belongs to God!
What does God reveal to us about Heaven... There’s some key details that, for His own good reasons, He leaves out. God doesn’t let us know what happens to unborn children at the Rapture. He also doesn’t let us know how we will appear physically in Heaven. We’re left to our own faith and imagination for the answers!
God does reveal to us that we will be with Him and that ALL things will be new! Those two nuggets of information seed infinite possibilities. So
maybe that’s why he leaves out details about our physical state in Heaven. We know that our sins will not come to mind, plus pain and sorrow won't exist. He explains enough for us to understand and
know that Heaven is where we want to be. see Isaiah 65:17
Remember, we’re mere twigs and toddlers compared to what we're going to be when we live with Jesus. You wouldn’t teach a toddler how to build a rocket, neither would you expect a twig to be able to self-propel. A twig needs cosmic engines to transition from an inanimate state and a toddler must learn in degrees of appropriate stages.
God makes it abundantly clear that we are the apple of His eye. We are all God's toddler children. He created an entire universe so we could experience His great Love for us in this mortal lifetime. His good, pleasing and perfect plan is for us to grow from this tiny finite earthly cradle into His very glorious and beyond beautiful infinite kingdom paradise!
God is our Christian guiding Light as the Holy...
Father Savior Mentor
From Light to White, Red and Blue
I see the color White as symbolizing the Father since white reflects all colors from light (God is reflected in everything throughout the universe. He is the Artist with the largest palette and singular divine infinite and perfect skill.) see Isaiah 40:28
Red is a good color for Christian church front doors because Red symbolizes Jesus's life and purpose. (Jesus's blood is our "door" to Heaven.)
see John 14:6
I see the color Blue as symbolizing the Holy Spirit like the sky all around us. (God's Spirit interacts with us constantly like the air we breathe... when we are "still", He is readily apparent.) see Psalms 46:10
Ed (Bear)
Casting Art to the Net
Politics and the people...
America was founded on religious freedom. But our foundation is being challenged. The radical liberal left is undermining our religious and other fought and died for freedoms. In a nutshell, they want to cancel our freedom to think and act differently from themselves.
"[God] makes nations great, and destroys them; He enlarges nations, and disperses them." Job 12:23 NIV
I love my country and the hard working friendly people that support and uphold our Constitution. But freedom of expression allows our citizens to protest and politically work toward inhibiting or eliminating our constitutional privileges. We must recognize that fundamental threat to our democracy and support political candidates that likewise support our Constitution. Maintaining our liberties depends on us to vote for what is right in God's eyes. Not following God’s direction takes us down a destructive path.
Freedom's Ring - It does not come from political power... it comes from the farmer, front line worker, soldier, grocery store clerk, steel worker and millions of other hard working American patriots that make up the foundation of our great country. Our founding fathers designed in our founding documents that this country would be powered not from the top down but from the ground up. President Lincoln's words “of the people, for the people and by the people” are sacred to us.
Somewhere between Liberals and Conservatives is our cultural reality. Globalization might be a pivotal point. Liberals promote "one world" politics and Conservatives promote "taking care of ourselves first" politics. Maybe that's our political polarization in a nutshell.
If we learned anything from President Trump, it's that our country thrives by focusing on our own cultural and economic health FIRST. And that our workers are better off with a sharp businessman as president. Time will tell how well President Biden works out. I look forward with HOPE to a POSITIVE outcome.
Paths have two different directions... so does life, most roads and American politics. Here inside the USA, we have in the mainstream... Democrats and Republicans, liberals and conservatives, division and unification, self-serving and self-sacrificing... and so on.
If our country is operating optimally, we ALL rally behind our President. Or at least allow the duly elected President to do their job un-harassed (maybe some complaining... but only impeached if they break the law!)
God commands us to treat each other how we want to be treated. We ALL are God's family! James 1:19
We choose our guidance between God (life) and Satan (death). Claiming to follow God without doing so is a sure-fire death sentence. Revelations 21:8
It’s our constitutional privilege to express ourselves as long as we are not harming anyone or
anything. The riots disguised under "protests" are criminal acts and should be prosecuted. Peaceful protests are a privilege but harming others or
property is a crime.
Cancel Culture harms and is insulting to EVERYONE! Some people are too easily offended. Facebook and Twitter take it upon themselves to police postings if they don’t agree with the content. That is an anti-American communistic censoring practice. Facebook and Twitter are using their technical power to try and control what we say, read and think. They are evolving from free social media platforms into propaganda engines of the communist dictatorship acting Left.
You can express yourself and communicate with your friends over the Internet outside of Big Tech social media!
Starting your own website is not as difficult as you probably think. Your own website will be insulated from Big Tech if you use an independent host like 1&1. My website is open to the internet and gets visitors from around the globe, but if you prefer, you can limit your audience to your friends by requiring credentials to log in to your site. 1&1 will explain your options better than me. They offer good-looking templates and other easy to use tools to help you publish a website or blog you can be proud of. And the cost is not as difficult as you probably think either. Check it out with the green button link to 1&1 or click on their logo!
It’s insane that those involved from the Left think that it’s okay to defund the police and control gun ownership among law abiding citizens. The Left is fueling violence against America’s conservative heritage. The riots in the Democratic run cities and the questionable election are clear messages that certain people of the Left will do whatever it takes to get the power they want. The voting corruption is embarrassing to the world. The insider attack on our constitutional privileges is deeply disturbing. No one is safe. We must be able to defend our families and our Constitution. Criminals do not obey the law.
Some people in public office obviously get the wrong idea about their job security. The folks in the working public sector are expected to earn a profit or else loose their job. Some of our government officials apparently have gotten the idea that they are exempt from that requirement. Seems they have grown accustomed to getting paid regardless of the job they are doing. This “paid for poor performance” no matter the conditions of their governed communities creates a very “dangerous for the people” situation. Crime increases and morale decreases. These spoiled incompetent government officials now think that “everyone” should receive benefits from other people’s resources just like they do! Henceforth, the birth of Socialism and the death of Capitalism. Now “everyone” wants to get paid regardless of performance so production everywhere suffers. The only way to rectify this problem is to vote incompetent politicians out of office.
Sometimes our “spoiled” government officials get delusional and believe that they know what everyone else should be doing. Again, rectification could not be more clearer... vote them out or if it’s an emergency situation, petition them out. We are still (for now) a Democratic government run of, for and by the people. If we loose that, America has fallen.
When President Trump took office, his policies were refreshingly directed at benefiting America’s foundation base instead of the pocket lining special interests. The Democrats trumped up second impeachment attempt was nothing more than a political coup designed to silence the over 74 million Americans that he represents in support of making THIS country great FIRST!
Ed (Bear)
Casting Art [and sometimes politics] to the Net
In God We Trust
"A man dies when he refuses to stand up for that which is right. A man dies when he refuses to stand up for justice. A man dies when he refuses to take a stand for that which is true."
Martin Luther King, Jr.
"Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn't pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same."
Ronald Reagan
"We must accept finite disappointment, but never lose infinite hope."
Martin Luther King, Jr.
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