Monthly Archives: March 2020

Inspiration, Using your Gifts

My Artist son/aaron Schuerr

I have been blessed with three wonderful children. My youngest is Aaron Schuerr. It wasn’t long before we noticed he was left handed. I had been told not to give them coloring books, but let them explore art on big sheets of block paper. I would share bible stories with them drawing pictures on the block paper. After having two wonderful girls, I was told a boy meant trouble. But that was not true, Aaron could entertain himself drawing and role playing various Star War characters. When he was 8 years old, my neighbor Lori Indovina-valus and I decided to exchange lessons. I gave her daughter piano lessons and she gave Aaron art lessons. It was a win– win arrangement for both of us.

One day while in high school, Aaron and his friend Kent Albin asked if they could paint the wall in Aaron’s room. I said, “No” but Larry said, “Why not?” It wasn’t long before they happily painted the wall with figures that looked like Dr. Seuss characters in a prairie and pond. Aaron would come home from high school and pick up a large art book with pictures and stories of famous artists. He’d say, “Now my real education begins.” Next, he enrolled at the Art Institute of Chicago. He was not totally content with the Institute, and when an opportunity came to go to Scotland for a one year exchange program, he applied and later ended up graduating from the Dundee of Jordonstone College of Art and Design. He worked diligently Monday thru Friday, so he could take off on the weekends with an outdoor/hiking group. Aaron fell in love with the luscious landscape. He connected so well with his hiking pals from Scotland/England. They became lifelong friends and a couple of them stood up in his wedding in Bozeman, Montana—all wearing kilts, of course.

Aaron and I at the Legancy Gallery in Bozeman, MT

It was a slow start to becoming a notable artist. He was married to Lynelle, also an art major. She has been Aaron’s backbone giving him artistic advice and helping him with framing, etc. Soon their first child, August, was born followed by two more boys, Jasper and Isaak. Aaron supported his family by selling his art at a local gallery and by waitering. He approached his art like a job-working numerous hours a day. But weekends were made for hiking and exploring the mountains of Montana. His inspirations came from unending hikes and trails through the Gallatin Valley, Paradise Valley and Yellowstone National Park. His creative imagination was unleashed not only in art, but in his writing and acting. I’m proud to say that family always came first with Aaron and Lynelle. They have learned the life lessons of how to handle times of need and times of plenty.

A photo from a play

Yes, it was sad to have Aaron move from Bozeman/ Livingston Montana after living in Chicagoland; but it has given him the outdoor studio he needed to paint his masterpieces——and it provided a wonderful vacation spot for his father and me.

My advice to parents is to pursue your own creative outlets because by doing so, you are a role model to your children. God has given us each gifts and now due to Covid-19, many of us have time to develop them. See <www.aaronschuerr.com> for more information.

Aaron’s art work along with his article in the Feb/March 2020 issue

I must add to this story that on June 22nd, 2020 Aaron was on the Kelly Clarkson Show where he was featured for putting his outdoor scenes right into the paintings and got the stamp of approval from Kelly. As a result he had 1000 more people on his Instagram account and 500 more people visiting his website. www.aaronschuerr.com. I guess inside I knew he would be popular someday. I worried when for some reason he missed getting his high school picture taken the first time and the second time, someone would be looking for his Senior Picture and not find it. He was wearing a poncho on Senior picture day. But he was on the football team and in the plays and musicals so I guess he would be recognizable in those pictures.

Inspiration

A Word from Martin Luther

I grew up as a Lutheran. My mother played the organ in two different Lutheran churches. As kids, we sang in the choir and performed on the stage for Christmas pagents. But I really didn’t know much about Martin Luther or his life struggles until I saw a movie about his life. When I went to NIU in DeKalb, IL, I was searching for meaning and purpose in my life. I remember walking back to my dorm and looking up at the sunset. I said, “God, I don’t think you are there, but if you are—- you can have my life. Maybe you can show me you are there by making something wonderful happen in my life.” That evening I met my husband at a Newman Center dance. He too had been searching for God. It wasn’t long before my roommate took us to a Cru meeting where we became follows of Jesus. The blindfold was removed from our eyes and we saw Jesus in a new light. We had a desire to read his recipe for an abundant life—-The New Testament. The once boring book came to life for us.

Now back to Martin Luther—He posted these words which I find very meaningful as we fight Covid-19. Let’s all do our part to keep it from spreading.

Even Martin Luther who was born in 1483 and died in 1546 knew what to do during the back plague. Words of Wisdom for us.When Martin Luther was dealing with The Black Death plague, he wrote these wise words that can help inform the way we approach things happening in our world right now…“I shall ask God mercifully to protect us. Then I shall fumigate, help purify the air, administer medicine and take it. I shall avoid places and persons where my presence is not needed in order not to become contaminated and thus perchance inflict and pollute others and so cause their death as a result of my negligence. If God should wish to take me, he will surely find me and I have done what he has expected of me and so I am not responsible for either my own death or the death of others. If my neighbor needs me however I shall not avoid place or person but will go freely as stated above. See this is such a God-fearing faith because it is neither brash nor foolhardy and does not tempt God.”

Italy in Better Times.

Please stay hopeful and connected, maybe on line or in Zoom Cloud Meetings, to one another. Can you imagine how excited we will all be when life, as normal, will return. We will appreciate all the little things we took for granted.

Inspiration

The World as we know it

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I woke up this morning to the Illinois statistics of 95 confirmed cases of Covid-19 as of March 16th, 2020. This statistic is changing hourly. In Italy, there has been 24,747 cases and 1809 deaths. To avoid statistics like this, our governors have taken drastic measures by closing schools, churches and restaurants. It’s for our safety and not government suppression of our freedoms as some would say.

As you hunker down, isolating yourselves from this unseen enemy, it’s as though something very strange is happening. This might not be too difficult for the introverts; but for many of us, depression and loneliness could soon kick in. “Do not be surprised at the fiery trial that has come upon you. as though something strange were happening to you.” I Peter 4:12. Indeed, it’s a very strange time. Can you remember a time in our national history where schools, churches and jobs were shut down and your nation told you to live on line while isolating yourself from one another. . A microscopic virus has brought us to our knees. But by following the measures given to us, we will be able to save lives.

Be a creative cook!

Let’s find creative ways to live and to help others at this unprecedented time in our US and global history. Remember——–” God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.” 2 Timothy 1:7—–yes, a sound mind. What can each of us do to safeguard each other and our neighborhoods?

When our kids were young, one thing we liked to do in the winter was to go caving or spelunking near Bloomington, Indiana at a place called Sullivan’s cave. We brought supplies to spend the night. The temperatures could be below 0 degrees above but in a cave the temperatures stayed at 56 degrees. It was a weekend adventure to explore the cave with our family and friends. One time on our way down to Sullivan’s cave, my daughter, Deborah, broke out with red, blotchy skin—it was a rash that looked very much like measles, even though she had been vaccinated against the disease. We wondered what to do next. We carried her into the cave and got her comfortable and warm in a sleeping bag and fed her warm drinks. We had read that one should stay in a dark place when fighting measles; and what could be darker than a cave? We spent the night there and she quickly recovered.

What are some creative ways you are dealing with our current crisis? My daughter, Julie, is home with her family and they are making delicious tomato crème fraise sauce to pour over pasta. The kids have homework but not enough to fill up the day. They are taking bike rides and have instituted a rule that no screens until 3 PM.

We have a ping pong table in the family room; it’s getting more use. In addition to long walks in any weather, I continue to clean the house, read novels, write, play the piano and study Spanish. We hope to work in the yard today, since the temperatures are rising to the 50’s. So let’s get creative and share how we will spend our time.

What can we learn during this time of isolation when the world as we know it is changing daily—as though something strange is happening.