The Artisan's Well

Reflections by Mark J. Davio

2013-06-07T15:37:00.000-04:00

Reflections

We need to search

no deeper than ourselves

for the truth in man's reflection.

We need not want

We need not desire

We need not trespass.

Our reflection

faces us everyday

In man-made glass prisms.

But only waters

reflections

compare to our very souls.

The multitude of colors

held within our safe walls

contain the secrets.

We need only

remind ourselves

of this,

and know in our heart of hearts

that all we need is within.

Namaste

New Educational Adventure books for ages 7-11

2012-10-10T12:53:00.000-04:00

INTRODUCING

THE ADVENTURES OF THE
APPLECREST GANG:

~ A CHILDREN’S EDUCATIONAL ADVENTURE SERIES
by Mark J. Davio

JOIN MEATBALL, BLITZ, ARTY, FRECKLES, AND SHAGGY AS THEY HAVE GRAND ADVENTURES IN AND AROUND AMERICA, WHERE THEY DISCOVER A MYRIAD OF INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT OUR NATION’S GREATEST ICONS!

FOR ALL READERS: 7 & UP

THE FIRST BOOK IN THE SERIES NOW AVAILABLE:

“GRAND DISCOVERY”

This first printing of Grand Discovery is limited to 100 copies.

The books will be signed by the author.

In addition:

All books come with an artist pencil, and in each book there are special areas for the reader to write, draw, sketch, doodle, day dream or take notes on what they learned.

Order yours today!

Please send cash, check or money order to:

The Artisan’s Well

9471 Marguerite Dr. #5

Plymouth, MI 48170

This special edition print is only

$14.99 plus 6% tax, plus $2.50 S&H

$18.39 Total per book

Keep your eyes peeled, for the second book
in this series.

Keep tuned in to keep up to date and to enjoy our literary blog.

NAMASTE

TAOTAG now AVAILABLE on AMAZON...

2012-10-05T00:41:00.000-04:00

Now Available on Amazon

Kindle, Kindle Fire, IPhones and Ipad

Click here for more information on

The Adventures of the Applecrest Gang:

Grand Discovery

AND THE SECOND BOOK:

JOURNEY TO FREEDOM

Muse by Joanna S. Crouse

2012-10-04T16:05:00.000-04:00

“There is nothing to writing—all you do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed.”

—Ernest Hemmingway

When I first began to feel it, I didn't understand what was happening; I thought something was wrong with me. Curious, I wandered the halls of my mind and found many rooms filled with things old and new. Some were too covered with dust to even make out the true form, while others were shiny and bright—easily discernible. It was a place filled with many treasures, though all of them were cold and void of life. I would have to look elsewhere for whatever it was that shook me.

When I opened the door to my heart, I threw up my hands in fear as the heat forced me to take a step back. Initially it was overwhelming, but I braced myself and slipped inside. Raging and tall the fire glowed, and I watched in awe as its tendrils licked the air with greed and passion. I had finally found the thing that could make me shudder and I danced around it in a hedonistic celebration. This was special—something I had to protect, so I began building walls around it.

It was mine!

I lived there in my heart for a long time surrounded by the walls I’d built, tall and thick. This flame, my flame, was strong like a drug that I couldn't get enough of, and just like a drug—I realized it too would distort me until everything the fire illuminated was gone. It was too much to keep to myself; I had to do something to stop it from consuming me—I had to share it.

When I turned away from the fire, I saw that its light had cast a shadow of me upon the walls in which I lived. As I talked to my shadow it mirrored me. I asked it to join me, and it agreed. We danced together around the flame—it was the source of us both. With the help of my shadow, I no longer had to look directly into the fire to feel its heat; fluid and deep this darkness had become my muse. I needed it. Without it, I’d be forced to stare into the flame once again and I would burn.

It was born in the place that even the fire cannot reach. This shadow is a reflection of the basest emotions that reside within. This unassuming construct could do, say, and be many things I could not allow myself to be. It was bold, brazen and passionate—raw, cruel and unafraid—he was me. Shifting, I no longer belong to myself. I have become a phage to my shadow; a slave to my muse.

Pushing and pulling me—warping and twisting my heart and soul until all the emotion I can muster is wrung out of me, my muse drives me. Tattered and stretched I wonder if I have anything left to bleed out—until I sit back down at my keyboard and the blood begins to flow freely again.

With each word I write my shadow becomes more real.

He has a name.

By Joanna S. Crouse

BOOK SIGNING SATURDAY OCTOBER 6, NOON TO 4PM

2012-10-02T16:14:00.000-04:00

Heart of Michigan

203 W. Grand River Ave, Howell, Michigan 48843

View Map · Get Directions

- Saturday, October 6, 2012
- 12:00pm until 4:00pm
Come on out and support Mark in Howell where he will be reading and signing his latest book Grand Discovery from the new children's book series The Adventures of the Applecrest Gang.

THE FIRST BOOK IN THE SERIES NOW AVAILABLE:

“GRAND DISCOVERY”

In addition:

All books come with an artist pencil, and in each book there are special areas for the reader to write, draw, sketch, doodle, day dream or take notes on what they learned.

CAN'T MAKE IT OUT: Order yours today!

Please send cash, check or money order to:

The Artisan’s Well

9471 Marguerite Dr. #5

Plymouth, MI 48170

This special edition print is only

$14.99 plus 6% tax, plus $2.50 S&H

$18.39 Total per book

Keep your eyes peeled, for the second book
in this series.

- Saturday, October 6, 2012
- 12:00pm until 4:00pm
Come on out and support Mark in Howell where he will be reading and signing his latest book Grand Discovery from the new children's book series The Adventures of the Applecrest Gang.

Set Forth His Word

2012-09-29T21:24:00.002-04:00

TODAY’S SCRIPTURE

“For as the rain comes down, and the snow from heaven, and do not return there, but water the earth, and make it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; it shall not return to Me void, but it shall accomplish what I please, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.”

(Isaiah 55:10–11, NKJV)

TODAY’S WORD from Joel and Victoria

Are you going through a difficult time today? Let me challenge you: don’t use your words to describe your situation, use your words to change your situation! All through the day you should go around saying, “I have the favor of God. I can do all things through Christ. I am blessed. I’m strong. I’m healthy.” When you speak like that, you are blessing your life. You are speaking favor into your future.

When you get up in the morning, if you aren’t feeling up to par, don’t set the tone of the day by speaking it. Don’t ever say, “This is going to be a lousy day. I don’t want to go to work. I’m tired of dealing with these children.” No, get up and say, “This is going to be a great day. I’m excited about my future. Something good is going to happen to me.”

Always remember, send your words out in the direction you want your life to go. Let His Word always be on your mouth. His Word will never return void. It will accomplish what it was set forth to do. So set forth His Word and move forward in blessing and victory all the days of your life!

A PRAYER FOR TODAY

Father, today I send forth Your Word. I declare blessing, favor and victory over my life. I choose to set the tone for the day in peace, joy and victory today and every day in Jesus’ name. Amen.

— Joel & Victoria Osteen

Proud I am...

2012-09-23T14:43:00.002-04:00

Proud I am

...of my dad

who makes it everyday

to work the course

of action he does take

who do you think

makes it look so good

when playing a round

on God's great turf.

Thanks Dad

for all you do

so much more than this

I assure you.

Mark

LIVE FULLY IN THE PRESENT

2012-09-21T19:46:00.001-04:00

The Devil is in the works...funny commercial

2012-09-20T10:13:00.000-04:00

A Fall Poem; an excerpt from Seasons of the Heart

2012-09-18T23:37:00.002-04:00

CHANGING COLORS

As the summer days slowly fade

and the high temperatures do give way

the mighty trees, they fight to stay

like the coming of a second spring

the trees bright colors begin to sing

orange and yellow, greens and reds

the many colors which turn our heads

Indian summer then brings its heat

as apples fall upon our feet

the sun sinks lower in the sky

spinning further from our eye

the leaves, they struggle to hold on tight

against chilling winds that blow tonight

upon the ground when we awake

good bye to summer, hello Mr. Rake!

the summer events now brushed away

picked up or burned,

still the memories remain.

Celestial Phenomenon An Ominous Presage

2012-09-18T11:08:00.000-04:00

Siesta Key June 4, 2012

Sundogs

I have seen a sun like this while golfing some time ago with my mother, father and good friend. The afternoon sun was high and when we looked up there was a rainbow around the sun. We had never seen this before but our minds worked out that it had to be something to do with ice crystals in clouds; however, it did give us a feeling that was quite ominous at the time.

My father is in Florida and on Monday had seen the same thing on the beaches of Siesta Key.

My brothers definition from Oregon: AKA “Sundogs” They happen all the time out here in the west. Nearly Daily. The Halo’s are formed when light travels through high Cirrus Clouds made of ice crystals. Obviously, in our neck of the woods, that’s often, when cold fronts with those types of clouds pass through. The light from the ice crystals in the atmosphere are refracted causing the Halo you see around the sun!

But imagine in the olden days before we weren’t so knowledgeable?

The so-called "Sun Dog Painting" (Vädersolstavlan) depicting Stockholm in 1535 and the celestial phenomenon at the time interpreted as an ominous presage

Wikipedia Says...

Jakob Hutter

Possibly the earliest clear description of a sundog is by Jacob Hutter, who wrote in his Brotherly Faithfulness: Epistles from a Time of Persecution:

My beloved children, I want to tell you that on the day after the departure of our brothers Kuntz and Michel, on a Friday, we saw three suns in the sky for a good long time, about an hour, as well as two rainbows. These had their backs turned toward each other, almost touching in the middle, and their ends pointed away from each other. And this I, Jakob, saw with my own eyes, and many brothers and sisters saw it with me. After a while the two suns and rainbows disappeared, and only the one sun remained. Even though the other two suns were not as bright as the one, they were clearly visible. I feel this was no small miracle…^[9]

The observation most likely occurred in Auspitz (Hustopeče), Moravia in very late October or very early November 1533.

MORE AT WIKIPEDIA

CHECK OUT THIS MODERN DAY IMAGE

Training our minds, sculpting our hearts; there is a difference!

2012-09-17T20:48:00.000-04:00

Photo Mark J. Davio

Training Our Mind:

Today I trained my mind. I studied several methods of consulting techniques. I have partnered with an international consulting firm and am currently going through their training.

This “training” of the mind is very important in our lives. We need to continually exercise our mind daily. Even in the later years of our lives, we need to busy the mind with activities.

If you don’t train your mind, you will lose it; just as you lose the functions of your physical body. The brain is physical too, and is therefore alive. We need to nourish our brain as we nourish our bodies; the brain is of the “body.”

Sculpting Our Heart:

Today I sculpted my heart. I read inspirational and spiritual material and meditated on what I had read. This time in the morning is most important to me. Sculpting the heart is a great way to start your day.

Take time to sculpt your heart. This does not have to be the same activity either. There are many ways in which we sculpt our hearts. How we act and react towards others is another way of sculpting our hearts. Treat others as you wish to be treated. Right?

Sculpting of the heart and training of the mind are simple things we must do. Often times we forget we need these things. Take time in your day and check your heart. Take time to tease your brain. And keep tuned in for more on this series:

Training our mind, sculpting your heart,

by Mark J. Davio.

Namaste

Sports and Event Photographer for Hire

2012-09-17T06:19:00.001-04:00

Mark J. Davio is available for hire as your personal sports or event photographer:Simply call Mark to obtain more information today!!248-921-8199

Help my unbelief...

2012-09-17T00:53:00.001-04:00

"Lord I believe, help my unbelief" (Mark 9:24)

We can believe and still have doubt. Doubt is not a bad thing and does not mean you don't believe, it is only doubt.

A LOADED QUESTION:

Would a Loving God Send People to Hell?

This is a question you must answer yourself, but there is only one answer.

Romans 1:21-28

21 For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools... 24 Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts... 26 Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts... 28 God gave them over to a depraved mind, so that they do what ought not to be done.

Hell is not all fire and brimstone. Hell is far worse than that. Hell is mental and emotional anguish, torment and absolute torture of the soul that cannot be explained by words.

We all have experienced hell on earth in that we have had much disbelief and had not surrendered to the Lord's will.

Lily Lake; a series of lilies from Kensington

2012-09-15T09:14:00.002-04:00

A true Michigan lily...

2012-09-15T00:29:00.002-04:00

Michigan Lily by Mark J. Davio, Picture taken at Kensington Metropark, Milford, Michigan

AM I RIGHT????

A Spiritual Journey: a Videography by Mark J. Davio

2012-09-14T05:49:00.000-04:00

A Sacred Journey:

by Mark J. Davio

A Sacred Journey

Enjoy this beautiful and spiritually charged fall journey into the Upper Peninsula with music by U2, The Cure, Paul Westerberg, and more...narration by Mark J. Davio, yours truly.

NOTE: VIDEO IS ABOUT 5 MINUTES LONG
BUT WORTH EVERY ONE

NAMASTE

You have to see this...

2012-09-14T05:48:00.000-04:00

God Works in Mysterious Ways...

David Garibaldi: Jesus Painting from Thriving Churches on Vimeo.

NAMASTE

Now I See (early morning light)

2012-09-13T06:51:00.000-04:00

I've reached the shore

of the harbors light

I'm steering in from

major sea fright.

Thank you Lord

for seeing me through

and waiting

patiently as you do.

Now Jesus is calling

come here my little child.

My temperature is warm and mild

God prepared me to carry my load.

Lighter days will soon unfold.

I've dropped my load on stormy seas,

now in the harbor I see the trees.

Now what to do with my time?

Into the hills to unwind,

but through the city I must pass,

a passerby as clear as glass

lime-green colors he was clothed,

the light to me now exposed.

I share good message from further shores

for Him in me to explore,

but not to jump off cliffs sharp edge;

slow me down,

insert a wedge between me

and you and you and me.

Teach me more so I may see

Your pathe set forth

before my feet

I stroll...

hand-in-hand

WE stroll...

God Bless

The blue-green waters on the rise...

2012-09-10T08:58:00.000-04:00

Sunset Ridge

This morning I strolled

along this ridge

and found the sun

even more brilliant

low and stretching

shadows formed

long and warm.

Sunset Ridge

was truly better

as sunrise morning.

oh, the glory

I did witness today;

God's light

shone upon my pathe

sunset ridge...

Yeah, right...right?

TAOTAG BOOKS IN HAND....

2012-09-10T08:55:00.000-04:00

The Adventures of the Applecrest Gang

has ARRIVED!!

ALL PRE-ORDERS ARE NOW BEING FULFILLED.

Thank you for all your support.

If you have not already ordered, you may do so now:

And stay tuned in for more...

a Word from our Lord...

2012-09-09T10:44:00.004-04:00

Believe in Faith be Saved

For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.

Romans 10:11

It matters not if you are Jewish, Christian or any other sect or creed; the Lord is rich on all that call on Him. Just believe and meditate on His good word.

For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.

Romans 10:13

No matter whosoever seeketh Him, he shall be saved and born again. Today, seek and thou shall find.

So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

Romans 10:17

Faith grows by learning and hearing in the present-tense; keep in the moment and celebrate the word of the Lord.

Now go out and make it a great week!!

Mark J. Davio

Damien Rice - "Coconut Skins" (Live on Jools Holland)

2012-09-07T13:46:00.000-04:00

You can hold her hand

And show her how you cry

Explain to her your weakness

So she understands

And then roll over and die

You can brave decisions

Before you crumble up inside

Spend your time asking everyone else's permission

Then run away and hide

Or you can sit on chimneys

Put some fire up your ass

No need to know what you're doing or waiting for

But if anyone should ask

Tell them I've been licking coconut skins

And we've been hanging out

Tell them God just dropped by to forgive our sins

And relieve us our doubt

La la la la la la la...

Oh you can hold her eggs

But your basket has a hole

You can lie between her legs and go looking for

Tell her you're searching for her soul

You can wait for ages

Watch your compost turn to coal

Time is contagious

Everybody's getting old

So you can sit on chimneys

Put some fire up your ass

No need to know what you're doing or looking for

But if anyone should ask

Tell them I've been cooking coconut skins

And we've been hanging out

Tell them God just dropped by to forgive our sins

And relieve us our doubt

La la la la la la la...

Listen to Damien Rice

Thanks for the lyrics

Check out a live session

Read an article about Damien Rice in the New York Times

READ THE BACK COVER of TAOTAG...

2012-09-07T03:11:00.000-04:00

Join the Applecrest Gang on their

"Grand Discovery."

Join the fun in this easy to read

early chapter book for all ages.

,,,the First Monarch of the Year I did See...

2012-09-03T06:49:00.000-04:00

A Beauty

She was right there

in front and center

of me and mine.

Like wings of

a delicate rose

she flew by

and created

a soft breeze.