Merry Follows Gratitude

 

Have you ever noticed that the season when we focus on gratitude is always followed by the season when we talk about being merry?  And then there is the joy - that elusive thing we equate with this season. You see it everywhere on cards and signs and ornaments.  But where does it come from?  Or more properly, from whence does it come?  :-)

 I think it is difficult to be merry without being grateful.  When I am finding my thoughts running toward complaints rather than what I have for which to be thankful, I do not have much of a merry heart.  On the other hand, when joy is found in even the most simple of pleasures, then gratitude and merriment is the result. 

So, is joy at the beginning of the equation or at the end?  Does joy produce a grateful attitude that results in a merry heart?  Or does gratitude produce merriment which results in joy?

I propose that it is a circle.  Sometimes we are grateful out of our joy.  And sometimes, we are grateful out of shear determination to be so.  But, in the end, there is joy. 

And then there is the question of what joy really is.  Is it happiness or a sense of peace that is deeper than just being happy.  I vote for the later.  I find that I can have joy even when I don't have the merry. This is because of the One whose Spirit lives deep in my heart - even when I don't act grateful.
 Eph 3: 16-19


Wind and Honey Creations
Creative Pencils - Online Drawing Lessons

On My Worktable

This week I am enjoying the process of bringing these small canvases to life. They have been sitting in my closet for a very long time.  I have too many supplies sitting in that closet.  I've decided  it is time to stop waiting and time to start using those supplies.




It is funny how the creative process goes. I envisioned one thing and they are turning out very different that I imagined.  Sometimes you just have to go with the whirl of creativity as it comes through the room.   I like the new ideas better. I bet that's how it works for you too.

These are a combination of paint, artist's pencils of various kinds, ink, vintage paper, and more.   The lion is all original on the canvas.  But the sleepy tabby is a print of one of my graphite drawings.  Then he has been embellished further with paint, pencils, and ink.  I am thinking about doing more canvases that utilize my pencil drawings.  What do you think?

 

 
Wind and Honey Creations
Creative Pencils - Online Drawing Lessons