Give Thanks

Psalm 100

I had to memorize this when I was a child in Sunday School. It sounds very familiar and comfortable. The Bible says that this is a Psalm for giving thanks.

Psalm 100

 Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth!

  Serve the Lord with gladness!

    Come into his presence with singing!

  Know that the Lord, he is God!

    It is he who made us, and we are his;[a]

    we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.

  Enter his gates with thanksgiving,

    and his courts with praise!

    Give thanks to him; bless his name!

 For the Lord is good;

    his steadfast love endures forever,

    and his faithfulness to all generations.

I think these verses are talking about knowing God and being convinced of His goodness and His mercy.  When we fully understand this there is nothing that can take away our joy and our thankfulness.  We often get excited about a football game or a football season, a wedding, a birth, a raise or a bonus. But this is talking about a special feeling that is beyond happiness that comes as a reaction to understanding the goodness of God, understanding that we are in a personal relationship with the creator of the universe, who gave his only Son so that no matter what life brings on this earth that we are free from the burden of sin, and will spend eternity with our God who loves us.

I was inspired for this week's journal entry by an artist I saw on Etsy.  The last name of the artist is Horvath.  I painted in the style of this artist because it seemed to be something that my students in class could easily duplicate.  My work is in acrylic paint and outlined with a Micron pen. I use craft acrylic paint (like Delta, Apple Barrel, or Folk Art.) I did no prep on the Bible page.  I painted directly on the paper and there was not bleed through and little wrinkling.  I  had a pattern for everyone in class to trace.  Some in the class painted with watercolor, some with acrylic and some colored with colored pencils.  They were all different, but beautiful.