Hey sweet friend,

Happy Memorial Day Weekend!

Yes, seems like an oxymoron since Memorial Day by definition is a bit sad. As we remember the men and women who gave the ultimate sacrifice for the sake of freedom, our hearts of full of gratitude for them and sadness for their loss.

It's a good thing we can hold both emotions at once. Both can be true for sure.

And that brings me to an idea I wanted to share with you today.

Gratitude

In the words of the C.S. Lewis Institute, "Being grateful is, in its simplest form, saying “thank you”: acknowledging that we recognize that something kind has been done for us which we did nothing to earn."

This is the way I want to live. I want to be grateful for it all. Not just the big things, those are obvious. But the little things too.

--The garbage that gets taken out every night like magic. (Thank you husband!)

--The sun that's breaking through the clouds as I type. (Thank you Lord for this beautiful day!)

--The workout I can follow to keep my heart healthy. (Thank you instructor!)

--The beauty that fills my soul when I see a magnificent work of art. (Thank you painters for doing your work!)

And so on...there are so many things to be thankful for if we just take the time to notice.

So what gets in the way of our gratitude?

Again, from the C.S. Lewis Institute, "Gratitude is the opposite of selfishness: being grateful requires one to realize that he or she is not the only important person in the world."

Oh my...maybe that's why my teenager has such a hard time saying thank you. :)

Could it be that we have to take our eyes off our own bellybuttons and look outward to experience true gratitude?

--That bad test result that's causing you to obsess over your health...

--That slight I felt when I saw a friend across the room and she turned and went the other way...

...and a million other ways we get so self focused it never crosses our mind to be thankful...

So today, as we head into the weekend of remembering with Gratitude, let's look for ways to add more of it into our life.

Our hearts will be happier. (Science tells us this is true.)

And we will be a positive force in what is a sometimes dark world.

Love you and cheering you on!

Christy :)

P.S. I'm on track to head to the Air Force Academy this coming week. My nephew graduates...yippee. It's going to be a real experience for sure! 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸

Here's some of my art from this past week:

This week I went to Edinburgh, Scotland with my favorite teacher, Helen, and although it was just an hour, it was so fun trying to capture some of the images of that beautiful city. I'm also including some of my sketchbook work from the week. Enjoy!

Learning, growing, it's AOK to be a beginner!