Happiness by Vincent van Gogh

'Happiness... It lies in the joy of achievement, in the thrill of creative effort...' Vincent van Gogh.

Oh I wish I could have met this man when he was still alive. He must have been one of the most compassionate people alive. So misunderstood by many. He had a deep faith in God and wanted to do justice to the poor. He was longing for grace in his life and in that of others. He lived in the Netherlands. I also lived for 28 years in the Netherlands. Loved it. I went so many times to the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam. Amazing.. all his art. He produced more than 2,000 artworks, consisting of around 900 paintings and 1,100 drawings and sketches. Most of them he did in the last 2 years of his life. I love his art.

Me and my hubby used `the Starry night` he painted, as the image on our wedding invitation. And we paired it up with a Psalm out of the Bible.

It is Psalm 8:3:

3 When I consider your heavens,
the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars,
which you have set in place,

4 what is man that you are mindful of him,
the son of man that you care for him?

So true.. we live in this huge huge world, in this huge huge universe.. and God is interested in every detail of our lives. I also love details, but I am terrible in remembering them.. but when I do think of them, they usually make me smile. Well depending on the detail I guess :)

Now this is a fun detail.. I had a dear friend work in Amsterdam in an addiction rehab center in De Jordaan and I stayed over there sometimes.. He lived in a huge old building. It was the same building Van Gogh had lived in around 1880. The same room that Van Gogh had lived in, I would sleep in.. it was one of the guest rooms in this huge building. A very simple place witha boring view of more houses and a street.. but I usually could never really sleep if I was in there.. I would stare at the ceiling thinking.. `What would Vincent have thought when he was here about 150 years ago..` This man inspired me my whole life. His art, his letters he wrote to his brother, his faith in God and his struggle with so many things in life.. Yip.. I wish I could talk to him and listen to his stories. Now I look at his paintings and they do most of the talking and I just listen..

And here I am.. I love creating cards.. This one I made with Abundant Hope from Stampin Up. They are usually not that deep or profound... but I do want them to send a message of love.. of care... and yes, I feel that joy of creative effort. Thanks Vincent van Gogh.. for putting so many of my feelings into words.. I need that sometimes..