I have been trailing a week behind my happiness  for about two weeks now.  That isn’t  a bad thing. Breathing in happiness fumes is good for the soul! Still I thought I would catch up today by sharing some of the really good news coming out of C.cada (our artist’s collaborative).

“Wonders happen either way. With you or without you.”
― Sergey Vedenyo

Because that is true I have chosen to be part of the wonder that God is creatingthrough this incredible group of people called C.cada

Our artists recently lent their aid to Special Touch REACH New England’s disability awareness day. A number of our prayer shawlers and crafters came together to help our guests create a “paper quilt”

Clayton Phelps lent his guitar to the Special Touch cause as well!

“Happy is what I feel; Joy is what I experience.”
― Todd Stocker, Refined: Turning Pain Into Purpose

This is Lisa Johnson, one of our artists. At our most recent gathering she got a little stuck. It happens.
Joy comes in working through the sticking points however big or small they might be. Some call this suffering for your art. I call it creative discipline.

One of the reasons C.cada exists is so that we can encourage one another in our giftings and spur one another on to love and good works. To that end we all work on projects together throughout the year. Our monthly gatherings are about pushing each other through the dry spots so that we actually get artwork done and then together we get that artwork out into the community.

C.cada in conjunction with Winchendon’s 250th Anniversary Committee recently held its first annual summer art show.

“Joy is a gift given not an emotion earned.”
― Todd Stocker, Refined: Turning Pain Into Purpose

One of God’s gifts to me is having children who use their gifts for the Lord. Here is my daughter Melanie at our recent C,cada gathering.

And here is my other daughter, Amanda, helping Melanie with her current art project.

“Don’t look to others to give you happiness. Grow it within yourself and share it with the world around you. Bets are, if you give a bit of your happiness to the world, it will begin a ripple effect, and who knows how many other people you can help. It’s never too late to decide that your happiness (or whatever it is that you want) is yours to create and not the other way around.”
― Leigh Hershkovich

C.cada is about sharing the joy God has to given us with the world!

To that end we have started a testimonial newsletter of how God is working in people’s lives

One Desire has cut its first album of all original worship music and is preparing to share that in a night of worship at a local auditorium.

Our artists just began their splatter painting which will be used to promote the Cloverton concert coming to our church this fall.

For all these kingdom advances coming through our artist’s collaborative I am extremely grateful and happy!

The prayer shawl ministry has created over forty new shawls to be given as gifts to those in need of healing.