Together Again

For a few sweet hours, mom and daughters were reunited again. Good times!

Getting to Know Me

The past year and a half it's been neat to slowly grow in confidence of who God has made me to be. One thing that I have realized is that I am a creative artsy person (no big surprise here). No matter where I am, I'm going to find something creative to do, because that is who I am. I've been hard on myself because I felt like I'm always jumping from one artsy thing to another.

I love photography, but I can't tell you the last time I went on a shoot.

I enjoy scrapbooking, but the last thing I did was a hastily scrapped together birthday card (pun intended ;).

Now I'm into making jewelry making. I really do enjoy it, but I sometimes wonder in the back of my mind how long this new hobby will last. Just last weekend I had a FABULOUS time teaching some women of all ages how to design and craft their own pieces of jewelry. Later that evening when I propped my feet up at home I thought of how I'd felt this same satisfaction and fulfillment before.

Three years ago at a summer camp, I loved teaching kids photography and watching their little eyes light up as they considered all the possibilities of what they could do with the camera in their hands.

Earlier this year, I positively glowed as women who thought they had no ounce of creativity churned out scrapbooking cards for Valentine's Day.

Yes, I'm a creative artsy sort, but more than that, I love sharing my passions with others. When I'm teaching others, time flies, I mostly forget about food, and I LOVE the moment when they get it and realize they too can do whatever it is.

Hmmmm, so where does this leave me? Do I have a career now in teaching artsy stuff to others? Do I have a life-giving hobby that can generate revenue? I'm not too sure. For now, I'm content with the glimpse God has given me into myself. I'm sure the rest will come in time.

On your marks, get set, RUN

I signed up for my first ever 10k run today. It's in early March so I have my work cut out for me.

Let the training begin!

Junk in the Trunk Part 2

So I've been ridding myself of excess baggage I have in my life. I must say there have been some sweet moments in the process. I'm not nearly done; but I'm very encouraged to continue on stronger and harder!

I was showing a friend some of my jewelry supply and I gave her some earrings that were really low cost to make, and didn't sting at all to give away. Then I noticed that this necklace I'd just made, went REALLY well with the sweater she was wearing. I felt a little nudge that I should give that to her too.

I ignored it.

After all, I'd just made the necklace and I was positive I could sell it at a decent price.

The prodding continued.

Well I thought, maybe it's not her style. I bet if I offered it to her, she wouldn't even accept it.

I held out the necklace, "would you like this?" "Oh thank you she explained; you are so generous."

Hah, if only she knew.

I wish I could say that I felt so much better after giving it to her, but I have to admit, it took a little while to feel the freedom of letting go. During the rest of our hang out time, I kept eyeing the necklace wondering if she'd mind me taking a photo of it so I could make the same pattern again. However, seeing how excited she was about it, I let it go. And yes, a while later, it did feel good.

It really is more blessed to give than to receive.

God continue to help me to live with an open hand!

One is the...

There are moments when feelings of loneliness catch me off guard.

Today was filled with them.

Packing Light

True confession #2 I am a chronic overpacker.

To me the phrase "pack light" means pack light colored clothes.

Ok, not really, but you get my point.

Anywho, I've been working on getting rid of junk, clutter, and excess; and an added bonus of that has been striving to pack light. So, a couple weeks ago when I went to visit a friend in another city over the weekend, I was EXTREMELY proud of myself for packing only a backpack and a purse!!!

Junk in the Trunk

True confession: I am a pack rat.

Shirt doesn't fit? Could be a cute gift for someone.

Tissue paper from a gift? Might recycle that.

Memento from a fun day? Might scrapbook that.

Cute gift idea? I should try that.

Fun decor article in a magazine? I might do that.

Scraps of paper? I could use those.

The problem is that with all of these shoulda, coulda, woulda's I'm amassing more stuff that I simply don't need. Moving overseas, gave me the perfect opportunity to clean house and get a fresh start. However, I just brought all of my junk with me.

Soon, I'll be moving back home and God once again is giving me the great opportunity to get rid of the junk in my trunk. I figured when I "randomly" listened to 3 podcasts in one day about ridding yourself of worldly possessions, that He just might be speaking to me. Then there was the stark reality of paying thousands of dollars to move the same stuff I came with back across the ocean. So as my roommate brilliantly outlined for me, why pay money to move your old stuff back overseas, when you can get rid of your stuff here and use the money you'd pay on shipping to pay for brand new stuff.

Hmmm, she's got a point there.

So, I'm slowly and painfully reminding myself with each book, shirt, and trinket that goes in the garbage or in the sell/giveaway pile, that God is freeing me to open my hand. As I loosen my grip, I grow in freedom and it gets easier to let things go. I'm also freeing myself to receive more of what God has for me. It's not just cleaning house for the sake of cleaning house. It's getting rid of what I don't need, to make room for the good God has for me!