Homegrown Hospitality

A "Sorta" Mission Statement

My faith, beliefs and everyday life of family, home, life, love, & laundry inspire and fuel my creativity. I share it here with the hope that you will be inspired to share and create for yourself and for others.

With that said, I have developed new techniques to go along with new classes based on mixing faith and creativity AND adding back in "the element of being together"  Getting together with others to create is becoming a lost art and I for one do not want to sit and watch it happen.

I have taken almost an entire year off of teaching in-store, except for a few trips and I am almost ready to get out and teach again, with several changes to the way I teach.

I am hoping that you will have an open mind to my new ways and that you will consider taking some time to be together with other women to create, to experiment, to create a mess, to be inspired and to relax.

A Reminder

There is this hill called Dreaded (with a name like that, enough said) on a trail we run on the weekends.

It is HARD although each week that we do it, it gets a tiny bit easier, okay, not easier...maybe I just climb it better BUT again each week that we do it, about 5 minutes into the hill I ask myself  "why am I doing this??" yet I keep going back.

In order for me to get to the top of Dreaded I cannot talk, I HAVE to be aware of the surroundings (ut um...wildlife) , get into my zone, be brave and focus NOT on the top, but on the path right in front of me. Then I blast my IPOD and talk to GOD. It is exactly how I got through a marathon, exactly how I run, exactly how I get through Dreaded and always how I get through the day.

Just like in regular ol' everyday life, there is nothing easy about Dreaded, but you have to keep going, be aware, be focused, pray for perseverance, pray for NO wildlife, and just get to the top because when you do, it is all worth the struggle, the lack of breath and the sweat.

It is beautiful, amazing, breathtaking and totally worth the fight to get up there.  I would take a picture to show you but there is no way in "H-E-double hockey sticks" that I am going to haul a camera up there...

I did however take a picture of the treasure that I found on Dreaded this past Sunday and I put it right on the table by our front door.

It is a reminder to love (it is a heart, duh!), to keep going (because you can't stop), that things are tough and won't ever be perfect (it has broken edges) and that HE is always right there (the Rock).

With all your heart you must trust the LORD and not your own judgment.  Always let him lead you,and he will clear the road for you to follow. Proverbs 3:5-6 (CEV)

 

Strength of Heart

Be strong and have strength of heart. Do not be afraid or shake with fear because of them. For the Lord your God is the One Who goes with you. He will be faithful to you. He will not leave you alone.” Deuteronomy 31:6 (NLV)

 

"Buck the System"

I know that the world is broken, that people are a total wreck and messed up, that we are in a recession, that we are all tired, sometimes just want to give up, that it is going to get a little bit worse before it starts to get better (yippee..aren't you glad you stopped here!) and that your frustration with the issues at hand might even make you want to exchange a letter or two in the title of today's post to read something else....

I KNOW and UNDERSTAND ALL OF THIS so please do not misunderstand me and think that I am unaware, uninformed,  live in a bubble or think that a cute little Hello Kitty band-aid doodled over the globe is going to make things better. I am not and I don't, plus we live in a "boy" house...no Hello Kitty here...

But really, what are you going to do???

Give up?

Give in?

Throw in the ol' towel?

If you are still reading, I would, however, like you to understand me and the "steam behind my engine." That when the times get tough, I feel myself get tougher, stronger (insert "the eye of the Tiger" Rocky song) and I get really motivated to "buck the system" (whatever that means) without stopping and sitting in protest, yelling and screaming, (okay, I do cry a little, but not for that long,)  All those things do is take up time and energy and shoot, I have two very active boys and a husband that need love, food and clean clothes. No time for a protest on "who's fault it is"

If you want to blame someone, blame Adam and Eve..they started it all. (okay, that would really make a GREAT protest sign)

I just wanted you to know that I do understand and did not want you to misunderstand me by thinking that if you just use a little decoupage and cover up the crap in life, the economic problems and basic brokenness of the world with patterned paper, edge it with glitter, add a few eyelets to the top and tie a string through them, that it will make everything just disappear...

It won't

BUT (there it is again)

I refuse to just sit, stew, pout, fuss, cry and point fingers. 

I choose to remind myself and others.

" Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up." Galatians 6:9(TNIV)

A Happy Mind

Rainy days, Christmas lights, making pancakes, painting, running, the inside of my car vacuumed, blooming flowers, gardens, sunrises in South Africa, barns in Pennsylvania, seeing a baby being born, sunsets in Maui..the smell of blacktop when it just starts to rain..

What makes you happy and content?

Create a happy mind by doing things first thing in the morning that will kick off your day in the right direction.

I start with prayer...a basic shout out to thank Him for another day.

Then I put in a load of laundry and paint.

Here is my early morning, before the sun comes up art from yesterday....the photo that was supposed to go with yesterday's post, but was not meant to be.. 

and then before I get ready for my daily "blacktop patience and tolerance" practice with 900 K-6 kiddos, I do some sort of exercise.  Running is the very best for me and my overstuffed mind and what I prefer to do the most...I just do not do it as much as I like or should BUT (and because of that dang big but) I am attaching myself to that dang wagon (that I keep falling off of) this week and staying on with the accountability from a friend.

My point is, do not wait for happiness to pop into your life, it is already there, you just forgot to recognize it. Go out and create your own happiness with what you have around you...

TODAY.

Okay, so maybe you don't start off with quiet time (you should try it), maybe you don't want to paint or do laundry at 5am and heck running is the last thing on your mind, but try this:

Get up 15 minutes earlier then everyone else and go outside, enjoy the dark morning sky and just listen.

Help Ticket

Can't post photos.

Keep losing my posts and the internet keeps shutting typepad down.

Posted a help ticket.

I will be happy if this posts and I will not get frustrated that I typed my post at 4:45am and it is now 4:28 pm and still am having trouble.

I won't I won't I won't.

Hope you are enjoying the right now.

Specially Hand Made

We were each created individually. 

Every single one of us is different...so it really is silly stupid to compare.

I will throw my own self under the bus (it is not moving) and say that I do this. I don't  compare wealth, status or that kind of thing, I compare body types and wish for something different.  Not alot, just usually at a pool or at the beach when I am wearing a bathing suit (which I do not like to do). I am POSITIVE that I am NOT alone on this one and that is why I am not embarrassed to admit it. I have never been content with my body type..ever..and at the same time, I know that I am in control of the amount of exercise I do and the amount of food I consume.  This is ENTIRELY for a different post...

anyways...my point is that we are each:

Specially Hand Made....(possible book title?)

There's no one like you (like the Scorpions sang in the 80's) in the whole wide world and YOU are special even if you do not feel, think or are told that you aren't.

You are.

"You are the one who put me together inside my mother's body and I praise you because of the wonderful way you created me,  Everything you do is marvelous! Of this, I have no doubt." Psalm 139:13-14

Think about that today.

• What are your special abilities and talents?
• What do you love to do?
• What makes your heart soar?
• What brings you Joy?

Take time to let the answers come to you. 

Sometimes when we sit and ask ourselves questions on the spot it is hard to just name them off. 

Take note of the feelings and emotions that you get when doing something that brings you joy and do not just do this today...do it often..we all need to get to a place where we can feel confident and proudly say that we are Specially Hand Made. 

Contentment

Contentment -  satisfaction; ease of mind.

I could make this a 1 mile long blog post but I think I will chop it into segments.  LOTS to talk about on this subject and I don't want to start your Monday off by taking up too much of your time.

your welcome.

So, we heard an amazing message about "Contentment" this weekend, an hour lesson that should needs to be aired on the radio, shown on television, posted to the internet..heck tattooed on our arm as a constant reminder to be happy with what we have instead of always wanting more.

If you got this message in a fortune cookie, you'd think about it, so maybe cut & paste it, print it out and think about it now:

"It is better to be satisfied with what you have than to be always wanting something else." Ecclesiastes 6:9

The facts are the facts and unfortunately, we are all guilty of comparing ourselves to others and thinking we need more. It is our dang culture, the media, our own insecurities, it is natural...dang Adam and Eve had to go screw everything up...so don't beat yourself up about it too much. 

For us personally, it is a daily arm wrestle with the boys talking CONSTANTLY about who has what and how much it was and "knowing" that if they could have it...life would be so much better. Little do they understand that what they have is really so much more than they need and so so much more than most have...and shoot, living inside the "Orange Curtain" where "life" is portrayed on a Bravo realty show does not help.

DANG IT!...uggh...that is an entire different blog post.

Life is NOT about things...We might think that it is..but it is not.

We NEED to learn to enjoy what we have...instead of wishing for more.

Wanting brings causes more fatigue (yes, more than we already have from multiple games on multiple fields, carpool, laundry, working, more carpool, having teenagers, more games and still more laundry)

Wanting brings on more anxiety because the more you have, the more you worry, duh!  (I am happy that my car is older so that when the surfboards, boogies boards and 10 feet from 5 boys leave sand EVERYWHERE, I do not have to freak out. THEY just vacuum it out.  NO biggie. It doesn't mean that I don't have to take care of my car, it just means I do not have to stress out about it)

Wanting brings on expenses. We all have regular expenses to pay for..why add more to the pile??? I have NEVER shared our personal financial info here but will tell you that we are credit card free, usually broke after we pay what we need to pay for ( I am an artist, remember?) but credit free...and have been for MANY years. If we don't have the $$$ then we do not buy it. Plain and simple.  Can I shout Hallelujah???!!!!

Wanting causes conflict.  Seriously, if you don't have it to worry about..you won't fight about it either.

Wanting causes dissatisfaction and you can't buy happiness. amen. Some think you can, but you can't.

As I sat in church yesterday and listened to the message, I thought about where I was four years ago, driving through Sowato, in South Africa and how it changed my heart completely.

This is a photo I took as I walked on the opposite side of the street.  I felt guilty for taking the picture but I was just so stunned. It took my breath away.  

I am certain that this is contentment. They have dinner. Maybe even for two nights.

 
We have NO idea how blessed we are.

Seeing this picture again is going to make me stop complaining about how much laundry I have to do.

See, I told you this could go on for a mile....

Remember, life is not about things...Focus on what will last.

 
 

Random Creative: The Scrapple-Doodle Pumpkin

Here is something to do while the cookies are baking and the laundry is drying:

Buy a little pumpkin (the little ones are cutest)

Set down some paper, grab a couple of paintbrushes and some "fall-ish" colored paints, a little cup of water, a paper towel or two and Scrapple-Doodle on a pumpkin.

 
Paint a circle...or maybe 10. Not the number 10, ten circles.

Then paint petals around the circles, circles around the circles, add some  
leaves, polka dots, more circles...

 
I think you get the idea and then once that dries (which is fast when you are baking cookies and the room is warm) add a second coat of paint. 

The pumpkin is a bit waxy so the first coat is going to look a little icky.

 Let that dry, add a little more here and there....and then finish up with a little more detail..

 
and NO, that is not a "8 Ball" on the red flower in the photo below..but I suppose it could be.

 
Happy Pumpkin Painting. 

I Took My Own Advice

I have been talking for the past few months about "influencing" and being an "influencer" and again we all need to continue on a daily basis to practice being a good influence and using our abilities and gifts because we are setting the example...to the young, to the old and to everyone in between.

 
The biggest part of this is that you do it for God because He gave us those abilities and gifts but also because you never know who you might influence.

So yesterday, after writing my post, I took my own advice and spent an entire 45 uninterupted minutes in the car...doodling, coloring and watching what seemed to be AT LEAST 7500 people walk in and out of Starbucks. (okay, maybe not 7500...but a lot!)

It was nice just to sit and be quiet, enjoy the clear cold morning and color and here is what my 45 minutes produced...A "lap-top" doodle (meaning I did it on my lap..not a real lap-top) inspired by my "Choose Joy" notes that I keep in my center console for those last minute needed reminders 

Because I stopped, took some time for myself and simply colored, little did I know that by sharing the b&w doodle from my phone on Facebook that it would catch the attention of someone. 

Yesterday afternoon, I was contacted by University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio asking if they could share the doodle with their research program helping caregivers of Alzheimer's disease manage the stress in their lives.

"HELLO....." This is how GOD works...

You don't ever have to read, let alone believe all of my "blah blah blah blogging...." but the proof is in the pudding(whatever that means!)  He gave me the ability to balance a pad of paper on my lap while sitting in my car and then the reminder and inspiration to refer to my notes from Kay Warren's summer study to sit and doodle a pile of words, add some color and create something that we all can use.

 "God has also given each of us different gifts to use. If we can prophesy, we should do it according to the amount of faith we have. If we can serve others, we should serve. If we can teach, we should teach. If we can encourage others, we should encourage them. If we can give, we should be generous. If we are leaders, we should do our best. If we are good to others, we should do it cheerfully." Romans 12:6-8 (CEV)