I see the light!

Friday, April 4, 2008

My days have been terribly busy and so not much time for sewing. I still have so many ideas swimming around in my head. I am waiting on an order from Joggles so I can jump into some things. My first task is to paint, stamp, foil, "play" with some papers to get some ready to be signatures for the journals I will be putting together in Sue's online class I am taking. This part is all new to me and it has been so enlightening to see the work of the others in the class. I am learning a lot seeing all their creativity and beautiful pieces. I had done some experimenting with the Model Magic and now I want to see how Sculpy clay measures up in making fun add-ons to projects.

Presently, I am preparing to give a workshop tomorrow for the Registrars of all my Soccer Clubs on rules, procedures, registration and the software we use. So - I have been working diligently in Power Point - I am up to 54 slides! After that, I can see the light at the end of the tunnel and some time in my studio! Yeah!

So, forgive me today - no eye candy, so to speak. I did want to share though that I got my copy of Studio's magazine and it is great. It has so many wonderful ideas on storage (many of them budget solutions) and setting up areas in your creative space. It has inspired me to really clean, organize and re-think some of my areas. I have been doing a little bit each day and really taking a good look at my space and what I use and draw from the most. I am very visual and need to have things where I can see them to spark my imagination so I have to carefully decide what will be put in drawers or cabinets out of view. In the magazine, artists such as Mary Fisher, Beryl Taylor, Lesley Riley, and Patricia Bolton share their spaces. They range from grand lofts to small closets. There are also a couple of nice project ideas in there too.

~~~~~~

Since stress is something we can ALL relate to, I wanted to share this story I read about the stressed-out woman who was tailgating a man as they drove on a busy boulevard. When he slowed to a stop at a yellow light, the woman hit the horn, cussing and screaming in frustration and gesturing angrily. As she was still in mid-rant, she heard a tap on her window and looked up into the face of a police officer who ordered her to exit the car with her hands up. He took her to the police station and placed her in a holding cell.

An hour later, the officer returned and said, "I'm sorry, Ma'am. This has been a big mistake. When I pulled up behind you, I noticed your 'What Would Jesus Do?' license plate holder and your 'Follow Me to Sunday School' bumper sticker. I assumed the car was stolen!"

Whoa - that is a powerful short story isn't it? So often we have stickers, jewelry and other "things" that indicate we are Christians, but do we act like Christians? Do we honor and glorify Christ with our words and behaviors every day? These questions are very convicting to me - I know I can get frustrated so easily when I am stressed and focused on something and am suddenly torn away from it by something I deem quite insignificant or as simple as the question, "what's for dinner?" I must be on guard regarding my behavior and my words at all times. The really nice thing is that God will help us do that and the closer we walk with God, the clearer we see His guidance even in the very small details of every day life.

"Let your light so shine before men,

that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven" Matt. 5:16

~~~~~~~~