Being Still

So, in a conversation on the telephone with my mom, she told me that my blog posts about giving up paper crafting sounded "militant". I'm not certain, but that may be mom-speak for "preachy". :)

Boy, I hope not! If I was being preachy, then I sincerely apologize!

I am just excited about this new thing that God is doing in my life. I hope that no one infers that this new thing for me should be their new thing, too. Not at all! My decisions are personal, based on a lot of thought and conversations with God as I hit the trail for my morning walks.

Here are just ten personal reasons for my departure from the world of card making:

* It took up way too much valuable real estate in my house.

*It interfered with my ability to pursue creative writing.

*It took up much needed office space.

*Card making did not equate to card giving. And when card giving did actually take place, it had more to do with "look at what I did" than "I was thinking of you".

*Card making for every challenge and gallery took on a showy-offy quality.

*Card making took way too much time out of my day, way too much money out of my wallet.

*I missed the beauty and sentiments that can be found in really nice store-bought cards.

*I always coveted the next purchase and the next shiny new "had to have it" thing.

*Card making did not equate to therapy or ministry for me.

*Card making was an isolating event that did not bring about fellowship.

With that many valid reasons to give it up, then I hope it is understandable why I made the break. I guess I am an all or nothing girl.

For me, out of sight is out of mind. And that is why I had to remove all things paper crafty from my reclaimed office. I'll keep it in storage for a while. If time goes by and I come to the realization that I miss it, then fine. It will be there waiting for me. But if I don't miss it, then I will gladly bless it on to others.

This has freed up a lot of space for other things that had been shoved out of sight. For example, I was able to get my cook books out of a kitchen cabinet and put them on this bookshelf in the office. Now they are so much more easily accessible! I also have nice baskets on my shelf to store the postage stamps and envelopes and (gasp!) store bought cards. This has simplified my life immensely!

There's a praise and worship song that has been on my lips this week. It says this:

I'm trading my sorrow
I'm trading my shame
I'm laying them down for the joy of the Lord!
I'm trading my sickness
I'm trading my pain
I'm laying them down for the joy of the Lord!


Happy, happy! Joy, joy! Find your joy today, friends!