My husband and I have been faced with some major decisions in the last two weeks. On top of him being in the emergency medical field, he is also a very talented musician, who has been offered to lead worship at one church and play at two others. Wow! What a great opportunity you say!? The Lord is truly blessing your family and highlighting your husbands talent for greater use!? True....but.....a little back story on that...
We were VERY involved in a church for over 6 years. We helped get this church started from the ground up and we were forced to depart unexpectedly last July. My husband was the worship pastor and I lead on the leadership board. The church leaders were going one way and we did not agree with the direction the church was suddenly headed and instead of working through it with us, they said "see ya!" This was extremely painful and has left myself and my husband very bitter. We have tried to attend church, our daughter goes to Wednesday night church, but fear has such a hold on my heart, that these opportunities scare the crap out of me!
I have read Craig Groeschel's, Soul Detox, which was a great book on getting my heart in the right place, but I am still struggling. Two weeks ago, while I was lying in bed, I prayed to God and just let it go. I told Him that I cannot do this on my own and He is the only one who can lead us to a church. Please, just give us a sign! I am so tired of struggling. One week later my husband had an email asking him to lead worship at a church. One week after that, two more invitations to play. God is so good.
This situation is something that takes A LOT of prayer and faith in God, and trust in my relationship with my husband. He is extremely busy with work and music is another notch on his scheduling belt. I am a stay-at-home mom and I remember what it is like to have a husband involved in a church. It takes a huge sacrifice on our part. That is where the faith part comes in in. I need to trust that the Lord knows what He is doing and that He is going to take care of my family and provide us the church home that we have been looking for. The time constraints can be worked out, we need to follow our heart, face those fears, because God closed that door on the old church and he just opened THREE windows!!!!
Thursday, February 28, 2013
Friday, February 22, 2013
Balancing Sickness and Photo Sessions
This week has been a typical CRAZY week for this stay at home momma! Not only am I trying to keep up with the every day to-do list of dishes, laundry, keeping my children alive, feeding my husband....my two kids have been sick, since LAST Thursday!!!! A whole week of infestation. Praise the Lord, Eli is finally feeling better and Natalie too, is on the mend. Now if I could get rid of the sniffles, this would be a happy house!
In between warm baths and wiping noses, I decided this week was the perfect week to re-vamp my Etsy site. Why not? Now that I am feeling better, I have to admit it was the cold medicine talking. Two weeks ago I received a full shop review from one of the teams that I follow on Etsy and that really got the fire going under my buns. I felt the desire and the passion again that I had been missing. Yeah!!!!
This shop review was very helpful! It answered a lot of the questions that I had and covered issues I had been struggling with. One of them was titles, tags, and my photos. I consider myself an amateur photographer. I love to take photographs. Outside of my family, it is my true passion and one of my biggest hobbies. Photographing greeting cards? Not too interesting though.....or so I thought.
I had the most fun taking pictures of these cards! I joked about "a whole afternoon devoted to a photo session for greeting cards," but it was a blast! I staked out my house to find the best afternoon lighting, which happened to be in my bedroom and I set up my station. Don't laugh, but it consisted of a piece of particle board that leaned up against my dresser, with a piece of white posterboard taped to it. I had it angled "just so" in front of my windows and it was PERFECT! I set up my tripod and got the kids down for naps and went to town! I have this fancy Canon Rebel T3i camera and I finally was able to use it in the way it was intended. Amazing and so much fun!
What did I learn from this week? Crazy is ok! If the kids hadn't been sick and I hadn't received this shop review, I never would have got the passion I needed to get going on everything despite how I was feeling. To make the whole situation better, I had a great time taking the photos and a even better time snuggling with my kids on the couch. There is a reason God brings sickness into your house. It gives you a chance to slow down, put things into perspective, realize what is important, and then act on those emotions, because you have had time to rest! God is good! Feeling thankful and oh so blessed. Happy Friday everyone!!
These pictures represent the before and after of Eli with his sickness.
In between warm baths and wiping noses, I decided this week was the perfect week to re-vamp my Etsy site. Why not? Now that I am feeling better, I have to admit it was the cold medicine talking. Two weeks ago I received a full shop review from one of the teams that I follow on Etsy and that really got the fire going under my buns. I felt the desire and the passion again that I had been missing. Yeah!!!!
This shop review was very helpful! It answered a lot of the questions that I had and covered issues I had been struggling with. One of them was titles, tags, and my photos. I consider myself an amateur photographer. I love to take photographs. Outside of my family, it is my true passion and one of my biggest hobbies. Photographing greeting cards? Not too interesting though.....or so I thought.
I had the most fun taking pictures of these cards! I joked about "a whole afternoon devoted to a photo session for greeting cards," but it was a blast! I staked out my house to find the best afternoon lighting, which happened to be in my bedroom and I set up my station. Don't laugh, but it consisted of a piece of particle board that leaned up against my dresser, with a piece of white posterboard taped to it. I had it angled "just so" in front of my windows and it was PERFECT! I set up my tripod and got the kids down for naps and went to town! I have this fancy Canon Rebel T3i camera and I finally was able to use it in the way it was intended. Amazing and so much fun!
One of the photos I took
What did I learn from this week? Crazy is ok! If the kids hadn't been sick and I hadn't received this shop review, I never would have got the passion I needed to get going on everything despite how I was feeling. To make the whole situation better, I had a great time taking the photos and a even better time snuggling with my kids on the couch. There is a reason God brings sickness into your house. It gives you a chance to slow down, put things into perspective, realize what is important, and then act on those emotions, because you have had time to rest! God is good! Feeling thankful and oh so blessed. Happy Friday everyone!!
Tuesday, February 19, 2013
What am I thinking???
A blog? Really? That is what I am thinking! As if I don't have enough to do! Last night, as my husband and I were lying in bed (TMI??) my husband says "how about raising pigs?" I in turn say, "how about starting a blog..." and here we are! The next day and I have started a blog.
Last May I started an Etsy shop selling my mom's artwork and I "seriously" started selling in September 2012. In the last couple of months, after lots of research, it seems that so many Etsy sellers and crafters have blogs, it was the natural next step for myself and the company!
Enough about the why, how about the who? My name is Marianne. I am 31 years old and I have been married to my high school sweetheart for almost eight years. We have two children, Natalie is 5 1/2 and Eli is 2 1/2. God is the center of my life and the life of my husband and children. There is no getting around that. I apply His teachings to how I parent, to my marriage, and how I run my business. It is the footing that gets me out of bed every single day. We have a puppy (who doesn't look much like a pup anymore), her name is Cinder. She is a boxer/lab mix and we adopted her back in November 2012 from Ruff Start Rescue in Princeton, MN. We LOVE her. Our lives have not been the same since Cinder!!!! We also have a cat named Abby, but she is boring and not nearly as exciting as the dog!
Now the what! The what is CindyBlue Designs. The shop I run through Etsy, http://www.etsy.com/shop/CindyBlueDesigns My momma is my best friend and I am her biggest fan and support!!!! I truly believe she has God given talent and that is why I started this shop and this blog. To spread the word about CindyBlue Designs and share my life, the ups and downs, good and bad, all together. I am so excited and optimistic about what the future holds for my company and my family. Great things are going to happen because I have faith and even if it doesn't, that's ok. I still have my faith and my family!
Enough about the why, how about the who? My name is Marianne. I am 31 years old and I have been married to my high school sweetheart for almost eight years. We have two children, Natalie is 5 1/2 and Eli is 2 1/2. God is the center of my life and the life of my husband and children. There is no getting around that. I apply His teachings to how I parent, to my marriage, and how I run my business. It is the footing that gets me out of bed every single day. We have a puppy (who doesn't look much like a pup anymore), her name is Cinder. She is a boxer/lab mix and we adopted her back in November 2012 from Ruff Start Rescue in Princeton, MN. We LOVE her. Our lives have not been the same since Cinder!!!! We also have a cat named Abby, but she is boring and not nearly as exciting as the dog!
Now the what! The what is CindyBlue Designs. The shop I run through Etsy, http://www.etsy.com/shop/CindyBlueDesigns My momma is my best friend and I am her biggest fan and support!!!! I truly believe she has God given talent and that is why I started this shop and this blog. To spread the word about CindyBlue Designs and share my life, the ups and downs, good and bad, all together. I am so excited and optimistic about what the future holds for my company and my family. Great things are going to happen because I have faith and even if it doesn't, that's ok. I still have my faith and my family!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)