Image Consulting 101

My daughter has decided to form her own line of fashionable clothing. It's sure to take Paris by storm, especially since these trends make so much more sense than the ones I'm seeing lately! So, here's some advice from our on-trend image consultant:

1. Don't be afraid to be bold and express yourself. If you feel that a piece fits better somewhere else, don't let the fashion snobs tell you what to do with it!!! Freedom is the key to happiness!

2. If you're going to go for the wet look, it probably would be best to refrain from using a sprinkler as a means to achieve it.

3. Headwear is essential to complete the look. Think outside the box!

Yes, that IS a pair of pantyhose she put on her head and wrapped around her neck like a scarf.

Pics of the Kids

Back in late June I promised SP that I would upload a picture of the sandcastle Bundt pan we got from Williams-Sonoma. Sorry it's taken so long, my intermediate-user mentality overrode my common sense, and today I figured out that I have a USB media thingie (yes, that's the technical term) that I can put my memory stick in to upload my pictures until I find the sync cable for my camera. This is why I normally leave the computer stuff up to my husband.

For my family that reads this blog, here's some recent pictures of the kids for you as well.

Ma Vie en Rose

"When life hands you lemons..."

"Make apple juice?"

-Sky High

God's delay is not God's denial. That is the phrase that I took away from our Holiday Workshop. Thank you, Cheryl Banks. For so long I had been upset at myself. Was I not good enough? Was I doing it wrong? Was I never going to make it?

Thanks for setting me straight.

Our sermon this past weekend was about talents. We reviewed Matthew 25 and the parable of the talents. Our preacher then gave a sermon on discovering our talents and using them as God has designed us to use them for His glory. It was a gentle slap in the face. A loving wake-up call. I cried, even though I fought hard not to. For so long I've ignored my God-given talent. Or maybe before now I just never saw it for what it was.

Bert (our pastor) suggested that if we didn't know what our talent was, we should consider what others have told us we're good at. I thought about it, and came up with lots of things people have said I am good at doing. But they all had one thing in common: I was a teacher.

I've had people tell me I was a great music teacher. That I loved my students and cared about them enough to praise them to success, work with them and encourage them and turn out honor band players.

I've had people tell me I should be a marriage counselor. Why? Because I love instructing people on what I've learned about Biblical marriage. And what is a marriage counselor but a marital instructor?

I have been told that I am an excellent financial counselor. I really enjoy getting to know my students, helping them realize God's plan for their life and their money, and instructing them on getting out of debt, making good investments, saving, and teaching their children.

It gives me no greater pleasure than to hear my daughter tell me the phonetic sound of letters as she's learning to read. I taught her that.

In my Mary Kay business, I instruct women on how to apply makeup, take care of their skin (not just on their face, but on their whole body), have better self-esteem, and sometimes even build successful businesses of their own. I have been told that I'm good at it.

What all of these things have in common is that in each instance, I was a teacher. And I loved each thing with every fiber of my being. They are some of my most precious memories. I wouldn't mind doing any one of them as a lifetime career.

So, I recognize my talent as a teacher and willingly embrace it, for in the moments I have taught have I been the happiest. I assume it's a genetic thing. For now, I am going to teach my way into Directorship in God's time (not mine), and then it will financially free up some time for me to maybe eventually take on a few music students again. Here's to making apple juice from lemons...

:)

Leaving today with a smile in my pocket and a contented heart.

Today I feel overwhelmed. Too much to do. Our sermon in church today was about time, and how to invest time. It really convicted me, but I'm not sure where to go from here. Plan your time. Too many questions. Too many decisions.

There have been moments over the past week that I've thought, I should blog about that. Of course, I forget it a few seconds later. So I've had interesting things to say it but no memory to remember to post it. Terribly sorry.

So I'm sitting here on a Sunday afternoon with nothing interesting to say, a child that won't take a nap, too little sleep, another child who will probably destroy the house like she did yesterday, and a to-do list that's too long to remember, or else I'd write it down. I hope I don't forget what I need to be doing because there's so much I need to be doing and end up doing nothing. Believe it or not, that's happened before.

And my heart is heavy because of upcoming finances. Hospital bills, credit card bills. Bills, bills, bills. Sometimes I wonder if we'll ever dig ourselves out of this hole. Just when I start seeing the light at the end of the tunnel something blows up and distracts me from it. Then it takes forever to catch a flicker of that light again.

Sorry it's such a depressing post. I guess I didn't realize what a ho-hum mood I'm in. I'll come back and post more when I'm a little more peppy.