I had such lofty goals of really developing my blog this year. I wanted it to be a place where you could come to find out what was going on with Simply Beadiful, to learn some new information about jewelry design or craft projects, and to be filled with wonderful words from guest bloggers. Well, no surprise here that I haven't done such a great job of it. I have never really been one to journal much, so I'm not sure what made me think that this project would turn out differently. Several times I thought of things I should share, or some great jewelry idea, but those thoughts stayed in my head. Or I told them to my husband Chris, who being a wonderful husband, smiled and nodded and acted interested. I do want to fill you in on what has been going on, because God has been doing some pretty cool stuff in my life and with Simply Beadiful. In June, after much thought and prayer, I quit my full-time job to stay home and focus on my jewelry business and on being a better wife. It has been a wild three months, and I have learned lots about myself along the way. One of the hardest things to admit to myself is that I am not as disciplined as I would like to be. I have great aspirations and dreams of things I want to accomplish every day, but actually making myself complete them is a whole other story. And it doesn't help that I am easily distracted by Looney Tunes. I'm a sucker for a good Bugs Bunny cartoon. As any small business owner can tell you, it is at times humbling (and scary) to think that all of the business decisions rest solely on your shoulders. I don't completely know what direction I want my business to take, and therefore struggle at times to know what direction to walk towards. I try to pray and leave it to God to guide, but I am not always good at that. I'm one who wants to lay it all down in prayer and trust, but when I think that I know better, I snatch it back up and end up making things worse.I'm working on that. Knowing myself, I think this will be a lifetime project :) If you didn't know, I spent the past three years working in a doctor's office. I wondered regularly what God was doing through that experience. I mean, its no secret that I am squeamish, and have no medical experience whatsoever. I now know that He was allowing me to uncover an unbelievable love for the elderly. Being a family practice, the majority of our patients were senior citizens. I loved the opportunity to serve them, and am lucky enough to now count several of them as dear, dear friends. That love of seniors and my passion for crafts came together in a most unexpected way in mid-June. I was discussing with a friend my two great passions and that my dream job would be teaching crafts to seniors. Well, she wasted no time in making a few calls on my behalf, and I soon found myself scheduled at several local nursing homes and senior centers to teach jewelry design. I freely admit that while I was excited about this new opportunity, that I was also terrified. What if they didn't like my random stories? Or what if I was a terrible teacher? About five minutes into my first class, I was absolutely hooked! I had before me 15 women who, weary at first, were having a blast creating their own jewelry. It didn't matter what techniques we used, they were just happy I was there and helping them to create something they could show their friends. They had amazing stories, brilliant smiles, and I left that class grinning so hard I thought my face might break. Three months later, I have several local senior centers and nursing homes that I regularly teach classes in. And every time I leave a class, I can't believe that I actually get paid to do this. I mean, my dream job, and I get to do it!!! God is so amazingly good! I am also attempting to further develop my skills as a housewife and homemaker. This has been quite the challenge. My baking skills are getting a good workout. I have learned several new recipes (chocolate buttercream icing and homemade cinnamon rolls anyone!?!) and am slowly getting better. My friend Merrie challenged me with the Proverbs 31 passage outlining a godly wife and I am learning to put those verses into practice. Again, I think this will a lifetime project for me, but that's ok. I like a good challenge. Thanks for reading this and for supporting Simply Beadiful. I hope to have lots of new things to show you in the coming weeks, and hopefully I will get some more fun stories from my classes posted. And if you get a chance, please support your local businesses. God Bless! Paula The board outside one of my classes. I love the title "Professional Designer!" Homemade cinnamon rolls.
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