Feeling a pang that you didn't get a Christmas card out in the mail? "Better late than never" most definitely applies in this case! Let me assure you in 5 festive reasons why you should take action and order holiday cards even though December has come and gone.
The shopping, baking, wrapping, singing, school-program-attending, church-program-attending, food-making, food-eating hustle and bustle should be tapering off now. Hurl the tree out the front door before it drops any more needles and pop open your laptop. You got this.
Maybe it's the whole fam in holiday jammies or maybe it's the kids looking fancy in front of a sparkly tree or not-fancy but happy playing in the snow. Whatever great photo moment you captured in December can surely be shared in January!
I did this because I reeeeeeeeally love bright colors (obviously) but also because the good news about Jesus isn't a once-a-year message. It's good year round. No expiration date or question of freshness!
Oooh, this is super fun! I still remember a family who sent a list of every person's favorite book that year. It was a simple and short thing to write but very telling about each person's interests. Plus, you'd be sharing book recommendations (love!). This would make a fun option even if you don't have a photo to use (I have card designs that don't require a photo!).
All those people you usually send Christmas cards to are going to be just as happy to hear an update from you in January. I promise. We all love surprises in the mailbox. So show your love to your mama, your grandma, your Uncle Joe, your favorite Sunday school teacher and send some mail!
]]>No new year celebration is complete without a look back at the year that has just finished. I am going to happily follow the cliche and dig into my own review of 2019.
When I was facing 2019 and feeling pretty unsure about where I should head in 2019 my shop was only a few months old, my first Christmas card season was finished, my website was built, and I was generally overwhelmed with all I needed to do.
Lots of small business coaches, heck, maybe all of them, tell you that building an email list is an absolute must. You get to talk straight to your people, people who have already indicated they are interested in you and your products.
This makes perfect sense to me. I am on the lists for a few select authors and artists and I know what it is like to be on the receiving end of good emails that you truly enjoy opening. I also know how much I feel like I know these people, which is a big part of sales (know, like, trust).
So this was something that needed to be done. However, there were some definite intimidating hurdles: deciding on a vendor, working out all the technical things between my websites and the email service and my inbox, and then very humbly starting from 0 subscribers.
Interested? Join the VIP email list!
There's a lot of talk online about how Pinterest can function as a search engine and how pins last a zillion times longer than any social media search. Tailwind is a platform you can use to schedule pins in advance allowing you to put pins in front of users' eyes at a rate not possible for a single person pinning by hand. I have been pleased with the tool and feel like I am finally finding my groove with how I work with Pinterest. All that said, this is something you build up over the longterm so I don't yet have enough data to comment on whether it is effective for driving traffic to my Etsy shop.
When developing my first Etsy listings I noticed that searching for canvases was pretty popular and figured out that perhaps this was a product I should offer. I had also read some blogs talking about using a third party to produce your products and that seemed to make sense to me. I have a huge range of designs (90 and counting!) so it obviously wouldn't make sense for me to stock that kind of inventory. Print-on-demand was a great solution.
Challenges included deciding on a vendor (I landed on Printful), integrating with my shop (easy!), learning how to create the listings, deciding on prices, and then all the work of creating the art files and the mock-ups for the listings. Once I chose Printful set-up was smooth. This year's Christmas collection launch offered all designs as canvases so customer immediately had multiple formats to choose from for each design.
I have had customers contact me with ideas for customizing art. One person liked a design but wanted a different verse, size, and orientation. After that order was complete she followed up by requesting a second complimentary piece of art. This past Christmas season, I had a customer want a very specific color scheme for her cards. While I do charge for my time, I like to think the experience was positive on both ends. I don't intend to increase custom orders but they are an interesting experience.
Very last minute I decided to offer a 6x per week Lent series that included a free postcard size piece of art. The pros to this: setting a daily art challenge generated a lot of fresh ideas and I figured out I actually like writing devotionals. The cons to this: It wasn't pre-planned at all so I was seriously scrambling to keep the emails coming.
The Advent series was tweaked to be a bit easier on the reader and the writer and it only came 3 times per week. I featured art that was already created so subscribers could buy right away if they so chose. I offered exclusive flash sales and Friday freebies to download.
I am now looking at Lent beginning next month and not sure what I am going to offer. I am not feeling ready to promote something already and there is definitely nothing pre-written or designed at the moment. I am going to have to give this some serious thought.
I enrolled in and am about 50% through an online course about marketing specifically for Etsy sellers. It has given me solid information about Etsy best practices and a clear path forward to driving my own traffic. It was also the course that taught me how to use Tailwind. I am glad I purchased it and look forward to finishing it up in 2020.
Just like my 2019 goals felt daunting, these do too. However, I am feeling more excited than overwhelmed. Onward we go!
]]>In this series I spotlight some of my favorite artists, many of who inspire me and my designs in some way. I hope you find a new favorite to love!
Alynn Guerra of Red Hydrant Press
I have always been drawn to linocuts and the natural texture they create. And despite my love of bright color I can truly appreciate the high contrast that black and white brings. One of Guerra's pieces, the poster design for the 2011 Grand Rapids Festival of the Arts, anchors a wall in my living room and I've continued to us black, white, and red as the color theme for that room. Additionally, I also appreciate her themes of nature and her commentary on life through the use of skeletons (reminiscent of Day of the Dead imagery from her native Mexico).
First, I am always inspired by women artists who are also entrepreneurs. I keep my eyes on them for a guide to what is possible with my own business. Despite moving here as an adult, Guerra is deeply integrated within the Grand Rapids arts scene and I admire her dedication to being a part of a larger community.
Getting to know printmaker Alynn Guerra as she works to recover from flooding in Tanglefoot Studio
Light Conversations | February 2019
Guerra’s Grit: Artist Alynn Guerra doesn’t have time to lounge around
Cultured GR | February 2018
In this series I spotlight some of my favorite artists, many of who inspire me and my designs in some way. I hope you find a new favorite to love!
Geninne is very obviously influenced by nature and has a special love for birds. Me too! I absolutely delight in the natural world and I am very much drawn to art that celebrates it. Geninne is often multi-disciplinary in creating her art: she combines pen and ink, watercolor, and college using the most wonderful bits of ephemera such as envelopes, postcards, tags and so on.
Additionally, she currently lives in New Mexico and previously lived in Mexico so her experience of flora and fauna is different from mine. I very much enjoy the change of scenery her work brings to me -- birds that aren't familiar and cactuses are quite common in her work.
First off, Geninne is curious and doesn't limit herself. Not only does her art incorporate multiple mediums but she often goes on tangents exploring new things. She's burned designs into leather and she's done pottery. In addition she offers a huge range of products (read more below). I find this so inspiring as I can relate to having multiple artistic interests!
Second, I have the impression she lives life at a gentle pace and is good to herself. She often posts views of nature or mentions taking walks. She seems to travel and enjoy museums and posts photos of those adventures. I am quite sure she works hard too but I just get the impression everything is well-integrated. I admire the life she has built for herself as a working artist.
Making an Impression: Designing & Creating Artful Stamps is Geninne's book on carving your own stamps (something she does on the regular). I dabbled in this briefly in college and hope to get back to it someday. I have always loved the look of flat solid graphics which is exactly what this medium lends itself to.
As a business owner, one of the things I really admire about Geninne is the way she works with other companies to license her work. I've bought fabric with her art (her birds grace my sunroom curtains!), I've received greeting cards with her art and a quick search on Amazon brings up coloring books, puzzles, boxed cards, pillows, journals, planners, stickers and calendars. I also know she has a line with Hallmark that includes some beautiful home decor pieces. Licensing like this is definitely a stream of income I would love to explore for myself in the future.
Podcast interview
While She Naps with Abby Glassenberg | November 2015
Geninne, blogger in Mexico, Finds Inspiration in Nature
Huffington Post | July 2012
Geninne Zlatkis
Inspiration Boards | November 2007
In this series I spotlight some of my favorite artists, many of who inspire me and my designs in some way. I hope you find a new favorite to love!
Yuko Miki is the artist behind Honeyberry Studios.
Honeyberry Studios blog:
Yuko's art is cheerful and sweet. I love the bright colors she uses and the clean simplicity of her style. She confesses that she is not naturally an optimist and creates the art that she needs to stay positive! She is also inspired by nature, which is dear to my heart.
I think something similar about my art. I am creating what I need, which is art that will keep the word of God front and center in my mind and spirit.
Her emails are an inspiration to me! I want to write with the same casual ease and friendly chatter. I always feel like I actually know her anytime I read something that she writes.
Yuko is generous with sharing her personal artist journey and what is going on behind the scenes in her business. In many ways, I consider her a bit of a mentor and look to her for advice on running my own business.
She also has a great practice of taking every seventh week off of her regular work to make space for bigger projects, personal work, or activities that will refresh her. I am a huge proponent of Sabbath in general so I really like this idea although I have not yet implemented it.
Interview with Yuko Miki of Honeyberry Studios on becoming a Full Time Artist
December 2018
Creative Living: Interview with Yuko Miki
February 2016
In this series I spotlight some of my favorite artists, many of who inspire me and my designs in some way. I hope you find a new favorite to love!
Lisa Congdon Art & Illustration
Art Inc.: The Essential Guide for Building Your Career as an Artist
I read this one while I was still dreaming about making a living from my art… years before I established my own business! Her friendly and approachable writing style combined with all kinds of detail made starting my own business seem possible.
Find Your Artist Voice: The Essential Guide to Working Your Creative Magic
This one is brand new and I am very excited to read it!
The bold colors are an inspiration to me. I am almost always a fan of flat colored geometric shapes and this is very common in her style. Some over her pieces feature quilt-like designs that I especially love.
One of my favorite things about Lisa is her generous spirit. She didn't have to share what she learned about being a professional artist. She could have kept that valuable information to herself. But that's just not her style. Instead she's written entire books on the topic and hosts classes online.
Another thing I love about Lisa is her openness about her burnout and what it took to get to a healthier place with her work. I think that's a super valuable lesson for anyone but especially for the self-employed person. Establishing and honoring boundaries and treating rest like the valuable and important thing it is are topics that are dear to my heart.
Finally, I appreciate her passion and her curiosity. If she's interested in something she seems to go all out! She's a swimmer so she wrote and illustrated a book on swimming. She likes quirky vintage erasers so that becomes a piece of art.
Why not go with what delights you?
Glitter Guide interview: Artist Lisa Congdon On Finding Her Passion and Business At Age 40
Creative Boom interview: Lisa Congdon on being self-taught, dream clients and finding success online
I am only in my 30s so I can only lay claim to a limited amount of wisdom. However, when I have reflected on my life thus far it seems that the best decisions I have made were the times when I chose my own path, one that was different from what was expected. Those decisions have been been God's way of directing me to the life He has for me.
Part 1: high school; Part 2: college; Part 3: city
Sometime in college I developed a vision of success for myself that included working in an advertising agency, having an office of myself, going to client meetings, wearing fancy business clothes, and winning design awards. And that's the path I put myself on. And I actually did all those things. Except I didn't love it quite as much as I thought I would.
My favorite client while at the agency was a rehabilitation hospital. Doing design work that supported an organization that did clear and obvious good in the world felt good. Not to say that doing design work for organizations with a product to sell wasn't also good. But woodworking machinery didn't have my heart the way miraculous recovery stories did.
My next job was to be an in-house designer (a lonely only!) for my city's public library system. You guys, my first real job beyond babysitting was at a library! Returning to work at a library felt like coming full circle in so many ways. I was privileged enough to help the organization develop a new logo and completely rebrand. I dropped to part-time hours after my second child was born and truly thought I might work there forever.
While pregnant with my second child I gave serious thought to quitting my job completely. When I was given the opportunity to work part-time I filed the idea away, thinking I was done with it. However, the file drawer stayed open and that idea never stayed put. It kept jumping back out into plain sight. Holy Spirit kept bringing it up to me in new and various ways and I just couldn't let it go entirely.
I said I would never stay at home full-time. I didn't think I had it in me to spend all day every day with my kiddos. My mom worked, both my grandmothers worked, I even had a great-grandmother who worked as a police officer alongside her sheriff husband. Working women were my normal.
Besides, I loved so many things about my job at the library (including the generous gift of a part-time schedule). How could I give that up? I liked working. I wanted to work. But God wanted something else from me and so I obeyed and quit my job.
It has been 6 years since I quit and I can better understand what God had in mind. Our family life got lighter and easier even with the added complications of a third child being born and school starting for the first child. The dollars were less but the schedule was more pleasant.
But more importantly, I unwound. After many years of putting pressure on myself to succeed I was stressed by default. I had to learn to really believe deep in my heart that I was a beloved daughter even when I didn't do or accomplish anything. God had to strip away my work so I could stop using that as my identity and instead rest fully in my identity as His.
So I've also said "I'll never own my own business" and here I am. I can promise you that God does indeed have a good sense of humor! He also knows what's best. I can guarantee that the Amanda of 6 years ago would not have been able to have a healthy relationship with her work if she was starting a business.
Is there anything in your life you swore you would never do but it turned out God had the last laugh? What was it and how do you feel about it now?
]]>I am only in my 30s so I can only lay claim to a limited amount of wisdom. However, when I have reflected on my life thus far it seems that the best decisions I have made were the times when I chose my own path, one that was different from what was expected. Those decisions have been been God's way of directing me to the life He has for me.
See also: Part 1: high school, Part 2: college
During college, my husband and I attended a church that was led by a pastor who was globally-minded and very invested in diversity within the Christian church. She had a vision and a heart for the church as depicted in both Acts and in Revelation, a gathering of peoples from many cultures, unified by their Jesus. She played an important role in our spiritual development. Her heart for diversity is simply a reflection of God's heart and we left our university years changed.
Moving back home to mostly-white communities and mostly-white churches felt oddly uncomfortable. In college we had been blessed to be a part of that church that was home to a wide range of people. And we both had studied at universities that were more racially diverse than our hometowns.
Now we too had God's heart and passion for racial diversity. This seemed like something we could bring to our hometown church as the neighborhood around its physical location had been changing. Diversity was right at our doorstep. Our response was "Yes! Let's invite it in!" Conversations with the pastor and a formal invitation to the leaders' meeting to share our thoughts and ideas was met with resistance (to put it mildly). In short, they didn't share our passion and they weren't interested in hearing about it either.
In hindsight, I was young and naive. I was overly optimistic and highly unrealistic with the rate at which change occurs. I was also quite possibly overly confrontational with people who didn't see the world the way I did. And I know I judged them for it. For that I am truly sorry. All of us can only operate out of what we've experienced and what God has shown us. I can only hope that I've learned to show more love and grace since them. I hope I have more understanding for people who are at different places on their journeys.
When we realized that our church home no longer felt like a place we belonged, we began searching for a new place, one that was racially diverse. We were also financially ready to begin our house hunt and very intentionally turned our eyes to the city as opposed to the suburbs of our childhoods.
People have expressed their admiration for this choice, but I'd rather not take credit. All credit is due to our amazing God who had led us, and continues to lead us, on this path of appreciating, valuing, and belonging to racially diverse communities. This idea and these experiences are gifts from God and all credit belongs to Him.
Is there something important in your life that wasn't part of your own plans? Something that you can't quite explain and therefore must give the credit to God?
]]>I am only in my 30s so I can only lay claim to a limited amount of wisdom. However, when I have reflected on my life thus far it seems that the best decisions I have made were the times when I chose my own path, one that was different from what was expected. Those decisions have been been God's way of directing me to the life He has for me.
See also Part 1: high school
My transition from a career-focused setting in high school to a uniquely career-focused university felt natural. Instead of landing at an art school or even in the art department, I ultimately chose to attend Ferris State University. The graphic design program at Ferris is housed in the College of Business. In a God-gift of a coincidence, my high school guidance counselor actually knew someone who graduated from the program. She could recommend Ferris' program with first-hand knowledge.
As an added bonus that has had domino effects forward into my adult life, I was offered a very generous scholarship that covered the cost of my tuition. Additionally, because my father had attended Ferris as well (he studied heavy equipment technology – not art!) I was also able to apply for an additional scholarship for children of alumni.
I am not going to attempt to settle this debate once and for all in this blog post. However, I am going to say that in my personal experience attending a university with a more narrow focus on a very specific career was a win in so many ways.
First, I got right into my subject matter on day one. I didn't spend a year or more on prerequisites without sampling my chosen area of study.
Second, my program was very structured which made scheduling a breeze. There was a very clear outline to follow and if you kept on track graduating in four years was indeed possible.
Third, teaching on how to be professionals in the workplace was woven into all my classes. We were constantly being pushed to think critically. Daily we practiced public speaking and the ability to explain our work. Being in the College of Business, we were required to take basic courses in marketing, advertising, public relations, and economics. These courses guaranteed that the business world in which we would be employed wouldn't be foreign territory. Additionally, during our senior year we did real client work.
The only downfall of choosing a more career-focused university would be if you were't sure what you wanted to do or if you changed your mind and didn't want to switch to any other available programs.
What influenced your educational choices? If you chose to attend, how did you decide on a college or university? If you're years out from the decision, how do you now see your choices?
]]>I am only in my 30s so I can only lay claim to a limited amount of wisdom. However, when I have reflected on my life thus far it seems that the best decisions I have made were the times when I chose my own path, one that was different than what was expected. Those decisions have been been God's way of directing me to the life He has for me.
I have always been an excellent student. My parents were not particularly hard on me in this regard. Indeed, they didn't need to be as I was seemingly born a self-motivated person. I was also lucky enough to have reading come easily to me which smooths the way for academic success.
By high school I was following the standard "college prep" plan. This meant I was placed in advanced math and science courses, more due to previous academic success than to real giftedness. In fact, the math class was a real struggle for me. All around me students would whip through the night's homework and spend the last minutes of class breezily chatting. I, on the other hand, would be sweating through the first problem and faced at least an hour of effort that evening.
My guidance counselor took me seriously when I claimed I wanted to be a graphic designer and steered me to my local career and tech center. You probably have one where you live too. Mine had a 2-year program in graphic design and printing that she suggested I tour.
Generally, tech centers are not for students who plan to go to college. In fact, they can be excellent alternatives who would rather learn a trade and get right to work. I hold them in the highest regard, especially considering I am alumni. In my high-achieving suburban high school the career center was definitely not the standard option. I can still remember the blatant sneer of disgust from a fellow student when he found out my plans to attend.
Attending also meant that I devoted a full 50% of my schedule to the career center. For me this meant I no longer took math or science classes. I had enough credits to graduate but this most definitely wasn't the traditional schedule for a student like me.
Day one was a culture shock for me. Years later when I returned for a visit, one of my teachers reported that I told her "I am not sure if I coming back." I don't remember saying that but it goes to show how out of my element I felt. Until this point, I had only gone to school with people who looked like me and lived like me. Suddenly I was in class with people who had vastly different life experiences and perspectives (and clothes and hairstyles and even languages!). I didn't know it then, but this was God planting a seed in my heart to love and appreciate racial diversity and desire unity.
First, I got a great overview of the field of graphic design and confirmed that it was my desired career path. I learned technical information about the printing process (and even ran a small press) and preparing files. I also marched off to college with what was the equivalent of my freshman year when it came to learning various graphic design software programs.
But more importantly, I had experienced what it was like to make the best decision instead of the expected decision. I had bravely gone to a new and unexpected place and discovered that it was right where I belonged.
Think back to high school and decisions you might have made to end something or begin something. How did those decisions shape you today?
]]>Have you ever wondered what it is you are good at doing? This may seem obvious but I think for many of us it gets muddled on our way into adulthood with all of its responsibilities and obligations.
I have found that reflecting on childhood can bring much clarity.
For me, my great passions of childhood were drawing and reading.
My dad once brought home a fat spiral bound book with an orange cover for me to use for my drawings. I don't know if it was a freebie or if he perhaps purchased it in reaction to my excessive use of paper but I do remember that it wasn't a gift given on a special occasion. He noticed my interests and supported them.
I have memories of drawing and coloring often and enjoying it. A fresh set of markers would bring me great joy. Later in childhood I spent hours creating detailed pencil drawings of objects in my home. Still later in middle school I spent hours after school working on a mural and drawing charcoal still lifes in preparation for a drawing competition.
I distinctly recall in third grade that I wrote that I wanted to be an artist when I grew up. I probably only remember this because I so mangled the spelling that my teacher thought I meant "astronaut" and I had to correct her!
I cannot remember a time when I didn't love reading. I was the nerd who checked out stacks of chapter books each week at the library and then proceeded to spend hour upon hour reading them all.
I firmly believe that reading flows right into writing and in fifth grade I was sure I would grow up to author children's books. I even wrote a story depicting myself and 3 close friends in adulthood with me as a writer of course. In middle school I was part of the Writing Club (yep, sure was!) and submitted work to literary magazines.
I was especially talented at writing descriptively, which makes sense for someone who is an artist. Strong powers of observation and simply noticing the world in different ways are wired into me.
I have to laugh to find myself in my current position of creating art, working and playing with color, reading (researching all thing business things!), and writing here on the blog. I seem to have landed right back to where I began in my childhood.
Does this ring true for you? Is there a connection between your childhood pastimes and your current work?
I am very curious to hear from you! Tell us your story!
]]>"Well, she's an artist," one friend said of me to an acquaintance who doesn't know me as well.
I didn't say much in response.
The acquaintance persisted with curiosity, "Are you really? Are you an artist?"
And for perhaps the first time in my life I said "Yes, I am."
I still felt the need to explain the particulars – that I am trained and have worked as a professional graphic designer and how I've now started my own business selling my art.
I have long struggled with claiming the title of "artist" for myself. As one who veered from the path of "fine art" to "graphic design" while still in high school I have always felt much more comfortable with the very useful, very practical title of "graphic designer." Indeed, I chose it for that very reason. It was art but it was also a clear path to a job with regular paychecks. Not very romantic, I know!
I am coming to believe that "artist" is who God made me to be. The word encompasses so much more than my career or my daily activity. Instead, it helps to describe the kind of person I was created to be. The way I notice color and shape and pattern in the world. The way composing a photo or pairing colors comes as naturally to me as breathing. The personal aesthetic that I bring not only to my art but to the way I dress and the way I decorate.
"Artist" isn't a title I need to earn but instead it's the person I am.
]]>God was wise when he put my career on hold for five years. I have along history of self-inflicted high standards and a strong work ethic, sometimes to the point of unhealthiness. I joke that it took me this long to completely unwind. But it's not actually a joke. It's the truth.
I've lived many years feeling anxious and tense and like I was always a failure, never doing enough. Or even that I myself wasn't enough. All that time God was trying to get my attention and teach me something deeply freeing: You are enough.
I am enough.
No matter what I do or do not accomplish or complete. No matter how quiet and small my life might be, both in this moment and in the days and years to come.
I am already enough. And I am so very loved.
From that deep and satisfying truth I can embark on this adventure of starting a business without the pressure of success.
Mostly. As it turns out this business thing is being used by God to teach me a thing or two.
One of those things is patience with slow growth.
Many years ago now I planted a new garden. The baby plants looked impossibly small in a sea of mulch. Not at all what I envisioned. And yet I held out hope for the vision I had in my mind's eye of what could be.
And so it goes with my business, impossibly small in the ocean of Etsy and the universe of the Internet. I continue on, holding in my heart the vision for what slow growth could bring.
And trusting. Trusting God when he tells me "You are enough."
]]>At my request the family recently ventured into the woods for yet another hike. Walking in the forest is pretty much my favorite weekend activity. I had high hopes that the timing would be right to enjoy some spring wildflowers. As we stepped onto the path I started scanning the forest floor and didn't see any wildflowers at all! After a pang of disappointment I adjusted my expectations and continued on.
After sliding, stumbling, and running down a steep hill we encountered a bridge and a cheerful creek. Here the banks were dotted with wildflowers, the ever-lovely trillium and a few others that I wasn't familiar with. Then we spotted a dogwood in bloom with creamy blossoms and a redbud with tiny purple flowers along its slender branches. So lovely! I was delighted.
Moving deeper into the forest I found more and more wildflowers in white, yellow, pink, purple, and indigo. I discovered a few almost hidden jack-in-the-pulpits in lime and plum. I stopped to photograph them, using the magic of a zoom lens to capture these tiny beauties. My knees got muddy and my kids were happy to climb a massive lightning-split tree. The sounds of traffic were replaced by birdsong. We were in a whole new world. I was content.
In my mind, the hike was already a success. After fearing I wouldn't see any wildflowers at all I was happily surprised by all the new ones that appeared along our path. Just when I thought I had seen all there was to see, I would find another one.
Going deeper and further though brought even more rewards. Wandering along the bank of the stream we encountered vast swaths of indigo bluebells coloring the forest floor. We were walking in a fairytale! Just when I thought we'd seen it all we came across a blanket of white trilliums filling the forest floor as far as our eye could see. My breath caught. Never in my life have I seen so many in one place. Magical!
I am finding there is a fine balance between contentedness and pressing onward for what God has for us next.
We should indeed be full with what we have at any one moment in time. We should appreciate the beauty of the moment, marvel at it, and enjoy it fully.
And yet.
We should never become complacent. May we never let fear or distrust lead us to announce "This is enough. I've gone far enough. I don't need more." Instead let us trust our good God to have more beauty in store for us as we go deeper.
]]>They're out in full force right now. Cheery sunshiny yellow faces dot fields and lawns and medians and any ole place they please. They don't wait for invitations nor do they expect them. They simply go about their business announcing spring, delighting children, and feeding bees and butterflies.
Some see them as a nuisance, an interruption of their carefully laid plans for a smooth unblemished sea of green grass perfection. They grumble. They buy poison in special squirt bottles and apply it strategically. Or they purchase special tools and spend hours of precious life digging them up individually.
"They are not supposed to be there! My lawn (my life) is not supposed to look like this (be like this)!"
Others might follow the lead of the youngest among us and see them as lovely gifts. Abundant, ever present, luring us away from carefully prepared plans, inviting us to find joy.
Perhaps what we derisively label as "weeds" might really be counted as "wildflowers?" Perhaps the very things we wish to kill, uproot, and eradicate might turn out to be precious gifts pointing us back to what really matters?
What unexpected dandelions are in your life today? What things have you dismissed as "weeds" when they really might be "wildflowers?"
The label is always your choice.