As we welcome a new year, here at mamas*little*treasures we will be sharing new craft and sewing tutorials, along with frugal family living ideas and articles, homemaking and organizing articles, as well as inspirational posts to encourage you as you seek to honor God in every area of your life. I look forward to hearing from you in the coming days and weeks, and hope that you will find a little ray of sunshine here at mamas*little*treasures!
I have been sewing since I was a pre-teen, starting off with doll clothes and then gradually teaching myself how to sew for myself. As a young mom, I loved to sew for my children, and as they got older, I continued to sew most of the clothing that we all wore. Even jammies and play clothes! When my oldest daughter went off to college, she requested that I sew her a few dresses for her new wardrobe. I was surprised that she wanted to wear “home made” clothing in college, but I was also honored that she made the request.
So we found a couple of patterns that she liked, went shopping for fabric, trims, and buttons, and made her several dresses that she wore all through her years at college. I have made her a few more dresses now that she is all grown-up, and now I get to sew for her little girls ;o) She also now sews, and loves to create things for her own little family.
Along the way, as most of us who love to sew, I have accumulated a vast “stash” of fabric, notions, embellishments, beads, lace, ribbons, and buttons. The buttons are my favorite! I love to sort through the jars of vintage buttons on the shelf in my sewing studio to see if I can find the perfect old button to embellish my latest sewing or craft project. I use buttons everywhere! On clothing, on shoes, on handbags, on art journals, in scrapbooks, and on home decor items such as embellished boxes or pillows.
Several years ago I was wandering through an antique mall when I came across several old Ball canning jars filled with vintage buttons. Each jar was around $5.00 or $6.00 so I bought four of them. Those jars of buttons have been the inspiration for many craft and sewing projects! Annie likes to hang out with me in the sewing studio and while I’m whizzing away on the sewing machine, she will sit at the table beside me and string buttons with a needle and thread for a couple of hours at a time.
I remember when my big kids were little, my youngest son (who is now a daddy himself!) would sit on the floor or on the bed while I was sewing and he would sort the spools of thread by colors and sizes. He would unwind some of the thread and wind it back up on the spools. He would sit there for hours organizing my spools of thread and we would talk about . . . . . whatever four-year-old little boys talk about with Mama!
So when Annie got out the thread the other day and started sorting all the spools by size and color, it brought back some treasured memories. And it reminded me that life has a way of moving on – and those moments can be held in our hearts long after those little ones grow up and no longer sit with Mama in the sewing room and string buttons and count spools of thread. Don’t miss those moments, because one day those memories will be treasures held within your heart. I love my jars and jars of buttons, and my spools of thread because they keep me close to my babies.
What are some of your favorite things? If you would like to share them with us this week for the Thursday Favorite Things Blog Hop, please link up below and then be sure to visit the other participants and leave a comment so they know you stopped by. And don’t forget to pop on over to Katherine at Katherine’s Corner, our weekly hostess for the Thursday Favorite Things Blog Hop. I’ll stop by to visit you later this afternoon if you leave your link! Have a great Thursday, Nina
Filed under Art Journals, Blog Hops, Blogging, Childhood, Children, Christian women, Christian Women Bloggers, Christian women online, Crafts, Creativity, daughters, Family, Family memories, Homemaking, Katherine's Corner, Making Memories, mamas*little*treasures, Mommy bloggers, Scrapbooks, Thursday Favorite Things, Thursday Favorite Things Blog Hop, Women bloggers
“We are women, and my plea is
‘Let me be a woman, holy through and through,
asking for nothing but what God wants to give me,
receiving with both hands and
with all my heart whatever that is.’ ”
~ Elisabeth Elliot
So many years of “Women’s Liberation” conversations have distorted the image that women have of themselves. Not that we shouldn’t be introspective about who we are and what our tasks are here in this earthly life, but the confusion, I think, has not been always helpful. There were many years as a young wife and mother, when the messages that bombarded my brain were, indeed, quite confusing. And not just from the “worldly” voices that grew increasingly agitated over the years.
As women through the ages have discovered, our voices are frequently ignored and our ideas are dismissed. So, women have taken various journeys to discover if there were ways in which we could be heard and yet still be respected; is it possible to have an opinion, speak that opinion with confidence, and retain some semblance of dignity? Too often women have found themselves in a situation in which, after having presented their ideas, they are then labeled as “too assertive” or “aggressive,” or even worse. Who are we? And what words are we allowed to speak, all within the context of God’s plan for us as individuals and as a body of women who love the Lord?
Sadly, this predicament exists within the Christian community still, and women find themselves quite confused when the spoken or even unspoken message we hear all around us is “A woman’s place is in the home . . . . . ” but the end of that statement which is never spoken out loud, is “We really don’t know what you do there, just be still and do it.” I am grateful that this seems to be changing in many Christian communities, but the damage is evident all around us, even if we would rather not admit it or discuss it. Sometimes the hard things need to be said, and I guess I am now old enough to have the courage to say a few of them ;o)
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Do you remember when we used to write cards and letters, and then drop them at the post office? Did you ever leave 13 cents in the mail box with your letter and have the mail carrier put a stamp on it for you? And the excitement of receiving a hand-written card or letter from a friend, or Grandma, or even someone you barely remember, from far, far away!
With the transformation of our society through the use of electronic and digital media, letter writing is an art form that I miss. I still love to send out cards with hand-written messages inside to let my friends and family know that I”m thinking about them and to tell them that I love them. I’ve decided that is one of the little things that I am going to get back to this year.
It is a “little” thing, but it is also significant. I see the joy in my girls and the excitement when they get a birthday card from Grandma. When the bus driver or their teacher sends them a sweet thank-you note for a little Christmas gift, or when they receive an invitation to a birthday party, it seems to make them feel very important – because they are, and sending even a brief, hand-written note says so much more than just the words on paper.
Seeing this transformation in the lives of my daughters makes me realize how important it is for me to take a few minutes out of my day and tell my children and my grandchildren how much I love them and how much they mean to me.
So, this New Year, I’m not making a New Year’s Resolution, but I am going to put one more little task on my weekly To Do list and do my best to get to it on a regular basis. I’m going to start today, and send out a couple of cards with a hand-written note that says, “I’m thinking about you today, and I love you!” How hard is that??? But what a difference it will make in someone’s day. Think about it . . . . maybe you know someone who needs to hear your words of love. It only takes a few minutes!
If you would like to participate in the Thursday Favorite Things Blog Hop this week, just visit Katherine at Katherine’s Corner and leave a link to your blog post so we can stop by and see some of YOUR favorite things!
Then be sure to take a few minutes on your coffee break to visit some of the other participants. Oh, and don’t forget to leave a quick comment so they know you stopped by! Have a great Thursday . . . . . . Nina
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I don’t remember when this particular Bible became a part of me . . . . of my life, of my journey, of my joys and sorrows, but I know that it is now a symbol not only of my life and my love, but a symbol of where I’ve been and what I have experienced. I’ve had this Bible a very long time. I actually do not remember when or where I got it. Perhaps it was just one of those things that we buy at a moment in time when we need a new one for a Bible study class at church, or perhaps it was when I returned to college when all of my older children were in school. I just know that it has been around along time!
The pages of this Bible are inscribed with dates, cross-references, and quotes that seemed to be significant at some time in the distant past, as well as some that have been written in more recently. I have tried a couple of times to replace this old friend, but every time I gravitate back to this trusty road map for my life. Perhaps it is the memories, both happy and sad, that keep me attached. It helps me stay connected to the people, places, and events that for one reason or another are no longer part of my everyday life. I miss them, and this old Bible has a way of whispering the truth to me . . . . that I am not home yet, and I need to be patient. All will work out according to His plan, and when I forget that on occasion, I can always return to Romans 8:28 to be reminded that He is not finished with me yet, just as I somehow cannot put aside my old Bible.
I remember early summer mornings long ago when we lived in Our Town, just a couple of blocks from Main Street, and not too far from the lake shore. The mornings there were quiet (before all of the children woke up and ran outside to ride their bikes on the sidewalks or gather in groups to walk to the beach), and I would sit out on our front porch, sometimes in the pre-dawn darkness, and read this Old Bible. There I would be, all alone in the stillness, where I could pray and write in my journal all that was in my heart. It was there I realized that nothing, NOTHING, can remove me from God’s love, even in the midst of great turmoil and sadness.
But I still forget, from time to time, sometimes more often than others, and so I return to this comfortable, familiar old friend, where the Words of my God reach out to me and tell me, again and again, “You are loved, you are forgiven, you are treasured, you are cherished.” Some days we just need to be reminded of the truth, because we live in a world where we are reminded of our failures and our mistakes all too often. I hope you have a friend like that . . . . and if you don’t, how about giving it a try? I didn’t set out to make this my lifetime treasure, but it has turned into just that. You might hear God’s voice, too, in His Words of comfort, hope, encouragement, and grace.
I hope you will join us this week at Katherine’s Corner for the Thursday Favorite Things Blog Hop. I would love to stop by and take a peek at YOUR favorite things this week! See you later for Chapter 3 in “Cut Through the Clutter and Catch Your Breath.”
Filed under Blog Hops, Broken Heart, Christian women, Christian Women Bloggers, Christian women online, Faithfulness, Family, Family memories, Forgiveness, God's Grace, God's Love, God's Plans, Jesus, Joy, Katherine's Corner, mamas*little*treasures, Memories, Mommy bloggers, Prayer, Spiritual Growth, Thursday Favorite Things, Thursday Favorite Things Blog Hop, Trusting God, Women bloggers
“The world is so full of a number of things, I’m sure we should all be as happy as kings . . . . ” from A Child’s Garden of Verses by Robert Louis Stevenson. As I am working on my new art journal, I will be looking for all the opportunities that God brings into my life everyday – The Gift of Treasures Every Day. This is the beginning of my journey this year, searching for treasures.
“If I can’t find God in the ordinary places of life,
either I’m not looking hard enough
or he’s not nearly as approachable as I need him to be.This is a paradox too.
God appears in all the ordinary places,
burning bushes,
naked Barbies,
plumbing disasters.
But when he does,
those places become holy.
Moses had to take his shoes off.”~from an interview with Marcus Goodyear,
Barbies at CommunionWhile folding the laundry this morning I was reminded (for some reason memories long-buried seem to surface while doing the most mundane tasks!) of times as a young wife and mother when it seemed that my life was on endless treadmill of drudgery, with no appreciation, recognition, or value to what I was doing every day, all day long. That was partly a result of my personal struggle with hearing every word that was whispered or shouted into my heart from the world around me, including my Christian community. Even the silence was an overwhelming voice that seemed to remind me that “just” being a stay-at-home mom was insignificant, and the daily responsibilities that come with caring for several small children were not really very important . . . . but gee, someone has to do it, so I guess I should just put a smile on my face and carry on.
As time went by, however, I encountered opportunities to discover that there was a different way of looking at the hidden life of a woman in her home. I’ve written about this book before, so in passing I will just refer to one of the first books I found that inspired me to realize that my calling as a wife and mother was “ordinary” but it was also extraordinary – at least in God’s eyes. That book was “The Hidden Art of Homemaking,” by Edith Schaeffer, and in that little book I learned that everything I do, every day, including the mundane “ordinary” tasks of cooking, cleaning, and caring for small children is an opportunity to express the creativity that God has put into my soul. Because, after all, if we truly believe that we are created in His image, that will include creativity in one degree or another because He is (0bviously!) a creative being.
So when I think about those “ordinary places of life” where God shows up, it is not surprising to me that He is, indeed, actually THERE. Little moments to treasure, that we just might miss if we aren’t looking, like the day that we moved the bookcase in the hallway and there, scrawled in childish handwriting, I read: “I love you, Mom.” This beautiful and cherished little piece of childhood (which had apparently been hidden behind that bookcase for several years!) was a touching reminder that even things like children secretly writing on walls (which of course they should never, ever do!) can be a gift from God. So, as we removed all of the old wallpaper so that we could paint the hallway, that particular piece of wallpaper was carefully preserved and now has its very own page in a scrapbook. Memories . . . . .
Or the other night when Annie came across a card that I was going to give my husband, just because I love him, and she sweetly took it upon herself to write on the envelope: To Daddy, From Mama and Annie. Of course, we all love our Daddy! Ordinary gifts from our Heavenly Father to remind us of the truth. Time keeps ticking off the minutes, days, and years and we must stop long enough to see Him in the simple, regular events of every day. Even if those ordinary things are dollies in their birthday suits, roller skates clattering along the sidewalk, or unexpected hugs from a child. I’ll take them all, especially the regular ol’ ordinary stuff!
If you would like to participate with “In Other Words” this week, please visit Cynthia at Great Brain Ideas where you can leave a link to your blog post on this topic. You can also find the links to the other participants’ blogs so you can visit them and read their thoughts. Hope to see you there! Nina
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Now that you’ve gotten started on the task of taming the Clutter Monster in your house, it’s time to move beyond the basics. However, be sure that you take a few minutes again today to be prepared for the journey! Here’s just a quick review of what you worked on yesterday, and hopefully you will be able to whip through those tasks again before you launch into today’s assignment.
Let’s get going on Day #2 of Cut Through the Clutter and Catch Your Breath!
* Get dressed, brush your teeth, comb your hair and put on your shoes
* Make the bed! (see #1 below first)
* Wash the dishes and sweep the kitchen floor
* Pour yourself a cup of coffee or tea and take a break
NOW you are ready to tackle a BIG task, and you get to choose what that particular task will be. Is it a desk that is piled high with papers, or a closet that has old out-of-date clothing tumbling out onto the bedroom floor, or perhaps it is a bathroom that might be harboring fugitives under the sink. Whatever it is, decide on your target for today, and let’s go!
Make a list: Start your list with five things that need your attention. It could be that pile of papers on the counter that you keep moving and digging through to find what you need. Perhaps it is the sheets on the beds that need to be changed. Maybe it is a sink full of dirty dishes, a huge pile of laundry, or even a bathroom that needs to be cleaned. Whatever YOU want to tackle first, write it down.
Of course, it is always difficult to start an overwhelming project because it seems impossible to know where to start. It really doesn’t matter WHERE you start . . . . the important thing is to START! So, for Day #2 your list might look like this:
1. Change sheets on one bed
2. Wash two loads of laundry
3. Sort through the clothing in ONE dresser drawer (put stuff you no longer need in a bag to go to the thrift store)
4. Fold two loads of laundry
5. Take a bag of stuff to the thrift store
Or maybe YOUR list would look more like this:
1. Remove ALL papers from the top of the desk
2. Put them in a basket and MOVE them away from the desk
3. Dust the desk
4. Buy a file box or use a cardboard box for sorting the papers
5. Sort though TEN pieces of paper at a time: keep and file, trash, or put in file to be taken care of TOMORROW. (see Day #3)
Now, that’s not so bad, is it? OK, by now you’ve probably used up a couple of your designated time slots, so take a break and handle whatever else is calling your name right now, such as children fighting, phones ringing, or babies crying.
REMEMBER: If you put too many tasks on your To Do List you will still feel overwhelmed and probably won’t even want to get started! Put just a few, manageable tasks on your list and when you get those 3 – 5 “doable” tasks finished, THEN you can add a couple more.
Prepare to Conquer! As soon as you can fit it into your schedule, set your buzzer for another designated amount of time. If you can manage 30 minutes, great! If not, go for whatever will work for you. Roll up your sleeves and dive in!
(If you need to get the kiddos organized with some coloring books, blocks, a family-friendly movie, school work, or some quiet reading time, it is well worth the energy invested to give yourself even just a small amount of time to work on your own projects.)
Tackle the Task: Set the buzzer and GO! Start with the first item on your list and work on it until the buzzer rings or until you get it finished. Try not to get distracted, no matter what happens. If the phone rings, unless it is an emergency, let it go to voice mail and call back later. If one of the kids is crying, of course take care of them . . . . but if they are just annoyed because you aren’t paying attention to them RIGHT NOW, it won’t hurt them to be a bit cranky for a few minutes. FOCUS!
Continue to set the buzzer for small increments of time, whatever you might be able to fit into your day, as many times as you possibly can on Day #2. Even if you only get one thing accomplished (and maybe not even completely finished), at least you will have made a bit of progress. If possible, finish the first item on your list and then move on to the second and third tasks. If not, start again tomorrow and move through your list, one “bite” at a time.
Tomorrow we will discuss one specific Monster Task that can be broken down into bite-size pieces, and see if we can’t get a few of them tamed and under control! See you tomorrow, Nina
