Wow. I haven't posted here since last December. Shame on me...no, not shame on me. I've been working hard on other parts of my world. And that's totally fine also.
This week is a little bittersweet. This is the week leading up to October Affair of the Heart. I have been doing Affair of the Heart (AAOTH) for the past 11 years. I have made a decision to NOT do it this year. It was not a decision that I made easily or quickly. But, let me tell you, I know it was the right decision for me and God keeps sending me confirmation.
Normally, this week would mean limited sleep, tons of stress, tons of money spent (renting a truck, hiring help to unload, and just a million other little expenses), and the hopes and prayers that there would be a revenue influx over the weekend to help offset all of the negatives in life leading up to it. But that revenue influx would cause me a different kind of stress. Would I force myself to say "yes" to special orders that I knew wouldn't bring me joy but I couldn't stand to turn down the sale or say "no" to the customer? Would I have to deal with the rudeness of the bazillion of shoppers that say, "Oh I saw that on Pinterest, we can make that." Then, the physical endurance of the weekend loading the truck, unloading the truck, setting up, standing up for 3 days, then loading the truck again, unloading the truck again and finally getting to rest around 3am on Sunday night/Monday morning. It would make me a tired, angry person.
Instead, leading up to this week, I've created probably more than I normally would have, but I created what I wanted to create, not what I thought the potential customers would want. It has brought much more joy. I've gotten plenty of sleep (my body wouldn't let me operate otherwise). I've been able to teach people how to create the creations instead of hearing how they can YouTube or Pinterest it.
I'm surrounded with an amazing creative community at Paper Arts and they truly all love God and love creating and I know that it is where I'm supposed to be.
Do I still have a wagon load of words and letters and other inventory that I would normally stuff my booth with or stock my booths in stores with, Yes. Do I still need to get rid of all of that stuff? Absolutely. But, I didn't accumulate it overnight so it will not disappear overnight (unless I happen upon the right crafter that wants a heck of a deal...lol).
Today, as the rain pours down, I thank God that we are not unloading a truck in this blessing. I also pray blessings over all of my friends that are setting up at the show. May they be rewarded greatly, if not financially, then spiritually.
