Cre8iveSpirit

Sunday, February 26, 2012    Finally~* THE BEGINNNING*~

It all began with a prayer.... "GOD help me!" I knew that I was in life over my head and that I could not sustain my state of treading water any longer... I knew I needed to do something more, but I thought at the time that I was doing all I could just to keep my head above the water...to get through the day and make it till bed time... when I could dream! I am a busy mom, whose children are growing up very fast (too fast!) but who will one day have a whole lot more time on my hands...what then? I have been thinking about that a lot in the past few years! "What's next, GOD? What now?"

Back in September of 2011 I began working on a website that was going to be a wonderful platform for selling my wares. I make stuff. I love to make pretty things and be creative everyday. I believe that it is a gift I have been allowed to pursue for reasons I still am not fully aware of.  I am not sure if it is for my benefit, or if it is for the benefit of others...or both? But how awesome would it be if the reason I get to pursue my "dream job" is because it is GOD's will, and by doing it I will be able to help others? I would surely love that! We'll see...time will tell...but for now I will pursue that dream job!

I decided that I would use the internet to sell my handmade items. I thought for sure I would begin to make money right away with my website so that I could help support our family. After five months of paying for a website and not selling one item, I made a great business decision to pull the plug! At first it felt like I was failing, and I did not want to shut down my website... then I realized that I was failing... duh...this was the definition of failure... but I determined in my heart to fail forward!

 I still believe in that dream.... I might have to take the long road though, and that is fine. Everything takes time to grow...I am like a farmer right now, who is planting seeds, one day they will grow...I am making sure that the seeds I plant are good seeds, I know that the soil I am planting them in is rich, so that the harvest I reap will be a good harvest.

I just found this new venue to pursue that dream...one that won't cost me a monthly subscription fee, and I don't have to pay any fees (unless I sell something.) But this option does cost me a lot... my time, work and money to buy inventory! GOD is my provider though, and I am not worried about having enough seed to plant. Every day I have faith to believe for growth. HE brings the rain, HE gives the sunshine and HE too will bring forth a harvest.

 I found this blog spot which is free, and I have opened an Etsy store that can be found at www.cre8ivespirit.etsy.com . That is where I sell the things that I make by hand.  I finally sold a few items, and I know that this is just the beginning...One of my goals is to have happy customers! I still believe in the "American Dream". I believe that hard work, determination, great customer service and finding a need and filling it (and most importantly OBEYING GOD) will result in success. I know that GOD's HOLY SPIRIT guides me. HIS voice is a gentle whisper, and HE gives me a choice...HE is not going to force me to do anything. Sometimes I have missed HIM because I was distracted, but I have learned that quiet time with HIM daily is key in hearing from HIM. I have also learned that on the important stuff HE gives me a "do over"! (He is such a good Teacher!) I realize now, that it takes time to build things. Growth takes time. I have time, I have all of Eternity! I am willing to invest my time into my dreams, into my family and into our future.

I want to work. I love to work. I am a good employee, responsible and honest and a hard worker, but I am human and often I fail.

I love people. I have met a few in my life that have been a challenge, but I honestly believe that JESUS CHRIST issued that challenge to us all when HE said, "Love one another!" LOVE is defined in Corinthians in the Bible, and I have read it many times over the years. It was not until recently, in the past couple of years, that I began to really try to understand LOVE. I enjoy the song from the 80's "I wanna know what LOVE is, I want YOU to show me..." And I have come to the understanding that LOVE IS A CHOICE, it really is! I know that there have been people in my life who have had to love me in spite of my failures. But love me they did, and I grew in that enviroment of LOVE. I want Cre8iveSpirit to be an environment of LOVE.

My Mom tells me that I am a super woman, but to remember that I am not "Super Woman!" I tried for many years to be Super Woman, but I quickly realized that I could not fly, I could not answer every call to save the world and I often did not arrive just in the nick of time... I got burnt out trying so hard, honestly.  Finally I decided to give myself a well deserved break. Life is not easy, and I realize that it is just so darn l-o-n-g! But now I thank GOD for that. I know that the Bible says that man's life is like a wisp of breath, implying that it is so short, but I am 44 years old. I have three kids and a husband and I have spent many sleepless nights lying awake caring for, working for and praying for those people! In the wee hours of the morning, or in the final lap of a marathon jog, or after cleaning up after a weeks worth of flu bug...life (to me) seems really long!!! I realize that in the whole big scheme of ETERNITY my few years on planet Earth will have been brief. Brief maybe, but my hope is that it will not be pointless. I'm going to quote one of my favorite songs here, "I want to leave a legacy. How will they remember me?  Did I choose to LOVE? Did I point to YOU enough to leave a mark on things? I wanna leave an offering. A child of Mercy and Grace, I'll bless YOUR NAME...unapologetically....I wanna leave a legacy..." (Of course I am singing this to GOD!)

I have thought a lot about promotion in the past few years...  is it kosher to promote myself? when I used to work for others and punch a time clock, obey their rules and promote their agendas I began to realize that GOD created me with a purpose...a purpose that HE intended to back me up on.  I really believe it is important to  find that purpose, and to follow your dreams, so long as your dreams are GOD inspired. How do you know if your dreams are GOD inspired?  Oh, trust me... HE will confirm them with success, or failure. HIS success that is.... His success may not look like what you think it should look like. But success is being obedient to GOD. When you are following GOD's dreams for your life, there is peace. DO NOT confuse peace with your own happiness, because your happiness is not the point here. But when you are obeying GOD, ultimately....you will be happy....hey, there's always Heaven to look forward to, right?! 

I began to wonder,  "Should I leave the decision of someone offering me a promotion to someone in corporate America who has the authority to judge me (often wrongly) and base my financial worth on their personal opinion?" NO WAY! I decided to give myself a promotion. Not an increase in pay, mind you, but a promotion! I decided to follow GOD's dreams for my life, at least to do what HE created me to do. I am actually giving GOD the promotion, by allowing HIM to use me as HIS hands and feet. 

My Creator gave me a purpose, and I have faith that my dreams are HIS dreams for me, because HE put them in my heart. I choose to obey GOD and HIS WORD, I still fail often, and that is why I need a Saviour!  But eventually, I will not fail at the same things twice, and eventually I will be victorious! 

I have home schooled three children for eleven years...graduated two and still working with one. I almost decided to go back to college in the Spring of 2012, but now I am feeling led to pursue my business full time for one year and see where that leads... I am not suggesting that I have all the answers, but I am learning! I have learned what NOT to do ( a whole lot!) and I am still learning.

This year my "words" for the year were "Asking" & "Humility"...My pastor's wife prays and puts words into a sack and we all draw out one or two for the year, believing that these are GOD's individual "theme" for our year...since I have been doing that I have not made a New Year's Resolution, but I resolve instead to try to understand the meaning of that word and how it applies to my spiritual growth for the year...it is very interesting! I realize that humility does not mean humiliation, but that in order to be successful you must be humble. Humble is the way! This year I am asking GOD to show me what to do (almost) daily...(I said "almost daily" because sometimes I fail to ask daily!) Some days I wake up and I hit the ground running. I have not taken the time to read my Bible and pray and seek GOD's will for my day. Those days usually end in the prayer of "OH GOD help, I can't do this without YOU!" I hope that by the end of the year (2012) I have grown a business that brings glory to GOD by being a blessing. Blessing HIM first, my family second and my business third. By blessing those with whom I come in contact, and be choosing love everytime I have to make a choice. The year will come one day at a time, but when it is over it will seem like it flew by. I would like to use this blog to promote GOD and what HE is teaching me through life, through my business and through successes and failures. I am tenacious. I am committed to this blog... for the rest of this year anyway (2012). If you find it a blessing I would love to hear from you. I can be contacted through email at Cre8ivespirit@live.com or like I mentioned above through my Etsy shop at www.cre8ivespirit.etsy.com On Etsy you can send me a conversation which is private. I also have a Facebook page Shawnie Hendrix is my name or Cre8ivespirit is another page I manage. I also have a Twitter account which is MYCre8ivespirit and I just opened a Pinterest page under Shawnie Hendrix. Yup, I am planting a whole lotta seeds...can't wait to see the harvest!