How you doin'?

OH MY GOSH! I haven't blogged in forever! And by "forever" I mean "a month," which is eons in the blog world.

And now I'm sitting here trying to determine what in the world has been keeping me so busy. And I can't think of a thing. Though I feel sure that there have been many "things."

And I'm certain there's lots of news, though, at first blush, I can't recall anything really mind-blowing... (And that makes me sad in a way. I hope there's nothing that I am forgetting - I did turn 37 this year after all.)

But since I don't want to share any of my mind-numbing news, here's just some of the normal, average news:

I found out recently that a good friend of mine has thyroid cancer - anaplastic carcinoma, to be exact, which is the worst type to have. Only 9% of those who are diagnosed with it live 5 more years. And that stinks a lot. But as big of an inspiration she’s been to me thus far, she is BLOWING MY MIND in how she is dealing with her cancer. She’s determined to beat it, and I really think she can. I am praying that she does.

I have been living up to my resolution to get more serious about my art. I've been creating. I'm branching out to brooches and - gasp - pendants of the fiber variety that are a bit more abstract. Different color wools, embroidery, beads, designs, etc. I'm pretty excited about them. I am also branching out to working with clay to sculpt pendants and beads and even little figures. My dining room table is just about covered in little clay things and paint bottles and brushes and things to add texture. I even used nail polish on one of my little creations! It's been fun using this new medium - kind of addictive actually. I'm hoping to have all of these things in my etsy shop by the end of the month.

Speaking of etsy... I have been researching ways to be better successful as a seller and artist, and I have learned that folks need to be able to find me easily. So, in keeping with my "artsy seriousness" I have created a sort of "brand" for myself. It's still in the works (I'm trying to doodle some type of logo), but it's cute and catchy. And it will alleviate some of the issue of my last name being easily misspelled and folks not being able to find me. I have created a new etsy shop, which I will switch over to completely at some point, and also a new blog, which will be strictly for art-related posts. So things are coming along.

Bruce quit his job - his carpet job, that is, and THAT is mind-blowing for us! He's just felt like he wasn't able to do everything that his pastoral role requires being bi-vocational, and after praying and thinking about it a good while, we decided it was time. What's really weird is that, while we know money will be tight, neither one of us are really worried about it. That's especially strange for me - the worrier about oh-so-many things. God really worked me over regarding my lack of faith in His provision this past summer during the Faith Jars experiment at our church. I know better now. Bruce and I both do. So we're just putting our faith in God and in what he has called us to do. And we know that He'll provide for us one way or the other. We’ve already noticed ways that God is reminding us, “Hey, I’ve got your backs!”

I won't pretend that things have been all hunky-dorey these last few weeks that Bruce has been home - it's been an odd adjustment. A challenge, I would even dare say. We've even "bickered" (gasp!) at times. I'll admit that, even though I am really happy for him, in a way I'm jealous of his new situation. He's doing what he wants to be doing, and I want that too. I know it will come - some day. But I want it now. Sigh. So apparently now God will be teaching me about patience. Oh joy. I thought I had that one learned already… But in the mornings, when I go into the bedroom to kiss Bruce goodbye, and he is still snoozing comfortably, and I occasionally fantasize about dumping a pitcher of ice cold water over his head, it is blazingly obvious that I still have things to learn... many things. many, many, many things.

So how 'bout you? How you doin'? What are you learning?