Cute as a Button

I’ve always had an entrepreneurial spirit. As a pastor’s kid growing up, I would color pictures and sell them to the elderly and the teenagers in the church. I also took the balloons that were used as decorations from a banquet and tried to sell them to people as they left; I think it worked. I was very creative about finding ways to make a few bucks. One time during the summer I even made a “rock zoo” and charged admission. The main attraction of the zoo—a rock that closely resembled an elephant! In 5th grade I made lanyard key chains and sold them to my classmates at recess. (I must note that this scheme was the only thing that ever landed me a trip to the principal’s office--apparently Richland Elementary frowned upon selling key chains on the playground!)

My most recent money making plot has included wire, glass jars and vases, buttons, and many trips to Hobby Lobby. I have sold over 20 button bouquets over the past few weeks. It is amazing how people will buy something if it is unique. I love to create and craft, so when I first started making the bouquets, I just never stopped. I had over five in my house in different corners and counters, so Seth told me to get rid of them before I bought more button stuff. I kept one and sold the rest, and three weeks and $200 later I wonder if I should “button” all through the summer as a little side job.

I would love to find a cute, girly gift shop that would let me sell “my products.”

My next endeavor: figuring out how to use the sewing machine at the rent house! Who knows…maybe pillows, headbands, curtains, pot holders? The sky is the limit for the entrepreneur.

A Few of My Comfortable Things

There is something very comforting about the sound of crickets late at night. I feel less alone when I take my dog Scout out at 3:00am if I hear the quiet chirps of the little bugs. I don’t know what it is that brings comfort from that noise. It is the same comfort and peace that comes from sharing the road with mini-vans. In theory, if I had a wreck or car trouble, the soccer mom driving the mini-van wouldn’t hesitate to pull over to provide her assistance. It is also the same comfort of wearing a flip flop that was almost made for my foot. Because the Old Navy sandal has been worn so many times, the toe imprints are there even when my foot is not.

Sometimes I wish that life could be full of comfortable things. Things like pot-roast and well worn flip-flops. I want to know that I will have enough money to buy a house at the end of the year and that the perfect job is waiting for me in San Antonio. I want to know that nothing bad will ever happen to the people that I love, that every light will be green, that every door will be unlocked. But knowing those things wouldn’t require any faith or trust in God on my end.

I know that God is taking me through a time where I am a little nervous and uncomfortable so that I will trust him. I know that I need to learn to gain the same comfort in his Word that I receive from mini-vans and crickets. It is hard to be uncomfortable, but I have found that during those times God can stretch and grow me in a way that is almost impossible in the warmth and comfort found in routinely going through life with all of the nice “amenities” that comfortable living brings.