What I Wish I Could Learn

I wish I could learn and pull it to my heart and not just to my head that:
* I don't need to keep "things" to feel valuable to other people (thinking I will give them gifts-half the time I forget)
* God only wants me...He will use my talents as He sees fit and in the way that it will benefit others
* that I really don't "deserve" the life that I live but must be grateful for any blessings
* that all of what I own is not really mine (it's not mine)
* that my low, deep, down-times are preparation times for seasons to come
* that if I would ever delete my facebook account, I would still be an interesting person
* that by lessening what I am distracted by will allow more room for what God wants
* that my size matters only to be healthy and not that it changes my value in God's eyes or with others
* that people-pleasing in my 20's and 30's is futile and I only serve One Master
* that my hair is never going to be a light blonde color (ever-again)
* that the little innocent girl is someone who inspires me and the simplicity of her life is something I seek again...

to be continued...

Processing-Excess in Craft Area

Guiding and Encouraging Women towards Balance, Significance, Personal Growth
--this is what I'm deciding to keep out of my "stash" of left-over crafting

Alphabetical letters
Maps (where are you going? where you've been? where you are now?)
dictionaries
paper packs of paper for framing
boy's paper for framing
Keep Christmas paper...
Paints & Canvas (keep)
Frames (keep)
Sort stamps

Running Project/History
Ian
Elijah

Completed Albums
Left-over Fabric Scraps

Remains of the Day projects
Questions Book - paperwork computer

Sort Idea Books - keep art journal ones (keep 7)
One box of excess supplies (for larger projects) - baby jars

Kid's art supplies (keep-markers, crayons, finger paint, paper packs)

How Excess Affects Me

It literally steals my joy and gives me headaches. The continual maintenance of excess: excessive paper, junk mail, duplicates of toys or just too many toys, CEU information I receive, books I have that I've "intended" to read,

Stuff *stares* at me. I'd like to just box most all of it up and see if I miss it. Likely I will not. What I have learned is that if I don't have "it" (the project material) - someone else I might know will. Thus, being in community means sharing and allowing myself to ask a simple question. I need to let go of things and not hold so tightly to what I deem "mine". Oh so easy to say and think but to actually "DO" - that is the tough part!!