Wise Words Wednesday # 13

This quote was submitted to me by one of my favorite bloggers and I believe my most avid reader, Mekenzie from Interiors By Kenz.  She is just beyond uber talented and I absolutely love her.  We met in Altanta in August when we was in town for the Haven Conference 

She's tall like me!!

When she told me this quote I knew I had to make a graphic for it!  What an awesome way of saying don't give up and keep striving for better!  

I am definitely keeping this one on my inspiration list.  

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You could be featured on the next Wise Words Wednesday!

Wise Words Wednesday #15

This one is so good I'm posting two different versions of it!  I think sometimes we get so ahead of ourselves thinking about what's going to happen that we lose track of all that can happen in between yesterday and tomorrow.  Not taking in the present, can only lead to regret down the road.

Take some time and just breathe.  Be patient.  Tomorrow, next week, next month, next year... They will all be here before you know it.  Make sure you make something awesome to look back on in the meantime. Be Virtuous!

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Wise Words Wednesday # 14

This is a very valuable life lesson.  This is not to say that one should never depend on others, just that no one has your best interest at heart more than, you guessed it, YOU!  

When I was younger I was what I like to call a chameleon.  I just morphed into whoever I spent the most time with.  I took on habits I didn't actually like, I pretended to like music that I actually didn't and I pretended to like people I actually didn't like.  Just to blend in.  I like to think, in my own defense, that everyone has their "chameleon stage".  I consider my Chameleon stage to have been a HUGE waste of time in my life.  Instead of figuring out what I liked and what I was into I just adopted all my character traits from others and it delayed me figuring out who I really was.  What a waste.  

I love this quote because we all need to realize that WE know best for OURSELVES better than anyone, and if you follow along with someone else's plan, it will NEVER be tailored to you the way that your own would.

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Wise Words Wednesday #12

Einstein, as we all know, was a truly brilliant man, and as we can see here from this quote, not just in the Physics arena.  I think that a lot of times we get these things out of order and a little twisted. If we go on in our lives making the same mistakes over and over, not only are we wasting good sense and time, but we are also not using our most valuable resource, our own choices and memories.  We are our own personal history book.  If you don't learn from your past, you are doomed to repeat it, plain and simple.  Next, there are too many people who don't use the present as they should, they spend it either dwelling on the past, or focusing too much on the future, or what we wish we had.  This is a damnable offense, in that the only time we can live in is the present.  Focusing too much on what we want in the future is different than hoping for it, hoping for the future means staying positive and planning ahead, making choices today that will help you tomorrow, that's the key.

We should never stop questioning and evaluating ourselves and those around us, what we believe, what we trust.  Never be just a sheep, look for answers to your questions, don't take anything at face value, examine it!  An inquisitive mind is a useful one!   

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Wise Words Wednesday #11

I used to be a pretty angry person.  My dad told me a long time ago that when you stay mad and hold grudges, you're really only hurting yourself.   Well of course when I was younger I thought that was just plain stupid.  how is it hurting ME?!  I didn't do anything wrong!  Well, It took me years to finally figure out what he was talking about.

When you hold grudges against people and don't forgive, you dwell and when you dwell you just get more angry at how you can't let it go and then it starts the whole cycle over again, and then you end up projecting your anger and mistrust on other people who may not have ever done anything to hurt you, then you end up blaming them for why y'all couldn't be friends and then the whole huge stupid cycle begins again.

Forgiveness is not for the weak.  Sometimes we have to really sit down an evaluate why we are withholding our forgiveness.  This is not always an easy task.  It's hard to turn the microscope on oneself and say, "hey what's wrong with you!?"  but it is ALWAYS a learning experience when you are able to.

Forgiveness doesn't make what someone did to you all right.  It doesn't take away the hurt, and it doesn't make them a better person.  But it does make YOU a better person.  I have found that when I forgive someone it flips a switch inside of me, and I can feel the tension rise up off of me, like a weight off of my heart.  It is a true testament to one's character who can truly be forgiving.

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Wise Words Wednesday #10

Sometimes, I have extreme difficulty taking off my little tunnel-vision-goggles and stopping to just take a look around at the big picture.  It is so easy to get caught up in everyday crazy that we don't really look around at what is passing us by, or what is happening just outside our line of sight.  We think we can control EVERYTHING and when we can't we get so angry and disillusioned with life.  I personally have to override my crazy once in awhile (easier said than done) and stop and smell the proverbial roses.

It helps me as a Christian to know that there is always one constant in life, one thing I can put my finger on and say, "yeah, that's real", something, or more accurately Someone, who is a constant, who is always there and always cares and is the absolute truth of life. It's like spinning around and around as a kid and if you don't have something to keep focus on you get dizzy and out of control. But with God as the one thing to stare at and focus on, sure everything else is still crazy and spinning like mad, but he's there, keeping everything in perspective and keeping you from totally losing control.   That's one of the reasons that I love this verse from Psalms 46:10, it tells me, "Hey!  stop what you're doing and for Pete's sake settle down!  I've got this"

If I just keep doing what I know is good and right and I just Trust in God the rest of the time it's gonna be fine....  So just settle down.

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Wise Words Wednesday #9

I'm starting a new series of Wise Words today, All of which look like Chalkboards.  

And really, Who doesn't love this chalkboard trend?

Enjoy!

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These are some seriously wise words from Ayn Rand, author of Atlas shrugged (among other things).

It is so easy to compare ourselves to others, and to feel jealous and resentful, but this isn't how we better ourselves.  We have to really be CREATIVE to find our own way, and challenge and compete with ourselves, and not EVERYONE else around us.  We need only improve and maintain ourselves to really be happy.  If you go through your whole life trying to beat down other people you will never feel complete because there will always be someone else to beat down just behind them.  Where as if you look only to bettering yourself then there is no limit to what you can accomplish.

Not to mention that you can keep people around to support you instead of smashing them under your boot on the way.

Do you have suggestions for Wise Words Wednesday??  

I am always open to suggestions! Leave in a comment below! 

Vintage Chalk Message Board

I bought this old message board at a local thrift store for a bank-breaking $0.50!

It was pretty cool anyway, but definitely needed a little help.

The chalk board portion was really suffering and the cork part was even worse.

So i taped off around the chalkboard portion and spray painted it with Chalkboard 

Paint

Copper & Bronze Chalkboard Trays

There is a lovely lady named Rosie who bought a quilt from me a few years ago and loved all my craft stuff that i make so she asked if she could sell some of my items in a booth she had in a very nice upscale shop in town here.  

I of course was completely flattered!  

like whoa!  

Anywho, she would always keep an eye out for cool things for me at shows and stuff and found me these awesome trays to make magnet boards out of...

Well it turns out these were NOT magnetic so we had to think of a new plan