Saturday, May 22, 2010

2-Ply, or not 2-Ply...



To follow up with last week's post....its SCARY to put yourself out there, to take that risk and share your dream with no guarantee that support will follow. But I did it...its been a slow but steady start. With all of your help, we've already raised $41 dollars to help Nashville flood victims! Thanks to everyone who has supported this effort. As news of the flooding starts to fade from the headlines, please know that the clean up effort here is a continuous long term project, and anything we can give back is a huge help right now.

So I feel that in taking that big scary leap last week, God really blessed me! I received an email last week from someone by the name of Ashley. She worked for Quilted Northern and had come across my post about wanting to upgrade my toilet paper. Only a few days later, I recieved a huge box of Quilted Northern toilet paper. And as if heavenly softness of 2-ply was not enough, they threw in a pack of 3-ply toilet paper. I didnt even know they made 3-ply!
A few days later, I get an email stating that I have won a VIP concert package to meet John Tesh. For someone who never wins anything, this was an awesome surprise! John Tesh is not only an amazing musician and radio host, but has been one of the driving forces inspiring me to go after my dreams. If you know anything about this guy, he's all for spreading positivity, and sharing your dreams and talents to help other people. So, looks like pretty soon I'm gonna get a chance to tell him he has been a huge encouragement, and then enjoy an awesome concert, dinner, soundcheck and who knows what else.
You can check out the silly picture that helped me win here..... http://tesh.com/ittrium/visit?path=A1x97x1y1x2264x1x65y1x1ee97x1x65y1x1ee9ax1x83
So then, just so God could be funny, I get another email from the John Tesh team saying I won another contest for free cereal bars, and an IPod Nano!
Maybe some people would pass that off as just luck. But I fully believe this was one of God's creative ways to bless me for taking a risk, and trusting Him with my dreams!

All these little blessings have been nice. They kept me going this week. I pray the cards have found a way to bless the lives of each of you who have received one or purchased one this week. 

So big thanks to Quilted Northern for providing some awesome toilet paper, the John Tesh team for making my week awesome with the 2 contests I won, and last but not least, God, for fulfilling your promise that when we trust you, you will provide everything and more than we could ever want! :-)

As always, thanks for reading and stay blessed!

Saturday, May 8, 2010

Standing on the edge...


You've worked for hours, days, years climbing that steep mountain. Each step was a struggle, a lesson learned, an opportunity to grow. You are so close to the peak that you can already imagine breathing in that crisp air of success. And suddenly, out of nowhere, is the ledge. You catch your balance looking over the edge of the cliff at the vast beauty spread out before you. This is the moment you've waited for, all you have to do is jump.
Suddenly the view seems a little too high, and the air is a little too thin. You knees feel weak and all you want to do is slink back down the mountain on to flat, stable, dependable ground.

I wonder how many people have felt this way. They work all their life chasing a dream and when opportunity is laid out before them, they shy away. I know that this has been and is a struggle for me. I've talked to several other 'creative' people this week who face the same struggle. Its hard to think about, its hard to talk about. We would rather slink away from our dreams, than have to face our fears.

Art is it for me. The ability to create art is something God instilled in me since as young as I can remember. It makes me happy, really happy. It frustrates me, and challenges me in ways that constantly keep me growing and learning. There's no bigger joy for me than seeing a smile on someone's face as they look over a painting I've given them. If I could, I would just create just for the fun of it, and give just to see people smile. So in a sense, its hard for me to put my work out there and accept money when people want to buy it...because in all honesty, I'd do it for free.
But I am learning something, God gave me an ability, just like he's given you an ability, that no one else has. We can create and do unique things that bring other people joy. So its OK to put your work out there and try to make a living off of it. There is no rule, that you must hate what you do in order to earn money. Its a blessing to be a blessing in other peoples lives.
So how does all this tie in personally... I just recently activated paypal on my website, so yes, that means that people can finally buy my cards. And after all the flooding in Nashville, I felt blessed to be safe, and wanted to find a way to give back. So one late night, I created a card, called "River of Hope." I am donating $5.00 of every card purchase directly back to help the Nashville flood victims. In all honestly, I am pretty happy with how the card came out. But there are always those doubts in the back of your mind that tell you "People wont buy that", or "there's already so many people raising money out there, no one will want to donate through your cards." Yeh, its scary to come out and admit that fear of rejection or failure. But there it is, all laid out. Now what?
I wrote this honest post, not to guilt you into buying my cards, but to let you know whats going on in my head. I think alot of people can relate to it. Just remember when you have a dream, God put it there for a reason, so OF COURSE there are going to be voices from the enemy trying to bring you down. Just do what you love, support others, and just remember, if you hear those voices, you are not alone. People can't tell you how much they love your stuff, if you don't show them.
So thank you to everyone who took the 'jump' and risked it all. You are an inspiration to us all and God is surely using your gifts to bless.
I am attaching a picture of the Nashville Relief card. For more information about the card or purchasing, please go to www.lisscatcreations.com.  Let me know what you think. And please keep praying for Nashville.
Thank you for reading. Stay blessed! :-)

Monday, May 3, 2010

Rain, Babies, and Toilet Paper....

What do these three things have in common. Well, very loosely, they sum up my weekend!

1. Rain: To say it 'rained' this weekend in Nashville is an understatement. It POURED for two days straight, with the not so soothing sounds of the tornado sirens in the distance. The result = the worst flooding in the history of the city. I'm sure you have all seen the pictures...people being evacuated, cars and homes under water, collapsed bridges, houses floating down the highway, and of course my personal favorite, the Judd's buffalo roaming Franklin in the rain. I can not thank God enough for how blessed I am that my apartment and car and immediate surrounding area are OK. This weekend was weird. It was emotional. You don't realize how tiring it is to be checking the weather every 2 minutes, checking for twitter updates about the town, or reading devastating news reports until you sit down and it all hits you. Some people lost everything this weekend, some even lost their lives. But by God's grace, me and my family / friends are safe.

2. Babies: No, I'm not having one, but I do have other exciting news. Lisscat Creations Cards, specifically baby cards are being sold on www.bekaboobaby.com. This is an amazing online baby boutique ran by two good friends of mine. They carry everything from baby wraps, blankets, headware, and now baby invitations and thank you cards. As sad as it is, I have somewhat neglected my personal website by not activating paypal to allow people to purchase my own cards. So it is really nice to have an adopted online home for the baby cards. Please be sure to check them out. I think you enjoy them along with the rest of the goodies on the site!

3. Toilet Paper: I always joked that when I finally officially sold my first card, I was treating myself to nice toilet paper. For those of you who know me, you know I'm very frugal. I wont by anything unless I have a coupon, its cheap, or on sale. So, buying nice plush toilet paper for me, would be living the good life! ;-)
I'm trying to decide what brand to get. Charmin, Angel Soft? Any suggestions?? The double quilted kind is sounded nice! Oh! And thank you to a very special lady in Florida, I have sold my first two cards, and am on my way to getting some nice toilet paper. Incase you are wondering, she ordered 2 of the 'Baby Boy Blue" cards on bekaboobaby.com  Check em out!

Well, I think that wraps up this blog. Please remember to stay encouraged and inspired this week. Prayers going out to everyone here in TN who survived the flood. God is still with us!