My First Etsy Review

I received my first Etsy Review today.   Pretty Exciting!

Check it out at http://reviewedbycc.blogspot.com/2010/10/support-cause.html

Thanks Cami of CC Bums

http://www.facebook.com/CCBums

 

 

 

CC Bums makes cloth diapers, bibs, blankies and many other items.  She is trying to recycle and upcycle fabrics to keep the Earth green.

Etsy Reaches Haiti...

I have had a busy few days and have not been able to blog.  I also have had a lot of doctor's appointments, physical therapy appointments, etc.  My mom returned from her missions trip to Haiti on Saturday and I have been spending a lot of time with her. 

I am posting a few pictures here but hope to add more in the days coming.  Before she left, I shared a story about a fellow Etsyian who was kind enough to send me a penny necklace (with a cross embedded in it), in honor of my Gpa.  My mom took this necklace with her to Haiti to know that she had my Gpa close to her in her heart and also in heaven looking over her, keeping her safe.  Once she was there, she took one of the boys, named Samson, under her wing.  The week before her arrival, Samson had run away from the orphanage.  Our friend Diddi found him in the streets in tent city and brought him back to the orphanage.  Samson is a good boy, but is a bit troubled.  He became close to my mom, wanting to sleep on the floor of her room every night, calling her Mama, asking if she could take him on a plane back home with her.  My mom gave him the penny necklace to keep him safe, to show how much she cared for him, and hopefully to have my Gpa watching out for him from heaven.  The night before my mom left, Samson ran away again back to the streets.  Maybe he didn't want to say goodbye to probably the first person who truly cared about him.  We will pray that Samson returns to the orphanage where he will have food, be safe, have shelter and clothing.  

Thank you again karmacircle for the beautiful penny necklace that has reached from New York to Haiti.

http://www.etsy.com/shop/karmacircle

 

 

 

 

Now, not only will we will be ordering these necklaces for our family for Christmas, but we will be ordering one for each child at the orphanage in Haiti, called Julia's House.  


Please remember Haiti in your prayers, especially the children, who are so innocent and have almost no future to look forward to.  They have little clothing, little to no food, no money, little to no shelter, no education....in this beautiful country we live in, we often do not need to worry about our basic subsistence.  Remember those who suffer daily.  


Typically, 20% of all my sales go to Friends of Suzanne, a local cancer charity.  If you are interested in buying any of my Etsy items and would like the 20% donated to go to Julia's House in Haiti, please send me a private message and I will make the donation directly.

Hanging out at Julia's House

God Bless,
Crafts4acause

Love never fails...

                                  http://www.etsy.com/shop/habituate

The greatest gift I have ever received on this Earth is love.  I have learned that real true love is there whether you deserve it or not.  As it is said in many wedding vows, love is there for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health.  Fortunately for us, we are blessed to not only have this love in our lives existing in romantic relationships, but also with our family and closest friends.  How blessed we are to be able to experience something as amazing as LOVE.  Don't take those who you love and those who love you for granted.  Remember to kiss them, hug them, tell them who much they mean to you and how much you love them, show your love in the little things daily.  Dare yourself to give and receive love freely because true love never fails.

http://www.etsy.com/shop/littleblacksheepshop

Today I write this blog in honor of the most special person in my life, the one who taught me the most about love, the one whom I love the most.  Thank you for being my best friend, my personal cheerleader, my soulmate, my love, my partner.
God Bless,
crafts4acause

I Hope You Dance...

http://www.etsy.com/shop/TheTextKitten

Music and Etsy have been the inspiration for my blog this week; my first week ends with 6 followers.  Thank you!  Sales in my Etsy shop have been pretty slow and I was close to giving up, but I have hope that I'm doing the right thing.  I have hope that when you work hard you will be rewarded.  Hope is what keeps us all going in life.  Hope is what we cling to when life throws difficulties our way.  Without hope, we would be hopeless.  Webster defines hopeless as "beyond optimism and desperate."  

I believe that God sends us the little things in life so we can maintain our hope. More important than the financial rewards of Etsy, including my donation to a local charity, are the relationships I have formed along with the hope I have been given.  I have been blessed to send a gold childhood cancer ribbon to a fellow Etsyian in honor of her 3 year old niece who is fighting retinoblastoma.  In return she sent me beautiful earrings that she makes to raise money for Anya.  I shared with you about the pennies from heaven and was again blessed to receive a penny cross necklace to remember my Gpa by, and just in time for my mom to take on her mission to Haiti tomorrow.

So today, I want to thank them in the pictures I choose and also share today's inspirational song.

http://www.etsy.com/shop/carriewieder

http://www.etsy.com/shop/crafts4acause

 

 

http://www.etsy.com/shop/karmacircle

 I Hope You Dance by Leann Womack:

I hope you never lose your sense of wonder
You get your fill to eat but always keep that hunger
May you never take one single breath for granted
God forbid love ever leave you empty handed
I hope you still feel small when you stand by the ocean
Whenever one door closes, I hope one more opens
Promise me you'll give faith a fighting chance

I hope you never fear those mountains in the distance
Never settle for the path of least resistance
Living might mean taking chances but they're worth taking
Lovin' might be a mistake but it's worth making
Don't let some hell bent heart leave you bitter
When you come close to selling out reconsider
Give the heavens above more than just a passing glance 

Hope you still feel small when you stand by the ocean
Whenever one door closes, I hope one more opens
Promise me you'll give faith a fighting chance
And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance   
I HOPE YOU DANCE

Have a great weekend.
God Bless,
crafts4acause

It's A Girl...

http://www.etsy.com/shop/anniereh

This morning I woke up to the good news that my cousin Tara had a baby girl weighing 7 lbs; she is yet to be named.  Tara's mother, my aunt, is a breast cancer SURVIVOR and a brain tumor SURVIVOR.  Children are one of the most precious things on this Earth.

"At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” And calling to him a child, he put him in the midst of them and said, “Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven." Matthew 18:1-3

 

Just like the beautiful necklace I chose from Etsy for today's blog (see above), the love between a mother and a child is forever.  This love may come in all different shapes and forms.  It may transform through the years.  It may not always be what you want it to be, but feel blessed if you have your mother, feel blessed if you had a mother, feel blessed if you have a child, feel blessed if you had a child because no matter how much pain there may be, there will always be more pain if you never had these things at all.  Alfred Tennyson says it best when he says, "Tis better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all."

 Surround yourself with hope, with joy, with love and blessings will abound.

God Bless,

crafts4acause

http://www.etsy.com/listing/56237323/sweet-love-joy-and-hope-burlap-pillow

These are the words I would say....

http://www.etsy.com/shop/emrick123

So many times in life we regret what we say.  We wish we would have another opportunity to say something different, and sometimes we wish for another opportunity to say something at all.  Sometimes we get these second chances and sometimes we don't.  Don't ever miss a moment to say the right thing.  Love those around you, your friends and family, love yourself, and most importantly let yourself be loved.

My inspiration for today's blog was the lyrics in this song by the Sidewalk Prophets.  I don't think I could say it better.

These are the words I would say:

Three in the morning,

And I'm still awake,
So I picked up a pen and a page,
And I started writing,
Just what I'd say,
If we were face to face,
I'd tell you just what you mean to me,
I'd tell you these simple truths,

Be strong in the Lord and,
Never give up hope,
You're going to do great things,
I already know,
God's got His hand on you so,
Don't live life in fear,
Forgive and forget,
But don't forget why you're here,
Take your time and pray,
These are the words I would say,

Last time we spoke,
You said you were hurting,
And I felt your pain in my heart,
I want to tell you,
That I keep on praying,
Love will find you where you are,
I know cause I've already been there,
So please hear these simple truths,

Be strong in the Lord and,
Never give up hope,
You're going to do great things,
I already know,
God's got His hand on you so,
Don't live life in fear,
Forgive and forget,
But don't forget why you're here,
Take your time and pray,
These are the words I would say,

From one simple life to another,
I will say,
Come find peace in the Father,

Be strong in the Lord and,
Never give up hope,
You're going to do great things,
I already know,
God's got His hand on you so,
Don't live life in fear,
Forgive and forget,
But don't forget why you're here,
Take your time and pray,
Thank God for each day,
His love will find a way,
These are the words I would say 

To my dear mom as she embarks on this trip to Haiti, "you are going to do great things, I already know."

To my dear boyfriend as he supports through this difficult time in my health, "If we were face to face, I'd tell you just what you mean to me."

To all my current and future readers, "Be strong in the Lord and never give up hope."

Stay Strong and God Bless,
crafts4acause

Pennies From Heaven...

So I have four followers!  That is pretty exciting, even though one of them is me and one of them is boyfriend.  But...that means I have two "real" followers, so thank you.  It is my official second day as a blogger and I couldn't wait to get home to start writing.  

Today was a tough day with medical issues that I'm dealing with, but the day is over and the night is my time to blog, craft, pray, and relax.  I saw that God was helping me through this difficult day in a few different ways, but the one I want to share is about my grandpa, more commonly known as Gpa.  Before he died from lung cancer, we asked him to give us a sign that he was "OK" and that there was a heaven just like we believed.  

Ever since he has died in October 2004, our family has been finding pennies.  We call them pennies from heaven and we find them EVERYWHERE.  I found two today; one on the sink at my boyfriend's parents house and one on the couch at the bank.  To me, these are signs from my Gpa saying everything is going to be OK my dear sweet girl; I am here, God is here, and we are with you.  There are so many days I just say to God, why did you need MY Gpa.  But only God knows...Until we meet again in heaven I will have to keep finding pennies, cherish the memories in my heart, and push on with the faith that God taught me through my Gpa's eyes.

My mom is leaving for Haiti on Saturday for a mission to an orphange.  She will be teaching arts and crafts to children, some of whom have never held a crayon.  I am so very proud of her.  I bought her a heart necklace with a picture of myself and my Gpa on it.  She told me that she will be gluing a penny to the back of it before her trip.  She will cherish that penny from heaven while on her trip.  I know my Gpa, her dad, is looking down smiling, so very proud of his daughter.


God Bless,
crafts4acause

http://www.etsy.com/shop/karmacircle