Tag: pinkfeathers

Posted on by — 2 Comments

The Joy

The distinct smell of Creosote (I had to google this spelling) always takes me back to my childhood. Why? You may ask. Growing up with a Wendy Hut in the back yard, converted into a Craft Room, the wood of the wendy was treated with Creosote. I was exposed to crafting at a young age. I will always associate that smell to crafting.

I grew up, having a mother who always did something creative, teaching her three girls to escape from the real world through crafting. I am guessing that is why she crafted, because that is why I craft. To me, crafting does not have rules. It has rules, but it is not like my day job you know? If you make a mistake, you repaint it or start over again, or you wing it and see where the project goes and what it lands up looking like.

With my day job it is not that simple, and I feel obliged to do things perfectly and correctly the first time round. At this point in writing this article, I do want to point out that now is the time to switch on the kettle and make yourself a nice cup of coffee (or tea) before continuing.

You see, I cannot break this article up into smaller chapters as I will lose the essence of what I feel is being pressed on my heart to say. February is a busy month. Probably my least favourite month of the year, if one is allowed to have a least favourite month.

For many reasons I am not a Feb Fan. One of the biggest reasons, is the fact that I am always exhausted by the time it is my daughter’s birthday on the 7th. Yes I know, it is only the beginning of the month, but I know what lies ahead, I know the hours I am required to work, I just know what is waiting for me work wise. My little EMP201 (for those who don’t know – it is one of the many tax returns due on the 7th of each month) is such an enthusiast when it comes to her birthday.

I feel guilty that I cannot always share her excitement with her. Even more so, that I only had until around the 14th of February in 2014, the year she was born in, to spend undivided attention on her, before reverting back to my laptop to work, do calculations and submit returns. It was almost breastfeeding while typing and filing returns. It is like I do not have ample time available to just be in the moment, enjoying the preparations coming up to her birthday. Does this make sense? Or am I so caught up in my little work world, that I forget to stop and smell the roses?

The other reason for the lack of love for the Month of Love is, there is just NO TIME for anything else. The kids are growing up, their schedules are starting to pick up pace, something I never get right at budgeting for time-wise. I mean, I feel like I do not have time to purchase groceries (it is a frustration because fresh salad on a weekly basis is a MUST for us but getting around to Woollies is a challenge), let alone to get the kids on time to their additional maths classes, taking them food before their art classes start and exercise.

Exercise I refuse to skip. That is the one thing that keeps me sane. I cannot do all the funky moves associated with Cross Fit, but I arrive twice a week and I try them – I can see how I have grown stronger and am amazed at what I can do compared to when I just started. I then attend another day of exercise, and on that day I do spinning, which is something my son loves doing, so this is our time together. The extracurricular activities of the kids are also a no-go zone when it comes to deciding whether to not do it. We have to do it and work around that.

You see, in 2020, before the lock down and before the Pandemic, I made a conscious decision to stop putting work ahead of everything. I was missing out on life, because we lived a motto of Let’s just get through this month. Twelve months of the year, year in and year out. And that is how we lived for many years. I even felt that time was stolen from me, for years, because of this motto that we lived by. Actually, it may have been 2019 already that I made this decision. Anyway. In the middle of February 2020, at the busiest time of all, I started to Cross Fit, (after praying for years to God to make me love exercise, I finally found the thing that I can do and enjoy while getting back into shape).

Yes you can laugh. I am just complaining about how hectic February is and then I take on something like that. Is there ever a good time? No there is not. Now you may wonder how I am connecting the dots with this entry. I started with crafts, sang my moan songs about work and this month of Love which I do not love so much and now I am talking about exercise. But wait, you will see…. everything is intertwined in my life.

Back to the crafts. For months I had been dreaming about a Cricut machine. I was torn between the Joy and the Maker. My final decision was the Joy – due to size and price. In February (you see the trend here…?) I decided to make the purchase.

I knew it was the wrong month to make the purchase, because I knew that I would want to craft more than work in this crazy month. I decided to make the purchase from Kelirosh Studio. Her prices were the best (I missed the Takealot specials and could not get to Makro). I have also only heard good things about this online shop and this was enough to convince me to make the purchase there.

The guilt that I experienced after making the purchase was insane. But when the box arrived, it was as if God showed me that it is ok. It is ok to want to have a life, wanting to do things and not only work. On the box, I noticed two Flamingos. Now the whole thing that my blog and ministry revolves around is Flamingos. This is mind blowing and insane – the Flamingos on the box.

Even the posture of the Flamingos on the box were similar to two used in my designs. Immediately I felt as if God was talking to me here. Confirming that it is ok to make this purchase in the month which I consider to be not the best month for me personally.

I realise too, that we are raising a new generation of crafters. I grew up with things like making candles, cards with stamps and embossing powder, little wire trees with gemstones stuck on them, to name only a few. The next generation of crafters involves technology like this little Joy machine. As you can gather, both my children have hi-jacked the machine, fighting over who is going to use it next. Taking the pressure off me to use it so that I can focus on work for now – but when this busy period is over, I am going to jump in and do stuff with it.

A week or so after the purchase of the Joy, I received a phone call from a Mrs. SA semi-finalist, Nicky Kruger, asking if I would like to consider being a sponsor to her for this pageant or competition (not sure how we are supposed to refer to this?). Now this is a longish story of how we “know” each other, but the long and the short is, she is a teacher at a school where I served last year, handing out aprons to students.

I was dumb-struck, overwhelmed and excited all at the same time. My initial response was that it is CRAZY mad at work, I can only answer her mid-March after all my deadlines have been tended to. Of course, curiosity got the better of me, I read through the information she sent me and made up my mind. This is such a wonderful opportunity, I cannot decline.

Now you see, again this is February. Again there seems to be little time to think things through and get things done. I am starting to wonder if God is not pushing me in a direction and allowing all these things to happen in the Month of Love, just so that I can start loving Feb again?

Who knows, but, it seems that big things happen in February. The birth of a child, the need to exercise, the need to craft more and now the sponsorship for a HUGE event like Mrs. SA. I think God is giving back my Joy for the month when I experience it the least.

I just have to love the puns from God. The Joy represented by a physical tangible little machine, literally bringing Joy to those using it. Because is that not how we as humans are? We want to SEE it and KNOW it is there…. and don’t get me wrong – I am not placing my Joy in the Joy, it is just God’s way of talking to me, giving me a tangible reminder of things that I need reminding of.

Posted on by — Leave a comment

The spelling mistake

For 11 days of April, I looked at my desk pad on a daily basis, rather often I must say, missing the spelling mistake. I used it, made notes, drew lines through the dates as the time went on and life was just beautiful and wonderful.

I wondered whether God kept my eyes closed until the day after my birthday, just so that I could enjoy the day before having to deal with this issue. On the 12th of April (the day after my birthday), my eyes see the spelling mistake. It reads Arpil 2022 and not April 2022 like it is supposed to. The world starts spinning around me, I feel how all colour and life is drained from my face, even my mouth starts to dry up.

I sit with my hands in my hair, thinking HOW DID I MISS THIS? Do you know how many times I read through it, reviewed it? I even got two more pairs of eyes to help me check it. And we all missed it!

The next moment it is as if Critique is waiting for me around every corner, like a shady ruthless journalist, trying to expose a scandal. The questions are endless. How could you miss such a big mistake? Are you sure you checked it? What about the people that PAID you for the desk pad? What are you going to tell everyone? Are there not more mistakes in the rest of the year? What about the items that you blessed people with? What are THEY going to think about this?

I try to answer the questions that are fired at me, like shots being fired in a serious war. I dodge, duck and dive so that I am not hurt in the process. I am close to tears, feeling like everything that came from God’s hand to mine is going up in flames.

Of course the devil came and tried to tell me more lies. Like that I did not hear God correctly and clearly about the Pink Feathers range. With that, I was also told that having a blog is actually very stupid. A snotty comment is left by him – Who is interested in reading about your life and experiences?

All the lies were marching around in my mind. At first I kept quiet and did not tell anyone anything. Silently I was praying that NO ONE ELSE saw the spelling mistake. Then I could not hold it in anymore. I had to share it with SOMEONE. Coincidently, a friend of mine (who is also a client) phoned me. We chatted about the work and then I blurted out my mistake. Just like that. Off topic and out of the blue (so typical of how I am).

She laughed and encouraged me in the way that only that red-headed friend of mine can do. A few days later I get the courage to show another person, I even asked my housekeeper if she can see the mistake, showed a cousin on my husband’s side and so it went on. It was hilarious to see everyone’s reactions, because they took it very seriously.

With narrowed eyes they started to read through the page, searching for the error. At first no one saw it. Then I encouraged them, look CLOSELY. It is not in the fine print. Then they see it. Some of them look at me with wide eyes, others laugh, others put their hands over their mouths in unbelief.

But everyone had the same reaction – ARPIL! Some time after I spotted the mistake, I got the courage to show my husband. He too did not see it immediately. Then he saw it, grinned and shook his head in unbelief.

At that point I was still on the route of self-punishment, trying to dodge the shady journalist. What are the people going to think of me? Are they going to tell everyone that my products are of poor quality and then I am going to sit with crates full of stock that I can do nothing with? Those are the thoughts that tried to set up camp in my mind. Somewhere, after sharing the mistake with my husband, I got an idea.

I tell my husband (or did he tell me? I don’t know the difference some days, because our thoughts and words are so intertwined and we just think the same) maybe I should make a competition of the error? Giving away a notebook as a prize? In the passing of each other, we had a conversation and I heard him say That is not a bad idea. I immediately start working on a design for my new campaign on Canva and decide to create two categories for winners – seeing as I told some people of the spelling mistake, not being able to include them in the competition.

Well, the rest is, as they say, history. People shared my post and liked it on Facebook and Instagram. A few other people tagged some people and so the process started. I purposefully stayed off social media, because the first day after starting the competition, I found myself checking what was going on every few minutes.

Then I got frustrated if people do not respond and reacted quick enough, irritation started to kick in when I saw that my post’s reach were not to my satisfaction. Then I feel the gentleness of the Holy Spirit, working on me on the inside, whispering to my spirit. Stop going on to social media the whole time. It steals your time. Focus on your work. I will sort out the rest.

My goodness, after I made this decision, it was a bit tough not to go onto social media, like I did every morning. I just visited my page to post more advertisements about the competition and then I went off again, not looking at reactions or comments at all.

It was such a feeling of freedom to be off social media, I cannot describe it. In my opion, I was not THAT active on Social Media. Or so I thought….I did not post something everyday, I just went to my blog’s page more often than my own page, because this is my method of advertising and spreading God’s word.

But then I started to look at my phone’s statistics about the time spent on what application and then I got a fright. BECAUSE….what I thought was only 5 or 10 minutes, was actually longer….I recon this is a discussion for another day…

Back to the spelling mistake…thankfully God saved me from another mistake. Earlier this year, when I designed new notebooks, I made a BIG OOPS on one of the English notebooks. On the front it read Noteboek and not Notebook. I placed the order with the printers one Friday to start preparing my order.

The Saturday morning, I woke up anxiously with something pressing hard on my heart. There is a spelling mistake on one of my notebooks! I sit up straight, early the morning, around half past five. I reach for my phone, checking the designs (which I had available electronically there too). True as Bob, there is a mistake on the one English notebook. This to me was AMAZING that God showed me exactly where the mistake was, it did not take me long to find it.

None the less, God saved me from a much bigger mistake and OOPS that day, because the outside of a notebook is not something that you use for a month and then tear off and throw away like the pages of a desk pad.

With a very grateful heart I want to close off. No one of us are perfect, we all make mistakes, even mistakes that one pays money for. That is ok. God, once again, took something bad and turned it into something good and beautiful! Congratulations to the winners of the notebooks! May God bless everything that is written in those notebooks, like only He can.

Die spelfout
Posted on by — Leave a comment

The joy…

The joy always comes in the morning. Words that I tell myself often and I think purely it is because someone else said it to me when I was younger. Perhaps my mother? A few years ago I realised that this was from God’s word these words, out of scripture.

This month the scripture is Psalms 30:5 and the essence of that scripture is joy. You see, since 2020 it was as if my joy had been stolen by the enemy. Before then too, but since 2020, it was almost amplified if I can use that word here. More intense.

I know at some stage during 2020 I felt like I JUST WANT TO GO HOME!! and all that, while I was at home the whole time. Did anyone else also feel like that? I felt like I was in a jail of some sort. The sword of uncertainty hanging over our heads the whole time. Which way is this Pandemic going to go? Are we going to fall ill? Are my loved ones going to fall ill? Will I still be able to generate income in spite of the Pandemic?

What is the economy going to look like? The previous Pandemic was followed by the Great Depression. Are we also going to experience something like this in our lifetime? How do we handle this? The questions ran around in my mind, leaving a path of sadness and destruction. Almost like a footpath that has been walked on over and over, where the grass does not want to grow anymore.

Many mornings I struggled to find my joy in 2020 and even in 2021. Everything was just too much at times. It was as if the lack of joy was just there, day in and day out. Did others also feel like this? Or was I the only one? I have been through tough times during the Pandemic. I also know that I am not the only one that struggled during this time.

Something that I do love is, that, when I am at my lowest low, I feel the closest to God. It is as if I can hear His voice more clearly. I still remember one day, where I was sitting in tears, behind my computer, trying to tell and explain to my husband how I feel. I struggled to find the words to explain to him what I was feeling and experiencing inside of me.

The next moment, we hear a song playing on Spotify. It was as if God just placed the words there so that my husband can hear it. Obviously the tears were more as I listened to the song. It felt as if God was speaking to me directly, in an audible verbal form.

I cannot explain how, what or where. But, after that song, my joy came back. It was as if my spirit calmed down, because she knew God sees and hears EVERYTHING. He knows my heart, He knows what makes me happy and sad.

At this present day, I do not enjoy it that much to listen to that song. Probably because I am not at THAT low place anymore. But, when I struggle, feeling worn out, this is the song that I like to play over and over and listen to.

God is so good and wonderful to us as people. May we always remember, when we are on our lowest low, that God is there. It is so true what David wrote about – even when I go through the valley of death, there is God. I am sure I am not quoting the words correctly, but I am sure you understand what I am trying to say here.

I also feel in my spirit that April’s scripture will only have one entry. Purely because it is very simple. Just keep on looking for God in everything, even if you feel you are at your lowest of low level in your life. SEARCH for Him. He is everywhere and if you start searching you will surely find Him. This too is out of scriptures and I can confirm this from my own experience. I choose to listen to God’s voice and to search for Him.

I see the tears sitting on your cheeks. I know you’re tired, fall now to sleep. Stop fighting so hard, it’s time to surrender. Raise your white flag, and always remember. Your heart will feel lighter, everything will be brighter, find peace in knowing that all will be well in the morning….I hear the song’s words play and I think to myself, it is true. Everything will be better in the morning!

Die vreugde…