Treasured Creations

For Such a Time as This.......It seems as if I have been preparing for this day like forever. For many years now I have had people ask me about doing albums for them, or to teach a class. I have even had people tell me to submit my work to magazines for publication . I just have not had the confidence to step out there and give it a try. But now there are circumstances beyond my control that are urging me to move forward with a few goals. It may take me a while, and I may not succeed. But I keep recalling how many times I have told my children that if at first you don't succeed to just try and try again. So here I am Lord, stepping out in faith believing ( and speaking it out loud ) that you do have a plan and purpose for my life. I am also believing that you have a plan and purpose for Marc's life now that he has lost his job. Many months ago you placed on my heart to share my testimony with others through my scrapbooks. At first I thought that meant just share my scrapbooks and show others how to do it for themselves. From that emerged the desire to learn more about this love of mine. Which had become more of a obsession ( even more so at times then my love for Disney ). From this emerged "Treasured Creations" ( which happened to be a name that was placed in my heart a while ago....as far back as my beginning days as a CMC). Then once I started TC I started thinking of ways to apply the principles I believed in ( spiritually ) as it related to scrapping. I know first hand how important it is to create a visual image of my family's life. The problem I found is that a large number of African American women especially dismiss this craft in part because they think of it as only something our Caucasian sisters "dabble" in. Thankfully that is one thing I see changing in this industry called scrapbooking. There are many women of color who are embracing this special art and it is starting to show in the magazines. Secondly I think we tend to forget the importance of our family legacy in the midst of our daily hustle and bustle. I am just now starting to realize how important it is to know about your ancestors and to pass that legacy on to your children. So many of my relatives have passed on and we missed the opportunity to hear their stories. Scrapbooks offer a way to document the everyday extra ordinary events in your life so that they can be passed down through the generations. Thirdly if I am to believe that God placed me here on earth for a purpose then I must also believe that if I keep my mind stayed on him and what His true purpose for my life is then when I step out on that faith ...even in the world of scrapbooks, that he will provide what I need , when I need it in the way that I need it. So having said all of this...I am stepping out and my goal is to share my love of scrapping with those around me through teaching ( classes ), sharing ( by submitting my work ), and making ( handcrafted albums for hire ). So remember this saying :

Passion= Purpose=Opportunity !

I can't say what it will mean to you , but for me it means my Passion for Christ=a Purpose for my life=an Opportunity to share my testimony. And who knows, maybe one day you might be sitting in my class and hear it ( or see it on a t-shirt ). That's just how much faith I have in God !