This morning I had the opportunity to listen to the morning show with Lisa & Eric on KLOVE and heard them talking about how we are made to crave God.  We are made with a desire to learn more of Him and to connect spiritually to our Maker.  I thought this was a great insight and took a mental note to check their website to learn more. 

Lysa TerKeurst wrote a book called, Made to Crave, which is about satisfying our deepest desire with God, not food.  I wasn’t necessarily interested in the part about food, but rather the idea of trying to fulfill any desire with anything other than God.  On the Lisa & Eric show they are talking about this topic and the book throughout the month of January.  I found so many amazing insights and quotes that I want to share the following two quotes.

“God made us capable of craving so we’d have an unquenchable desire for more of Him, and Him alone. Nothing changes until we make the choice to redirect our misguided cravings to the only One capable of satisfying them.”

“Are cravings a curse or a blessing?  The answer to that depends on what we’re craving.  And what we’re craving will always depend on whatever we’re consuming…either the object of our desire or God and His truth.”

I had a personal experience the other day that really hit this last thought home to me.  “Desperation breeds defeat.”  However, God has promised us that we will not be tried more than we can bear and with Christ we can rise above all temptations. (1 Cor. 10:13) I love this thought because the other day I was feeling a lot of desperation and instead of turning to God and rising above the moment, I did something that in the end didn’t bring me closer to God.  I’m grateful for the experience because I learned a lot about myself.  I’m learning what the scriptures say that God provides an escape for us in order to bear our trials.  For this truth I am so grateful!!

If you haven’t downloaded the free song by Jason Gray, you still have a chance to do it before January 17th.  Click here to get it free on iTunes.  

I just heard this song on KLOVE today and found out that www.klove.com is offering a free download of this song on iTunes until 1/17/2011.  Go get your free download today!  I love this song and feels it describes perfectly what i've been going through the past two weeks. 

I absolutely love the last part of this song that says:
Forgiven, beloved, Hidden in Christ
Made in the image of the Giver of Life
Righteous and holy, reborn and remade
Accepted and worthy, this is our new name
This is who we are now

A lot of things have happened to me this past year.  I have been blessed with great friends and family who have been extremely supportive of me and for that I am eternally grateful.  I know I couldn’t have accomplished all I did this last year without all those in my life who have believed in me and encouraged me to go for my dreams.  Being the entrepreneurial type 3 woman that I am I began 2010 with a mission to sell my handmade greeting cards on www.pureexpressions.etsy.com.  I spent the majority of the year creating my card sets, learning how Etsy works, taking better pictures, relisting my products, and preparing for my first boutique!  I had a lot of fun and learned a lot during this time. 

Another big goal for me this year was to learn more about herbs and how to make remedies for my family.  I was blessed to take a few online courses and purchase some books to get me on my way and soon enough my kitchen started to get crowded with my creations.  As I was making remedies for my family others began to be interested and friends starting asking me when I was going to start selling my herbal stuff!  I knew this was an avenue I was really enjoying but didn’t know how exactly to turn that into a business.  

Well, fast-forward to October when I completed my first boutique selling my cards.  I was invited to a local boutique to sell my herbal creations, not my cards.  Well, I didn’t have a product line in place yet, but I prayed for help that if this was an avenue I should pursue, the means would be provided to me.  To make a long story short, I was blessed beyond measure and every time I thought I “ran out” of money, more showed up.  Every time I needed an ingredient I was able to purchase it and after about a month and a half of work I created a product line called Divine Remedies.  Every step of this new business fell right into place without me “trying” to make it happen. 

I’ve had a lot of realizations these past couple months.  First of all, although I love stamping and paper crafting, I wasn’t getting very many sales in my Etsy shop or the other avenues I had pursued.  I was willing to keep at it but really it was a lot of work and a lot of time was spent to create one item.  Definitely not the best use of time for a single mom who can only do so much in one day!  Secondly, I realized as soon as I started making my herbal remedies that I could make a lot more product in a lot less time – talk about practical and efficient – qualities that are important to me.  Lastly, I realized that I wasn’t even really trying to sell my products yet and I already had paying customers ready to purchase my products! 

So, as sad as it is for me, I am announcing the closing of http://www.pureexpressions.etsy.com  In order to make room for my new product line I am offering a 40% discount on all products in my shop.   Simply use code thanks at check out and it will deducted from your entire purchase.  This discount is for everyone who is a reader on my blog and friends.  Please feel free to pass this on to anyone you think may be interested.  I don’t have a specific date I’m shutting my shop for good, so place your order today!