In other "crafting" news....

I still need to finish the curtains for the apartment.  Now that World Cup is almost over, that will become a priority.

 

BUT….I am considering joining the quilting club.  Don’t laugh!  I am not a big fan of quilts.  I think they are a bit tacky.  BUT….my friend (Yes, Jessie) knows how to make clothes and curtains and quilts….and the things she makes are much more modern.  I figure, why not, right??  It’s not like I HAVE to quilt when I return to the States.  AND…we are lacking in “things to do” around here.

 

Jessie was in Alatau for the past 6 weeks.  While she was there, we sent a few e-mails back and forth.  She is from New York, so she “gets” my sense of humor.  AND, she was an accountant before she became a Bible translator.  Basically, she is living proof that someone with an accounting mind (like me) can turn artsy…..there is hope!

 

Here is a line of thought she helped me think through while she was away.  I would love your opinions, too!

 

Me: Oh…and you are totally going to be jealous.  But, I spent Friday morning making corsages and boutonnieres.  And you know what, they turned out really nice (if I do say so myself).  I can’t get over how I am an accountant, not an artist….but you are living proof that I can become somewhat trendy with fabric and style and what-not! =0)

 

Jessie: I AM so jealous of you corsage and boutonniere making.  Of course you did a good job!  I think sometimes people/ourselves put people in boxes and make us think that  if we are an accountant that we can’t possibly be artistic too.  But God made us all so complex and versatile .  He is creative and artistic and since we are all made in His image we are all creative and artistic too,  maybe that side of us is underdeveloped or in a different way/area than what we think of as traditional art, but it’s there.  J

 

Me: I am totally quoting you in my blog.  I looked at Caleb the other day and asked, “Do you think that I am completely changing who I was before?”  Does that mean I didn’t like “me?”  But, I do feel like I have a freedom here to mess us and not have any regrets….if something I make is bad (curtains, food, corsage), at least I didn’t waste money because a better version was available at the store…do you see where I am going with this? Anyway, thanks for putting into words what I have been wrestling with. 

 

Jessie: I totally know what you mean about having the freedom to mess up.  It is so freeing!!  I would never have tried to do/make some of the things that I have done here, back home.  Like homemade bread, tortillas, or tortellinies.  I would have felt that it would have been such a frivolous waste if they did not come out.  But instead it has been so much fun!

 

It is perfectly Ok to change.  In fact it is essential.  We, hopefully, are always changing throughout our life.  It is not necessarily that we did not like who we are/were, but it is just part of our life experiences.  All of our experiences effect us and change us in some way.  Some in bigger ways than others.  It just means we are growing as a person.  There is nothing wrong with having been a certain person or a slightly different person or a very different person from who you are now. In fact you had to be that person at some point in order to become the person you are now.

 

Ok, so enough preaching on my part.  I am so glad that you are changing and discovering the person and the qualities that God designed and created in you.  How boring it would be to be the same old person all the time for the rest of your life. 

 

Any comments on what I have been wrestling with lately?  Do you think that me “trying” all these new things, I am becoming a different person or worse yet, that I didn’t like who I was before I came here?

 

Also, here are a few pictures of a quilt Jessie made.  See….quilting can be cool!