I'll get to the donuts in a minute…
First of all, I realize it's been a while since I've last written. I've been insanely busy trying to get my craft business off the ground. My plan was to get a booth at the Honey Festival (one of the approximately 1,000,000 festivals/fairs in West Virginia. These people love to celebrate anything and everything!) Alas, I didn't have enough product in time. If I were to be truly honest, I knew that was going to happen. The real reason I signed up was to motivate myself to take action. I tend to leave ideas on the back burner. I was determined that starting my own business was not going to be one of them. I didn't get enough product done to do a craft fair, but I did have enough to start up my Etsy shop! Take a look.
Right now, the shop consists of just earrings and a few brooches, but I have grand plans for home decor, children's stuff, and a possible bridal collection, as well. The biggest challenge in starting my shop has been accepting that my shop identity (or lack thereof) doesn't look professional. Let's be real--I have no graphic design tools or know-how. Eventually, I plan to pay someone to do my branding. In the meantime, I'm doing the best I can. And I'm ok with that. Really.
My shop announcement is the perfect way to kick off a weekly blog post idea inspired by last Sunday's sermon. The message was built around the familiar passage:
"Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things" Philippians 4:8
The pastor addressed meditating on things that are true, noble, etc., instead of letting our minds be enslaved with worry. I am a chronic worrier. I just view every choice and action as having serious and lasting consequences, which sends me into a panic attack. But, that is definitely not what God wants for me or any of His children. He died to give me freedom, not bondage. I am a daughter of the King, and as such, I have been promised that I will be okay. So, I am actively trying to focus on "Philippians 4:8 things", and I'm sharing them with my readers. I'm starting "Whatever Is…Wednesdays" because positivity and alliteration are two of my favorite things. (Yes, I realize today is Thursday. I was busy being awesome and opening my shop, yesterday:) )
So, back to the donuts for another "Philippians 4:8 thing." For the past 3 weeks, I've been working at a bakery in Ohio. I thought I was going to be icing donuts, learning to decorate cakes, and making cookies. Wrong. I make about 2,000 pieces of bread 4 out of 5 working days. Sound boring? It is. However, I have met some really great people in the process. The bakery supplies 6 other stores, but only employs 4 people to do the baking. As with most small operations, it always has the feel that it is one disaster away from oblivion. Well, today when I walked in, people were shouting and running--obviously, not a good sign. I asked one of my co-workers what was going on, he simply said, "Donut Disaster" and then chuckled. I later learned that this disaster was the result of several events. Last night, one member of the donut crew was unexpectedly unavailable to work his shift. The other two members got in a fight and left the bakery. One guy returned to finish the donuts, but the conveyor belts broke. All of this resulted in the bakery being 600 donuts in the hole (little donut humor for ya). So, between baking the day's bread, cookies, and muffins, we were also making, frying, and filling donuts. Everyone was seriously stressed, but my co-worker managed to laugh about it. If that's not "praiseworthy," I don't know what is.
I'm going to be so much better about this regular blogging thing, I promise. Be sure to check out my shop before you go!
