People Often Wonder

Sean and I at Atlanta Mart - Jan. 2009

People often wonder about my life as an artist.  Well it's really a good story.  Here is the short version.  Well, sort of.  When Sean and I first got married, I was making and painting ceramic gifts with my whimsical designs.  I was selling them anywhere I could!  Online, One of a Kind - a local shop, and yes, we even ventured off to some good ole craft shows.  We'd set up a tent and there I would sit in the dust and the heat, peddling my wares in hopes of paying the mortgage.. and maybe even buying a week's worth of groceries.  There were a couple of 4th of July shows in St. Simons where I was 6 or so months along with child.  I sat there, in all of my glory, eating peach sno cones with a plastic spoon. When the baby came, we even joked about setting up a Pack N Play in the dirt and heat of "the show".. but thank goodness the grandparents came through to rescue little Zoe and take her to the pool and beach to have lots of SSI fun.  Our family friend Gerry Egger always volunteered a day or two to come sit with me.  We would laugh and joke at the passerby and their odd requests and questions.  As depressing as it sounds, don't get me wrong.  I was grateful.   We had fun.  It's those days that shaped us, molded us, made us who we are today.  I know those days affected me, because to this day, when I go back to those moments, I get a lump in my throat and tears in my eyes.. It's those days that taught us to trust.

Ladies perusing the tent :)

Some of my wares..

Take this day for example.  It was getting close to our annual beach trip with Sean's family and there was an art show on the streets of Brunswick.  So I packed up little Zoe and headed down to SSI.  The week before we left, I worked really hard.  I filled current orders, and I made as many little things as I could to sell.. Plates and Platters, crosses, onesies, tea towels, and tiles.. with little bible verses on them. I always threw it all together in boxes without the finishing touches.  We would get to SSI around 10 pm and after unpacking, I would always sit up way past midnight putting all the finishing touches on.. like the beads, wire, ribbon, and if those shoppers were lucky, maybe a few price tags!  The morning of the sale I was always exhausted.  Cuts on my hands from beading.. and a cup of coffee in my hand we'd load up the ole SUV, me and dad.. That day, after we'd set up the EZ up tent on the concrete streets of Brunswick it was all of 8:45 am.  It was a windy day.  I set up tables, arranged my wares, and tied tiles to shutters hanging on the posts of the tent.  They said things like "In Him the Islands will put their hope"  This is not an exact picture of what they looked like that day, but just so you get the idea...

Mom and Dad packed up Zoe and headed back home, leaving me to man the booth.  It was a slow day.  By 11am, I'd say I had made about $60 and some change.  That's when a great gust of wind blew over my tent.. No one else's on the street.  Just mine.  And all the platters and plates and crosses and bible verse imprinted tiles crashed in hundreds of pieces on the street all around me.  People were aghast.  They felt sorry for me.. really really sorry. 

But I didn't cry.  I don't know why.  I guess somewhere deep inside of me I knew that I was not really depending on the sales of that day to bring me through.. to meet my needs.  In my heart of hearts, I knew that I was depending on Him.  It made me need Him more.  I was desperate and I knew that He had to show up or else I was sunk.  It's days like that that taught me to trust that He was for my good.  I grabbed a broom and began to sweep those concrete streets of Brunswick.  

So often when I meet people who don't really know me, or whom I've never met, they say things like.. "OMG... you're famous"... or "Don't you know, you are a local celebrity?".. Well let me just say that when I hear things like that I have to try really really hard not to laugh out loud!  What they don't realize is that at any given moment, on any particular day, that is about the farthest thing from my mind.  They see the Glory.. the success of my art work. What they don't see is the dirty dishes that are piled up so high in the sink that sometimes when people come over, I zip them up into giant trader joes cooler bags and toss them in the garage because I have not the time or the energy to wash them. What they don't see is my failures, my mistakes, and this girl down on her knees prayin' that she can be the momma and wife she was created to be. What many don't realize is that the fact Glory Haus is the wonderful blessing that it is can only be by the Grace of God. 

Again, tears. 

Molly's original vision statement, July 2008

I am completely humbled and blessed to be a part of Glory Haus.  Molly and all of the people there have blessed me beyond belief.  Those people are amazing.  To anyone who has ever had a hand in selflessly offering their time or efforts to encourage and spur me along, I will be eternally grateful.  From the beginning of her journey to start the company, Molly has journaled all about God's goodness and the way He has brought this gift to a reality.  And that is exactly what it is.. a gift.  It's a dream come true.  But this girls dreams don't dare stop here.  I dream of a life lived fully for kingdom purposes.  When I am not painting my heart out for the masses, I want to be fully engaged in an effort to advance the kingdom. I want to feed the hungry, speak the love of a heavenly father into children, and bring hope in dark and despairing places.  

Painting my little heart out.. or "Being an Artist" is not who I am.. It's simply what I do.  Having a career as a woman doesn't mean that I've arrived.  It certainly isn't easy.  It doesn't mean that I have all of my needs met all the time and never have to worry another day in my life. There are constant struggles to balance work and home.  There are bills, there are taxes, for cryin' out loud.  I can't possibly meet all the demands and expectations that the world lays on me from day to day.  The wind comes, and knocks over the tent, and all the pieces fall to the ground.  Again and again.   I want so badly to do everything well.  But I cannot do so in my own strength.  I need Jesus.  Every. Single. Day.  I don't want to ever depend on my career to meet my needs, or give me all the material things I've ever dreamed of.  I don't want to seek after a life of comfort or live for selfish gain. I want to depend on every word that comes from the mouth of God, every morsel of manna that comes my way each morning.  I don't want to give up, sell out, or get comfortable.  I want to live a life worthy of the calling.  This is my heart.  This is who I am.

Me painting a Tennessee frame between nursing our 3rd child... No makeup. Probably not showered that day either.

"For we are His handiwork.. created in Christ Jesus for the deeds He designed in advance for us to do" Eph 2:10

What had He fashioned you to do?