I have many crafty friends. I don’t mean crafty as in sly or manipulative, I mean crafty as in they make creative and cute projects like Martha Stewart would do. I wish I were more crafty. In high school I took home economics. We were required to make stuffed animal pillows. One of the football players in my class finished my shark pillow so I wouldn’t fail the project. That’s not a bit embarrassing.

I even have friends who have set up their own little shops on Etsy to sell their crafts. (Is it just me or does anyone else get “The Itsy Bitsy Spider” song stuck in his/her head every time he/she hears the word “Etsy”?) I don’t even know what “Etsy means, but I do know that it’s a fabulous place to find amazing handmade stuff. Let me introduce you to three four of my friends who have Etsy shops. (UPDATED: When I first wrote this post I only remembered that three friends had Etsy shops, but while I was mostly absent from the blog world a few weeks ago, another friend entered the world of Etsy! I want you to know about her shop, too! And having FOUR Etsy shop friends on the FOURTH day of the FIESTA of FABULOUS FORTY-NESS is such FANTASTIC and FORTUITOUS alliteration that I could FAINT from the FUN!)

Renae is a friend from college who makes the cutest personalized buckets, bags, bibs, and the like. She even has a few of those vinyl stickers that everyone’s using on their walls these days. Her Etsy shop is called “Tree Frog Creations.” Click on the name of the shop and you can see her stuff. I see some great teacher gift ideas in there.

Kellie is a friend I’ve made through blogging. Her blog, La Vida Dulce, was one of the first blogs I started reading. She lives near CarpoolQueen so the three of us had the chance to go to dinner during a visit to N.C. this year. Kellie is a precious, gracious friend and with her new embroidery machine, Clinton (yes, it has a name), she makes the most beautiful aprons, bags, tool belts, pencil holders, and apparently even scarves! Kellie’s Etsy shop is La Vida Dulce Sweet Shop by Coffeegal. Oh, look! I even see some Christmas towels!

Tanya is a friend who lives completely in my computer. We’ve never met or even talked on the phone. I found her blog through Kellie and CPQ (I think). She’s a writer and freelance editor. She writes for several blogs. If you go to her primary blog, In the Dailies, and look on the right-hand side, you can see her other blogs. Her Etsy shop combines two of my favorite things: books and accessories. She makes the cutest book purses you’ve ever seen. The purses are made from actual books, but bibliophiles, don’t faint! The insides of the book are rebound and preserved. If you want, you can even purchase the rebound book! You can read all the details at Tanya’s Etsy store, Zaties.

Becca is another completely-in-my-computer friend. Becca and her husband have an amazing ministry in inner-city Atlanta. They have the most adorable just-turned-one little girl. Becca’s blog, The Stanley Clan, is about their precious little family and their ministry. I have fallen in love with sweet Becca and am so impressed by the depth and wisdom I see in her. I keep sending friends who have a passion for ministry to her blog because I just know they’ll be inspired and encouraged by her. Becca’s Etsy shop is called BG Doodles and Designs (I think she and one of her friends do the shop together, if I’m remembering correctly.) Becca has precious hair bows, hand painted items, handmade stationery, precious little girls’ dresses…it’s a smorgasbord of good stuff!

So, for today’s present I am offering you $5 to spend in each of these three four Etsy shops.  I will PayPal each of these lovely ladies $5 and will make sure to tell them the winner’s name so that he or she can receive a $5 discount.  All of these crafty friends have individually encouraged me and prayed for me this year. As pretty as their handiwork is, their hearts are even more beautiful.  I would be thrilled to send some business to their stores. So take some time to wander around their stores and pick out what you’re going to buy if you win today’s birthday present.

Even though the weekend is here, the party isn’t going to stop! I’ll have a birthday gift post on Saturday and one more on Sunday. Winners will be announced on Monday. If you didn’t get a chance to enter one of the earlier giveaways, feel free!

We have snow in our forecast (!!!!) so I’m off to make hot chocolate and spiced tea mixes. I may not know how to sew, but I make a tasty hot chocolate mix. (Both mixes make great little Christmas searcy gifts, by the way!) Hope you’re safe, warm, and comfortable today!

Speaking of friends, CarpoolQueen was here last night. She and her boys were driving through on the way to her parents’ house. It was a quick trip, but as always, a good one. The time went by too fast, but it always seems to speed up when we’re together. We drank Starbucks–she didn’t even have to win a gift card! Come on over, and I’ll give you the same treatment—and ate white fudge-covered Oreos and winter Oreos (the snowman ones with the red centers). Then we had to temper the sweet taste with handfuls of Fritos. In between bites we talked about everything and nothing. It was a good visit.

However, I was too busy visiting and didn’t get a post ready for this morning. It’s been a busy day, but I’m home now and I’m ready to give away the latest CD by Steven Curtis Chapman.  I think many of you are familiar with Steven and probably know about the tragic death of his daughter in May 2008. (If you are unfamiliar with the story, CNN did an interview with him in November and you can read it here.) I downloaded his CD, “Beauty Will Rise,” the first day it was available on iTunes. The day after I downloaded it I spent most of my waking hours in my vehicle and most of that time I spent by myself. I listened to the CD and wondered how in the world Steven Curtis Chapman had gained access to my brain.  At one point as I was driving, I turned into an empty parking lot and just sat and listened. Steven Curtis Chapman was singing the songs in my heart that I hadn’t known how to write.

Look at these lyrics from the song “Questions”:

Who are You, God?

‘Cause You are turning out to be so much different than I imagined.

And where are You, God?

‘Cause I’m finding life to be so much harder than I had planned.

You know that I’m afraid to ask these questions

But You know they are there

And if You know my heart the way that I believe You do,

You know that I believe in You

But still I have these questions.

This is not a CD with trite, pat, “smile, because it’s all good with Jesus” lyrics. Don’t misunderstand me. This CD is full of praise and every song on it gives glory to God, but every song on it was obviously written from a place of extreme pain and brokenness. Instead of masking his hurt or keeping his struggles to himself, Steven Curtis Chapman wrote twelve of the most brutally honest, painfully beautiful, raw and real songs I’ve ever heard. And I am so grateful. Sometimes it’s hard to find the words to voice the devastation of grief. I applaud and admire Steven for digging deep to find the most perfectly fitting words and then pairing them with just the right music. I am certain this CD will provide comfort and will even be a catalyst for healing for many.

I’ve never lost a child. I don’t know what that feels like. I do know what it feels like when a parent dies. I am sure that in many ways my pain is very different from Steven’s. But apparently, grief is a universal language, because his heartfelt expressions mirrored my own feelings. This song, in particular, means a lot to me now:

So here’s what I want to do today. I want to give you a copy of “Beauty Will Rise.” Here’s what I want you to do. I want you to give it to a friend who is hurting. You don’t necessarily have to give it to someone who is separated from someone they love by death, although several of the songs speak to that particular kind of loss. Many of the songs on this CD would be helpful to anyone who has a broken heart or is struggling for any reason. And maybe you need to keep the CD for yourself. I would venture to guess that many of you have a deep-seated hurt. You may not have even told anyone about your pain. I would love to give this CD to you in the hopes that it would give voice to your feelings and even turn your heart back towards the only One who can heal it. So, if you win, you don’t have to tell me what you’re going to do with it. I trust you.

Today in the comments, I’d like to know if there is a song or songs that meant a lot to you during a hard time. If you don’t have one or if that’s too hard, or if heavy posts like this make you itchy, you can tell me what Christmas song you would rather not ever hear again. I’ll go first on that one. If I never ever hear “I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas” ever, ever again, I will not be even one tear-drop sad. In honor of having almost twice as many words as Mr. Hyatt says a good blog post should have, feel free to answer both questions of you like.

*In case you’re new to the party, MGO stands for My Grief Observed. It denotes any post that relates to the journey through grief that I’m currently traveling.

]]> http://snoodlings.com/2009/12/03/okay-now-fiesta-of-fabulous-forty-ness-day-three-steven-curtis-chapmans-latest-cd-warning-contains-mgo/feed/ 23 whimzie