I am a Fire Starter

I love Jesus. I love the woman I can become because of the love He has shone... I'm winding down from a ninety to nothing sort of week, calmly reveling in what He is doing in my life. And I just wanted to share some new thoughts, share the gifts. Freedom. Joy. PASSION. Excitement. Peace. He has given me all I have ever wanted... I love that the Lord does not know limits. It is very important that we understand His bank account never runs out, His Spirit doesn't just satisfy but it actually is MORE. More than we can keep to ourselves and so much more than we thought we could possibly have in Him.

This week I am particularly pumped about a couple things. I LOVE what He is teaching me concerning the artist community! I never thought I would be one of those major advocate chicks... I don't mean any sort of negative connotation by that, I just never thought I would be so passionate about something I get on my microphone and monologue to the world! But what is particularly running through my mind is the difference between buying local handmade goods versus factory made imports. Like, ya'll... I am an artist, and trying to make a living exclusively from my craft has been challenging. Many people don't understand the amount of time it takes to make something unless they themselves have made it... Or the cost of supplies, or the percent of profit that different venues that sell your goods. I say all this to take you behind the scenes of your market. When you purchase a product from an artisan, you are supporting an individual's passions (their joy! to create); ultimately you are influencing someone's life journey. You are INVESTING in a person and what they stand for. In contrast, when buying mass produced commercial goods, the relationship between you and the producer is almost completely lost. Sadly, many of the items that we buy in stores are made by underpaid employees abroad. Although I am not the most educated (although I have some champion friends that fight against it) about modern day slavery, I know that SEVERAL major corporations use slave labor... It's become such a "diluted" problem that we aren't even aware of it in our culture... Sure, those foreign imports are 1/3 of the price... But trust me- for good reason I have become an advocate of owning fewer items, of higher quality, that are made by artists. Yes, I am becoming an Etsy junky. PLUS, I love that handmade items are NOT mass produced! Yes! You may have found the only necklace in the world with those stones, arranged in that design. YES! You are one of a kind, why not reflect your individuality and rarity with your exclusive goods? In all seriousness!
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Let your fire out. You have a fire because it was given to you by your Father in heaven. He will keep it kindled, and in Him it will never burn out. The Creator of the world is 110% FOR your passions. Success is your inheritance. 

What are you waiting for?