Dear Friends,
Happy Mother’s Day, a little late!
However, I am not late because I am flaky. (At least not this time.) I wanted to share my Mother’s Day gifts for my Mom, and due to living four hours apart, we were unable to get together until last weekend. (Okay, I know last weekend was four days ago. More about that later.) Had I shared it with you before Mother’s Day, she would not have been surprised.
However, I am not late because I am flaky. (At least not this time.) I wanted to share my Mother’s Day gifts for my Mom, and due to living four hours apart, we were unable to get together until last weekend. (Okay, I know last weekend was four days ago. More about that later.) Had I shared it with you before Mother’s Day, she would not have been surprised.
I made one of my Mom’s two gifts this year. It was a “Daily Encouragement Jar” compiled from the list of quotes, Bible verses, and notes-to-myself that I have accumulated these last few years. I use two of these each day to accompany the date in my digital journal, so everyday I can start with some heartening words.
How To Make a Daily Encouragement Jar
To make this gift, I took a recycled jar and created a label for it and a circle label to cover the lid (using the same clip art I am using for today’s graphic, from—as my so often graphic resources are—The Graphics Fairy. (I just love vintage graphics!). I glued these onto the jar using regular old liquid glue and held it in place with large rubber bands until dry. Then, using my glue gun, I attached a bow made of translucent ribbon (another love of mine) right at the base of the bouquet in the image.
Next, I printed out my list of texts. As I sat down to cut them into individual slips, I realized I had WAY TOO MANY, so I decided to only include ones no longer than three lines. (I also decided not to roll them up into little pellets—like a daily vitamin—because I realized it would take forever, and even less of them would fit in the jar.)
What were some of the “encouragements”?
Here’s two from the scripture list:
I will be your God throughout your lifetime—until your hair is white with age. I made you, and I will care for you. I will carry you along and save you.
Isaiah 46:4
(I fell in love with this verse when, early in my cancer journey, I discovered, much to my surprise, that I was turning 60! In all the flurry of medical necessities, I had forgotten about my own birthday.)
In all things God works for the good of those who love him….
Romans 8:28 NIV
(My youngest son chose this for his “life verse” when he was a kid. I liked it so much, I adopted it for myself.)
Here’s two from the quote list:
We’re all students of someone or something. We learn and grow by staying curious, humble, and pushing through against great odds…regardless of our age or stage of life. Allen Arnold
Allen Arnold
(Arnold maintains a highly inspirational blog to encourage anyone with a creative calling.)
Please, repeat these words after me, ‘”It is not my job to run the world.’“In the long run, we will do more by doing less.”
Max Lucado [Lucado puts out a daily devotional and also blogs]
(Among other things, I am a mother, an eldest sibling, and a recovering “overachiever.” I still need a lot of reminding that it is not my job to manage everything and everyone around me.)
And here’s two from my own Notes-to-Myself:
Present, not perfect.
(This one kind of goes with the previous one. I am also a recovering perfectionist. I need to keep reminding myself to savor my days and not stress over doing everything, and doing it all perfectly—especially when my energy for “doing” is so limited, as it has been since my treatment.)
You need to respect the rhythm—activity, rest, activity rest… Not, activity, activity, activity, activity, crash for days on end.
(Okay, this one is my newest. It didn’t make the jar; I just wrote it yesterday. It may not be so poetic, but it is a necessary reminder. After celebrating my birthday early last week, making Mom’s gift, getting together at a family bar-b-que Saturday, and foolishly, but pleasantly, going erranding with my husband on Sunday, I found myself completely wiped out on Monday, more wiped out on Tuesday, and even more wiped out on Wednesday. I had forgotten the cardinal rule for all people who live with chronic illness—pace yourself!)
There were more goodies in the jar about the joys of reading, writing, and learning, the necessity of self-care (and how I have to keep reminding myself that is not “selfishness”), my delight in beauty, the power of friendship, the soul sustaining value of creativity, and on and on. That jar was stuffed!
The Other Gift
Mom’s other gift was a book that came out in December, but which I could not get until after Christmas, so, “Hello second Mother’s Day gift.” It is a volume of poetry, The Swallow’s Nest” in which I have three poems published–“Summer,” “Be a Lilly,” and “My Mother’s Hands.”
I love my mom!
“The Swallows Nest” is a publication of The Oregon Christian Writers Association and can be purchased here.
Your Turn!
What did you give, or receive, for Mother’s Day that was particularly meaningful.
Have you made gifts for loved ones lately? Any homemade gift ideas you would like to share in the comments section? If you were inspired by a website or blog, please add the link for those of us interested in checking it out.
Thanks for your patience with my, still, non-existent blogging schedule. Please be assured, although I have not figured out how to operate on a schedule, you are often in my heart and prayers!
Your Friend,
Debby
P.S. Happy Birthday Jan and Pat!
P.S.S. I realize I should have taken a picture of the finished jar before I gave it to Mom. She’s a fabulous photographer. I’ll ask her to take a picture and post it when I get it.