Threads of the Fabric

 

Somehow the newness of this year is still with us.   After Christmas and New Year there is this feeling of the lull lingering on before the year really starts revving up.  Perhaps it’s that the up-country visitors are still with us, or perhaps its more parking spaces at the mall, but there seems to me to be a reluctance to the start of the new year.

I have been keeping my ear open for a word of encouragement that may cement my year into a theme or a thought to follow through, or that may become a thread of what is to come.  Or perhaps just to note it, so that as the year progresses I am reminded where the year began.

What I have heard is this : joy, newness, adventures, expectations, and just recently intentions.      These are some of the threads that make up the fabric of life.
Threads I just love, as I am sure you do too ?
Sure there may be some glum days ahead, but as my previous post said … ‘Hold that thought’  and I will,  endeavour to hold these fun words, these thoughts, in suspension till I encounter them throughout the coming year.

Dr Mark Chironna, one of my favourite preachers, spoke on 1 Corinthians 13:13, which says
And now abide Faith Hope, Love,  these three;  but the greatest of these is Love.

He paralleled ‘these three’ like this :
Faith  is  anticipation
Hope is expectation
Love is intentional
Of course he expanded greatly on this.   He went wide and deep, and brought much insight to this favourite Scripture.

I gave it some reflection, and thought that it would dovetail beautifully into my new year.
These three threads – all forward-looking components, are good strands for happiness and for good mental health.

Choose Faith,   and apply a mind-set of anticipation.
Choose  Hope,  and apply  purposeful expectation.
Choose Love,  and be intentional in giving it away.

Why not weave these threads into the fabric of 2019,  and make it into something  colourful and memorable.

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OFF TO THE MARKET PLACE

December 2015

Building an entrepreneurial enterprise is a very slow business indeed.   I suppose something like eating an elephant, you have to do it bite by bite !
Look out for the opportunities that come your way, and always be ready to go off to the market place.
The Christmas season is a time for giving gifts and sharing love, and that is why there are many craft markets being held all over the country.    And I suspect it is also a sign of the times we live in, as  many are seeking to make ends meet with their creative talents and innovative ideas.

CareSA Designs found itself at two markets.  One, the Hope Christmas Market, organised by Soul Action here in Durban.  It is rather a unique market in that its aim is to give opportunity to  Non-profit organisations, Community projects and individual entrepreneurs to show and sell their products to empower people economically.  This year’s theme was  “Buy and Uplift.”  And the Buyers did just that, and made the market very successful.      Here is a picture of the CareSA Designs trading table.

CareSA Designs at the Hope Christmas Market

The other market was the five-day KZN Christmas Craft Market Festival, held in the lovely setting of Hillcrest.  Much preparation was needed for this event, as vendors were provided with printed bar codes, and each and every item had to be individually priced.  With five days of marketing, more stock was needed, so I have been very busy indeed preparing for this amazing opportunity that came my way.

CareSA  Designs  at the KZN  Christmas Craft Market Festival  

And here are some pictures of CareSA Designs new creations, with a graphic message tag, to stir up people to be pro-active in making the new South Africa  work   viz. Kids of Africa, and Love SA.

Medium Purses

Mini Purses

Flower Alice Bands

Kiddies Sling bags

I suppose it was a kindred spirit, who wants to see  the new South Africa work out well, and had two posters made with these words on the road poles: It won’t work ….. and a few metres away the other with: Until you do. We can all make South Africa work !  We can all do something positive.

I have to keep reminding myself that although the rewards for all my hard work may be small, I am colouring in the blocks of a much larger picture, and that persistance, and consistancy will bring the greater reward;  and to ever keep in mind  Matthew 13:31,32
Another parable He put forth to them, saying  “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field, which is indeed the least of all the seeds; but when it is grown it is greater than the herbs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and nest in its branches.”

So then, to continue to work on in Faith Hope and Love, these three.