Passing down the Art of Collecting....

*Top Picture: A collection of some of the gifts students from my Children's choir gave me, my mothers old grease can, and old game pieces that I could not throw away from the Lake Rabun house when I cleaned it years ago. I use old boxes, coca-cola (Living in Ga. it has to be Coke)crates, cheese crates, etc. to hang on the walls for my shelves.

*Bottom Picture: A few of my medicine tins, toiletry items, a picture I made using sticks, pebbles and a quote from the book I Dare You, my son's GI Joe lunchbox from school, lumber truck from one of our suppliers, pictures of my PAPA, jars with marbles and umbrella's, and you can try and guess what the white thing is used for!!! Hint~ This is in one of my bathrooms and YOU don't have to use this item!

Whitney returned from Auburn University this week with a car loaded down of everything from clothes (mostly dirty) to art supplies. This is truly the first time since she started school two years ago that I think she really was ready to come home for a break! It was late and I was hoping that unloading the car could and would wait until tomorrow. But Whit had some treasures in her car. A couple of boxes of bottles that her boss from "JAVA JO'z" gave her. She could not wait to rip into them. As she did, I sat there and remembered when I was about four years younger than her, my obsession with collecting began and it also was with BOTTLES! As she pulled out each one, she would hold it to the light and you could she her mind racing with all the ideas that she had for this bottle and that bottle.

The art of collecting and discovering hidden treasures is one of my most cherished gifts~ looking at something one person considers trash and seeing it through my eyes as a beautiful piece of art or God's miracles. I see this same trait in her eyes and wonder how can I help her grow in seeing the beauty in ordinary objects. I know for me, God had to show me when I was at my weakest. I started seeing beauty in the ordinary every day task of people, beauty in nature, beauty in things I was throwing away! Maybe that was how the art was passed down to her..... She found beauty in me through Christ when I only had HIM to get me through these days. I'm not sure how she did..... but that's the way FAITH is ..... we accept it .....SMILE....Ask no questions............ And praise God through all things.