[CULTIVATE] HUMILITY: Stop worrying so much about my mistakes
A short post for today — I haven’t actually dropped off the face of the planet! Just the blogosphere.
So, it is my job not to make mistakes. Literally. As an editor, my main goal is to NOT make mistakes. Not only to not make mistakes, but to fix other people’s mistakes. And this carries far beyond my job into my daily life. I hate screwing up and I take a lot of pride in the fact that I don’t mess up all that often. When I do, I can find it crushing. But not in a healthy humbled sort of way. More in an angry, why-can’t-I-get-this-right sort of way. My pride is wounded.
So this month I’ve been trying to stop worrying so much about my mistakes. To try not to let them get to me so deeply, both when I’m being an editor and when I’m just being myself. I’ve tried to see them in an appropriate light. Not that I wanted to forget them all together and just think I’m awesome 24/7 (ha). But instead, stop making everything about me all the time. To realize that I’m going to make mistakes, but they don’t define me. The fact that I fix mistakes or don’t make many of them also doesn’t define me. I’m defined as a beloved daughter. And that works for me.
[CULTIVATE] HUMILITY: Confess my sins more regularly (privately)
In the spectrum of Christianity, I tend to fall more on the “let’s not talk about sins” end. Not that I don’t believe we sin or I don’t have a moral compass or anything like that, but I feel like most people are aching for the message that God absolutely, overwhelmingly loves them. I get uncomfortable when we talk about sin, because there’s a fine line with dealing with sin and becoming judges. All I see on TV is judge-y Christians and it makes me sick. Yes, I think there’s a lot of crap that we need to get rid of in our lives that keep us from being closer to God, but it’s hard to start there.
That being said, I’m not starting out on this journey. I’ve been a Christian for almost half my life and so there are clearly things I need to deal with. In the last few years, I’ve been working through a lot of that yuck — my issues with fear and not trusting God and a whole lot of pride. But on a day to day basis, I tend to think that I’m pretty darn good. My sins don’t cross my mind very often — only when a) I royally screw up and b) someone finds out about it. So on the whole, I don’t think about my sins much.
The problem with this, though, is that it’s really easy for pride to get in. Look how great I am! I am succeeding! It’s all me, me, me, all the time. Even when I’m serving and giving, I’m feeling just too good about myself.
So I’ve been trying to confess my sins more regularly so I can be reminded that I’m not Little Miss Perfect and I need God. During my evening prayers, I’ve been considering the ways I’ve missed the mark and fallen short. Nothing crazy — no hair shirts or self-flagellation over here. Just talking with God about the things I’ve done, said, or thought that day that are not in line with the life to which God has called me. In the process, I’m learning just how much I need God.
Pretty Little Pouch Swap 6: Sent!
I’ve had the front and back panels of my pouch for the Pretty Little Pouch Swap done for a while now, but I had to settle on a zipper color. After some deliberation and a bunch of input, I decided to go with a berry-colored zipper, one that would stand out a bit, but not too much. Finished it up Thursday night — just in time, too. The due date for shipping was Friday. Whew!
Both the front and the back are quilt-as-you-go — you can see my tutorial on how to create the blooming flower shape here. The back was a more simple version — I pieced the pink and purple strip across the back, and then added the black panels. The completed pouch measures 7.5″ x 7.5″.
For once, my zipper behaved and didn’t do any of that tucked nonsense that I was dealing with when making zippered pouches last year.
It’s lined with Tula Pink’s the Birds and the Bees Sunset, which is also the center of the flower on the front. It’s a bright pop of pink when you open it! I filled it with a few little Valentine’s Day goodies for my swap partner, and dropped it in the mail!
I really hope my partner loves it! Can’t wait to see what she says when she gets it.
[CULTIVATE] HUMILITY: Humility in Action!
As a recap, here are the steps I am taking each month for each fruit. These will be continuous throughout my project:
- Ask God to show me how to have peace (be joyful, be generous, etc.) each morning.
- Reflect on that day’s cultivation each evening, and journal thoughts.
- Memorize a Bible verse for each fruit.
- Try and turn my mind continually to the fruit I’m cultivating.
Now onto humility specifically…
To [CULTIVATE] HUMILITY in February, I plan to:
- Confess my sins more regularly (privately)
- Stop worrying so much about my mistakes
- Value other people’s time as much as my own
- Just shut up
- Consider my limitations
- Put the interests of someone else before my own interests
Should be, well, humbling.
Sew On Retreat!!
Last year at the amazing Sewing Summit, my friend Janice and I realized just how many sewing bloggers there are here on the West Coast. It always feels that there is a disproportionately large Salt Lake City contingent, a bunch of people from Atlanta, quite a few from the Midwest, and then, like, three of us from everywhere else. So we were pleased to meet and become friends with quite a few wonderful bloggers who live a little closer to home.
After some discussion, Janice and I decided we would plan a cozy little regional retreat in September, in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada. We’re calling it Sew On Northern California. We’re super excited about it!
It won’t be big or fancy, just a relaxing weekend to get away from it all to sew and make new friends. To get a better idea of what people want in a retreat, we’ve put together a survey. Even if you’re not a West-Coaster, feel free to respond! The more input we get, the more we can design a retreat that’s unforgettable — and who knows, perhaps someday we’ll plan one near you!
Please click here to take the survey. As a thank you, we’re offering a double bonus: 10% off the registration price AND the opportunity to register one day early! Just enter your email at the end of the survey when prompted.
We’ll be sharing more details about Sew On Northern California soon — we hope to see you there!
Like us on Facebook
Follow us on Twitter