Real Women Scrap with Tasra Dawson

Could You Use a Miracle Right Now?

A few months ago when my grandmother and uncle were both in the hospital, I asked my Facebook friends and Twitter followers if they believed in miracles. The response I received was an overwhelming "YES." Regardless of faith or religion, many people still believe in miracles. And those who don't, probably wish they did.

Here's the setup...

This past week has been a reminder to me of how miracles can show up in the smallest ways. It started last weekend when my husband and I had a late night conversation about commitment and priorities. There are some things we say are top priority, but when you look at our lives and schedules, it would be hard to believe. One of those areas is our faith. We believe, but haven't been spending time pursuing or strengthening that commitment. And I've heard it said many times that if you're not growing, you're shrinking. So we recommitted to spending quiet time every day reconnecting with our Creator and the roots of our faith.

Throughout the week, during those quiet times, I was reminded how independently both my husband and I operate. Because of our upbringing and our personalities, we tend toward rugged individualism. We do things on our own. We make things happen. That's not a bad thing, except that it is exhausting to feel that everything depends on you. Particularly when you run your own business, that sense of independence will cause you to never feel that the work is done...it's never enough. Because both of us are that way, we each just keep plugging away and forget to ask each other, friends, or even God for help.

This week, I felt that it was important to start praying about things as a first resort, rather than a last resort. That if we really do believe that God exists, that He loves us, and answers our prayers, why are we not talking to Him more?

Here's the miracle...

Tuesday afternoon Ron was looking for the plunger. I know, not very glamorous, but that's what it was. It was midday, it needed to be found, we'll just leave it at that. He came into my office frustrated that he was losing work time, that the plunger wasn't where it belonged, and deflated that he'd already wasted 15 minutes looking for it and would probably lose another half hour trying to find the thing. 

In keeping with what I'd been thinking about, I asked him if he prayed about it. He said "no" and asked why in the world he would pray about a plunger. God doesn't really care about him finding a plunger, right? God has bigger things to do. Well, I begged to differ and suggested that he pray about it. He finally did, out loud, almost jokingly, and said he wanted to find it in 2 minutes. This is where it gets good.

Remember, he had already been looking for 15 minutes and thought it would take another 30 minutes. After the prayer, he walked upstairs and decided to look outside again. He opened the door, walked out on the deck and this time (for some reason) decided to look over the side of the deck. AHA! Guess what he found? There it was, sitting on the side of the deck. Who knows why? It doesn't matter. What matters is that he realized it had been about 2 minutes since he prayed. 

Now what do you think about that? Was it odd or God? Was it a coincidence or something more? The very next morning, I checked my email and got a message from Ron saying I had to read a blog post titled Miracle Witnessed from Chris Brogan (a social media expert we follow). You have to read it because you will not believe it....the post or the timing of it right after our incident.

Here's the kicker: in church this morning, guess what the pastor announced was the topic of the next series? Yep, MIRACLES.

Here's the challenge...

What miracle do you need in your life right now? Do you believe it's possible? Have you asked for it? Why not give it a try?

Digital Scrapbooking Inspiration

Holidays like July 4th give all of us great opportunities for photo perfect moments. I hope you all had your cameras out and ready to snap away this holiday weekend! I certainly did and I already posted a video with some of the images.

The following day we were out at the park playing in the water and trying to beat the heat and humidity. I actually forgot my camera at home! Oh, the horror. So, the kids and Dad played while Mom went back home to get the camera...and the sunscreen.

I'm SO glad I did because the images of pure, uninhibited joy that I captured on my son's face are priceless. When downloading and looking through the images I was inspired to get some digital scrapbooking done. It's been a while and I thought I'd search for a new kit. Found one for free at Simply Clean Digi Scraps. They've got some other free kits too, so check 'em out (they didn't ask me or pay me to endorse them :-).

So, after an hour of scrapbooking, here's what I created! It may not be a masterpiece...I'm okay with that. What I love is that in one weekend, I had two events and I created memories and keepsakes from both of them. That's what is important. That's what will last. 

So, what will you create this week? No excuses. No limitations. No perfection. Just pure emotion and real scrappin'!

Celebrating Independence...Remembering a Veteran

Words fail me when I think of the loss of my Uncle Rusty. 

Last night as we sat listening to patriotic music and watched the fireworks exploding in the sky, I thought of his service in the Vietnam war. I thought of the service of so many other soldiers who served and still serve our country so that we can be free...to live, to love, to enjoy our freedom. 

So often we forget or just don't recognize the value of their sacrifice, the way that war can change a person and the long-term effects on their life, family, and health. Clearly we don't do everything right in America or as Americans, but the fact that we can turn it around, stick together and make a change is a tribute to what makes us different. 

This Fourth of July I'm committed to remembering and celebrating the life of my Uncle Rusty who passed away last month. This video from our celebration in the park last night is dedicated to him...

An Old Tradition Gets a New Spin

A few weeks ago our church had a baptism service on Sunday. Our daughter decided that she was ready to be baptized and I was there to capture the moment with my camera. 

Not only did I take her pictures, but everyone else's as well. Baptism is often a once-in-a-lifetime event so I wanted to be able to give that memory to each person...even if they didn't have a camera of their own.

Then, I put all the best images together in a video that was played the following week. What an incredible response. Not your typical slideshow of images...in fact, the last few images set to music are the most powerful! Let me know what you think!

Attention All Mothers: Just Stop Caring

What?? Did I just write that? 

Yep. I'm serious. I was inspired by a post on Zen Habits called Put Things Off and Stop Caring To Realize Your Dreams. Of course I had to stop and read the post. There were some pretty good ideas about why this philosophy might actually work to help you live a life you love. 

Here are some ways caring hurts us...

• Caring too much about things that don’t matter.
• Caring too much about things being perfect and reach a point of diminishing returns. It can take four hours of studying to get a 95% on a test, but it may take fifteen hours of studying to get a 100%. Are those additional eleven hours really worth it? 
• Caring too much about always being updated. We want to know what’s happening on facebook, twitter, email, and we lose our ability to focus.
• Adversely caring about what others think and don’t give enough credit to what we think.
• Caring too much about the future. We’re always thinking about what will happen next.

Today, on Mother's Day, just for one day...I dare you to stop caring (too much). Let things go. Allow the dishes to sit in the sink. Let your kids skip their chores. YOU skip your chores. Eat an extra piece of chocolate cake (without feeling guilty). 

Whatever is it you want to do, but keep yourself from doing normally, let it go today. Just see how it feels. And then DO something you LOVE. Stop putting off the things that bring you joy.

I TRIPLE DOG DARE YOU.

Happy Mother's Day! 

Women in Business Across the World

Over the past couple weeks, I've mentioned a few different business books. So imagine my delight when I came across this inspiring video of women in business across the world. 

If you ever thought you had it hard in starting a new business or getting your idea up and running, this video will give you the needed inspiration and encouragement to keep pressing on, moving forward, and giving it your all. It certainly inspired me as I was launching my new venture into teen and senior portrait photography.

Watch and be inspired!

I'm Not Participating in the Recession

Are you? 

Is Everything Under Control?

I recently read the following quote...

"If everything seems under control, you're not going fast enough." - Mario Andretti

At the time, I was thinking that maybe I needed to do more, be more passionate, really go hard after my dreams. But then life hit hard three times...

We lost my Gram Betty after she struggled on life support. She was so alive and full of life, that it is still a shock to me. I can't imagine her not creating her quilts, sending out birthday cards and loving on all her grandchildren and great grandchildren. 

Shortly after, I found out that my stepdad's brother passed away as well. This was his only brother and they were very close. 

The third and final blow was finding out about my Uncle Rusty being rushed to emergency for metastasized melanoma in his spine, stomach, lungs, and brain. He is a Vietnam veteran and enjoyed life as a professional captain in Kona, Hawaii. Rusty is the nicest guy you'll ever meet...fun, accepting, charismatic, and caring. We are praying for his recovery. Please pray with us.

So instead of pushing hard, everything stopped. Everything. I've felt like I've been living in a state of numbness, not really feeling or processing anything. Have you ever felt that way?

I feel like I'm coming out of the fog now, and I'm committed to making change in my life and the health of my family. We don't need to push harder, but I do want to be more intentional and focused on what really matters. 

And taking care of our health has become paramount to everything. Although I've lost 12 pounds already, I'm committed to losing every last pound that is excess. I'm cutting out the trans fats, high fructose corn syrups, and any other junk that I put in my body. I want to live...to live healthy and long. 

How about you? What are you committed to?

Need Some Inspiration? Dream the Impossible.

 I'm inspired. One of my favorite lines from the short film, Dream the Impossible, is...
You can fail 100 times as long as you succeed once. 
And they also quoted Edison who said, "I never failed. It just didn't work 10,000 times."

How different would our world (and your world) be if you looked at everything through this lens? Watch this short film and consider a change of perspective today.

 

The Biggest Loser Workout Really Works

For Christmas, I bought myself a gift. It was the 30 Day Shred with Jillian, The Biggest Loser's personal trainer. I've watched her on the show from time to time and connected with what she says about getting real and making the changes that you want to see. 

So I thought I'd pick up the video and see what it was like to work out with her. Impressive! I could feel muscles being used that I didn't even know I had. And it's only 20 minutes so almost anyone can make it through 20 minutes. 

If you're looking for a good workout video that really works, give this one a shot. Of course, bottom line is that you actually have to turn it on and do the workout. But if you do, she guarantees you great results. Let me know if you get a chance to try it!