So without further adieu... I introduce you to Piper...
I'm so excited to be guest posting today! When Karen asked me to write about what inspires me, a million things flew through my mind. Movies, newspapers, art, music, magazines, history, travel, nature, thrift stores, quotes, dreams, etc. Rather than boring you with every bit of the corners of my noggin, I've narrowed it down to a tidy set of three:
1. People
I've been blessed to encounter many varieties of homo sapiens (Latin for "man of knowledge" doesn't that make you feel smart?) in my short life. Knowing God created each person for a purpose thrills me to no end. With each person I meet I love hearing the stories of their lives. I'm often inspired and uplifted by accounts of triumph, joy, overcoming fears, and even failure, raw honesty and love. I love seeing the old become new. The broken become healed. The enslaved be set free. One of my heroines is Staci Eldredge. She doesn't write on her blog often, but when she does it's always pointed, eloquent, and significant. No fluff there. Several years ago she and her husband wrote a book (Captivating) that God used to change heart towards Godly femininity. I pray that I am a person that uses my creativity and beauty to enrich and give life to others.
(Piper's personal photography)
2. Words
I fancy myself an amateur etymologist. Words carry heavy meaning with me, and I'm easily disturbed when they are used incorrectly. Words also seem to go through fads. For example the word "literally" has been usually common the past few years, but the sad part is that it's equal misuse. For example: "It was so cold, my fingers fell off, literally." Now what the speaker means is that it was so cold her fingers fell off "figuratively" but that doesn't sound quite as substantial, does it? For her statement to be literal we would have to see fingers lying on the ground. So why does it sound better (to some) to use the wrong word? Language fads, my friends. Yes, strange as it may be, this stuff interests and inspires me. I also tend to associate the items I make with a particular emotional word. One of my greatest fears is that people will start to describe everything I make as, "cute." Cute can be good, but in order to sell items I should want my customers to evoke a stronger connection like gorgeous, lovely or breathtaking. Oh, if only everything in my shop could be breathtaking!
(credit)
3. Causes I believe in.
One of the reasons I started my blog and opened my shop was to increase awareness of meaningful causes. When I'm feeling uninspired, or just plain out of ideas, remembering orgs like Hope 4 Women International who are making a valiant effort to Dress A Girl Around the World.
"Imagine a world where every little girl owned at least one dress... People from all over the United States are forming clubs and are sewing pillow case dresses for Hope 4 Women International to distribute around the world. Teams and partners will hand carry these dresses to countries around the world."
I am also making dresses! My goal is to make 12 dresses in 2011. These dresses enable young girls to attend who otherwise might not have had the clothing to do so. I am also giving a portion of everything I sell through Reviving Remnants to this cause. Remembering those girls keeps me going strong!
(credit)
That's a lot of inspiration! Thanks for letting me share with you.
Be Made New,
Piper
Thank you so much Piper for sharing with us. What a wonderful post to wrap up a wonderful week. I'm certainly going to join in on this pillowcase dress movement! Friends, I truly hope you've been inspired over the past few days... I know that I have. I cannot wait to share with you all that I've created the past few days, while these wonderful ladies took the time out to post for me this past week. Continue to be inspired, it's an awesome feeling.
Holy cow, that's a GIANT picture of my face! haha
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