LAST DAY TO JOIN AT 1/2 PRICE!

http://mystyleshare.com/Videos/Detail/74


Watch this video at our new site, "MyStyleShare," to see what being a Design Consultant with Willow House is all about!  Last day to join at the 1/2 price rate of $99!  Contact me at facebook.com/darlenesdesigns.

NEW Kitchen e-Boutique!

http://www.kitchenmoderne.com/Default.aspx?opuscid=480257

Check out my new kitchen store--the first of many wonderful e-boutiques we plan to roll out during the second half of the year!

MyStyleShare.Com Launch!

http://www.mystyleshare.com/Pictures/Detail/913
Check out the photo of my Cordova Nesting Tables on our new Willow House site!  For the next few days, we are only allowing Willow House Consultants to sign up for MyStyleShare. But we’ll soon open up the community so all of our hosts, customers, family, and friends can join.

Don’t forget — you will be able to share any of your photos and videos that focus on style. These can feature Willow House products, but feel free to showcase any areas of your home or ideas you have. Our community’s not just about Willow House — it’s about your style!

The Invisible Mother

 

It all began to make sense, the blank stares, the lack of response, the way one of the kids will walk into the room while I'm on the phone and ask to be taken to the store. Inside I'm thinking, 'Can't you see I'm on the phone?”  Obviously not; no one can see if I'm on the phone, or cooking, or sweeping the floor, or even standing on my head in the corner because no one can  see me at all. I'm invisible. The invisible Mom. 

Some days I am only a pair of hands, nothing more! Can you fix this? Can you tie this? Can you open this? Some days I'm not a pair of hands; I'm not even a human being. I'm a clock to ask, 'What time is it?'  I'm a satellite guide to answer, 'What number is the Disney Channel?'  I'm a car to order, 'Right around 5:30, please.'  Some days I'm a crystal ball: 'Where's my other sock? Where's my phone? What's for dinner?'  I was certain that these were the hands that once held books and the eyes that studied history, music and literature, but now they had disappeared into the peanut butter, never to be seen again. She's going, she's going, she's gone!  

One night, a group of us were having dinner, celebrating the return of a friend from England. She had just gotten back from a fabulous trip, and she was going on and on about the hotel she stayed in. I was sitting there, looking around at the others all put together so well. It was hard not to compare and feel sorry for myself. I was feeling pretty pathetic, when she turned to me with a beautifully wrapped package, and said, 'I brought you this.' It was a book on the great cathedrals of Europe. I wasn't exactly sure why she'd given it to me until I read her inscription: 'With admiration for the greatness of what you are building when no one sees.'  

In the days ahead I would read - no, devour - the book. And I would discover what would become for me, four life-changing truths, after which I could pattern my work:

*        No one can say who built the great cathedrals. We have no record of their names.

*       These builders gave their whole lives for a work they would never see finished. 

*        They made great sacrifices and expected no credit.

*        The passion of their building was fueled by their faith that the eyes of God saw everything. 

A story of legend in the book told of a rich man who came to visit the cathedral while it was being built, and he saw a workman carving a tiny bird on the inside of a beam. He was puzzled and asked the man, 'Why are you spending so much time carving that bird into a beam that will be covered by the roof? No one will ever see it.’  And the workman replied, 'Because God sees.'  I closed the book, feeling the missing piece fall into place. It was almost as if I heard God whispering to me, "I see you. I see the sacrifices you make every day, even when no one around you does."  No act of kindness you've done, no sequin you've sewn on, no cupcake you've baked, no Cub Scout meeting, no last minute errand is too small for me to notice and smile over. You are building a great cathedral, but you can't see right now what it will become.  

I keep the right perspective when I see myself as a great builder. As one of the people who show up at a job that they will never see finished, to work on something that their name will never be on. The writer of the book went so far as to say that no cathedrals could ever be built in our lifetime because there are so few people willing to sacrifice to that degree.  When I really think about it, I don't want my son to tell the friend he's bringing home from college for Thanksgiving, "My Mom gets up at 4 in the morning and bakes homemade pies, and then she hand bastes a turkey for three hours and presses all the linens for the table."  That would mean I'd built a monument to myself. I just want him to want to come home. And then, if there is anything more to say to his friend, he'd say, "You're gonna love it there."  

As mothers, we are building great cathedrals. We cannot be seen if we're doing it right. And one day, it is very possible that the world will marvel, not only at what we have built, but at the beauty that has been added to the world by the sacrifices of invisible mothers.  

The Will of God will never take you where the Grace of God will not protect you.  

Share this with all the Invisible Moms you know. I just did.  

God's Wife

An eye witness account from New York City on a cold day in December, some years ago: A little boy, about 10-years-old, was standing before a shoe store on the roadway, barefooted, peering through the window, and shivering with cold.
 
A lady approached the young boy and said, 'My, but you're in such deep thought staring in that window!'
 
'I was asking God to give me a pair of shoes,’ was the boy's reply.
 
The lady took him by the hand, went into the store, and asked the clerk to get half a dozen pairs of socks for the boy. She then asked if he could give her a basin of water and a towel. He quickly brought them to her.
 
She took the little fellow to the back part of the store and, removing her gloves, knelt down, washed
his little feet, and dried them with the towel...
 
By this time, the clerk had returned with the socks.. Placing a pair upon the boy's feet, she purchased him
a pair of shoes…
 
She tied up the remaining pairs of socks and gave them to him.. She patted him on the head and said, 'No doubt, you will be more comfortable now.'
 
As she turned to go, the astonished kid caught her by the hand, and looking up into her face, with tears
in his eyes, asked her,  'Are you God's wife?'
 

Cleaning for a Reason

If you know any woman currently undergoing chemotherapy, please pass the word to her that there is a cleaning service that provides FREE housecleaning - once per month for 4 months while she is in treatment. All she has to do is sign up and have her doctor fax a note confirming the treatment. Cleaning for a Reason will have a participating maid service in her zip code area arrange for the service. This organization serves the entire USA and currently has 547 partners to help these women. It's our job to pass the word and let them know that there are people out there that care. Be a blessing to someone and pass this information along.

http://www.cleaningforareason.org/

S*N*O*W D*A*Y Humor

Wednesday Words

"But the LORD provided a great fish to swallow Jonah..."  Jonah 1:17

Have you ever felt "swallowed up" by the "big fish" in your life?  I am doing a wonderful Bible study entitled, Jonah by Priscilla Shirer.  And as we studied the other evening, we noticed that the Bible says that the LORD provided the great fish for Jonah.  It wasn't a punishment.  It was his salvation! 

Maybe that big fish in your life that seems to be swallowing you up and keeping you from what you want to do and where you want to go is really your salvation.

I don't know about you, but it is so comforting knowing that when I am drowning in my own life choices, God will come along and save me from myself.  It may be a big fish or something I don't readily recognize as His hand, but He will always be with me and protect me so that I can get back on the road to Ninevah!

Tuscan Canisters in Outlet!

Beautiful blue glazed pottery and graceful, functional design? Robin’s-egg blue with a hand-brushed edge looks gorgeous. (set of two; Medium is 4 5/6" square x 8 3/4" tall; holds 6 cups. Small is 4 5/6" square x 8" tall; holds 4 1/2 cups.)

 

Medium and Small-$24.96 set (reg. $89.95)

Have you had enough of your job?

Are you tired of leaving your child with someone else every day while you go to work?   Does it seem like you always have more month than money?  Do you dream of a job that would showcase your talent?  Would you like to be your own boss?

Willow House could be the answer to your prayers. 

And, if you have ever considered becoming a Design Consultant with Willow House, this is the time to join.  The start up price has been cut in half--only $99, and you can benefit from Double Hostess Dollars when you do your first party to get even more free product to start your business and enjoy in your home. 

Try us.  You have nothing to lose and so much to gain!  This offer ends February 28th.  Call me for an appointment.

Gallery Flatware Retiring

Just found out our Gallery Flatware is retiring after this spring to make room for a new flatware set in the fall.  If you need to complete your collection or you have been waiting to start one, contact me today!

Buy 1 set for 4 people get the 2nd set 50% off OR buy 1 place setting get one 1/2 off - February only!  Supply is limited!

And the winner is...

Shelley Freeman has won my free product drawing for becoming a "follower" of my blog!  Thanks, Shelley, and you get to choose anything from the Willow House catalog valued at $39.96 or under.  Just comment here what you decide.

If YOU would like to be my February winner,  become a "follower" of this blog and be sure your photo is visible under "followers."