liluga - love isn't love until given away

"Loving God means doing what he tells us to do, and really, that isn't hard at all." 1 John 5:3 NLT

Wednesday, December 22, 2010

Merry Christmas!

liluga #2

Peaceful in the making
a creative ministry of love
born out of a need
to encourage others.

My thought with this blog is to write about giving LOVE away, and for readers to share about giving LOVE away also.  I thought it would be FUN to hear from people who have received a liluga, for them to share their stories and to let me know where each liluga wound up. 

For starters, it’s just me giving them away, but I love to make them for others to give away also.  Then, when someone receives a liluga, they can email me with their story and, if they wish, even send a picture of it in its new home.

If you wonder how this all came about, I’ll share that with you!  First, there are a few things about me that play a part.  First of all, I want to serve the Lord and to love others as Jesus commands us to do.  For the past several years, I feel like God is telling me to reach out to people who are hurting and in need, to give them a word of encouragement and to simply love them.  

Second, I am a very creative and I need to express that in my work.  I like all things natural, organic, and handmade.  I like to recycled, reuse, re-purpose, etc.  I try not to sew with fabrics that are treated with chemicals anymore and have become a collector of vintage and recycled wools, cottons and linens. 

Third, I felt life was so busy and that I barely had time to do anything but the daily routines of life, I am married, we have five kids (all living with us), I work part-time outside the home, plus a have a sewing/alterations business I do from home.   My husband and I love to cook and we spend a lot of time in the kitchen doing so.  It has always been important to me to be home with my children and not doing too many activities outside the home.

I prayed for something I could do that would allow me to reach out to others while still caring for my family.  Several months ago a made a little stuffed “thing” and gave it away to someone.  I so enjoyed making the little thing that I thought I should make more and give them all away as a ministry.    After that, I played around with some names and liluga (Love Isn’t Love Until Given Away) just sounded right.

This really isn’t about the liluga’s, it’s about God stretching me to do more for Him. The liluga’s are just sweet,, fun  things I  can make to encourage people, to remind them they are loved and to brighten their day.