Big Idea Festival - Give

When I first read that the word for Day 4 of the Big Idea Festival was GIVE, I could not come up with a layout idea. I thought it would definitely be an easy one for Brenda because she is always giving away the quilts that she makes (I have been the lucky recipient of quite a few!). When I mentioned to her that I wasn't sure what to scrap about, she said, "I can't believe you don't have any idea considering how much you've given to my kids over the years." Honestly, that comment really made my day, however I decided that my layouts probably already reflect that side of me as I often scrap about the wonderful visits with my nieces and nephews.

I decided to flip through my storage binders from the past few years looking for inspiration. I began to notice photos of me doing various types of volunteer work - my way of giving my time and talents to good causes. There was a photo of me reading for story time in a 2nd grade classroom. Another photo showed me receiving a plaque in recognition of my service on the Board of Directors of a missionary organization, while another photo was taken the day Robbie & I helped load toys and bicycles during our community's Christmas toy drive. I decided these random photos would make the perfect GIVE layout.

 Journaling Reads:

Giving of My Time & Talent

(a few examples from 2007-2011)

*teaching Ladies’ Bible Study

*cooking & delivering meals

*speaking at Pearls Impact

*teaching in Noah’s Park

*helping clean the Rock

*setting up prayer room

*working in the church nursery

*hosting & leading home group

*story time in Stacy’s classroom

*working at the ACO Food Pantry

*serving on the Christ for India Board

*assisting ACO at Allen Recycles Day

*serving on the Pearls Leadership Team

*helping at the ACO Christmas Toy Drive

*coordinating the Christ for India banquet

*co-leading Financial Peace University class

*proofreading Camerons in Kenya blog posts

*serving as prayer partner at Power for Life services

*reading in Stacy’s classroom for Read Across America

I also think this layout works for the Week 7 layout in The Mother LOAD workshop - to create an intentional layout, choosing embellishments that enhance the theme. I chose a patterned paper with stars because they often represent accomplishments and achievements, which I thought went along well with accomplishing something for the benefit of others. I feel truly blessed that I am so often able to give my time to others, whether it's simply reading a children's book or coordinating a banquet for 300 guests.

I hope you are all doing well - the last few weeks have been extremely busy here as we adjust to Robbie's new full-time schedule and I prepare for teaching two Bible Study sessions this fall. I was somewhat behind on blog reading and my Google Reader was overflowing this morning. I took time to scroll through the posts quickly and then had to mark everything as read so I could have a fresh start. So, if you posted something you thought I'd really enjoy or linked back to me, please let me know as I don't want to miss anything. I'm really looking forward to getting back to my regular daily reading and being inspired by your posts later today!

(Don't forget - there's still one more day to get in the draw for the first book of Pass the Book:Year Two - check it out here.) [Pass the Book:Year Two has concluded!]