Infinity Scarves for Sale!

In January, I resolved to make this a year of simplicity and beauty. I wanted to appreciate and create beauty that is God-given and praiseworthy. In that attempt, I've been busy with my sewing machine and LOVING this new journey to make a little extra for our family by selling handmade infinity scarves! I set up an Etsy shop about a month ago, and you can see my vision for the shop by clicking here.

This is an EXCITING journey for me, because I don't just do this to make some cash that will smash our debt. I do it because it brings life into my heart when I do the things that God created me to do and to enjoy! I've only begun selling scarves and my heart is already happy.

Here are a few of the scarves I am selling. Check out http://www.etsy.com/shop/MrsDahlface for more detailed pictures.

White Chevron w/ Greek Key Stripe

Choose your thread color, or stick with the red and goooooo Cards!!!

Peacock Pastel

Sheer & lightweight.

Aztec Tribal Pattern

It's not authentic Aztec fabric, but... you get the point. Comes in a single loop (top) or double loop (bottom).

Sari Floral Dot

It's made from an authentic Indian sari! Can be made long or short-- you choose!

Graphic Grey

It's super soft.

Homespun Lace

This one is ideal for personalization... let me know how you want the lace to look! No two scarves are exactly alike.

Black & White Stripe

Silky and sleek... I've worn one myself and gotten lots of compliments!

Sari Floral- NO dots

That other fancy scarf made from a sari has silver polka dots... if shiny isn't your thing, try this one that's inside out! While this isn't an awesome picture of it (too much flash), it's one of my favorites.

Teal Pop

This IS available in short and long-- no photo of the long one currently. It's SUPER soft!

Any Questions?

How do I ORDER one of the fabulous scarves?!
If you'd like any of these scarves, you can purchase them and have them shipped through my Etsy shop (here), leave a comment below this blog post describing the scarf you would like, or send me an email/facebook message/write me some snail mail indicating what you would like.

All scarves are $10 flat-- no exceptions!

How will these fabulous scarves get to me?!
If you live in the BG area, I can hand deliver for free! If you live anywhere else, I'll have to ship it to you ($2 for one scarf, additional $1 for any extra scarves you purchase).

I like them, but there's one kind of scarf I've really been wanting. Could you make it for me?!
I'm glad you asked!! I can change the length/width of most scarves, add embellishments, or do something wild and crazy if you ask!! Keep in mind that the price may have to be adjusted if we get too crazy.

What's your email?
emilymdahl@yahoo.com

Why do you do this?
Because I love my husband times infinity. 

For when you can't throw God a parade

Sunday night is a fragile space of time.

My planner wide open, my lesson plans spread, my internship binder created, my eyes bulging. How is all of this going to fit into five tiny school days? And how will I do it all before it's time to come home and make dinner for a hungry, studious husband?

I know I'm not the only one with a bundle of responsibilities and a package of worries. You're just as busy as the rest of us. It's just that I'm beginning to notice, with every early morning run and jam-packed school day and late night sewing spree, how easy it has been to place my priorities on everything except what truly matters.

I love my job. Love my job. I love serving my husband. I love spending time fulfilling my resolution for 2013 of creating and enjoying beauty through my newest pursuit to sew and sell scarves. And I love training for another half-marathon! All of these things feel so natural to me; I am finally beginning to find and enjoy the things that He has uniquely created me to be. But at what point do those beautiful and enjoyable things become an idol that wars over my soul??

I never wanted to be a career woman, but learning more about being a teacher pulls my heart and affections closer to my classroom and my students day by day. I want to help these struggling students change and feel successful. I want to love on them and make them feel special, all while becoming the best teacher I can be. I want to spend hours poring over my lessons, making them work so that I can pack the biggest punch possible in each of those 30-minute sessions. I want to be effective. And if you have any doubts about how much hard work goes into being an effective and loving teacher, read this and doubt no more.

Between the lessons and the long runs and the dirty dishes galore, I hardly have time to even think about when I will have time to spend some time with Jesus. I remember at the end of the day, as my eyes are quickly drooping, that I need to spend some quality time with Him tomorrow. As the dismissal bell rings and my heart rate begins to slow back to its normal pace, I ask myself what in the world it was that I learned from my quiet time that morning that I so desperately needed to remember throughout the day. My mind moves at a hundred miles per minute from 7-3:30, so how am I supposed to remember to intentionally love my neighbor and constantly be in prayer with the Lord??

I have dwelt on the wise words of Jerry Bridges for at least 2 weeks, and it has encouraged my heart so much as I ask questions such as these.

"Even the most dull and tedious days of our lives are ordained by God and ought to be used by us to glorify Him."

His glory is found in the smallest moments.

The tedious moments of our lives-- those when I just want to snap or cry or run away from all my responsibilities-- those moments are ordained by God.

A kind word shared before the morning bell rings, a prayer of thankfulness for patience with a student, a cry for grace when kind words are not shared: His glory is found in those moments.

I'm so thankful that God's glorification does not require a giant parade with streamers and confetti, because I just don't have time for that. What I do have time for, though, is what I'm already doing-- and when His glory is made a priority in my everyday doings, those things that once stood as idols quickly refine themselves into something with much greater purpose.

I'm all for living what I love with a purpose much greater than my own... and it's beautifully freeing.

2013: A Time for Simple

We live in a small space. Our little home is perfect for us, but sometimes it irks me to see a mountain bike always propped up against our kitchen table or the 3 inches of kitchen counterspace we have. Even so, we have more than we could have ever asked for, and we need nothing. Need nothing.

This year, I'm longing for a more simplified life. We need nothing, but the wants run rampant in our hearts. We want so much, so the blessings cloud over. The precious home becomes a cold, cramped place. The abundance of clothing becomes a nasty pile of dirty laundry needing washing. The little red car, a valuable means of transportation, becomes annoying because the trunk doesn't close. And suddenly, we're pitying people who have birthdays close to Christmas and complaining about the price of a storage unit to put away our extra stuff. This consumerism thing... it doesn't bring peace or satisfaction.

When we constantly consume, we overlook our blessings and forget about beauty. Blessings abound in talents, relationships, and Creation itself, yet the cost of convenience is stifling any beauty that can be found in these things! After consuming for so long, I am ready to clear the air and let beauty blossom; creating beautiful things while appreciating beauty made by the Creator. Instead of constantly taking things that have been made by a machine, I want to hone in on the skills God has given me to create things with my hands. Rather than sitting with the TV on or my phone lit up, I want to cherish the beauty outside my home in Creation and the beauty instilled in relationships with friends and family. There truly is God-ordained beauty in genuine, unhindered conversation.... and I hope to find it.

As a means of de-cluttering and counting my blessings, this year I want to rid myself of the things only society says I need, and I will share my blessings with others... unhindered. My list of blessings is manifold, and I hope to never hoard them. Perhaps this aim will serve to teach me further detachment from my earthly things, so that I truly believe I was not made for this world.

Beauty has been stifled for long enough. Will you join me in de-cluttering and simplifying life so that we can fix our eyes on what life was meant to be lived for?

Day 20: A hobby of mine

I like to call my hobbies "old lady hobbies" because I don't know many people younger than age 60 who like to do what I do for fun. These hobbies all began when I went to quilt camp (yes, those kinds of camps exist) and created my first quilt. In high school, I worked at the neatest fabric store/quilt shop and learned how to make even more cool things- and I collected a lot of fabric throughout those years! I am most proud of a twin-size quilt I made for my grandparents in high school- each grandkid drew a picture on fabric of an activity they love to do with our grandparents, and I sewed them all together with some fun fabric and gave them the quilt for Christmas. However, on the other end of the spectrum, one of my greatest disappointments in life came when I procrastinated and didn't finish a quilt in time to give to my Memaw before she died- she had asked me to take dresses and pictures of my Granny and sew them all into a quilt for her. I almost finished, but I waited and procrastinated just long enough that she passed away before I could finish- and it still sits in our sewing room at home, pinned together & ready for the 3 layers to be quilted together.

Quilting is a rather expensive hobby, so I sometimes resort to knitting and/or crocheting, but the sewing machine that my Memaw gave me 5 years ago has always been one of my most prized possessions. I'm hoping to learn in the near future how to sew apparel and how to smock (I gotta start on my children's entire wardrobe well before I even think about bringing a little child into the world, right?). Basically I'm just the most domestic diva you've ever seen, right?

Other than that, I occasionally like to pretend like I know how to play the piano or write, but I'm very mediocre at both things and I'll maybe try to improve in those areas when I actually am an old lady and have nothing else to do- but for now, I'll stick with the old lady hobbies I already have :) I'm a little mixed up, aren't I?