Following My Path

Proverbs 16:9

A man's heart deviseth his way: but the LORD directeth his steps.

Proverbs 31:

18 She perceiveth that her merchandise is good: her candle goeth not out by night.

22 She maketh herself coverings of tapestry; her clothing is silk and purple.

31 Give her of the fruit of her hands; and let her own works praise her in the gates.

I hope that you are getting ready for a wonderful New Year. I pray that you are steadfast in following whatever path our Lord has set your feet on for your life. I have been giving a lot of thought to the idea of my life's path and have been asking the Lord to help me better understand why I do the things that I do-what meaning does it have in His grand design? Now don't get me wrong, my Faith is strong! I have complete Trust that my Lord leads my life; though sometimes I tend to want to fight Him for the reigns a bit ;-} I just have been dealing with coming to terms about: why He lead me to a carreer that has so much to do with things that are material and why I am so driven to do this work from my home? So I turned to my Bible and began to read, I turned to my knees and began to pray.

The 31st Chapter of Proverbs has always held such an attraction for me. I have always admired all that the woman described in those verses accomplished in her lifetime. I love the fact that, despite her clearly being a business woman of the day, her family never suffers because of her efforts. To the contrary, her husband praises her and her children call her blessed. As I read these verses again, a new meaning came to me. I realize that God has given me an appreciation of things beautiful so that I can help other women create a beautiful gathering place for their families. I also came to realize that the Lord has always called me to work from my home using the skills that He has blessed me with and that this is why I was always so restless and unfulfilled anytime that I went to work outside my home and away from my family. I am not saying that this is true for all women, I Praise God every day for those that work away from home who so lovingly serve in hospitals, restaurants, offices, schools and all other realms of work so that they may provide for their families and bless others. But this is the path that the Lord has set before me and I am so very glad that it is a business that I can do from my home. I am able to be there for our aging parents, able to homeschool my precious last little one (ADHD and not best served by the public school system-he was literally wasting away) and I am able to be a better helpmeet to my own dear husband with health problems of his own.

I feel that for the very first time in my life that I am completely at peace with this path. I know that I am not yet earning exactly what I would like to, but that with my continued Faith in God's direction, persistance in letting Him control the reigns and the forsight to set worthy goals with His leading that All Things will be accomplished according to His will. I pray that each of you will have a Blessed New Year and that each of you is following the path that God has for your life. He will never lead you wrong.

Hugs from WV,

Charlotte

The Candle Lady

My life as a Decorator/Designer has been an exciting one. Though I have often not recognized my path or have played down my experiences, I have been VERY Blessed by God with a real appreciation of beauty and order and these are the qualities that direct me in my career. I love to help people with their homes and with finding just the right beautiful look that will delight their friends and their families and make their home a place that everyone wants to gather into for fun and fellowship; a place where wonderful memories are made!
My all time favorite element used to add to ambience of any room are candles!!! I love the way that they glow and add instant warmth to a room and the distinct way that they can make any ordinary day just seem like a special occasion. My personal favorite scent is Hot Apple Pie since it makes my home smell so much like my mom's when she would bake her famous Apple Crisp in the fall and winter months. I bake my own version from time to time, but, since I don't need that many calories added to my diet, the scent of the candle is a nice, no-calorie way to enjoy the sweet tingle of warm-fuzzy memories that this smell brings to my mind.
This week-end I happened on an interesting opportunity: Diamond Creek Candles. I am happy to announce that I am now a consultant for them and am VERY Excited about this venture!!! Their candles are BEAUTIFUL and unique as they are what I like to call Cathedral Chunk style. This means that the candles have lovely colored chunks of wax suspended in a white base. The effect when they are burned is reminiscent of light coming from Cathedral windows---just GORGEOUS! They are soy based, clean burning and have the most WONDERFUL range of fragrances available for you to choose from. You can order them directly online from my page at:
http://www.diamondcreekcandles.com/reps/char503.php
I would love for you to stop by and visit the page and see for yourself just how lovely these adders of instant atmosphere really are. Let me know what you think and don't forget to order a few for those guests that stop by your home for the Christmas visits this year. I will leave you with the words to one of my all-time favorite Christmas songs; one that is quite appropriate for this time in our history and for the subject at hand:

ONE LITTLE CANDLE
(George Mysels / J. Maloy Roach)

It's better to light just one little candle
Than to stumble in the dark
Better far that you light just one little candle
All you need's a tiny spark
If we'd all say a prayer that the world would be free
The wonderful dawn on the new day we'll see
And if everyone lit just one little candle
What a bright world this would be

Let's all light one little candle
Why stumble on in the dark
When the day is dark and dreary
And your way is hard to find
Don't let your heart be weary
Just keep this thought in mind

It is better to light just one little candle
Than to stumble in the dark
Better far to light just one little candle
All you need's a tiny spark
If we'd all say a prayer that the world would be free
The wonderful dawn of the new day we'll see
And if everyone lit just one little candle
What a bright world this would be

Love to all, Stay Cozy,
Charlotte