Your PURPLE is showing...

I met a friend through this bloggy world. I know the good Lord let our paths cross. I was reading over at Internet Cafe Devotions and I came across a devotion entitled The Lydia Jar. It was written by a guest writer named Lea. The article told how her ministry and life were begining to turn purple. It noted that she had a blog, so after reading the article and being inspired, I followed the link to The Shabby Olde Potting Shed.
It has become one of my favorite daily reads. This lady is real. She is down to earth, but more importantly, she loves the Lord and is not afraid to tell you about it. She is also a very talented artist. She has an eye for all things vintage, shabby and chic.
Not long ago, she offered up a RAK (Random Act of Kindness) or PIF (Pay It Forward) - I was to be a recipient of something hand-made from her. I couldn't wait!
One day, I came to my door and there was a huge, flat-rate, priority mail box at my front door. I got so excited! Who doesn't love getting mail?
The box fun stickers and verses written on it. It was so heavy! What could it be??
When I opened it, I was speechless.

This is what my girls and I first saw when we opened the box.

Here's everything opened, but put back in the box.
She wrote me a letter, which I started reading before pulling the box apart. She noted that she meant to just send me the beautiful necklace that you see in the first picture, then she felt like the Lord told her to send me the Lydia Jar (oh, my word!!). Was I reading this right? I could not believe that I was going to be the owner of a real Lydia Jar. She went on to tell me a little about the things that she chose to include in the jar, the history or the reasoning behind each choice. THEN she claims that her craft room exploded into the box! Hahaha! She made me laugh and certainly left me smiling.
Not only did she make my day with such a generous box, but she inspired me in a very special way. I had recently blogged about some feelings that I had been struggling with. My dear friend knew how to get right to my heart and included the scrabble tiles you see in the picture below. She even made the adorable birdie pincushion (how did she know that birds were my new obsession?). LOL She also sent me the beautiful card...told you she was talented!! How about the bottle of pearls and mica? What do you think suppose I should make with those?

Here's the rest of it all spread out...

A bunch of vintage ephemera...love the pages from the old hymnal...

Last, but not least...MY Lydia Jar. Please, please go on over and read the story behind it. I am sure that it will inspire you to be the type of person that wants to let your purple show - just like Lea! Thank you my friend. I am sure that I will continue to find all kinds of treasure and inspiration as I look through these things in my quest to create!!

Proverbss 27:17 "Iron sharpeneth iron; so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend."