Advertising

The other day I received an e-mail from a well-known Christian, homeschooling magazine offering ad space in their magazine for a certain amount with a 5% discount, but even with that, it would cost over $100. At this point, we wouldn't be able to afford advertising in it, now that Erin and I are no longer working part-time outside of the home.

We are actually rejoicing that we aren't working outside of them home anymore, =) and home to devote more time to our sewing business, and Lord willing, we hope to expand it a little bit. Any ideas? =)

Anyway, the point of this entry: do any of you know of any Christian magazines that would offer advertising for a little bit cheaper that $100? =) Other than a few websites, our main souce of getting word out is by "word of mouth."

Just recently, a business asked if we had any fliers to send them, so that they could include them in their packages, so we are now making those if any of you would like them! Just write and ask, and we'll send them out to you for free!

Another seamstress in a few years...

This evening our younger sister has been urging me to get upstairs and help her cut out a skirt and a couple jumpers for her to sew. For quite awhile she's been making simple pillows, bags, and so forth and now I think she's ready for something easy and simple.

About a year ago, someone gave us some fabric that wasn't really our tastes, but I thought I'd save it just incase something would come up, so what better use could we put it to, but Molly's first jumpers all sewn by herself? She has quite an interest in sewing and handcrafts, so I have a feeling that in a few years time, we'll be adding her on to our home business! =)

An update, as far as orders

If you have placed an order with us within the last several weeks and have not received it yet, bear with us for they ARE being worked on, but we've had a lot of stressful things (personal) happen this spring, lots of weddings to serve in or play for (Erin plays harp and I the violin) which has required some sewing for ourselves, trips, and the list goes on. It's just a busy time of year for us! =)

One announcement however is that we will not be able to take in any custom-made orders for the month of June. I will be gone for two weeks for the first part of the month for a Strings Workshop, and once I get home, I'll have about 3 or 4 days to pack up for our annual summer trip to Michigan to visit friends and relatives and Lord willing, that is usually a two week trip and we'd like to be back by July 4th.

We do not like doing this, but we have no other options! Our ready-made shop will still be open, as will be our resource shop (check out some new items we've added this spring!) as those things are al ready to be shipped out. As always, feel free to e-mail us, ajoyfulhandmaiden@yahoo.com if you have any questions!

Fixing this thing

I may know how to run sewing machine ans sergers, but understanding html and getting things to work right on the computer isn't my forte. Would anyone know how to get my profile/links/archive section up at the top and not way down at the bottom?

I came across part of an article that had a section on the subject of modesty, and I thought it had some wonderful wisdom and insights that I think we could gleam from.

Modesty
I Timothy 2:9-15: In like manner also, that women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with shamefacedness and sobriety; not with braided hair, or gold, or pearls, or costly array; But (which becometh women professing godliness) with good works. Let the woman learn in silence with all subjection. But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence. For Adam was first formed, then Eve. And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression. Notwithstanding she shall be saved in childbearing, if they continue in faith and charity and holiness with sobriety.

Later on you see some of the same things written in the book of I Peter. I think that it’s wonderful that God put some of the same instructions in the Bible written by two different people. That’s because he knows human nature—someone may say, “Paul looked down on women.” I’ve actually heard people say that! God, knowing that, chose to speak these same things through two different writers! Also, don’t ignore the teaching of holy dress because you already practice it! You must understand it in order to teach it to your girls. You must understand it in order to teach it to your boys, so they can find godly wives and teach these things to their children. Also, if you think you can overlook this simply because you already practice it, then soon you won’t practice it.

There are two meanings for modesty. Number one is not revealing the body, or not enticing men to wrong thoughts. That’s very simple—the Scriptures say to not cause your brother to sin. It’s very simple to know that you shouldn’t dress immodestly, meaning you shouldn’t entice any man. Many might think that the believing men aren’t going to be enticed, but that’s not always true! We want to spare our brothers.

The second part of modesty means being quiet and not seeking to be the center of attention. Once, I took my little girl Lydia to the doctor, and they left her in panties for a long time without giving her a gown. Lydia complained that she wasn’t modest! That was exciting, but the nurse’s response nearly bowled me over. She said, “I haven’t heard that word in twenty years.” Sadly, the concept of modesty is gone, so we must be doubly diligent in not seeking the center of attention—and teaching our children likewise. Children automatically like flashy things. If you don’t curb this early on, you’ll have a big problem with they’re older. What is nearly every little girl’s favorite color? Red! They even want to paint their rooms red. If you take them out to the fabric store, they’ll pull out a big piece of fabric that has lions and tigers done in purple and orange and say, “Mom, this would look great on you!” But we as believers don’t want to look better than the other person. But oh, how our flesh screams to be noticed by others!

Bold colors and bold prints are often worn by someone with a bold spirit. Yet Paul lifts up the virtues of shamefacedness and sobriety. Don’t think of this as law, but know that he is wise, and knows that clothes reflect the heart—he’s trying to help us out here. Many women think of this as bondage, but if we could only learn to trust God on these things, we wouldn’t have a struggle. Sadly, many employees are more willing to please their boss than we are to please the God of the entire universe! Employers realize that dress reflects the attitude of the person. Think about it—doctors and nurses wear white (sterility), those in the military wear dark, serious colors (no soft pastels!), bank tellers wear nice clothes (to reflect prosperity), and these are just a few. The whole world understands that your dress reflects your heart. What do you want to reflect? Fashion? Prosperity? Sensuality? Young girls, simply being “cool”? Be a stranger and pilgrim, and delight to draw attention to Jesus Christ, not to you. Let good works adorn you. Don’t be afraid to be “weird” in the eyes of a wicked world.

To read the full article, here is the link: http://charityministries.org/theremnant/theremnant-March2006-godly-woman.cfm

Our Resource Shop is now available!

We are excited to announce that our resource shop on our website, is now open and ready for customers! =) We have added more tatted bookmarks (and you can custom-request colors and styles that we offer up there) and are offering a lone doily handmade by a dear friend. My first thoughts after seeing them were, "Her work is professional!"

If any of our readers have quality items that you think might sell in our shop, we may be interested in buying wholesale from you! Please feel free to e-mail us!

Visit the shop at: http://www.ajoyfulhandmaiden.com/NewShop.html