Welcome Gordon!

Hi everyone! Sorry it has been so long since I last blogged. With school starting back, my life has been turned upside down. When I don't work in the summer, I am so relaxed and less stressed...now I remember why! It's a lot to juggle during the school year, but I promise I'm not complaining because I feel so BLESSED to have a job.

I wanted to dedicate this blog to welcome the newest addition to our Blessed Life Designs team....drum roll please ~ Gordon Piper! Gordon has come on board to go around to just about all of the southeastern states to rep our tees. This is huge for us because our previous sales staff had other "real" jobs. It was impossible to get around to see all the stores that we wanted to call on. Gordon has a proven sales record and has already built relationships with many of the stores across the southeast. We are praying that bringing Gordon on to our team will greatly increase our sales. We look forward to many, many great days with Gordon! Thanks for joining our effort to spread God's word across the nations!

On a final note, the coolest thing ever happened this week! I am a school counselor as many of you know and this week I did my monthly classroom guidance. That means that each homerooom class comes into my office for about 30 minutes and we discuss lots of different topics. This week we are doing a personality test! So, in walks one of my classes and I look around and notice that one student is wearing a familiar looking blue shirt. I just knew it was our heather blue "Blessed Soul" shirt. I called her over to see the front and sure enough...it was our shirt. I thought my heart would leap to heaven. I told her that I really liked her shirt and asked her if she knew the designer. She said "No", of course. I explained that I had started this business and that one of my friends and I designed the shirts. She was elated b/c I was so happy and I was overjoyed. My next logical question was to find out where she got it! A huge shout out to "Prissy's" in Chelsea! Jane at Prissy's Boutique has been absolutely wonderful to us. She believes in our company and actually linked us up with Gordon. Anyway, the litle girl said she was in the store with her mom, saw the shirt and asked her if she could get it! Can you believe that??? God is so good. To think that even fourth and fifth graders can use the shirt as an avenue to lead others to know you, Lord! It is more than I can fathom!

I hope you have a blessed week! We appreciate your support,
Cindy

AHHH Vacation!!!!

We are so blessed to be able to be spending 10 whole days in Sandestin this year as our family vacation! As I am writing this, I am mindful that not all families are able to spend this amount of quality time together. Although at times, truthfully speaking, it is trying and frustrating to spend this much time together... we are forever grateful for this time with our two girls and each other. I know the time is coming soon when our girls will not want to be spending this much time with us and will be asking for friends to come along. But right now, we are golden...they want us to do everything with them. All week we have heard..."Daddy, come ride the waves with me!" or "Mommy, come get in the pool!" In other words, stop reading your magazine over there in the lounge chair! These are days we'll remember....(taken from one of my favorite songs by Natalie Merchant).
You know...biblically speaking...God commands us to rest. Why is it that as families we have become so given over to busy schedules and taking our children to this activity and that latest and greatest whatever?? It is so important as families or couples to slow down and relax...stop rushing around and take the time to reconnect! Do you know your daughter's biggest hopes for her life right now? Do you know what it is that your son fears most about this stage of life that he's in?? Do you remember why you married your spouse?? What is it that made you fall in love with him or her all those years go before you had children and demanding crazy lives?? These are the questions that you may find time to answer if you take the time to spend quality time together!
These ten days will definitely go down in the books as some of the best family memories that we have created! As my Dad said today when I called to talk to him, "It's important to take time to relax!" He reminded me that there were plenty of summers when we probably didn't really have the money to go on vacation, but we did anyway, because he felt like that time together was important! So..take time to relax..even if you take off work and spend the week together at home! You will be so happy you did!

Market Blessings!

We are back from market and wow was that a whirlwind! We did alot of research, tried to decide about having a temporary booth in January and met with some potential rep groups. It was a successful weekend all in all as we came back feeling energized and ready to launch our new designs.

A huge thank you goes out to Monograms America for hosting a private show during market for their special vendors. We were honored to be invited and be a part of the Monograms America family. We are happy to say that we walked away from the show gaininig two new stores! You can now find us in Columbus, MS at Monograms Plus and in A Stitch in Time in Dothan, AL. We are so excited about our new stores and completely enjoyed meeting the owners of these stores. Everyone was so complimentary and wonderful to work with!

After I caught my breath from market, I ventured out to show our new designs to some of our Birmingham stores. After a day of fun, I am overjoyed to say that you can find the new designs at Prissy's, Simplicity as well as a precious new stores in Helena called Wildflower Wax! Check these out and support our wonderful stores!

Well, it's off to Mississippi today. Taylor's parents, Meme and Pops are gracious enough to host Camp Meme~Pops every summer for all 6 granddaughters. I know they have had fun, but must be ready for some relief! On our way, we are going to stop in some stores in Jackson, Ridgeland and Madison. Hopefully, we will end today being able to say that we are in some stores in MS as well.

Blessings to All!
Cindy

Blessed New Designs

We are so excited to be revealing four new designs this Monday in Atlanta!! We have been invited to a private show during market for all of the Monograms Plus stores across the country. This will be our first shot at a smaller version of market. We hope to have a temporary booth at market this coming January. On Monday, we will reveal our Fall 2009 line featuring a peace design centered around "peace" being the first fruit of the spirit, a vine design focusing on "blessed life", a butterfly design centered on joy since the butterfly is a symbol of joy and then a biker-inspired "Blessed" design~ it is very cool! As with our recent new "Blessed Soul" design, we feel that these four new tees will reach out to any woman, teenager or tween. These will be a fashion forward way to express your faith. As always, each tee will include a bible verse related to the them of the shirt. It is our hope that our tees will allow you to share your faith as they stir up conversation in your neighborhood, workplace or just out and about in town.

We will also be unveiling some new additions to our "Blessed Baby" line. Several stores and customers have inquired about bibs, blankets and gowns and we are excited to say that after Monday, we will be offerring these items as well! Each of these new items will include our signature "Blessed Baby" design and will make perfect gifts for that mother to be or newborn.

Check out our website next week to see these new additions to our Blessed Life Designs line.

We are so thankful for the support we have been given over the past few months and covet your prayers as we seek to provide an avenue for people to express their faith while still being fashionable.

Blessings through Friendship

It's been awhile since I last blogged and for that I apologize. We have been on the road doing some serious traveling so I have been trying to play catch up at home. Today, my thoughts on the topic of "Blessings" bring to mind the role of friendships in life. Taylor and I are extremely appreciative and grateful for the friendships that we have in our lives. We can both remember when we first moved to Birmingham and left all of our friends in Mississippi. While we drew closer as a married couple, we both longed for friends. Through our church, which at the time was Valleydale, God brought us a circle of friends like none other. It is so comforting to know that I have a group of Godly women to whom I can turn to for anything...good or bad. These same women are married to Godly men that Taylor can confide in. Through this circle of friends, we have been blessed with Brad and Lori. I can't help but think that God brought us together knowing that someday Blessed Life Designs would be formed. We recently returned from a weekend beach trip with Brad and Lori to SanDestin and I was again reminded of the true model of friendship. How can two people without any kids show such patience with two kids not their own at the beach? My two girls constantly wanted Brad to throw them in the pool, wanted Lori to listen to this story or that. Watch me do this Brad! Listen to this Lori! Never did they waver in their patience! Amazing....I can't say that I am always that way with my kids, much less other people's kids and there they were without any kids of their own ~ loving my girls as if they were their own. It is extremely touching to watch and I am forever grateful to Brad and Lori. Taylor and I felt so honored when Brad and Lori came forward to ask if we would like for them to partner up with us to see Blessed Life Designs go to the next level. They are true friends through and through. I don't think I deserve this, but God I thank you for them!

Blessings from Fathers

As we come out of Father's Day weekend, I am reminded of just how thankful and appreciative I am of the fathers in my life. I am so blessed to have a wonderful relationship with both my own father as well as my father-in-law. From my father, I
have learned such valuable lessons and to him I owe the credit of raising me in a
Christian home, teaching me right from wrong and setting for me the first example of a Christian marriage. My father-in-law of course is credited with raising my husband to be the kind of man who puts God first and me as his wife second. Pops as we call him taught my husband the value of working hard from an early age as well as to honor his marriage. In fact, both mine and Taylor's parents celebrated their 40th wedding anniversary recently.
Today as I take time to reflect, I am so thankful for the father of my children. It is evident in my daily life how important fathers really are in a home. Biblically speaking, God truly knows how much smoother a home will run with a father figure being ever present. I feel so blessed as I stated earlier to have the kind of husband that always puts me and my needs ahead of his own and of our children. Early in our marriage, Taylor drew a line in the sand that our relationship as husband and wife had to come first and that then his role as father would naturally be more healthy. As a mother, there were times that I had a hard time swallowing that. How could I put anyone before my children?? Of course, he has proven to be correct. It is evident that when we are "in tune" in our marriage, the children are more obedient, more respectful and most of all are seeing a model of a healthy, Christ-following marriage. So fathers, as we think about your role as father, the most important gift you can give your children is to love your wife above all things, second only to God.

Blessings Abound

Today I was reminded of looking for blessings from God in the little things! I had the honor of spending the day with my 94 year old great aunt today in Lewisburg, TN to celebrate her birthday. Her name is Annie Pearl...and the cute name fits her cute and sassy personality. I am convinced that her longevity is due to a positive outlook on life and a desire to "never be too old to do anything". Today as we sat and talked, the ever present topic of the economy came up. Annie Pearl was quick to jump into the conversation and remind us that she had already lived through one Depression and that we would survive this one too. It is so easy to get caught up in politics and the federal government and all the things that we don't agree with or don't like, but today I was reminded that we are held NOT in our OWN hands, but in HIS. This is a time, more than ever, to remind those in our circles of influence who may not be believers, that there is a greater purpose in life. In other words, to encourage those around us to have an Eternal perspective. Whatever the trial may be that each of us are undoubtedly going through, that trial is just a patch in the masterpiece of a quilt that God is weaving in our lives. God truly delights in us as His creation and wants us to prosper and succeed. It took my great aunt Annie Pearl, in her 94 years of wisdom to remind me without coming right out and saying it, that I indeed have so many things to count as blessings. No matter if our 401K has decreased by a whole lot, it doesn't matter, because through Him and His providence, we will get through this. Thank you Annie Pearl for this day! It was truly wonderful!

Blessed Soul

Yesterday was the day that our new design was officially unveiled...."Blessed Soul" is finally here. This is a design that is great for anyone as it reaches a different group outside of the "Blessed Mom" clientele. Even my two daughters are excited about wearing it and can get away with wearing a small in the burnout style. Let me get to what it looks like and look for a picture of this new design on the website soon! The design, created by Lori Bailey, is a heart with a wing-like design coming out from each side. Above the heart in really cool, "biker-like" font it reads "Blessed Soul". Underneath the heart and wings it has the verse from Deuteronomy which reads "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your strength". Right now it is availalbe in a washed cherry burnout or in a heather blue destroyed tee. Taylor visited a few of our stores yesterday and they all put in orders for the new design so look for this shirt soon in: Simplicity in Mt. Laurel, Monograms Plus in Vestavia and Houston, TX(!!) and Prissy's in Chelsea. Our sales rep will visit our other stores next week so that they will also have a chance to order.

I am truly amazed and how God is blessing our company with success. We have had the honor to meet some of the kindest and most encouraging store owners here in Birmingham. We really appreciate their business. Check out our tab on the website for the most up to date list of stores that we are in.

I also stand in awe of how God has ordained every step of this business. He sent our precious friends Brad and Lori to be our business partners. I am so thankful for the design ideas that Lori has offered as well as her ability to sell and think outside the box. Brad has emerged as our CEO as he handles all the inventory and money! ~ plus much, much more. And of course, I can't forget my precious husband who supported me in the idea of this endeavor to begin with. How many husbands would get out there and go store to store selling my original "Blessed Mom" t-shirt design? To him, I am forever grateful. He believed in me and my idea when I didn't.

A huge thanks to all of my friends and to even the people I don't know who have bought a shirt. I can't describe the feeling I get when I am out and about in Birmingham and I see someone wearing my shirt. It gives me great joy and I hope that our shirts are creating a spiritual buzz at least here in Birmigham. Now on to other cities.....we covet your prayers as we strive to get our shirts across the country!


Bless your soul!
Cindy

Mom of a 10 year old

Wow! I can't believe that I have a 10 year old. Just a few minutes ago marked the actual time that my oldest daughter was born ten years ago today. It doesn't seem like I should be old enough myself to have a child this old. We are the parents who wanted to get started "early" so that we would still be "young" when our children were grown. Consequently, our oldest daughter has seen her parents evolve in their parenting skills from the young, clueless first time parents to parents who don't know everything but have read enough books (with The Bible being the first and foremost guide in our aresenal) to have some of the right answers.
Parents all around the world will agree that Taylor and I are about to enter those very precarious years when our daughter is tinkering between being a little girl and becoming a young lady. What a task this is to try to raise up a godly young ladly in today's culture. Sidney Claire has brought us so much joy in her unique personality. We often describe her as being an adult trapped in a little girl's body. She is smart beyond her years, witty and ever so caring. She picks up on little things like facial expressions and body language to guage how a person is feeling. Not many children her age even care how the checkout girl at Walmart is feeling, and yet she is constantly aware of these sublties of life. Through her ten year life, she has taught us patience, love without conditions, and to accept people for who they are. God has used Sidney Claire to help me in my career as a school counselor time and time again. I can't even count the times that I have used her as a frame of reference in a parent conference as I try to connect with parents who are struggling.
As the verse on our onesie states "Every good and perfect gift is from above". This is so true. Our children really aren't ours at all, but are gifts from God on loan. It is our hope and desire that God will be pleased with our efforts as parents. Taylor and I feel so blessed to be able to call Sidney Claire our daughter. Happy Birthday SC!

Questions from children??

Why is it, my oldest daughter wonders, that God allows bad things to happen to some people? That is a tough question to answer. There isn't a very clear cut way to explain this to her and I'm not even sure that I completely understand this myself. I tried to explain that God does not necessarily cause bad things to happen to people, but at times allows it as part of a bigger plan or purpose for that person's life. I reminded her of the verse "For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." Jeremiah 29:10-12. This is one of my very favorite verses. I truly believe this as a promise that we have directly from our God. This is what I cling to when I can't explain what is going on in my life or around me in other people's lives that I care so deeply about. God is in control and knows a lot more than little ole me.
In our community group (aka Sunday School) at Double Oak Community Church, we are studying The Shack. This book delves deep into this topic as Mac, the main character questions why God allowed something bad to happen to him. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who is ready to ask some pretty big questions about his or her faith. Although very controversial, this book has really helped me to see the Trinity in a completely new way.
But another question that came to mind is why God gives different blessings to each of us. Taylor and I were talking about this just this week. It is certain that we don't deserve any blessing we receive from God, it is a gift. You probably know by now that I am "anti-luck"...I try hard to not even say things like "that was lucky or even good luck". Nothing is about luck! Nothing is happenstance or coincidental. It is all planned and orchestrated...including the blessings...as part of God's individualized plan for our life. I do believe that when you are walking in obedience with God and are in His will for your life, He will pour out His blessings as never before ... which brings to mind another favorite verse. "Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this, says the LORD Almighty, and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it." Ponder that...and I'll get back to you!

Wishing you a blessed weekend!
Cindy

Tiny tooth

I can't believe it! We feel so blessed for our youngest daughter, Mary Connor, affectionaly known as Hammer (because of the initials in her name MC) to have finally lost her first tooth at the ripe old age of 7!!! This darn tooth has been the hot topic around our house for quite awhile now. The permanent tooth had even started to grow in behind the baby tooth. It looked just a little crazy for sure. We keep telling Hammer to wiggle it and it will fall out. I even tried unsuccessfully to pull it. But last night after a long bike ride up and down our hills, she was sitting in the driveway in "la la land" and stood up and started screaming and crying. "What is wrong?" I asked. "My tooth came out!" she screamed. "That's great!" I replied to which she said "Now my big tooth is gone too and I can't find it!". Basically, she thought that her permanent tooth had come out too for some reason??? Not sure why. So after cleaning up the blood and proving to her that her permanent tooth was still in tack, we wrote a letter to the fairy explaining our dilemma. Lo and behold, this morning we discovered that the fairy had left $10. Wow! That's alot. We explained that the tooth fairy is more giving on the first tooth. Blessings can even be found in teeth!

Wishing you a blessed day!
Cindy

Blessed Weekend

Wow! I am truly amazed at how blessed my life really is! This weekend I celebrated my 36th birthday...shhh!! Don't tell! My husband, our two little girls and my brother's family headed up to my parents house on Smith Lake for a weekend of fun. Despite bad weather on and off, we truly had a good time. As we rode around the lake on our jet skis, I was reminded of the beauty of God's creation. Although Smith Lake is a man-made lake, God gave that man the idea, right? It is the most beautiful place to be..right in the middle of the lake with cliffs and mountain laurel blooming, the sound of children laughing, the smell of grills cooking something that is sure to be delicious. Like Smith Lake, our tshirts at Blessed Life are man-made, but the idea and designs, well...we don't take any credit. All the glory goes to God and he deserves all the credit and honor for giving us this idea that has now turned into an about two month old company. Thank you Lord for all of our blessings!
Wishing you a blessed life too!
Cindy

The Blessed Life Story

After years of dreaming of a hip t-shirt to celebrate both faith and motherhood, the "Blessed Mom" t-shirt design was born. Cindy Smith, the designer, is sure that her life is all about being blessed by God and that nothing in this lifetime is about luck. Through lots of encouragement from her husband, Taylor and partners, Brad and Lori Bailey, Blessed Life Designs is finally a reality. The goal of our company is to provide an avenue for people to express their faith as well as provide an opportunity for our customers to share their faith with others. Wearing a Blessed Life product is a way to show others that you are blessed while sharing with others how they can find that same blessed life. It is our hope that you will enjoy a Blessed Life...
"I will bless the Lord at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth." Psalm 34:1