I Don't Make Money Doing What I Love

Do what you love.  This is the mantra of our day and age, and it is particularly loved by my generation.  It's almost like it's our sacred duty to that which we love.  And why not?  Who wouldn't want to do what brings them joy and fulfillment?

But the mantra doesn't stop there.  We aren't just to do what we love, we are to make money doing it.  It is to be our career, our vocation, our way of making a livelihood.  And again, there isn't anything inherently wrong with that.  I know many people who are able to make money doing what they love, and I am so happy for them!

I get to do a lot of things that I love.  Today I'm particularly thinking about writing on this blog, making videos for my YouTube channel, and making arts and crafts.  These are all things that could make me money.  But I don't make money.  On purpose.  I've thought about it, that's for sure.  As a stay-at-home mom, my husband is the one who primarily works, but the subconscious pressure I put on myself to find a way to contribute is very real.

But whenever I consider using what I love as a way of making money, I find a hesitation in my heart that forbids me.

For example, think about this blog and my YouTube channel.  Those are both ways that people can make money.  It's certainly not easy money, and I'm still too small to make much, but I could make some, if I wanted to.  But how I would make that money is through allowing advertising on my blog posts and before my videos.

But I don't like advertising.  It's not just that it's annoying (which it is), but I would have no control over the content of the advertising, and I have serious problems with the vast majority of advertising that happens in our world.  Most advertising promotes discontent, consumerism, materialism, hedonism, unsustainable use of the earth's resources, and the objectification of both women and men.  How can I allow that on my work?  When people visit my blog or my channel I want them to hear from my heart, not be bombarded once again by the parts of our culture that try to drag us down.  I could be earning money, but money isn't the most important thing.

I also enjoy arts and crafts.  I've often had people say that I should sell the things that I make, and I've often thought about it.  But for some reason I don't really want to.  That doesn't mean I would be opposed to someone asking me to make them something and wanting to pay me for it.  But I don't want to make things with the sole purpose of earning money, to try to convince people that they need more handmade scarves and Christmas ornaments and baby toys.  I want to make things that are needed, not try to create a need for things that I make.

I don't say any of this to belittle those who do use advertising or those who make things to sell.  But I do want to encourage you to stop and think with me.  Our culture tries to tell us that money is everything, that we always need more.  But instead of grabbing at every chance to make a few more dollars, let's evaluate what is really most important to us.  What are we promoting?  What are our actions saying about what we value?

I don't make money doing what I love. 

Maybe someday I will, but right now that isn't what is most important.

Journal Entry

I've found that people tend to either love keeping a journal or not be interested in keeping a journal at all.  I fall into the former category.  I started my first journal when I was quite young, and have kept a journal with varying regularity ever since then.  Over time the writing in my journal changed from facts about my day to processing emotions and exploring questions about my faith.  I don't find much time to journal these days, but when I do it's usually because I need to process something, and my journal tends to be filled with angst, frustration, and fluctuating emotions.

I thought that I would share a recent entry with you, because I think it expresses how I've been doing lately.  And it's actually not particularly angsty or emotional...


I feel like lately I've started to feel like I don't know so much.  And it's strange, because I'm actually ok with that.  In fact a lot of what I took pride in before seems to have slipped away.  I used to be so busy - all about being better, doing more, accomplishing things, learning more, being insightful, being creative and talented....  But these days a lot of the time I'm surprisingly ok with not being like that.  It's a lot more about being... being still, being present, being quiet.  Is it a mom thing?  A getting older thing?  I don't know.  But I like it.  To know that I am me, that I am significant - but not even that, because significance doesn't seem so important - just that I am... without being emotionally insightful, without being smart, without being productive, without being creative, without all of that.  This is a season of just being....  I suppose there will be times for tasks and goals and "great deeds"... but right now I am enjoying the humble little valley.


 The Valley

It's peaceful in the valley
But I'm ready to be gone -
To climb the mountains, see the sights,
And prove that I am strong.
To do great things, to gain high praise,
Be seen as wise and free.
It's peaceful in the valley
But I'm restless as can be.

It's peaceful in the valley;
My master bids me stay,
To set aside my busy life,
To wait and watch and pray.
To live in this moment I'm given now
And see how I am blessed.
It's peaceful in the valley,
Can I learn to be at rest?

It's peaceful in the valley,
And gradually I see
Quiet life flowers all around,
Wind whispers soft to me.
The sun is warm, I breathe again,
There is no need to roam.
It's peaceful in the valley
And at last my heart is home.
 

14 Months

Well, time flies... and I haven't been very good at keeping up with my blog (or my youtube channel, or twitter) over past week or so.  Things have been going pretty well around here.  I think my "morning sickness" is slowly starting to improve (yay!).  I'm still tired a lot, but Steven has been sleeping and napping well, so that gives me the opportunity to rest.  Steven has been growing and learning like crazy!  He climbs whatever he can, splashes in puddles, dances and "sings" along to music, loves going outside, and can name several kinds of food including apples, cheese, and crackers (all of which are favourites).  His love of life is infectious and brightens our home so much!

Rock climbing!

So much to explore outside

Snack time!

Out for ice cream with Mommy!

Splashing in puddles

Enjoying time with Grandma Winger

Our precious boy

Lessons from a Baby: Wonder

One of the joys of having a year old child toddling through your life is that you get to watch them experiencing the world through new eyes.  Steven is fascinated by everything that he sees.  Our walks and other outdoor adventures are often accompanied by a pointing finger and a mouth opened wide to say "ooohhhh!".  It doesn't matter if it's the geese at the park, a person walking by, or rainwater pouring into a storm drain on the road, everything about the world is new and exciting.

He has also learned how to say "wow!".  He says it often, whether he is flipping through the pages of a picture book or playing with one of his toys.

For Steven, the world is amazing.  Dripping water keeps making noise.  Gravity keeps working no matter how many times you drop something.  From the moment he wakes until he falls asleep, he doesn't stop on his journey of discovery.  Every rock must be climbed, every pebble must be tasted.

How different it is for those of us who have made more trips around the sun.  Things that were once incredible become ordinary.  We get busy and rush through life without noticing the things and people that we are passing.

No wonder Jesus said that the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these (the little children).  If we become so bored and jaded in our few short years on this beautiful earth, broken as it may be, how can we expect to fully enjoy the wonder and majesty of the Kingdom when all is restored?

Steven challenges me to slow down and open up my senses once again to the wonder of the world around me.  I challenge you, as I challenge myself, the next time you see a plant growing through a crack in the pavement, the next time you have a chance to splash in a puddle, the next time you are surrounded by your family, let's pause for a moment and say "wow!".