12 Days of Home for the Holidays Welcomes Cheryl Waters

 Cheryl Waters

Messengers of Hope

Christmas is a season of family time, thankfulness, gifts (both tangible and otherwise) and a season of Good News!  Most often, messages of good news are brought from angels above.  So many Christmas Carols share of angels.  Especially approaching this Christmas, I’ve been doing a lot of pondering about angels myself.  The tune “Angels We Have Heard On High” rings dear to my heart!

On November 2^nd of last year (2012), I was diagnosed with breast cancer.  This last year has been one of physical challenge and some emotional, but it has also been one of discovering what I call ‘gifts in the journey.’  It has been a year of making each day count, appreciating life, family, my faith, and friends even more so!  While I was undergoing treatment I still created.  Art was a friend and an outlet.  Art journaling was a way to simply convey my experiences.  I’ve shared a bit of my journey on my blog, experiences of hope and blessing I’ve met along my journey.  

While I am not thankful for cancer, I am thankful for the blessings I’ve experienced in my journey so far.  Isn’t Christmas about the gifts we’ve been given and desire to give.  I’ve been given so many gifts . . . too many to list but gifts are treasures we find while traveling the road of life (some seasons of challenge and other seasons of victory). 

A couple of gifts in my journey have included the opportunity to be able to help another as they begin their own fight with cancer.  We only have to be one step ahead to help someone and we all need each other!  It’s a blessing to be able to use the experiences and bits of wisdom we gain.   Another is appreciating the life we are given with an even greater gratitude and making every day count!   Yet others include personal growth, camaraderie, the sweet and skilled nurses, doctors and staff that are caring for me, learning to trust with fewer boundaries, and the peace and rest I’ve experienced in the midst of challenge.  

Another gift through challenge and the journey is focus.  When walking through a time such as this it helps to define priorities, helps you not sweat the small stuff and allows you to move forward with a deeper strength.  But I don’t walk alone.  No, no.  It is because of the incredible and loving circle of support that has rallied around me that I’m able to walk through such a time.  My faith, family, friends, co-workers, new individuals brought into my life have lifted me up and touched my heart!

None of us know if there is a tomorrow.  When you are diagnosed, you are reminded of the importance to LIVE each day and do it with fervency, purpose and hope.  Making each day count is so important!  So I plan on having a purposeful Christmas with family and friends.  We will be practicing gratitude and remembering the ‘Angels We Have Heard on High.’  

Angels we have on heard high
Sweetly singing ore the plains
And the mountains in reply
Echoing their joyous strains
Gloria in excelsis Deo
Gloria in excelsis Deo

At Christmas time, we think of those angels singing in multitudes with great joy as the world welcomed hope in the form of baby Jesus.  This season offers hope and I’ll be joining with other voices to sing that message out loud!  I know that Christmas time can be a lonely holiday for some individuals or a time of challenge.  That saddens me.  That makes my heart want to shout even louder the message hope and peace Christmas has to offer!

I complete my last surgery (hopefully) on November 18^th and plan on celebrating Christmas with my family and friends.  The hope and peace that this season represents will resonate in my heart!   I wish the same for you and yours.  Will you join me in singing Christmas carols that are so dear to our hearts and that offer a continuous message of hope?  Maybe you celebrate differently . . . this season no matter how celebrated offers light, love and hope.  Let’s sing it out together as we celebrate hope, peace and as we relish each moment given to us as a gift!

Please gift yourself a gift this year and get that exam maybe you've been putting off or give yourself one.  If you are of the male counter part (men can get breast cancer too), you have women in your life you love; friends, family, spouses . . . encourage them to do the same.  Life is a gift . . . it's what Christmas is all about . . . life, hope and light.  When you get your check ups or encourage others to do the same; you may be extending life.  You are worth it, you are precious, you are unique and there's only one of you in the world.  Gift yourself and remember to take care of you!

I’ve included a little video of a vintage inspired fabric necklace as a reminder of the sweet angels who sing of the season’s message.   I hope you enjoy this tutorial.  You can wear it on your person, hang it in your home or gift one to a friend who needs a reminder of sweet hope.  Enjoy!

Cheryl
Artsy Findings blog
Artsy Findings website
Artsy Findings shop

Cheryl has listed a couple of her mix media art creation originals:  two Angels, Hope and Joy . . . in the Artsy Findings shoppe.  Cheryl is offering a Cyber Monday sale as well with 15 percent off of all product including those angels. Artsy Findings Angels of Hope and Joy.

  

Photo Tip of the Day
Relax. Whether you are taking the photos or you’ve hired a professional…just relax. To get the most out of your photos with children involved make sure that they aren’t tired or hungry. It is important to let children be free. I’ve found that some of the best photos of children are those candid, non-forced smiles. I also find that when you try to direct them, ask them to smile or look here or there, typically that tends to make a child tense. So just have fun!

Sponsored Giveaway 

 -Leave a comment for our guest, Cheryl Waters.
-Choose at least one of Cheryl's social media/blog outlets and follow (you can do more than one.)
-Bring a friend.
-"Like" and leave a comment on our sponsors Facebook page.  (LINKS)
Note:  May Arts Ribbons is for 3 rolls of your choice. 
Leave separate comments of each item you accomplish. There will be a random drawing on December 13 for the entire sponsored giveaway. For details CLICK here.
*All giveaways are open to USA residents only.

Happy Holidays!