This is a blog post I wrote several months ago, but for some reason never published. Reading it, I still feel it is wroth sharing. :-)
Parenting is hard work. It is. Whether you homeschool or not you are constantly teaching and training your children. you help with math problems and projects. You kiss boo boos and wipe tears. You text and snap pictures and make silly faces. You hold and cuddle and encourage. And you know your children better than anyone.
Anyone except God.
Let that sink in a minute. God knows your children better than you do. He knows your teenager better than the best friend they have had for 12 years. He loves them more than you do, too. That tiny (or bigger-than-you) human that you would not hesitate to throw your self in front of a bullet for -- God loves that one so much more than you can imagine. Just like he loves you.
Does that overwhelm you a little?
When you parent your child, that child that GOD, the creator of the UNIVERSE knows and loves, does it freak you out a little? It does me.
I have a 5 year old - you know how they like to watch a movie over and over? Today's feature was the second Shrek movie. The one where Fiona is pregnant. And I have seen that movie so many times, but this line struck me today. When Shrek is bemoaning his upcoming fatherhood, he says he's not afraid of a baby ruining HIS life, he's afraid he'll ruin THERE'S.
Ah. Yes. Can you relate?
Afraid you will push too hard or not enough? Do you fear you do too much for your child? Or not enough because there are so many other things in your life right now? Do you think wistfully about making radical changes in your life that you think you need to make, but are gripped by what if's?
All parents have a little trepidation about raising kids. Or at least they SHOULD have! It is a BIG deal to raise a child. There is A LOT of responsibility. And even with a great support group/village/family you, the parent, bear the bulk of that responsibility. Whether you are a fixer, helicopter mom or busy mom, or even think you've got it right with natural consequences balanced with lots of love, there are times when we all feel the weight of raising children. They don't come with instruction books and we won't always make the right choice when dealing with them.
But there is so much good news here. It is OK. Really. We don't have to be perfect.
Don't hear me saying we don't have to try to be the greatest parents ever. Yep, you do have to give it your best. And deep down, you may know you have some area you need to work on.
But I'm hoping to encourage you today. God is working in your child's life, too. Whether you are a Christian or not. God is working on you and your child. He wants to be a part of your life and he has chosen to love you and them faults and all. He is drawing you closer -- listen, I think you will hear it.
You know how it is when you see something in your children -- a potential for something good and wonderful, but they are fearful or unsure of themselves. It is hard not to push them. However, God (often through glorious circumstances) is good to push his children in just the right direction. Gently and lovingly.
I think that may be happening today.
As I drive up the dirt road to my in laws' house I saw a squirrel flopping on the road. Afraid it would be run over, I stopped and got out. I got it to flop onto a towel and I picked it up and put it beside the road, wrapped in the towel. I called Evelyn and asked if she wanted me to bring it home to her. She said she'd go get it, which she did.
When *I* tried to get close to it, it flailed and tried to get away. Evelyn had no trouble like that. She picked it up (she wore heavy duty gloves) and put it in a box and brought it home. Just like that.
A few hours later she can pick it up, turn it and lay it down, and it doesn't even seem to mind. She's just like that. Animals trust her.
She has given it water and infant's pain reliever through a medicine dropper. It responds to her so well. But it is weak. One arm is wounded, one eye won't open. It can't use its back legs well. Probably not going to live long.
But oh that girl! She says she can't be a vet because she doesn't want to put animals down and because she can't stand gore. But as I write this she is bandaging the squirrel's bloody arm with no problems. She's already bathed it with cotton swabs, gently rinsing away the blood from its tiny wounds.
As she works, she knows, i think, that this poor little thing will die. She speaks maturely about the possibility of it dying.
I'm so proud of her heart for animals. I know she has the capacity to be a vet. I've seen it for a long time. God may be working on a future vet here. But I have no idea if that is what she will choose to do. I don't mind either way. My only hope for her (and my other children) is that fear isn't the reason she says no. Fear should not determine our life path. Today is a great step in the right direction. Whether she becomes a vet or not. Today she overcame fear.
Makes me wonder -- what is God working on in my life? How about you?
Tuesday, August 4, 2015
Directing a Craft Show - Series Part 5
I've been directing or helping to direct a craft show for our church for many years. We have around 80 vendor spaces and use the money we make for scholarships for kids to go to camp and mission trips. So, if you are looking for a way to make some money for your group or organization, this is an idea. I'm developing this series of how-to posts so others can do this without the trial and error we've endured.
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Tutorial - Using Google Form Builder to make your craft show application.
And this is part 5. Today let me cover paperwork. There are certain types of information you need to keep and certain things you do not need to keep. There are all kinds of regulations on people's personal information. So the less of it you keep, the better. And if you have paper applications, they need to be in a locked file cabinet or paper safe. (I STRONGLY suggest NOT keeping paper. I suggest you use the Cloud to store your databases. If you MUST do paper, invest in a shredder!)
VENDOR INFORMATION - THE WHAT
Hopefully you sat down with your committee and figured out what information you needed for your application. You need to have their name and what they sell. (Make sure they give you lots of details for what they sell. It is hard enough to place vendors when you know what they will have!)
Here is a link to a short vendor application (not an online form) for you-- the 2014 Welch OK Harvest Days show (let me know if this link becomes inactive -- I expect it will when they put up 2015's application). And this is a link to my application (online form).
Unless you plan to use regular mail, you don't need to keep a vendor's address, but it is useful to collect. For one thing, if a vendor won't give you an address, they may not be the quality you need for your show. And if they give you an address out of state, or more than an hour away, they are a big risk for a no-show. Also, this gives you an idea where your advertising money should go. If 20 vendors are from a nearby city, you will do well to put some flyers up in that community or an ad in that local paper.
The biggest piece of information you need, though, is what they sell. We have never required photos of booths, and never had a juried show, but it might be good to start. Seems every year we have vendors try to intentionally or not sneak stuff in their booths. Like their aunt Sue's Scentsy candles or brochures for their other side business. Not a big deal unless you already have a vendor selling that brand of stuff. Most (ALL) brand companies (MLM's and home party businesses) only allow one seller of their goods per show. If a director of a show allows more than one, it can make a big stink, or worse a cat-fight at the show. One of the WORST things you can have happen is two vendors fighting. IN. FRONT. OF. SHOPPERS. Bad, bad, bad! Even in front of other vendors -- it is just bad.
You MUST be willing to enforce the rules. If it isn't listed on their application, They don't display it without permission.
Everyone must describe in detail what they are selling. This is a big help when determining who goes where. There are two chains of thought on this issue. One says all like items together so you have a jewelry section, a hair bows section, home decor section, etc. We don't do this. When I imagine them right next to each other, comparing products and prices and who applied first, etc. Nightmare!
We loosely organize ours by when vendors applied and their requirements/requests, and we do our best to separate vendors of like items. We try to keep people away from their direct competition. That means we don't put two jewelry vendors next to each other if we can help it even though the jewelry is usually unique in each booth and it might not be a big deal. This is hard with those vendors who list "hair bows, crochet items, homemade candles and jewelry" on their application. They usually end up near someone with similar items, but they have such a wide variety, I never feel like they are in direct competition.
That reminds me. Organizers have to have thick skin. You WILL be griped at and criticized. Some vendors will not do well, and will blame the show. They will compare you to every show they've ever been to, real or imagined. Especially in your first few shows, they will complain -- because you are going to make some mistakes and it will FEEL less organized than it is just because you will be more nervous. Even when the vendors stop complaining (like at our shows -- we hardly ever have them complain any more), YOU will know ever mistake you made.
Plan to go out after the show and process or scream or laugh or cry. You will be exhausted, and beat up and thrilled -- its a crazy time emotionally. Maybe have a drink at a friends' or a quiet dinner at home with your hubby -- surround yourself with a person or two who wholly support you. Plan to meet with your committee a few days later. DON'T let your church schedule you to interview a preacher candidate after the show... (He's great -- it all worked out -- but his first impression of me must have been a bit strange.)
OK, true story--- I once had a vendor have a conniption because we gave out the tax information from the local government's website and it disagreed with her phone app's tax information. She talked to everyone who would listen all day long and the whole flock of vendors where she sat had a little trash-the-organizers party. She even made a point to tell her customers... For some reason she didn't have good sales and has never been back... hmmm... go figure!
VENDOR INFORMATION - STORAGE
If you used my earlier tutorial to make an application, you already have a spreadsheet for vendor information that is being collected each time a person applies for your show from your website. You need to add a column for "paid" and a column for notes. To do that, open the responses spreadsheet and type in the header name (i.e.: "paid" and "notes") in the next two blank rectangles to the right of your existing data headings. This will not change anything else, and you can add information at any time. However, do not change the order of the columns. (Don't insert a column.) Just add them at the end. This is where your administrative data goes.
Feel free to skip on down now if you have used my tutorial. If you did not use my earlier tutorial, you need a place to capture and store vendor information.
We maintain a database of vendor information on a spreadsheet. We have used Excel and Open Office spreadsheets in the past. Currently we use one on Google Docs, which allows us to share information as needed but still easily limit who sees the information. Having the information in a spreadsheet is an essential time saver which allows us to sort easily and do an electronic search when we are trying to find something.
If you are not familiar with a spreadsheet, do not be concerned. Anyone can use one. To find out which, if any, spreadsheet software you have on your computer, click on the start icon. On Windows PC's it looks like a blue marble with the Windows icon in the center. It is usually on the lower left hand corner of your screen. It is what you click on to start any program.
Just above the search bar you will see "All Programs." Clicking on that will bring up a list of all the programs on your computer.
* If you have Microsoft Office, you will click on the folder labelled Microsoft Office, and a submenu will show the various programs. Microsoft's spreadsheet program is called Excel.
* If you have Open Office, you will click on the folder labelled Open Office, and a submenu will show the various programs. The Open Office spreadsheet program is called Calc.
* If you are going all online and use Google Docs, open your Google Docs account. You will use Google Sheets.
Click on your program to open it. (On Google Docs, click on new then Google Sheets.) You will notice its simply a page of boxes.
Columns go up and down, rows go across the page.
Type the column names (also called headers) across the first row. Make them bold. You can change the column width by clicking on the line between columns and moving it right or left as desired. You can also change the size of the font. To change it for the entire spreadsheet, click on the box to the left of the "A" column and above the "1" row. That should highlight the entire sheet. Then change the font size as normal (format, font or whatever it is for your program)
Type in your vendor information as you get it. Name under the name column, phone number under the phone under the phone column etc. Be sure to stay on the correct row. ONE row for each vendor. If they have more information than will fit in your box, like a second vendor name, just add it. You can change the width or change the font size if you need to later. Hitting Control/Enter together or Alt/Enter together will often make a new line in a single box.
FINANCIAL INFORMATION
We USED to make a copy of all checks and staple them to the application. We did it to show that the vendor had paid. We do not do that any more. We do not want to be liable if someone were to get the banking information from a check from us. MOST of our vendors pay with Paypal now, and beginning last year we have a credit card reader. So. Much. Safer.
We keep track of who has paid in our spreadsheet. We simply add a column to the spreadsheet for "paid" and mark it off.
If their check doesn't clear, you will get it back and have the information you need. Why have to worry about someone seeing it and using it? The same thing for any kinds of financial information such as bank accounts, credit cards, etc. DON'T keep those records.
Don't ask for Social Security numbers. You have no need for them. [UNLESS you have to report sales for your vendors to your state for tax purposes. I have no idea how to do that, so I can't help there. If you could find that vendor -- she'd set you up rigtht! I can't help you, though, cause I don't even remember her name. She sold very high dollar handbags and outfits-- nothing under $100, I remember. ]
If you do have sensitive information, as soon as possible, shred it. (Unless your accountant says otherwise, of course.)
NAMING CONVENTIONS
As a general rule, you will want to put the year in everything you make for your show. This helps to avoid saving over last year's data when starting the process for the new year. So you will have application 2015, craft show spreadsheet 2015, layout 2015, etc. If you do more than one show a year, you will put the season or some other identifying part in your name. Spring 2015 or Holiday 2015.
CONTACTS
You will also need a way to contact and send out information. You will want a few lists. You will need to communicate with your committee. You will want to send information to your whole group, your volunteers and your vendors. You will also need to keep track of where you have posted the ads for the show. Spreadsheets are great for keeping track of lists like this. But when it comes time to send out the communication, it can be tricky.
If you do a paper communication, you can use a mail merge from your spreadsheet. usually your spreadsheet or your editing software will have a built in 'wizard' or tool to help you do this.
To send an email from your spreadsheet, check out this tutorial from Google;
https://developers.google.com/apps-script/articles/sending_emails
I have not used it yet, and I will have to change the order of our data or copy and paste it (more likely) into a new spreadsheet, but I love this idea.
Otherwise, you need to set up a list in your email. We have Hotmail -- there is a tutorial here for making a mailing list in hotmail.
Good luck on your show!
Staci
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Tutorial - Using Google Form Builder to make your craft show application.
And this is part 5. Today let me cover paperwork. There are certain types of information you need to keep and certain things you do not need to keep. There are all kinds of regulations on people's personal information. So the less of it you keep, the better. And if you have paper applications, they need to be in a locked file cabinet or paper safe. (I STRONGLY suggest NOT keeping paper. I suggest you use the Cloud to store your databases. If you MUST do paper, invest in a shredder!)
VENDOR INFORMATION - THE WHAT
Hopefully you sat down with your committee and figured out what information you needed for your application. You need to have their name and what they sell. (Make sure they give you lots of details for what they sell. It is hard enough to place vendors when you know what they will have!)
Here is a link to a short vendor application (not an online form) for you-- the 2014 Welch OK Harvest Days show (let me know if this link becomes inactive -- I expect it will when they put up 2015's application). And this is a link to my application (online form).
Unless you plan to use regular mail, you don't need to keep a vendor's address, but it is useful to collect. For one thing, if a vendor won't give you an address, they may not be the quality you need for your show. And if they give you an address out of state, or more than an hour away, they are a big risk for a no-show. Also, this gives you an idea where your advertising money should go. If 20 vendors are from a nearby city, you will do well to put some flyers up in that community or an ad in that local paper.
The biggest piece of information you need, though, is what they sell. We have never required photos of booths, and never had a juried show, but it might be good to start. Seems every year we have vendors try to intentionally or not sneak stuff in their booths. Like their aunt Sue's Scentsy candles or brochures for their other side business. Not a big deal unless you already have a vendor selling that brand of stuff. Most (ALL) brand companies (MLM's and home party businesses) only allow one seller of their goods per show. If a director of a show allows more than one, it can make a big stink, or worse a cat-fight at the show. One of the WORST things you can have happen is two vendors fighting. IN. FRONT. OF. SHOPPERS. Bad, bad, bad! Even in front of other vendors -- it is just bad.
You MUST be willing to enforce the rules. If it isn't listed on their application, They don't display it without permission.
Everyone must describe in detail what they are selling. This is a big help when determining who goes where. There are two chains of thought on this issue. One says all like items together so you have a jewelry section, a hair bows section, home decor section, etc. We don't do this. When I imagine them right next to each other, comparing products and prices and who applied first, etc. Nightmare!
We loosely organize ours by when vendors applied and their requirements/requests, and we do our best to separate vendors of like items. We try to keep people away from their direct competition. That means we don't put two jewelry vendors next to each other if we can help it even though the jewelry is usually unique in each booth and it might not be a big deal. This is hard with those vendors who list "hair bows, crochet items, homemade candles and jewelry" on their application. They usually end up near someone with similar items, but they have such a wide variety, I never feel like they are in direct competition.
That reminds me. Organizers have to have thick skin. You WILL be griped at and criticized. Some vendors will not do well, and will blame the show. They will compare you to every show they've ever been to, real or imagined. Especially in your first few shows, they will complain -- because you are going to make some mistakes and it will FEEL less organized than it is just because you will be more nervous. Even when the vendors stop complaining (like at our shows -- we hardly ever have them complain any more), YOU will know ever mistake you made.
Plan to go out after the show and process or scream or laugh or cry. You will be exhausted, and beat up and thrilled -- its a crazy time emotionally. Maybe have a drink at a friends' or a quiet dinner at home with your hubby -- surround yourself with a person or two who wholly support you. Plan to meet with your committee a few days later. DON'T let your church schedule you to interview a preacher candidate after the show... (He's great -- it all worked out -- but his first impression of me must have been a bit strange.)
OK, true story--- I once had a vendor have a conniption because we gave out the tax information from the local government's website and it disagreed with her phone app's tax information. She talked to everyone who would listen all day long and the whole flock of vendors where she sat had a little trash-the-organizers party. She even made a point to tell her customers... For some reason she didn't have good sales and has never been back... hmmm... go figure!
VENDOR INFORMATION - STORAGE
If you used my earlier tutorial to make an application, you already have a spreadsheet for vendor information that is being collected each time a person applies for your show from your website. You need to add a column for "paid" and a column for notes. To do that, open the responses spreadsheet and type in the header name (i.e.: "paid" and "notes") in the next two blank rectangles to the right of your existing data headings. This will not change anything else, and you can add information at any time. However, do not change the order of the columns. (Don't insert a column.) Just add them at the end. This is where your administrative data goes.
Feel free to skip on down now if you have used my tutorial. If you did not use my earlier tutorial, you need a place to capture and store vendor information.
We maintain a database of vendor information on a spreadsheet. We have used Excel and Open Office spreadsheets in the past. Currently we use one on Google Docs, which allows us to share information as needed but still easily limit who sees the information. Having the information in a spreadsheet is an essential time saver which allows us to sort easily and do an electronic search when we are trying to find something.
If you are not familiar with a spreadsheet, do not be concerned. Anyone can use one. To find out which, if any, spreadsheet software you have on your computer, click on the start icon. On Windows PC's it looks like a blue marble with the Windows icon in the center. It is usually on the lower left hand corner of your screen. It is what you click on to start any program.
Just above the search bar you will see "All Programs." Clicking on that will bring up a list of all the programs on your computer.
* If you have Microsoft Office, you will click on the folder labelled Microsoft Office, and a submenu will show the various programs. Microsoft's spreadsheet program is called Excel.
* If you have Open Office, you will click on the folder labelled Open Office, and a submenu will show the various programs. The Open Office spreadsheet program is called Calc.
* If you are going all online and use Google Docs, open your Google Docs account. You will use Google Sheets.
Click on your program to open it. (On Google Docs, click on new then Google Sheets.) You will notice its simply a page of boxes.
Columns go up and down, rows go across the page.
Type the column names (also called headers) across the first row. Make them bold. You can change the column width by clicking on the line between columns and moving it right or left as desired. You can also change the size of the font. To change it for the entire spreadsheet, click on the box to the left of the "A" column and above the "1" row. That should highlight the entire sheet. Then change the font size as normal (format, font or whatever it is for your program)
Type in your vendor information as you get it. Name under the name column, phone number under the phone under the phone column etc. Be sure to stay on the correct row. ONE row for each vendor. If they have more information than will fit in your box, like a second vendor name, just add it. You can change the width or change the font size if you need to later. Hitting Control/Enter together or Alt/Enter together will often make a new line in a single box.
FINANCIAL INFORMATION
We USED to make a copy of all checks and staple them to the application. We did it to show that the vendor had paid. We do not do that any more. We do not want to be liable if someone were to get the banking information from a check from us. MOST of our vendors pay with Paypal now, and beginning last year we have a credit card reader. So. Much. Safer.
We keep track of who has paid in our spreadsheet. We simply add a column to the spreadsheet for "paid" and mark it off.
If their check doesn't clear, you will get it back and have the information you need. Why have to worry about someone seeing it and using it? The same thing for any kinds of financial information such as bank accounts, credit cards, etc. DON'T keep those records.
Don't ask for Social Security numbers. You have no need for them. [UNLESS you have to report sales for your vendors to your state for tax purposes. I have no idea how to do that, so I can't help there. If you could find that vendor -- she'd set you up rigtht! I can't help you, though, cause I don't even remember her name. She sold very high dollar handbags and outfits-- nothing under $100, I remember. ]
If you do have sensitive information, as soon as possible, shred it. (Unless your accountant says otherwise, of course.)
NAMING CONVENTIONS
As a general rule, you will want to put the year in everything you make for your show. This helps to avoid saving over last year's data when starting the process for the new year. So you will have application 2015, craft show spreadsheet 2015, layout 2015, etc. If you do more than one show a year, you will put the season or some other identifying part in your name. Spring 2015 or Holiday 2015.
CONTACTS
You will also need a way to contact and send out information. You will want a few lists. You will need to communicate with your committee. You will want to send information to your whole group, your volunteers and your vendors. You will also need to keep track of where you have posted the ads for the show. Spreadsheets are great for keeping track of lists like this. But when it comes time to send out the communication, it can be tricky.
If you do a paper communication, you can use a mail merge from your spreadsheet. usually your spreadsheet or your editing software will have a built in 'wizard' or tool to help you do this.
To send an email from your spreadsheet, check out this tutorial from Google;
https://developers.google.com/apps-script/articles/sending_emails
I have not used it yet, and I will have to change the order of our data or copy and paste it (more likely) into a new spreadsheet, but I love this idea.
Otherwise, you need to set up a list in your email. We have Hotmail -- there is a tutorial here for making a mailing list in hotmail.
Good luck on your show!
Staci
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