Life's Treasures

To me one of the most important types of treasures are friends. Friends come in all styles and from all walks of life. Some start out as family and wind up as friends, some start as friends and then become the start of a family. Some start out during our school days and where once they were “bosom buddies”, “friends for ever”, they became disconnected or just lose track of each other. Some we meet in person, some through correspondence, others at least nowadays we met online. But wherever they come from and however long they last, a short time or a lifetime, friends can be real gems, something to treasure. A friend can cry with us or help us to sing when we really feel like crying. A friend can make us laugh and forget our cares and woes for a minute. A friend can drop a note at just the right time to encourage us. A friend can push us in the right direction even when it seems they are being harsh on us. I remember a good friend I had when I worked in San Francisco, she took me to lunch once when I was going through a very rough time in my life. As we sat talking I was blaming everyone and everything else for my lot in life. She made me face myself and accept the responsibility for my life. It was hard, I actually hated myself when she was finished but to this day I say she was used of God to make me look in the mirror and see what I had become and where I was headed. It was a direct result of that meeting that I turned my life around and gave my heart to God. A friend can be a treasure indeed.

Speaking of treasures – In my last post I mentioned treasuries on Etsy. I thought I would write a little about them. Etsy is an online marketplace for all things handmade, for supplies, and for vintage (20+) items. Whatever you might be looking for from pillows to original art to a gift for a co-worker or just a quirky fun object to brighten up your day, you’re sure to find it on Etsy.
One thing they let both buyers and sellers do is showcase the work of others. You select 16 items from the vast array of wares, 12 of them will be the main treasury and 4 will be alternates. Arrange then the way you like and then when the opportunity arises, type in your title and load up your selections. Others will come in and look at the items and leave comments. A treasury lasts for 2-3 days. They are so much fun to do and you get a “feel good” feeling for encouraging and promoting others. I've placed a couple of treasuries I have made in the past here in this post. Etsy uses some of these treasuries for their home page. Of course the frosting on the cake is to have your treasury make the front page. But even without that they are still a joy to make. The next best thing is to have someone put one of your items in their treasury!
Every time I start searching for items to put in a treasury I am amazed at the variety of items offered on Etsy.
To find the treasuries go to Etsy’s homepage, look on the left-hand side scroll down to the Explore box and you’ll find the word Treasury. Click on that and you’ll see a list of treasuries (333+) to choose from. Be prepared though you could lose track of time once you start viewing them!


Encouraging others – to me that’s what life is all about!