My First Gift

Well I was barely recovering from utilizing my first exception to the "no shopping" rule, when I was completely blindsided by the second exception - receiving a gift.

I notified the lovely and amazing Rebekah Marshall that she was the winner of the "Never Too Hood To Do Good" tank donated by the White Rabbit shop.  And to my surprise, this is what she said:

I honestly didn't even know what to say! To say this was a shock, is an understatement. It had never occurred to me to that someone would do this. Rebekah's generous spirit was unbelievable! I knew I had to do more than just take "one out". I had to pay this forward in some way. So this is what I decided to do. I went into my closet and I decided to pick something that had special meaning to me. I found 2 things.

Both of these shirts are near and dear to my heart. This first project was inspired by a shirt I saw on Instagram at Target Does It Again. If I was a shopping girl, I would have headed straight to Target to get that adorable tie-dyed shirt. But, since that was off limits, I decided to make my own. I had an old purple Hanes sweatshirt and a bottle of Clorox. I put the 2 together and ... Voila! 

Then Valentine's Day rolled around and I wanted a "festive" shirt. Again, I had nothing. And I couldn't buy anything. So I pulled out the bottle of Clorox a second time. I used an old burgundy sweatshirt (I wish I had red or pink, but burgundy would have to do). I grabbed one of the kids paint brushes and painted a heart using the Clorox. Magic! I had a perfect shirt for Valentine's. 

I didn't really want to get rid of either of these tops because they both had sentimental meaning to me, especially the first one. But for some reason, that the was the shirt that "the little voice in my heart" was telling me I should donate. I ignored it and decided I would give up the heart one instead. Then I went to get my hair done by the truly awesome Angela Noreck of Mirage Hair Studio. I told her what I planning to do. Then I told her I was holding on to the purple one for "sentimental reasons". It was at that moment that she quickly pointed out, "If you are holding onto an object for sentimental reasons, then it definitely needs to go! You are putting too much importance on a thing." Wow!! Truth!! It hit me like a bullet. Still, I was hesitant to let it go. So I decided I would put it to a vote.

And can you guess which shirt won?? 

Oh yes. By a landslide. When God puts something on your heart, there is no use trying to change the subject or find an alternative. In the end, His will prevails. Every time.

If you are interested in bidding on this shirt, head on over to my Instagram account. The sweatshirt is a size Small. The auction starts Monday, March 24, 2013 at noon EST and will end Wednesday, March 26 at noon EST. 100% of proceeds will go to benefit Thornwell Home for Children - an orphanage in my home state of SC. 

Thank you for your support!

Take less. Give more. Be blessed and inspired.