Turning a Hobby into Cash

About two years ago, I decided to turn my crocheting and writing hobbies into some extra cash for my family.  I was just getting my feet wet, when my daughter was born with some special needs and I needed to take a complete sabbatical from my seedling of a business. Now, 18 months later, I am ready to continue restart my at-home business.

"Business" whoa, that sounds overwhelming.  I am  not looking to create a huge income or anything.  Honestly, I would be beyond thrilled with an extra $200 a month.   However I was quickly confronted by the same obstacles I faced before and am determined to work my way around them, as so many other homemakers have done before me.  

What are these obstacles? 

• My fears of rejection, and failure:  "Will friends and family think I am being ridiculous for even attempting this?" "What if people do not buy my products?" "What if my products are not good enough to sell?" "What if I spend all of this time and energy for nothing?"  

• Guilt: for spending so much time crochet and writing, hobbies that are not yet making me money, but take time away from my children and other responsibilities. 

• Carving out time from my already full days to work my business and balancing my home and business life:  I find that I go between two extremes: days where all I want to do is work my business and I struggle to pull myself away and days where I can get motivated to do anything with my business.  When I am "working," I have constant interruptions from my preschooler and toddler. 

• Actually selling the items I make, which of course requires advertising, pricing, packaging, etc: How do I get my name out there?  Will people really pay that much?  How will I ship my products so that they look "professional"?

•  Distractions and interruptions from my little darlings when I am working on my business: A preschooler and toddler at home--need I say more?

• Creating a business plan I can live with. 

I imagine that many of you face these same obstacles.  So, over the next several posts, I am going to share my business plan and work through these obstacles with you.  I hope these posts inspire or encourage you to take the plunge and turn your hobby into an at-home business too!

God Bless and happy crafting!  

Sarah

   

Modesty for the Modern Catholic- Part 3: Modesty in Speech

Many men in my generation and younger speak to women, about women, and in front of women in terrible ways, using horrible language that tears women down and turns what God has designed to be beautiful and holy into something that is dirty and shameful. For many women, young and old, this type of speech from men is all they know.  Men either talk to and about them as sexual objects or ignore them, so many women feel that their worth is in their sexual nature, their ability to fulfill men’s sexual desires, and nothing more.  Many women—even “good,” Christian women would rather have this kind of attention than none at all, and so they not only allow this type of speech, but also engage in it as well because their own immodest speech brings them the attention of the men around them.     

Modesty for the Modern Catholic--Part 2: Why Modesty?

What is Modesty?  Modesty is the virtue of not drawing attention to ourself through our speech, dress, or conduct. Of course, this does not only apply to sexual attention--although that the most prevalent form of immodesty in our current culture—and it does not apply only to women. The Catechism states that,

Modesty protects the intimate center of the person. It means refusing to unveil what should

remain hidden. It is ordered to chastity to whose sensitivity it bears witness. It guides how one

looks at others and behaves towards them in conformity with the dignity of persons and their

solidarity…… Modesty protects the mystery of persons and their love. It encourages patience

and moderation in loving relationships; it requires that the conditions for the definitive giving

and commitment of man and woman to one another be fulfilled. Modesty is decency. It inspires

one’s choice of clothing. It keeps silence or reserve where there is evident risk of unhealthy

curiosity. It is discreet.—2521 and 2522 of the Catechism of the Catholic Church.

You can purchase Catechism of the Catholic Church: Second Edition from Amazon here!

Simply put, your speech, dress, and conduct guide how others look at and behave towards you. Modesty, the virtue of not drawing (sexual) attention to oneself, protects the dignity of both men and women, and promotes chastity until marriage and within marriage.

When we women use sexual language, dress in skimpy clothing and behave immodestly, we, albeit unintentionally, encourage men to see us as sexual objects, the means to satisfy sexual desire, and nothing more.   Why do we do this? All that attention makes us feel liked, beautiful, powerful, important and validated, albeit for all the wrong reasons.  Thus continues the dangerous cycle that has so damaged and desecrated God’s beautiful and perfect design for human sexuality. 

 

The result of sexual immodesty in our culture has been nothing short of disastrous.

· According to MSNBC, 30% of high school age students are sexually active

· One-Fourth of all high school students have an STD

· Depression and suicide among teens are at all-time highs

· 50% of all marriages end in divorce

· Only 11% of unmarried adults remain chaste until marriage 

· According to the National Center for Health Statistics, the average man will have 7 sexual partners over his lifetime, with 29% having more than 15, and the average woman will have 4 sexual partners in her lifetime, with 9% having more than 15.
 

These statistics are incredibly sad, but even more tragic is our culture's lack understanding as to how we got to this point, and it's of accountability and misguided response to these issues. As faithful Christians, we can promote and protect modesty by being modest ourselves, understanding the church's teaching on the subject, explaining modesty to our children, and shielding our children from immodesty fervently.

So, what does modesty look like? Next week we will look at modesty in speech. What does it look like? How
do we "demand" it? Protect it? Teach our children to value it?