Weekly Word: Psalm 25:2 + Books, Stitching and Gratitude!

Hello There!  

Thank you for stopping in today!  I appreciate the time you take to read this post.  It's been a beautiful weekend spending time with my grandchildren, my husband, my son and long conversations with my daughter.  It's been wonderful.  

I pray you all are safe and content in your lives.  So dear friend, please pull up your favorite chair and beverage and enjoy your time here.   

Here's is an index should you have a special interest you like to read first!  

The Weekly Word - is a short devotional that sometimes becomes a Bible Study series.  

My Reading Life - is filled with current, completed and upcoming reads as well as an occasional short review.      

Stash Report and To Do Tuesday is where I'll share share stats regarding my fiber usage and acquisitions, Slow Sunday Stitching projects, goals met/lack thereof and photos of my projects. 

Gratitude Journal - Sometimes I get lost in my own stinky thinking.  This digital journal reminds me to count my blessings!    

 

The Weekly Word

Psalm 25:1-8

In You, LORD, my God I put my trust.

I trust in You; do not let me be put to shame nor let my enemies triumph over me.

No one who hopes in You will ever be put to shame, but shame will come on those who are treacherous without cause.

Show me Your ways LORD, teach me Your paths.

Guide me in Your truth and tach me for You are God my Savior, and my hope is in You all day long.

Remember, LORD, Your great mercy and love, for they are all from of old.

Do not remember the sins of my youth and my rebellious ways;

according to Your love, remember me, for You LORD, are good.

Whenever a statement is repeated in the Bible especially, I pay attention. Therefore, David’s repetition of his trust in the LORD was thought-provoking. Clearly, David is concerned about his enemies triumphing over him, yet he begins his prayer by declaring and repeating his declaration of trust in the LORD. Amazing.

Only then does he ask God to not let him be put to shame in defeat, to not give his enemies triumph over him.

As I’ve stated before, I am not a Bible scholar per se. I simply and prayerfully read the Word and ask God to show me how to apply it to my own life. And, yes, I am far from perfect! 😊

Anyway, I digress. As I read the second part of the verse, “nor let my enemies triumph over me”, I thought, “Who are my enemies? I am not a soldier or a queen. I am not in battle"  And therein lay my mistake. Remember Ephesians 6, the chapter on spiritual warfare? Remember verse 12?

For we wrestle not against flesh and blood,

but against principalities,

against powers,

against the rulers of the darkness of this world,

against spiritual wickedness in high places.

Ephesians 6:12 KJV

Who is our enemy, our true foe? The defeated one, of course. What do we struggle with that keeps us in the bubble the defeated one has created for us?

Hate? An addiction? Shame? Rumination? Doubt? Fear?

Let us repeatedly confess our trust in the LORD, pray for Him to give us the victory and then move onto truly trusting Him, even if our knees our quaking.

Let us act on our trust in the LORD, even if our heart pounds in fear.

Let us break out of the bubble and move forward in the LORD’s victory this year!

Let not our enemies triumph over us!

My Reading Life

Currently Reading

I finished several books in the last couple of days, so I'll be starting The Sewing Machine and When We Meet Again today. 

Here's an interesting testimony.  Ever since I stopped teaching and my parents relocated, I've been losing my Spanish due to lack of use.  One way to recapture a fading language is via reading and watching shows in the target language.  

Consequently, I've been wanting to read more in Spanish, starting with children's books and slowing increasing the level of difficulty.  But, the LORD was saying, "No, I want you to start with adult books."  Oh boy!  I was so intimidated.  

Then, my husband gave me this book, the Spanish version of A Ballad of Love and Glory by the amazing Reyna Grande!  I was shocked as he has never gifted me a Spanish adult novel!  I asked him if I had shared the above conversation with him and he said, "No, you pointed this book out to me so I got it for you."  I thought I had pointed out the English version.  Either way, Corrido de Amor y Gloria will be my Slow and Steady Read (a phrase I learned from Kathryn at Book Date).  

Finished Reading

**** The Yellow-Lighted Bookshop by Lewis Buzbee is a charming and informative read for us "book geeks" (the terms is borrowed from Mr. Buzbee).  Each chapter begins with a brief, sequential history of the evolution of books and continues with his memoir of his life as a bookseller and book consumer.  He ends with a list of his favorite national and international bookshops and a discussion on the future of bookshops.  Highly recommend to my fellow book geeks.

*****Chasing Fireflies by Charles Martin was an e-book and those take me awhile to get through.  At first I was not liking this book at all, but then, by chapter nine, I was hooked!  One can only fall in love with the characters, from Buddy, to Unc and quiet Aunt Lorna.  Highly recommend.

****The Ghost Who Loved Diamonds by Bobby Holmes is a cute cozy mystery that was this month's enjoyable Buddy Read.  We both loved it and look forward to continuing the series. Highly recommend.    

Stash Report

This week I started a 12 point star baby afghan, so 5.3 ounces of yarn came in.  Other than that, my yarn and fabric numbers are stable.  

YARN

FABRIC

To Do Tuesday

Last Week's List - 

1.  Slow Stitching  

-  Finish Tea Towel 4 NOT DONE. I need about an hours work on it.

- Make progress on Block 3 of the Bee Humble SAL  DONE!  Not only I, but some of the ladies I consider master sewists, struggled with the border.  I learned so much from these ladies and am looking forward to completing the block this week.  

2.  Crochet 

- make progress on my Fall Granny Square afghan NOT DONE.  I packed this away at Christmas and really need to pull it out so I remember to pull it out!  

As I said in my Stash Report, I did start a new project, a baby afghan!  I'm using Lion Brand Mandala Baby yarn in Narnia with a g hook  I really like this new 12 Point Spectrum Afghan pattern by The Crochet Crowd.   It doesn't seem to lay as flat initially, but we'll see how it goes.  What I really like that the pattern numbers in the points are constant which makes it a relaxing, mindless crochet project.    

3. Machine Sewing:  

- Finish the Pieces in the Garden quilt top  DONE!  I can only write what I posted on Instagram:

My #PiecesInTheGarden quilt top is finished! I’ll be making the binding, backing and delivering it to my daughter for her to quilt. I have to say this was one of the most challenging quilt along’s that I have ever participated in. However, it was so worth it as I learned so many new techniques, gained confidence, and completed my first row quilt! Everything I learned and the experience I gained was worth the journey! The skills I’ve picked up have helped me so much with my current QALs! If you look close enough, you’ll see that my rows did not line up on the ends. So some of my poor little blocks got slashed. 🤭. Just the same. It was a wonderful experience, and I love how my quilt came out overall! Thank you @melvalovesscraps and to everyone who encouraged me along the way!

- Make progress on the Christmas quilt - which I have now decided to use the fabric or Christmas placemats!  NOT DONE.  

  

This Week's List

1.  Slow Stitching  

-  Pick one of my many UFOs to finish.  

-  Finish Block 3 of the Bee Humble SAL  

2.  Crochet 

- make progress on my Fall Granny Square afghan 

- make progress on the Sunshine Baby Afghan

3. Machine Sewing:  

-  Inventory which of these quilted quilts need binding, make the binding and get them attached for some slow stitching.   

- Make me some Christmas placemats!    

On the radar

- Stitch up a baby quilt that I've prepped.

- Finish up my daughter's crocheted dishcloths.

- Prep kits for continued use of my Christmas stash

Gratitude Journal

How far will God go for us?  Just listen to How Far by Tasha Layton and learn just how far He'll go for us!  Here's the story behind the song. It's definitely worth your time to listen.

I love LeeAnn's prompt for this week's I Like Thursday:  How do we keep track of things?  "Do we use a calendar? Is it digital and do you like it? Is it a wall calendar? She would like us to share ours and why we chose it.  

My main calendar is on my phone.  That's my Master Calendar because it's online and (supposedly) cannot get lost.

My husband and I use a monthly calendar to make sure we're on the same page.  

My favorite planner is my classic size Happy planner, the Sewing edition.  I'm using the Dashboard layout which is new for me, but I'm liking it.  Happy Planner has some awesome stickers, as well as other available planner stickers.  I use them mainly in my reading journal as well as in my scrapbooks.   

This week my granddaughter made a double cake!  I loved watching her design how her perfect cake - chocolate with two types of frosting, crushed candy canes, sprinkles and Hershey's Syrup!  We did leave a bit unfrosted for her Grandpa!  

I'm missing Mama today, so I made Arroz con Pollo (rice with chicken) using her recipe.  

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You can also expect a visit from me as well!

Here are some blogs I sometimes link up to!

Sunday Salon @ Readerbuzz

Slow Sunday Stitching @ Kathy's Quilts

Sunday Stash @ Quilt, Paint, Create

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? @ Book Date

Sew and Tell @ Melva Loves Scraps (Mondays)

To Do Tuesday @ Carol's Quilt Schmilt

I Like @ Not Afraid of Color (Thursday)

Can I Get A Whoop Whoop? @ Confessions of a Fabric Addict