February 23: Jeremiah 2:13, Fun Fiber Projects, Literary Life and Finding Joy

Hello There,

Thank you for visiting!  We've been home a week and I'm slowly getting back into a routine.  The weather has been so warm we took our portable greenhouse down so I could prune the plants and they could enjoy some nice temps.  I hope your weather is also enjoyable!    

Please pull up a chair, get cozy and enjoy this weekly post.  

HERE'S A WORD - Faith...broken faith...faltering faith.  Here I will share a Scripture about these topics.  No judgement, only love.  

When our faith is faltering, how do we react?  Do we go too God's cisterns that hold the spring of living water or to our own cisterns which cannot hold water?

Perhaps, like me, (full transparency here), you go to your own cistern, not trusting God's cistern to satisfy your thirst, heal your pain, remedy the situation.  We falter in our belief  that  "we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose."  Romans 8:28.  

After all, we may justify to ourselves, "How can a wayward child, death or a long-term illness instead of a healing, violence instead of rescue, failure instead of success be 'for the good' ?"

Then I remember Psalm 139:7:  Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence?

Where indeed?

Once we have known the presence of God in our lives, we know the difference between His cistern and our own.

Eventually we will realize He is with us

as we weep and lose hope for that wayward child,

as we ask, "Why?" through our tears and frustration of dealing with grief or long-term illness,

as we heal from violence,

as we lick our wounds from failure.  

He is with us in the darkness.

Even if we can't feel Him.

Even if we don't want Him there, 

I have to believe He is with us,

patiently waiting 

for us 

to accept the fresh waters from His cistern. 

FIBER FUN  

Crochet:

I've made progress on my Spring Flower Afghan by almost finishing a row.  It's taken time to reacquaint myself with the project and to relearn the pattern - a common occurrence with UFOs. 😏  

Hand Embroidery/Cross Stitch:  

I got quite a bit accomplished on the Joy to the World by Mollie Johansen at Wild Olive.  All the pink and blue stars are finished.  I had fun using split chain stitches on the stars.   

English Paper Piecing:

I picked up this make-up  bag in Tucson and found it very useful for a secret sewing project.  Now it's storage for the RSC completed Connecting Hearts.  I do believe two layers should fit, so it should be perfect for stitching them onto the quilt piece.  

Quilting:  

My daughter and I were playing with the blocks I've made for the Pieces of the Santa Fe Trail by Melva Loves Scraps.  Because of the dark green square in the middle, I decided to make it a nine block quilt vs a twelve block quilt.  One of the nurses who cared for my father was expecting a little girl, so I decided this would be a perfect thank you gift for her.

LITERARY LIFE -   My literary life is very slow.  I can't seem to focus on reading right now.  Slow stitching is soothing as I watch/listen crime shows.  Weird, but true!  😎  

CURRENT READS

FINISHED

****I enjoyed the anthology, Paris for One by Jojo Moyes.  The short stories that followed seemed to be beginnings to some of the books she's written.  Overall it was a relaxing audio book.  Recommend.  ****

FINDING JOY - LeeAnna's I Like on Thursdays at Not Afraid of Color helps me consistently find the joy in every life.  

LeeAnna kindly sends us prompts for every week and I seem to have gotten a week ahead, so I'll share more likes from San Diego.  

This is the couscous salad my sister made with
Trader Joe's Holiday Vegetable Hash
I mentioned in last week's post. 
I also discovered I love, absolutely love Chilean Sea Bass!  

Except for one day and the day we left, it was rainy.
San Diego's rain is more like a heavy mist, 
like we're living in a cloud.  
It was cozy weather.

This is the cup of soup I had at The White Elephant in Hillcrest.
We've been there twice now and have enjoyed the ambiance, service and food.

 

I love exploring University and Washington Streets in Hillcrest.  During the nice weather, I walk at least four miles, enjoying every moment.  

Though I forgot to take pictures, I've been visiting the Mission Hills-Hillcrest Library for the last few months.  The staff is friendly and, though the selection is small, it is well curated.  It is my escape.  

Here's some fun posts from Instagram!  

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You can also expect a visit from me as well!

I'll be linking up to 

Melva's Sew and Tell at Melva Loves Scraps 

Kathryn's What Are You Reading at The Book Date

Carol's To Do Tuesday posts at Quilt Schmilt

LeeAnna's I Like on Thursdays at Not Afraid of Color

Deb's Sunday Salon at Readerbuzz

Kathy's Slow Sunday Stitching at  Kathy's Quilts