April 20: 2 Corinthians 4:8-9, Fiber Fun, Literary Life and Finding Joy

Hello There,

Happy Easter to those who celebrate!  The LORD is risen!  

Thank you so much for stopping by for a visit!  Let me tell you, the last two weeks have been so active!  We prepared for and enjoyed a trip to San Diego to see my parents.  Halfway through the trip, our son joined us.  Mama is doing well and enjoyed joking around with him.  Daddy is in a good place right now, thank God.  

The blog has been sorely neglected.  This week I'll be catching up on comments and link ups.  I keep trying to write posts ahead of time like some of you super organized ladies...alas...one day.  

For now, let's enjoy a cuppa and read about this week's happenings!  

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

Today I was thinking about Easter, the Resurrection and how I felt last year:  lost, faltering faith, bitter, depressed about seemingly unanswered prayer.  This year I'm asking myself, "How can I encourage those who are where I was?  How can Easter, the Resurrection, be a symbol of hope for them, for us?"

As I prepared for a slow stitching session, I looked at my podcast subscriptions for "a good show" and found The Fearless Mujer Podcast's latest posting:  Change That Requires Courage hosted by Micaela, a faith-filled encourager.  

She made a statement that reached my spirit:  "We may be broken hearted, but we are not broken."  

Wow.

It reminded me of 2 Corinthians 4:8-9

My prayer for us is this:  No, defeated one, you cannot have my heart or my readers' hearts.  God, may be on our knees with our hands in the air, but we belong to You, our Shepherd.  You are our King, You are our answer, You are our Savior.  Yes, we may be struggling, but:  We are not destroyed.  Be with us, lift up gentle encouragers to lead us back to You with an "even if" faith (remember Daniel in the lion's den?) that we may once again praise You."

How did I come through my personal desert?  

It started a bit before the Hits Deep TobyMac concert with Crowder's song:  Somebody Prayed.

You are being prayed for.

You are not alone.

FIBER FUN  

To Do's:  I've decided to break down my "To Dos" into three categories:

1.  Finished Project:  To be honest, I'm still rejoicing over finishing my daughter's birthday gift.  Over the last eight months I finished this hand pieced quilt for her! More details here.  

I also did end up crocheting up this yarn into five cowls like this one, but only God knows where the other four are!  I know Mama received one and I donated one.  Other than that, well, I just don't know.  :)

2.  Focus

- Continue stitching the Fields of Fancy BOM until I catch up with Months one and two.  I'm making progress on this goal!  I've basted all 42 petals for six flowers plus their respective hexagons, appliqued 1 flower onto the base fabric, stitched up another flower and am working on the third.  

 

One of the threads Julie Dueck, our teacher, recommended for EPP with Liberty Tana Lawn fabrics was the one shown below.  I have to admit, I'm loving how it melts into the fabric, is strong and stitches smoothly.  There can be issues with tangling, but those pests work themselves out pretty easily.   

3. Prepare/make a kit

- Atlas Zipper Case by Center Street Quilts

4. Be kind = Soft Deadlines which are good for my mental health!  

LITERARY LIFE -   

CURRENT READS:  

 

FINISHED

*****The Record Keeper by Charles Martin is yet another five-star read.  How much should/would we sacrifice to leave the ninety-nine for the one?  The Murphy Shepherd series explores this question perhaps more in this book than the first two.  And the ending will leave you anticipating book four - The Keeper.  Highly recommend.

*****Send Down the Rain by Charles Martin is five-star read for me.  He covers so much ground - the lives of immigrants, the shameful manner in which Vietnam Vets were and - at times - continue to be mistreated and misunderstood, sacrifice, love and forgiveness.  After researching, I discovered many versions of the song Joseph's mother mentions in her prayer, Send Down the Rain. Which one was she thinking of?  Only your heart will tell you. I encourage you to go to the quotes page for this book.  Highly recommend.

DNF

I really enjoyed Nita Prose's book, The Maid.  I think after reading two of Martin's books and traveling, the timing was off for The Mystery Guest.  I'll be revisiting this one!   

FINDING JOY - LeeAnna's I Like on Thursdays at Not Afraid of Color helps me consistently find the joy in every life.  She also provides a prompt for us to use.  

This week's prompt is:  Did you get Easter baskets as a child? Please describe them, what was in them, did you get them in the morning? After church? Did you make them for your kids, your mate or decorations?  I remember getting Easter baskets as a child with the plastic grass, candy and small toys all wrapped in cellophane.  My kiddos got the same types of baskets.  Now, we have an Easter egg hunt for the grandkids.  

My traveling EPP case kept me organized on our road trip to and from San Diego.

I loved this quote and this author's books. 

 Looking forward to backreading her works.  

Ms. Pohlman is also a fabulous author and, 

obviously, a much-loved grandmother!  

Melva @Melvalovesscraps posts the most inspirational quotes!

I treated myself to this lip oil and loved it!  After trying many expensive cosmetics, E.L.F. is my go-to for makeup.  I just had to try this one by Clarins and was not disappointed.  No worries, E.L.F.!  I just ordered your version of lip oil to compare.  😉

Another funny from my son-in-law!

Chloe and Chico say, 

"Hello!  We loved our pet sitter! Hmmm...we wonder when Mom and Dad are going to San Diego again?"  

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I'll be linking up to 

Deb's Sunday Salon at Readerbuzz

Sunday Slow Stitching @ Kathy's Quilts

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

Alicia's Rainbow Scrap Challenge at So Scrappy

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