Psalm 34:19, Fiber Fun, Literary Life, Finding Joy

  

Hello There,
Welcome!  I'm so glad you're here today!    As I shared last week, my precious Daddy has passed away.  He is greatly missed - it feels so unreal.  I continue to draw comfort from Psalm 23.  Thankfully, I can distract my mind as my subconscious continues to process this tremendous loss with machine sewing, which requires all my concentration.    

Your comments and emails have been of great comfort.  Though I'm behind in responding, I've read each of your emails and comments.  Thank you so much.  My family and friends have been sharing their memories of my daddy and, together, we're making new memories.  

Take good care and, as Daddy used to say,

"Make memories; it's later than you think."

HERE'S A WORD

Faith...broken faith...faltering faith.  Here, I will share a Scripture about these topics.  No judgement, only love.  

At first, I was only going to focus on verse 19, but the more I read Psalm 34, the more I realized that the entire Psalm is encouraging.  

Of David.  When he pretended to be insane before Abimelek, 

who drove him away, and he left.  

1 I will extol the LORD at all times; His praise will always be on my lips.

2 I will glory in the LORD; let the afflicted hear and rejoice.

3 Glorify the LORD with me; let us exalt His name together.

4 I sought the LORD, and He answered me;

He delivered me from all my fears.

5 Those who look to Him are radiant;

their faces are never covered with shame.

6 This poor man called, and the LORD heard him;

He saved Him out of all his troubles.

7 The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear Him,

 and He delivers them.

8 Taste and see that the LORD is good;

blessed is the one who takes refuge in Him.

9 Fear the LORD, you His holy people, for those who fear Him lack nothing.

10 The lions may grow weak and hungry,

 but those who seek the LORD lack no good thing.

11 Come, my children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the LORD.

12 Whoever of you loves life and desires to see many good days,

13 keep your tongue from evil and your lips from telling lies.

14 Turn from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it.

15 The eyes of the LORD are on the righteous,

and His ears are attentive to their cry;

16 but the face of the LORD is against those who do evil,

 to blot out their name from the earth.

17 The righteous cry out, and the LORD hears them;

He delivers them from all their troubles.

18 The LORD is close to the brokenhearted and

saves those who are crushed in spirit.

19 The righteous person may have many troubles,

 but the LORD delivers Him from them all;

20  He protects all His bones, not one of them will be broken.

21 Evil will slay the wicked; the foes of the righteous will be condemned.

22 The LORD will rescue His servants;

 no one who takes refuge in Him will be condemned.

However, in my desert experience, I was too angry and hurt to read the Bible.  In fact,  I probably wouldn't have even believed these verses due to the many unanswered questions I had.  I'm wondering if you are also in a desert experience and feeling how I felt?  I forgot one important lesson I had learned:  

FEELINGS ARE NOT FACT.

God's Word is fact.  We can depend on Him and His Word.  

I can see now, that God was teaching me about peace via my difficulties.  He was guiding my path from being lost and feeling forsaken to understanding that not only was He working in my life, but also in the lives of my loved ones.  His timing was perfect for such a time as this:  my world has been shattered with Daddy's passing.    

My desert experience changed me.  My faith was fortified, and today I stand firmly in my faith even in the midst of mourning.  I am humbled by the non-judgemental attitude of my loved ones as they prayed for me back then.  I have a new awareness that though another desert experience may come, I have the tools to get through it.  For all of this I praise God and empathetically pray for you.  I've been where you may be, my dear.  

 As I write this, I recall the book Hinds Feet on High Places by  Hannah Hurnard which I read decades ago.  I knew just enough about the Bible to connect it with the lessons the Lord was teaching the protagonist, Much-Afraid.  

I sense Him leading me to read it again.  I'll be sharing my thoughts on beginning September 14's post.  Perhaps you'll join me in reading this gentle book?  

As I read about Psalm 34 in Haley's Bible Handbook, he wrote this quote:  "Thank God for the star light and He will give you the moon light.  Thank God for the Moonlight and He will give you the sun light.  Thank God for the Sunlight and, by and by, He will take you where He Himself is the Light."  Gotquestions.org had a great study on recovering from a broken heart.  

I pray for you to be restored, healed and know this:  

You are loved.  You are not alone.  You are being lovingly prayed for.

FIBER FUN

I broke down my "To Dos" into three categories:  Finish, Focus, Prep/make a kit, and Be Kind = Soft Deadlines.  FoF represents the Fields of Fancy BOM, which I'm doing with Liberty of London Tana Lawn fabrics.  

Last Week's List

Finish

frame two cross stitch projects - Not done  Hopefully by next week.

Bind The Flower Pot by Louise Kraft DONE!  I embroidered Mama and her fur baby's name in the middle of the flower.  This is the first door quilt I've made and I really enjoyed the process.  I like the EasyPiecing Grid by Ten Sisters as well.  I've used other similar products, but this one was by far the best.  

2.  Focus

- FoF BOM Applique one prepped hexie and bind another  Acufactum hexie PARTIALLY DONE.  I almost finished the appliqued hexie and finished binding this cute Acufactum hexie.  

3.   Prepare/make a kit

Do you remember this quilt I mentioned back in April? I decided to  pick it up again and, starting next week, this will be added to my "Focus" projects.

PARTIALLY DONE. I changed my mind on the fabrics I'm using.  Instead of using scraps, I decided to use Sherri and Chelsea's Laguna Sunrise.  Consequently, I'm starting this project over.  

- Pick fabrics and cut any templates for my new BOM hosted by Marsha Cowan at Be Sew Creative.  Can I keep up with two hand stitched BOM's?  No way.  But I'll enjoy the process!  Below the brown envelope are three sheets of wool, but it's hard to see.  The pink flower on the top will be our first block. There were no fabrics to pick as everything was provided.  This will become a "prep" project.  

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

Next Week's List

1.  Finish
- frame the two cross stich projects from last week.

- Bind and make the enclosure for the Jet Set Sewing Station

2.  Focus

- FoF BOM Applique one prepped hexie and bind another Acufactum hexie

- my granddaughter's Christmas ornament I'm sharing progress on my private Instagram account.  

3.   Prepare/make a kit

- Sandy's Quilt pressing and cutting the printed fabrics which will probably take two weeks

- trace templates, cut out fabrics for the Bleeding Heart block 

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

LITERARY LIFE   

I love how my focus has increased with the "Finish, Focus and Prep" methodology I use with my Fiber Arts.  Consequently, I'm going to apply that to my reading life with a bit of a twist.  The categories will be "Finish and Next".  

This should help with my "Backburner Reads" which are books I started, enjoyed, but lost focus.  Audiobooks, other than from NetGalley, are quick "reads" for me, so they'll be excluded from these categories. 

I'm eager to experiment and see what happens!  

Finish

NEXT

NetGalley

Pub. Date:Apr. 21, 2026

St. Martin's Press

                                        

Finished

**** I absolutely fell in love with Vera Wong and her new-found friends!  Vera reminds me of a toasted marshmallow:  crusty on the outside and soft on the inside.  I did feel, yet again, that the F-bombs and other curse words detracted from the story, especially when spoken in front of a senior citizen.  I read very few cozy mysteries, but this is another series I'll continue along with Eva Gates Lighthouse Library series that I learned about from Kathryn at Book Date.    Recommend.

SLOW READS are usually daily devotionals that may take months or even a year to finish.  We're almost finished with Ann Spanglers' The Names of God.  For my personal devotional, as I mentioned earlier, I will be starting Hind's Feet on High Places.  I previously read the mass market version, but this time I'll be reading Hinds' Feet on High PlacePerhaps you'll join me in reading this one?s: The Original and Complete Allegory with a Devotional for Women, which includes the book with end-of-chapter devotionals.   

MAILBOX MONDAY - is a gathering place for readers to share books that they
added to their shelves or eBook readers the previous week.

Our aunt taught me about ereaderiq.com which offers free/for purchase eBooks.  I set my filters to free and have picked up several eBooks. 

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: Do you like amusement parks? As I child I remember going to Disneyland and Knots Berry Farm in California.  I really enjoyed the later, but don't remember too much about Disneyland.  In my hometown, we had a small amusement park which I loved!  Every year my daddy's company would rent it out for the day.  We could ride all the rides for free and enjoy a picnic later.  That park is my favorite.  I do like the shows, but prefer the rides so much more! 

 

Remember the isolation of COVID?  The lyrics are timeless.  King and Country produced this song with the help of 2,000 people.  Please watch the video to the end.  

My husband bought me this selfie light to help me take pictures for the blog. It seems to make the pictures brighter without fighting shadows.  Here are untouched photos to show you the difference.  (Yes, my poor plant needs water. 😉 )

What do you use to aid you in publishing your blog?  I'd love to learn from you all! 

Take good care!   

Enjoyed this post?

Here are the parties I sometimes link up with:  

Sundays

Oh Scrap!  @ Quilting is More Fun Than Housework

Slow Sunday Stitching @ Kathy's Quilts

Sunday Salon at Readerbuzz

Mondays

Mailbox Monday  @ I'd Rather Be At the Beach

Sew and Tell at Melva Loves Scraps

What Are You Reading at The Book Date

Tuesdays

To Do Tuesday posts at Quilt Schmilt

Thursdays

I Like on Thursdays at Not Afraid of Color

Fridays

Off the Wall Fridays at Creations Art...Quilts...Whatever