Saturday, September 27, 2025

Habakkuk 3:16 & 19, Fiber Fun, Literary Life, Finding Joy


  

Hello There,
Thank you for stopping by!  I hope you all have had a fun week!  This week I started back up with water exercises at our local pool which was very relaxing and healing.  I've read, stitched, and pulled out my planner again.  The later was an excellent starting point to remember, what my goals were earlier in the year.  

My friend and I finished our devotional on The Names of God, which we thoroughly enjoyed. Now, we’re excited to begin Tozer’s On The Holy Spirit. I had never heard of him before, so I’m eager to learn more about this new author.  .  

Take good care and, as Daddy used to say, 
"Make memories; it's later than you think."

HERE'S A WORD
    The introduction and preface written in Darien Cooper's devotional on Hind's Feet on High Places by Hannah Hurnard have encouraged me so much so that I can hardly wait to revisit Much-Afraid on her journey to the high places. Cooper provided gentle guidance for those new to devotionals and highly encouraged the reader to enrich their experience by reading every verse in context, the first naturally is Habakkuk 3:19.    

19GOD the Lord is my strength;

He makes my feet like those of a deer;

He makes me walk upon the heights! 

    But as  I read Habakkuk 3:19 in my hard copy Bible, I was surprised to see the book of Habakkuk highlighted and filled with notes. When I got to chapter three, this note was written by verse 16:  "12-14 re:  the mass in my breast."  I had written it just a few weeks after the radiologist confirmed that the lump in my breast was definitely cancer.  Additionaly, he told us this lump was in a precarious location:  close to breaking through my chest cavity to my rib cage.  

Can you imagine the peace that entered me as I read onto verse 19?  And to have these verses brought back to me nearly ten years later at such a time as this? 

16I heard and trembled within;
my lips quivered at the sound.
Decay entered my bones;
I trembled where I stood.
Yet I must wait patiently for the day of distress
to come upon the people who invade us.

Habakkuk Rejoices

17Though the fig tree does not bud

and no fruit is on the vines,

though the olive crop fails

and the fields produce no food,

though the sheep are cut off from the fold

and no cattle are in the stalls,

18yet I will exult in the LORD;

I will rejoice in the God of my salvation!

19GOD the Lord is my strength;

He makes my feet like those of a deer;

He makes me walk upon the heights! 
 I can only thank God for this God wink as I draw strength from Him yet again.  I pray you are encouraged as well.  
Please 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.  FBF represents the Flower Box Friends BOM
Last Week's List
1.  Finish
- Make this Cabana Mesh Tote Not even touched!
2.  Focus

- FoF BOM Applique one prepped hexie and bind another Acufactum hexie Partially done! I played with filters to show the handquilting around the geese and child to no avail.  

- As my granddaughter's Christmas ornament is a surprise, I'm sharing progress on my private Instagram account

3.   Prepare/make a kit
  iron pieces of the Bleeding heart block onto background.  Isn't the finished sample beautiful?  Done!  Just in time for our class tomorrow!  
4. Be kind = Soft Deadlines - which are good for my mental health!

This Week's List
1.  Finish
- Make this Cabana Mesh Tote 
- I'm looking forward to finishing this potholder and perhaps making more!



2.  Focus

- FoF BOM Applique last week's hexagons

- As my granddaughter's Christmas ornament is a surprise, I'm sharing progress on my private Instagram account:  @miaismine22. 

- FBF:   Stitch the pieces of the Bleeding heart block onto background. I'm also going to check out my seed bead stash to accent the blocks.  I may have to pop into Hobby Lobby to complete this task.  Oh bother!  😉
















- At some point, I would like to get back to Sandy's Quilt, but for now, my heart is in slow stitching.   
3.   Prepare/make a kit
 - trace, cut out and press the pieces for the next block of  Flower Box Friends
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, Focus and Next".  

This should help with my "Backburner Reads" which are books I started, enjoyed, but lost focus.  

Finish 
(NetGalley eBook to be 
published by Bookouture 10/9/25) Not finished

Next
(NetGalley audiobook to be 
published 11/4/25 eby Simon and Schuster)

Finished 
(NetGally audio book to be 
published by Harlequin Audio 7/4/26)
*****The Story Keeper by Kelly Rimmer is a phenomal read that I highly recommend!  I'll post my review later on.  For now, I can say I highly recommend this read.  I'll be backreader Kelly Rimmer at the latest, next year.  
 I express my gratitude to Harlequin Audio and NetGalley for providing the opportunity to review the audiobook, “The Story Keeper” by Kelly Rummer.  

**** The Names of God kby Ann Spangler is a year long weekly devotional though we would very occasionaly finish two readings in one week.  We  enjoyed Spangler's book and found it a fabulous springboard that led us into deep discussions as well as delving deeper into God's Word.  Sharing our thoughtful responses also to the questions at the end of each devotional, we were able to deep into God's Word.  Spangler's devotional would be a great exercise for small group study.  Recommend

**** Sara Ackerman did a fabulous job in writing The Guest in Room 120.  I am partial to historical fiction, especially if the focus is on women.  Initially, I was a bit confused with the 1905 timeline that seemed split in two parts.  However, as I began to understand the connection between Mrs. Stanford and Iliahi, I became even more engrossed with the story line as well as these two courageous characters.  This is the first book I’ve read that had two story lines in one timeline, while the 2005 timeline seemed more traditional.  
I appreciated Ackerman’s development of Zoe and Dylan’s relationship.  The fact that she left the intimate scenes to the reader’s imagination was a classy move.  
I enjoyed the narration by Jennifer Robideau.  Her voice changes, inflection as well as the way she captured each character’s personality, especially with Zoe was spot on.
The few swear words were unnecessary, in my opinion.  I still recommend this book, however, due to the important historical aspect.  
Furthermore, I plan to backread a few of Ackerman’s books.  The story line, the character development and the historical aspect with a focus on women combined to make me not only excited to share this book, but to also recommend it!
Thank you to Net Galley and Harlequin Audio for providing this audiobook for an honest review. 


MAILBOX MONDAY is a gathering place for readers to share books that they added to their shelves or eBook readers the previous week.
I haven't picked up any books this week, but I did find some more freebies at ereaderiq.com!↓↓
 

SLOW READS are usually daily devotionals that may take months or even a

year to finish. For my personal devotional, as I mentioned earlier, I will be starting Hind's Feet on High Places. 




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 do the pledge of allegiance every morning and then sing a patriotic song? What is your learning style, then and now? The main styles are auditory (hearing) rote or memorization, visual (maybe reading or seeing charts), kinesthetic?  Are there other ways to learn I've forgotten? Is it still your style today?
    Yes, we did recite the Pledge of Allegiance every morning followed by singing the Star Spangeled Banner.  One year we even memorized it!  My learning style is strongly visual and remains as such to this day.  This can be challenging as we rearange furniture as I have to see the layout to know if I like it.  


Just look how Chico asks me for a cuddle!  


Your comments are so appreciated! 
I read each one and will respond by email.
You can also expect a visit from me as well!


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

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