Psalms & Proverbs Fiber Fun, Literary LIfe, Finding Joy

 Hello There,

Oh what a week it has been.  We've been in San Diego with some members our family.  My husband and I will be heading home tomorrow and begin picking up the pieces of our lives again.  I haven't accomplished a lot of goals, but have started a shawl for myself and am experimenting with sock yarn to make a summer/fall  shawlette.    

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.  

As I pondered Psalms 26, verse 12 resonated deeply with me. How can our we keep our feet on level ground and praise the LORD while navigating the desert?  

I studied my Bible notes and found the answer:  

While writing this, I was reminded of a dear sister in the Lord who, when facing challenges, would pray this: “Lord, please let me learn whatever you’re teaching me so that I don’t have to go through this again.” I’ve even remembered it decades later!  Ever since then I've become very inquisitive about the LORD and His leadings.  I'll ask Him to reveal the lessons He wants me to learn from a situation.  

If we are able to sincerely pray, "Teach me, Lord. Lead me in a straight path," whatever is oppressing us will be defeated.  It might not feel like it, but it's true.  We might be praying in anger, frustration and hurt, but We Are Praying!  

Remember Proverbs 3:5-6?

5Trust in the LORD with all your heart,

and lean not on your own understanding;

6in all your ways acknowledge Him,

and He will make your paths straight.

Via my own desert experience, I now understand these verses are true.  Now, I can say I'm grateful for the difficult journey that resulted in renewed and stronger faith.  If you're experiencing a crisis of faith, I encourage you to read a few lines of Psalms  a day.You may not feel like it, but give it a try.  May you find comfort and encouragement in these words.  

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.  FBF represents the Flowerbox Friends BOM hosted by Marsha at Be Sew Creative.  

Last Week's List

1.  Finish - I’m not planning any finishes for this week.

2.  Focus

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

DONE!   Well, last week’s appliqué hexagon was finished and a new hexagon was quilted and bound.  

- As my granddaughter's Christmas ornament is a surprise, I'm sharing progress on my private Instagram account.  NOT DONE

3.   Prepare/make a kit

 -  Attach the pieces of the FOF to the backing fabric. NOT DONE.  

But…… I started a new crochet project, a shawl, but this one is for me!   

I stitched up two skeins And plan on adding at least two more.  I'm using white yarn, but made the photo darker so you could see the stitches.  

I found this beautiful, yet easy pattern here.

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

This Week's List

1.  Finish

- Make this Cabana Mesh Tote

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.   

- white shawl (maybe use one skein this week?)

3.   Prepare/make a kit

-  iron pieces of the Bleeding heart block onto background.  Isn't the finished sample beautiful?  

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.  Audiobooks, other than from NetGalley, are quick "reads" for me, so they'll be excluded from these categories. 

I'm eager to experiment and enjoy the same success in my reading life as I've enjoyed with my fiber life!  Let's see what happens!  🙂

Finish 

(NetGally audio book to be 

published by Harlequin Audio 7/4/26)

Next 

(NetGalley eBook to be 

published by Bookouture 10/9/25)

Finished (audiobook) 

***** The Stationery Shop by Marjan Kamali extremely well written, engaging, with strong character development.  I also enjoyed Kamali's The Lion Women of Tehran making Kamali one of those authors to backread.  Her prose engages the reader and provokes a love and real concern for her characters.  Kamali demonstrated how those who manipulate loved ones, are, in truth, hurting them.  Bitterness lead to terrible acts, but, in the end, forgiveness won.  This is one of the few books I was sad to finish and wish there was a part two.  Highly 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 had read the mass market version a few times, but this time, I'll be reading Hinds' Feet on High Places: The Original and Complete Allegory with a Devotional for Women, which includes the book with interspresed devotionals.   

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!↓↓

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 a new notebook and paper to use that year? Do you still like having notebooks and calling them journals?

Yes, I got new notebooks, paper, crayons and pencils! Do you remember protractors? Even today, I still love window shopping during the back-to-school season! The notebooks! The various pens! The planners! After going overboard with Happy Planners and the accessories, I’m holding back on purchases. But it’s so much fun to look!

But...at a recent festival, I couldn’t resist supporting a new, Latina-owned scrapbooking business, Journal Buddies! For a very small fee, anyone could choose all the supplies to start scrapbooking! She even included scissors, but I have so many, so instead, she gave me markers.  Here's her Instagram page.

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