Psalm 4: Part 1, Literary Living, Finding Joy

  

Hello There,

Thank you so much for stopping by! It has been a creatively productive week with progress made on most of my goals. On a more personal note, I’ve begun reading a few books on grief. I know many of you are also walking through loss, just as I am grieving my daddy. They say it gets easier, but the pain never completely goes away. 

My most valuable resource during this time is the Bible.  The Touchpoint Bible in the New Living Translation has been invaluable.

Last week, I was recommended two books that have helped me immensely: Healing After Loss by Martha W. Hickman and A Time to Grieve by Carol Staudacher.

One vital lesson I learned from Staudacher is that 'some survivors try to think their way through grief'—and that is certainly me. I’ve realized that we cannot analyze our way through this process. It is a journey of the heart, and as she wrote, 'The brain must follow the heart at a respectful distance.'"

Grief isn't always about the death of a loved one; sometimes we are grieving the death of a dream, a relationship, or a home. The list is endless. Whatever you are facing, let your heart grieve. You are not alone. Ask God to join you, to comfort you, and to heal you as you walk this road. At the end of each day, try to write down three blessings you experienced. They are always there—you just have to look deep for them.

Oh, and a snappy song helps as well!  :)

Take good care and, as Daddy used to say, 

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

HERE'S A WORD

As I prepped for this study, I simply highlight all the words that describe what God does for us in my Bible.  Then I make a list of them.  I'll follow the same format here.

Psalm 4 ^a

For the director of music. With stringed instruments. A psalm of David.

1Answer me when I call to you,

my righteous God.

Give me relief from my distress;

have mercy on me and hear my prayer.

2How long will you people turn my glory into shame?

How long will you love delusions and seek false gods ^b c

3Know that the Lord has set apart his faithful servant for himself;

the Lord hears when I call to him.

4Tremble and ^d do not sin;

when you are on your beds,

search your hearts and be silent.

5Offer the sacrifices of the righteous

and trust in the Lord.

6Many, Lord, are asking, “Who will bring us prosperity?”

Let the light of your face shine on us.

7Fill my heart with joy

when their grain and new wine abound.

8In peace I will lie down and sleep,

for you alone, Lord,

make me dwell in safety.

There is so much in Psalm 4 to praise God! First of all, let's look at our list of all He does for us:

• answers us
• gives relief from distress
• He's merciful
• sets apart the godly for Himself (wow!)
• hears when we call
• He's trustworthy
• fills our heart with joy
• makes us dwell in safety (keeps us safe)

May our hearts fill with joy as we read Psalm four!  Praise God He hears our prayers when we are in distress and sends us relief.  He is never early/late.  I sense Him sending me relief for today as my fingers fly over the keyboard writing.  In His great mercy, His timing is perfect as He answers our prayers!  He sets us apart as His own and hears our calls.  We can trust Him to answer our prayers in His timing as He is trustworthy.  He fills our hearts with His joy, consequently giving us strength!  What a conclusion to Psalm four:      

Psalm 4:8 ties in wonderfully with Psalm 3:5. When we are distressed, sleep often evades us; perhaps it would serve us well to memorize these two verses for those sleepless nights. We can sleep—and truly rest in Him—because God keeps us safe and sustains us.

I found such encouragement in Psalm 4 this morning. May you also be encouraged, and feel free to pass this peace along to your loved ones and those around you! Blessings to you!

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 - no finishes planned

2.  Focus - 

- FoF BOM:  finish binding the above hexie and start on the appliqué for the next Done!   I really missed this project. After experimenting with various needles, I’ve settled on the number 11 straw needles. They are thin, extremely sharp and easy on my hands.

- Gengar cross stitch - fingers crossed - finish another 15%  Done!  I finally figured out to stay within the 10" x 10" square while stitching and my mistakes will be minimized or at least caught before they turn into bigger mistakes.  

- QAYG quilt - find the loosey-goosey joining stitches and reinforce them; this will take a bit to finish Not done.  Poor little quilt has been languishing this week.  Perhaps next week we'll make some progress on!

- FBF:   

3.   Prepare/make a kit
Do some new year organziation in my sewing room - I don't dare show you the before pictures! Done! I've made serious progress and am looking forward to completing the final touches next week!

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

This Week's goals

1.  Finish - no finishes planned

2.  Focus - 

- FoF BOM:  finish binding one hexie and start appliquéing the next 

- Gengar cross stitch - fingers crossed - finish another 15%  

- QAYG quilt - continue to find the loose joining stitches and reinforce them; this will take a bit to finish

- FBF:   I'll be picking up this BOM at a later date

- Disappearing Nine-Patch:  start making the blocks

3.   Prepare/make a kit

- continue re-organzing my sewing room
On a side note, last summer I picked up this Singer sewing machine. According to the seller, was made in Great Britian in the 1960's. She'll be going in for a much needed spa day as her last one was in 2023.

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

LITERARY LIFE   

MAILBOX MONDAY - is a gathering place for readers to share books that they added to their shelves or eBook readers the previous week.  Some of these books were recommended by you!  Do you see your reads below?  Thank all of you for sharing!

Here's what I've picked up this week. 

Here's what I've picked up this week. 

ereaderiq.com I'm starting to post these titles on Instagram on the day I acquire them as the deals are short-term.

Click on photo for link to summary

Hoopla:  None

Kindle Freebies:  None

Libby:  

Deb at Readerbuzz featured this book.

NetGalley:  None

Purchased: 

PaperbackSwap:  None

Gifted: 

Reviews

***** Our Missing Hearts by Celeste Ng is a book that should be read around the world. Throughout history and even today, governments have used/are currently using children as pawns to control their parents. I cannot recommend this book highly enough. Please find a copy and read it—then read it again. Oh, and librarians are the heroines. Naturally, they are. During my childhood, librarians were my heroines, too. I rarely add a commercialized summary to a review, but for this book, it is necessary.

"Twelve-year-old Bird Gardner lives a quiet existence with his loving but broken father, a former linguist who now shelves books in a university library. Bird knows to not ask too many questions, stand out too much, or stray too far. For a decade, their lives have been governed by laws written to preserve “American culture” in the wake of years of economic instability and violence. To keep the peace and restore prosperity, the authorities are now allowed to relocate children of dissidents, especially those of Asian origin, and libraries have been forced to remove books seen as unpatriotic—including the work of Bird’s mother, Margaret, a Chinese American poet who left the family when he was nine years old.

Bird has grown up disavowing his mother and her poems; he doesn’t know her work or what happened to her, and he knows he shouldn’t wonder. But when he receives a mysterious letter containing only a cryptic drawing, he is pulled into a quest to find her. His journey will take him back to the many folktales she poured into his head as a child, through the ranks of an underground network of librarians, into the lives of the children who have been taken, and finally to New York City, where a new act of defiance may be the beginning of much-needed change."

***** Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan centers around a humble, kind hearted, hard working husband and father, Bill Furlong.  As Christmas nears, he makes a stunning discovery at a convent - a horrible situation involving a girl.  What should he do?  How should he respond?  What about the consequences of his actions?  If I could meet Bill Furlong in person, I'd give him a huge hug...well, maybe not...but I'd want to!  This book is a best seller for a reason.  Highly recommend.

FINDING JOY

LeeAnna's I Like on Thursdays at Not Afraid of Color helps me consistently find the joy in every life.  Here's her prompt for this week:  Do you like puzzles? what kind? jigsaw, things like rubiks cube or slide puzzles, written ones like crossword or sudoku ?  I do like puzzles!  I like the easier bookish, beach landscapes, floral and Mexican culture jigsaw puzzles.  Word find puzzles are also fun. 

Here's some quilting memes you might enjoy.  

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

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