I was invited to join a lovely group of stitchers for a "Sunday Sew Day." It was so fun chatting with friends and making new ones. Our hostess' husband made a cheesecake that was so delicious—no Mediterranean diet today!
This week was also another "organizational event," similar to my sewing room refresh. We tackled the tiny pantry, braved the "dungeon" (aka the laundry room), and scrubbed the fridge. This over-the-door organizer was a total game-changer for our pantry! Fingers crossed it stays tidy for more than a week. One of us is a bit messier than the other... but I’ll never tell who!
Reading through Psalm 5, it’s clear David prioritized a thoughtful morning of worship. It makes me wonder: "Do I do the same?" No, not consistently.
Here is the information to the various designs:
Are you doing any spring cleaning or freshening up your space lately?
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. As usual, I copied and pasted the Psalm from Bible Hub.
Psalm 5 a
For the director of music. For pipes. A psalm of David.
1Listen to my words, Lord,
consider my lament.
2Hear my cry for help,
my King and my God,
for to you I pray.
3In the morning, Lord, you hear my voice;
in the morning I lay my requests before you
and wait expectantly.
4For you are not a God who is pleased with wickedness;
with you, evil people are not welcome.
5The arrogant cannot stand
in your presence.
You hate all who do wrong;
6you destroy those who tell lies.
The bloodthirsty and deceitful
you, Lord, detest.
7But I, by your great love,
can come into your house;
in reverence I bow down
toward your holy temple.
8Lead me, Lord, in your righteousness
because of my enemies—
make your way straight before me.
9Not a word from their mouth can be trusted;
their heart is filled with malice.
Their throat is an open grave;
with their tongues they tell lies.
10Declare them guilty, O God!
Let their intrigues be their downfall.
Banish them for their many sins,
for they have rebelled against you.
11But let all who take refuge in you be glad;
let them ever sing for joy.
Spread your protection over them,
that those who love your name may rejoice in you.
Wow, there's so much packed into this Psalm. This appears to be King David's morning prayer. What a great way to start off our day: with praise and prayers! First, let's praise God for all He does for His children!
- listens to us
- hears our cries for help
- hears our voices
- has a great love for us
- leads us in His rightousness
- makes our path straight before Him
- provides refuge for us
- spreads protection over us
- blesses us
Additionally, we need not worry about the wicked and liars or our enemy! Look at this list!
- not pleased with wickedness
- hates all who do wrong
- declares the liars guilty
- banishes them
I'm praying to accopmplish the same routine David appears to have had. My husband and I talked about having our "office hours" from morning until noonish. This will certainly allow for a more deliberate time with God. It doesn't stop there. I am so grateful we can converse with God all day long. These "micro-prayers" guide my steps and act as a guard against "stinky thinking" and hasty responses. Imagine how the tone in our lives would change with deliberate micro-prayers before responding to a situation! With God's help, hopefully we can be more Christ-like throughout the day.
Also, Psalm 5 feels like a dance between God's actions toward the wicked and His love and grace to His children. It's interesting to note how David spends so much more time on God’s goodness than on his enemies' malice. It reminds me to focus on God, not the problem. He is always bigger than the challenges we may face! As one dear teenager in our Youth Group said, "God is bigger than the boogeyman!"
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
- Finally complete the ornaments for my grandchildren! Done! They were tickled to receive them last night!
Charizard Dragon: HoneyKittenShop
Gengar: ChaosKittensCrafting
Llamas: by Stitcher's Revolution pattern #31 "Llama Drama"
Yoda: GeoCreationsUK
Spiderman: OutlawStitching
Some cross-stitch patterns appeared to be similar to other sellers' designs, so now I only order from cross-stitch designers that provide BOTH a black and white chart and a color chart.
2. Focus -
- FoF BOM: finish binding one hexie and start appliquéing the next Partially Done! They are really coming along! This one EPP piece is a challenge as there are so many pieces to join. I'm enjoying the outcome thus far.
- QAYG quilt - continue to find the loose joining stitches and reinforce them; this will take a bit to finish Done! I'm now joining another row to the main piece!
- FBF: I'll be picking up this BOM at a later date
- Disappearing Nine-Patch: sew the rows into blocks and press them. Done! The blocks are pressed and completed! Now comes the fun part of a Disappearing Nine Patch quilt. I get to cut the blocks and place them in a new design!
3. Prepare/make a kit
- Christmas Ornament for grandchild #1: For now, he likes all things Star Wars, especially Darth Vader, so I picked this cross-stitch design at RinaStitchesPatterns for his 2026 ornament. It's easy preparation as there are only three colors in the design. I'll be stitching on 16 ct. Aida cloth, so it should be slightly smaller than described below.
4. Be kind = Soft Deadlines - which are good for my mental health!
This Week's goals
1. Finish - I am once again pulling projects from my little pink plastic case. These little projects should be fast finishes.
- patch up Chloe's toys and Grandson #4's crocheted airplane
2. Focus -
- FoF BOM: finish binding one hexie; finish the EPP sewing and bind the above hexie
- Complete at least 15% of the Darth Vader ornament
- QAYG quilt - continue join the row to the main piece
- FBF: I'll be picking up this BOM at a later date
- Disappearing Nine-Patch: cut up the nine patch and begin sewing the new squares together
3. Prepare/make a kit
- for Grandson #2's cross stitch ornament using this pattern for Blastoise from BixoStitch. To ensure I am getting an original pattern, I only purchase cross stitch patterns that include the color AND black and white patterns.
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.
ereaderiq.com I'm starting to post these titles on Instagram on the day I acquire them as the deals are short-term.
Libby:
I'm surprised to note that I haven't finished any books this week! I am, however, very much enjoying listening to The Let Them Theory. I'm also learning so much from my weekly Bible study, Tozer on the Holy Spirit. Our discussions take the material to a much deeper level, as everyone brings a different perspective to the readings.
FINDING JOY
LeeAnna's I Like on Thursdays at Not Afraid of Color helps me consistently find the joy in every life. Here is this week's prompt: what was your favorite subject in school... elementary, high school, or college... or did your favorite subject change over time? what was the teacher like? do you still have an interest in that subject? My favorite subject in school was in the filed of Language Arts - reading and writing. No surprise there. In college I was very interested in my Bilingual Education and Multicultural courses. One fact surprised me: The Untited States is the ONLY country in the WORLD that does not reauire their students to become at a minimum bilingual. My precious professors introduced me to Latinx authors. This continues to be an area of interest for me.
Here's some other things that have brought me joy this week.
Don't you just love finding ideas on blogs? Joy from Days Filled with Joy shared this tutorial for a thumb/finger pincushion that I thought you all might like. The photo is from Days Filled with Joy. I just love Joy's concept.
During an email conversation, Deb from Readerbuzz mentioned this book to me. After just a few days of reading, I quickly came to the conclusion that it's a treasure. Thank you so much, Deb!
My husband snapped a photo of this sticker we saw in our local bookstore.
I love this song by one of my favorite artists,
Comeback Kid by the late Mandisa.
Perhaps you know a comeback kid?
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
Last Week's List
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
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