Hello There!
I hope you had an amazing week! We're going to several of my grandson's baseball games each week. This weekend will be filled with his basketball games. I love having this time with my family while the weather is still cool enough to attend. Heat is my kryptonite, so soon I'll just be hearing about his baseball games rather than attending.
I finally had some time at home to play with fibers and read. I listened to a fabulous audio book, The Phone Booth at the End of the World by Laura Imai Messina. In fact, this is one of those rare times when I immediately started listening to it again. It is engrossing and interesting to learn about the effects of the March 11, 2011 tsunami in Japan. I also found it interesting how the characters rebuilt their lives, one precious piece at a time. I'll share more after my second go-round.
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 for Psalm 10.
The Perils of the
Pilgrim
1Why, O LORD, do You
stand far off?
Why do You hide in
times of trouble?
2In pride the wicked
pursue the needy;
let them be caught
in the schemes they devise.
3For the wicked man
boasts in the cravings of his heart;
he blesses the
greedy and reviles the LORD.
4In his pride the wicked
man does not seek Him;
in all his schemes
there is no God.
5He is secure in his
ways at all times;
Your lofty
judgments are far from him;
he sneers at all
his foes.
6He says to himself, “I
will not be moved;
from age to age I
am free of distress.”
trouble and malice
are under his tongue.
8He lies in wait near
the villages;
in ambush he slays
the innocent;
his eyes watch in
stealth for the helpless.
9He lies in wait like a
lion in a thicket;
he lurks to seize
the oppressed;
he catches the
lowly in his net.
the helpless fall
prey to his strength.
11He says to himself,
“God has forgotten;
He hides His face
and never sees.”
12Arise, O LORD! Lift
up Your hand, O God!
Do not forget the
helpless.
13Why has the wicked
man renounced God?
He says to
himself, “You will never call me to account.”
14But You have regarded
trouble and grief;
You see to repay
it by Your hand.
The victim
entrusts himself to You;
You are the helper
of the fatherless.
15Break the arm of the
wicked and evildoer;
call him to
account for his wickedness
until none is left
to be found.
16The LORD is King
forever and ever;
the nations perish
from His land.
17You have heard, O
LORD, the desire of the humble;
You will
strengthen their hearts.
You will incline
Your ear,
18to vindicate the
fatherless and oppressed,
that the men of
the earth
may strike terror
no more.
The first two-thirds of Psalm 10 find David describing the actions of the wicked. Studying his words reminded me of a series I wrote last year on broken faith (you can read the first post [here]).
I don’t think David was in a full-blown crisis of faith, but he was certainly honest, asking, "Why are You so far off?" We’ve all felt that distance. For decades, I desperately prayed for a loved one, and while driving to "fix" the situation yet again, I cried out, "When are You going to take care of this?"
His reply was simple and a bit of an "ouch" moment:
"When you get out of the way."
I realized I’d been impeding His work because I didn't want to wait or trust His timing. I was too busy trying to play God. Eventually, He let me spin my wheels until I remembered my place. Since then, I've learned to let God be God—most of the time, anyway—and rest in the fact that He is the Father and I am His child.
Then I can rest in peace and quiet knowing He will do all David wrote about:
- He regards trouble and grief;
- He repays it by His hand.
- He is trustworthyHe is the helper of the fatherless.
- He breaks the arm of the wicked and evildoer;
- He calls him (the evildoer) to account for his wickedness until none is left to be found.
- The LORD is King forever and ever;
- He causes the nations perish from His land
- He hears the desire of the humble;
- He will will strengthen their hearts.
- He will incline Your ear,
- He vindicates the fatherless and oppressed,
- He prohibits men of the earth from striking terror
My precious Reader, let's pray for each other to remember and trust these words as we go through our day by His grace and mercy. These are troubled and unbelievable times. But God is peace and we can believe on Him.
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
- Chico's Bandana Poor Chico! He will be at the top of my list. Again, he will have to wait as we are painting my sewing room and the storage closet! No machine sewing for a bit.
2. Focus
- 200 - 300 stitches on Darth Vader using this cross-stitch design at RinaStitchesPatterns
Done! I'm so excited to make significant progress by starting on the second half of Darth Vader's face.
- prep and begin appliqueing these pieces for one hexagon Partially Done! Julie, our teacher for Fields of Fancy, and ownder of Intreped Thread, suggested this pattern. This beautiful star would be the frame for this fussy cut actufactum.
Since I haven't worked with this specific EPP cut before, I’ve decided on an alternate flower pattern for now. I plan to hand-embroider the stems and leaves, but first, I want to experiment with both glue and thread basting on scraps. I suspect glue will work best for such a small piece, but I won't know for sure until I try both.
Here are my prepped Tana Lawn fabrics. I have two more that need to be prepped in addition to the scrap practice pieces.
4. Be kind = Soft Deadlines - which are good for my mental health!
This Week's Goals
1. Finish
- practicing the FoF project with scraps
2. Focus
- 200 - 300 stitches on Darth Vader using this cross-stitch design at RinaStitchesPatterns. I'm so ready to finish this guy and move onto to more colorful projects!
- As we all know, quilts can be the gift that keeps on giving. I had three extra blocks from the Disappearing Nine Patch and decided to shop my stash for a backing/binding farbricto make a small table runner. Next steps will be adding borders using the background fabric and then perhaps quilting it.
3. Prepare/make a kit
- I'm betting I'll still have enough scraps to prep for a hot pad or two.
4. Be kind = Soft Deadlines - which are good for my mental health!
15 MINUTES TO STICH
I’m joining the '15 Minutes to Stitch' challenge at Life in Pieces to build the habit of machine sewing every day. It's easy to find time for prep work or hand stitching, but making it to the machine consistently is where I need the extra push. My numbers for last week were zilch! It seems dismal, however, I am patient as my husband has been painting my sewing room and storage closet. He ordered some Billy Shelves from Ikea, so machine sewing is on hold. I may pull out my Featherweight and create a sewing area. But, yay! A sewing room makeover!
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.
Hell's Hundred Acres is historical fiction about the 1911 Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire in New York.
I read two rather short reads for NetGalley, both of which I highly recommend.
*****+ Korie Leigh’s , PhD, highly rated book, What Does Grief Feel Like?, is a must-have addition to home, school, and psychologists' libraries. It tenderly describes the grieving process with gentleness and without judgment. Following the passing of my own father in the fall of 2026, I purchased Leigh's book to support my own grieving process. Several features combine to make this book an invaluable resource for anyone helping a child or an adult understand their complex emotions.
On each two-page layout, the protagonist—a child—describes their varying feelings, accompanied by excellent illustrations by Mike Malbrough. This visual and verbal combination is vital, as it gives names to the many emotions we experience while mourning. Leigh normalizes grief, which is such an important and kind gesture. Additionally, each layout includes a subtly marked question for readers to ask themselves or a loved one, thus providing an opprotunity for necessary reflection.
An additional invaluable resource found at the end of the book is a wonderful guide for adults. This "mini-handbook" is written in an easy-to-read format to help adults guide their loved ones toward understanding and expressing their sorrow. It even includes a helpful table describing common behaviors and reactions to grief broken down by age group.
These features combine to create a compassionate book that serves as an invaluable tool for those who are grieving—regardless of their age—as well as those supporting them.Most Highly Recommend.
Thank you to NetGalley, Free Spirit Publishing, Korie Leigh and Mike and Mike Malbrough for the gift of this ebook ARC. All opinions are my own.
Since "Picture Day" is such an important day for students, this story provides a great opportunity to talk with children about their feelings and how they prepare for the big day. Children of all ages will relate to Cat, a social media influencer, and everyone will love Lola—she is energetic, fun, and confidently messy! This "odd couple" makes a fabulous pair as they experiment with various costumes for Lola’s big day. The inferred lesson is wonderful: Be yourself!
Warm and humorous, this book's format, illustrations, and message make it a guaranteed win for all who read it. Highly Recommend.
Thank you to NetGalley, Gluu Books, , author Melissa Villaseñor and illustrator Jimena Sánchez Sarquiz for the gift of this ebook ARC. All opinions are my own.
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.
For National telephone day, what is your relationship with phones? I like the convienience of cell phones and those games are fun!
Always have it with you? Until recently, I've always had it with me. Now, however, when I need to disconnect for a bit, I put it on silent or leave it in another room. If the call is urgent, people know if they call the second time, the call will go through.
Check it at intervals or use it
mainly for calls? I check it at intervals.
Remember when there was one phone for the family hanging on the wall? I do remember having one phone at home! Later my parents gave me my own phone in my bedroom., like this one.
My grandparents had this style, which at the time I considered old fashioned! 😉
Remember party lines? Yes, I vaguely remember my New Mexican grandparents having a party line! Wow, it's been a long time since I thought about that!
Do you use a phone as a computer even though the screen is so small? I do use it for searches. I'm so behind on responding to comments, I'm starting to use it for that as well.
Fave apps on the phone? I play Township with my family. At first I was so addicted, but now I only get on at intervals. MyNetDiary has been insturmental in helping me lose 25 poundsd! I went ahead and paid the subscription price. It is so worth it!
I saw this bird embroidery project at Cathy's Sane and Crazy blog. Her birds touched my heart as Daddy was such a bird lover. He'd make the most beautiful crafts featuring birds.
Nancy from Grace and Peace Quilting shared her favorite verse in the comments a couple of weeks ago. How this verse touched my heart!
Yes - let's keep our eyes on the LORD!
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
Stitching Stuff at Kate's Life in Pieces
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
Saturdays
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