Psalm 14:3-5: God is in Our Company, Fiber Fun with Hexagons, Literary Life, Finding Joy
Hello There,
Welcome! I’m so glad you’re here. Today, I’m looking back at where my blog began by linking to my [first] and [second] posts. These archives begin the documentation of my breast cancer journey—a time that was incredibly difficult, yet the biggest blessing of my life.
My daughter gave each year of our three-year journey a name: 2015 "The Year of the Fight", 2015 "The Year of Recovery," and 2017 "The Year of the Comeback. It was during my 'recovery year' in 2016 that I felt the call to write devotionals. Even though sharing my faith publicly still feels intimidating, I do it because this space belongs to God and to you. Thank you for being part of this journey with me. I pray you are encouraged, entertained and blessed during your visit!
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 and make a list of them in my journal. I'll follow the same format here.
6You sinners frustrate the plans of the oppressed,
yet the LORD is their shelter.
7Oh, that the salvation of Israel would come from Zion!
When the LORD restores His captive people,
let Jacob rejoice, let Israel be glad!
Psalm 14
The LORD looks down from Heaven onall mankind
The LORD seeks any who understand
The LORD seeks any who seek Him
The LORD is present in the company of the righteous
The LORD is a refuge for the poor
The LORD restores His people
When studying a verse, let's remember to begin with prayer. Then, to gain deeper knowledge and understanding, let me encourage you to study it in context. We can also take it a few steps further by using a trusted Bible commentary and/or study notes, if our Bible has them.
Psalm 14 is a great example of this. As I read verses 3–5, I ask myself, "Who are 'they'?" and "Who are 'the righteous'?" Even though the answers might seem obvious at first, I still look deeper to expand my understanding. We can clearly define who "they" are simply by reading the passage in context:
3 All have turned away,
they have together become corrupt;
there is no one who does good,
not even one.
4 Will the workers of iniquity never learn?
They devour my people like bread;
they refuse to call upon the LORD.
5 There they are, overwhelmed with dread,
for God is in the company of the righteous.
"They" are those who have turned away from God, become corrupt together, and fail to do any good. David goes so far as to call them "workers of iniquity." Though I have a general idea of what iniquity means, I want a full understanding, so I go to Webster's Dictionary. It defines iniquity as:
Gross injustice; wickedness
A wicked act or thing; sin
Now we know who "they" are - those who commit gross injustice and wickedness. They devour David's people like bread and refuse to call upon the LORD.
What does David mean by "devour"? Webster's defines it as "to use up or destroy as if by eating." Wow—no wonder David is discouraged! Those who have turned away from God have become corrupt, preying on God's chosen people without regard for the consequences awaiting them.
Once they realize they were never in true power, they will be overwhelmed with dread. They will finally see that God has been with His righteous people all along. The time is here for God to act and mete out His justice.
We believers have never been, are never, and will never be alone: God seeks us and He is in our company! Can I hear an amen?
Next week we'll have another look at verse five! Hope to see you then!
Please know this:
You are loved. You are not alone. You are being lovingly prayed for.
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
- FOF: appliqué and bind one hexie These flower pieces are my most challenging so far. So, I modified this goal to finish all the appliqué petals first and then enjoy binding the hexies. Here are the finished appliquéd petals thus far.
2. Focus
- FOF: Make a decision on the backing fabric for each set Done!
- maybe attach the binding to my quilt Partially done! I found my binding basket and used a black binding from there. Alas, it wasn't enough. So, I'll be making more binding.
3. Prepare/make a kit
- I've set my jalapeño topper aside for now. It just needs to be quilted and bound. However, I had enough fabric to make some place mats, so I'll prep those. In Progress. My husband and I came up with a pattern and fabric pull.
4. Be kind = Soft Deadlines - which are good for my mental health!
This Week's goals
1. Finish - nothing is planned to be finished
2. Focus
- make more binding and attach it to my quilt
- Grandchild #3's ornament
- quilt the Jalapeño topper
3. Prepare/make a kit - At this point nothing needs to be prepped
4. Be kind = Soft Deadlines - which are good for my mental health!
15 MINUTES TO STICH
I’m joining the Kate's 15 Minutes to Stitch' challenge at Life in Pieces as it helps us to develop the habit of daily sewing. Thus far, I’ve been working on my three-quarter inch scrappy hexagon project for Kate’s 15 minutes a day. Here’s a section that I stitched together this week, stitching 5/7 days and for the month of August, 1/1 day.
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 the free ebooks I picked up this weekd from ereaderiq.com
This Week's Review:
***** What You Are Looking For Is in the Library by Michiko Aoyama is in the very same vein as the Before the Coffee Gets Cold series I fell in love with. If you enjoyed that series, you're sure to love this one! The story centers on a community librarian who has a unique gift: she recommends the exact books her patrons truly need to read, all while helping them find the ones they think they want. But then again, aren't all librarians wise bibliotherapists? 😉
It is wonderful to see how her recommendations change the lives of a diverse cast of characters, ranging from a restless retail worker to a retired gentleman who gets profiled by law enforcement! (LOL!) I absolutely loved this book and am happy to highly recommend it.
Readers, keep in mind that this book is translated from Japanese, so the titles our wonderful librarian refers to are Japanese books. What a fantastic way to experience how international authors write! Love it!
FINDING JOY
LeeAnna's I Like on Thursdays at Not Afraid of Colorhelps me consistently find the joy in every life. She also provides a prompt for us. This week's prompt is:
A couple of weeks ago, I mentioned planning to try a new stuffed bell pepper recipe. My husband ended up requesting our classic favorite from Dinner at the Zoo instead. To keep calories lighter, I substituted a medium diced zucchini for the cup of white rice, omitted the tomato sauce and reduced the Colby Jack cheese to 1.5 tablespoons, sprinkled it over the peppers. I cooked them for a few minutes to let the cheese melt and viola! We all thought it toasted delicious and had reduced calories!
I have so many hand projects going on,
I decided to use this cheerful Trader Joe's
bag as a mini portable hand sewing studio!
While in San Diego, we visited a restaurant (I forgot the name)
Those flower petals sure look awesome!
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