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Psalm 23:5, Literary Life, Finding Joy

Showing posts with label God. Show all posts
Showing posts with label God. Show all posts

Thursday, March 9, 2017

Drunkard's Path Block. You Are An Overcomer

Drunkard's Path Block
This week has been filled with activity.  I was looking forward to Monday because I had a whole day to sew....then I got sick. But, I had a whole day to recover!  


God is good, all the time, 
all the time God is good!

I did manage to cut out this block for my $7.50 BOM!  It's time consuming because I'm fussy cutting the skulls.  

I'm linking up to



You Are An Overcomer
Hi there!
Today was an interesting day.  
A lot happened.
As I was catching up on emails and comments, I found an email from a friend of mine, Amy from Amy's Scrapspot.

She suggested I listen to this song.
She said she thought I would be glad if I did.
She was right.
I cried.
I realized how far God has brought me.
I smiled with joy and love for my Father.

If you know someone facing cancer, 
you might want to send them this song.
You might be glad you did.  :)

Monday, March 6, 2017

Philippians 2:16. RSC 2017 - Teal/Aqua. Tip For Quilty 365.

Philippians 2:16.
Scripture




Observation
This verse certainly needs to be read in context.  










I posted about verse 14 here, here, and here.  If you like, check out verse 15's post! 


So, how can we do everything without grumbling or arguing?  By holing firmly to the Word of Life - God's love letter to us - the Bible.  Spending time in His Word.  

Application
I'm finding that as I'm feeling healthier, I am busier, more active.  This definitely leads to making it easy to make God second in my life.  I must improve in this area because...

His Word 
changes me,
strengthens me,
speaks to me.

So, I encourage all of you to make time for His Word.

Here's some ideas I had.
Instead of sewing in the doctor's office, read the Bible on my phone.

Listen to a chapter or two as I go for a walk or hand sew because it's during these activities I can really listen to Him.

Listen for His voice as He gently calls me to spend time with Him. 

Gently share what I'm learning.  As we know, when we teach others, the lessons go deeper into our own hearts and minds.
(By the way, this works in the classroom, too!)

Prayer
LORD, You know what kind of day today has been, but wow!  What a wonderful ending!  Thank You!  You are amazing, wonderful, gentle and so tender with me! Help me  to incorporate what You are wanting me to learn into my daily life! Help me not to let You down.  You are the best, LORD!  Thank You for all that You're doing in my life!
Amen.


RSC 2017 - Teal/Aqua
I finished February's RSC 2017 squares! Here they are!
 Have you noticed my blocks 
don't look very scrappy?
 I've always like string quilts.  
In fact, I decided that 2017 
would be the year 
I'd participate in 
the RSC Challenge & make a string quilt.  
So, I went through my stash and cut up a variety of strips in preparation for my first real string quilt.  

And I'm having so much fun!


Tip For Quilty 365
As of March 1, 2017 I've picked up my Quilty 365 again!  Part of this process means I have to figure out how many squares I need to make up. Counting days on a calendar is not appealing at all!

Here is a great website to help me figure out how many blocks I need to make! All I have to do is enter the last date I made a square - November 9, 2016 and February 28, 2017! 

shocked face | image tagged in shocked face | made w/ Imgflip meme maker




And find out I have 117 squares to make up!  


                     Stay Strong Baby | I can do all this through Him who gives me strength. Philippians 4:13 | image tagged in stay strong baby | made w/ Imgflip meme maker

Yup, I can.  To prepare, I made this box of squares.  

After reading how others are making their quilts, I realized 
1) this will be more than one quilt, 
2) I will be learning a lot about quilting,
and
3) I need to be gentle with myself during this process.  

I truly believe that God is trying to teach me something via Quilty 365.  

I'm ready to learn.

I'm linking up to


Monday, February 27, 2017

Philippians 2:14 Part 2 2015 $7.50 Victory Quilt Finished!

Philippians 2:14
Scripture
Continued from here.  

I
never
grumbled 
about
having 
triple
negative
breast
cancer.

Instead 
I prayed 
for 
strength,
courage,
grace,
wisdom,
discernment
to
minister
to the medical staff,
my family,
loved ones,
and myself.  

Something to ponder.


Something to really ponder.

Are we only 
aware of our reactions
in times of great stress?
How about in the little things?
Can God trust me to
live without grumbling?

What would happen if, 
instead of grumbling,
we prayed
for
strength,
courage,
grace,
wisdom,
discernment
to
minister?


Prayer
LORD, how I love You 
and trust You as my loving Father!  
You are so generous to give me 
this time in my life 
when I can 
study, ponder, and apply 
Your Word to my life.  

But, to be honest, 
this morning, 
I feel like 
I've been run over by a God Truck!

Joyfully and with growing awareness,
I'm seeing a behavior 
that needs to be changed.
As You well know, 
I'm pretty talented at grumbling!

So, LORD, help me to begin 
this new "grumbling-free" journey.
Please help me to
pray instead of grumble, 
to lean on You, instead of myself, 
to encourage rather discourage,
to eagerly watch You work things out,
instead of doing it myself.
To trust You even more.

Abba Father,
I love You!
And I know You're 
sitting right next to me grinning.
I'm grinning with You.
Kinda.
I Love You. :)
Amen.




2015 $7.50 Quilt Finished!
In my hometown, we are blessed to have a local, brick and mortar quilt shop: 

Bernina Sewing and Design. 
Image result for bernina sewing and design las cruces

It’s a non-alcoholic version of the TV series, “Cheers”.
Everybody knows your name.

They will drop everything to
hug you,
pray with you,
laugh with you,
or
cry with you. 

I love them. 
I really do.

And they love me.
They really do.

In 2015 I joined their $7.50Club .One can literally make a quilt top for $7.50!  

2015 was also the year of the fight for my life.  Completing a block every month was difficult. Tears, late nights, phone calls to friends for help, chemo side effects and fatigue were certainly involved.

But so was God, determination, courage and love.
I presented this quilt to my dear husband
as a thank you/36th anniversary/Valentine's gift.  I told him how much I appreciated him taking care of me.

I remember him 
waking up for work at least 45 minutes early to feed me at least a quarter of a thin bagel with an egg on top,

gently bathing me,

tenderly holding me as we both cried,

ferociously battling the insurance company,

tirelessly driving an extra 1.5 hours a day for six weeks to stay with me in our hotel during daily radiation treatments, 

and not one grumble.  
I am so very blessed!
My husband and son holding up the quilt on a cold, windy afternoon.
My Sammy is supporting their efforts!
He shed a tear or two when I gave it to him.  So did I.  



The backing is made from my favorite fabric used in the quilt.
I'm linking up to

Friday, February 24, 2017

Philippians 2:14 Part 1. Surgery Update. Mason Jar Cosy. Speaking of Mason Jar Meals....

Philippians 2:14
Scripture

Observation
Everything?   
Yes.  
Paul, 
in his usual style of writing in absolutes 
made this act of character development clear:  

Do Everything
Without
Grumbling or Arguing.


Grumble: to mutter in discontent; 
the act of complaining in a low voice

Application
Even as I write about this verse, 
I find myself wanting to grumble!

Really?  
EVERYTHING?

YES.
EVERYTHING.

My first thoughts 
are how I've grumbled about 
the little acts that irritate me.  
They are too meaningless to even list.  

Then I recall that, 
after teacher staff meetings or 
when new demands were announced, 
we would grumble.....
and I've begun to regret that.  

Lately, I've been thinking about 
how those grumbling times were 
such a waste of time!
Circumstances were out of our control!
We could have been coming up with solutions instead!  

Then, I read today's verse:
The irony that the reference numbers, 2:14,
are the same numbers 
as the date of Valentines Day 
is not lost on me.

I noticed something else.  

I
never
grumbled 
about
having 
triple
negative
breast
cancer.

Instead 
I prayed 
for 
strength,
courage,
grace,
wisdom,
discernment
to
minister
to the medical staff,
my family,
loved ones,
and myself.  

Something to ponder.
Something to really ponder.


Surgery Update.
I'm getting better and better after cataract surgery!  I'm seeing so clearly now and back to sewing!  Yea!  Here's a little something I crocheted while recovering!

Mason Jar Cosy
Did you see this coming when I started posting about Mason Jar Meals?
Mason Jar Cozy | Free Crochet Pattern by Little Monkeys Crochet (lwww.littlemonkeyscrochet.com)
http://littlemonkeyscrochet.com/mason-jar-cover-free-pattern/
This free crochet pattern for mason jars is from Little Monkey's Crochet.  I chose it because the pictures are so pretty!  Additionally, it is a very easy beginner pattern!  Plus the pattern covers sizes for quart AND pint size jars!  Win-win! Seriously, stop by and check out her blog!

Thank you, Rebecca, 
for such an awesome pattern!

Here is the one I made!


More may be in my future!
Great use of the bit of leftover yarn 
from this scarf!


I use the cover for both the Overnight Oatmeal as well as the hot soups!  You can find the recipes, as well as this pattern my Pinterest  board.  

Speaking of Mason Jar Meals....
This is the third week my daughter and I have been enjoying mason jar meals.  I've learned a few lessons that I want to share with you.  
Mason Jar Salads
I stopped adding salad dressing to the salads, instead adding it after I pour it into a bowl.  

  • Since I eat my salads at home, it's easy.  For some reason, the taste of the salad dressings seemed to overwhelm the fresh veggies.    
  • My daughter continues to add dressing to her jars and loves it!  Personal preference!  :)
  • I'm cutting up the extra celery, carrots and bell peppers as a quick snack.  
Overnight Oatmeal
These are my favorite!  I am using frozen fruits because they seem to hold up better.
  • Plus, as they defrost, their juices add to the yumminess!
  • Adding a sprinkle of ground cinnamon, nutmeg and/cloves adds an extra taste of goodness!  
  • Cooked barley works as well!
  • Quaker oats has this link for recipes!



Mason Jar Soups
I started experimenting with soups about two weeks ago and am really liking them!
  • Deciding how much and which soup base to use is definitely a Golddilock's type of journey.
  • The first week I added about a teaspoon of Better Than Bouillon base to a pint jar.  It was way to much for me.
  • This last week I added a smidgen with some Consomate de Pollo by Knorr(chicken bouillon).  Not enough spices......oh well.  Next week will be "just right", right?  :)
  • I used cooked barley as well and it was
    delicious.  However, I might have packed my ingredients too tightly because it was harder to heat up.  No biggee though.  I still have four jars to enjoy, so I'll probably pour them into a mug and add the hot water.  
I am eating a TON more fresh produce and even buying more!  

I finding Mason Jar Meals an easy, healthy way to prepare meals for the week.  This works wonderfully for people who work outside/inside the home!

Monday, February 20, 2017

Surgery. $7.50 Club. Thank You

Image result for cataract surgery humor
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/86061042855804248/
Surgery
Well, I had the cataract surgery this afternoon.  I wasn't as freaked out as I thought I'd be!  Yea!


                                                                                             
I found this on Pinterest....I realize it's not a source to be cited, but I couldn't find the original author.  Either way, it made me smile!



$7.50 Club
Here is this month's $7.50 Club Block! 
pieces cut out
finished block
Yes, my finished block could be pressed better - and it was.  Somehow the contents of my purse attacked it!  
a inside a woman's purse funny pictures
http://www.dumpaday.com/funny-pictures/huge-funny-picture-dump-of-the-day-95-pics/
Next month's color is YELLOW!  
I LOVE YELLOW!

Thank You!
Isn't the quilting community awesome? Thank you for your input on my crazy quilt blocks.  

I still have some time to ponder....while I finish my Leader/Ender......

You all are amazing!  
http://www.myluxefinds.com/2015/03/style-guide-bando-fun-girly-accessories.html

I will leave you with a cheerful song!

Linking up to