Philippians 3:4. Studio Tour Pt. 2 - Miscellaneous Fabric Storage Magic!

Philippians 3:4
Scripture
Observation
As we discussed during Philippians 3:3, we don't need physical marks on our body to serve Christ.  Our confidence should not be placed in such things.  However, for those who believe they have reasons to put their confidence in the flesh, Paul is preparing to strengthen his argument, as we shall see in verse 5.
Application

Our confidence should be placed in Christ, in our Abba Father, 

not in our flesh!  

I would be utterly lost if I forgot this lesson!
Furthermore, we should listen to our fellow brothers and sisters who have travailed much in the LORD!  Their faith is has been proved over and over!

In now way am I saying that those who have not suffered have a weaker faith! NO!!!  

I am saying, that when 
He has been proved o'er and o'er, 
faith can grow.  
I truly believed my faith was strong 
in 2014 - until November 2014.  
From then until today, 
my faith has grown beyond measure.  
Yes, my dear, 
breast cancer was one of the biggest blessings - and trials - of my life.  
Now I can sing the above song 
with my whole heart - 
and know the cost.

Prayer
Father, I trusted You before, but now...
whew!  I really trust You!
I'm grateful for the opprotunity 
to grow in You!
Let us listen with rapt hearts and praise 
to those who have gone through so much, 
such as Paul, 
and come out stronger on the other side!

I'm also grateful for those who have not known great pain - though they may be few.  I truly believe we all have a story to tell and how I love listening to how You have worked in the lives of others!  

Life is good, Father.
You amaze me with Your ways and wisdom.  

I pray that I learn to listen to others
with deeper understanding
rejoicing with those who rejoice
and
praying with those who mourn.

I pray victory in the lives of all who read this!  

You're so awesome, Abba!  
You certainly are!
Amen!

Studio Tour Pt. 2 -

Miscellaneous Fabric Storage Magic!

I haven't been sewing a lot these days, instead I've gone back to my "comfort activites" - crocheting and organizing. Indeed they have brought me great comfort!

I'll share more about crocheting later, but for now, here's how I store part of my fabric.  I shared how I store my yardage and some strips for RSC 2017 here.  





This 10 drawer system is fabulous - lots of storage space that takes up minimal square footage!

Here's where I store my "One day I'll make a black and white quilt" fabric!

Here's my Christmas hand sewing projects.  Do you see that gingerbread man ornament?  Those were on last year's gifts.  

This drawer is my
"Charms" drawer filled with fabric
to be cut into charms -
perfect for hexagons - 

as well as pre-cut charms!  

I love me some "candy"
or mini charms!
My daughter uses them to plan her quilts
and I just admire them!
How do you use your 2 1/2" squares?

My yo-yo maker drawer!  

I love making yo-yos!

I hope you enjoyed this peek into 5 of the ten drawers!  More to come later!

Linking up to

Sharing Sundays @The Creative Side

Monday Making @ Love, Laugh, Quilt

Main Crush Mondays

At Cooking Up Quilts

Moving It Forward Monday @ Em’s Scrapbag

Faith on Fire @

Fuel For A Wildfire Faith

Crystal Twaddell’s

Fresh Market Friday 

Philippians 3:3. Studio Tour Part 1: Fabric Storage

Philippians 3:3.
Scripture






Observation
What a powerful Scripture with such clarification in the Amplified version!  Paul is saying we don't need physical marks on our body to serve God.  We serve Him spiritually with joy and praise to Him, not putting confidence on any part of our flesh!  
Application
This Scripture has ministered deeply to me today!  In spite of the fatigue and pain of fibromyalgia (the physical), I can still praise God and serve Him in my Spirit via His Holy Spirit!  I was up to the wee hours of this morning Netflix binging and crocheting.  But, in reality, I was spending time with my Abba Father trying to understand and truly make peace with my situation.  

I've been offered and accepted a nearly full-time position with our local university and am moving forward with the Spanish speaking Cancer Care Support Group - in spite of my physical challenges.  

God has confirmed that both of these opportunities are ministerial opportunities. I am relearning to 
focus on Him and not the challenges, serve Him in and via His Spirit, not in the physical,
have faith in my God dream situation.

http://dotz-art.deviantart.com/
http://www.alexetmarine.fr/

He will 
provide the physical strength I need 
or 
teach me to ask for help.   
A lesson in itself.
Either way, 
my spirit has been comforted and strengthened by His Holy Spirit today!


Prayer
Abba Father, how I love and appreciate You and Your everlasting presence in my life.  I realize that my physical body is what reaches out to minister, but my spiritual body is stengethened by Your Holy Spirit.  

I guess sometimes I have to rest.
Perhaps during these times of resting 
beside the still waters, 
You are strengthening by spirit
that my physical body may go forth
and serve Your people.

Thank you for helping me to see this.
Help me to maintain a positive attitude (Philippians 4:8)!

I love You and I trust You, Abba Father!
Amen!

Studio Tour Part 1:

Fabric Storage

We all have various ways 

to store our fabric and 

I've tried many of them.

For now, this works for me!

I have a rather large cutting table 

that measures roughly 

5 1/2 feet X 4 feet with 

adjustable storage shelves underneath.

It faces my west window,

so it gets a lot of natural light.

Not to worry though, 

I share a solution below.

On right side I store my 

30's, 

Drunkard's Path, 

upcoming projects, 

children's

and other miscellaneous fabric.

Batiks, flannels and

 other miscellaneus fabrics

 are stored on the left side.

There is more "fabric-in-waiting" 

behind the stacks on both sides!

My Accuquilt, dies and

 scrapbooking punches

 are all on the bottom shelf.

Oh, and the Brown Bag?

It's filled with scraps too large to toss!

These scraps are becoming 

part of the Crazy Quilt

I'm making for my son.

He's amazing!

He took care of me 

for almost 2 years - 

when I was 

going through and recovering 

from chemotherapy.  

I posted about this solution before, however, these mini design boards

now serve a different purpose.

Remember when I said that in preparation for the 

RSC 2017, 

I cut strips of fabric 

from each bolt?

This is how I store them!

It really helps me to keep up with the monthly blocks!

I've always wanted to make a Strip Quilt

as well as to participate 

in the RSC Challenge.

I know it's a bit of a cheat......

but I'm having so much fun 

with this project

that I can't feel too guilty!

I place them in front of my fabric shelves.

So that my fabric strips don't fade, 

I simply turn them around when 

not in use!

Win, Win!

I'm linking up to

Midweek Makers @ Quilt Fabrication

Becoming Press

Wow! WIPs On Wednesdays 

@ Esther's Blog

To Do Tuesday. Lunch. Drunkard's Path. A Song. Suzy Tat.

Hello There!
Today will be a quick post, but it will get your tastbuds going!  

To Do Tuesday
Last week's To Do Tuesday List:
1) Keep and keep up with my Quilty 365 Done!
2) Make my BOM's (Drunkard's Path and RSC), Oh Oh!
3) Charity Sewing - Dolls of Hope, (If you go to the beginning of her feed, there's contact info.)  Oh Oh!

4) Work on my Fabri-Flair project. Done!  

This week's To Do Tuesday List:
1) Keep and keep up with my Quilty 365 
2) Make my BOM's (Drunkard's Path and RSC), 
3) Charity Sewing - Dolls of Hope, (If you go to the beginning of her feed, there's contact info.)  
4) Continue work on my Fabri-Flair project. 

Lunch Today Is Comfort Food

Grape tomatoes, peas, carrots, gluten-free pasta,
tinydash of Consome de pollo, and 1 tspn
(Better Than Bouillien Chicken flavor).

Today is a slower day, perfect for some 

Mason 

Jar 

Soup!

Drunkard's Path Block

Though I didn't get this sewn up, I managed to cut out all the pieces!  I think it will be pretty once it's all sewn up!

A Song

I think I mentioned that my city doesn't have a Cancer Care Support Group for Spanish speakers.  Thankfully, the wonderful lady who hosts ours is willing to mentor me so that I can start one!  

I'm concerned that with these Fibromyalgia flare-ups, I may not be able to be consistent in my attendance.  Yes, there will be a co-host, (hopefully a nurse/social worker)but I want to be there as well.  It may seem arrogant because I'm sure my co-host will be able to take care of things.  But I do want to consistently be there for the participants.  

Then I remembered this song:

Suzy Tat
Last, but not least, is a cool little crocheting and knitting tool that I absolutely love!  
It's called a "Suzy Tat"!  I purchased it at Quillen's Fiber Arts and the owner, Diedre (she's totally cool), told me it's called a "Suzy Tat".  They are made locally by Jim Hurley, so if you support your local businesses this is a 2fer!

I love purchasing yarn from Quillin Fiber Arts, but here you can see that the Suzy Tat also works well with chain store yarns!  I've been using my Suzy Tat while making my Hexagon Afghan.  As you can see, it holds my hexies that are waiting for their beige borders, as well as scissors!

When I take those off, 

I have my yarn and crochet hook 

ready to stitch!  

Then, I simply pull up on my yarn, 

and wala!  

Tangle free crocheting!

Now, if you're using yarn 

that is wound into a cake, 

no problem!  

You just pull from the outside!  

The top part spins 

as you pull your yarn!  

Uninterrupted stitching!

I'm not receiving anything 

for sharing this product, 

except the joy I get from using it!  

If you like it, 

contact Diedre!  

I'm sure she'd work with you 

to mail it out!

I'm linking up to

Fiber Tuesday at

The Quilting Room with Mel

and

Oui Crochet Community

Hookin’ On Hump Day at

Petals to Picot

And

Moogly

To Do Tuesday @ Stitch All Things.

Linky Tuesday @ Freemotion by the River

Philippians 3:2. Quilty 365 + A Fibromyalgia Update

Philippians 3:2.
Scripture



Observation
Before I started this study, I had noticed that Paul was pretty blunt.  In his writings, he freely and boldly shares his faith - as well as his warnings.  Philippians 3:2 is no exception.  According to The Layman's Bible Commentary by Archibold Hunter, "dogs" is refering to the Judaizers - who believed circumcision and following the letter of the Law was required to be a "perfect Christian" versus having the uncomplicated faith in Christ. 



Application

https://coloringpagesbymradron.blogspot.com/
2014/09/abcs-of-gospel-coloring-page-free.html

I usually turn to what is commonly known as the ABC's of salvation.  This is very basic, but so uncomplicated.  The rest of our faith journey is just that - a journey.  

I remember a conversation with my daughter when she was barely 5 years old....we were talking about counting the cost of following Jesus.  She said, "Oh, that's easy, Mom!  It's free - just give Him your heart!"  From the mouths of babes. 

Paul is saying that those who added other prerequisites to having faith in Christ were "evildoers" and "mutilators of the flesh".  Strong words.  

As I write these words, this song comes to mind:

Prayer
LORD, thank You for this holy time tonight!  I pray that I have not perverted Your message, but have simplified it that all may know 
You are alive, 
You are faithful,
You are trustworthy.

LORD, what ever I may lose, please just give me Jesus!

When our faith seems 
too complicated, 
too hard, 
too confusing, 
help us to remember that all we need is 
Jesus.

Amen.

Quilty 365
I met a Tuesday To Do goal and caught up with my Quilty 365!  

 Here's a close up!

The month of April has several black circles scattered throughout.  These signify days of pain and fatigue. I believe May will be better!  :)

It took more time to take the pictures 

than to sew the squares together!  :)

A Fibromyalgia Update
I have started to feel better,  
to experience more days with pain levels from a 1-3.  The fatigue can be overwhelming.

Lessons learned?
Listen to my body  - and to God's leading.

When they tell me to rest, I rest.
When they tell me to sleep, I sleep.
When they tell me to do, I do.
When they tell me to eat, I eat.
When they tell me to ask for help, I ask.
When they tell me to reschedule, I do so.

This is hard, but really helpful.

I'm linking up to

Monday Making @ Love, Laugh, Quilt

Moving It Forward Monday 

@ Em’s Scrapbag

Thank You, Jannette, For Your Comment! Slow Sunday Stitching

Hello Everybody!
I hope you're all enjoying today's beautiful weather, the LORD's day and some Slow Stitching!

Don't you just love reading the comments left on your blog?  Sometimes a comment just sticks out and makes me really think.. Such was the case with this comment left on this post.  

I started responding to Jannette's comment and realized it was turning into a follow up post, so I contacted her and asked her if I could share her comment and the following response.  She gave me her blessing.  

I learned so much from her comment!  I hope you do as well!

Thank You, Jannette, For Your Comment!

JannetteMay 4, 2017 at 10:11 AM

I struggled with those words from Paul too - good to see the "amplification" of that verse! I need to work to see the best in everyone, especially when it's someone that has wronged me many times in the past....

LOVE your cardigan! The longer back is great too - I often find that sweaters "ride up" on me, leaving my back exposed. You won't have that problem!

Jannette, my dear, your words pricked my heart.  I discussed them with a friend and she helped me to see that assuming the best requires trust.  Furthermore, assuming the best of others varies based on the situation - especially when that person repeatedly hurts us!  Hence the trust issue.

I recall what another of my children's  youth pastor said, 

Sometimes, to me, assuming the best simply means accepting the fact that the person who has hurt repeatedly hurt me is simply a hurting person. 
They have no peace.  
They will hurt others before others can hurt them.  
So, to me and in this type of situation,  
"assuming the best" 
is realizing that 
hurting people hurt people.  

With this realization, I can begin to develop compassion.
This can be so very difficult!
Honestly, in some circumstances, 
it takes me years and 
I'm learning that that's ok.
It's a process.
The result at the end is simply that forgiveness is easier.

Forgiveness, to me, is certainly not saying, 
"What you did to me is ok."
Nor am I required to trust that person again.
As defined by Webster, forgiveness is 

"to cease to feel resentment against (an offender)"

So, for me, forgiveness is freeing because I am ceasing to feel resentment towards the one who hurt me - I am free!

via GIPHY
Consequently, I am able to assume the best of those who repeatedly hurt me by 
assuming they are 
simply hurting people who will hurt others, they are lost or bitter - 
and I'm in their line of fire.  

The point is, 
I can only take care of 
my side of the sidewalk 
by forgiving them and 
trying to assume the best - 
to the best of my ability.  

I don't say these words lightly.
I have know great pain - 
emotionally, physically, you name it - 
at the hands of others.

I can finally say that after many years of tears, anger, bitterness, pity parties, hard work and prayer, I have forgiven them  and assume the best of them.  It has been a long, difficult road, but it's worth it.  God has shown me the other side of the coin via therapists, good friends and His Word and I am finally free!

Jannette, I apologize for this "book".  You really sparked a precious light in my own walk with God and I will always love you and be grateful to you for that - even though we've never met.  You are indeed my sister!  You will be in my prayers!  I praise God you stopped by and commented!  

Take good care!

My Dear Readers, 
I pray you were as blessed as I was by the thoughts sparked by Jannette's comment. Happy Sunday!

via GIPHY

 Slow Sunday Stitching
In keeping with my Tuesday To Do List posted at To Do Tuesday @ Stitch All Things, I'm working on my Fabri Flair Bio-Sphere gifted to me by Marsha Cowan, co-owner of my LQS, Bernina Sewing and Design.   

It's quite different from traditional EPP.  The template is thicker and stays in the project to maintain it's form. 

While the sides are easy to attach to the bottom of the bowl, I find sewing the sides together challenging. But, once I find my groove, it goes really quickly!  It's fun to learn a new twist on EPP!  

I'm eager to begin the second Fabri Flair project I was given - the Large Radiant Star!  

I'm linking up to 

Sunday Slow Stitching 

@ Kathy’s Quilts

Sharing Sundays 

@The Creative Side

Finished or Not Friday 

@ Busy Hands Quilts

Can I Get a Whoop! Whoop!

@Confessions of a Fabric Addict