Spiral Hope Quilt is Finished!!

I can't believe I finally finished this quilt! I started it several years ago for someone special to me and I had a whole plan for it's creation. Something happened, as things just seem to, so I shelved it. Last year I took it back out with a new plan. Now countless hours, tears and prayers later, it is finished.

Next stop? 

The county Fair to see if I can win a ribbon . . 

101 Things in 1001 Days

My latest updates to my Day Zero List .  redone yet again. I do love this list. It is the ultimate list!!

And now that you've had a peek at my plans I must admit that I still have more to add ..  🤣😌🙃

Day 140/365

Spiral Hope Quilt

I'm working my way through blanket stitching the binding then I'll need to work on embroidering the label. Soo close to finished, then I can donate it to Akron Restoration Home and they can auction it!! 

L4C

Seeking God's Guidance, Presence, Love when Life is Bad ~ Job 13

Self-defense

13 Look, my eye has seen it all;
    my ear has heard and understood it.
² Just as you know, I also know;
    I’m not inferior to you.
³ But I want to speak to the Almighty;
    I would gladly present my case to God.

Friends attacked

⁴ You, however, are plasterers of lies;
    ineffective healers, all of you.
⁵ Would that you were completely quiet;
    that would be your wisdom.
⁶ Hear my teaching
    and pay attention to the arguments of my lips.
⁷ Will you speak injustice for God,
    speak deceit on his behalf?
⁸ Will you be partial
    or contend for God?
⁹ Will it go well when he searches you,
    or can you fool him as you fool people?
¹⁰ He will certainly correct you
    if you’ve been secretly partial.
¹¹ Wouldn’t his majesty scare you
    and dread of him fall on you?
¹² Your old sayings are proverbs made of ashes,
    your sayings defenses made of clay.

Job will speak out

¹³ Be quiet and I will speak,
    come what may.
¹⁴ For what reason will I take my flesh in my teeth,
    put my life in jeopardy?
¹⁵ He will slay me; I’m without hope;
    I will surely prove my way to his face.
¹⁶ Also this will be my vindication,
    that a godless person won’t come before him.
¹⁷ Listen closely to my words
    so that my remarks will be in your ears.

Against God

¹⁸ Look, I have laid out my case;
    I know that I’m innocent.
¹⁹ Who would dare contend with me,
    for then I would be quiet and die.
²⁰ Only don’t do two things to me,
    then I won’t hide from your face.
²¹ Remove your hand far from me
    and don’t terrify me with your anger.
²² Then call and I’ll answer,
    or I’ll speak and you can reply.
²³ How many are my offenses and sins?
    Inform me about my rebellions and sins.
²⁴ Why hide your face from me
    and consider me your enemy?
²⁵ Will you cause a wind-tossed leaf to tremble, or will you pursue dry straw?
²⁶ You even write bitter things about me,
    make me inherit my youthful indiscretions.
²⁷ You tie up my feet and restrict all actions;
    you stamp marks on the bottom of my feet.

Human destiny

²⁸ Surely a person wastes away like refuse,
    like clothing that a moth eats. 

A carefully led life obeying God leaves no need to fear. We are all imperfect, though, so there will always be a little fear. 

And, isn't fear necessary? 

Don't we respect and be our earthly parents out of fear? As children don't we make our choices out of fear of disappointing our earthly parents? Don't we show respect and keep to their rules out of fear of the consequences? 

How much more so then should we do the same out of a healthy fear for our Heavenly Father?!! 

Isn't being sent to hell for all of eternity worse than being grounded to our rooms? Is our rebellion worth an eternity of gnashing teeth? 

What makes us so flippant towards God that we would even begin to think we can pledge our lives to follow and love Him then turn around and ignore the instructions He has so carefully written in His Word??! 

When the end comes and he asks for our explanation . . well, what will yours be? 

Down My Rabbit Hole . .

Sometimes I want to hide in my rabbit hole . . like burry my head in the snow. . you know, out in that hole that goes to the cavern under the parking lot . . you know, the cavern we're all pretending isn't there . . 

But, let me tell you, although camping out deep in a cavern can be a nice break for a while, eventually we all have to resurface and engage in some human contact. 

So, I've been thinking about my lists . . even created a new way to do my lists ..  too exciting! 

But .. 

This morning, as my client snoozed, it dawned on me that I had four (4) solid lists for hard items [ministry, finances, housing, homesteading] but I was totally missing a soft list!! 🙄 

There was no list of comfy happy fun things ..  

That's not good . . so I need to rethink things. .  Yes, some items in my other lists fall under the soft list, 

But . . 

I really do feel that the soft list should create the other lists. 

The things I love and long for should dictate where I live and how I make enough money to survive. 

So, I will do a bit of a rewrite . . 

Then I'll share .. . 

First on Patreon then here .. . 

Stay tuned!!! 

🙏📖👵🏖️🍝🐈🐇🐔🏕️⛵

A Good Son

Many have son's, but are they good son's? What constitutes a truly good son?

There are so many possible answers to these questions, and, really, the answers can change as the years pass. 

And there are stages son's go through where a parent can't help but worry.  . . moments when it seems a new girlfriend has eaten their brain and is now running the show . . when they ride their bikes down concrete steps or jump off a fire hydrant onto gravel to show girls they can land on their feet  . .! 

But then . . they bring us flowers . . cook us supper . . happily hang new miniblinds to replace the ones we broke (true story). They are the boys who bring their girlfriend to church and sing along with your favorite Christian radio station!! 😂

Ramblings as I Chug Along . . .

Good morning, all!! Hope you're doing well and your day is blessed. . . . I have been missing our rambling chats so thought I'd share today . . . I really am hoping to participate in "Stream of Conscience Saturday" #SOCS as well as simply rambling any day I feel like chatting ..  .

Hey, been praying/thinking a lot about church. It is so important to be in the right place for wholesome teaching that lines up with the Word.  . . I once had a pastor, Kevin Comfort, who carefully advised the congregation on a regular basis to never just take his word about what the Bible says or it's meaning. He heartily encouraged us to each 

🙏take notes during sermons/teaching 

🙏look up each verse at home 

🙏then read the entire chapter to make sure it wasn't taken out of context 

🙏ask God for discernment 

This remarkable pastor actually encouraged us to question his teaching!! He knew that, by doing this, he asked us to hold him accountable for leading us responsibly and he had us in the Word and praying more. He created an atmosphere of trust and further Bible study. 

I have had other pastors who felt we'd better accept their teaching as the final say on what's correct and never ever double-check it much less ask about contradictions. To me that's scary. 

We are all human, pastors included. 

We all make mistakes. 

If I, for example, look up a topic in my Bible it will point me to specific verses. This is all well and good, but, when taken in the context of the entire chapter it may very well have an entirely different meaning. 

Taking a verse out of context and using it to prove a point is twisting the Word of God. 

That's dangerous!! 

Then there was Pastor Frank L. Wallace who has such in-depth Bible knowledge and took us verse by verse through the Bible making sure we thoroughly understood. He also expected us to come to Bible classes with questions. He told us that if we didn't come in with questions he knew we hadn't been reading our Bibles!! It was so nice to be able to write down any questions and arrive at church anticipating thorough answers. I can truly say I learned more there than anywhere else so far. And, yes, every now and then he made a mistake and would come to Bible class, admit the error and fix it! Now, that's a man of God who can admit mistakes publicly!! 
So, where are we for church right now? 
Good question . . 
Both of those churches are in Joliet, Illinois and Matt and I now live in Toledo, Ohio . . 
Looking for a combination of Pastor Kevin Comfort and Pastor Wallace . . preferably an Apostolic or United Pentecostal Church . . 
And I've cut my hair and started wearing jeans so am starting over working on my  obedience issues . . need a church patient as we grow in Him!! 

1 Corinthians 13:1-3

13 If I speak in tongues of human beings and of angels but I don’t have love, I’m a clanging gong or a clashing cymbal. ² If I have the gift of prophecy and I know all the mysteries and everything else, and if I have such complete faith that I can move mountains but I don’t have love, I’m nothing. ³ If I give away everything that I have and hand over my own body to feel good about what I’ve done but I don’t have love, I receive no benefit whatsoever. 

Love 

The ability to reach out open arms sincerely despite past injustice .. 

To offer a heartfelt hug as a response to a verbal slap in the face . . 

I want my home and my life to be one of love, welcoming even those who have hurt me deeply . . maybe welcoming them more than those who are kind to me is really what it's all about. 

When You Can't Get a Doctor Appointment . . .

You're sick, really sick this time ..  and your doctor's office has no available appointments . . 

Or your doctor won't listen . . won't acknowledge the symptoms you're describing . . 

Inevitably the ER becomes the only option. 

But, does it have to? 

Isn't it possible for us to keep a stocked medicine cabinet and first aid kit to handle all but major surgery? 

I, myself, would like to have a better first aid kit. We have several we put together while Matt was in scouts. I'd like to see these sorted and recombined/consolidated. . . 

I'd also like to have a way way more extensive set of first aid skills. It seems like I've been taking some sort of classes in this forever . . babysitting class in 1976 . . Girl Scouts . . Then, years and years later, I began prepping and needed to brush up on skills . . Matt joined Cub Scouts then Boy Scouts and I sat through multiple first aid lessons . . Zoom ahead again to my current job with Visiting Angels and so so many classes including first aid, nutrition, etcetera . . 
And I seriously crave more .  . . 
Okay, so I have to admit I LOVE learning .   . . Can't deny that . .  
Don't want to become a nurse . . I don't think so anyways . . Not right now . . Too many hours away from home . . Yeah, okay, maybe I'll just check into that a bit more . .  
But meanwhile . . 
IMHO, we each need to be able to be responsible for the majority of our own healthcare needs. Yes, there will always be some things we'll absolutely have to rely on a doctor for . . 
But . . 
Times are changing. 
This is not the world we grew up in or our parents grew up in. 
🌀Remember Katrina?!?! 🌊 
Remember how badly our government failed us? And what about the most recent failure after Maria hit Puerto Rico?!?! 
As we sit here and now we should not by any means be relying on others for our own survival. 
We need to look back at how self-reliant pioneers were. Take a couple first aid and CPR classes. Restock our first aid kits. Learn some herbal medicine then plant a nice herb garden. 
One step at time . . 
Learn a skill and put it to use . . 
Then learn another. 
Be prepared to be self-sufficient!! 

In a disaster there may not be a doctor nearby for months. 

💤Joy Dare 🕊️ February 4-7, 2019 🤔

4th~ 3 gifts hard to give thanks for . . 
      💤 Total and utter exhaustion 
       💸 Budgetary confinements 
       🏢 Tiny tiny apartment 

5th~ 3 gifts found .  . 
       🕊️ Peace in knowing He leads me 
        💃 My happy place 
       🎮 Control 

6th~ a gift bent, broken, beautiful ..  
        😌 My ability to wait 
         🤔 Thinking 
        💋 Avon samples arrived❣️❣️ 

7th~ 3 gifts in the kitchen  . . 
         🍶 Vinegar water 
          🥛 Milk 
         🍌 Peanut butter and banana w/ghee 

🇺🇸American Flag Retirement 🇺🇸

 

American Flags . . 

Items to be honored and respected. . 

And, when worn out . . 

To be retired gently and with honor . . 

A proper retirement ceremony done by Boy Scouts is touching  . . Watching uniformed Scouts and Veterans salute the flags as each are laid on the fire can't help but bring out tears of patriotism and appreciation for service. 

Worn, frayed flags are not to be flown, but instead need to be retired. If you have an American Flag that's worn, frayed or faded please consider replacing it. Your old flag can be dropped off at any VFW or you can call your local Cub or Boy Scout Troop to pick it up. Then, take your family and attend the retirement ceremony. You won't regret it!! 🇺🇸

Spiral Hope Quilt Top

Hi and welcome back!! 😊

The embroidery is done and I've found a nice piece of material for the backing/binding in my stash. 

The back is all tied on and the binding is pinned (at least partially). 

🙌 Quietly Walking with Him 🙏

Hey there . .yes, I've been a bit AWOL ..  I'm still sharing some things but . . . my deepest inner personal life is currently remaining  .  well, private and personal . . a lot of quiet time with Jesus as I pray my way through ..  He is showing me  . . healing my heart . . gently guiding and changing me ..  and I know He is working in the areas I need Him . . opening doors to the future He requires to fullfil His Will .   . . and, as it becomes possible, I will share this private walk with you . . once He and I get these blessings of change and growth lined up 🙏

Spiral Hope Quilt Top

I'm hurrying to finish so I can tie on the back and begin adding the binding!! 

🇺🇸 Red Shirt Fridays 🇺🇸

Yup, back to wearing a red shirt every Friday!!

Now, I know it stands for 

      🇺🇸

Remember 

Everyone 

Deployed 

      🇺🇸

But, I still think all serving and retired deserve our prayers (ya know I gotta be rebellious!!). 

As you plan your Friday wardrobe could you include one (1) red item? 

Then, at some point each Friday, stop, remember their sacrifice and say a prayer for those: 

🇺🇸Serving 

🇺🇸Retired (so many of whom are not receiving adequate services and struggle daily just to survive) 

🇺🇸With PTSD 

🇺🇸Whom have lost a service member from their family 

❣️🙌❣️#whatif Prompt for 2.16.19

Today's prompt:

     Ways I could thank God 

   

Feel free to respond in your favorite way whether it be a poem, short story, photo, video . . however you best relate to the prompt. Simply post your ideas, create a ping-back and use the hashtag #whatif.

*How to link* 

Copy url from this post. 

Paste it on your post. 

*Easy-Beasy*

Should we fit in a Mold, Force Others in Too?

For so many years I tried so hard to be who I was told to be . . Walk, sit, dress, pray, praise as I was told . . Each movement carefully choreographed trying to ensure I wouldn't get in trouble for doing it wrong.
In public I was one person ..  on display . . Stiff . . Scared . . Watching my back and watching every move I made to make sure I was perfect.
The problem is, I'm not perfect. . . I'm not you . . I am the way God made me. He made me this way so that I can reach certain people for Him.
He did not make me to be a clone of any person or group.
He gave me my own style and personality.
He loves me this way.
I love to wear skirts . . Flouncy, fun, flirty . . Oh, yeah!!
But sometimes I want to wear jeans too . .
I love long hair .  It's me!!
I am clumsy . . more so when I am nervous around you . .
I praise best with my shoes off . . so I stay at the back of the church so you won't see . . coming before the Lord humbled without shoes longing for Him above all  .. 
And He uses me in all my imperfections and brokenness. . . He's given me, humble, insignificant me, an amazing outreach to the homeless. He's handed me an opportunity and a responsibility to reach those society would rather not see. To love them, pray for them and provide basic necessities.
All this He's entrusted to me even as messed up as my life can be.
Maybe He's entrusted this to me because I know what it is to be forgotten, judged harshly by those who don't know me and to be waiting for someone to notice me . .
I am honored that He would trust me to love them for Him.

Finding the Way Home

Where are we?!! 

What has happened? 

Without any normal landmarks even remotely visible how will we find our way home? 

Fortunately

We have Jesus 

We simply need to 

Pray 

Ask Him into our hearts 

🙏