Tuesday, August 28, 2012

Sewing for Orphans in Vietnam

Saw an article for this on Threadbias.com - a sewing community. Sewing for Orphans --click link to the blog to learn more about the sewing for Orphans in Vietnam Just wanted to put this up for anyone who might like to do this. --Here are some items needed shorts, dresses, messenger bags, pencil pouches and simple diapers

Monday, August 27, 2012

thou hast been faithful over a few things

I have been in a very reflective mood lately.
God has done so much with the trials and pain in my life. He has helped me through them to draw me closer to him.
I know that it sounds crazy to say I am thankful for the pain, but where would I be otherwise?
If I didn't experience anything difficult how would I have compassion to pray for others. How would I have compassion to want to help others.
I would be without emotion and desensitized to the world. Complacent, apathetic.

I really want to do a work for God. I don't know where he is leading me. I just want to do his will in my life. I want to hear "well done thou good and faithful servant".

The line " thou hast been faithful over a few things" in that chapter is the key.
God gives us little things to start with, then he will give more as we do more for him.

I think I get impatient. I want to do bigger things for God. I was told by my pastor that God had big plans for me. I want to jump in and get to those things, but I am not ready. I have to start with what I have and work my way up. I get a head of myself. That's where my stumbling has been.
I want to do more but haven't learned how and fail to do things right, and then get too hard on myself for not getting it right.

One step at a time. One victory at a time.

Friday, August 24, 2012

God's cry

Why is it we can feel lonely in a crowd, or when we have family and friends?
I was thinking about this after having a wave of loneliness wash over me. It's strange. I wasn't feeling that a few minutes before, but wham there it was.

I think our hearts ache sometimes because we know there is something missing, something not quite right, and it is always there in the background. We can interact with people daily. We can have wonderful friends and  family, and still there is just something wrong.

I know that when I was saved I asked Jesus in my heart. He is there even when I don't feel his pressence. I will never loose him. It's just not possible.
When I go to church and feel his presence sometimes I feel like it's home. Where ever he is, is my home.
Maybe the loneliness is just homesickness. When I am in eternity I will have his complete loving presence always.


A few years back I was going through marriage trouble and at the same time my father was dying of cancer. Life was so overwhelming.
I remember asking God "why?" Why did I go through the things I did? Why was I such a sensitive person that things could hurt me so much.
I ended up having this dream. God showed me the house I grew up in. There was darkness all around. I was a child in the dream and Jesus was holding on to me. I was surrounded by his light.
But I could hear people in the darkness screaming and crying in torment, pain and lonliness. The darkness issolated them and kept them from seeing a way out. They had no hope of escaping it.
Then I heard the most heart wrenching cry underneath it all. It was heart shattering. Like a mother grieving over a child. I was so shaken from that cry. What a lonely sound of mourning and longing to be reunited with a lost love. I then realized that this cry was God's heart crying out for all those people in the darkness going through pain and horror in their lives.
I just dont know how to describe how deep and wide is the love of our God toward us but that gave me a small glimpse.

The answer to my question why was that there are more like me, that don't know the way. And I was never alone during the bad times. He was there. He was crying over me just like those other people. I just didn't know it yet.
Its not for me to question God why anymore. It's for me to take from that and follow God's heart.
The one that cries over his lost loves.
And someday we will no longer have to deal with loneliness again when he wipes away all our tears from our eyes. He will no longer cry again either.

Monday, August 6, 2012

Sunflower Scrubbie

Sunflower Scrubbie
materials
tulle cut into 1 1/2  inch wide strips and tied end to end.
(I bought about 4 yards of tulle at a thrift store and made a large ball of it for future use. so the strips are long)
cotton yarn
J or k hook for tulle and cotton combo
I hook for petals and leaves

combining cotton yarn and tulle ch4 and sl st to 1st ch
rnd 1- ch 3, 9 dc into ch, sl st to beg ch
rnd 2- ch3, dc in same st. 2 dc in each st around.
sl st to beg ch. fasten off .

The first part of petals are made with chainless foundation (cf) stitches (half double crochet tutorial linky). Also called foundation stitches.
fasten yarn to any stitch of scrubbie, yo and insert hook in same st, *(cf) hdc, cf dc 2 times,cf hdc, ch2, going down petal hdc in hdc, dc in next two dc, hdc, and slst in same stitch. Yo and insert hook into next stitch of scrubbie, yo and pull through to start next cf hdc*
repeat for each stitch around scrubbie.

Chainless foundation double crochet video