Don't let the difficulties of the present moments overshadow the reality of God's promises. God's promises still stand. And God's promises are stronger than our failures.

Wednesday, May 21, 2008

Loved Lifted Me

Tonight at church we sang an old hymn, Love Lifted Me. What memories that brought back! When I was about 8 years old we lived in a tiny little house that had only two bedrooms. I have a sister and two brothers. That meant that my sister and I shared a room, the two boys shared a room and our parents slept in the living room. Both parents worked full time and came home exhausted at night to face four hungry kids who were still full of energy. Playing outside till dark-thirty (that was our term for just past dark) wasn't only allowed by our parents - it was almost mandated! Bedtime was as soon as they could reasonably feed and bathe us and get us tucked in - and we didn't always get the bath. My sister, Sherry, who is almost 3 years younger than me, and I would pull the covers over our heads and sing hymns to keep ourselves awake. There were several we had memorized - all the verses - and would sing over and over. Love Lifted Me was one of those. Of course, we'd start off whispering so Mom couldn't hear, but gradually we'd get more and more enthusiastic, louder and louder, till Mom was yelling, "Girls! Be quiet and go to sleep!" You'd think you could listen to 2 little girls sing hymns all night long, but bless my Mom's heart the sound of two sweet little voices praising God might be touching but exhaustion, after a while, would win out!



Well, love lifted me today in my small sewing group called Nimble Thimbles. There are 8 of us who meet together once a month to stitch, visit and eat. Some months we do more of one than the other, and you never know which it might be. Today we met at JoAnn's for lunch (delicious!) and then sewed for 2 or 3 hours. This group of friends range in age about 2 decades. We live in 3 different but nearby communities. We share a love of quilting and a love for the Lord. When we are together there are no differences, there is only love. And it always lifts me.



Below is a picture of JoAnn's YoYo throw that she's been working on for a looooooong time now. Isn't it gorgeous?



And check out www.faithsvintagevanity.blogspot.com for her first give-away. It will lift your spirits!

7 comments:

Purple Pam said...

Love the yo-yo quilt. It is so colorful. There is lots of sewing in those yo-yos. Is it finished? Also, what about the mystery 9 patches? Did you get it revealed?

Sharon said...

What a sweet story - thanks for sharing it!
And the yo-yo quilt is a testament to perserverance! It's very pretty. How big is it?

Elaine Adair said...

a lovely story, and memory. Thanks.

The Yo-yo is amazing. I can only manage to make a few at a time.

bj said...

Beautiful quilt...I know you must have so much fun at your monthly meetings. I just love getting together with a group of friends.
hugs, bj

Rebecca Ramsey said...

I LOVE yo-yo quilts. My grandmother practically had yoyos coming out her ears.

And Love Lifted Me is one of my favorites! You've got me singing. Thank you!
Becky

Dawn said...

This yo-yo quilt is MORE than gorgeous---it is so beautiful!

And what could be more beautiful than time spent singing His praises while using needle & thread with women of all ages??!!...

Karen said...

I enjoyed your memory story.
I, too, get together with friends once a month for eating, quilting, and sharing. Well, I should say twice a month because I do it with two different groups. it is always a wonderful time.