Stitchin' Stuff

My friend Pam sent me these pillowcases last week. I just love them! I brought them back with me to the mission because I knew they would make me smile every night when it's time for bed. She sent this one for me.... And this one for my husband. He quickly agreed that it was ok for me to put it on his pillow. :)

I didn't quite follow the pattern when I was making this quilt because my fabric wasn't exactly what I needed but I like this setting. It was supposed to be set on point. But it was an easy one to make - I cut it out one day and sewed it up the next. Now if the quilting is as fast I'm good to go!

I have some other stuff finished but haven't gotten it on my computer - maybe tomorrow I can show that to you!

A Multitasking Grandpa

Wonder What This Is About

What in the world would make grown people form a circle and hold hands? How about a breakfast like this?

Seriously ya'll, how in the world am I gonna' keep from losing weight after spending 4 months here at Sager Brown?

Are You Turned On?

I read on Jacquie's blog today that Tierce Green preached a sermon that reminded her of this: Jesus wants us to be a light in this world, not a light in a warehouse somewhere waiting to go to Heaven someday. Do you not just love that?

This follows right along with my thoughts I posted here about mission. Jesus was not a passive man. He certainly took time apart to pray and fast and to seek direction from his father, but most of his time was spent with people, talking or feeding or healing or telling stories or even raising them from the dead. He was constantly on the move from one place to another, trying to get the message to all that He could. As much as He taught He also healed and ministered to his flock. Somewhere in the things He did are things for each one of us to do.

Maybe it's in the feeding - cooking a meal or two or twenty, washing the dishes or sweeping the floor after others have been fed, buying the food or delivering it to the kitchen. Maybe it's in the healing...body, mind and spirit. Hospitals and nursing homes and in-home care need lots of workers, paid and unpaid. Shut-ins need visits. Those who are sick need visits and errands run and grass mowed and prescriptions picked up. Maybe it's in the ministering to others - listening to stories of childhood (that we all need to share with someone as we get older!) or of old hurts or of hopes and dreams. Calling on those who are housebound or lonely or isolated just to say someone cares, teaching Sunday School or leading a youth group are needs everywhere. Or maybe it's just leading a life that provides a Christian role model for friends and family and neighbors - attending church regularly, reading and studying the Bible, helping out others where possible.

The important thing is to be doing...be active...be heading in the right direction. Jesus wasn't passive; neither should we be. Being a Christian isn't a stopping place; it's a starting place.

To be a light in this world you have to be turned on and being turned on is a conscious decision each one of us has to make. Where is your switch...off? on? somewhere in between?

One Thousand Blessings - Day Ten

296. Home
297. Friends who help you clean your house
298. Unexpected cool weather when you're expecting hot days
299. Grandchildren excited about new band instruments
300. Warm cookies and cold milk
301. Finding most of the pants in your closet are too big
302. Face to face visits with my children
303. Neighbors who rescue your boat when it breaks loose and you're not at home
304. Babies when they learn to squeal
305. Videos of babies squealing...and squealing...and squealing and knowing their parents are loving every minute of it even though it goes on and on and on
306. Bleach that makes my white clothes white
307. Saleswomen who are honest and tell you when something doesn't flatter you
308. Shark Steam Mops
309. Angel wing begonias
310. Fried catfish
311. Stitching with friends
312. Walks in your own neighborhood
313. Seeing flowers growing in unexpected places
314. Having a grandchild run and jump in your arms when they see you coming
315. Hearing one of your grownup children answer your question even when you both know they don't have to and you're being nosy
316. Days that are cool enough for you to have the air conditioner off in the car and just have the vents open
317. Faraway friends who make you a pillowcase with hunky cowboys on them - and even a cowgirl one for your husband - and mail them to you as a surprise
318. Bible verses that you've read before but never understood when they suddenly make sense
319. Hearing God say, "Follow my path" and then seeing the path clearly
320. Recycling
321. Lamplight
322. Soft blankets
323. Candles that smell delicious
324. The view out my kitchen window
325. African violets
326. A gazebo in a shaded yard
327. Luminaries at Christmas
328. Autumn decorations
329. Pumpkin cooked most any way at all
330. Pecan Pie
331. Lean Cuisines (especially after the pecan pie!)
332. Seeing the joy on people's faces as they arrive here at the mission
333. The smell of coffee in the early morning
334. Seeing a horse race across a field
335. Snow
336. A roaring fire when it's cold outside
337. Jigsaw puzzles on the computer
338. Puppies
339. The sound of waves hitting the shore
340. The Maine coastline
341. Leaves in the fall when they change color

Mission

A couple of weeks ago our pastor talked about mission – oh, I’ve heard it mentioned a time or two in other sermons :) but for some reason this one stayed with me triggering thoughts of the word itself and what it means on a personal basis. The preacher said his first mission is to get to Heaven someday and I suppose that should be the mission of us all. When I looked it up in the dictionary (yes, some of us still do that!) it said this: 1) assigned task…a special task given to a person or group to carry out 2) calling…an objective or task that somebody believes it is his or her duty to carry out or to which he or she attaches special importance and devotes special care. It had a couple of other definitions, including a space vehicle’s trip, but I’m pretty sure that one isn’t for me!

In Luke 9:51 we are told that Jesus “set His face toward Jerusalem.” Or, depending on the version, “Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem.” Either way we are assured that Jesus knew His mission and with great determination and even greater courage began the final steps of His journey to that goal. Unlike you and me, who rarely know what lies at the end of our journey, He knew….He knew it would include pain and degradation and death. But he set forth anyway.

I don’t think my mission in this life includes the things Jesus endured, thank goodness. However, I don’t know for sure exactly what my mission is. I know some things it has been though. And I think I even know when it began. It started when I was 5 years old and the neighbors took me to church where they told me that Jesus loves me…and I believed them. It continued when God reached down, took me by the hand, and said, “this is the man I want you to marry.” That was nearly 46 years ago and I am convinced no marriage lasts that long without God showing us the grace it takes to maintain that kind of relationship. For a time my mission was to raise children. In looking back I’m like any mother who wonders if she did anything right….I see everything I did wrong and I cry over the missed opportunities to have been better at it. But when the time came to let them go it was ok because I knew He was moving me on to other things. For a part of my life I worked with high school kids in a variety of positions and without God’s hand pushing me into college at the age of 35 that would never have happened. I don’t know which kid, or maybe even multiple kids, He wanted me to touch but when it was time to let go of that He let me know that too.

Now I’m in a place where I’m serving Him in a different way than I ever dreamed, but serving Him is the thread that has tied all of my life jobs/missions/goals together. Lately I’ve read on several blogs about women who feel themselves being led in a “different direction.” Direction is just another word for mission and I’ve said all of the above so that I can say to you….serving Him is the mission, is the direction. When you’re serving Him, you’re in the mission field no matter where you are. It’s only in how you serve Him that you have to make a choice. You can serve Him beautifully as a stay-at-home Mom protecting and loving on one of God’s creations (or however many children He sends you!). You’re in the mission field right at home. You can serve Him where you work every day by showing His love and concern and joy to those around you. You’re in the mission field at your work place. You can serve Him by being the best wife you can be, not the perfect wife :) but a good wife. You can serve Him by going to a mission in a foreign country and spreading His word, or by fostering children in your home, or by driving a truck across the country. Serve Him where you are and if He wants you to change direction, rest assured He will make your path clear. Set your face toward Jerusalem and you will find your direction.