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Friday, October 31, 2014

Sew Happy Friday - A Great Idea for A Scrappy Nine Patch Block

 

If you happen to like to keep every little scrap of fabric that could be used for quilt making, this pattern idea might be just what you need to put that part of your stash to work. 

Nicole over at “mama love quilts” offers this tutorial for the Remixed 9-Patch Block.

I like the idea myself, but I have to say that I’d cut the squares at 5” so that they could be easily mixed with 5” charm squares.  I’ve been working on building up a collection of 5” patches for future reference as I cut various projects.  It’s also a standard pre-cut size, so that works for me.  However, you could really make these any size you wanted.

I’m wondering how it would look for a “Disappearing 9-Patch”.  Ideas, ideas.  :-)

Sunday, October 26, 2014

The Birth of Jesus Christ – Part 7, Luke 1:48-56

 

If you missed the first parts of this study on the birth of Jesus, you may wish to go back and start at the beginning.

In today’s study we will consider various things Mary said in her declaration and finish up with her return “to her own house” – a very curious turn of phrase which again brings up certain aspects of so-called “Biblical Patriarchy” and the teachings of Doug Phillips, Bill Gothard and others.

Read Here:  Luke 1:48-56

Saturday, October 25, 2014

Evening Song – Rejoice In the Lord

 

 

Job 23:9-10  On the left hand, where he doth work, but I cannot behold him: he hideth himself on the right hand, that I cannot see him: But he knoweth the way that I take: when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold.

Friday, October 24, 2014

Sew Happy Friday – Cute Chicken Pincushions

 

Here’s another tutorial from the Missouri Star Quilt Co., only this one isn’t for a quilt, it’s for some nifty and easy chicken pincushions.  They’re made with just three squares of fabric and some other bits and pieces.

Enjoy!

By the way, I am not an affiliate of MSQC and receive no compensation for using their videos.  I just happen to like Jenny’s teaching style.

Thursday, October 23, 2014

Tuesday, October 21, 2014

Stay Home – Influenza, Ebola and the Common Cold

 

If I look sick in this picture it’s because I was.  This was taken a day or two before our wedding and I’d had a bad cold with a horrible cough that was keeping me awake at night.  And, I got that cold at church.

Yes, a short time before our wedding my fiancĂ© and I had been at a church meeting and there was a little girl sitting directly behind me during the service.  She was being really good and was quiet throughout the service – except that she had a nasty sounding, “juicy” cough.  At least part of the time she was doubtless coughing in my immediate direction.

I don’t hold it against her.  Her parents should have kept her at home that day, no doubt about it.  I don’t hold a grudge against them about it either, but this story is a prime example of why I believe in people staying home when they are sick and keeping kids home when they are sick.  You have no idea the trouble you may cause someone else, and they are not likely to come tell you about it even if they know you cause it.

Later, I could see that the Lord allowed me to catch that cold because I worried more about whether I’d be well enough to make it to our wedding than about the myriad other things brides usually worry about.  The day before the wedding my husband-to-be took me to an urgent care clinic and we got some prescriptions for cough suppressants that helped me sleep and feel wonderfully better for our wedding day!  (He didn’t tell me on the day of our wedding that he was coming down with the cold too or I might have been quite worried about that.  Thankfully, he didn’t take it as badly as I did, but Emergence-C vitamin drink still reminds him of our honeymoon.  :-)  hahaha)

I’ve seen sick kids in church meetings before and I couldn’t understand why the parents would drag the poor kids to church and also expose other families there, particularly the elderly folks.  It is not so uncommon for an older person in weaker health to develop pneumonia from a cold of the flu and have a horrible battle or even die.  I don’t understand why people are willing to take that risk, even if it seems small to them.

I’ve also heard a horror story about a mother who couldn’t stand to stay away from her weekly social club (meaning church), and actually brought her baby who had hand, foot and mouth disease and put her in the nursery, where she gave it to other kids.  Yes, there are Christians who are that selfish.  They’re more concerned about “getting a blessing”, showing off their new clothes, and seeing their friends than they are about caring for the needs of the saints in the choices they make.

My husband and I have actually stayed home from church meeting sometimes because we had a situation approaching where we couldn’t afford to be sick and we couldn’t trust our fellow-believers to stay home if they were sick.  Yeah, I know.  We should have more faith and “trust the Lord”.  But, the Lord also gives us a head for something besides a hat rack. He intends us to think with it.  Foreseeing situations that have proven to be a problem in the past should be an easy call.  We were sick at our wedding and on our honeymoon.  We’re not likely to forget it.  Proverbs 22:3  A prudent man foreseeth the evil, and hideth himself: but the simple pass on, and are punished.  We know we can’t trust people to stay home from church meeting, especially during the “sick season”, so we stay home.  But, frankly, that ought not to be.  The well folks ought not to have to stay home from church because sick people will insist on being there.  Christians should show more care one for another.

When my family lived in Arizona some old family friends once visited us on the way home from a retreat in Mexico.  There had been a terrible stomach bug among the attendees there and they had used their R.V. (caravan) to house sick kids.  The wife came down with the bug on the way to our house, but they came on anyway.  She stayed in the R.V. but the husband visited in my grandparents’ house, where we all were eating.  He came down with the bug while he was in the house and vomited on my grandparents’ porch.  Some of the men in our family cleaned it up.  Long story short, we all got it, though thankfully not all at once.  Some of us were horribly sick.  My dad nearly called an ambulance for two of us.  My parents grew up in East Africa and had experienced some pretty bad diseases.  They said they’d never had anything that bad before.  First you were afraid you would die.  Then you were afraid you wouldn’t.  Thankfully, my grandparents were not nearly as sick as some of us were or they might not have lived.

There is also the problem of sick people in the workplace.  My mom and I both remember a lady who was running a register at our local grocery store years ago.  She had a horrible cold.  She should have been at home in bed, but there she was handling all our food stuffs at the checkout, as well as exposing her co-workers and the customers in general.  My mom was really provoked.  I don’t remember if she questioned the lady about it, but it seemed like it came out that she didn’t have any more sick time or something to that effect.  Her employer was to blame in any case because he shouldn’t have allowed her to work in that condition – out of courtesy to his customers and other employees.

In one place my family lived there was quite a lot of sickness and one of my brothers was constantly bringing home “bugs” to us.  His co-workers coming in sick and the work requirements - they were required to shake hands with customers - all tended toward a lot of “sharing” of sickness.  When the norovirus went through the area he refused to shake hands till it was over.  He basically said his family’s health was more important to him than the “rules” and if they fired him, so be it (we were not dependent on his income).

I also remember when I was in my teens some of the young people in our youth group talking about going to school sick.  The local school had a reward system which allowed the kids in the high school to skip final exams at the end of the year if they didn’t miss a day of school all year.  Obviously this had a bad built-in penalty – namely, kids coming to school sick.  :-/  Kids should be sent home from school when they come sick.

It seems like people should figure these things out without being told, but for various reasons they don’t.  I’ve even been in a church where the pastor begged the people from the pulpit not to come sick, yet they went right ahead and did it without regard for him or the congregation.  People go to work sick without regard for their co-workers or the public – even in food service situations.  The managers, bosses, and owners of the businesses allow them to work sick, or even demand it. 

In Western cultures I think we’ve gotten so used to the doctors and medicines being able to cure or relieve almost everything that, as a whole, we’ve developed a careless attitude toward sickness.  Colds are not as terrifying today as they were in the past because there is penicillin, sulfa drugs and other things.  My great-grandmother and her oldest son might have lived if they’d had those things in their day.  But, they didn’t have those things and colds, the flu and pneumonia were very serious, scary things.  People were warned not to run risks and take chances.  People could die for ignoring those warnings.

With the common cold and the flu, milder stomach bugs and some other minor ailments, it is not usually a matter of life or death any more – though, of course, it can be for those with weak immune systems, the elderly, and small children.  Over-the-counter and prescription medicines take the bite out of a lot of sicknesses these days.  Even many serious illnesses can be cured with antibiotics, or alleviated with anti-virals, natural remedies and other medical procedures.  Doctors and health practitioners – both traditional and otherwise – do amazing things these days, no doubt about it.  I am sure this plays a big part in the carelessness that people have toward various kinds of sickness.

Furthermore, people are selfish.  Their own wishes, “needs”, enjoyment, entertainment, etc. are much more important than other people’s health.  They don’t give a thought or care if they might make someone else sick at a very awkward time (such as just before a move, long trip, surgery, wedding, etc.).  They don’t think about the people who have weakened immune systems who could actually end up in the hospital from a minor cold (when my sister was a baby everything she got went straight to her lungs and made her terribly ill).  They also don’t think about the families and all the work and sorrow it is to take care of a houseful of sick kids.  So much damage and trouble can be caused by thinking only of ourselves and what we want!

The problem that we face in recent times is that there have been terrible strains of influenza that have cropped up again and there are some really dangerous “super bugs” that are resistant to antibiotics.  There are viruses like Ebola that don’t stay in “poor sanitation countries” (like cholera generally does) but could potentially spread all over the world, just as the Black Plague did in times past.  Some of these, like Ebola, have the reputation of being not only very contagious, but also very, very deadly!

It is time to wake up and start acting responsibly about sickness again as some of our ancestors had to do in order to stay alive.

People, please. IF YOU ARE SICK – STAY HOME! 

You may SAVE LIVES!

I know.  You have to work.  The Sunday School needs you.  There won’t be anyone to make sure the lights are turned out at the end of the day.  The toilets won’t get cleaned.  No one will be available to work in the nursery.  You’re the only one who knows how to run the dishwasher.  You’ll “miss out on something important”.  You’ll miss “all the fun.”  Whatever your pet reason is for thinking that you are indispensible at your work place, church, school, etc., just add it here.  And, don’t go visiting people, or to Bible studies or parties.  Don’t travel on planes, buses, etc.  Really and truly, you need to stay home.

I know that it is hard in the work situation sometimes, but please talk to your manager/boss about it.  With something like Ebola possibly breaking out in earnest, every workplace should have a plan and should be telling their employees to stay home if they are sick, especially with any symptoms common to this disease.

Even if Ebola doesn’t become an epidemic where you live, there is way more spreading of sickness than there needs to be in some “Western” places.  At least there is in the U.S. and Australia.  I’m sure this is true elsewhere also.  We need to be more careful of others.  If you absolutely have to go somewhere, take precautions.  Wear a mask.  Wear long sleeves and sneeze or cough into your sleeve.  Keep your distance.  But DON’T GO if you can at all avoid it.

Stay home.  Stay home.  Stay home.

Please.

Sunday, October 19, 2014

The Birth of Jesus - Part 6, Luke 1:42-47

 

If you missed the first parts of this study on the birth of Jesus, you may wish to go back and start at the beginning.

In this section we’ll touch upon the Patriarchy Movement and also several other things, including the fact that Mary herself needed a Savior, contrary to what the Roman Catholic church teaches.  Some of the verses were covered last week as well, but not finished.  Hence the overlap.

Read here:  Luke 1:42-47

Friday, October 17, 2014

Sew Happy Friday–Another Twist On A “Jelly Roll Race” Quilt

 

Here is another option for making a jelly roll race quilt, as they are sometimes called.  This lady did hers using up scraps from her own stash.  It gives it a much more scrappy look but, as with this one, it also allows for using a group of fabrics in many shades of the same color.  This gives it a more unified look overall, I think. 

As was mentioned on a previous post here, some people recommend cutting your extra fabric scraps into uniform sizes that are commonly used in quilt project these days – 5” charms, 10” squares, 2 1/2” strips.  This makes it easier for you later.  Whether you get out your scraps and have a cutting session, or if you cut the scraps into these sizes at the time you make your original cuts (for a quilt or clothing project), it will save you time later and make projects like this much quicker.  [Note: I recommend only cutting scraps from clothing projects made from quilt appropriate cottons.]

The music is kind of neurotic.  I like the William Tell Overture for this better. :-)

Thursday, October 16, 2014

Tuesday, October 14, 2014

Creatures Great and Small - Wolves Re-introduced to Yellowstone Cause Stunning Improvements

 

A friend posted this short video today on Facebook.  It tells the amazing story of how Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming (US) was dramatically improved in many ways when wolves were re-introduced in the 1990s.  Having been absent for 70 years, it was little realized how the lack of these predators was actually ruining the park and making the habitat less hospitable.  The Creator knew what He was doing when he established the balance of predators with the animals lower on the “food chain”.  When man upsets that balance he little knows what trouble or evil he may cause.  This short story (soon told but long in coming about), is a miraculous example of the genius of the Creator which re-established itself before the scientists’ very eyes.  Although man helped, man and “Mother Nature” are not responsible for this miracle.  It can only be the result of intelligent design.

Romans 1:20  For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:

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Afterthought – In rewatching this, I realized there are lot of thoughts here. 

It crossed my mind that the God who cares for these animals and can bring about this miraculous, spontaneous regeneration of nature is the same God who loves and cares for His children.  He is the same God who has brought regeneration and healing to the earth after great calamities to mankind.  And, He is the same God who will heal this massively destroyed earth some day (fairly soon) during the Kingdom of His Son.  Seeing the healing and restoration of the land in this small way (which seems so huge to our human minds), it is practically unimaginable to think how it will be when He restores and heals His creation!  This is also a great comfort in times when it seems like the whole world is out of control, as it does more and more lately.

Matthew 10:29-31  Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father.  But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear ye not therefore, ye are of more value than many sparrows.

It is also worth pondering how much this earth can be repaired through the laws of creation that God set in place when man helps it along in a proper way.  “Experts” sometimes talk as if all the chemical intrusions, GMO, etc. are destroying the earth and that it can’t be fixed.  It behooves those of us who are the children of God by faith in Jesus Christ to remember that He is not limited by the mistakes and greed of man.  When the time comes, perhaps in a way we don’t even realize is possible, the problem can be corrected, even now in this present age. 

We would also do well to remember that many, many of the people who are making large claims about impending doom for mankind through various means have no hope (Eph. 2:12).  They don’t expect God to be able to take care of His own creation because they either don’t believe that He exists, or they think He is basically helpless before the enormity of man’s sinning.  (How utterly silly, when you stop to think about it.)

There is even more here, but I can’t pull it all together at this moment.  Maybe you can think of more ways that this beautiful story of the Lord’s creation correcting itself can be an encouragement to you.

Psalms 104:24  O LORD, how manifold are thy works! in wisdom hast thou made them all: the earth is full of thy riches.

Sunday, October 12, 2014

The Birth of Jesus - Part 5, Luke 1:39-45

 

If you missed the first parts of this study on the birth of Jesus, you may wish to go back and start at the beginning.

In today’s study we will see that God considers babies in the womb to be live people.  We will also look at the problem of Christians isolating themselves, their families and/or church groups because of the fear of man.

Read here:  Luke 1:39-45

Thursday, October 9, 2014

Australian Memories – Kaffir Lily

 

I shared a photo of one before, but they are so beautiful, I had to post some more. :-)  They make me think of flames.  Psalms 78:14  In the daytime also he led them with a cloud, and all the night with a light of fire.

Photos taken at Brisbane Botanic Gardens Mt. Coot-tha.

Tuesday, October 7, 2014

Biscuit Cinnamon Sticky Buns

 

Some time ago my husband made these cinnamon sticky rolls at my request.  He used his usual biscuit recipe, made them into cinnamon rolls and we put them in a pan that had melted butter, brown sugar and pecans in the bottom to bake.  (We used a 9X9 pan, but a 9X13 would have worked much better.  More below on that.)  We used them for a brunch, but they would be great for breakfast, tea or coffee time.

First he rolled the biscuit dough out in a rectangle.  (I suppose you could do this with canned biscuits too.)

He buttered the top surface, sprinkled it with cinnamon and sugar, rolled it up and cut it into enough biscuits to fit into the pan. 

We put them in a pan which had melted butter, brown sugar and nuts sprinkled in the bottom (which becomes the topping when you take them out of the pan).  You could do some variations on this.  Add some dried fruits of your choice.  Add coconut or use it instead of the nuts.  It might even be possible to use some apple pie filling mixed into the topping!  Yum.

NOTE:  We had them too thick because we used a 9X9 pan.  He should have cut them thinner and we should have put them in a 9X13 pan because the outsides got done before the insides, so we couldn’t get them fully done.

I don’t know how long we baked them as we were having a little trouble getting them done.  When you remove them from the oven invert the pan onto a heat proof plate or platter.

They were delicious!  Sometime we need to try them again in a larger pan. :-)

Sunday, October 5, 2014

The Birth of Jesus Christ – Part 4, Luke 1:35-38

 

If you missed the first parts of this study on the birth of Jesus, you may wish to go back and start at the beginning.

This section could have been longer, but verse 38 is a natural breaking point.  Lord willing, next time we’ll launch into Mary’s trip to visit Elisabeth.  This time we’re finishing up her encounter with the angel Gabriel as he delivered the message from God, looking at Mary’s beautiful faith and thinking about some ways that God deals with those who are believers.

Read here: Luke 1:35-38

Friday, October 3, 2014

Sew Happy Friday – Sewing with Stripes Tutorial

 

This is a helpful tutorial with some good ideas for using stripe fabrics in general and also a demonstration on how to use striped fabrics to make a bull’s eye block.  I admit that I tend to shy away from stripes somewhat, though I do like and have some.  This little video gave me more food for thought on using stripes to make the fabric work for me.  I especially like the idea of using the stripes to speed up a project instead of doing small piecing.  The “framing” ideas could be used in other types of sewing projects, especially home dĂ©cor.

 

Notice how in the flower basket block she used striped fabric going in different directions to get a basket weave effect.  That’s a useful idea.

Thursday, October 2, 2014

Australian Memories – A Few Random Birds

 

Taken at the Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary.

Rock Dove

A bush turkey taking a dirt bath.

An unknown bird that posed very nicely for me in a bush.