The hand of the Lord has done this....

The hand of the Lord has done this.

Job 12:9

Once again, Streams in the Desert has been a blessing to me.  Here is yesterday's reading......

"Several years ago there was found in an African mine the most magnificent diamond in the world's history. It was presented to the King of England to blaze in his crown of state. The King sent it to Amsterdam to be cut. It was put into the hands of an expert lapidary. And what do you suppose he did with it?

 

He took the gem of priceless value, and cut a notch in it. Then he struck it a hard blow with his instrument, and lo! the superb jewel lay in his hand cleft in twain. What recklessness I what wastefulness! what criminal carelessness!

 

Not so. For days and weeks that blow had been studied and planned. Drawings and models had been made of the gem. Its quality, its defects, its lines of cleavage had all been studied with minutest care. The man to whom it was committed was one of the most skillful lapidaries in the world.

 

Do you say that blow was a mistake? Nay. It was the climax of the lapidary's skill. When he struck that blow, he did the one thing which would bring that gem to its most perfect shapeliness, radiance, and jewelled splendor. That blow which seemed to ruin the superb precious stone was, in fact, its perfect redemption. For, from those two halves were wrought the two magnificent gems which the skilled eye of the lapidary saw hidden in the rough, uncut stone as it came from the mine.

 

So, sometimes, God lets a stinging blow fall upon your life. The blood spurts. The nerves wince. The soul cries out in agony. The blow seems to you an apalling mistake. But it is not, for you are the most priceless jewel in the world to God. And He is the most skilled lapidary in the universe.

 

Some day you are to blaze in the diadem of the King. As you lie in His hand now He knows just how to deal with you. Not a blow will be permitted to fall upon your shrinking soul but that the love of God permits it, and works out from its depths, blessing and spiritual enrichment unseen, and unthought of by you.
--J.H. McC.

 

In one of George MacDonald's books occurs this fragment of conversation: "I wonder why God made me," said Mrs. Faber bitterly. "I'm sure I don't know what was the use of making me!"

 

"Perhaps not much yet," said Dorothy, "but then He hasn't done with you yet. He is making you now, and you are quarrelling with the process."

 

If men would but believe that they are in process of creation, and consent to be made--let the Maker handle them as the potter the clay, yielding themselves in resplendent motion and submissive, hopeful action with the turning of His wheel--they would ere long find themselves able to welcome every pressure of that hand on them, even when it was felt in pain; and sometimes not only to believe but to recognize the Divine end in view, the bringing of a son unto glory."

 

"Not a single shaft can hit,

Till the God of love sees fit."

Let me know why You contend with me....

"I will say to God, 'Do not condemn me;

Let me know why You contend with me."

Job 10:2

 

Perhaps, O tried soul, the Lord is doing this to develop your gifts. There are some of your gifts which would never have been discovered if it were not for the trials. Do you not know that your faith never looks so grand in summer weather as it does in winter? Love is too often like a glowworm, showing but little light except it be in the midst of surrounding darkness. Hope itself is like a star--not to be seen in the sunshine of prosperity, and only to be discovered in the night of adversity. Afflictions are often the black folds in which God sets the jewels of His children's gifts, to make them shine the better.

 

It was but a little while ago that, on your knees, you were saying, "Lord, I fear I have no faith: let me know that I have faith."

 

Was not this really, though perhaps unconsciously, praying for trials?--for how can you know that you have faith until your faith is exercised? Depend upon it. God often sends us trials that our gifts may be discovered, and that we may be certain of their existence. Besides, it is not merely discovery; real growth in grace is the result of sanctified trials.

 

God trains His soldiers, not in tents of ease and luxury, but by turning them out and using them to forced marches and hard service. He makes them ford through streams, and swim through rivers and climb mountains, and walk many a weary mile with heavy knapsacks on their backs. Well, Christian, may not this account for the troubles through which you are passing? Is not this the reason why He is contending with you?
--C. H. Spurgeon

 

To be left unmolested by Satan is no evidence of blessing.

Amen!!!  I guess this is "Spurgeon Week!"  So much wonderful truth here.  I am blessed that God continues to remind me that being tethered to Him is far more important than my circumstances.  Praise Him.

Habakkuk 2:1

I will stand on my guard post

And station myself on the rampart;

And I will keep watch to see what He will speak to me,

And how I may reply when I am reproved.

In my devotional reading yesterday in Streams in the Desert, this entry was a real gem.  As I read through it, I thought, "This is so good.  So good."  And then I got to the end and saw that it was written by Charles Spurgeon, one of my favorite writers/preachers, and said, "Oh, of course!"  And I reread it this morning.  I don't want to be a trifler.  

"I will stand upon my watch, and set me upon the tower, and will watch to see what he will say unto me (Hab. 2: 1).

There is no waiting on God for help, and there is no help from God, without watchful expectation on our part. If we ever fail to receive strength and defense from Him, it is because we are not on the outlook for it. Many a proffered succour from heaven goes past us, because we are not standing on our watch-tower to catch the far-off indications of its approach, and to fling open the gates of our heart for its entrance. He whose expectation does not lead him to be on the alert for its coming will get but little. Watch for God in the events of your life.

 

The old homely proverb says: "They that watch for Providence will never want a providence to watch for," and you may turn it the other way and say, "They that do not watch for providences will never have a providence to watch for." Unless you put out your water-jars when it rains you will catch no water.

 

We want to be more business-like and use common sense with God in pleading promises. If you were to go to one of the banks, and see a man go in and out and lay a piece of paper on the table, and take it up again and nothing more--if he did that several times a day, I think there would soon be orders to keep the man out.

 

Those men who come to the bank in earnest present their checks, they wait until they receive their gold, and then they go; but not without having transacted real business.

 

They do not put the paper down, speak about the excellent signature, and discuss the excellent document; but they want their money for it, and they are not content without it. These are the people who are always welcome at the bank, and not triflers. Alas, a great many people play at praying. They do not expect God to give them an answer, and thus they are mere triflers. Our Heavenly Father would have us do real business with Him in our praying.
--C. H. Spurgeon

 

"Thine expectation shall not be cut off." "

A Diary of Private Prayer

A Diary of Private Prayer ~ A Devotional Classic ~ by John Baillie

This is an absolute gem of a book.  A friend from high school recommended it to me, and I have loved every day I've read in it.  Unlike most devotionals, it is prayer alone for the beginning and end of each day.  Thirty one entries for each, plus a morning and evening for Sundays.  There are no stories, no commentary on Scripture, life and relationships, etc. except as applies to praying for guidance and forgiveness according to the the Word.  It directs my heart and mind to the essentials of a day before I start it, and ends with true examination of what the day past has held.  Wonderful, wonderful book.  It's one I'll be keeping with my Bible and Journal for a long time.

Recovering From Losses in Life

The second book I've finished this year is H. Norman Wright's "Recovering From Losses in Life."
I highly recommend it for everybody.  That may sound strange, but after reading it, I now realize that we all deal with losses in life that may not register as true losses.  It seems that most of us think of losses in terms of the death of a loved one, or a divorce.  But the other losses in our lives can have as much of an impact as the more obvious ones.

The loss of a job.  Or a home.  Health issues resulting in the loss of what we are used to doing.  The loss of a dream.  A friendship severed.  The list goes on and on.

While the information stream bounces around a bit, I still gleaned a lot from it that I can practically apply in my own life, and in my understanding of how to be truly helpful to grieving family and friends.  He's really good at offering "do this, don't do that" guidelines that are illuminating.  And sometimes convicting as I recall things I've said to grieving people.

Something that really hit home for me in my current walk, is that nobody can tell me how I "ought" to feel about a loss, and I can't tell anybody else how they "ought" to feel about theirs.  I feel what I feel.  They feel what they feel.  There's no "ought" about it.  We should be free to feel what we feel and work it through with the Lord.

One of the most beneficial aspects of the book is the encouragement it gives in recognizing some key things: the stages of grieving; what "normal" is for most people; and how to track if you're making progress in recovering from your loss.

Highly, highly recommended.

Polishing God's Monuments by Jim Andrews

"A true story so gripping and moving and inspiring that one cannot put the book down.  To enter into this theological reflection on suffering is to accept the challenge to grow deeply in Christ, and to cherish the sure and certain promise of the Gospel."

Bruce A. Ware

This is the first in my self-designed reading list of good books for this year.  And, Wow!

As I have walked the path of infirmity rather intensely for the past 4 years, there have been many sources of input for encouragement and, in some cases, confusion.  In all of it, my desire has been to know what God thinks and hear His voice.  The voice of man can be so loud at times.  My own voice can be so loud at times!  This book has been an absolute and total blessing.  It has reinforced what I know to be true about God.  It has reminded me of truth that had gotten a little foggy in my mind.  It has encouraged me in amazing ways.  Here's just a taste of all that.

The book is written by the father of a young woman who, along with her husband, has experienced intense health issues for 20 years, beyond anything that our "normal" lives could imagine.  In the midst of that infirmity and suffering, this family has learned a great deal.  Jim Andrews does a fabulous job of telling the story, and of interweaving the Biblical and theological principles they have learned along the way.

"Polishing God's Monuments" refers to remembering the times when God's deliverance occurs, taking out those memories when He is silent and "polishing" them, reminding ourselves of His love, grace, kindness, goodness and faithfulness.  It reminds me of Psalm 105, remembering the works of God in the lives of the Israelites.  A memory box, if you will, of His deeds on their behalf.

Some of what I have gleaned:

• God is God.  I am not.

• His purposes are paramount.

• He works in mysteries as well as "knowns" and I need to walk in faith as I deal with "mysteries."

• God is not at my beck and call.  I am at His.

• He is totally sovereign and knows the beginning from the end.  I am not and do not.

• He is weaving a perfect tapestry, and He has no loose ends.  I can't see what He's doing and that is okay.  The dark threads reveal the brilliance of the golden ones on the top side, which only He can see.

• God's purposes are His own, and I may never know what they are.

• I am His, and He can do anything He wants with me.  I gave up my rights to myself when I bowed my knee to Christ.

• I need to trust that He knows better than I what "best" is.

• God's agenda is not to make me happy (in terms of temporal bliss), but to make me holy.

This is so, so, so worth reading.  I am grateful that He dropped it in my lap, so to speak.  A tremendous blessing.

Polishing God's Monuments in the used section of Amazon Marketplace.

Book List for 2014!

I think this was a really good idea! I posted this on Facebook:

"What books have had the greatest impact on your Christian life? I am making a list for this year. I hope to read one a month that will challenge and deepen my walk with Him. Ready, Set, Go!"

And these are the responses I got!  I can hardly wait to dig in!  The first three were recommended to me by friends apart from Facebook.

• Polishing God's Monuments by Jim Andrews

• Recovering from Losses in Life by H. Norman Wright

• A Shelter in the Time of Storm by Paul David Tripp

• The Lamb's Supper by Scott Hahn

• Knowledge of the Holy by A.W. Tozer

• Forgotten God by Francis Chan

• Future Grace by John Piper

• Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis

• Satan and His Plan of Evil by Keith Blades

• Life of the Beloved by Henri Nouwen

• The Wise Women Novella by George MacDonald

• The Heavenly Man by Brother Yun

• Secret of the Vine by Bruce Wilkinson

• One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp

• We Would See Jesus by Roy and Revel Hession

• Anything by Jonathan Edwards!

• New Evidence That Demands a Verdict by Josh McDowell

• Nestle Don't Wrestle by Corrie ten Boom

• A Diary of Private Prayer by John Baillie

• The Promise by Robert Morgan

At the recommendation of a high school classmate, last month I started reading Polishing God's Monuments by Jim Andrews.  Tremendous impact on me.  So, I'm hoping some of the above tomes will also have a positive impact on my walk with Him.

If anyone else has recommendations, please fire away!

Bear one another's burdens....

Yesterday was one of those days where the cares of this world weighed heavily on me and on some of those I love dearly.  In the midst of the weightiness, God in His lovingkindness, reminded us of Galatians 6:2:   "Bear one another's burdens, and thereby fulfill the law of Christ."  What a striking thing!  Bearing each other's burdens fulfills the law of Christ.  And His law is love.  And grace.

And after reminding us of this, He gave us His body yesterday to help us bear our burdens.  Such blessing.

Then this morning I read this in Streams in the Desert:

If you have gone a little way ahead of me, call back--
It will cheer my heart and help my feet along the stony track;
And if, perhaps, Faith's light is dim, because the oil is low,
Your call will guide my lagging course as wearily I go.

Call back, and tell me that He went with you into the storm;
Call back, and say He kept you when the forest's roots were torn;
That, when the heavens thunder and the earthquake shook the hill,
He bore you up and held you where the lofty air was still.

O friend, call back, and tell me for I cannot see your face;
They say it glows with triumph, and your feet sprint in the race;
But there are mists between us and my spirit eyes are dim,
And I cannot see the glory, though I long for word of Him.

But if you'll say He heard you when your prayer was but a cry,
And if you'll say He saw you through the night's sin-darkened sky;
If you have gone a little way ahead, O friend, call back--
It will cheer my heart and help my feet along the stony track.

We can't -- shouldn't -- minimize the role we have in each other's lives of helping bear the burdens of this life.  God Himself gave us Jesus to erase our sin and reconcile us to Him -- the biggest burden there is -- and then Jesus gave us His body to help us walk this stony path, carrying the weight together.

Today I'm suiting up, getting ready to help someone else pack their burden, "calling back" to them, so to speak, to let them know He is sufficient.  Then we'll talk it out, and after that we'll take it straight to the foot of the cross and remind Jesus He walked this stony path before us, and would He please take this weight for us?  Because He longs to.

Awesome.....Again.....Always.

Quilted Nativity Advent Calendar

This fall I got a bee in my bonnet to make a quilted Advent calendar for my grandchildren.  I Googled those words and up came a pre-printed panel by Nancy Halvorsen from a few years back.  I did some more looking online and ended up finding a place that had some left.  I ordered a couple of them - you know, "just in case" - and then went on the hunt for border fabric.  One of the gals in our local quilt shop helped me find the right piece and off I went to put it together.

All the little figures are backed with felt and then have a loop attached with a button on the back.  There are also button-type fasteners on which the figures hang, both in the border (for before the date) and in the center (for after).  I also marked, with numbers, each figure and then underneath the fasteners in both the border and center, so the kiddos would know where everything belongs.  It didn't come with a solution for numbering, so it was kind of a "winging-it" thing.

Here are pictures of it before I gave it to them, and then a couple of shots of them with it.

 This one is at our quilt group when we were celebrating it.

All the figures are hanging in the border.

Close-up of some of the figures.

With the figures in the center hanging in their appointed places.

The kiddos with it on Day 2.....

.....and again on Day 13!

Oh, I love these two!

Spring Rituals.....

God's Garden

THE Lord God planted a garden
In the first white days of the world,
And He set there an angel warden
In a garment of light enfurled.

So near to the peace of Heaven,
That the hawk might nest with the wren,
For there in the cool of the even
God walked with the first of men.

And I dream that these garden-closes
With their shade and their sun-flecked sod
And their lilies and bowers of roses,
Were laid by the hand of God.

The kiss of the sun for pardon,
The song of the birds for mirth,--
One is nearer God's heart in a garden
Than anywhere else on earth.

For He broke it for us in a garden
Under the olive-trees
Where the angel of strength was the warden
And the soul of the world found ease.

Dorothy Frances Gurney

Spring is upon us, and my heart and mind have gone to the garden.  I haven't been able to plant a vegetable garden in two years and my hands miss the joy of digging in the dirt.  So, this year we are making do with what we have and planting in a long and narrow planter box alongside a building, and using whiskey barrel halves for container planting.  I made a foray to Kaija's nursery today and found my seeds.  The packets are so pretty, I just had to take a picture.  I'm being very careful to get only organic and GMO-free seeds, being that Monsanto has its finger in so many places these days.  Next will be hauling in some soil and amendments and getting ready to plant!  Yay!

My Quilting History

I've been wanting to do this for a long time, and today just kinda ended up being the day it worked out.

In the past year, my interest in quilting has revived -- in large part because I now have a wonderful group of women with which to quilt each week.  It keeps me going to need a project to take with me.  That, and with the need to slow way down because of my health, it is good to have quiet, undemanding projects to do at home.

So,what I've done is gather pictures of almost every quilt, or quilted piece, I've made over the years, and I'm posting here so I have a chronology of my work.

So, here goes.....

The first quilted piece I ever made was this basket topper for my mom.  The story behind it is that she grew up with a delightful Sunbonnet Sue quilt which had been made for her by her maternal aunt.  I wanted to commemorate it by making her this cover for her workbasket.  More on the Sunbonnet Sue quilt at a later date.

The first quilt I ever made is this log cabin.  It was for our first daughter, Jessie, but later became her brother, Daniel's.  There is nothing left of it but tatters now.  It was well-loved and well-used.

This "Partridge in a Pear Tree" wall hanging was made in the mid-80s while we lived in Columbia .

Then there was a very long gap of probably 18 years or so.  I was doing other things, like raising kids, schooling them, making costumes for our family and for drama productions for the kids.  I was sewing all the time, just not on quilts.  Then for the Christmas of 2003, I kinda re-entered the quilting fray.

This is a wall hanging made for my mom's best friend.  I used one of their favorite pictures of their log cabin in winter, transferred it to fabric and created a quilted frame for it.  She loved it.

This pillow was made for my mom who was in a care facility in California.  She was afflicted with Alzheimer's disease very young.  There was so little I could do for her, but had she been aware, she would have loved to have pictures of us close to her.

I also made quilts for my dad and his companion.  The quotation on each of them says, "There are few blessings greater than the love of family."  On each quilt I used favorite pictures of children and grandchildren.

The next quilt was one made to celebrate a significant birthday of a dear friend.  I called it "Triple Irish Latte" and ended up making a couple more of them over the years.  One for a significant birthday of another dear friend and one for the Care Center Quilt Auction a few years back.  And, I still have one in my unfinished projects tub......

My daughters and I made a couple of quilts together in the mid-2000s, but I only have pictures of this one.  It was such fun.  The delightful gal for whom it was made is a book lover.  The fabrics are book related, there are favorite book quotations on the blocks, and it's embellished with buttons.

This one was made for the daughter of some friends of ours.  Such a sweet thing happened when I gave it to them.  The mom said that no one had ever made a quilt for them before.  Imagine that!  I often gravitate toward log cabin patterns, and I used only fabrics from my stash for this one.  It was a fun project.

Again, here's a log cabin theme.  I called it Pine Tree Log Cabin, and it was made for a dear friend.  This one also came out of my stash.  I love doing that!

This is a Rail Fence pattern made for my grandson's first birthday.  I love blue. Period.

Another Log Cabin made out of scraps.  Can't miss with blue.   I turned it into a printer cover!

This one I made from a bundle of pre-cut diamonds.  It was a really fun project.  It was made for another friend for a significant birthday.  I think there's some kind of theme going on here!

This one is a single block made for a friendship quilt.

And here begin the projects from the past year.  My grandson turned 5 this summer, and I wanted to make him a 5-year quilt.  I had a really fun thing happen one weekend that prompted the use of this pattern.  I've had a favorite quilt book for many years, and when my grandson joined me in looking at it, he really responded to this pattern, saying, "Oh, Grandma, what is THAT one?!"  He and I share the love of blue.  :-)
So, it became his 5-year quilt, along with glow-stars and a couple of project days getting them stuck to his ceiling in constellations.  Fun stuff.  The back has quotations from Scripture about stars.  I love the idea of him reading his quilt and learning Bible verses in the process.  I also made a pillowcase to go with it.

My granddaughter turned 1 this fall, so I had my work cut out for me during the summer months.  I saw a lovely 1930s quilt in a book that had no pattern reference for it.  Between us, my girls and I managed to figure out the blocks and the layout, and after many, many trips to the reproduction aisles of several quilting stores, as well as the stashes of my generous quilting friends, I came up with "Rainbows for Ava" and backed it with lavender flannel.

In finding the fabric for Ava's quilt, I ended up with way more than I needed because buying fabric for a scrap quilt does that.  ;-)  So, I had to use those scraps, right?  Our nephew and his wife had their first baby this fall, so this is the result of using the scraps.  The back was a funny thing.  I intended to use muslin only, but I didn't have enough, the quilt store didn't have enough at the last minute before a weekend quilt retreat during which I had hoped to finish this, and I didn't have enough of anything else, either.  So my daughter and I bodged together a scrap back and it turned out way better than I would have imagined.  That's a quilting buddy in the picture.

And that's it for now.  To be continued, added to, and hopefully be enormously long in the end result!

* * * * * * * *

January 27, 2013

A good friend of mine in Missouri reminded me that I had made her this apron when we lived there.  It's not quilted, but the bib is pieced in a tulip pattern.  She sent me the pictures to share.  Thanks, Anne!

January 31, 2013

And here is my granddaughter's doll quilt which I made for her for Christmas to go with her baby doll.  The fabrics are leftovers from her one-year quilt and made in a pattern reminiscent of hers.

In April I finished a Broken Dishes quilt and gave it to Dale for his birthday.  Here's the story on that one.....

So, more than a decade ago, my friend Annie's quilt group, with which I was not yet familiar, embarked on a group project making a Broken Dishes pattern using Civil War reproduction fabrics.  Some of the blocks were orphaned and ended up in a bag in her stash.  Last summer she gave them to me and I turned them into this:

There are 6 original blocks, then several that were taken apart and put back together in different color combinations, and then there are many that were made new from fabrics from both Annie's stash and mine.

* * * * * * * * * * *

During the summer, I put together a quilt with a textile from Ghana that was sent by a friend who was ministering there a few years ago.  I only bordered it and then had my friend Barb quilt it.  The pictures don't do it justice.  It's kind of a wild one, but the folks I made it for like it.  They have both spent time in Africa and have made one of their spare rooms an African theme, and it works for them.

* * * * * * * * * * *

Advent Calendar!  I made this for my grandchildren for Christmas this year.  They have been enjoying it a lot.  Very cool.  :-)

It's a Nancy Halvorsen panel that I bordered and quilted.  There are button type fasteners sewn on around the border and the interior on which the figures hang.

* * * * * * * * * * *

And this is the last quilt of 2013 for me.......Unbeknownst to Jessie, I was making it for her under her very nose.  She thought it was for me, but when we celebrated it at our quilting group, she discovered it was for her as I read the label out loud:

A Christmas Quilt for 2013

Made with love

for my Jessie-Girl

Debbie MacInnis ~ Chehalis, WA

It was so much fun to surprise her!

I used 5" charm squares from the Wintergreen Collection by Moda, and just sashed them and then used one of the border fabrics in the line to frame them.  Easy and rather striking, I think.