Writing by Sarah, shared with her permission

As I walk through the valley of death You are with me Oh Lord.
As I praise You in a storm Your hand is on me.
Every step of the way You are with me.
When I stumble You pick me up.
When the hard times are over You will still be there every day.
Through it all You are there.
You are my GOD and I will praise you in the storms of my life.

Sarah, age 11
12/08/2009

Christmas is coming

Christmas is coming,
The goose is getting fat

Please put a penny in the old man's hat

If you haven't got a penny, a ha' penny will do,

If you haven't got a ha' penny,

Then God bless you

     Christmas is coming. For many this time of year does not bring joy and anticipation. It does not bring time with family and friend. Instead it brings only anxiety and loneliness.
     For some it brings an annual visit to church. Or maybe it is their semi-annual visit with Easter being the other.
     As true followers of Christ, how do we respond to all the hype and commercialization of Christmas? The fall equinox has hardly passed before the carols are starting to play, (I LOVE the music), the decoration are going up, the advertisements are playing on the TV, What are we to do?
     I think it is fitting that the Founding Fathers placed Thanksgiving Day just a few short weeks prior to the celebration of Christ’s birth. Unfortunately, Thanksgiving is just a tiny blip, a day of stuffing the turkey and ourselves, but forgetting to really give thanks. Yes we prayed and asked His blessing. But did we take time to share our thankfulness with the ones we gathered with?
     I know I didn’t. Am I thankful? Yes.
     That leads me to the reason for this post.
  
   As I was practicing the piano this morning I was playing a song by Steve & Vikki Cook entitled “Hide Away in the Love of Jesus”, (You can hear a beautiful piano rendition of it by clicking on the title.)

Come, weary saints, though tired and weak

Hide away in the love of Jesus

Your strength will return by His quiet streams

Hide away in the love of Jesus

Come, wandering souls, and find your home

Hide away in the love of Jesus

He offers the rest that you yearn to know

Hide away in the love of Jesus

Hear Him calling your name

See the depths of His love
In the wounds of His grace

Hide away

Come, guilty ones weighed down with sin

Hide away in the love of Jesus

The freedom you long for is found in Him

Hide away in the love of Jesus

Come, hopeless hearts, do not despair

Hide away in the love of Jesus

For ten thousand joys await you there

Hide away in the love of Jesus

© 2008 Integrity’s Hosanna! Music (ASCAP)/Sovereign Grace Worship(ASCAP)


How many of us this Christmas season are weary? Weighed down? Counting on works that we do?

O how we need to listen for His voice and see the true depth of His love and allow His grace to cover our sin.

Matthew 11:28-30

Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.

Jude 1:21

Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.

1 Peter 1:8-9

Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory: Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls.

Chemo Cap and Scarf

I just finished a cap and scarf set for a dear lady at church who is battling cancer. This is the first of several sets I hope to make for her.

This set was made using Lion Brand Homespun, it is a very easy care yarn and comes in many colors. One skein made the cap and a 34” scarf. This scarf has a keyhole to allow the wearer to pull the opposite end through thus keeping it securely around the neck..
I hope Melinda will like it and I hope that this is one way I can bless her during this time.
Please keep her in your prayers.

Just a tidbit of info:  if you don't have a mannequin head on which to display your crocheted hat and scarf set, 2 rolls of toilet tissue work just fine!

Another Crochet Post, but hey, it's my current favorite hobby!

This is the 6th crocheted purse that I have made and only the 3rd that I have kept for myself for use as a purse.

 Purse 1 was a felted purse that ended up way too big, so I used it as a tote for a while and then donated it.

 Purse 2 was also a felted purse made along the same lines as #1, but I’m not happy with the straps. Since I like everything else about it I am considering removing the straps as soon as I figure out what I want to replace them with.

 Purse 3 is perfect except for the yarn I used. Too easily snagged, pilled, etc. for daily use. I’ll keep it though for a dressy winter purse.

 Purse 4 was an experiment using the type of yarn you find in commercially available crocheted purses. I gave it to my sister. The initial 4 all followed to some extent a pattern I found on the internet for free.



 Purse 5 was entirely my own creation; it is now my daughters.



 Purse 6 is my most recent and so far my favorite. I found the yarn in a box of mill ends at the A.C. Moore in Concord Mills Mall. I’m fairly sure that it is acrylic. I used a double strand throughout and single crocheted to give the purse a very sturdy body. It would not have needed any lining at all, but I like to have pockets.



I learn something with every purse I make. With purse 6 I learned that I can ruin 3 zippers very easily and that Velcro is NOT my closure of choice. (The zippers were reclaimed from worn out other things) I also learned that there is available a very nifty closure that is a hinge contraption that I plan on looking into.

Happy Thanksgiving

Psalm 100

A Psalm of thanksgiving.

Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all ye lands.

Serve the LORD with gladness: come before His presence with singing.

Know ye that the LORD He is God: it is He that hath made us, and we are His; we are His people, and the sheep of His pasture.

Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise: give thanks unto Him, and bless His name.

For the LORD is good; His mercy endureth for ever; and His faithfulness unto all generations.

I hope everyone  had a wonderful day of giving thanks. We certainly have plenty to be thankful for.

• A roof over our heads.
• Food to eat.
• Clothes to wear
• Books to read
• A library close by with GREAT Staff!
• Heat in the winter
• Air conditioning in the summer
• Freedom to worship
• Freedom to homeschool
• Freedom of speech
• Parents that love me
• America is free
• Computers games for pc (son)
• The internet and the ease it allows me to find and share info
• Alarm clock
• To have made it through 1 year of a job that is more demanding than I ever dreamed (husband)
• That I was diagnosed with asthma before it killed me (after many years of symptoms)
• Our new church family and their genuine love for us and each other
• Christian friends that love me in spite of the problems I have
• Honest friends that don't judge us for moving on and leaving 'their' church, these are true friends
• God is in still in control in the World, in America and in our lives
• Cars that run
• That our children have both claimed Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior and are starting to bear fruit
• That my husband loves me, encourages me and challenges me no matter what.
• Twenty years of marriage and looking forward to many more.

There are so many more things to be thankful for. Too many things to list all at once. Let us not forget to give thanks in all things. Give thanks in the good times. That is easy. Give thanks in the bad times because it is ALL in His control.

He Gives AND Takes Away

my heart will CHOOSE to say

"Blessed be the name of the LORD"

Being Thankful does not always come easily. But every day is a new chance to make a new choice to be thankful.

The Apostle Paul put it this way in Philippians chapter 4, "... I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am.  I know both how to have a little, and I know how to have a lot.  In any and all circumstances I have learned the secret of being content..."

Another Finished Project

This time the project was a short story for a contest.

It had to be science fiction or some other type of imaginary story and both D and S entered. They were due to write a short story in several weeks for their writing class in school, so I just rearranged the schedule and had them do the short story to coincide with the contest.

S wrote a story about a boy struggling with his geography homework. As he gazes at the map trying to remember the answers he finds himself suddenly in Turkey….

D wrote a story about a monster that had been terrorizing a village in the Sahara and how it was defeated.

D’s story won second place and S’s story won third place.

CONGRATULATIONS KIDS!!

Tartan Museum

Entry to the Museum

Mary Queen of Scots

yarn used to weave the kilts

The Tartan Museum in Franklin is small, but I thought it was very thorough and interesting. We probably spent an hour there; the first time through I took photos of almost every exhibit. (I haven't posted them here.) Then I went back through and paid attention to the exhibits without the camera.

For those that might be interested, David is Scottish. Clan Gordon on his maternal side and Clan Buchanan on his paternal side.

Deep calls to deep at the roar of YOUR waterfalls; Psalm 42:7

Day One

Mingo Falls

Qualla Indian Reservation

After climbing 170 stairs.walking about a block over a rocky, muddy path, while hearing the thundering of the falls, we finally saw it.

It was so worth it. 

I don't think we have ever climbed to a waterfall and been disappointed.  Once again we were awestruck at the glory and the majesty displayed

by our glorious God. 

The whole earth is full of His glory. Isaiah 6:3

The voice of Jehovah is upon the waters:  The God of glory thundereth...

Psalm 29:3  ASV

We had our choice here, but twilight was fast approaching and after the climb earlier in the day to Mingo my ankle was NOT up to much so we opted for the closest waterfall.  Not as spectacular but still beautiful and the trail was wide and smooth.

David shooting Tom Branch Falls

Tom Branch Falls

Great Smoky Mountains National Park

Day Two

The Waterfalls of the Cullasaja River Gorge

Cullasaja Falls

View of US 64 from the car.   This is where we stopped to photograph Cullasaja.  There is barely enough room to pull the car off the road and exit the car safely.

Dry Falls

The last 2 photos are from behind the falls

Bridal Veil Falls

Twenty Years of Wedded Bliss

otherwise known as:

Our Second Honeymoon

We stayed at Mountainbrook Cottages, cottage #5.  Little has changed in twenty years.  It was a much needed step back in time.  No T.V., No PC, No telephone, not even any cell service. 

The cottages are equipped with a basic kitchen.  The only trouble I had was getting used to electric burners.

We brought some groceries from home and purchased a few things that I had forgotten in town at the super Wal-Mart.

I almost forgot to take any pictures of the cottage until we were loading the car to come home on Saturday. Hence the couch full of bags, boxes and luggage.

Our front porch greeter.

Maqelle & Poppy the long-hair Chihuahua who took great care of us upon arrival.  I wanted to bring Poppy home with me!

Congratulations SARAH!!!

And the winner is........


Sarah

"Best Quilt Square Depicting the Artists Life"

The topic for the contest was based on a book that the library reading club was doing titled "On Agate Hill" by Lee Smith

The contestants were asked to design a quilt block that represented something in their life. They could use any medium to create their design.  Sarah's idea was a question mark  with the words who, what, how & why in the borders.

They also had to write a brief description of the block tying it to their life.  Sarah wrote about her love of learning and how asking questions and finding the answer is a great way to learn.

Out of the 5 winners, she was 1 of 2 who made an actual fabric quilt block.  The other was made by an adult. 

Felted Slippers Finished!!

  Before felting.  The color is bad. Felted, the gray suede patches are there for reference.  They will be attached in the final stage to the sole of the slippers.

The finished slipper! Here the color is good, a little light.

Here you can see the suede patches attached.  They were the most expensive part of this project and I think worth it.  I'm already wearing my new slippers, (it's nippy here in NC) and they are pretty no slip on the kitchen floor.

So there you have it, my newest creation.

Random Stripe Maker Tool

I just found a really helpful tool while I was browsing on Crochetville.

 Check out this random stripe making tool.

http://www.kissyourshadow.com/stripe_maker.php

It was designed with knitters in mind. But the uses are endless.

Currently I am crocheting a baby afghan and I've been adding a stripe here and there but I found that it wasn't as random looking as I wanted. This tool will let you preview your color choices and fiddle with the pattern until you get it just right. Check it out.

Baby Sweater

I just finished a baby sweater. Of course I can't remember where I found the pattern, but I didn't follow the pattern much either. I usually view patterns as a guide, I do use the size recommendations, but the stitch patterns etc I make up a lot as I go.

This one was a lot of fun and really very easy to make. I do plan on jotting down the changes I made to the pattern before I give it to someone, I would like to be able to make this one again.

Happy Birthday to.... Me!

In keeping with tradition I will post about my birthday. I turned 45 this past Thursday. As usual David took the day off and as usual, (I'm not complaining) since he's in the middle of buying all the vehicles for his company, he ended up doing a lot of work from home.

In an unusual way that was good. The kids and I got to see how dedicated to doing his best he is. How much he cares about the details of the job and how he goes the extra mile to get the job done.

So, how did we celebrate?

• I got my drivers license renewed.



• I got a new 'Stir Crazy' popcorn popper



• I got a new synch cradle for my Palm Zire 71 that friends gave me



• I got the 3rd Sovereign Grace songbook
• I got 'Sense & Sensibility' on DVD (much to the chagrin of the males in the house)
• I got $$ from my in-laws and I ordered yarn today from knitpicks. I'm going to make a pair of felted slippers and a dressy short sleeved sweater.
• I got to spend the day with my family and even though David was working, he was home and that made the day very special.

So 'Happy Birthday to Me, and I don't feel a day older, but hopefully I AM becoming wiser