Monday #4 times of rest...

 

There's a few viruses running through our family at present and dear Blossom is suffering the worst, but praise God the children are almost recovered.

She's had many sleepless nights tending to their tummy ills, fevers and head colds, all the while experiencing the worsening of her own health. 

And isn't that the way of motherhood? With every ounce of reserve, we summon the strength to care for our young ones, and as soon as they are on the mend our own bodies succumb to exhaustion and/or sickness. In those seasons of mothering, or caring for anyone with high needs, when our bodies give up and our minds struggle for clarity, we must seek out stillness and rest.

Depending on your situation that may be easy to do, or it may be quite a challenge, but I do believe that when we offer up our exhaustion to the Lord, that He will show us how to rest, how to refresh, and how to be restored. 

David's 23rd Psalm is like a river of peace, flowing gently through my mind, when I am in need of help for a weary and anxious soul. Sometimes I have been so unwell, so over-worked and sleep-deprived, that I sit down and let the tears fall, unable even to speak, but as the sobs subside my heart is soothed by singing an old hymn that I learned as a teenager at school, The Lord's My Shepherd. We would sing it at many Friday school assemblies, and if not this hymn, we would sing The Lord's Prayer. How blessed I was back then to learn such hymns in a public school...for I have never forgotten them, and the Father uses them to lift my soul time and again. 

If you have never heard this hymn, take time to listen and be rested in your soul today...

As my singing comes to an end, more tears fall, but they have become healing tears, thankful tears, surrendered tears...for He is right there with me, and I know that I can let go and allow Him to carry me until my body and mind are rested, and I am able to go about again - though at a much slower pace for a few days. 

If you are weary, sweet one, take time to surrender all, and let His Words of life be a healing and refreshing balm to your own soul. Don't rush through the day if there's no need to, stop trying to cram as much as you can into the daylight hours and thus leaving yourself shattered by day's end. 

Jesus warned us not to worry ourselves about what tomorrow would bring (how easily we can forget that) and He said this for a very good reason. Today has enough...be in the present. God will be there tomorrow if we have a need or concern or trial.

Today, there are many women rushing from one thing to another, filling their hours with a list of accomplishments in order to gain praise or appreciation from others, or just because they want to feel better about themselves. Naturally we need to care for our homes and families, but leave time for the most important relationship in your life - God - as well as times of rest and refreshment. 

Many of the nastiest health issues women battle with these days, have been known to stem from pushing their bodies (and minds) too far. Dear one, don't push beyond your abilities, strength or capabilities. There's no medal worth it. If you need rest, then rest. Spend time in your Bible, sing to the Lord as you go about your day, and ask Him to direct your plans and show you how, in your own situation, to be refreshed. Don't let the world tell you what to do, and don't try to copy the life your friends are living. You, and they, are quite unique in every aspect of health and life, for God made you and I to be a one-of-a-kind woman.

Let His peace flow over you like a river today, and wash away anything that's not needed...for you will find rest for your souls. He may surprise you with what He takes away, and what He pours in, but you can be sure it's done with love, and to help us walk in strength and grace. 

“For My thoughts are not your thoughts,

Nor are your ways My ways,” says the Lord.

“For as the heavens are higher than the earth,

So are My ways higher than your ways,

And My thoughts than your thoughts."

Isaiah 55:8-9

“Come to Me, all you who labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”

Matthew 11:28-30

Bless you always, dear ones, 

Psalm 23 final block and cover...

 

Today we're going to complete this year's Block of the Month - the 23rd Psalm.

All your internal pages should now be stitched (if you missed the tutorial for the pages you'll find it HERE)...

...so the final steps are to stitch the cover design and then make two pages - one for the front cover and one for the back.

PLEASE NOTE: you can make this any way you want. Described below are the features I chose to add to mine...

The front and back cover pages are the same size as the internal pages but this time we're not sewing around the edges and turning the page right side out. Instead we're pretending they are two little quilts so all we do is sandwich both sides of the front cover and the back cover with medium thickness fusible Pellon in the middle. 

The front cover has the stitchery block trimmed to 6" x 7.75"  and a 1" wide piece of decorative fabric sewn down the left hand side. 

Next I stitched a narrow piece of  lace across the top, bottom, and right sides of the page so that the lace faced in towards the stitchery and sat straight against the outer edge of the page.

Then I stitched another piece of the lace over the left side seam between the stitchery block and floral fabric.

I added binding around the top, right and bottom of the page.

FRONT COVER

Before you make this cover page think about how you'd like the inside to look.

The other side of the page can be left plain (using the same fabric as your stitchery blocks or choose a floral instead) or if you prefer you can add a Pocket as I have done. This was just a length of fabric 7.5" high x 7.75" wide which was folded in half and a piece of cotton lace sewn along the edge. It was sewn in before I added the binding.

INSIDE FRONT COVER

The back cover is made pretty much the same as the front (but reversed) with a piece of floral fabric 6" x 7.75"  and a 1" wide contrast piece sewn down the right hand side. Sew the lace along the top, bottom and left side of the page. 

Again, you can add an internal pocket (I did this to add prayer needs) or leave it plain.

Before adding the binding this time, sew two lengths of ribbon about 12" long into the middle of the right side, and then sew your binding in place.

INSIDE BACK COVER

BACK COVER

Now pin a piece of wide cotton lace between the front and back cover pages as a spine. My lace was 1.25" wide and 8" long (I trimmed it later)...

Machine sew to the cover pages, just catching the edge of each page by a scant 1/4".

Turn the cover over and repeat on the inside with another piece of cotton lace.

Trim the excess lace away. 

Sew a button to the centre right side front of the cover. 

You'll be able to tie the ribbon around it to close your Psalm 23 book...

Now to sew the internal pages together.

Pin the lace edges of the pages together or use binding clips to hold them in place. Sew just inside the edge of the lace with running stitch. I used a Perle 8 cotton in cream.

Slip the pages of the psalm 23 book inside the cover and secure with the ribbon closure.

Note: the book is not sewn into the cover. It remains separate. 

THE COMPLETE PSALM 23 Book Pattern is now available HERE in my EtsyShop.

I hope you enjoyed this year's block of the month. Psalm 23 was certainly different from a quilt but it gave me a great deal of pleasure to share this with you. 

It seems so long since I designed and stitched Psalm 23 because it was completed last year in December...but now it's time to think about next year and what we might make then. 

However, I shan't rush that for good ideas need to form on their own without any pressure and I'm all about letting the Lord guide my pencil and my path these days.

If you complete this project I'd love for you to send me a photo so I can share it here for others to see. Use the 'contact me' link in my sidebar to do that. 

Well, I'm off now to pour a lovely cool glass of ginger water, gather supplies for another new design, and settle down to watch Jane Austen's "Emma". 

What plans do you have for the 1st of October?

Bless you heaps,

Psalm 23 block 9...

 

This month we're stitching the final block of Psalm 23 which will also complete the last internal page of the book. 

Truly, what a beautiful promise Psalm 23 gives us as it draws to an end - "and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever". David knew this and did not doubt for his eternal assurance was birthed in the truths God had given him through the course of his life and that same promise of an eternal home is ours if we accept Christ as Lord and Saviour and walk mindfully in His ways. 

It occurred to me this morning as I sat outside around dawn watching the moon dip lower in the sky and the sun rise out of a dark horizon that there are many, many dear women (and men) who once accepted God as Father and Creator and lover of their souls but something happened in life which caused them to doubt or reject Him. 

One of the very first lessons the Holy Spirit taught me as a new believer almost thirty years ago was not to look at God through the eyes of man; not to judge Him by the way others in the church treat me; not to confuse the church with GOD Himself. 

For the church is man made, filled with believers (and even non-believers who attend out of habit or tradition rather than belief) who are just as broken and sinful and prone to unpleasant attitudes and responses as we are. The church overflows with the struggles of broken humanity and from that many dear people have been hurt and turn away from God because they mistakenly see what happens within the church as coming from Him, as a reflection of His character...and that's simply not so.

God wants to nurture the best in us, He wants to see us flourish in the fruit of the Spirit - love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control - because by this we begin to show others Who He is and the substance of His divine character. 

None of us are perfect. But He is.

We are all broken in some way, but He is not. He is the Healer, the Restorer, the Eternal Hope we must cling to. If you've fallen away from the Lord, or have lost confidence in Him for any reason, turn back toward HIM, run into His arms. Seek the healing of heart and understanding of a situation that He offers.

I want to see all of you on those heavenly shores when Jesus returns. I want to meet you, hug you, hear your stories, rejoice with you and praise our Saviour together. 

NEXT MONTH

In case you've missed any of the previous blocks the download links are HERE where you can also see photos of the completed book. All patterns will remain free until the end of 2020. Go HERE to watch the page construction tutorial.

Next month I'll be sharing the steps to sew the book cover as well as the title embroidery.

THE COMPLETE PSALM 23 Book Pattern is now available HERE in my EtsyShop.

On Friday I'll be back with a short tutorial and some photos of a few projects I recently completed. In the meantime, be blessed in all you do and say, be generous in all you have to offer, and be kind to your own sweet self because Jesus loves you.

Loving hugs

Are you following me on Instagram? If you'd like to I'm over HERE

Noticing the small things and block 5 of my BOM...

I think when life has a number of anxieties our minds tend to look at the landscape of real or perceived troubles, and that's when a sense of overwhelm can almost sweep you off your feet into a mental state of panic or fear.

When we look far and wide or spend too much time focused of the enormity of a problem, such as many are doing with the worldwide pandemic right now, we soon begin to miss the small things that our hearts need to ground us in the here and now, the gentle everyday things which display beauty to the eyes and plant seeds of calm in the soul.

I've truly been exhausted of late, unable to sleep, arthritis pain pushing itself to the forefront of my days, migraines returning suddenly due to overcast and humid skies - and none of these had anything to do with the pandemic. It's been an accumulation of many things and probably stems from doing too much too soon (in the garden) after the heart issues found in January. 

The past couple of days I've slowed right down, considering the need to be intentional with all I do and not just ploughing on regardless as is my natural tendency.

I walked around the garden with my camera in the morning and focused on the little things which can so easily be missed as I gaze over the quarter acre we call home.

There is truly so much beauty in the small things; those individual elements which thrive alone and yet together within their surroundings.

I'm blessed to have birds of all kinds dwell in and around our trees and gardens, and though I daily welcome them and feed some, yesterday I really looked at them to examine these perfectly designed creatures who choose to spend time in our environ. The first photo above is a female yellow breasted Sunbird who drank from the Geisha Girl leaves as I watered it and the tomatoes underneath. I thought she would take to flight when I ran inside to get my camera but she did not...she continued to drink and I continued to water, both appreciating each other - her for the water I offered, and I for the beauty and companionship she gave in return.

I looked under the pumpkin vine in the front garden and imagined it a shady respite for lizards and the many green tree frogs we have around the house...

...then marvelled at how many pumpkins are growing from just one seed. I found six established and many more just starting out.

In the raised bed my husband set up a few weekends back the rocket and radishes and coriander and beetroot are all waving in the breeze and lifting their leafy coats to the very warm late autumn sun.

And nearby some of the many zinnias we've planted bloom happily to welcome more bees and hopefully ladybugs.

Even the Thai basil which has gone to seed is flourishing a pretty purple dress.

After a harsh summer and early to mid autumn the lavender really struggled, but after time in the shade, more water than usual and some worm tea its recovering and shows signs of offering fragrant stems in winter.

And it is the lavender which has made me understand that once again the sheer length and harshness of our tropical seven-month-long summer has taken more energy than I have to spare these days and that here, in our final weeks of autumn as we await winter's appearance, it is time to slow down in some areas of life in order to rest, refresh, restore, heal and also appreciate the small things around me that too often are missed by scanning life as a panorama of days and not focusing, not letting my eyes rest, on those precious moments which ebb and flow around me.

What small things have you missed recently?

Can I encourage you to take some time this coming week and look with fresh eyes and open heart at the little things?

Something I'm enjoying more than I imagined is knitting a cardigan for Cully May. I began one cardigan a few weeks back, and as it was my first return to knitting in over a decade or more I chose what I thought was a simple basic pattern...but I was not aware until I purchased it and began knitting that the whole thing is knitted in one piece and with US terms.

Truthfully, I was fine until it came to knitting in the sleeves and then it got too much. Double pointed needles (which I have never liked), circular needles (which I also do not like) and instructions that made no sense at all...well, I began to feel that awful overwhelm and as I was already very weary it seemed I was tumbling into a black hole of sadness and uselessness. 

You know, when I knitted garments for my children it was sheer joy from start to finish. 

I loved the little designs within the pattern, and I loved sewing the fronts and back and arms and necks in place, piece by piece. And not having that sense of peaceful 'rhythm and ordinary ways' as I knitted Cully May's cardigan just made me sad. I wanted to love every stitch to the end.

But it was not to be.

So I unravelled the lot.

And I searched online for those wonderful ordinary patterns of the old days written with Australia/UK terms and found a lovely Etsy Shop who sells them.

I've now completed both fronts and am working on the back. 

Every piece knitted separately the way I remember, the way I enjoyed.

And you know, Blossom loves this pattern much more than the original. In truth, we're both happier with the old ways in many things so instead of pushing to do something new that isn't really necessary and certainly doesn't fill our contentment tanks, we'll just enjoy what makes us happy.

I'll never knit a top-down cardigan, sweater or four-double-pointed-needle socks and that's okay.

Life is a gift from God and along with occasional trials comes many joys, and as someone said to me recently, "don't bring a time of trouble on to yourself before the time of trouble". With regards to knitting this means don't make something that causes you sadness with feelings of failure and distress. It's only a cardigan. Knit the one that makes you content and happy with every stitch.

Does this ring true in your life or are you happier to pursue new things?

THE 23rd PSALM BOM

This month's block is the second half of Psalm 23:4...

Ladybugs, flowers and words of truth and certainty from the Father -

"For Thou art with me;

Thy rod and thy staff they comfort me."

Psalm 23 is certainly the perfect chapter for us to hold close to our hearts this year.

I pray that as you stitch you will feel the Holy Spirit's presence and the assurance of God holding you close.

THE COMPLETE PSALM 23 Book Pattern is now available HERE in my EtsyShop.

I will leave you today with something else that is small and yet vast beyond measure with what it offers. 

Scripture.

One verse in God's Word can change a moment, a day, a life. Don't be overwhelmed reading chapter after chapter each day because you think you should...there are seasons for that, but more often there are seasons for soaking in small sections and letting the Holy Spirit bring it to life with the Light of Christ, shining it upon our hearts with understanding of how that verse or passage applies to us personally. 

I'm very slowly going through Psalms at the moment and there are days when I read and re-read the same Psalm over and over, highlighting sections or one verse and then writing it in my journal. Oh I cannot tell you how many lessons the Lord is teaching me right now, but they go deep and are rich with His love and right with His correction.

This coming week...this month of May...look for the small things, choose the ways which bring you joy, and let the beauty and love within God's Word breathe refreshment and peace to your heart.

Loving hugs

Block 4 of Psalm 23 and some ideas...

I should never be surprised when God highlights a particular verse at just the right time.

Like this month's verse.

How very apt. How needful for so many. 

I am not fearful (especially after what I shared in this post) but that does not change the occasional moments when it threatens to rise in me after I've been out grocery shopping or when my husband returns from work at the school. 

I let myself acknowledge the threat in that moment and then I let it go. I offer it to God and continue on in my daily rhythms, each task measured and mindful in light of what has now touched so many lives, families, regions and economies of the globe.

Dear heart, do not let fear control you, cripple you or rob you of your peace. Do not let it frighten you into despair. Do not allow it to fill your heart with dread or steal your joy.

For most of us life has changed dramatically over the past month or two. In my country, and probably yours, we are in lockdown. We are to stay in our homes and only venture out for absolute essentials - food, medicine, work. There are heavy fines in place for any unnecessary movements out of doors or gatherings of more than two people.

This in itself can bring about a fearful heart, a despairing heart...indeed, a lonely heart.

But safe indoors, attending to our homes and gardens, accessing family through various internet measures, can offer it's own safety and genuine opportunities for creative avenues we may not have pursued under normal circumstances.

Consider today what you love about your home, consider the aspects you would like to change and what you can use on hand to bring that about. I was chatting with Blossom about the old tv series, The Waltons, and of their inventiveness, their frugality, their resilience during the depression of the 1930's to soldier on, make do and mend, use what they had on hand...and their faith in God. I wish those programs could be shown on television again...how deeply encouraging they would be now as we seem fairly certain a depression is coming again.

Late last year I watched an entire series on Youtube called Wartime Farm. There are eight episodes and they were brilliant in showing how Britain's farmers adapted to the food shortage and the extreme conditions of wartime.

Here is episode 1...

I'm going to start over with this series again because it was fascinating, informative, encouraging and in light of life amidst COVID-19 it also reminds me how the human spirit can lift in the darkest and most challenging of times.

Take your eyes off the news for a bit - let them rest on God's Word, do some stitching, prepare a garden, create a delicious meal or treat with simpler ingredients, write a letter or send a card to loved ones and friends who may be isolated and alone, download an audio book (many libraries have this option if you cannot afford to purchase books that way), dust the book shelves and brew a cuppa to sip while you reacquaint yourself with all those books you purchased many years ago but never had time to really enjoy. I have many home-based books and sewing books on my shelves just begging to be opened.

I know these are all small things in the big scheme of life, but honestly, sometimes we need to do the small things because there's a lot of big things happening around us that can tend to create a sense of overwhelm or lack of control.

But within your home, your God-given safe sanctuary, wherever that is, let peace and joy abound.

Set yourself some simple tasks and take your time as you work through them, being sure to add in a few thoroughly delightful tasks amidst the regular homemaker chores.

Put on some music, the kind that lifts YOUR spirit - dance...sing...or drive that vacuum cleaner around with a sassy sway (if you're like me!).

What feel-good movies are you drawn to on days when life is a bit much or you're full up with a head cold? Write a list and add them to your daily tasks because looking after mental health is very important right now and time out to just let the weariness or impact of our new daily lives drift way for a while is a healthy tonic.

The photos above are of this month's block + another bonus block in our Psalm 23 BOM for 2020.

Make another page just the way you made last month's page using the verse block and the comforter block (here)

You can also see my second version in the pastel blues and pinks. The fabric behind is what I've been using for the applique and it will also feature as borders when I make these new blocks into a wall quilt.

THE COMPLETE PSALM 23 Book Pattern is now available HERE in my EtsyShop.

I had a wonderful chat with Blossom and the girls via Facetime this morning so my happy tank is nice and full again. Not seeing them, not cuddling up on the couch and being squished with toddler arms is difficult, but I praise God we have the technology today which allows us to see each other in our homes, read books to the children, share a cuppa, and feel far more connected than our daily phone conversations. What a blessing. 

It may be many months before the restrictions are lifted but let us not lose heart dear ones...this too shall pass, and I believe if we put our minds to the task we will come through it with a renewed sense of gratitude for what we once had, and a new sense of gratitude for the lessons of simpler living we are learning now. 

Before I go, if you or someone you love has been affected by COVID-19, please forgive me for not offering the comfort you need, for not being able to remove the sorrow or circumstances you face...but know that this day I am praying for you, and I ask everyone who is reading this post today to join me and pray also.

May He be your strength, comfort, hope, provision and truth.

Loving hugs