Happy Package

What do you do when your aunt is recovering from an accident? Send her a letter, tea, and one of your small watercolor sketches, of course! I have learned this skill (that I don't put into action nearly enough, no doubt) of a happy package or note in a hard time by being on the receiving end many a time. Thank you for your care, friends and relatives!

Sunday Project: Pillow Lace

A few favorite things:

Creating and making my bed with knit and crocheted lace. 

Destashing our basement of craft supplies.

Sharing the creative fruit of these years of illness with friends.

Remembering God's promises and sharing them with others.

"Come to me, all who labor 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 -

Sunday Project: Little Knit Hats

I believe I've written about Sunday projects in the past: handwork that is purely for the joy of creating to enjoy my Creator on the day He set aside for rest every week. Here is one such project that I began in January and carried on into this spring until part of my yarn stash was depleted. These hats will soon be packed into Operation Christmas Child gift boxes by Maren and Jason to be sent to little girls in developing countries. With them will be offered the greatest Gift that came that first Christmas.

Note: This was not only Sunday knitting, but also my sole project on our February trip to Florida. 

September: Goodbye Doyon

September brought signs of changing seasons. That month also brought another evidence that my bakery season has come to an end. Dad expertly crated up Doyon, my thirty quart bread mixer, loaded and strapped it in the back of the pickup (see orange straps below). He and Mom then drove to Pennsylvania to deliver it to the Global Aid Network Logistics Center. It is time for Doyon to bless more people.

Dad and Mom also delivered one hundred twenty-eight LuoPads (washable feminine pads) that Hannah and I with the help of friends sewed up. More travels for these ahead. Africa, Central Asia, refugee camps...

Note:

You can help donate LuoPads through every purchase made at hand.maid.en.

1 item sold = 1 LuoPad donated

Or sew them yourself with instructions found here.

When fighting hives...

...sew LuoPads.

Friends Help

Friends recently gave a couple hours to help our LuoPad stash grow. A quick count shows that we have caught up with our one-for-one donations for all hand.maid.en sales. We even have some to spare.

Behind the Couch

...is my basket of everyday life. Yarn, books, stationary, pens, tablet - all within handy reach and lug-ability.

Sisters Day One

It had been a long time since we'd made it Maren's way. Christmas vacation gave we-three-sisters the opportunity to do just that. Enjoyment included eating off of special china, visiting and working on our crafts.

Hannah conquered a pair of beautiful socks. Well, nearly. She did have to unknit and give the binding a little more slack the next day.

Then she moved on to tracing LuoPads to help fulfill hand.maid.en's donation. (One item sold on our Etsy shop means one LuoPad sewn and donated.)

Maren made finger puppets for a friend who is at this moment using them on a mission trip.

Though there are no pictures, I chipped away at the eternal sweater project.

...to bring good news...

"The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me,

because the LORD has anointed me to bring good news to the poor;

he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,

to proclaim liberty to the captives,

and the opening of the prison to those who are bound;

to proclaim the year of the LORD's favor,

and the day of vengeance of our God;

to comfort all who mourn;

to grant to those who mourn in Zion --

to give them a beautiful headdress instead of ashes,

 the oil of gladness instead of mourning,

the garment of praise instead of a faint spirit;

 that they may be called oaks of righteousness,

the planting of the LORD, that he may be glorified."

Isaiah 61:1-3

No Cares

We had a soul-refreshing evening with twenty-one women at our local Cry Out! simulcast last night. Today I am pretending I don't have a care in the world besides fitting in all Lyme treatments, eating lots and lots of fats, veggies and protein, and taking naps at odd hours (like 11 a.m.).

I took the picture of mushrooms growing on old tree roots in our front lawn several days ago. This is an early-autumn of green grass, damp and mushrooms. Dad "hayed" the lawn in the rain yesterday.

Cry Out!

Life continues at a pace. In the midst of it, I invite you to join me and many thousands in an evening of crying out to Jesus. Check out the free simulcast here.

Here

Journal Entry

5.16.16 - Monday

Yesterday I put my Russia 2013 scraps into a book. It was a bitter-sweet time. Sweet to remember that good time. Bitter to be so far from the country and people I love with no possibility of even visiting with this sick body. "Why, Lord?" The ache is deep, and sometimes those two, simple words are all I can ask my Savior.

Yet as I read God's Word I see I am not the first (nor the last, no doubt) to be brought to a different land and different plan than I thought best. Early in his ministry the apostle Paul thought Jerusalem would be the best platform for his testimony for Jesus. After all, those were the people who had known him since he was a child and they, of all people, would see what a difference Jesus made in his life. But God had other plans and sent him to other lands and other people (Acts 22:17-21).

Then there were the Israelites in captivity and exile in Babylon. They wanted to be their own, free nation, but God told them to settle in and work and pray for the welfare of that land. In so doing they themselves would be blessed (Jeremiah 29:4,5,7).

And then there is me. The need seems so much greater and the hearts more open in Russia. But God has anchored Hannah and me here in sickness. He has bound my parents here in caring for Dorothy... and their two, youngest daughters. I know God never makes mistakes. All things work together for good for those who love God (Romans 8:28).

So I join Paul and the ancient Israelites in living where God has placed me. As I obey Him I will see what good He has in store here.

 So will you.

In Every Generation, There Seem to be a Few

After several years of enjoying Set Apart Girl online magazine, I have now received print Issue No. 1!

The ministry of Set Apart Girl originated as a means of discipling teens and young women in the ways of Christ. Over the years they have expanded to reach out to young married women and mothers.

"The preoccupation of seventeen-year-old girls don't seem to change much from generation to generation. But in every generation, there seem to be a few who make other choices."

Elisabeth Elliot

Project Complete

A few weeks passed between the day I began and finished this quilt.

One quilt top down.

Two to go.

Sewing in the Sun

We have had so much lovely weather the last weeks, and I can't seem to get enough of it. After "too many" nice days, my sewing machine made its way to the deck one afternoon.

 

The blocks I chose to sew have been waiting in our cedar closet to be made into ministry quilts* for many years. They are made just of recycled denim and upholstery fabric samples from a home store, but to desperate refugees these blankets will feel like richness. I have to say I have grown quite fond of them myself.

 

 

 

Notice the blossoming plum tree in the background. It offered me wafts of sweet and spicy perfume all afternoon.

 

*My blankets are going here.

Bright Lights Tuesday

This week Maren taught the last Bright Lights lesson of the season. It seems like spring busyness begins earlier every year, so we have found April a good cut-off point for this ministry's season. No need to tax the already full schedules of the girls... and the teacher. Still, I know Maren will miss the time of learning and growing together with these special, young friends.

The lesson for the week was "Making Brothers and Sisters Best Friends." That was followed by a fun time of hand crafts (each girl brought her own) while Maren read a short biography on a godly woman. Tea came after that, of course!

January Bright Lights

Maren faithfully carries on the teaching of Bright Lights, the girls' discipleship lessons that she, Hannah and I began teaching eight years ago. Hannah and I wait for a month when we are strong enough to join. We miss our girls!

Table decorations.

Each girl planted a little pot of grass seed as a reminder of their lesson on meekness.



Outdoor Theater

An evening of girls' discipleship research with Maren. It is far nicer to watch a seminar outside, I think.

 



Bright Lights Bonfire

 

We grabbed the opportunity of a quiet and beautiful evening to invite "our girls" to a bonfire at our home - a time to catch up after a summer's break from discipleship meetings.



 

 

"Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity."

- I Timothy 4:12 -