Remember

This is a poem written by a sister in Christ in UT for another sister in Christ named Li Ying who has been imprisoned in China for Jesus' sake since 2001.

Read. Remember. Pray for these people.

How exquisite the fragrance that fills the air

Of darkened halls of shame and fear.

Among the guilty and profane

A sweet flow'r blooms amidst the pain.

Silently her cries ascend to God

Unheard, unheeded, so it seems.

Yet angels weep and wipe away her tears

Bring hope amid the questions and the fears.

Her crown is woven by her trials

Her tears are captured in God's vial.

Though justice is denied her here

Her cause is not forgotten there.

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a story

There once was a girl who had a bit of a problem...
Her tummy kept getting bigger and bigger because of a little somebody, and her clothes weren't fitting very well anymore.


So she took apart a dress she was given that didn't fit just quite right...




...and she measured and snipped and took in here and there...

shoulders and sleeves,
neckline and bodice,
waist height and skirt shape.



She made satin ribbon and sewed on beads and buttons.

And in the end it was just right!
(It looks like there's something going on on the left side of the neckline...but I assure you there isn't.)


Yep, I am very happy with my new dress. I love designing different styles for dresses. Always have. Sewing my own clothes is a wonderful opportunity to try out my ideas (with no risk to anyone else...although I do subject my sister and mother to whims of fancy when constructing something for them on occasion). This happens to be a dress in which I will imagine myself to be Kate Sutton from The Perilous Guard. :)
~*~*~*~*~*~

surprise

Did you ever guess that a book of paint samples could be so lovely as an art piece? I love it.

My Song Is Love Unknown

My song is love unknown, my Savior's love for me;
love to the loveless shown that they might lovely be:
but who am I, that for my sake
my Lord should take frail flesh and die?

He came from heaven's throne salvation to bestow;
but they refused, and none the longed-for Christ would know:
this is my friend, my friend indeed,
who at my need His life did spend.

Sometimes they crowd His way and His sweet praises sing,
resounding all the day hosannas to their king:
then "crucify" is all their breath,
and for His death they thirst and cry.

Why, what has my Lord done to cause this rage and spite?
He made the lame to run, and gave the blind their sight:
what injuries! yet these are why
the Lord most high so cruelly dies.

With angry shouts they have my dear Lord done away;
a murderer they save, the Prince of Life they slay!
Yet willingly He bears the shame
that through His name all might be free.

Here might I stay and sing of Him my soul adores;
never was love, dear King, never was grief like yours!
This is my friend in whose sweet praise
I all my days could gladly spend.

~Samuel Crossman, 1664; rev. Hymns for Today's Church, 1982

dinner together

blue corduroy and lace

A new cover for my ESV Reformation Study Bible! I am so pleased with it...it's exactly what I wanted. I'm thinking of maybe putting a strap on it to button over the open edge so the binding doesn't get pulled on so much...I'll have to see.

mini galoshes

Aren't these adorable??

rosemary

We woke up this morning to 32 degrees on the thermometer. I hadn't been expecting a freeze, so I was a little bit worried about my beautiful potted rosemary bushes that I had on my patio. So I brought them in just to make sure they were alright. They were. :-) I look forward to having them fill my house with their piney fragrance all winter. I am working on rooting a few more sprigs too. They grew a lot during the summer. Hopefully they survive their time of being housebound this winter...they much prefer the out-of-doors. I'll take them out during the day until it gets really cold out.

the birch

"What Lucy and Susan saw was a dark something coming to them from almost every direction across the hills. It looked first like a black mist creeping on the ground, then like the stormy waves of a black sea rising higher and higher as it came on, and then, at last, like what it was--woods on the move. All the trees of the world appeared to be rushing toward Aslan. But as they drew nearer they looked less like trees, and when the whole crowd, bowing and curtsying and waving thin long arms to Aslan, were all around Lucy, she saw that it was a crowd of human shapes. Pale birch-girls were tossing their heads, willow-women pushed back their hair from their brooding faces to gaze on Aslan, the queenly beeches stood still and adored him, shaggy oak-men, lean and melancholy elms, shock-headed hollies (dark themselves, but their wives all bright with berries) and gay rowans, all bowed and rose again, shouting, "Aslan, Aslan!" in their various husky or creaking or wave-like voices."
~from Prince Caspian, by C.S. "Jack" Lewis

beauty

Do you not just love these colors and textures? They bring a sense of comfort even before you can taste the nourishing soup that they will make.

"The rain began punctually at five o'clock, though few were awake to hear it. It was a gentle rain, rather like a summer shower that had escaped the grip of time or season and wandered into Mitford several months late.

By six o'clock, when much of the population of 1,074 was leaving for work in Wesley or Holding or across the Tennessee line, the drops had grown large and heavy, as if weighted with mercury, and those running to their cars or trucks without umbrellas could feel the distinct smack of each drop.

Dashing to a truck outfitted with painter's ladders, someone on Lilac Road shouted "Yeehaw!", an act that precipitated a spree of barking among the neighborhood dogs.

Here and there, as seemingly random as the appearance of stars at twilight, lamps came on in houses throughout the village, and radio and television voices prophesied that the front passing over the East Coast would be firmly lodged there for two days.

More than a few were fortunate to lie in bed and listen to the rain drumming on the roof, relieved to have no reason to get up until they were plenty good and ready.

Others thanked God for the time that remained to lie in a warm, safe place unmolested by worldly cares, while some began at once to fret about what the day might bring."



~From Shepherd's Abiding, ch. 1, by Jan Karon

girly ribbons

Welcome to my little girl-cousin's room!

rainy day cooking

::'~ pork chops with onion, garlic, and rosemary

::'~ my favorite tomato soup (recipe by James Beard)...this soup was a pile of garden tomatoes on my counter a few hours ago

vintage strawberry glamour

Gracing my table this morning is the most delightful tablecloth. A luscious vintage strawberry print from my dear Auntie. Thank you, dear Auntie! I am rather beside myself about it. And about the the vintage forties nightgown that came along with the tablecloth. Aahh.

So, I am using a grey, drizzly October Monday morning to sort through my pile of recipes-to-sort-through-and-properly-notebook at my strawberry table. I even have an appropriately vintage notebook to do it in. Perfect.

prayer

"'Let us lift up our heart with our hands unto God in the heavens' Lamentations 3:41

The act of prayer teaches us our unworthiness, which is a very salutary lesson for such proud beings as we are. If God gave us favors without constraining us to pray for them we should never know how poor we are, but a true prayer is an inventory of wants, a catalogue of necessities, a revelation of hidden poverty. While it is an application to divine wealth, it is a confession of human emptiness. The most healthy state of a Christian is to be always empty in self and constantly depending upon the Lord for supplies; to be always poor in self and rich in Jesus; weak as water personally, but mighty through God to do great exploits; and hence the use of prayer, because, while it adores God, it lays the creature where it should be, in the very dust. Prayer is in itself, apart from the answer it brings, a great benefit to the Christian. As the runner gains strength for the race by daily exercise, so for the great race of life we acquire energy by the hallowed labour of prayer. Prayer plumes the wings of God's young eaglets, that they may learn to mount above the clouds. Prayer girds the loins of God's warriors, and sends them forth to combat with their sinews braced and their muscles firm. An earnest pleader cometh out of his closet, even as the sun ariseth from the chambers of the east, rejoicing like a strong man to run his race. Prayer is that uplifted hand of Moses which routs the Amalekites more than the sword of Joshua; it is the arrow shot from the chamber of the prophet foreboding defeat to the Syrians. Prayer girds human weakness with divine strength, turns human folly into heavenly wisdom, and gives to troubled mortals the peace of God. We know not what prayer cannot do! We thank thee, great God, for the mercy-seat, a choice proof of thy marvelous lovingkindness. Help us to use it aright throughout this day!"

~Charles Spurgeon from Morning & Evening, (October 11, morning)

a good use for dead raspberry canes

this good day

If rain clouds come
or the cold winds blow
You're the one
who goes before me
and in my heart I know

This good day
it is a gift from You
The world is turning in its place
because You made it to
I lift my voice
to sing a song of praise
on this good day

~Fernando Ortega "This Good Day" from Cd "Home"

chilly morning

morning tidbits

::'~Acceptance-with-Joy

::'~Perspective on today's duties...

leafy vines and berries

A bit of progress...

pottery

I have a distinct weakness for pottery. When I saw this sweet little mug at my thrift store for a couple of quarters...I had to get it.

Soul Food

Desiring God Ministries has posted free live-stream and downloads, both audio and video, of all of the sessions from their recent conference "Stand: A Call for the Endurance of the Saints". The speakers were John MacArthur, Jerry Bridges, Randy Alcorn, Helen Roseveare, and John Piper. These sessions are very much worth your time, so I encourage you to visit the site and listen to them if you can!

Lovely Threads

Think: leafy vines with clusters of juicy berries dripping off them, twiggy-colored curlicued lettering with sparkly gold accents...aaah