Sunday Scripture

 

Here's another in my most recent Sunday Scripture series.  I've been posting about my simple study of a little devotional journal titled Reflections: The Woman God Sees., by Jane L. Fryar -- a journal gifted me by some dear young friends   It has a daily devotional one works through -- about a month's worth or so.  It was a blessing to me when I worked through it, so I've been sharing here.  Several readers have told me they're enjoying it, and I'm so thankful for that!

The Scripture for today is Exodus 19:4-5.  The assignment states: "Our Lord first spoke the words of Exodus 19 to Moses.  They describe God's affection for His Old Testament people.  His affection for us, His people today, is no less tender, no less fierce, no less caring.  As you consider that, what words of worship spring to mind?"  I chose to SOAP Exodus 19:4-5 as I considered this -- but the verse at top, 1 Peter 2:9 found its way into my study as well.

S= "Ye have seen what I did unto the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles' wings and brought you unto Myself.  Now, therefore, if ye will obey My voice indeed, and keep my covenants, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto Me above all people: for all the earth is Mine."  (Exodus 19:4-5)

O= Cross-references for "obey My voice" -- 

Exodus 15:26 -- "If thou wilt diligently hearken to the voice of the LORD thy God, and will do that which is right in His sight, and wilt give ear to His commandments, and keep all His statutes, I will put none of these diseases upon thee, which I have brought upon the Egyptians; for I am the LORD that healeth thee."  

Exodus 23:22 -- But if thou shalt indeed obey His voice, and do all that I speak, then I will be an enemy unto thine enemies, and an adversary unto thine adversaries."

Cross-reference for "keep My covenant" -- 

Psalm 78:9-11 -- "The children of Ephraim, being armed, and carrying bows, turned back in the day of battle.  They kept not the covenant of God, and refused to walk in His law, and forgot His works, and His wonders that He had shown them."

The expression "a peculiar treasure unto Me" literally means "a people for His own possession."

Cross-references for "a peculiar treasure" -- 

Titus 2:14 -- "Who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto Himself a people of His own, zealous of good works."

Deuteronomy 14:2 -- "For thou art an holy people unto the LORD thy God, and the LORD hath chosen thee to be a peculiar people unto Himself, above all the nations that are upon the earth."

1 Peter 2:9 -- "But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a people of His own, that ye should show forth the praises of Him who hath called you out of darkness into His marvelous light."

God's promise in verse 5 is conditional, an "If ... then" covenant.
IF ... God's people would obey His voice and keep His covenant ...
THEN ... they would be a peculiar treasure to Him above all nations of the earth, a kingdom of priests, and a holy nation (verse 6).

Moses conveyed God's Words to the people in verse 7, and in verse 8, the people told Moses, "All that the LORD hath spoken, we will do."

A= God's love for His people today is no less tender, no less fierce, no less caring.  As 1 Peter 2:9 reminds us,  "But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a people of His own, that ye should show forth the praises of Him who hath called you out of darkness into His marvelous light."

We are precious to God!  As His blood-bought children, we are:

* a chosen generation
* a royal priesthood
* a holy nation
* a people of His own.

And the reason?  So that we will show forth the praises of God -- the One who called us out of the darkness into His marvelous light!

Showing forth His excellencies to a lost, dying, and hopeless world is a way to praise Him and point others to Him!

P = "Lord, how I thank and praise You that you brought me out of darkness into your amazing, marvelous, supernatural light!  I pray that You will help me every day to live a life that shows forth your praises to the  lost and hopeless world around me.  I thank You for all You will do, in Jesus' name, Amen."

And there is the Sunday Scripture for this week!  Satan really fought me on this one, so I'm thinking this study may be important for a lot of people.

Art of the hodgepodge

 

 Well, it's Wednesday again, and that means it's time for the Hodgepodge -- the linkup where Joyce, at  From This Side of the Pond, asks the questions and bloggers provide the answers on their own blogs.   I've missed getting in on the Hodgepodge for some time -- in fact, for 6 weeks or so -- but today's questions are doable, so here we go!

1. October 25th is International Artists Day ... do you have a favorite artist? If so tell us who and why. 

I have many favorites -- you can see some on my Art that Inspires Me Pinterest board -- but probably my absolute favorite artist would be Fred Swan.  I love his work because he paints Vermont so accurately and (although I live in New Hampshire and the two states are not at all the same) the scenes he paints are those I have seen and savored all my life.  I also love that he is self-taught, and that way, way back in the day he was my friend's math teacher.  You can read a bit more about Fred Swan here.  We have had many calendars featuring his work, several Christmas card designs, and a number of jigsaw puzzles.  You can look here to see one of our completed puzzles.  The two scenes below are Christmas cards.

2. Would you describe yourself as artistic? Elaborate. 

People have told me I am,  but I think what they really mean is creative.  I guess I have somewhat of an artistic eye; certain types of beauty, and even colors just speak to me.  And it's almost a physical ache sometimes that I can't capture that beauty in some way.

I do love making things, especially for gifts or for our home,  and have created lots of fun projects over the years.  You can see many gifts I've made (and some that others have made for me) here in the label cloud: handmade gifts.  Or maybe look under sewing, embroidery, cross stitch, crochet, etc. also in the label cloud.

A hand-sewed felt tea wallet

Crocheted hot mats

Embroidered pillow cases

Counted cross-stitch piece

3. What's a skill, task, hobby, or job you've done so often you now have it 'down to a fine art'? 

Really, I'm not sure there is anything in my life I would put in that category. I might say baking cookies, for example, or writing a blog post, or preparing a Sunday School lesson -- but I have snags come up often enough in every area to keep me humble.

The delightful Scripture card above is an antique, from the collection of my Great-Aunt Sadie.

4. How often do you dine out? Fast food, fine dining, or somewhere in between? Tell us about a less than stellar restaurant experience you've had recently (or not so recently if that's easier).  

We might eat out once or twice a month.  Almost never could it be characterized as "fine dining", but we seldom eat fast food either.  We are much more diner type people, enjoying comfort food in comfortable surroundings.  I can't even remember the last bad restaurant meal we had.  Fish and chips (below) is definitely one of our favorite restaurant meals.

5. Do you celebrate Halloween? To what extent? Are there trick or treaters where you live? 

We really don't celebrate Halloween.  The closest I might come would be a pumpkin on the doorstep.  Every year it becomes more appalling to me that people think gigantic skeletons are a fun way to decorate.  Nothing funny about death, people.  We have not had trick or treaters in our neighborhood in years.

My fall decor tends much more toward harvest-y than Halloween-y.

 

6. Insert your own random thought here.  

It's been a really odd foliage season here.  It began (if one could call this a beginning) with leaves turning yellow and brown on many of the maples and just dropping off.  Some people were saying there would be no real foliage season, others saying it would be "muted", and others were saying it would still be beautiful, just that it would be later than usual.

It seems the "later than usual" prediction was the right one.  It has been a good 2 weeks, maybe more, behind schedule.  But it was definitely here, just later than usual.  And the maple leaves that remained on the trees turned their usual brilliant colors.

There's the Hodgepodge for this week.  So happy I could join in this time!

Sunday Scripture

 

Here's another in my most recent Sunday Scripture series.  I've been posting about my simple study of a little devotional journal titled Reflections: The Woman God Sees., by Jane L. Fryar -- a journal gifted me by some dear young friends   It has a daily devotional one works through -- about a month's worth or so.  It was a blessing to me when I worked through it, so I've been sharing here.  Several readers have told me they're enjoying it, and I'm so thankful for that!

The Scripture for today is 2 Corinthians 4:7.  The assignment states: "Jesus, our Savior, is our treasure.  His forgiveness, compassion, and love are priceless!  We keep this treasure in 'jars of clay' -- our frail, human bodies.  We may think of this as a disadvantage, but what are the benefits?"  I chose to SOAP 2 Corinthians 4:6-7 as I considered this.

S= "For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shone in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
"But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us."  (2 Corinthians 4:6-7)

O= The theme of 2 Corinthians is Paul's authority.  C.I. Scofield comments,  "Paul here defends his authority by placing before the church the overwhelming evidence of his sincerity in serving God.  Thus this epistle is very personal and autobiographical."

Scofield calls 2 Corinthians chapter 1:12 through chapter 7:16 "Paul's principles of action in his ministry.  Here are the principles:

1) The ministry is triumphant (2:14-17)
2) The ministry is accredited (3:1-5)
3) The ministry is spiritual and glorious, not legal (3:6-10)
4) The ministry is honest, not deceitful
    * Because the truth taught is commended by the life (4:2)
    * Because not self but Christ Jesus as Lord is preached (4:3-6)
    * Because the power is of God (4:7)
5) The ministry involves suffering (4:8-18)
6) The ministry has this as its ambition -- "we labor to be well pleasing to Him" (5:9)
7) The ministry has moving motives (5:11-21)
8) The ministry is supernatural (6:1-10)

 Cross-reference for "commanded the light" -- "And God said, Let there be light: And there was light."  (Genesis 1:3)

Cross-reference for "shone" -- "We have also a more sure word of prophecy, unto which ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts." (2 Peter 1:19)

Cross-reference for "and not of us" -- "Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves, but our sufficiency is of God."  (2 Corinthians 3:5) 

A= God, the all-powerful One who commanded "Let there be light!" and there was light -- shone His light into our hearts to "give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ."

We have this treasure in earthen vessels -- jars of clay -- so that His light will be seen through us.  Others can also see His strength as it is made perfect in our weaknesses. (2 Corinthians 12:9)  

 In answer to the question "We keep this treasure in 'jars of clay' -- our frail, human bodies.  We may think of this as a disadvantage, but what are the benefits?" I wrote:

Any power or strength -- in fact, any good thing at all that is seen in me -- is from Him.  When difficulties come in our lives, it is His power that is seen.

Concerning the verse "Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves, but our sufficiency is of God."  (2 Corinthians 3:5),  I wrote:

I love this verse!  My sufficiency is of God!  There are so many ways in which I am insufficient in and of myself, but I am sufficient in Him, and that is what others need to see.

P= "Lord, what amazing truths are presented in these verses!  I am so incredibly thankful that You chose to shine Your glorious gospel light into my heart!  I praise You that You planned for us to have this treasure of Your Son in these earthly bodies -- jars of clay -- so that His light may be seen through us.  I pray You will help me be conscious of this every day.  In Jesus' name, Amen."

There is the Sunday Scripture for this week!

Planning for the rest of fall 2023

 

 When I posted my Just Three Words for Fall 2023, that was only the beginning of my fall planning.

Originally I was inspired by a wonderful post that I had read by Christa at Brown Sugar Toast about The Importance of Saying No to Good Things.  Christa wrote about a fall planning workbook she had been using.  It's by Jess Connolly and can be downloaded for free here: Fall Into Freedom.  (If you try to download it, it will tell you there's an error.  But you can still find it by doing a search as instructed here: "You can try searching for the content you are seeking by clicking here.")

Christa had challenged her readers with the question, "Have you taken time to think through your next season of life?" She wrote, "Taking time to pray and write out goals for the next months can be a very grounding experience as you prepare for upcoming responsibilities, potential changes, and holidays. As you think through what the Lord has given you to accomplish during this next season, take time to pray through what He wants you to say NO to…even if it’s a good thing.". 

That was wonderful advice then and I believe it is even more so now.  With every passing year, I become more conscious of how swiftly our lives pass and how important it is to use our time wisely, to the glory of God.  So I decided to use this download again this fall. 

I wrote earlier about the words I chose -- restorative, productive, and creative. 

  The second page is "Before it Begins" and on it, we were to list things we hoped to accomplish before fall began.  This is one that I had worked on a bit earlier.  These could be fun things like getting together with a friend, or tasks we hoped to get out of the way.  I listed 12 items.  Many of them were small things like catching up on laundry or going out for ice cream before the seasonal places close.  Some were big tasks on my hubby's plate like getting all the wood in the cellar and building a shed for a friend.  (Both of those big things got crossed off.)  Of the rest of the list, I was able to cross off only three items. 

That was only the start of work that I needed to do in the planner.  So, as I mentioned earlier, I took the pages along with me to our cottage last Saturday afternoon.  My hubby had lots of little tasks he wished to do, and I had a few to tackle also.  Then he built a campfire and we each made a hot drink in the Keurig.  I sat by the fire and journaled away!

This pretty leaf with its yellow lower edge was found at the cottage on the path to the shower house!

The third page was "Ask Him Where to Go" and had to do with asking God for direction for my fall season.  Just getting quiet and asking Him what He wants this fall to look like for me.  Here's what I wrote:

Even though I haven't consciously spent a lot of time praying about this, it seems that God knows my heart (and He surely does!) and is giving me direction.

My heart was almost literally aching because, other than my weekly Scripture posts, I wasn't finding time to blog.  Interestingly, writing even one very simple new post seemed to 'prime the pump' and confirm that He wanted to give me this desire of my heart.  Just completing that one simple post gave me the creative nudge that I needed to finish a draft that I'd started months, if not years, ago.  Then, I found myself prompted to look at simple autumn cross-stitch projects in my pattern stash with an eye to completing one -- and I actually pulled out floss and fabric and started one!

So ... as to where God wants me to go, I believe that He wants me to find joy in this season.  

Obviously, He wants me to continue to use my spiritual gifts and my talents for His glory.  

He wants me to connect with people through mentoring and biblical hospitality, among other ways.

He wants me to continue to cultivate my relationship with Him, especially through relevant, meaningful Bible study.  As Jeanie Stewart pointed out at the ladies retreat I attended in September, we are to be students of God's Word, not merely readers.

Leaf line by Vee

 

The fourth page is "What's Your Land?" and the title comes from Genesis 13 where God tells Abraham to walk the length and breadth of the land He's given him.  We were encouraged to identify our "land" -- the lives and locations we touch.  Here's my list:
 

*Our home
*Our neighborhood
* Our cottage
* Places where I volunteer
*My walking partner
*Jennifer
*Instagram followers
*Extended family on my side and my husband's side
*My friends and church family
*My blog readers
*My women's Sunday School class

And then the fifth page of the workbook is "It's Time to Say No".  We know where we are called for this season, and now we are to identify things that we are not called to.  Here's my list (which may be added to):
 

*Mindless scrolling
*Consuming too much news/politics
*Sugar (currently on a 40-day sugar fast)
*Other people's drama
* Worry/anxiety

The next page is "What Do You Expect?" and it involves speaking some hope and biblical truth into the coming season.  Here are my expectations:
 

 *I expect that I am likely to fail in many areas, but that God will forgive me and help me to get back up and continue on
*I expect to continue losing weight as I continue intermittent fasting along with a 40-day sugar fast
*I expect that God will help me to find His Word and fellowship with  Him increasingly sweet as I look to Him, not sugar
*I expect to feel overwhelmed at times, but when those times come I trust God to give me peace, clarity and direction
*I expect to make progress in memorizing the book of James
*I expect that God will work in the lives of those I am mentoring
*I expect to have times of connecting with friends old and new through extending hospitality.

 

And then the last page, which I guess I didn't use in 2016, is called "Rhythms, Rhythms, Rhythms" and has to do with establishing rhythms for our days and weeks -- activities that are done in the same time frame daily and weekly, such as exercise or grocery shopping.   

This time around, I wrote: 

 

This is something I need to work on.  Although I do have weekly rhythms of a sort, I need to establish more rhythms in my days -- time for blogging,  exercise, Etsy listings, homemaking chores, cleaning, Sunday School preparation and more.  I feel as if things would go so much more smoothly if I would get those rhythms in place.

I've actually set up a schedule based on these rhythms but I never stick with it for long.  We will see if I do any better this time around!

 

 

I found this planner extremely helpful and something I am likely to use again and again.  What about you?  Have you tried this workbook or a similar one to plan your fall?  How is it going?

Just three words for Fall 2023

 

Readers may remember that a few years back (2016) I did a couple of posts about planning for fall.  They were inspired by a wonderful post that I had read by Christa at Brown Sugar Toast about The Importance of Saying No to Good Things.  Christa wrote about a fall planning workbook she had been using.  It's by Jess Connolly and can be downloaded for free here: Fall Into Freedom.  I downloaded this and found it very helpful.  (If you try to download it, it will tell you there's an error.  But you can still find it by doing a search as instructed here: "You can try searching for the content you are seeking by clicking here.")

Christa had challenged her readers with the question, "Have you taken time to think through your next season of life?" She wrote, "Taking time to pray and write out goals for the next months can be a very grounding experience as you prepare for upcoming responsibilities, potential changes, and holidays. As you think through what the Lord has given you to accomplish during this next season, take time to pray through what He wants you to say NO to…even if it’s a good thing.". 

That was wonderful advice then and I believe it is even more so now.  With every passing year, I become more conscious of how swiftly our lives pass and how important it is to use our time wisely, to the glory of God.  So I decided to use this download again this fall.  Maybe you would like to consider doing the same.

Don't hesitate because "fall is already here."   According to the calendar,  fall only began in late September.  We get so used to thinking that fall is all of September, all of October, and all of November -- or starting anytime after Labor Day-- but that's not the case.  I get as enthused about cooler weather and all things apple cider and pumpkin spice as the next person, but I'm going to take Christa's wise advice and pray and prepare for this season. 

 I myself am actually really slow about working through it this time around, because I spent much of September not feeling top-notch.  We had a lot of activities planned for near the end of the month, and any energy I had (which wasn't much) went into trying to participate in those.  So I didn't really sit down with my workbook pages until last Saturday afternoon when we made a little campfire over at our cottage.

I had made a brief note earlier as to what my three words would be, but no real journaling had yet taken place.

Again this time around, I began by doing as Jess suggests in her Fall Into Freedom workbook, picking three words that I would like to describe my fall season, words that can set the tone for the season. Again this time around,  I found this to be a tough assignment, but I had to do it to get started.  After thinking it through a little, I came up with these three: 

RESTORATIVE

PRODUCTIVE

CREATIVE.

Here's why:

Restorative -- as mentioned, I spent all of September sick with a "long cold".  (Yes, it seems that's a thing.)  Although I kept going as best I could and we still did a lot of our planned activities, I wasn't hitting on all cylinders or enjoying things to the fullest.  I'm so thankful to be feeling better!  There are good times planned for the fall, times of Bible study, women's fellowship, times with friends, and much more.  They will all be restorative in various ways.  (Interestingly, this was also one of the words I chose in 2016!)

Productive -- During the time I was ill, I was most decidedly not productive.  I kept up with laundry and meal prep, but that was about it.  I tried very hard to rest, get fluids, and do anything else I could think of to help with recovery.  Now that I'm better, I hope to accomplish a lot of decluttering this fall and am thrilled to say that I've already begun -- cleaning out a large, open front kitchen cabinet and also an area near my computer desk that was in desperate need.  

Also, my hubby cleaned the cellar -- something he's never fully done before, though he has decluttered areas of it.  He had 3 young friends coming to help him to get the winter's firewood in the cellar -- hence, the cleaning spree!

Another thing I'm doing is trying to stay far ahead working on my Sunday School lessons.  And -- I promise I didn't look back at 2016's words -- but "productive" was also one that I had chosen that time around.

Creative -- While ill, much of the time I was too miserable to feel like being creative.   I worked at Scripture Sunday blog posts because I didn't want to let readers down, and picked away at a few simple craft projects (like crocheting dishcloths).  But most of my creativity went into thinking of ways to get better, and trying to remember to actually do them.

Now I'm ready and anxious to do more creative blogging, and to tackle some new craft projects.  Maybe I'll even work on the cookbook I started last year, who knows?  God has made me a creative person and I so enjoy exercising that gift.  

So there are my three words for fall.  Stay tuned for the rest of my "Fall into Freedom" thoughts, coming soon!

A foliage walk

 

This morning my hubby had an errand (giving a friend who'd dropped a vehicle at the mechanic's shop a ride home) and when he returned he suggested the two of us head out for a foliage walk.  He had ssen some pretty trees not far from our house.  So out we went!  I'll just share photos and captions in the interest of a quick post, but it's way better than no post at all -- so here we go.

This gravesite is all by itself next to the road.  I believe it's a Revolutionary War soldier, not sure.  The town places flags on all veterans' graves. but someone else has put this urn with marigolds and a vine here.  A lovely thing for someone to do.

Headed down the road from our house.

This red tree is outstanding.

Both orange and yellow leaves here.

Both red and orange here and below.

The pretty red sprig of leaves above is right here at the edge of our own yard.

There you have it!  Later, the sun came out and he went back to get more photos.  He got some great ones which I can hopefully share another day.

Sunday Scripture

 

Here's another in my most recent Sunday Scripture series.  I've been posting about my simple study of a little devotional journal titled Reflections: The Woman God Sees., by Jane L. Fryar -- a journal gifted me by some dear young friends   It has a daily devotional one works through -- about a month's worth or so.  It was a blessing to me when I worked through it, so I've been sharing here.  Readers have told me they're enjoying it, so on we go!  I think we're about halfway through the book at this point.

For this week, the featured passage was Exodus 38:8. The devotional noted: "Moses gathered offerings from the people to use in building the tabernacle.  Some of the women donated mirrors they had brought with them from Egypt, mirrors made from the most valuable, most highly polished bronze available."

Then it posed the question: "What thoughts come to your mind as you consider the women's sacrifice?"  I chose to SOAP Exodus 38:8 as I considered this question.

S= "And he made the laver of bronze, and the foot of it of bronze, of the looking glasses of the women serving, who served at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation."  (Exodus 38:8)

O= This chapter 38 is part of a section which describes the construction of the tabernacle (Exodus 36-39).  God gave commandment to Moses regarding the construction and also for how the materials would be provided.  

    "And Moses spoke unto all the congregation of the children of Israel, saying, This is the thing which the LORD commanded, saying,
"Take you from among you an offering unto the LORD; whosoever is of a willing heart, let him bring it."

Moses went on to describe the materials that should be brought: Gold, silver, and bronze; fine linen of blue, purple, and scarlet; animal skins of various kinds; oil and spices; acacia wood; onyx and other precious stones (Exodus 35:4-9).  

In Exodus 36:5 we read that the people "brought much more than enough for the service of the work, which the LORD commanded to make."  Moses had to stop them from bringing more!  This gives us an idea of the heart of the women in donating their prized mirrors to help create the laver for the tabernacle.

Then Moses went on to name two specific individuals God had called to design, to work, and to teach other "wisehearted people, in whose heart the LORD had put wisdom, even every one whose heart stirred him up, to come unto the work to do it."  (Exodus 36:2)

Exodus 35, verses 30-35, describe Bezalel, whom God had filled with His Spirit "in wisdom, in understanding, and in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship ... to design beautifully wrought works, to work in gold, and in silver, and in bronze; and in the cutting of stones, to set them, and in carving of wood, to make any manner of skillful work.  And He hath put in his heart that he may teach ...".

Exodus 35:34 introduces the second man, Oholiab, who also had the gift of teaching.  Along with Bezalel, Oholiab was "filled with wisdom of heart, to work all manner of work, of the engraver and of the skillful workman, and of the embroiderer ... and of the weaver, even of them that do any work, and of those that design beautifully wrought work."  Exodus 38:23 tells us more about Oholiab: he was "an engraver, and a cunning workman, and an embroiderer in blue, and in purple, and in scarlet, and in fine linen."

A= In answer to the question: "What thoughts come to your mind as you consider the women's sacrifice?" I noted: Those mirrors that the women donated were probably some of their most prized possessions -- not just because these were made of a valuable metal, and were beautiful, highly decorative items -- but also because they would have enjoyed seeing their own reflection.  So in giving these mirrors to be used in preparing the furnishings for the tabernacle, these women were not simply giving valuable items, things they enjoyed for their beauty.  They were giving up items that would have been very important to them personally.

The "As I reflect" section notes: "Self-forgetful, Jesus held nothing back as He offered Himself up for you on the cross.  How does His sacrifice of love for you make you want to love Him more?"

I wrote: I don't know if it can make me love Him more, but I do think that it motivates me even more to live every moment of life as a thank-offering to Him.  A song says something like this: 

    "Lord, help me live from day to day In such a self-forgetful way That even when I kneel to pray, My prayer will be for others.  Others, Lord, yes, others, let this my motto be: Help me to live for others, That I may live like Thee."

P= "Lord, it is inspiring and even rebuking to see how sacrificially Your people gave of themselves to provide the furnishings for the tabernacle.  They brought more than what was needed -- so much that Moses actually had to stop them from bringing more!  In light of all You have done for me, I want to seek to live every moment of my life as a thank-offering to You.  Help me to do this, I pray in Jesus' name, Amen."

And that's the Sunday Scripture for today!

Sew many memories

Autumn always brings memories -- some good, and some, like my back-to-school memories, not so good.  In my early years school was very difficult for me.  Thankfully, as time went by,  I did eventually realize that I enjoyed learning and so I managed to cope with the other aspects that had made school so challenging.

As I've gone through old treasures at my childhood home, one unexpected good memory of back-to-school surfaced.  It's the one where every fall, my mother made me some new outfits for school. 

It had to have been late summer each year when my mother would take me downtown to look at pattern books in our local five and dime.  I would choose patterns I liked and sometimes we would pick out fabric together.  Other times, I distinctly remember choosing fabric first.  There was a shop in a nearby town that had lovely fabric.

I am sure I had a jumper similar to the one pictured at the top of the post.  I think it was a teal flannel print with sort of a Tyrolean look.  So sweet!

One of my favorite dresses was a collarless shirtwaist made out of a fabric with botanical drawings of fruit on a cream colored background.  I had a pretty pin resembling peaches that I wore with it.   I still have that pin today!

And, in fact, I found a piece of the fabric in my mother's fabric stash when we cleaned out the house:

You can see how pretty it is!    If I remember right, the dress I had was view 2 below.

 I could literally go on for quite some time about the various outfits and dresses that my mother made.  My aunt, who could sew but was a busy mom of six, often mentioned her gratitude that my mother sewed for me -- because all of my handmade dresses and outfits got passed on to her girls -- three of them, before making their way back to my much younger sister.

And she also made some special occasion things too, like 8th grade graduation dresses for me and, years later, my sister.  She also made both of our high school graduation dresses.

Pretty sure the one above was my 8th grade graduation dress.  It was made from a gorgeous pale aqua chiffon with the jacket of matching lace.  So pretty!

And I think this was my high school graduation dress.  It would have been view 1, made in a heavy white lace.  I think the buttons and neck trim were pale blue satin but I don't remember for sure.
 

 One of my finds in cleaning out the home place was a box full of homemade Halloween costumes.  There was a Dutch girl costume -- which I actually remember wearing, complete with a blond wig with braids -- a pirate outfit (that one was only partially homemade), and a Little Red Riding Hood cape.  My mother was an amazing seamstress.  I found the pattern for the clown costume below among her sewing patterns, but I don't recall her making one of these.  The pattern itself seems to have been unused, and I sold it for $10 in my Etsy shop in 2019.  View 3, with the bow tie and the red vest with tails, is particularly nifty.

Time went on, as it is prone to do, and in later years my mother sewed at least one wedding dress besides mine (which was extremely simple, with a definite "prairie" flair).  The daughter of neighborhood friends was getting married on a low budget, and my mother made her dress for her.  Though also quite simple, it was really a lovely dress and made our neighbor friend feel so special (and look so beautiful) on her wedding day.  She also made a maid of honor dress for me for a wedding I was in.

Later than that, I recall my mother sewing dresses for her own mother, my grandmother.   I've written before about how my grandmother always dressed so nicely.  Even her housedresses were attractive (she never wore slacks) and her aprons and earrings matched them.  But I think in later years she must have had difficulty in finding dresses she liked, especially for special occasions like family parties.  So my mother stepped in and sewed them for her.  Below are some of the patterns she likely used:

My mother sewed clothing for herself, too.  But it's a little bit ironic (and also a little bit sad) that she never got to make patchwork quilts as she intended to.  The closest she came was stitching up a quilt out of red and blue bandannas for a grandson leaving for college.  Better than nothing, but with all of the fabric scraps she had amassed over the years, I know she was looking forward to making some patchwork designs. 

Life hit hard with the illness and eventual passing of two children, then with Parkinson's disease, and the quilting plans fell by the wayside along with other plans and dreams.  

Readers may justifiably wonder if I learned to sew at my mother's knee.  I did not.  It was my mother-in-law who challenged me to learn to sew when my girls were toddlers, reminding me that some day they would need pretty clothes and even formals, and it would behoove me to start when they were young.  Here my mother did enter into the story, for I chose a couple of simple patterns (and allowed the girls to choose the fabrics) and stitched up two little dresses on my mother's sewing machine at her home so she would be available for any questions.  

Much to my surprise, I found that I loved to sew and yes, I did continue making clothes for the girls and myself for many years.  These days I am much more apt to choose projects with straight and simple seams, things like place mats and pillow cases, but I do hope that some of the things I've made will one day spark "sew many memories" for my family.

From the October archives (2023 edition)

Lately my heart has been aching a bit that I can't manage to find more blogging time.  Last year, I posted every day in October.  And oh, how I miss doing that this time around!  I was looking at some of my October posts from last year, looking for a post to feature, and really enjoyed rereading some of them, even as my heart hurt to not be doing this, this year.

So in the interest of pulling together a quick post, I decided it had been long enough (about 5 years) since I posted favorites from the archives.  It's time to do that again using archived posts from 2018 to 2022.  So here goes!

From 2018, you may get a chuckle from this post: The Best Breakfast Potatoes (and a bushel of laughs).  It still makes me laugh out loud whenever I read it.

Also from 2018, Emma's Apple Cake was a winner that I'd love to bake again.

From October 2019, A Few Photos from the Great North Woods gives you a look at our favorite place on earth.

Easy Comfort Food for a Fall Evening might give you an idea for a quick supper.

In October 2019, if you go back to the archive you can also read about a ladies' retreat and our week-long getaway to the Great North Woods, not to mention a couple of good cookie recipes.

For October 2020 I chose a little Bible study on deliverance.  Maybe even more timely today.

Apple Crisp Pie Bars is a recipe I came up with by adjusting and combining two other recipes.  They went over well then and I may bake them again this year.

Fall Follies is a potpourri post with a lot of fun going on, from frogs to outdoor concerts to jumping in leaf piles.

 For October 2021,  Answering a question or several might be an interesting read, especially if you are new here. 

And how about a Friday five, Fall Foliage edition, where you'll find some gorgeous fall leaves from all around our state!

And for October 2022,  A frugal fall supper features a zucchini garden chowder you might enjoy.

Gingerbread Whoopie Pies with a maple filling ... I'd forgotten about these, but my hubby made them and they were scrumptious.

Fall Meet-up with Friends was one of several last October.  Yummy food!

Lastly, Starting a new scrapbook journal might provide some inspiration if you enjoy journaling.

Well now,  I feel better!  It did me a world of good to put together a post just for fun.  Hope readers enjoy it as much as I did!