Inspired to Create

Genesis 1:3 (NIV)

3 And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.

Last night a hat on my needles for two days was completed and immediately another cast on.  Hours later laying it down with yawns I retired to bed.

The morning dawned, slowly and sluggishly, the missing hour definitely being felt, yet creating was on my mind.   Making things out of string is a three-year gift and ministry.  Looking at the blessings of  yarn in my little stash I envision warmth, hope, love  and smiles.

Genesis 1:3 says “God said”, no idea what tone used when He said what He said but He spoke and things came into being.   He called for the light where mere seconds prior, there was darkness.  I am in awe of  the magnificent experience of creation.   Each part of creation was spoken into being, except man.  Man was incredibly  important to God, so important that He knelt down and sculpted him, shaped him by hand  in His own image and then blew life into him.  Because He is God, all of creation is fearfully and wonderfully made.  Psalm 139.14 says it best  “I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful,  I know that full well.”

When  finishing a hat or shawl my eye can pick apart every detail, seeing  a dropped stitch or some other mistake that I cannot figure out, but it was made in love.  This love has taken me out of my comfort zone and taught me to rely totally upon God.  Yes, there may be a error in a hat or cowl, but it is a testament to being an imperfect being loved and led by a perfect God!

Making His praise glorious!

Ree

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A Day Without Needles

Mark 9:35 (NIV)

35 Sitting down, Jesus called the Twelve and said, “Anyone who wants to be first must be the very last, and the servant of all.

Today, I chose to lay my needles down.  If you know anything about me and this journey, you know that was a huge but very necessary deal.  For several weeks now, I have been under the weather, multiple doctor and specialist visits, prednisone, antibiotics, coughing, headaches, and all that being sick without seeing the light at the end of the tunnel entail.  Through it all I kept knitting because the caress of the yarny goodness was not for me, but for others.

There is a fire in my belly to create items that a deserving military service member, past, present or future will hold, carry, hug or be wrapped with the knowledge that their special piece was made by loving hands.   But last night I was working on a piece, feeling lousy, just trying to complete it. I pushed and pulled and yanked stitches right off the needles.

When the yank happened, I knew I wasn’t feeling well,  it had been a long physically challenging day, I was tired and had no business touching that scarf or those needles.  Packing away the yarn and needles for the evening, I fully planned to wake up today and repair the  damage.

Then I woke up, picked up my e-reader, read this text and realized that I needed to rest, to take care of myself to listen to the Spirit.  When I feel better, the yarn and needles will be here and God will give me the strength and direction to complete the scarf.

Each day we there are subtle reminders that we truly are powerless without God.  There is not one aspect of my life in which I do not submit to His will. We cannot ask to be healed yet not do all we are instructed to aid in our healing.  My fingers yearned to pull out a ball of  truly yummy yarn and imagine a new hat or cowl, to caress my new needles and dream about the possibilities of what warm love they would hold, but not this day.

Lord, I thank you for opportunity to heal, to get better and to know that in your time, Father, Your perfect will be done!  Today and everyday!

Making His praise glorious!

Ree

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Yarn in the Knitter’s Hands

Romans 9:21 (NIV)

21 Does not the potter have the right to make out of the same lump of clay some pottery for special purposes and some for common use?

 

Have Thine Own Way, Lord (Adeline Hubbard – lyrics – George Stebbins – music)

Have Thine own way, Lord! Have Thine own way!

Thou art the Potter, I am the clay.
Mold me and make me after Thy will,
While I am waiting, yielded and still.

Have Thine own way, Lord! Have Thine own way!
Search me and try me, Master, today!
Whiter than snow, Lord, wash me just now,
As in Thy presence humbly I bow.

For the last month I have been knitting “Sunshine” by designer Amanda Reed. Being the out-of-the-box thinker that I am, my yarn  selection was a beautiful Cozette Fuisha silk blend by Knit One Crochet Too purchased at my new Richmond hang out The Knitting Basket. This yarn provided challenging for the professionals who patiently spun it into the balls that I would later knit from. It is a soft yarn that snapped frequently and caused no small amount of frustration while being wound.

The shawl had been turning out nicely,  Even with my somehow inescapable little mistakes that evidence that I am still learning and make each creation wonderfully unique.

Knitting closer and closer to the next phase It was time to fulfill the required needle change and all was smooth sailing… until the actual change. Much like trying to fit a round peg into a square hole, I struggled with moving the stitches from the size 5 to size 7 needles.   Needle changing  inexperience was clearly showing as painfully, tautly,  slowly the stitches moved until disaster struck. The yarn snapped and four or five stitches broke free, leaving a really big hole. My heart crushed I folded the shawl and determined to put it away in frustration to be destroyed later. Was there another option, is this beautiful yarn wasted because of my impatience, lack of skill and excitement of being close to the end?

This shawl is a representation of life. Every day activities are the stitches that comprise the whole of the masterpiece of an individual life and then disaster strikes. As a confessed follower of Christ, I have the privilege of always calling upon God for direction and guidance through difficulties. As a piece of clay I have opportunity to be pulled, molded and stretched into the exact masterpiece God desires me to be.

So, will my lovely shawl be destroyed? Will I give up in defeat?  Will the yarn be  repurposed in failure?  Absolutely not. As God continues to work to make me better, to smooth the rough patches and fix the holes and imperfections. I will seek the assistance of a professional who can create flawed beauty from my tattered pieces.

Making His praise glorious!

Ree

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Not Good Enough!

 

Pile of gorgeous gifts (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

 

1 Corinthians 12:4 (NKJV)

⁴ There are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit

 

The keyboard had been still for so long that a fine sheen of dust was starting to form.  How could this be?  There was a project a deadline and expectations, yet the torrent of words would not and did not come.  A few trickled out but they just were not good enough. Dull, flat, lifeless and totally without meaning.

 

Fingers diligently knitted away at air then began, cranking out hats, cowls and scarves.  Preparing breakfast and managing loads of laundry but no words.  Anxiety set in, “must force self to write words” became my mantra, still silence persistently continued.

 

Physically, I felt myself giving in to illness projected by my inability to successfully produce what was promised.  I deplore disappointing people but I had less than nothing.  I sat quietly, patiently and expectantly talking to God and continued to wait.  There were no words, until this morning.

 

In our devotional reading I was again reminded about how much God loves each and every one us and I got it.  I was veering out of my lane, heading into unknown territory outside of the gift and talent God had given to me.  God gives each one of us gifts and talents and when we attempt to divert those talents into areas not blessed by God for us, it just doesn’t work.  Words do not flow, art does not merge from brushes, fabric does not turning to the latest fashion and songs remain un written and unsung.

 

What God has for you truly is for you.  Silence does not mean that God is not speaking but that my ear needed to be tuned to more closely hear the lesson.

 

Making His praise glorious!

 

Ree

 

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Hope in the LORD

Psalm 27:14 (CEB)

¹⁴ Hope in the Lord!   Be strong! Let your heart take courage!   Hope in the Lord!

Every single day we have the opportunity to walk beside, behind or in front of someone who needs to hear a word.  Today I thank God for the word HOPE!

My hope comes from the Lord.  When there are moments of doubt or fear my hope is in Him.  He  saved me, cleansed me and most of all allowed His precious son, Jesus, to shed his blood for me.   Thank you Father for your messages of  Love and Hope.   Thank you for the opportunities to point, direct and lead others to You!

Making His praise glorious!

Ree

 

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Dead Phone

An early 20th century candlestick phone being used for a phone call. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Psalm 121:3 (NIV)

³ He will not let your foot slip—  He who watches over you will not slumber;

He Never Sleeps  – Don Moen

Last evening I was so busy reading and knitting I neglected to notice how close my phone battery was to dying.  Most of the time I pop it on the charger before the little icon goes dark, fearing a missed text or my turn to move on my “Words by Text” game.  Alas,  not this time, it died. Not just a little, it was totally and completely, now it is a paperweight dead.

Plugged  and tethered to the socket all night and this morning… dead not a flicker, no flash of color or logo, just cold and dark nothing.  Ten years ago, it would not have made one whit of difference that my phone didn’t work, life as I knew it went without hiccup or pause.

Not so today.  In this decade, everything is done with or on my phone.  I write this blog, read other blogs and start my day with several different devotionals from several different email accounts, all from my phone.  Having a few phone numbers stored in my head, I know what a novel idea,  I waas able contact my frequent callers to inform them my current phone/non-phone status.  What has been most surprising is my calm and almost giddy excitement at being unplugged.  Althought what I truly missed most this morning was being able to read those devotionals.   I am fully prepared to be off the tower for a week or two.

This “radio silence”  helps me adjust my attitude, so what the phone is dead, there are more than enough Bibles in varied versions and languages around the house that I can pick up read and fortify myself.  Most important is my acceptance and understanding that while gadgets may fail, batteries die and people occasionally disappoint, God never sleeps.  He is always on the job, always listening and always on time in handling even the most mundane things in my life.

Making His praise glorious!

Ree

P.S. Well, fancy that, the phone just popped on and started charging!

 

 

 

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Joy in the Little Things

Luke 1:14 (NIV)

¹⁴ He will be a joy and delight to you, and many will rejoice because of his birth,

When I completed my most recent scarf/cowl there was a problem well before the last stitch was knit.  No question there was not going to be enough yarn.  So what, I finished it anyway and upon holding it up realized that all it needed was just the right button.  There were buttons in my button baggie, but not “THE” button.  In truth, there are a quite few projects lying about in need of buttons.

I jumped online and longingly perused the buttons at www.woodenbuttons.com.  The button array had be salivating!  This was the place where I would find that gorgeous button that I  could picture finish that piece perfectly.  Knowing my budget limitations I said a prayer and did a little button shopping.

There were toggles, long and short, rounds, ducks, flowers and domes it was almost overwhelming, almost.  I selected a, pretty on the monitor, dark brown wood toggle and a large black disc shell button for a future project.  Then it was time to wait.

Arriving at home on yesterday, I flew to the mailbox, not caring that it was hot and humid; I just knew the buttons had arrived.  Opening the envelope I was not disappointed!  Nestled inside were my buttons, lovely dark chocolate in color, smooth to the touch and just the right size.  My surprise was that there were more buttons in the bag than I thought, it would seem that I neglected to read the fine print (ok it wasn’t fine it was at the end of the sentence! )  These buttons were sold in dozens, so there was definitely more bang for the buck.

We are God’s masterpieces!  He carefully selected everything about us, our eyes, just the right color, that unique edge or speck of color here or there.  He knew that our teeth would set off our smiles perfectly.  The joy that I found in a button for a project, He finds in all of us.

Father, thank you for loving me, one of your unique, flawed and imperfect creations and for allowing the beauty of Your grace, mercy and love to show through and be shared with others.

Making His praise glorious!

Ree

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Frogging Ride

Lamentations 3:22-23 (NIV)

²² Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed,  for His compassions never fail. ²³ They are new every morning;     great is your faithfulness.

I had extremely productive plans for the holiday weekend!  There was a wedding to attend and as I packed my three projects for the ride, I noted the progress of each.  These were not projects that needed to be cast on, okay one did need to be put on the needles but the rest were at least 60 rows in.  I was looking forward to a pleasant ride with my needles clacking their soothing cadence with music softly playing.

Alas, then the car air conditioner and the cd player went out.  No biggie, I could still knit, but that morning I neglected to fortify myself with a cup of coffee.  So not having achieved full wakefulness I picked up the needles and  pattern, allowing my faulty memory to tell me where to begin, I totally neglect to re-read my notes, so I did not include the necessary increases in those twelve rows.  In frustration, I stuffed that project back into the bag and picked up the next “mindless” project. Admittedly, I had already made two minor mistakes that only a perfectionist would have caught, then my coffee deprived mind made mistake number three.

Three strikes and  that project was now out and hastily packed away.  The breeze picked up and I sat and pouted, fussing at myself and trying to figure out what to do.  I did not read the directions again, I did not make sure that I my mind was in the right space to move forward.  Riding home the next day later, I pulled out the project and began pulling out ALL of the stitches.  I’m sure the trucks looking down in the car thought I was knitting, but nooooo, I was frogging!  There was quite a bit of tension released as I wound that sweater back into a ball.

Like life, I am still learning to acknowledge and recognize my errors.  I am resigned to be more patient with myself and others.  Life is filled with constant lessons should we be willing to learn and embrace our mistakes long enough to acknowledge, confess and release them.  Did I not read my Bible that morning?  Had I neglected to find out God’s plans for my day?  Without fortifying myself with the Word, the reading or patterns and directions won’t happen.  Knowing God’s plan for the trip, would have diminished the frustration I caused.  Thankfully, God permits do overs, His mercies are fresh and new every day. I am grateful for the blanket of forgiveness that cover our lives should we be willing to learn and move forward.

Making His praise glorious!

Ree

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God Knits!

Illustrates the definition of a knitting wale, a set of stitches in which each stitch supports the previous one and is itself suspended from the next. This fabric was made using two colors of hand-spun wool from the same sheep, knit using a slip-stitch double-knitting trick; that’s why the alternating red and white wales are half-staggered with respect to one another. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

 

The New International Version of the Bible contains 12 texts that reference the word “knit”.  Not all pertain to the actual act of knitting, but the care for unclean knitted/woven  materials of linen, wool or leather.  Most of the texts in Leviticus spoke directly to the care of material having mold.  Leviticus 13:49-57.

Though I must admit that my favorite knitting text is Psalm 139:13 (NIV) ¹³ For you created my inmost being;  you knit me together  in my mother’s womb.

As a knitter, I choose materials that feel good to my hands, that slide and glide across my fingers without causing hang-nails or raw skin.  I select colors and weights on a belief that what will be produced will not only be beautiful, but will by extension be a reflection of my love and care.   The psalmist understood that God took that same care with him while in his mother’s womb.  I take comfort in knowing that this very same God to the same care with me!  Today I am rejoicing and thankful to be a one-of-a-kind God original!

Making His praise glorious!

Ree

 

I love the idea that God specially selected every facet of my being, that He carefully and lovingly fashioned me to be an extension of His love to others.

 

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No more ..

Sunrise over the Bristol Channel taken from the shore near the coastal town of Minehead in the county of Somerset,England. Sun rose at 05:30, and peeked above the clouds at 05:37, this photo was taken 05:39 BST on 27/07/2008, by Sean Hattersley. (The image has not been adjusted in any way.) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

1 Corinthians 15:20-22 (CEV)

²⁰ But Christ has been raised to life! And he makes us certain that others will also be raised to life. ²¹ Just as we will die because of Adam, we will be raised to life because of Christ. ²² Adam brought death to all of us, and Christ will bring life to all of us.

There was a time not so long ago where life was seemingly devoid of pain and suffering.  Then I woke up, grew up and opened my eyes.  What a joy it is to know that there will come a day when there will truly be no more pain, no more uncertainty and no more fear. Christ paid the full price of my admission to that pain-free, anxiety free future.

Because He lives, we can face buckets full of tomorrows!

Making His praise glorious!

Ree

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