February 10, 2025

A Reminder

Devotion for the week...

How's your memory? I often joke that mine is like a sieve 😂 If something isn't written down in my planner, there's a good chance I'm going to forget about it. I know I'm not alone in this. Paul has been known to go to school without his coffee, even though the travel mug is right there by the door where he puts his shoes on, and I have a friend who makes notes in her phone constantly so she'll remember things she needs to do.

It seems Peter had encountered people with the same problem in his day. He wrote, "Therefore, I will always remind you about these things—even though you already know them and are standing firm in the truth you have been taught" (2 Peter 1:12). The things he was referring to were the foundational truths of the faith, which he had already shared in the earlier part of his letter; things like "By his divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life. We have received all of this by coming to know him, the one who called us to himself by means of his marvelous glory and excellence. And because of his glory and excellence, he has given us great and precious promises. These are the promises that enable you to share his divine nature and escape the world’s corruption caused by human desires" (vv. 3-4).

Peter was writing to believers, to people who already knew all of this, but he recognized the importance of repeating the truth, of reminding people again and again of what they believe. Sure, they (and we) already know it, but hearing it again can't hurt. In fact, there are two benefits to reminding ourselves and each other of the truths we believe.

First, the reminder brings the truth to the forefront of our minds again. We may know God has given us everything we need for living a hold life, but have we thought about that recently? Have we let ourselves dwell on it and rely on it? Or have we been struggling along trying to do everything in our own strength?
Reminders help the truth settle into our minds a little deeper | DevotedQuilter.com
Second, the reminder helps the truth settle into our minds a little deeper. If you've heard something once, you may remember it for a little while, but if you've heard it a hundred times you're more likely to remember it forever. Just think about how often we sing the alphabet song with kids to help them remember their letters, or how often you repeat 'righty-tighty, lefty-loosey' to yourself. Repetition works!

Going to church, reading our Bibles, and listening to Christian music are all ways to continually be reminded to the things we believe. I hope these devotions serve as reminders, too!

February 05, 2025

Roman Adventure Registration Open!

This is my fifth year hosting a QAL and devotional journey in the days leading up to Easter. It's one of my favourite parts of the year! I love planning it, I love preparing it, and I especially love sharing it with everyone who joins me, so I'm excited to open registration for Roman Adventure today. Stash Artists members, login to your account for a discount code!
Roman Adventure QAL and Devotional Journey | DevotedQuilter.com

What is the QAL and Devotional Journey?


There are two parts to this annual event. We make a quilt together and we have 40 daily devotions that are delivered straight to your inbox. The fun starts on March 5th (Ash Wednesday) and runs until April 19th (the Saturday before Easter Sunday).

"A meditative journey in Bible readings and quilting that resonates with me all year long!" - Michelle E. about the 2024 Moments with Jesus QAL and Devotional Journey.

The Quilt


This year's quilt is called The Fountain. I love how it turned out! Yes, it's just a quilt top...if you've been around here for a while, you'll know that's a trend for these QAL quilts. Oops! I have to admit, though, I love the stained glass look of the blocks in the picture.
Roman Adventure QAL and Devotional Journey | DevotedQuilter.com
In September I was at our provincial women's retreat when we sang the song Made for More, by Josh Baldwin. I already knew and loved the song, but for some reason that night the line "Why would I make a bed in my shame when a fountain of grace is running my way?" really struck me. In my head I could see a quilt block of a fountain with hearts spraying out of it, to represent the love and grace of our God. Then, a few weeks later, I realized that a fountain quilt would fit nicely with a Romans-themed devotional journey and I was off and running for this design 😊 I hope you love it as much as I do.
Roman Adventure QAL and Devotional Journey | DevotedQuilter.com
The Fountain is a mix of machine applique (or you could do hand applique, if that's what you prefer), traditional piecing, and paper piecing. If you've never done machine applique or paper piecing, don't worry! I have video tutorials showing you both techniques, so you could add a new skill or two to your quilting toolbox.

The Fountain makes a 72" square quilt, which is a generous throw size, perfect for sharing with someone special. There's lots of negative space, too, for some fun quilting.
Roman Adventure QAL and Devotional Journey | DevotedQuilter.com
The QAL is a relaxed one, with plenty of time to make the blocks and to get the quilt top assembled before Easter. We all know life happens, so I try to make sure these QALs have a slow pace so everyone can keep up.

Once you register, you'll receive an email with the fabric requirements and cutting instructions. You'll have plenty of time to shop your stash or visit your favourite quilt shop to pick out your fabrics before our March 5th start. Then you can choose if you want to cut everything ahead of time, or wait and cut for each block as you go. The cutting instructions are labeled so you can easily tell which cuts are for which blocks.
Roman Adventure QAL and Devotional Journey | DevotedQuilter.com

The Devotional Journey


Let's spend a few weeks immersed in Paul's letter to the Roman believers! There's so much packed into this 16 chapter letter. Over the 40 daily devotions, we'll consider things like where we seek praise, trouble in this life, and our love for others. It's my prayer that you'll be encouraged, challenged, and strengthened in your faith as we get ready to celebrate Easter.
Roman Adventure QAL and Devotional Journey | DevotedQuilter.com

"The devotional journeys each day by Leanne were brilliant and I would recommend them to anyone, thank you for sharing your talents with us Leanne." - Paula B on the 2024 Moments with Jesus Devotional Journey

No time for another QAL?


I get it. You might already have a few QALs on the go and there's only so much time. If you don't have time for another QAL in your life, but you're still interested in the devotional journey through Romans, then you can join us for the daily devotions only! You'll receive the same 40 devotions delivered straight to your inbox, with no need to feel guilty about a QAL you know you won't be able to manage.


I hope you'll join me for a Roman Adventure!

February 03, 2025

Shiphrah and Puah

Devotion for the week...

I'm knee-deep in preparation to open registration for this year's Easter QAL and Devotional Journey (it opens on Wednesday!), so this week I've pulled a devotion from the 2023 Women of Wisdom devotional journey. I hope you enjoy it!

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Do you know Shiphrah and Puah? I wouldn’t be surprised if you don’t! I didn’t know their names, either, until I went back and reread their tiny little story. It may only be a few verses long, but it shows incredible courage!

Their story takes place in Egypt, in the time after Joseph. "Eventually, a new king came to power in Egypt who knew nothing about Joseph or what he had done. He said to his people, 'Look, the people of Israel now outnumber us and are stronger than we are. We must make a plan to keep them from growing even more. If we don’t, and if war breaks out, they will join our enemies and fight against us. Then they will escape from the country.' So the Egyptians made the Israelites their slaves" (Exodus 1:8-11). That wasn’t enough for this king, though, so eventually he “gave this order to the Hebrew midwives, Shiphrah and Puah: 'When you help the Hebrew women as they give birth, watch as they deliver. If the baby is a boy, kill him; if it is a girl, let her live'" (vv. 15-16). Human cruelty certainly isn’t new, is it?

Shiphrah and Puah were amazing women, though. "Because the midwives feared God, they refused to obey the king’s orders. They allowed the boys to live, too" (v. 17).

Of course, Pharaoh had to notice when there were still baby boys among the Hebrew slaves, so he called for the midwives and asked, "Why have you done this?...Why have you allowed the boys to live?" (v. 18)

I imagine the two women were shaking in their sandals as they stood before Pharaoh, but they refused to back down. "'The Hebrew women are not like the Egyptian women,' the midwives replied. 'They are more vigorous and have their babies so quickly that we cannot get there in time'" (v. 19).

These two brave women remind me of everyone who worked in secret to save Jews during WWII. They knew their governments were giving orders that were contrary to God’s laws and so they disobeyed the earthly authorities in order to obey God.
I pray that, if needed, we’ll have the courage to disobey people in authority in order to obey God | DevotedQuilter.com
Though we will likely never be given orders to kill innocent babies, we may face situations where we’re being asked, or even ordered, to do things that go against God’s commands. In those moments, I pray that we, like Shiphrah and Puah, will recognize the higher authority and have the courage to disobey people in authority in order to obey God.