June 30, 2014

Encouraging

Devotion for the Week...

A little over a year ago, when I started this blog, I hoped that having set a schedule for myself would mean I would actually spend time writing. I wanted to be writing devotions, and had plenty of them started, but I wasn't actually finishing anything. I wanted to change that and figured telling myself that I would post one every Monday would be the kick in the pants I needed to get myself working. And it has worked. I will confess that most of my devotions are actually typed into the computer on Sunday evening, but I'm usually thinking about them through the week so that the typing is just a matter of getting the words from my head onto the screen.

Sometimes, though, my thoughts get a little negative, and I wonder if people would prefer I just stick to quilting posts and get rid of the devotions altogether. Other times I wonder if I'd have more followers if there weren't "religious" posts every week. But then I get a comment on one of the devotion posts from someone who says she really enjoys them, looks forward to them even. That encouragement is a wonderful thing, and really motivates me to keep going with the slightly odd combination that is Devoted Quilter. So if you are one of those who have commented, thank you! I appreciate your kind words so much.

Some people are especially good at encouraging others. I've had several friends who were, or are, always ecouraging me. My husband, Paul, is my biggest supporter and encourager. If you're anything like me, being around these wonderful people leaves you feeling like you can do anything. The list of spiritual gifts outlined in Romans 12 includes encouraging, and I think these people are exactly the type the apostle Paul had in mind when he wrote that list.

Some of us, though, are not so good at encouraging others. I've noticed that I don't have that same ease with speaking words of encouragement. I first realized this shortly after meeting my friend Carol while we were living in Igloolik. Carol is one of those people who exudes positivity and confidence in others. She often affirms others, calling to attention their more admirable qualities. Even now when I read a letter from Carol, I marvel at how she can encourage me from clear across the country. I'm the one who often thinks of encouraging things I could have said, except the conversation is over before I think of them.

The Bible tells us to "encourage one another and build each other up" (1 Thessalonians 5:11) and to "encourage the disheartened" (1 Thessalonians 5:14). It doesn't say only those who are good at it should do it. Though it is listed in Romans 12 as a spiritual gift, in 1 Thessalonians there is no indication that this command to encourage one another should only be carried out by those who are especially gifted. We are all supposed to be encouraging others, especially if those others are feeling discouraged or down.

What is your encouragement personality? Does it come naturally to you, so you find it easy to encourage almost everyone you meet? Or are you more like me, rather less of an encourager than you would like to be?

June 26, 2014

Finished Swap Quilt

My Schnitzel and Boo Mini Quilt Swap quilt is finished!

I am so pleased with how it turned out. The quilting in the negative space is my favourite part. The quilt is 24" square, made of four 'Spin Cycle' blocks designed by Gudrun Erla and published in Volume 9 of Quiltmaker's 100 Blocks.

I'm working on a bookmark using some of the leftover solids, so once I get that finished I'll be ready to put this in the mail. Then I need to order the fabrics I have picked out to make a version of this quilt for us, and start stalking the mailbox for the swap quilt made for me!

June 23, 2014

So

Devotion for the Week...


I've been reading through John's gospel lately and one day last week I read chapter 13. One word really captured my attention in this passage. "Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God; so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him" (John 13:3-5).

Do you know what one word I found so interesting? The word 'so'. It's not a big word, but it seems to me to be an important one in this passage. It links verse 3 ("Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God") to the rest of the passage ("he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him").

Jesus knew who He was. He was confident of His place in the world, of His value and significance. Because of that, He could willingly do tasks usually reserved for servants, even though His status was far, far above that of a servant. He didn't need to preserve His dignity by only doing things He considered to be "worthy of His attention" and He didn't need to show others they were beneath Him by making sure they did the menial work. Instead, He went down on His knees and washed the dusty, dirty feet of his disciples.

Were the disciples maybe looking around at each other, wondering who would give in and do this yucky job? Maybe they were each secretly thinking "I'm certainly not doing that!" I'm pretty sure that would have been my response had I been there and realized no servant was coming to take care of this necessary, but unpleasant, job.

And then Jesus stood up. I doubt He made a show of it. I know He didn't huff and sigh to let everyone know He was doing it but didn't feel He should have to do it. He simply stood up, got ready and did what needed to be done. Why was He able to do it without worrying about how it would make Him look, or what the disciples would think of Him if He humbled Himself in this way? Because He "knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God."

When everyone's feet were clean, "he put on his clothes and returned to his place. “Do you understand what I have done for you?” he asked them. “You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and rightly so, for that is what I am. Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet.I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. Very truly I tell you, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them" (John 13: 12-17).

You should do as I have done for you. In this generation, we don't need servants to wash our feet before we have a meal, so we don't literally have to wash each other's feet. But we are expected to serve one another without worrying about our status, our dignity or what people will think of us. How will we be able to do this? When we know that we belong to God, we worry a little less about what people think of us. When we understand that our dignity comes from being created in His image and that our worth has nothing to do with titles or wealth, then we can serve others willingly, no matter what job it is that needs to be done. 

The question now is, do we understand God's definition of our worth well enough to be free to serve others as Jesus did?

June 21, 2014

Free Motion Fun

I've been quilting my mini for the Schnitzel and Boo Mini Quilt Swap and I'm loving it so far.
That partially quilted section is where the bobbin ran out this morning!
First I did stitch in the ditch around all the grey squares and the coloured triangles. Personally, I find stitch in the ditch to be boring work, though it does enhance the overall look of the quilt. I use my free motion foot rather than my walking foot and I'm finally getting better at it. There were fewer wobbles than there have been with past projects. Once that was done I could move on to the fun stuff!

The flower in the middle of each white section is adapted from a picture on the cover of Judi Madsen's book Quilting Wide Open Spaces. I ordered a copy of the book (though it hasn't arrived yet) and the cover photos are gorgeous. The flower on the book has six petals, but mine looked better when I drew them with eight.
I'm filling in around the flowers with pebbles and swirls and I'm thinking I'll leave the grey squares and coloured triangles unquilted so they pop against the more heavily quilted white.
There are two half-blocks on each edge of the quilt, so they're all getting half-flowers as well. I sure hope my swap partner likes lots of quilting!

Last night I had finished for the night, and had the quilt laying on the kitchen table so I could just look at it, when Paul came into the room. He asked if I wanted to make something else for my partner so we can just keep this one! Hmmm, no time for that, but now we're trying to decide what colours we want to use when I make one for us. Looks like there will be a fabric order in my near future. Oh darn!

Are you interested in having me make you a special present? Check out my Craft It Forward post for details.

Linking to Anything Goes Mondays. Also to WIP Wednesday and the new-to-me KISMIT at Modern Traditional Quilts.
 

June 16, 2014

Gifts from Fathers

Devotion for the Week...


Happy belated Father's Day to any dads who happen to be reading!

For Mother's Day I looked at Gifts for Mom, but this week I want to look at the gifts good dads give to their children. I'm happy to say I've seen lots of wonderful gifts given by the two wonderful dads in my life, my own dad and my boys' dad, Paul. Though they both have given good gifts bought in stores, those aren't the kinds of gifts I'm thinking about. And, of course, there's no reason mothers can't give these gifts, but I've seen them especially from Paul and my Dad.

First and foremost, there is the gift of discipline. In the moment, of course, no child likes to be disciplined. The Bible even says, "No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful," (Hebrews 12:11). How true. What that verse doesn't necessarily show is how unpleasant the parents find it when they are forced to administer the discipline. It would certainly be easier in some ways to skip the discipline and just let the boys have their own way, but Paul said back when Aiden was only a baby that he wanted our kids to be raised so we could take them anywhere and no one would ever feel like "oh no, the Parsons' kids are coming over." Since that was the standard that was set, we can take the boys anywhere without fear of how they will behave (though they certainly aren't perfect!), which proves the second part of Hebrews 12:11: "Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it." Correcting their behavior when they were young, setting a high standard and holding them to it, sets them up for success as adults because they will have already learned self control, to treat others with respect and to work hard. Again, the boys aren't perfect (and they're not teenagers yet!), but 'a harvest of righteousness' will hopefully be easier for them to achieve because discipline has already been consistently given.

Next is the gift of generosity. This one is often linked with the gift of sacrifice. The memory of one Christmas gift stands out in my mind. The year I was in grade 10 my tape player broke just a couple of weeks before Christmas, which was awful since I listened to music in my room all the time. My Dad is pretty handy with fixing stuff, so I immediately handed it to him with a request that he get it back in working order. Instead I opened a brand new CD player on Christmas morning. At some point over the holidays, Dad referred to my new CD player as his new rocking chair and it took me a minute to understand that he had taken the money he meant to use to buy a new chair and instead bought me a CD player. Generosity and sacrifice. Dad is generous with his time too. There's a kid in the neighborhood who used to spend hours hanging out with Dad in his garage while the boy's own dad was working. Dad spends winter Saturday afternoons doing woodworking with my cousin, who has Down's Syndrome, which seems to delight Dad every bit as much as it does Stephen. A dad who is generous and willing to sacrifice to give to others shows us daily how our Heavenly Father treats us. James wrote, "Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows" (James 1:17).

My Dad is also very curious, wanting to learn about how things work, how people lived in ages past, what caused the major events in history and anything else that may catch his attention. I remember him once telling me that we should know everything about something and something about everything. When we were on vacation we'd visit local museums and historical sites and we'd stop to read all the information plaques along the hiking trails that told us about the history or the plants and animals of the area. That example of curiosity encouraged me to be curious, to be interested in learning about history and about the world around me, which is something I still really enjoy. The Bible tells us that, as a young man, "Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man" (Luke 2:52). Growing up in the home of Joseph, Jesus probably learned everything about carpentry, but since we are told that He grew in wisdom, I think that encompasses a much wider range of knowledge. I hope that I am still growing in wisdom, and that I will continue to do so.

The last gift from fathers that I want to consider today is one that I saw showing up in Nathan just the other day. None of us are perfect parents. We try our best, but we fall short. How we respond in those moments will have a lasting impact on our kids and Paul is so good about going to the boys and apologizing to them when it's needed. That may seem like a small thing, and there are probably some parents who feel they shouldn't have to apologize to their kids, but I think it's huge. And I know it's making an impact. One day last week I had an awful day with Nathan. He whined and complained about everything, though I don't remember what specifically. The next morning, while I was helping him get ready for school, he looked at me and said, "I'm sorry for being so complainy yesterday." I was blown away. I hadn't said a word to him that whole morning about his behavior the previous day. This was simply his own acknowledgment that he had been in the wrong. Being able to say you're sorry is a great relationship skill, but I think it goes even farther than that. When we are able to recognize that we have done something wrong, something that requires an apology, we are that much closer to being able to recognize that we are sinners, in need of forgiveness from God. And being able to turn to God and ask His forgiveness changes everything.

I quoted this verse already, but I want you to read it again.  "Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows" (James 1:17).  Dad and Paul, I hope you know that we consider you to be two of those 'good and perfect gifts' given to us by God.


June 13, 2014

Craft it Forward

A few months ago I was one of the first three to comment on a Craft it Forward post by Heidi of Red Letter Quilts. I had never heard of Craft it Forward before, but thought it sounded like lots of fun. Heidi was offering to make something special for each of the first three commenters on her post,with the understanding that we would then write a Craft it Forward post on our blogs and make something for three people who comment on our posts.

My present from Heidi arrived today and I love it! She made me a set of 8 coasters in this cute little basket.
 
Am I crazy for feeling like I can't wait to have my cup of tea after supper so I can use one of these lovelies?
 So now I extend the offer to you. If you would like to participate in Craft it Forward, leave me a comment on this post and tell me your favourite colour combination. I'll leave the comments open until Monday morning and then I'll let random.org pick three lucky comments. I'll make something special for you, then you will post about it on your blog and make something for three other people. My offer is extended to all, no matter which corner of the globe you call home. I love the thought of my creations living all over the world!

Have a great weekend!

Update: It's Monday morning and I only have one participant so far that I can actually get into contact with. So, I will leave this offer open until I have three people signed up and then I'll post another update to say it's closed.

Updated again to say I now have three participants, so this offer is closed. I'm off the make some pretty little presents!

June 11, 2014

2014 New Quilt Blogger Blog Hop - Week 2

It's Week 2 of the New Quilt Blogger Blog Hop hosted by Beth at Plum and June! Did you visit all the blogs that participated last week? There were some great introduction posts showcasing a variety of quilting styles. I'm looking forward to visiting this week's blogs too.

Again, it's a long list, but there won't be another list until July 9th, so you have lots of time to get caught up.


Chelsea @ Patch the Giraffe
Elizabeth @ And Pins
Daisy @ Ants To Sugar
Rachael @ The Floral Suitcase 
Jennifer @ Never Just Jennifer 
Alice @ Blossom Quilts
Kelsey @ Lovely And Enough

Megan @ Sew Stitching Cute
Stephanie @ Late Night Quilter
 
 Carole @ Fresh Off The Frame

Camelia @ Camelia Elliott

Nurdan @ Hug a Bit Quilts

Lori @ Sew Psychd

Kitty @ Night Quilter

Christina @ Wips and Tuts


Marcia @ Cozy Capatiller

Jasmine @ Quilt Kisses

Beth @ Cooking Up Quilts
 
 Have fun visiting everyone and making new friends!

June 10, 2014

Swap Quilt

I've been making a lot of progress with my quilt for the Schnitzel and Boo Mini Quilt Swap. In fact, the top is finished.

I love how bright and cheerful it is. My partner said she likes bright colours, so I hope this works for her.

I've spent a bit of time staring at it, wondering how I'm going to quilt it. I'm a little nervous for a couple of reasons. First of all, this is for someone else, and a quilter at that. I want the quilting to be the best I can manage. Second, anything I quilt on those solids is really going to show. There is no colour thread that is going to blend perfectly with all those fabrics and the quilting always stands out on solids. So, I haven't come up with a plan yet. Any suggestions?

Each of the coloured triangles in the quilt top was added using the stitch and flip method, so I stitched a second line and cut off the excess fabric, leaving me with this nice little stack of bonus HSTs.

They all have a seam in the white triangle because of how the original block was pieced, but I still hated the thought of throwing out all that fabric.

I've been playing around with them, trying out some of the blocks from Craftsy's Youtube HST video with Camille Roskelley. There are enough HSTs in the pile to make two blocks, so I think I'll use them on the back of the quilt. Once I decide which of the many HST variations I want to make, that is.

Linking up with Sew Cute Tuesday, WIP Wednesday, Let's Bee Social, NTT Thursday and I Quilt.

June 09, 2014

Witnesses

Devotion for the Week...


Since we moved into our house Paul has been learning a lot of new skills. He has hung drywall, plastered said drywall, painted, rewired the doorbell and changed light switch and outlet boxes. My contributions have been minimal, usually holding things in place as needed. When he started dealing with wiring he needed to turn off the power to certain parts of the house, which meant switching off the right breaker in the breaker box. Unfortunately, the breakers were not labelled. So, my job would be to stand in the room he needed to work in while he went down to the basement and starting switching breakers off and then on again, one by one. When I saw the light turn off, I'd yell out so he could hear me and he'd leave that breaker off, labeling it for future reference. Then he could do the work he needed to do.

I thought of this last week as I read about John the Baptist. John, the gospel writer, said "There was a man sent from God whose name was John. He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all might believe. He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light" (John 1:6-8).

A witness to the light. That was the phrase that made me think of the times I've stood in a room ready to yell out to Paul when he turned off the right breaker and the light went out. Paul needed me to be a witness because he couldn't see the kitchen light from the basement. The people of Jesus' day needed John the Baptist because they were expecting a king, someone living in a palace with servants and royal robes. Though Jesus stood right in front of them, they couldn't truly see Him because He wasn't what they expected. John came to tell the world, to prepare people's hearts to welcome Jesus as the Son of God, the Messiah, the Christ they had been waiting centuries to see.

After His resurrection, but before being taken up to Heaven, Jesus told His disciples, "But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8). Though He spoke to his disciples who were physically with Him at that moment, this applies to all of us who are His disciples today too. We are His witnesses to our families, our communities and our world.

Most of us get nervous about being a witness for Jesus. We think we don't have the right words, or the right stories, or we don't like to speak in public, or any of a number of other problems. But a witness doesn't require any special training. Dictionary.com defines 'witness' as "an individual who, being present, personally sees or perceives a thing; a beholder, spectator, or eyewitness." In other words, anyone who sees something happen. You are a witness to whatever God has done in your life.

A lot of people in this world can't see Jesus. They don't realize He's alive, or that He offers salvation to anyone who believes. They need us to be witnesses, to tell them what we see and know of God. Hopefully then, through believing what we have told them, they will be able to see and know Jesus for themselves.

June 06, 2014

For Pinks Sakes!

 
Welcome to my stop on the For Pinks Sakes blog hop! Anna from Life Sew Crafty is hosting this hop to raise breast cancer awareness and to help raise funds to cover her mother-in-law's medical bills. Her mother-in law, Tina, is now cancer free, but the medical bills remain. If you would like to make a donation to help cover those bills, click here.
Image courtesy of http://www.nationalbreastcancer.org/breast-cancer-facts
While that statistic is quite scary, there has been good news too. According to the website nationalbreastcancer.org "In recent years, perhaps coinciding with the decline in prescriptive hormone replacement therapy after menopause, we have seen a gradual reduction in female breast cancer incidence rates among women aged 50 and older. Death rates from breast cancer have been declining since about 1990, in part to better due to screening and early detection, increased awareness, and continually improving treatment options."

Anna has asked those of us participating in the hop to make a pink block to send to her. She'll be using all the blocks to make a quilt to donate to the Lemmen-Holton Cancer Pavilion in Grand Rapids, MI, where Tina had her treatments. If you would like to make a pink block to send, all the information can be found here. Anna will be doing a giveaway on August 2nd for all those who have participated in some way (making a donation, making a block, hosting during the hop or reposting about the blog hop).

I kept changing my mind about what block I wanted to make, finally settling on this block, from the Sunburst Quilt designed by Lynne Goldsworthy for Dear Stella.
The block was super simple to make, though you may have noticed that I didn't pay quite enough attention to centering the circle on the star when I appliqued it on.

The block uses the stitch and flip method, which I like because it's so easy and accurate, but I find it wastes a lot of fabric. So I stitched another line 1/2" away from the line going corner-to-corner and made 8 bonus HST units.

Though tempted to make the HSTs into pinwheels, I decided to break out of that rut and make these hourglass blocks instead. They are actually both the same size, so I don't know why one looks bigger in the picture.
Check out the rest of the blocks made by the For Pinks Sakes participants:
May 10
May 24

June 7

June 21

July 5

July 19
Sarah @ {no} hats in the house
Katie @ Snuggle Up with a Dish from Karma

Thanks for organizing the blog hop, Anna. I can't wait to see the finished quilt!

June 04, 2014

A Finished Hands 2 Help Challenge Quilt!

I finished my Hands 2 Help quilt, with a couple of days to spare before the linky party ends! The little ones I babysit were sick for a couple of days, which I would certainly never wish on them but it did give me a few extra hours of quilting time.
The quilt looks a little odd to me because the blocks are all around the edges and the middle is just a plain piece of fabric, but I think some little boy is going to love all those machines in the middle.

I pieced the back from two flannels I had in my stash, neither of which was quite large enough on their own. More machines! My three boys all loved big machinery when they were younger. Hopefully this quilt will go to another child who gets excited about loaders, plows, fuel trucks and dump trucks.
 I quilted with a simple meander and had just enough thread to finish.

Then I gave machine binding another go, and finished that with just enough thread as well! Phew!
I'm pretty much a machine binding convert now. This one still isn't perfect, but it is neater than the placemats and my scrappy log cabin (which is finished but I haven't had a chance to get pictures yet). And it feels good to get that binding on so quickly. Hooray for faster finishes!

This is my second finish for this quarter's Finish A Long. You can find my list here.

I'll be linking up with Sarah for the Hands 2 Help Big Reveal, NTT Thursday, I Quilt, TGIFF, Finish it up Friday and with Sarah again for Can I Get a Whoop Whoop.

Oh, and have you seen this?

Craftsy's BIG Summer Sale: Save Up to 50% on ALL Online Classes!
**This post contains affiliate links and I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on my links

Want to learn a new skill or brush up on an old one? Now is your chance! You can save up to 50% off on ALL online classes at Craftsy's BIG Summer Sale! Cooking, cake decorating, sewing, gardening and so much more... all up to 50% off, with some classes starting at just $9.99! This is a sale not to be missed, so make sure you hurry because it ends at 11:59pm MT on Monday, June 9th.

I love Craftsy classes! I've recently started poking around in the non-sewing classes (the cooking ones, mostly) and there are some amazing classes there too.

The 2014 New Blogger Blog Hop Starts Now!

Have you seen the promotional posts for the 2014 New Blogger Blog Hop, hosted by Beth at Plum and June? Well, the fun starts today! There are dozens of us new (and new-ish!) bloggers getting ready to introduce ourselves to the masses. We've been getting to know each other a little, learning so much from each other already and making changes to our blogs to get ready for this hop. I can't wait for my turn to come - on the last day of the hop, which just happens to be a rather special day for me.
Plum and June 
Here's a list of today's participants. It's a long list, I know. I told you there are a lot of us! Don't worry, though. There won't be another list of participants until next week, so you have time to drop in to 'meet' everyone.

Michelle @ Michelle Bartholomew
Jana @ Jana Machado
Yvonne @ Quilting Jet Girl
Afton @ Quilting Mod
Barbara @ Suzy Homemaker
Mary @ See Mary Quilt
Rebecca @ One Wee Bird
Terri @ Childlike Fascination

Have fun and I hope you make lots of new friends.

June 02, 2014

Hidden

Devotion for the Week...

Have you ever listened to Handel's Messiah? My husband loves it and occasionally plays it, usually around Christmas, but sometimes just at random times through the year. Even if you've never heard the whole thing, you probably know the Hallelujah chorus, which is certainly the most well-known part.

Other parts, like All We Like Sheep Have Gone Astray, may be less well-known, but have driven me crazy at times when I'm trying to read my bible. The lyrics to parts of Messiah are taken straight from the bible, though words are repeated, syllables are elongated and it is made to sound much more musical than just reading it straight. All well and good, until I try reading Isaiah 53:6, which says, "We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all." Except my mind reads it as "all. we. like. sheep. have gone astra-a-a-a-a-ay." Click the link and listen. You'll hear what I mean.

Because Paul introduced me to Handel's Messiah, and over the years has played it often enough for parts to stick in my mind, there are sections all through the bible that my mind refuses to read as straight text.

Of course, Handel isn't the only songwriter to take verses from the bible and turn them into song. Just recently Paul read Psalm 134 with the boys and I heard them talking about how we often sing that at church. Sometime after Christmas last year, I read Mary's Magnificat (Luke 1:46-55) and realized the chorus of Chris Tomlin's song My Soul Magnifies the Lord is based on this song of praise by Mary.

Turning Scripture verses into songs is a great way to help people remember the verses, which is something I struggle with. Rather than being able to quote a section perfectly, I often have a vague feeling like, "Doesn't the bible say something like....?" Then I go to Google, type in the snippets I can remember and hope that's enough to get me the full verse. Not the most effective memory verse program!

God clearly wants us to know His word, to have it memorized and at the ready in our minds. Psalm 119:11 says, "I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you." Jesus Himself put this verse into practice when Satan tempted Him in the desert (Matthew 4:1-11). To each of Satan's temptations, Jesus replied "It is written..." and quoted a portion of scripture as a defense against the temptation.

We all face temptation daily. Can we, like Jesus, counter that temptation by saying with confidence, "It is written..."?

Over the years I've learned a few verses by working with the boys when they've been learning them for the children's mid-week program at church, but I've never had a plan for myself. I've wanted to work on this, but had no idea where to begin and, let's be honest, a rather decided lack of discipline. So, while taking a break from writing this devotion, I Googled 'scripture memorization' and found Memverse, an online scripture memorization resource. You pick the verses you want to memorize and then it will prompt you to review them each time you log in. I've signed up, picked my first few verses and will be adding that to my daily to-do list. Hopefully this will help me say, "I have hidden your word in my heart."

Do you have any formal scripture memorization plan? I'd love to hear how you tackle this area of spiritual growth.