Our Toddler Nature

Devotion for the Week...

Aiden will be 12 in May, so over the last almost 12 years I have spent a lot of time with small children. There have been my own three boys, of course, but also the kids belonging to my friends and the kids I babysit. While the kids have all had their own distinct personalities, there have been some obvious similarities.

1. They all throw fits when they can't have something. Have you ever taken something from a child because they're not allowed to have it? Their little fingers grip so tight you have to pry them off the item in question, and once you take it away they howl as if you actually cut off their fingers.

2. They all take what they want, when they want it. Their sibling has a truck they want? No problem. They'll just snatch it and start playing with it. How many times as parents (or babysitters) do we take a toy from the snatcher and hand it back to the child who had it first?

3. They all head straight for the things they know they're not allowed to have. Whether it's an electrical cord, an older sibling's ipod or a kitchen cupboard, they want nothing more than what has been forbidden. As soon as they think the adult in the room is distracted they make a beeline for it. You can tell they know it's wrong by how they react when they see you coming. They either drop it and try to look innocent or they grab on tighter as if daring you to take it away (see point #1).

4. They all push limits, testing how far they're allowed to go before they actually get into trouble. If you say 'no' to something, but then allow them to do it with no consequences, you can be sure they'll do it again, and they'll push a little farther next time.

5. They all hate to clean up their messes. Spreading toys and books all over the floor is fun. Picking up those same things to put them away is awful, capable of inducing whining, complaining and crying.

Gradually, with plenty of work on the parent's part, these traits are replaced by things like self-control, sharing, patience and responsibility. I find it interesting, though, that toddlers reveal our true nature as humans. As adults, we like to believe that we are good people and, for the most part, we are good people. But we're still people who have the nature of those toddlers, even if we have been trained to behave in a more civilized manner.

The Bible says, "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23), and looking at toddlers we see that this is true. No matter how sweet a child may be, there are always times when selfishness or disobedience shows up. A child has to be taught to share, to follow rules, to consider how their actions affect others.

Even when we are grown, there are times when those less-than-desirable traits show up. Maybe we get angry with God because we aren't getting what we pray for or maybe we're pushing the limits, testing how far we can go before God disciplines us, or avoiding an apology we know we need to make to clean up the mess we made with our words or actions. Whatever the case may be, if we are honest with ourselves, we have to admit that our inner toddler is not completely grown up.

I love the book of Romans. It's a tough book to understand, but there is so much food for thought in there that the effort is worth it. We might be tempted to think the apostle Paul had it all together, that he was perfect in his thoughts, words and actions. After all, he wrote a big chunk of the New Testament and God uses his writing to help us learn how to live a godly life. But Paul struggled too. "I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do" (Romans 7:15). Can you relate? I know I can.

Though we work hard to live godly lives, there is no doubt that we are working against what our human nature wants. Our human nature is like a toddler - selfish, demanding, wanting to explore as far into the forbidden as possible. In short, sinful and in need of Jesus.

TGIFF - And Sew On

I am so excited to be hosting TGIFF this week for my first link up. When I told my mother-in-law about the link party she laughed and asked if I'd be serving tea and sandwiches at the party. Believe me, I would if I could, but cookies not sandwiches. Chocolate chip or peanut butter?

I am celebrating today because I have finally finished my And Sew On wall hanging!

I have had so much fun with this project. First of all, Kristy's patterns are so cute, even when they have a ridiculous number of pieces (I'm looking at you, sewing room block!), and they come together surprisingly well.

Then I started playing with the free motion designs. I tried spirals and wavy lines.

Then more spirals and some straight lines.

Some spirals all by themselves and lots of feathers in the border. I loved this quilt more with each new design.

I didn't know what to do for the sewing room block, so I left it for last. I ended up just outlining everything in the picture because I didn't want to add anything that would take away from the piecing. Unfortunately, I'm still not all that great at free motion quilting along a seam line, so there are lots of wobbles.

I tried to remember to stay more than 1/4" away from the edge while doing my feathers, but a few of them still disappear into the binding.

For the back, I randomly stitched rows of 1 1/2" strips of fabrics used in the blocks on the front, along with a few pieces of the backing fabric.

And yes, these pictures were taken with the quilt laying on the snow delivered by the blizzard that just blew through. Hopefully this is the last of the snow!

While you're here, have you entered my giveaway to win a Craftsy class? Click here if you haven't. Who wouldn't love a free class?

Now what are you celebrating this week? Link up your finishes (and only finishes, please) so we can celebrate with you. Then visit a couple of other links to celebrate their finishes too, and don't forget to leave some comment love. We all love comments! Please include a link in your post so others can find their way back here and join the party.
 

Spring Dreams!

 

 
Welcome to my stop for the Flags on a Stick blog hop! As always, thanks to Mme Samm and our cheerleader Thearica for getting us started and keeping us in line. These hops are always so much fun.

I have named my flag Spring Dreams because we are still very much dreaming of flowers and grass and warm temperatures. In fact, that flag is planted in yet more fresh snow, and we have a blizzard warning in effect for Wednesday night/Thursday. I'm ready for flowers, so I made my own!











I started out by piecing the background, then fusing the flowers. Then it was time to fuse the flower centers. Unfortunately, this wasn't as simple as I thought it would be. The fabric I had planned to use was too dark, so I had to figure out a Plan B. This was the scene in my kitchen after I dumped out one of my scrap bags in search of the right fabrics.

Nothing really struck my fancy, so I taped the flag to a wall in the kitchen and played with different possibilities.

At this point I wasn't liking it much. It felt really flat, like there was no life in it at all. But I didn't have enough time, or inspiration, left to make anything else, so I moved on to stitching around the flowers.

 What a difference a little blanket stitching makes! I'm back to liking it again.

 A dark green binding and my flag was ready for display.

My husband made me a flag holder out of an old railing and a dowel, then I headed out in the backyard for a few pictures. I see more flags in our future as I'm quite pleased with both this flag and the holder Paul made. I think this will find a permanent home in the front of the house once the snow melts.









Everyone shares so much creativity during Mme. Samm's hops. If you've never taken part, head over to Sew we Quilt to get in on the fun.

Don't forget to check out the others who are sharing their flags today.

March 26th

Living with Purpose

Life In The Scrapatch

Devoted Quilter - You are here!

Made By Me In Red

Quilting Quietly

Thanks for stopping by! If you haven't entered my giveaway to win a Craftsy class, click here. Also, I'm hosting TGIFF this week, so come on back to check out my And Sew On finish and to link up your own finish. See you then.