Wide Ranging

 Before we dive into this week's devotion, did you see that registration is open for the Grace in the Meadow quilt along? You can register here.

Devotion for the Week...

I don't remember the context of the conversation, but I remember my dad once saying to a much younger me, "You should know everything about something and something about everything." That life philosophy really appeals to me, since I've always been curious about a lot of subjects. I love to read a little about this and a little about that, but sometimes I also love to really immerse myself in a subject.

Growing up, I wanted to be a writer. I spent hours reading about the art of writing well and more hours reading about the writing habits of writers I admired. I could talk to you about the importance of varying sentence length and structure, the value of using simple, everyday words rather than fancy-sounding ones (I despise the word utilize. Just say use!) and countless tips for getting started or powering through writer's block. Though I'm not the bestselling fantasy novelist I once envisioned, I do think those hours learning about writing have served me well in this space 😊

I'm sure I questioned the value of things I had to learn in school, echoing so many others who have asked, "When will I need this in real life?" I've heard it from my own boys, too, and not actually been able to give them an example of when they would need whatever it was they were complaining about. Even so, I don't think I've ever regretted learning something. 

All of that is to explain why I smiled when I read recently about King Solomon's wide ranging knowledge. King Solomon is said to have been the wisest man who ever lived, but I've always associated his wisdom with being about kingly things. How to run a kingdom, how to judge fairly, how to lead others...that sort of thing. Then I read 1 Kings 4:29-33:

"God gave Solomon very great wisdom and understanding, and knowledge as vast as the sands of the seashore. In fact, his wisdom exceeded that of all the wise men of the East and the wise men of Egypt. He was wiser than anyone else, including Ethan the Ezrahite and the sons of Mahol—Heman, Calcol, and Darda. His fame spread throughout all the surrounding nations. He composed some 3,000 proverbs and wrote 1,005 songs. He could speak with authority about all kinds of plants, from the great cedar of Lebanon to the tiny hyssop that grows from cracks in a wall. He could also speak about animals, birds, small creatures, and fish."

As king, Solomon probably didn't need to know about the tiny hyssop plant. He probably didn't need to know much about animals, birds and fish, either. And yet we're told that he could speak with authority about these things. That means he had a deep, working knowledge of them, not that he could spout a couple of random facts while pretending he knew what he was talking about. It sounds to me like God gave Solomon wisdom and a healthy desire to keep learning about the world around him. It also sounds remarkably like Solomon followed the same advice my dad gave me!

God gave us the ability to think and learn. He also created a wondrous, complex and fascinating world, which ensures we will never run out of things to learn. Are we using our God-given ability to learn? Are we cultivating a wide ranging knowledge? On what subjects could you speak with authority? What subjects capture your attention so you want to delve deeper into them, spending hours soaking up every tidbit you can?

Grace in the Meadow - Registration Open and a Finished Quilt Top

Yay! Registration is now open for the Grace in the Meadow quilt along and Easter journey! You can go here to register 😊

Grace in the Meadow is a quilt along and Easter devotion journey rolled into one and I am so excited about it! There will be 40 quilt blocks in a range of techniques, with tutorial videos to help you with any techniques you're not super confident in (yet!). There will also be 40 days of devotions to help us reflect on our need of a Savior and God's amazing provision so we can have a relationship with Him. He is so good to us!

I've been asked if it's okay to join the QAL even if you don't celebrate Easter. Absolutely! Come join in and make a beautiful Spring Meadow quilt with us. Everyone is welcome 😊

There are two versions of the quilt - one with machine applique for the flowers and one with hand embroidery. I couldn't decide which I like better, so I'm making both. Being indecisive can be a good thing, sometimes, right? I have my first quilt top finished in time to share here today. FYI - white quilts are hard to photograph well!

The quilt pattern is called Spring Meadow and you may think it doesn't look very spring-like in these pictures, but it doesn't look as winter-like as usual, either. There have been plenty of times when getting quilt pictures in the backyard required snowshoes, but not this time!

I've used beautiful Northcott solids for this version and I love it! I'm already excited about how the quilting is going to look, when I can get started on it.

I remembered to pay attention to which way was up for the Star Flower and Diamond Flower blocks, but I completely forgot about it for the Small Snowball Flower blocks, which means half of them are turned sideways. It's kind of subtle, though, so I have no intentions of taking apart seams to fix it. We'll just pretend they're spinning around in the breeze, okay?

I'm still waiting on my Aurifil thread to arrive (and send my husband to check the mail on his way home from work every single day), so I haven't stitched around my applique shapes yet. I'll stitch them down with the quilting now. I've done that before and it's a two birds with one stone type of situation, as you only stitch them once rather than stitching around them two separate times.

I think the Teardrop Flower is my favourite of the flower blocks.

I am really hoping my thread arrives before the QAL actually starts (on February 17th), since I'm planning to do the hand embroidered flowers for my second version and it's going to be hard to do that without the Aurifil 12 wt that I have coming.

Will you be joining me for Grace in the Meadow? Registration is here. You'll receive the fabric requirements for both versions as soon as you register so you have some time to gather your fabrics and be ready to start stitching on the 17th. Please share your fabric and thread on social media using #graceinthemeadowqal so I can admire your choices! I can't wait to see what you'll be using!

I'm linking up with NTT, Finished (or not) Friday, Can I Get a Whoop, Whoop, TGIFF and Beauties Pageant.

Rest!

 Devotion for the Week...

I have been disappointed this winter by the lack of snow days. I know most people are enjoying the mild, almost snow free winter, but I am not! Well, the mild temperatures are fine, but if you've been around here any length of time, you'll know I love snowshoeing. In order to go snowshoeing, you need a fair bit of snow; certainly more than the couple of inches we have right now. Aside from that, I love snow days that mean school is cancelled because I babysit for teachers, so when school is cancelled I get a day off 😊 Those are the best kind of days because they're free - I don't have anywhere to be or anything that has to be done, so I'm free to spend it sewing or reading or snowshoeing or visiting with one particular friend who is a teacher (we call those visits Storm Day Tea). Snow days are way more restful than weekends, which are usually jammed full of household chores to accomplish all the stuff that can't get done during the week.

One day last week I read "Observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy, as the Lord your God has commanded you. You have six days each week for your ordinary work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath day of rest dedicated to the Lord your God. On that day no one in your household may do any work. This includes you, your sons and daughters, your male and female servants, your oxen and donkeys and other livestock, and any foreigners living among you. All your male and female servants must rest as you do" (Deuteronomy 5:12-14). 

When I read those verses, I was struck by the last part of verse 14, which specifies that the servants must rest, too. It wasn't a case of God telling the Israelites to rest, while letting their servants (at least some of whom would have been foreigners) do all the work that needed to be done. Nor was it a day of rest for the rich, while the poorer servants continued as usual, getting the work done. Instead, it was a command that everyone take a day to rest. He even specified that the animals were to have a day off!

Obviously, God is serious about our need for rest. Are we?

Living God's way often means living differently. In this case, it may mean embracing a certain amount of 'missing out' since we won't be able to keep up with everything if we're being intentional about resting. At the same time, living God's way will always be to our advantage.