Where is My honor?

Malachi 1:6-7 A son honoureth his father, and a servant his master: if then I be a father, where is mine honour? and if I be a master, where is my fear? saith the LORD of hosts unto you, O priests, that despise my name. And ye say, Wherein have we despised thy name? Ye offer polluted bread upon mine altar; and ye say, Wherein have we polluted thee? In that ye say, The table of the LORD is contemptible.
                                                

Galatians 6:7-8 Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting. 


 
I read this the other night and it reminded me of a quote by Goethe: "None are more hopelessly enslaved than those who falsely believe they are free." 

How often do we discount God's commands, somehow convincing ourselves that God must be pleased with us?  We just chase our fleshly desires and tell ourselves that surely God won't mind.  After all, that would be unreasonable.  We go to church; we call ourselves Christians.  What more does He want?!  Human blood?  Come on!


Micah 6:8  He hath showed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?
"You reap what you sow." Respect the Lord.  Do we think less about God than we do about our significant others?  Do we toss God our leftover time, attention, and resources and expect Him to accept it?  Contempt. 

 Do justly.  Love mercy.  Walk humbly with God.  He comes first. Always. "Be not deceived."  If we don't sow to the Spirit, we ought not to expect to reap life everlasting. "God is not mocked."  
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Thank you for reading! :)  God bless you in your search for truth.

"Winter Storms" in Texas

As you can see, we are snowed in here in Texas. ;) Happy Winter, everyone! 

Learning Crochet: Seed Stitch Dishcloth

    Happy New Year!  I don't know about you, but I'm starting off 2014 on the right foot -- with new washcloths.  My house at school is a little low in that area, and the granny square cloths I made this past summer are less substantial than I could wish. What better use of winter break than searching for the perfect crocheted washcloth?
    My search began with a pretty pattern I found on Pinterest (surprise, surprise...).  It has a sweet lacy look, and you can find the pattern at heldasland.blogspot.com. Still, I really wanted something solid, so I surfed Pinterest some more, found some awesome and overly complicated patterns, and eventually settled on a simple seed stitch dishcloth.  I am still fairly new at crocheting, so I prefer to have a pattern to build on, even for simple stuff.
   Anyway, seed stitch has a nice, bumpy texture, so I feel quite optimistic about its scrubbing abilities.  The pattern makes a small cloth. I made the small one to test, and then a bigger one. Big washcloths are easier to use.  

Above: Big washcloth completed, but weird and crumpled -- I haven't steam set it yet

   I finished my bigger one by going around the edges a couple times with sc's. The general pattern for this washcloth is here, at Suzie's Yarnie blog. :) I expect I will make more of these for my house, since they are super easy and nice.  Plus, washcloths always look better when I've made lots of similar ones. 

Have a lovely 2014!

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Milgita

Meditation

Focus on a single point in time

Focus on a burning spear of pain

Focus on the ground beneath my feet

Focus on a falling drop of rain

Focus on this moment, passing by

Find another, watch it fly.

Focus on what I can do

Focus on what happens now

Focus on the squeak of shoes

Focus on the laws of light

Focus on the swaying trees

Focus on my love for you.

Focus on a lonesome sound

Focus on what God has done

Wonder at his handiwork

Focus on this moment, passing by

Gone before you know it's there

Focus on this moment, now

Focus on what I can do

Don't think big, and don't think small

Focus on this moment, now.

Focus on what I can do

Focus, and then do it.

Old Crochet Love

I like estate sales. Old things are amazing; they have so much more character than new things. :)

Recently, I found a couple old, handwritten crochet patterns at an estate sale.  They came with several crochet hooks and a few unfinished projects.  I fell in love at first sight. :)  Sure, the patterns are kind of vague and lack details, but hey! the handwriting is pretty, and I like challenges.  I'm copying them here with a few pictures I took of them.  

The first pattern, I think, is for a toy...

I'm not sure it has enough detail for me to make it right, but it charms me anyway.

 

 

 

body

chain 5, fasten. chain 1. single crochet to fill in 10 or 12 stitches; chain 2 - double crochet for 2 rows for bottom six rows up.

head

chain 4 join fill in ring

4 rows to go to body.

nose

chain three, fill in 2 or 3 rows

three pompoms for head

 The pattern has a rather vague second page:

"3 for head" seems to indicate the subject is pom poms. :) I guess the last bit means 2 pompoms make legs and 1 makes the tail? There's a part of me that really really wants to give this pattern a shot, even though I really have no clue what result is supposed to look like. :) 

I got a second pattern at the same sale.  This one makes more sense, I think, thought it is more advanced.  It is for baby "booties".  Like the first pattern, it doesn't detail every step.  I haven't been crocheting for very long, so this intimidates me a little.  Still, it is super cute, and the sweetest thing is that it came in a bag with one bootie already completed.  :) It's almost like having a 3D pattern!  And the stitches are SO tiny! 

 Booties

Make 10 single stitches, 1 single stitch, and turn.  Make 8 rows of rib stitching, then add 14 single stitches.  Make 3 rows of rib stitching, then 8 more rows of rib-stitching with stitch ten.  Join in back.  Make one one (sic) row single crochet all the way around.  2nd row around, decrease at corner for five rows. increase at toe for five rows. Then make three rows all around no increase.  Then start decreasing at toe until there are 14 rows in all. Then make seam at bottom.

The final product!!!

Maybe someday I'll be able to make a friend for it. :)

Escape

Escape

Waves crashing, washing over my head

Sweep me away from my fears.

Echoing chords and melodies

Drown out all else.

Music presses against my mind

A satisfying pain

Somehow eases, rubs out knots.

A different world, a rhythmic world

A world of wistful winding harmony

Another language, strange and sweet.

Beauty and wonder

Thank God for His creation.

Thank God for a way of escape.

Break the circles,

Fly away.

Sin

     

    

I've been thinking about a Christian's attitude toward sin.  Should we just not let other people's sins bother us?  After all, it isn't our business!  It's their life!  We shouldn't be haters!  Just live our lives and leave them alone!  Is that a good attitude?  Sure, ignoring sin may be less depressing, but is it right?  Sin is a rebellion against God.  It's extremely disrespectful.  Kind of like slapping Him in the face.  Would you be okay with watching someone do that?  Should that not bother you?  

Alright, I'm not saying you should just go up to the next immodest person or the next drunk person or the next obviously sinning person you see and yell at them.  What I am saying is that sin should be horrifying to us, whether it is lying, taking God's name in vain, being gay, or disrespecting parents.  And not just other people's sin.  Our sins. Only when we realize just how serious our own sins are will we be able to be properly grateful for what God has done for us.  Only when we realize just how serious other people's sins are will we be able to be properly concerned for their soul.

Show love to those around you by being horrified by sin.  Don't let yourself become numb.  It could cost your brother's soul -- and yours too.  Heaven is worth having difficult conversations and making difficult decisions.  Do it.  Show some real love.