"Is He Worthy?"

Today I listened to a new song.  I'm not sure if it is really a new one, or just new to me.  It was such a blessing!  One of my Legislative Spouse friends shared it with me after hearing it on a radio station.  Yes, He is worthy!  And this song is worthy of sharing.  Praying it blesses you as much as it did me!

Click on this link to have a listen:

"Is He Worthy" by Andrew Peterson

For This Child I Prayed

It is hard to believe it has been forty years since the day I first became a mother.  Back in those days, we didn't have ultrasounds to determine whether it was a boy or a girl on the way, so it wasn't until 4:52am on the morning of January 17, 1979 that my husband and I learned we had a daughter for our first born.

Secretly, I had hoped for a girl.  This would be my only living grandmother's first great grandchild, and I so wanted to use her name as our child's middle name.  God was gracious in satisfying this longing in my heart, and Rebekah Ellen entered the world at the same time as a host of lessons to be learned, both by parent and child.

Looking back over the stages of her life, there have been many opportunities to pray.  Sometimes it has been a mother's prayer for her child, but there have also been an equal number of times daughter has prayed for mother.  What a blessing to know, from the beginning, we relied on God for the wisdom to navigate both smooth and choppy waters.

Today, as I look at her life. . .a beautiful wife, a loving mother, a willing servant of our Lord. . .I am thankful for all the lessons she has taught me over the years.  Just last week I was blessed to be a part of the group of 180 women who heard her speak at a ladies event in her hometown of Williston, ND.  Her message to us was the importance of reading God's Word.

The great grandmother for whom she is named lived to be 100.  For her 100th birthday she was interviewed by our local paper, and was asked what advice she would give from her life's experiences.  Her answer was, "Read the Word, and stick to it!"  I do think she is smiling down on her little namesake for not only taking the advice, but also passing it on to others.

Now this dear child for which I have prayed is busy with four children of her own.  Here she is with her own daughter shortly after sharing with the ladies last week.  "Happy Birthday, Dear Rebekah!  You have blessed me beyond what one could imagine!  Keep smiling, keep loving, and keep reading God's Word. . .it will see us through whatever is ahead on this road we call life.  Love you so much!"❤️

Reading for a Purpose

In 2017 a group of us ventured through the Bible together using a reading plan featured in "Prayer Point" which is a little quarterly booklet put out by Samaritan's Purse.  It is not one of the plans which starts in Genesis and reads straight through from the beginning to the end.  Instead, it starts each day of the week in a different portion of the Bible, so you get a mix of Old and New Testament readings throughout the week.

For example, this week I have read from Psalms on Sunday, Genesis on Monday, Joshua on Tuesday, Job on Wednesday, and Isaiah today.  Tomorrow will be from Matthew, and Saturday from Romans.  The daily assignments are usually 2-5 chapters long, and occasionally up to 7.

Several have indicated they are going to join me through another year of reading through the Bible.  If you don't see my weekly posts of reading assignments, and would like to join us, let me know.  If you are on Facebook, I can add you to our group.  If not, I can feature the reading assignments here on my blog, too.

How can we learn to hear His voice, if we don't immerse ourselves in what His Word sounds like?  And for those who might say, "I don't have time for that," how much time do you invest in things like social media?  We make time for what we feel is important!  Even if you don't want to follow this Bible reading plan, find one that works for you and include it in your daily schedule!  Your life will be blessed because of it!

A Labor of Love

It began as an innocent visit to our local fabric store, Pleasant Pheasant Fabrics to visit with my friend, Tamara, who is the owner.  Something caught my eye in one of the sample quilts she had displayed. . .sloths.  Lots of sloths.  Since sloths happen to be our oldest grandson's favorite animal, I asked her if I could purchase it.  Her reply was, "No, but you can make one!"  This was the first week in September.

Excuse me?  Me, make a quilt?  Yes, I can sew, but making a quilt sounded like a large undertaking.  Especially when she also explained she no longer had one of the fabrics required, so we would have to "make up our own pattern."  Now it REALLY sounded like work!  She told me to bring in my sewing machine and we would start designing, with her as the teacher and me as the faithful student.  Perhaps, I thought, I would be able to complete it in time to give it to him for Christmas.

After first learning the art of "fussy cutting" to separate the smaller sloth pictures from the larger panels, we decided to use two sets of each and came up with this design:

 

 

Some days I would sew in the backroom of her store, and other times she would give me assignments to take home and complete.  I felt pretty good about myself when the two blocks of smaller sloths came together by mid-September.

 

By the first week in October, the top was assembled and we were checking it for size on his uncle's bed.

 

At this point I was already thinking ahead to making quilts for the other three grandchildren and found inspiration in some of the books she had for sale.

 

 

I also had decided on a "favorite animal" theme for each of them, and was happy to find a cute fox material in her store for our youngest grandson.  The other two would be more complex, as grandson #2 likes okapis, and the granddaughter was partial to goats.  Hearing the words,  "You will never find okapi fabric." inspired me to do a Goggle search, and indeed there was okapi fabric at a website called "Spoonflower," as well as some cute goat fabric. 

 

The order was placed, and by mid-October the sloth quilt was on the long arm machine being quilted while I was wondering how many more quilts I could get done by Christmas.

 

 

By the end of October, my first ever quilt was complete, along with a matching pillowcase.  

 

 

Once the "quilting bug" bit, the other three quilts came together like "clock work".  Even with fall being a busy season for me, I had the second quilt top ready by the third week in November, the third one done a week into December, and the fourth one together a week before Christmas.  What a blessing it was when Tamara was also able to have them all quilted in time to get the binding finished. . .with two days to spare before Christmas!

 

What better way to celebrate, than to invite her to join us on Christmas Eve so she could witness the kids getting their quilts and pillowcases.  It was indeed a "labor of love," not just by me, but by Tamara, as well!

 

What's next?  Perhaps a little break from quilting, as we head to Bismarck tomorrow for the Legislative Session.  But I do know there will be more in the future, just "down the road" a piece!


 

Filled With Blessings

Once a year, usually the first Wednesday in November, our church takes on the task of packing shoebox gifts for Operation Christmas Child, a ministry of Samaritan's Purse.  Franklin Graham, son of the well known evangelist, Billy Graham, was the brains behind the idea, which began 25 years ago.  Our church joined the effort in 2001, packing a couple of dozen boxes.  Over the years we have gradually added to the number of boxes packed, and this year our total will be 9 dozen!

Included in the shoebox gifts are school supplies, (crayons, scissors, pencils, sharpeners, erasers, small tablets), hygiene items (washcloth, soap & plastic container, toothbrush & holder, combs), and many small toy items to bring joy to a child's heart.  This year's list includes a small stuffed animal, Nativity foam puzzle, 2 small color books, heart stamper, cross necklace, whistle, bouncy ball, plastic flute, matchbox car & small football for boys, and  jump rope &  hair accessory for girls.  For added pleasure, we include a few suckers, Smarties, and a pack of gum.

The best part about the shoebox gifts is the storybook which is added to each box at the distribution centers.  Written in the various languages around the world, the book tells the child about Jesus and His love for them.  Later, after the shoeboxes have been handed out, the communities sponsor classes similar to our Sunday Schools to teach the kids further.  Upon graduating from the program, they receive a Bible.

As I think about 25 years of these shoeboxes being distributed, I can't fathom the number of lives that have been touched.  I was able to find the following statistics:
  

Since 1993, Operation Christmas Child, the world's largest Christmas project of its kind, has collected and delivered more than 157 million shoebox gifts to children in more than 160 countries and territories.

In 2018, Operation Christmas Child hopes to collect enough shoebox gifts to reach another 11 million children. Nearly 11 million shoebox gifts were collected worldwide in 2017, with more than 8.8 million collected in the U.S.

Now, think about the fact many of the recipients have parents, grandparents, and other family members who also hear about God's love through the gift their child receives.  That's a whole lot of lives impacted!

As someone who has watched shoebox gifts being assembled over the years, my life has also been impacted.  It is a true representation of how little it takes to make a huge difference in the life of a child. 

If you would like to learn more about this wonderful outreach, you can check out their website at this link:   https://www.samaritanspurse.org/what-we-do/operation-christmas-child/

The Process of Participation

The premise of this blog post goes back to April of this year.  At that time, my husband and I journeyed across North Dakota to attend the 2018 convention for the Republican party of our state.  This convention takes place every other year, and is where the party endorses candidates for the upcoming elections. 

After attending, I came away a bit disheartened.  The number of delegates allowed from each district is based on how many voted in the last election.  I don't recall the exact numbers, but I believe District 2 here in the northwest corner of the state was allowed around 80 delegates.  We could only convince 15 to participate. 

Now I realize the political scene isn't for everyone.  It wasn't for me prior to the time my husband got involved in state politics.  As time goes on, however, I realize it is getting more and more important to do so.  When "I don't want to get involved in the process" becomes the attitude of the majority, what rises to power is people who have ideas outside the thinking of that majority.  Think back to our last presidential election, when many of us found ourselves not liking the prospect of either candidate.  This is what happens when everyday, ordinary people don't get involved.

A Scottish philosopher by the name of Alexander Tyler of the University of Edinburg noted eight stages that articulate well what history has shown as a pattern for the rise and fall of the world's great civilizations.  Listed below are the eight stages.  As you read them, think back on the history of the United States and follow through the pattern.

1.  From bondage to spiritual growth
2.  From spiritual growth to great courage
3.  From courage to liberty
4.  From liberty to abundance
5.  From abundance to complacency
6.  From complacency to apathy
7.  From apathy to dependence
8.  From dependence back to bondage

As I ponder this list, I find myself placing our nation somewhere between the complacency and apathy stages, perhaps even inching toward the dependence stage.  Many people just aren't interested in getting involved, and simply want the government to take care of everything for them.

But the heart of a nation is the people.  We are the ones who are supposed to be making our nation great, not any politician.  So how do we change things?  Perhaps by not being complacent or apathetic in our views, and by getting out to vote when the elections roll around.

Tomorrow is the day.  I will be voting.  Will you?

The Old Oak Tree

For the majority of our nearly 43 years of marriage, my husband and I have lived in the home we currently reside in.  The only exceptions were five months in a basement apartment while I finished college in Williston, and another span of less than a year in an apartment in Crosby while our house was being built.  In addition, we also spent a short time "house sitting" for my husband's grandparents who spent time in the winter visiting their son in Seattle, Washington. 

The other day, as I walked past this house, memories entered my mind of our time spent there.  It was a cozy little house, with a large kitchen/dining room space, a living room, a den off the entryway, and bedrooms upstairs.  The main bathroom was upstairs, but there was also a small room by the front door with a stool and sink on the main level.  Under the stairs leading up to the second level was a cute little storage place, which had been a favorite play spot when the grandchildren were little.
 

 

The house has changed hands several times over the years, and several remodel jobs have made it into a different house than when we lived there.  One thing, however, still remains.  The old, oak tree.  They tell me my husband's grandfather planted the tree.  At the time it was one of the few oak trees in our community.  Today it stands tall in the corner of the yard overlooking one of the main roads going through the center of our town.

 



 

 

Earlier this fall, while out walking, I had noticed many of the acorns which had fallen from the tree, and picked up a few to add to my fall décor.  This salt and pepper shaker set actually came from a collection of a sister to the grandmother who lived in this house, so I thought it appropriate the squirrels could be part of the display.

 

 

I also did some research on starting an oak tree from an acorn, and now have a small plastic baggie in my refrigerator which contains some of the acorns in moist potting soil.  They are supposed to stay there for at least three months before the next step of the process.  How fun it would be, I thought, to start a new oak tree using an acorn harvested from the tree planted by my husband's grandfather!

 

On another walk this past week, I took note of the many oak leaves blanketing the ground in the area of the tree.  They have such a unique shape, and I even took a few home with the intent of doing a craft project with them.  As of now, they are still just reminding me of the old, oak tree and the dear man who planted it. 

 



 

Reminders. . .and precious memories.  One can never have too many!