Today some catching up to do

Here are some photos of Megan's quilt - quilted all over with "Deb's Feathers" pattern (Designed by Deb) on the Statler machine. A stunning "Stack and whack Quilt".

Michelle had her graduation from USQ (nursing) on Saturday. Here is a photo of the flowers sent to her by her aunt and uncle.

1. Rejoice always;
2. Pray without ceasing;
3. In everything, give thanks (for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus);
4. Do not quench the Spirit;
5. Do not despise prophetic utterances;
6. Hold fast to that which is good; and
7. Abstain from every form of evil.

It occurs to me that, if I held up every decision / word / action / thought / deed against these seven premises; if I inspected every possible motive against these godly characteristics, I'd more easily align my life with the truth of God's word.

Rejoice always. Regardless of circumstance or situation. Not "be happy," but rejoice!! I can rejoice no matter how sad or angry I am feeling, because God is sovereign and He is in control. And I know that He has a purpose.

Pray without ceasing. Communicate with God continuously! Remembering, of course, that communication is a two-way street. I've got to _listen_ to God, as well as talk to Him.

In everything give thanks! (emphasis added) EVERYTHING! How? By faith. Why? Because it's God's will for me to do so! How can I become embittered, or prideful, or envious, when I'm thanking God for His good & perfect will, in everything?!

Do not quench the Spirit. Don't ignore that inner prompting, that still, small voice. God's Holy Spirit directs and guides our steps on that narrow path. Ignoring that prompting hardens our hearts, and our ability to hear that voice, effectively quenching the Spirit. God says, "Don't do it."

Do not despise prophetic utterances. Good gravy, what?!? First of all, what are utterances, and how do we know if they're prophetic? Utterance is the act of uttering; vocal expression. Prophetic would refer to the ability to foretell events, by supernatural intervention. In other words, when a child of God comes to you in a spirit of love, and points out that a behavior of yours *will have* damaging consequences, don't despise the utterer. Rejoice that God has seen fit to warn you of a behavior or choice which does not line up with His will!

Hold fast to that which is good! One Scripture perfectly defines this command: Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things. Philippians 4:8.

Abstain from every form of evil. I think I prefer how the King James Version translates this particular point. Abstain from all appearance of evil (the emphasis is mine). Don't even allow your actions to mimic or to appear as if you were doing evil. No only must we guard against doing evil, but we need to guard against our actions appearing evil to others. Especially non-believers, and babes in the faith, so as not to damage our testimony, nor to hinder theirs.

1 Thessalonians 5:16-22. A beautiful synopsis for living a Christ-centered life.

Selah!

Art Nouveau Gets a Background

This morning I worked on a framework for the background panels. My plan would be that the Block of the Month design would start with these outside sections, with the inner frame and the figure coming last. Each panel will feature a flower, eg, rose, lilly, vine, nasturtium. I still have to address the flowers in the foreground panel, but I think they might overlap and tie in with the outside panels.

This design process is quite intensive, but I am finding that when it comes time to actually make the quilt it goes quite quickly as a lot of the decisions about fabric tone and value have been made already.

I'm working on an entry for the DUQ Calendar competition as well at the moment, but I can't publish any photos of it til after the competition so it will have to be a surprise. I have been using this same method and I pieced the quilt in a weekend, but of course it is a much simpler project, and smaller, too. Quite different - much more contemporary.