The Tatting Continues

Over the weekend and the last couple of days, I have continued to work on the tatting off and on. The bulk of my time is going to the Hardanger Tablecloth (which I will post about later), but my eyes can only take about 3-4 hours of embroidery before they start to feel like live coals. The tatting is much easier on the eyes, but I'm still working on the fine motor muscle development to do that for longer periods of time. In other words, the two balance each other.

With such large amounts of time devoted to hand work, I've had plenty of opportunity to think about why it is that I like to do these things. I can sum it up with two thoughts.

So many of the gentle arts are being lost, and that grieves me. "Lost art" encompasses so much more than hand made lace and doilies. It includes conversation and sharing our lives with others. With a majority of the population plugged into technology, the simple graces of relationships and beauty are fading. When we do gather together, it often seems that we gather around the television or computer. Gifts are bought pre-made with little time invested in thinking about the intended recipient. Yes, I know that the different social platforms allow us to be more connected than ever, but I would argue that those connections are more shallow and largely self centered. I don't want this to become a sermon, but imagine how different it might be if more people put down the gadgets and picked up the tools of creation.

The second reason is a little more personal. In my life, I have already spent too much time in the waiting room--waiting for people to live and waiting for people to die. In those times, the circumstances that you find yourself in are far beyond your control. Often, the only thing you can do is pray.* And while prayer is the most powerful thing we can do in any situation, it does leave the rest of your body antsy and fidgety. Having something to do with your hands is a very grounding, calming thing. It soothes the feeling of helplessness, and gives you a steady point from which to focus your thoughts; not unlike a tripod for a telescope.
In a way, it reminds me of the liturgy used in worship. Liturgy itself is not the desired result, but a means to an end (at least, when it's done correctly). Liturgy, in it's simplest definition (a prescribed ritual) can be a framework for worship. Similarly, hand work in times of stress (or otherwise) can be a type of liturgy to refocus our attentions on the Lord, who is always in control.


*Why being in this position is the best thing for us is matter for another post, elsewhere.

Probably not the post you expected, huh?

Has The Rain A Father?

I love this photo. More than that, I loved standing on our porch as the thunderheads raced across the the sky. Moments later it was raining "pitchforks and hammer handles". Until I came to live in the country, I had little appreciation for the drama of an approaching storm.

Many people, but children especially (and Kirby), are terrified of storms. The girls and I have water music concerts and remind ourselves that the Almighty "has cleft a channel for the torrents of rain, and a way for the thunderbolt." (Job 38:25). That means He knows what it's going to hit before He releases the lightning from his hand. Ponder that for a moment of two. I can never guarantee that a natural disaster won't affect my girls. But I can assure them that it will never be outside of God's control.

Chapter 37 of Job is a wonderful storm passage too.

Here are some of our Water Music songs:
Showers of Blessing
Spring of Living Water
Deep 'n Wide (in spite of it's utter lack of any spiritual significance)
On Jordan's Stormy Banks
Higher Ground
Shall We Gather at the River
Shelter in the Time of Storm
I'll be a Sunbeam
All Hail The Power (Yes, I've explained about the hail)
O the Deep Deep Love of Jesus
Heaven Came Down
My Father Planned it All
It Is Well With My Soul


There are plenty more, but it's not raining now, so I'm having trouble thinking of them. :)

Adler Planetarium

Yesterday, DH and I took some of the kids from my SS class--the ones who had won a contest last fall--to the Adler Planetarium in Chicago (minus one, plus the little sister who went by default of both parents going) . It was a lovely day and we had a wonderful time. We were only able to explore two exhibits, but we purchased a membership and will definitely go back.

We saw two of the shows: the Night Sky in the dome (good) and the 3D Vision: Imagining the Universe (eh). Because we do not believe in the theory of Evolution, it frustrates my children (and me) when it is assumed to be true. Consequently, when the narrator asked if we believed what he had just told us (about the Big Bang) was true, J said "No" in quite a loud voice. He then went on to say that it was true, but they were still "awaiting confirmation". Awaiting confirmation is another name for faith. Hebrews 11:1 tells us "Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen." When you don't have confirmation, according to the scientific method, all you have is a hypothesis, not fact. I do not have a problem with the theory of Evolution. I have a problem when the theory is treated as fact and all other theories are ignored. If someone believed in Evolution, but could acknowledge that it took faith to do so, I could walk side by side with them without hesitation.
I pray that discussing multiple theories with my children will allow them to make an informed choice, rather than simply standing by the only option most children are ever taught.

The Gift of Gifts

The Gift of Gifts

O Source of All Good,

What shall I render to thee for the gift of gifts,

thine own dear Son, begotten, not created,

my Redeemer, proxy, surety, substitute,

his self-empyting incomprehensible,

his infinity of love beyond the heart’s grasp.

Herein is wonder of wonders:

he came below to raise me above,

was born like me that I might become like him.

Herein is love;

when I cannot rise to him he draws near on wings of grace,

to raise me to himself.

Herein is power;

when Deity and humanity were infinitely apart

he united them in indissoluble unity,

the uncreated and the created.

Herein is wisdom;

when I was undone, with no will to return to him,

and no intellect to devise recovery,

he came, God-incarnate, to save me to the uttermost,

as man to die my death,

to shed satisfying blood on my behalf,

to work out a perfect righteousness for me.

O God, take me in spirit to the watchful shepherd, and enlarge my mind;

let me hear good tidings of great joy,

and hearing, believe, rejoice, praise, adore,

my conscience bathed in an ocean of repose,

my eyes uplifted to a reconciled Father;

place me with ox, ass, camel, goat,

to look with them upon my Redeemer’s face,

and in him account myself delivered from sin;

let me with Simeon clasp the new-born child to my heart,

embrace him with undying faith,

exulting that he is mine and I am his.

In him thou hast given me so much

that heaven can give no more.

*from The Valley of Vision, A Collection of Puritan Prayers and Devotions

Merry Christmas to All! My prayer for all of you is that you have better places to be on this Holiday than in front of the computer.

If you share a faith in Christ, then I also pray that in the midst of all of the busyness our celebrations often bring, you will find time to contemplate on the WORD made flesh.

Graven on His Hands

*Until I figure out how to embed music in a post, you're going to have to click here to listen to the song that fits perfectly and inspired the stamp.
Here is the shortest summary of The Bible that you are ever going to get: The Old Testament details Israel's failure to keep The Law, and the New Testament tells how God ensured the fulfillment of that Law through His Son.
In one way, the Law was given, not to impart righteousness, but to make clear that righteousness is impossible apart from God. Christ's sinless life and substitutionary death on the cross make it possible for a Holy God to look at us and see his fulfillment of the Law instead of our sin.
(A person could spend decades in study and not plumb the depths of this truth~but not because I'm that deep. This is, however, a blog post about a stamp and not a seminary course.)

Isaiah 49 is part of God's promise to Israel that He will not nor could not abandon them, no matter how bleak the circumstances might look. In verse 16 He tells them, "Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands". Graven. We're familiar with that word. Carved. Gouged, Cut. Permanently.
In the New Testament, God's promise to one nation becomes a promise to all nations and the promise of salvation is extended to the Gentiles. To you. To me.
We can't obtain it for ourselves (that's the lesson learned from the OT). It's a gift. Although, I confess that I will never understand why God would choose to love me, I have no doubt that He does. The proof is right there "graven on the palms of His hands".
Here are some resources for more on this topic:
Hebrews 9, 10
The Book of Romans
The Goldsworthy Trilogy

Torment

I know that I promised to return Saturday and torment you all, but truthfully, I was hard pressed to find something with which to properly torture you. So I spent the weekend in deep thought and have come up with a plan that is sure to inflict pain on many and may even cause me to lose a few readers. What is my horrible plan, you ask? Hold your breath, 'cuz here is comes. Every so often, I might talk about something...religious.
**Gasp**
NO, say it isn't so!
Is that even possible?
I mean, doesn't it break some cosmic law?

Once the ground stops shaking under your feet, let me take a quick minute to explain and calm your fears.

On the LB message boards, we are very careful to leave all of our political and spiritual beliefs at the door so as not to provoke, offend, irritate, or other wise step on anyone's toes. And rightfully so. However, as a whole person, much of my life revolves around the faith that I have outside of the craft cabinet or the backpack. Because of that, avoiding anything that touches on "belief" has begun to feel like a lie. I am not a schizophrenic, although having an alternate identity in the form of a trailname often makes me feel like it. I cannot compartmentalize my Christianity. So, I'm going to stop trying.
Some of you may know that I have a second blog, called Path of Grace, which is the place where I share most of my homeschool, parenting and spiritually related thoughts. I intend to keep that as it is.
However, you can also expect an occasional post here that touches on my belief in a Sovereign Creator and my relationship with Him through the redemptive work of His Son.
While I am always open to private discussions about these things, I do not intend to turn this blog into a forum for doctrinal debate. The primary purpose remains the same: have some fun and avoid the laundry while doing it. In truth, most of these posts will probably still relate to stamps in some way. All such posts will be labeled "Faith".
I did feel like I should give you fair warning, however. Wouldn't it be fantastic if this came as no surprise to you at all?