Scoffed...

Have you ever been laughed at?

How did it make you feel?

How did you react?

My heart went out to a friend of mine, who recently experienced this situation.   They were being told of another person's ill health.  The person is suffering from cancer and is terminal.  My friend responded that they would pray for that suffering individual.  As they walked away, they heard laughter and someone saying "they are going to pray for him", laughing out loud as if it was a ludicrous thing, praying for the sick,

After hearing this, I was compelled to write what I have learned in my walk with the Lord about scoffers.  I believe every believer will face being scoffed or laughed at, at one time or another, if they are truly trusting and trying to live their life for God.

My first thought went to Job.  Remember how he suffered and was mocked?

• Job 21:14-15 (NIV) Yet they say to God, 'Leave us alone! We have no desire to know Your ways. Who is the Almighty, that we should serve Him?  What would we gain by praying to Him?'

Or perhaps a scripture in the book of Psalms fits it better.

• Psalm 73:11 (NIV)  They say, "How would God know?  Does the Most High know anything?"

I can only imagine what my friend felt at the moment upon hearing the laughter. I'm sure questions started going through their mind. Questions like "Are they laughing at me, questioning my faith?", "Are they really that insensitive?", or maybe "Are they that angry at God?".

My friend continued on their way after hearing that scoffing statement.

It's a natural instinct, for a lot of people, to turn around and tell the person laughing exactly what they think about their rude behavior.  Then there are others who wouldn't waste their breath on them again if they had too.  Needless to say a scoffer does not make very many "brownie points" with people.

So, how should we respond to scoffers?

• Psalm 1:1-4 (NIV) Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers, but whose delight is in the law of the LORD, and who meditates on His law day and night.  That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither - whatever they do prospers.  Not so the wicked! They are like chaff that the wind blows away.

In 1 Peter it tells us to live good lives among the unbelievers.

• 1 Peter 2:15 (NIV) For it is God's will that by doing good you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish people.
• 1 Peter 2:21-23 To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in His steps.  "He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in His mouth." When they hurled their insults at Him, He did not retaliate; when He suffered, He made no threats.  Instead, he entrusted Himself to Him who judges justly.

These verses tell me that we should "turn the other cheek" so to speak.

Give it to God and carry on.

Keep on living for God to the best of your ability, and last but not least, pray for the offender so that they might learn to walk in the light.

Sonia

Simple pleasures

Hi, while driving to Fort Smith this afternoon I thought of a few pictures I've taken in the last week.  The rains have brought on new growth and animal activity.

Black birds enjoying a springtime bath.

Thinking of the pictures, made me think of how life can be when you trust God to lead your life and follow His will.  Each day is a new beginning.  I was also inspired by a Bible verse I read yesterday.

Psalm 16:11 (KJV) Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fullness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.

Beautiful scene on top of a hill on Hwy 309

Another pretty scene on Hwy 64.

These pictures depict one of the simple pleasures of life ~ enjoying God's beautiful creation.

Hugs,
Sonia

Have a blessed Sunday

Have a blessed Sunday!

Hugs,

Sonia

He is not here...

Hi, I trust you had a blessed Easter.

I have to say, I was blessed by The Glory of Easter program my church did this weekend.  I walked away from it, knowing that because I know Jesus Christ as my Savior, my life is a celebration no matter my circumstances.   This is something that I tend to forget sometimes.

I think in my last blog I mentioned a watercolor I was going to start.  I started it yesterday morning and finished is late this afternoon.  It is inspired by the Easter holiday.

Have a great week!

Hugs,
Sonia

Overcoming a glitch...

The first signs of our veggie garden are beginning to show.  My husband started seeds for the garden and today we noticed they are up and have vented the top of the seed starter tray.

We have cabbage and iceberg lettuce.

The beets and basil have started too.

I think they will do well.

I was needing a single vase a week or two ago and didn't have one.  I was at a flea market last week and found this pretty vintage milk glass bud vase.  It is diamond cut in the pineapple pattern.  

I finally finished one of the small quilts I've been working on.  It didn't happen without a glitch though.  Here's the quilt finished.

.

Here's the glitch.  I had to stop and have some repair done on my machine.  I was sewing along and then the casing that holds the needle just dropped out of the machine.  

Thankfully my needle was not broke or bent, amazingly.

So that's Monday for me.  It started good, had a glitch, then ended good.  

Isn't that how life goes?

Everything is going along good, then a glitch happens.  How you overcome that glitch depends on how you face it.  In the case of my sewing machine, I turned to my husband.  I have never had my machine do anything like it.  He repaired it, and showed me what I need to do if it ever happens again.  I am now prepared  with the knowledge and the tool to take care of it next time.   

But what about bigger things in life?  How do you overcome glitches then?  I personally rely on my relationship with God.  I search my heart and pray asking God to reveal what I should do, and at some point, either through discernment or Scripture, I know what needs to be done or what to expect next.  These verses sum it up nicely.

Psalm 16:8-11 (NIV) 

I keep my eyes always on the LORD.  With Him at my right hand, I will not be shaken.  Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will rest secure, because You will not abandon me to the realm of the dead, nor will You let Your faithful one see decay.  You make known to me the path of life, You will fill me with joy in Your presence, with eternal pleasures at Your right hand.

Hugs, 

Sonia

Free

This is the day which the LORD hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it. ~ Psalm 118:24

My weekend end started out great, though I'm still trying to get over a major sinus cold.  I haven't felt as good as I do, spiritually and emotionally, in a very long time.    One word to describe how I feel.... FREE.

I've been able to catch up on some things. 

Here's the butterfly wall hanging.  I finished it today and practiced my free motion quilting on it.

My free motion quilting isn't pretty, but the more I do it, the better I will get.

We have cold weather moving in Tuesday night and the black birds have been gathering in droves.

Seeing all those birds prepping for the cold, made me want to bake.  I guess you can say I've been doing a little nesting of my own.  Anyway I baked some cookies.  Lemon cookies to be exact.  The recipe was on the side of a lemon cake mix.  They are yummy with a lemony drizzle on top.

One of the challenges I have set for myself this year is taking the antique and vintage blocks I have collected over the years and put them together into quilts or wall hangings, depending on how many blocks are in each set.   Here are the latest blocks I have acquired.  They are octagon in shape.  These blocks were all hand pieced and scrappy.

I have searched for this block on the internet and have had no luck on the name for it.  Tomorrow I will look through two books I have that document quilt blocks from the 1800's forward.  I hope to find it in one of them.

Do you know what it's called?

Sonia

What is it?

My day started out rough with headache, sick stomach, and feeling achy.   Still not doing so well, but thought I'd write a little, instead of going back to bed, since I've already spent several hours in bed. I need to sit up for a while.

I accomplished my last goal for 2015 at 5:40 a.m on December 31st.

I have set one goal so far for this year and have started on it.  I am going to read my Bible all the way through again this year but using a different format and taking more time with it, answering the following questions as I go through the passages.  I got these questions from the Bible study notes in my Bible.  Feel free to use these in your personal Bible study.

1. What is the main subject?
2. Who is revealed?
1. Who is speaking?
2. Who is being spoken about?
3. Who is acting?
3. What is the key verse?
4. What is taught about Jesus Christ?
5. Does the passage reveal any sin for me to confess or forsake?
6. Does the passage reveal a command for me to obey?
7. Is there a promise I can claim?
8. Is there any instructions for me to follow?

I may not be able to put an answer in for each question on every passage I read, but it is a good guideline for me to follow.


Okay, let me share with you a couple of things I have received in the past month.

At the last quilt guild meeting (the Logan County PieceMakers quilt guild Christmas party) I recieved blocks from all the members that were present as a thank you for being president for the past two years.  This was a true blessing to me and I have to say the group is a great bunch of people to be involved with.  I am going to take the blocks back with me to this month's meeting and ask everyone to make sure their blocks are signed and dated for me.

One day my husband gave me this.   "What is it?"

How cool is that?











The pen writes good, it is ergonomic so that my hand doesn't cramp when doing a lot of writing and the refills are stick pen cartridges.  I think it is just pretty cool.

This weekend I had planned on doing a winter wall hanging of swirling snow for my cubicle.  Yesterday I did a water color of it first to see if that is really what I wanted to do and decided I wanted something more substantial for the wall hanging.  So I decided to do a landscape winter scene.  I hope to have something so show of it soon.

Have you started a new project this year?

Sonia

ZAP!

UGH!  Static!

You know when you have static, hair standing on end or sticking to your face... well I had both today along with snaps and shocks every time I touched anything from plastic to metal.  No sliding or shuffling of feet needed, just minding my business and ZAP!

My drawing to picture it

On the way home this afternoon, I saw the moon low in the sky, hanging there like a big white agate. So when I got home I took a picture.

This morning, in my Bible reading, I read about Paul and Silas, being shackled deep inside a prison.  They prayed and praised the Lord as they were there and then the earth began to quake and all the prison doors and shackles came loose.  (Acts 16:16-40)

Then I heard a song on the way to work that spoke about praising until the shackles fall off.   I thought okay, there's got to be something there for me.  So when I got to work I used the sticky notes app on computer and made a sticky note to remind me to praise the Lord until the shackles fall off.

Hugs,

Sonia

Beauty

My devotional this morning spoke about worshiping the Lord in the beauty of holiness.  It told that all true beauty reflects some of who He is.   I know that it was speaking to His work in our life to clear all the clutter and debris that gets in the way of our walk with Him, but on the way to Little Rock later in the morning to see my dad, I saw a scene that brought back to me what I read.

I didn't have my camera with me, but hopefully I can describe it in a way you can picture what I saw.

As we drove east, the sun just up a few hours, I saw a few black and white cows in a pasture, speckled with green, tan and brown of the autumn changes in the pasture grasses.  The pasture was bordered to the south by a wooded hill. The hill was a beautiful patchwork of the yellow, orange and red hues of the hard wood trees, mingled with the evergreen of the cedars and pines.

Then later today, as we made our way home, the sun was setting in the west lighting up the clouds.  They were so vivid orange and red against the blue sky.  I was driving, so I asked my husband to send a text to our daughter to try to get some pics for me and she did.  Pictures don't do the true scene justice but you can see that it was a beautiful sunset.

to the south

in the west

The beauty I beheld today in God's creation, helped me to remember He is the Creator of all, the One who gives and takes away.  It reminded me that no matter what happens in my life, He is in control and no matter how hard I try to figure it all out or try to fix or take care of things on my own, I can't do it without Him.

An update on my dad:  He awoke today after sleeping basically for the past three days.  He spoke very clearly and repeated over and over that he wanted to go home.  He now has tremors, like you see in Parkinson patients. When he was moved to Little Rock, UAMS discovered he was given a medicine at the facility in Clarksville that seized him up to where he had no movement. They made sure he was not given any more of it and have been monitoring him to know when it gets out of his system.  The tremors are a result of the wrong medication.  Hopefully he will recover from it.  Before all this, he was on the way to recovery physically, able to take a few steps, to hold his spoon, to sit up on his own again... he was beginning to have more days where he was clear minded and then Smack!, he is hit with something else because of a misdiagnosis on medication. Mom is suppose to talk to the doctor on Monday and the case worker.  They (UAMS) are trying to find a place closer to home that can help dad and be able to take care of him.  

I thank all of you who have kept my dad in your prayers and I ask that you please continue to pray for him and please pray for my mom as she goes through each day with dad in the hospital. Staying with someone in the hospital takes a toll on a person, physically and emotionally.

Until next time,
Hugs,
Sonia

Just in time...

The other day I saw dandelions and thought "so the war begins, between weeds and man."  But that thought was quickly overtaken by the other signs of Spring.

Like this cute little squirrel scampering about.






Then these little beauties bloomed just in time for Easter.                                  






New blooms, new life.

Like when you believe in Jesus Christ.  Your life is renewed, you are made new in Christ.

Take time to remember the reason we celebrate Easter.  It's not about the bunny, the colored eggs, or those cute little peeps.

It's about the Son of God, Jesus Christ.  Who loves us so much He sacrificed His life on a rugged crossed. Who died for our sins.  Who laid in a tomb for three days, then conquered death, rising again completely justified.

It's all about the resurrection of Jesus Christ and the great thing is, He's coming again.   Are you ready?

Hugs,
Sonia

Oh My!...

I went to my fabric cabinet to get scraps for a few English paper pieced flowers. I opened the cabinet, pulled out a tote filled with fabric scraps, opened it up to find I had put felt material in it and had moved the fabric scraps to another tote.... Oh my!  I searched and didn't find them.  I was on the phone with my Mom and told her it was going to take me longer to find the fabric scraps than it would take to hand sew the flowers.

After I found the fabric scraps, in a bigger tote than the previous one, I decided to make a list of where everything is in my cabinet.

So, now that I have that addressed I can focus on the paper pieced flowers.  They will be appliqued to the small quilt I've been working on.

I'm in the middle of rearranging my sewing room too.  I have moved the t.v. and the small cabinet it was sitting on out of the room and moved the Yarn dresser and the quilt rack.  Now I need to move the sewing tables.  I plan to keep them on the same side of the room but will rotate them so that lengthwise they will be going north/south instead of east/west like they are now.  By rotating the tables in the new position I will be able to have both of my active sewing machines set up at all times and I think I will have room for my serger too.  This will create a more efficient and productive environment.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I've said it before and I'm going to say it again.  I'm so glad Spring is here.  :)

There are blooms everywhere.  All the daffodils in my flower bed are now bloomed.  I think the reason I like them so much is each year when they bloom to new life, it makes me think of how my life became new when I trusted in Jesus Christ as my Savior.  

Here are some shots I've taken in the past few days.  The days have been overcast so the color of the flowers and trees blooming gave the gray days some cheer.  :)

this stem was laid over, so I cut it and put it in some water in this little bottle.

hyacinths among the dead winter grass

  

new growth on the climbing roses

  

My Walk

Just a note to let you know I've updated the My Walk page.

To you all, may the Lord give you peace and happiness this week.

Hugs,
Sonia

Thursday Favorite

With Valentine's day coming up, I thought I share my favorite with you.

DAVID!  

He is my husband and my best friend on this earth.  We have been together close to 26 years.

I haven't found a card good enough for him or a gift, so I began to write.  Pray that I get it done in time.

Since David does most of the cooking, I told him I would cook on Valentine's day and asked him what he would like for a meal.

So, I will be cooking pork country fried steak, mashed potatoes and gravy, some veggies (not sure what kind yet) and probably some biscuits.   I've never made the country fried steak, but I found a recipe and think it will be good.  If it turns out, I'll share it with you later.  :)

Here's wishing you a great rest of the week and a Happy Valentine's day!

Sonia

Update...

Hi everyone... it feels like it has been a while since I last blogged.... another week with long hours at work.

The leaves are beginning to change here in Arkansas more than the last time I wrote and I think this weekend will be the weekend to get pics of the color change.

I have updated My Walk.  Check it out.

I'm wore out and ready for bed so I'll say...

Good night and sweet dreams!

Hugs,
Sonia

Chopped Off...

After another long week, last week, it was nice to find out the day I requested to take off next month was approved.  It is my last personal day off with pay for the year.  It was getting to the point of either use it or lose it.  So I am going to use it.  That is something to look forward to, in addition to the paid holidays coming up.

I'm thinking of starting a block of the month or a mystery quilt to share on my blog, but I need to do some research before I dive into it.  I hope to be able to post it each month for others to participate in and show off their finished quilts when we are done.   I have thought this might be a good project for the guild I attend too, but again, I need to research it all before I present it.

I'm letting my hair grow out again.  It got to the point it was beginning to bother me and one day I got up from a nap and when I looked in the mirror, I pulled my bangs down and chopped off about 2 inches.   So last week, I went to the beautician and asked her to trim it up, straighten it up and thin it out.  It was getting pretty unruly, so she cut in a lot of layers like a shag haircut.  I'm happy with it, I can usually just blow it out, after washing it, and run a comb through it and it looks fixed.

Last night we had three baptisms at church and I saw a friend I worked with for 20+ years.  It was good to see her.  I haven't seen very many people I worked with at my previous job since I started working in another town.   Then today, in two different stores, I saw three more people I either use to work with or had connection with through my last job.  Then this evening, at two different stores, I saw family members I haven't seen in a few months.   Truly a blessing.

As my family and I were on the road this evening, David was driving, and I was able to take a pic or two.

I got this picture of this old house as we drove by.  I honestly didn't know if it would turn out as we were picking up speed as we went by, and I was turned towards the back of the car with my window rolled down trying to get a picture.  I think it turned out pretty good though.

I've updated the following tabs today.

• My Walk
• What Is It?
• last week's may have been unfair as it was of something we don't see very often, and hopefully this week's pic will be easier.

Hugs,
Sonia

Nip in the air...

Hi, it has been a beautiful week thus far ~  cool breezes and sunshine.  When I stepped out this morning, there was a nip in the air and I thought Autumn is truly here.

micro soft clip art

I've updated the following pages.
- What Is It?
- My Walk
- Giveaways

Have a great rest of the week!

Hugs,
Sonia

Quilts and more

Earlier in the week, Thursday to be exact, a storm blew through.  After the worst part was over the sky had a orange hue.  I stepped outside to take some pictures and there a beautiful rainbow was in the eastern sky.  My camera didn't pick up all the colors, but it was beautiful none the less.  The sky continued to churn and lighting continued to snap.  Here are some of the pictures I took over about 20 minutes.

Yesterday morning, I stepped out to check the Autumn wreath I had just put on the front door and noticed a bee, of some sort, going from flower to flower.  So I came back inside, got my camera and went back out to take pictures of him at work.

I've updated the following pages.  Check them out.

• My Walk
• Giveaways, Etc.
• Quilts

Have a great week!
Sonia