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In God’s Time

The hourglass block represents an hourglass, keeping time for us. One grain of sand at a time.   

4 Hourglass blocks for the Seeds of Love quilt
Hourglass blocks are made with four-patch units and Half Square Triangle units

Although an hourglass may not have perfect timing, God always does. Always.

It’s what some people might call coincidence. Serendipity. A fluke.  

For still the vision awaits its appointed time; it hastens to the end—it will not lie. If it seems slow, wait for it; it will surely come; it will not delay.  Habakkuk 2:3 ESV

But I don’t believe in coincidence. My faith tells me it’s God at work.

Let me tell you what happened while working on this project. 

I was discouraged.   (That was the enemy and an enemy at work)

My quilting projects were hitting a standstill. I was indecisive about colors and overwhelmed by the tasks at hand. My piano compositions sounded stale, and my writing had gone into dribble about nothing.   

seeds of love quilters journey coming soom

Registration is now open for the Seeds of Love 2023 Quilter’s Devotional Journey.

My creative life needed encouragement, in particular in my writing.   

A seed of discouragement was taking root!

Even though writing has been a dream of mine since I was a child, that seed of discouragement had me thinking I was chasing what didn’t belong to me.

I usually write in my journal at a time like this, but my brain was too tired and weary for a journaling exercise. 

So instead, I picked up a book by Max Lucado and began reading where I had left off a few nights ago.

These are the words that caught my attention.

“You can do this. Do not shrink back. After all, you are an ambassador of Christ. … You are a child of God. Would a child not speak up for his father?”

Max Lucado, How Happiness Happens, page 128.

(Have I mentioned God’s timing is perfect?)

That’s what I was ready to do. Shrink back.   

 I didn’t believe I had what it took.  

When I read those words, all the discouragement faded and was replaced with a good dose of encouragement. 

But God knew. He knew I’d need encouragement on this particular day. He placed a book in my hand at just the right time.

Coincidence. You can call it that. But for me? I trust that God knows what we need when we need it.  

Until next time, enjoy your day and the journey

Adele

Sharing God’s love through creative works.

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Why God, did you answer THIS prayer?

Today I asked myself why I wanted a dog and why God answered this prayer. I mean, I have plenty of other prayer requests!

The answer? 

Life lessons.   

There is a lot a pup can teach you about life and how to treat others.  

First off, we’ve been humbled.

When we decided to get another pup – we knew there would be some difficult times. But we assumed, with our experience with dogs, it would be a cakewalk.    

Penny is a challenge. Teaching us, we still have much to learn about training a dog. 

seeds of love quilters journey coming soom

Registration is now open for the Seeds of Love 2023 Quilter’s Devotional Journey.

Second? Don’t focus on the past.

I’m fighting this new routine with Penny.  

 Patience 

Darcy was trying to teach me patience – apparently, the lesson hasn’t stuck! And patience is the key with a puppy.

And is a segue to the next. You tend to raise your voice when you lose your patience. It doesn’t work with people or a dog!

Keeping the Peace

Darcy, at times, was a handful and could be as stubborn as a mule! Raising my voice didn’t help…at all.  

Proverb 15:18 applies to our pups too! “… a calm spirit keeps the peace.”

It takes time! All good things do.

I forgot all that when this new puppy came into my life. I had high expectations that she’d learn perfect behavior overnight. We don’t. Why do we think our animals will?

After three weeks with Penny, I’ve had more than a few frustrating moments.  

But the progress she’s made is incredible! A little patience, a calm spirit, and letting her be the awesome dog she is, has helped.

Why did God give us Penny?

Because there are things we still need to learn!

Weaving Fabric With Faith

I know this is a jump from fabric and faith…but I promise, my blog isn’t going to the dogs! Penny is part of our life and will be woven into my posts here and there.  

The next installment of the Seeds of Love Quilter’s Devotional Journey will be published Saturday. (May 27, 2023) 

If you haven’t joined, I hope you will!  

seeds of love quilters journey coming soom

Registration is now open for the Seeds of Love 2023 Quilter’s Devotional Journey.

Until next time, enjoy your day and the journey

Adele

Sharing God’s love through creative works.

Pattern Shop

Fear Not – My little One

It was Monday, the 6th day of our journey with our new pup, Penny. And I sat at my desk with tears streaming down my face.

This isn’t the way it’s supposed to be…

I was questioning whether or not our new fur baby was the right for us. I was even pondering the unthinkable – bringing her back!

I pictured long walks on the road.

Penny, on the other hand?

She prefers climbing over rocks and exploring the woods. Not my idea of fun.

We also had the unfortunate incident of a car whizzing by…fast – loud. Very, Very, frightening for a little pup! Now she’s terrified of cars and the road.

On this particular day, she was extremely obstinate. Getting her back into the house after being outside proved challenging.

seeds of love quilters journey coming soom

Registration is now open for the Seeds of Love 2023 Quilter’s Devotional Journey.

So I prayed

Lord help us be better puppy parents. I also added – help my Penny girl be more obedient.

As soon as the prayer left my lips, I sensed the Lord found it amusing!

Because you know? That is what he wants from us.

He wants us to trust and obey.

That’s all I want from Penny too. To trust that I’m not putting her in danger. To listen to me when I call her name.

I want to help her overcome her phobias so she can live her life happily. And live it to the full.

As I think about these things, I can’t help but pause.

It’s what God wants for us.

To live our life to the full. Abundantly. And free of fears that hold us back.

Until next time, enjoy your day and the journey

Adele

Sharing God’s love through creative works.

Pattern Shop

God Mends Your Broken Dreams

What do you do with something that’s broken? Mend it – fix it or toss it? (I’d probably toss it!)
But God?

God creates from it. He will take a broken dream and discouragement – and create something new from it.

For instance, I had a best-selling pattern, with nary a complaint. People were lovin’ it.

Until one day…

It all came to a screeching halt with a devastating review.

I hung my head in shame. After all, the pattern in question did have a glitch. One I quickly corrected!

But, my confidence was torn to shreds. I came close to quitting what I’ve found enjoyment and purpose in.

I had big plans for the new quilter’s devotionals! Like this one ~ it almost got shoved back into the desk.

seeds of love quilters journey coming soom

Registration is now open for the Seeds of Love 2023 Quilter’s Devotional Journey.

Yes, I could quit.

And give up this crazy notion of quilter devotionals. Believe me – I was tempted.

Or… I could take this dream that looks broken and bring it to the Lord for mending.

The months ahead were spits and spurts of enthusiasm followed by weeks of discouragement.

God is good.

He didn’t let me stay in that broken place of discouragement – instead, he ignited a fire of passion for writing and this series.

Don’t give up on the broken “dishes” (aka dreams) in your life. Give them to God for mending.

Until next time, enjoy your day and the journey

Adele

Sharing God’s love through creative works.

Pattern Shop

Don’t Miss The Bliss!

Have you ever gotten so caught up in the stuff of life that you miss the bliss?

You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.  Pslam 16:11

That was me recently…

I ended my journaling time with, God, what do you want from me today?

Next? I opened my devotional.

This is basically what my devotional said.

Stop complaining. “I am the author of your circumstances.”

Well, what would you do?

I stopped complaining. But I’m human, and that didn’t last long.

Fast forward a few days later. From my perspective, nothing was going the way it should. Even my sewing projects felt more like chores than joyful creations. I was ready to give up!

seeds of love quilters journey coming soom

Registration is now open for the Seeds of Love 2023 Quilter’s Devotional Journey.

I remembered my devotional from earlier this week, so my new mantra was this:

“God, since you are the author of my circumstances, can I have a rewrite? Could we end this chapter or turn the page?”

I sounded like a broken record…change the page…author me a new chapter…grumble, grumble. Can you picture it?

And then something remarkable happened….

No, God did not suddenly transport me into a bubble bath that lifted my spirits. There wasn’t a sudden boatload of cash for the root canal, either.

He also didn’t scold me or turn His back on me.

quilting project

Just finding us? Why not join the Scrappy Mystery Quilt Adventure today? You’ll receive your getting started guide, followed by block one on the first day. The remaining blocks and assembly directions will follow a few days apart. It’s 100% Free.

What God did was speak to my heart.

Being wrapped in what was and might be can cause us to miss the bliss.

Life – abundant life is in the moment.

We only need to open our eyes to it.

Until next time, enjoy your day and the journey

Adele

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