Finished In Threes Baby Cardigan

I wove in my ends and sewed the buttons on the In Threes Baby Cardigan that I posted about here and here. The pictures don't do the buttons justice. They are pale mother of pearl buttons, white and pearly pink. 

It can now go in my completed pile of baby sweaters for my aunt. 

Happy Knitting!

Compassion

Lamentations 3:31-32 For the Lord will not cast off forever, but, though he cause grief, he will have compassion according to the abundance of his steadfast love.

The Lord has compassion. He does not retain His anger forever. He is merciful and just through the Cross. He is merciful out of His great storehouses of mercy. This is a great foretelling of the Cross. "Though He cause grief" points to the suffering of the cross of Jesus Christ. "He will have compassion" on the fallen souls He has called because of His sovereign mercy.

When from the dust of death I rise

To claim my mansion in the skies,

Ev'n then this shall be all my plea,

Jesus has lived, has died, for me.

Jesus has lived, has died for me.

O let the dead now hear Thy voice;

Now bid thy banished ones rejoice;

Their beauty this, their glorious dress,

Jesus, thy blood and righteousness,

Jesus, thy blood and righteousness."

                                    Count Zinzendorf

Emmanuel, God with Us

Psalm 91:1-2 He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say to my LORD, "My refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust."

Oh give thanks to the LORD,

for He is good,

for His steadfast love endures forever!

Let the redeemed of the LROD say so, whom He has

redeemed from trouble and

gathered in from the lands.

He satisfies the longing soul,

and the hungry soul, He fills with good things.

When our eyes are most fixed on Him, our problems are most small. When we are filled with gratitude at what He has already done, we grow in faith to see what He is going to do. Beginning the day with a verse praising God for His shelter, His power, His grace, His glory, reminds me that my God is bigger than my problems. I serve a mighty God.

He shaped the universe with A WORD.

THE WORD. The Word that became flesh and dwelled among us. He pitched His tent among the very people He created who used that breath He breathed in us to curse Him. Yet He still pitched His tent and became Emmanuel. God with us.

He orchestrated everything perfectly, from the way the mitochondria on a cell function to the way the stars in galaxies move in harmony. Yet He still looks with kindness on undeserving, insignificant, sinful, hateful people like me and you.

How gracious is our God? How grateful should His people be?

So, my dear sisters and brothers in Christ, as you struggle with the burdens you carry, be they illness, or unemployment, or relationships, or bitterness, or anger, or hostility toward God, know this. That everything is done before Him and in light of the Cross. That He paid for it all. The penalty for sin has been paid and the power of sin has been broken. We are no longer captives, but children of God. How much should that inform the way we live our lives, the way we view other people, the way that we are diligent in our work, the way we worship God with our hearts. 

God with us

Emmanuel, pitching His tent

Among our shabby shacks

Eating with the unclean, unwashed,

Lifting up our downcast, tear-streaked faces

To say "I paid it in full.

It is finished.

Your sins are forgiven.

The Death-wrought chains

That bound you to sin

Are shattered, broken, gone.

Live life freely now in Me."
Unafraid to touch our filth

Our rags, born in a stable,

A king, but not in a palace,

Clothed in rages, not robes,

Crying in hunger and cold.

He knows what it's like to be me.

Blog Roundup

As my life has been a bit crazy this week with moving from one city to another with the process of packing to go to third city this weekend, and fourth (and final) city next week to move back onto campus for the college semester. Because crafting has not really been happening this week, between packing, visiting the art museum with my lovely sisters, and hanging out at the pool with my aunt and cousins, I wanted to share some of my favorite blogs from around the internet. Some of these blogs I've followed for a while and others I've only just discovered. 

Never Not Knitting is my favorite knitting blog. Her podcasts include her knitting projects for her patterns, her difficulty with traveling to book signings with her six year old and her one year old, and beautiful photographs of her projects. Even though many times she won't release full details because of her knitting is often content from her books, everything is artfully and tastefully done and exciting to watch progress. Her theme song for the podcast is the best! Her botanical knits are stunning. The Oak Grove Fingerless Mitts and the Seedling Beret are some of my favorites. 

Fresh Modesty is a new blog I stumbled upon because of her sewing blog, Working with Eager Hands. She has two e-books about sewing with jean fabric and sewing modest swimwear. Her navy lace dress and her chevron maxi skirt are some of my favorites of her sewing projects.  

Stilettos and Diapers is a another new blog I came across recently because of her maxi skirt tutorial. Her recipes for clean eating and her DIY section are probably my favorite sections, but her fashion posts are cute as well.   

Simple Simon and Company is a great sewing blog written by two moms, liZ and Elizabeth. They sew mostly for their adorable children, write great tutorials, and take gorgeous photos. Some of my favorite tutorials of theirs are the Morton Salt Girl Dress and the Easy Maxi Skirt. They write beautiful posts about the Art of Homemaking. "We would do well to slow down a little, focus on the significant, and truly see the things that matter most." Dieter F. Uchtdorf. 

Sewing in No Man's Land is another one of my favorite sewing blogs. This seamstress is married to a foreign service officer and she blogs about her sewing, kids, DIY projects, and adventures of finding fabric and materials all over the world. She also has great tutorials for sewing for kids. 

Made, another great mom sewing blog, has some of my favorite sewing tutorials and technique instructions. She's also the author of Fabrics A to Z, which is a great resource to understand fabrics and how they will behave in certain projects and how you can use they to show off their strengths.

Go look around for some great crafting, sewing, cooking, and fashion inspiration!

Please comment with your favorite blogs to read (or your own). :)

Happy Thursday. 

Psalm 121 I lift My Eyes Up

Psalm 121/Poetry writing during mountain trip

The stoney craig reaches up to

A summer blue sky covered with

Cotton ball white clouds

I lift my eyes up to the hills

Peace washes over me as the

Creek gurgles over broken stones,

Smoothing over rough edges for years.

From where my help comes.

God settles my spirit,

Smoothing my fears and rough edges

Inviting me to see His beauty.

My help comes from the LORD.

Cut off from the rush and noise and pain

Of life, I find rest in

The grassy meadows and piney woods.

Who made heaven and earth.

Caterpillars creep through grass

Preparing for transformation

To glorified beauty.

He will not let your foot be moved.

Birds of the air flock about

Gathering weeds to build nests

In the blooming, leafing trees.

He who keeps you will not slumber.

I can rest, release, relax,

Star-gaze, creek-wade, read,

Pray and give my griefs to God.

Behold He who keeps Israel will not slumber nor sleep.

I can sleep and release control

Because He never sleeps, because He

Never forgets or lets me go.