Thanks be to God, and to Past Me for listening and stitching
I'm a Christian. I don't talk much about my faith directly, though I allude to it. Yet it's the core of my being, and maybe it might be perceived as weak faith from my discretion, but in following the edict of my soul, I don't blare it on this blog.
Today, I'm going to share first what I finished last night, some EPP/Kawandi sewing that I'll use in the kitchen by the kettle. Granite countertops that we didn't install are a nightmare with nice teacups, so I keep the counter covered and my mugs protected with placemat-sized linens. The English paper piecing on this one is some of the first EPP I crafted going on seven years ago. For two years I've been meaning to turn it into something, and a couple of days ago I did just that, finding that once the backing for a Kawandi project is made, that's how big whatever is emerging is going to be. This will be fine for a few cups, keeping nice dishes chip-free and giving me something to hand-sew besides the EPP projects piling on my coffee table.
I do love me some Kawandi-inspired sewing, what a blessing to have found that method of quilting!
Speaking of blessings.... Last night I pulled out my bible, leafing through it for excess bookmarks to use in another bible that screams for page markers. I located a couple of small sheets in the book of Ephesians, notes made in my handwriting from probably over twenty years ago. I've been graced to claim Jesus as my saviour for fifty-three years, but lately I've felt in need of renewal. All the crap in Washington D.C. has been a strain, as you might imagine. Yet in reading over those notes made at some earlier point in my life, I was shaken thoroughly at how clearly I had previously viewed my faith, my life, this gift of grace that boils down the essence of my existence to Love. Long before I began writing books or sewing quilts, I was a woman in her thirties, doing some cross-stitching, raising young teens, homeschooling them in the United Kingdom. Never would I have considered all that might occur in 2025, but firmly ensconced in that year, I am grateful to peek back to the past, grasping a Truth unsullied by all that seems atrocious today.
Anyway, here's what I wrote concerning Ephesians 1:3 - Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.
This says it all - in Jesus we have everything we need. There is nothing beyond Christ; nothing past Him, and nothing less than Him. For true and real life we need only Jesus, all Jesus, as life is Jesus. This world and all its trappings, decorations, sorrows and joys, is nothing without Jesus - nothing without the love that comes from His cross. It is only through the cross, His cross, that we have life.
In all situations, circumstances, and happenings, we have Jesus. There is not one time that we do not - not one moment where He is absent, not one instance where He abandons us. He is always present, ever with us, and never away from us. We are never alone - every minute, every second He is around us, loving, caring, forgiving, providing and protecting. That is an absolute, and will never change.
What must be altered is out view of our lives - our lives as ours, our lives as a part of this world, our lives outside of Christ, for there is no life outside of Jesus. As John the Baptist said, "He must become greater; I must become less." (John 3:30) We must adopt that view, to fully partake of the goodness and purpose God calls us to. We must humble ourselves to the position of slaves, to best serve our Lord and Saviour Jesus, and to be a true servant to our brothers and sisters in this world. Unless we completely empty ourselves of ourselves, and be completely at God's disposal, we cannot know true peace, for we will always be driven by worldly passions and desires, and the sinful human emotions that are the triggers and drivers of those desires. While we are here on this earth, we will never be completely free from the longings of what we see and want, but we can, every day, pray for the grace to die to self, to carry our own crosses, and come closer to Jesus. Each day we must work toward the prize of heaven, with much joy and eager anticipation; that to see the face of our loving Father will be our ultimate pleasure, and to be wrapped in the wide-open arms of Christ shall be our biggest comfort. By the power and grace of God within us, the workings and strength of the Holy Spirit, we shall be so graced, and will come to God with hearts made right and pure.
Just a little of my headspace, and that of Past Me, during this Lenten season.
