Ten Totally Trivial Tidbits

1. Last week David and Graham helped to lead worship at an ecumenical service in Loches. Every January we join together with the Catholic church in our town for a Wednesday evening service, focusing on the things we have in common, which are, honestly, the main things--salvation through Christ alone, unity in the Holy Spirit, and love for the Father. 

2. I do not understand Pinterest. I just don't get it. I don't know if I want to get it. Can someone please tell me what they like about Pinterest? Should I figure it out?

3. Google+ is also an enigma to me. Why do I see posts from people that I do not know? 

4. On the contrary, I totally dig a website called ravelry.com where I can find all sorts of knitting and crochet patterns, many of which are free! I recently crocheted a super cute pair of baby converse. See:

The pattern is free and can be found here.

5. Our summer plans are starting to come together. Looks like we'll be taking a two month furlough, spending July and August in beautiful Spokane, Washington. But I don't know how to take a furlough, so if you have any advice I'd love to hear it. I'm pretty sure furloughs include Baskin Robbins mint chocolate chip ice cream, boxes and boxes of Lucky Charms, and plenty of trips to Thai Bamboo.

6. Last time I preached one of my sons asked, "Why do people laugh at you all the time?" Hello? I'm funny. When will my kids finally accept that truth? 

7. Here's my new favorite super-flavorful/super-easy dinner-in-one-pan-but-NOT-a-casserole recipe. I modify it by using boneless, skinless chicken breasts. I bake the green beans and potatoes for 30 minutes while marinating the chicken. Then I add the chicken to the pan for just the last 30 minutes of cooking time. Comes out perfect every time, and it's pretty too!

You can find the recipe here.

8. I really wish you people would pass along some good fiction titles. I love non-fiction as much as anybody, but a girl needs some book candy every now and then. Throw me a bone! I'll give an amazon gift card to the person who recommends a fiction book that WOWs me! Yes, I will BUY you a book if you can just suggest a good one that I haven't read.

9. Anytime someone in our house speaks a three syllable phrase, Chandler sings the phrase to the tune of the Tranformers! theme song. "Where's Gemma?" "Pass the salt." "Don't do that." Are you humming along? The rest of us are avoiding three syllable phrases these days. 

10. David is in the final week of P90X--an intensive exercise regime. He's lost 14 pounds and he is looking GOOOOOOOOOD!

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Knots

When I say I have the most patient husband in the world, I am NOT exaggerating. Some would call him long-suffering. Here's just one tiny example of David's patience.

Often, when I'm working with yarn, I'm confronted with knots--knots that are probably a result of my own carelessness. Knots that are beyond my capacity to unravel. Knots that threaten to frustrate my work and slow my progress. 

I hate knots.

I yell at knots.

I stomp my feet, grit my teeth, and growl at knots.

Calmly, without saying a word, David stops whatever he is doing and moves to my side. He picks up the tangled skein and quietly sets to work. He doesn't tug and force the yarn (like I do), he slowly and carefully sorts it. And he never, ever scolds me.

The knots aren't his problem. They're not his fault. He doesn't have to come to my rescue. But he does. He always helps me. He has even pulled off the road during long trips, stopped the car, and untangled my yarn. 

He reminds me of Jesus. This morning David read aloud to me this quote from the book Quiet Talks by S.D. Gordon:

With infinite patience and skill and diplomacy and success too He is ever working at the tangled skein of human life....

Just as David untangles my yarn, God is constantly at work untangling my life. He, too, works carefully, gently, intently, and without scolding. Redemption is God's way of unraveling the knots in the human heart so that he can make us into something beautiful and useful.

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Made with Love

If you are a follower of my reading list, you may have noticed that my book completion rate has slowed over the past couple of weeks. That is because much of my free time has been devoted to the creation of this:

This blanket was made with GREAT joy and anticipation. Each stitch was an unspoken prayer, a silent petition, a desperate plea on behalf of a family in the making. You see the recipient of this blanket is a dear friend who will leave on Friday to pick up the two boys that she and her husband are adopting from Ethiopia. The blanket will be given to the older boy, who is three.

Becoming a parent...no matter the method...is a process that God often uses to build our faith and to remind us of how very dependent we are on Him. Watching my friend walk this path towards motherhood has encouraged and blessed me. She has shown tremendous trust and undaunted courage.

Soon (and VERY soon) this family, which God had planned from the beginning of time, will convene in Africa, and then travel home together to Spokane. Parents and children, different in color but united in love. A family knit together by the hands of a mighty God.

*Free pattern may be downloaded here.

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