It's as if my life flashed before my eyes.

It's boring, but it's my life.  Or, part of it....as seen over the last couple years.

Of creativity and simplicity and gardening.

I find this to be very inspirational.  In an actually inspirational sort of way, not a sarcastic sort of way.

I don't know these people. But I like this kind of picture.

Directions. Lines.

Some more 1 Corinthians for your weekend.

1 Corinthians 2

Paul’s Message of Wisdom 

When I first came to you, dear brothers and sisters, I didn’t use lofty words and impressive wisdom to tell you God’s secret plan. 

For I decided that while I was with you I would forget everything except Jesus Christ, the one who was crucified. 

I came to you in weakness—timid and trembling. 

And my message and my preaching were very plain. Rather than using clever and persuasive speeches, I relied only on the power of the Holy Spirit. 

I did this so you would trust not in human wisdom but in the power of God.

Yet when I am among mature believers, I do speak with words of wisdom, but not the kind of wisdom that belongs to this world or to the rulers of this world, who are soon forgotten. 

No, the wisdom we speak of is the mystery of God—his plan that was previously hidden, even though he made it for our ultimate glory before the world began. 

But the rulers of this world have not understood it; if they had, they would not have crucified our glorious Lord. 

That is what the Scriptures mean when they say,

“No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him.”

But it was to us that God revealed these things by his Spirit. For his Spirit searches out everything and shows us God’s deep secrets. 

No one can know a person’s thoughts except that person’s own spirit, and no one can know God’s thoughts except God’s own Spirit. 

And we have received God’s Spirit (not the world’s spirit), so we can know the wonderful things God has freely given us.

When we tell you these things, we do not use words that come from human wisdom. Instead, we speak words given to us by the Spirit, using the Spirit’s words to explain spiritual truths. 

But people who aren’t spiritual can’t receive these truths from God’s Spirit. It all sounds foolish to them and they can’t understand it, for only those who are spiritual can understand what the Spirit means. 

Those who are spiritual can evaluate all things, but they themselves cannot be evaluated by others.  

For,

“Who can know the Lord’s thoughts? Who knows enough to teach him?”

But we understand these things, for we have the mind of Christ.

Laura - Tree Frog Hair Binders are Scary!

I'm sure you're probably among the 10 million people who've already watched this, but in case you haven't, here it is:




I must confess that this evening I was sitting in the living room, on (or is it in?  I'm too traumatized to decide) a reclining chair minding my own business, when out of the corner of my eye, I was sure that I had seen a small tree frog on the arm of the chair.  I reacted in a very similar way to the baby in this video did at about 45 seconds.  I was embarrassed to realize that it indeed was not a tree frog, but the ponytail holder I had just pulled out of my hair, untwisting.  On one hand I am relieved that no one was around to witness this....but on the other, I am posting about it here.

Chronicle Procrastination.

So tomorrow we have to sign a paper that tells how much of the OT reading we've done for the semester.  True to my normal form, I started and will finish this reading all within the last couple days (started reading Monday evening).  Just have to read through the last half of 1 Chronicles and all of 2 Chronicles, and then I will be able to sign the paper saying that I have done the reading that I needed to do.  Anyway.  Thought this was a nice little passage:

1 Chronicles 16:23-36
Let the whole earth sing to the Lord!
Each day proclaim the good news that he saves.
Publish his glorious deeds among the nations.
Tell everyone about the amazing things he does.
Great is the Lord! He is most worthy of praise!
He is to be feared above all gods.
The gods of other nations are mere idols,
but the Lord made the heavens!
Honor and majesty surround him;
strength and joy fill his dwelling.

O nations of the world, recognize the Lord,
recognize that the Lord is glorious and strong.
Give to the Lord the glory he deserves!
Bring your offering and come into his presence.
Worship the Lord in all his holy splendor.
Let all the earth tremble before him.
The world stands firm and cannot be shaken.

Let the heavens be glad, and the earth rejoice!
Tell all the nations, “The Lord reigns!”
Let the sea and everything in it shout his praise!
Let the fields and their crops burst out with joy!
Let the trees of the forest rustle with praise,
for the Lord is coming to judge the earth.

Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good!
His faithful love endures forever.
Cry out, “Save us, O God of our salvation!
Gather and rescue us from among the nations,
so we can thank your holy name
and rejoice and praise you.”

Praise the Lord, the God of Israel,
who lives from everlasting to everlasting!

And all the people shouted “Amen!” and praised the Lord.

(If you're curious, I needed to read these books, preferably in this order: Job, Ruth, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon, Daniel, Lamentations, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, Chronicles).

Easily My Favorite Hymn. Of All Times.

I've probably blogged about this before, but oh well.  This has been my favorite hymn since I was very young (like, kindergarten or so).  Whenever we would have hymn requests, I would request this hymn without fail or hesitation.

I tried to find a good version of it on youtube for you to listen to, but it is difficult. I picked the two best ones. One of them is slowish and has interesting pictures, and the other is a little faster, but there are birds chirping the whole time.

The tune is The Ash Grove, and the lyrics are "Sent Forth By God's Blessing." It isn't in a ton of hymnals. When I was little we went to a Lutheran Church, so it was for sure in whatever hymnal we used there. This past weekend we visited a Mennonite Church, and they had it in their hymnal. But most other places (yes, I check every time) don't have it. For shame. Some hymnals will have "Let All Things Now Living," which has the same tune...and is a fine song, but there's just something about "Sent Forth..." that I like a whole lot more.

So. Here are the two youtube renditions of the tune, and the lyrics in between. Enjoy.

PS....fact: This is the tune we used for our recessional at our wedding. We printed the lyrics in the bulletin because of how relevant they are to our lives.



1.
Sent forth by God's blessing,
our true faith confessing,
the people of God from this dwelling take leave.
The supper is ended.
Oh, now be extended
the fruits of this service in all who believe.
The fruit of Christ's teaching,
receptive souls reaching,
shall blossom in action for God and for all.
His grace did invite us,
his love shall unite us
to work for God's kingdom and answer his call.

2.
With praise and thanksgiving
to God ever-living
the tasks of our everyday life we will face.
Our faith ever sharing,
in love ever caring,
embracing the children of each tribe and race.
With your feast you feed us,
with your light now lead us,
unite us as one in this life that we share.
Then may all the living
with praise and thanksgiving
give honor to Christ and his name that we bear.

#478 in Hymnal: A Worship Book
Words: Omer Westendorf, People's Mass Book, 1964, alt.
Text copyright ©1964 World Library Publications, Inc.
Tune: Welsh folk melody; harmonized by Gerald H. Knight
Harmonization copyright © The Royal School of Church Music

Stats

Ok.  So maybe this has been something that's been around for a long time but I've finally just discovered it a couple days ago.  On blogger, you can look up your stats, ie, who has been looking at your blog, where they're from, which posts are the most frequented, etc.  Anyway, it's fascinating.  According to my stats, my top ten posts between May 2010 and March 2011 (via the number of viewers) are:

10. Pretty Inspirational Video
9. Book Recommendations
8. First post from the Mac
7. 2, take frugality to new, creative levels.
6. Fruits of the Spirit in the Bible -- Joy
5. Plum Jelly Adventures
4. hunger struggle
3. Maybe for Lent next year? (I added some italics)
2. Photo Scavenger Hunt
and, number one:
1. Pause

Unedited; Steve and Michelle looking out museum windows

Lighting

Day's Writing

If you want to make an English word sound Lithuanian, just add "as" or "is" or "us" to the end of it.  So, if you can't remember the word for computer, just say "computeris," for example (but spell it "kompiuteris").  Or if you can't remember the word for blog, just say "blogas."  Except....the word "blogas" in Lithuanian means "bad."  And, while "kompiuteris" is probably ok, I've heard that in order to keep the Lithuanian language sounding Lithuanian, linguists have come up with more Lithuanian sounding terms for such things that have been invented this century (in case you didn't know, the Lithuanian language is quite, quite old.  Up there with Latin and Sanskrit.).  A friend told me that the linguists' Lithuanian word for computer literally means "mind box" (if I remember right....Google Translate is not being helpful with this one.  The closest thing I can seem to interpret is that every word for computer has to do with numbers or calculating).

Anyway, today I was spending some time on Google Translate (this is what people do who are on their Spring break that gave up Facebook and Twitter for Lent.  They find other clever ways to waste time on the internet), and found that a Lithuanian term for "blog" could be "dienoraštį," which, when you separate it out means "day's writing." (Dieno=day's raštį=writing)  

I love it!  One of the things that I love about the Lithuanian language is how some words just make sense.  They mean what they are. Don't get me wrong.  It is a very difficult language to learn, but I just love that the word for "blog" literally means "day's writing."  The words for the days of the week literally mean first day, second day, third day, etc.  

Anyway.  There's a little nugget of trivia for you, from someone who is not fluent in Lithuanian, and who forgets a little more each day, though she doesn't want to....and who is inspired to make "Day's Writing" show up somewhere on a blog, be it this one or another, someday.

A little 1 Corinthians for your weekend.

1 Corinthians 1

Greetings from Paul 

This letter is from Paul, chosen by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus, and from our brother Sosthenes.

I am writing to God’s church in Corinth, to you who have been called by God to be his own holy people. He made you holy by means of Christ Jesus, just as he did for all people everywhere who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, their Lord and ours.

May God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you grace and peace.

Paul Gives Thanks to God 

I always thank my God for you and for the gracious gifts he has given you, now that you belong to Christ Jesus. 

Through him, God has enriched your church in every way—with all of your eloquent words and all of your knowledge. 

This confirms that what I told you about Christ is true.

Now you have every spiritual gift you need as you eagerly wait for the return of our Lord Jesus Christ.

He will keep you strong to the end so that you will be free from all blame on the day when our Lord Jesus Christ returns. 

God will do this, for he is faithful to do what he says, and he has invited you into partnership with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

Divisions in the Church 

I appeal to you, dear brothers and sisters, by the authority of our Lord Jesus Christ, to live in harmony with each other. Let there be no divisions in the church. Rather, be of one mind, united in thought and purpose. 

For some members of Chloe’s household have told me about your quarrels, my dear brothers and sisters.

Some of you are saying, “I am a follower of Paul.” Others are saying, “I follow Apollos,” or “I follow Peter,” or “I follow only Christ.”
Has Christ been divided into factions? Was I, Paul, crucified for you? Were any of you baptized in the name of Paul? Of course not! 

I thank God that I did not baptize any of you except Crispus and Gaius, 

for now no one can say they were baptized in my name. 

(Oh yes, I also baptized the household of Stephanas, but I don’t remember baptizing anyone else.)  

For Christ didn’t send me to baptize, but to preach the Good News—and not with clever speech, for fear that the cross of Christ would lose its power.

The Wisdom of God 

The message of the cross is foolish to those who are headed for destruction! But we who are being saved know it is the very power of God. 

As the Scriptures say,

“I will destroy the wisdom of the wise and discard the intelligence of the intelligent.”

So where does this leave the philosophers, the scholars, and the world’s brilliant debaters? God has made the wisdom of this world look foolish. 

Since God in his wisdom saw to it that the world would never know him through human wisdom, he has used our foolish preaching to save those who believe. 

It is foolish to the Jews, who ask for signs from heaven. And it is foolish to the Greeks, who seek human wisdom. 

So when we preach that Christ was crucified, the Jews are offended and the Gentiles say it’s all nonsense.

But to those called by God to salvation, both Jews and Gentiles, Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God. 

This foolish plan of God is wiser than the wisest of human plans, and God’s weakness is stronger than the greatest of human strength.

Remember, dear brothers and sisters, that few of you were wise in the world’s eyes or powerful or wealthy when God called you. 

Instead, God chose things the world considers foolish in order to shame those who think they are wise. And he chose things that are powerless to shame those who are powerful. 

God chose things despised by the world, things counted as nothing at all, and used them to bring to nothing what the world considers important. 

As a result, no one can ever boast in the presence of God.

God has united you with Christ Jesus. For our benefit God made him to be wisdom itself. Christ made us right with God; he made us pure and holy, and he freed us from sin. 

Therefore, as the Scriptures say, “If you want to boast, boast only about the Lord.”

Gateway to Berries.

Confession:

I have been drinking the above drink for the last few days and not hating it.

Could this be my gateway drug into liking berries?!?!?!?!?

Granted it's probably the banana and apple that make it tolerable at this point, but everyone has to start somewhere, when it comes to liking berries.

I can already feel myself becoming healthier.

I have always liked this illustration of denominations.

Where Children Sleep, by James Mollison

This is intriguing and a bit overwhelming at times.  It can be found here, if the below doesn't work.

Open publication - Free publishing

PS....apparently the book doesn't show up in my reader, but it shows up on the regular blog. Would highly recommend. And yes, I follow my
blog on my reader, for such times as these, when I need to know how it will look when read by others. :)

Learning to sew.

Well.  Maybe you remember this post.  Two months later, I decided to do some more sewing on this project.  So I took that layout of the squares and sewed four big squares that were each made up of nine smaller squares.  Then I cut those four big squares into four squares each.  I spent an evening with the sixteen new squares, arranging and rearranging them.  I came up with this arrangement, but wasn't sure that I liked it:

I took a picture in case I couldn't remember how to put it back together if I needed to.  

Then, after some rearranging, I came up with one that was more pleasing to my eyes:

And then I sewed those squares together:

After watching a few more tutorials on YouTube, I figured that I probably needed more/different fabric for my borders, so I set it aside.

With the scraps from my miniature quilt, and a couple more tutorials, I made this:

It's a coffee cup cozy.  Not sure if I like it or not, or if it is functional.  Will test it out to see what adjustments need to be made.  Perhaps I will make a billion of them!  We shall see.

The color palette of my life, part five: Favorites

Stop sign.

The color palette of my life, part four: Return to Neighborhood

The color palette of my life, part three: Bridge and River

Flood Warning and a Winter Weather Advisory.

The color palette of my life, part two: Hills

Unedited version of the picture below.

The color palette of my life, part one: Neighborhood