As part of my writing creatively goal, I will be trying to post on my blog (and as a note on Facebook) on a fairly regular basis, like once a week. Now, just as a note, I tried to do this before and it ended up being more like once a month…but we’ll see. As far as subjects go…
…well, the sky’s the limit as they say. So that means you could be getting anything from my thoughts on the current lesson in BSF to a sci-fi short story. Just a warning – there will probably be some fiber and knitting related content, too. Some? Hahaha, yeah right. There’ll be lots of that!
Anyway, the last week has brought some very interesting conclusions into my awareness. The first is that there are lots and lots of people trying to achieve peace and happiness this year – though worldly means. And the second is that, “Good gracious, the tabernacle was unbelievably awe-inspiring in every aspect.” (See, thoughts on current BSF lesson.)
For the first…
I came across an article on Yahoo the other day about achieving happiness. My first thought was, “Well, no-one can do that without God,” and my second was, “Hmm, wonder what they are telling people to do now?” (You know, the ubiquitous “they.”) So I clicked on it. There were 5 sections – one was, “If you’re feeling stressed, relax!” Another was “Are you feeling despair? Find hope.” After reading the article I thought, “How can anyone do any of this without God? It just isn’t humanly possible.”
I can’t imagine going through life without the hope and joy and peace of knowing God, and that walking with Him provides. I can’t imagine the constant worry and despair and darkness that would pervade your life. And yet I see people trying to reach those goals all by themselves. I happened across a blog post about peace – both world peace and inner peace. Nowhere did it even mention a divine help or higher power, let alone God’s help, to that goal, but specified that we are each responsible for achieving that peace within and around us. I was completely blown away. Violence and sin and worry and darkness (anti-peace) will continue in a downward spiral until we bring the Father back into the equation. Only He provides the hope of lasting peace on earth and in our hearts.
Now for the second part of my …er, dissertation.
Last weeks lesson in BSF was all about the people of Israel making the articles for the tabernacle and putting it together. Now, I’ve read Exodus before, but never really picked up on just how detailed everything was. And the detail is recorded a couple of times – both when God is giving the information to Moses on the mountain, and also when Moses is passing it along to the people. It is so detailed I can picture it almost entirely in my head – the soft light coming through the linen curtain surrounding the Ark, the gold gleaming softly, adding it’s own luminescence to the space. And outside in the courtyard – the curtains with their colorful embroidery, the bronze, silver and gold reflecting the light of the sun during the day and the light of the pillar of fire at night. One person, either a leader or group member, said something to the effect that through this detail we can get a glimpse of what heaven might be like. How right she is, even if it is the merest, teeniest glimpse!
And the great things is – we can see God and glimpses of heaven in everything - from the peaceful calm of a winter sunset to the graceful landing of a flock of geese. (I’ve been walking around Virginia Lake in the evenings.) I know some people find it hard living here in Reno because of the barrenness of the desert climate, and seeming dullness of the colors. I don’t at all, in fact I love it here! Each changing season is continuously new, with unplumbed depths to see and hear and experience. Every day brings a different light or a new angle of seeing something of His creation that He created specially for Reno, NV. Sometimes when a view or a panorama takes my breath away – I like to think He made it just for me.
Sorry – got a little off track there. Anyway, back to the construction of the Tabernacle. Not only was its appearance spectacular (a place fit for a king – or simply fit for the King of Kings,) but the work that went into it blows my mind. Especially the amount of spinning and weaving that went into the curtains around both the innermost space, but encircling the whole thing. (Aha, you knew I had to bring fiber into this somehow!) I was telling the group in Leaders Meeting how hard it is to spin goat hair, and that you truly had to have the skill and be willing to do it (Ex 35:26) – to do many, many hours of it.
Then they had to weave all the yarn that had been spun – wool, linen, goat. There had to be a precise gauge that had to be met so all the curtains would be the same dimensions. I also noticed that the robe of the ephod for the priests was woven in one piece. That is a weaving skill rarely evidenced in such a nomadic culture, that early in history. Only God could have given them the insight and skill needed to do that. It also takes some heavy-duty equipment.
And don’t forget any dying that had to be done. Only a few people could’ve done that as they needed to match colors fairly consistently. Not to mention the processing of the dyes to begin with – cochineal (red) from a certain kind of bug, purple from a certain kind of shellfish, and blue from indigo and lye.
All in all – a lot of work. Work which I’m sure we as a culture or even as the Church might not be willing to do. Of course we have machines and tehnology to help us today. But that should make the work and end result that much grander, that much beautiful, that much…regal and befitting a Lord of All. And the service that much easier, and our hearts that much more willing. Shouldn’t it?
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Thursday, January 1, 2009
Happy New Year - One Day at a Time in '09
This post is also going as a note on Facebook - so this is for those that aren't on FB (and why aren't you?) :-)
At the beginning of every year for the last few I’ve set goals for myself instead of resolutions. It has definitely increased the percentage of those goals being kept rather than letting the resolution slide the week after New Year’s, or totally forgetting I even had that resolution on Jan 2nd!
In the past two years I’ve met at least 70% of my total goals, 90% of that has been financial and spiritual! This is definitely something that is helping me – especially when I have it posted someplace where I’ll see it on a regular basis. The last couple of years, it’s been my blog (handmadebyhannah.blogspot.com) but I haven’t been keeping that up regularly, so I need to find another place.
One thing I’ve been doing also is recapping the previous year, and then laying out the goals for myself for the new year. It has been on my blog previously, but this year all y’all get to hear about it too, and can help keep me accountable. :-)
So here goes:
Well, it was an awesome year. Went by fast, but hey – time does that as you get older (as I hear it, anyway!) To recap, it started out with God nudging me toward checking out BSF (Bible Study Fellowship for those not in the know.) My friend Leah was in it and highly recommended coming even though they were already halfway though the study of Matthew.
Let me tell you – even studying half of Matthew (especially the later half) was powerful stuff. It kick started my quiet time in the mornings (which truth to tell wasn’t much in the way of organized or consistent.) God also drew me closer to Him through study of His Son, and through more consistent time with Him. Leah and I also became closer friends and sisters-in-Christ as a result.
In February I took an actual vacation and went to visit some family. That was a lot of fun. That was also when I found out I was going to be an Auntie!! I cannot tell you how excited I was. I even picked up some yarn on my trip to knit the first thing. (Funny – that cardigan actually became Ilse’s Christmas present.) I was able to make time to stop at Stitches West (which if you’re not a Knitter/Fiber enthusiast I really can’t describe except as a convention for yarnies.)
The middle part of the year was somewhat unremarkable – except that I really enjoyed BSF, was singing in choir at church (the Easter cantata was great as was an a cappella piece,) and playing on the Worship Team. June and July are always fun – with hiking and biking and a couple of camping trips thrown in for good measure.
Then August rolled around – and that’s when God really went to work on me!
First it was the Mentoring program at church. I don’t know why I needed to go to the Orientation Coffee – I just knew I needed to be there. Okay, I thought, maybe I need some guidance from a more mature woman of God, or maybe God was going to be using me in someone else’s life. It turned out that He was going to use me in another’s life – someone with experiences and years more than me, even. God has been so gracious – when I call on Him for strength and wisdom and clarity of speech, He is there. And I’ve learned so much over the past few months – especially about the true power of prayer, and more effective use of prayer. I have been so privileged to be witness to His wondrous answers to those prayers.
But God didn’t call me to just that. Oh no, He had a lot more in store for me!
Back in June, the teaching leader of BSF had called me – asking me to pray about becoming a discussion leader. I had thought and prayed about it previously (when my friend was asked) and said I wasn’t ready to commit to that quite just yet. I let it go, didn’t think much about it until the end of August when Leah happened to mention that Kim was still looking/praying for a couple more discussion leaders. And of course, that’s when God started poking me saying “Hey, I think you can give up your Saturday mornings to be with Me!”
So, after a couple weeks of constantly thinking and praying about it (and being nudged unsubtly by a couple of other friends), asking God to just let me be - I finally called Kim and told her what had happened. We met, and talked, and two weeks later I was at my first leaders meeting.
The last few months have been awesome. Walking through Exodus along with Moses and learning about this great man of God has opened my eyes to a whole host of things. About a month into BSF, I became somewhat discouraged because I didn’t have a group yet, and it didn’t look like I would anytime soon. However, God nudged me again and showed me that I was a blessing and learning more as a sub than having a group of my own. Working with all of the women in BSF, including all the leaders, as well as the blessings showered on me through the mentoring program has shown me that God has given me a gift for encouragement, leading of all things to work in women’s ministries – a place I never would have seen myself going!
But wait - the year’s not over yet!
At the very beginning of October, I became “Auntie Hannah” for real! Ilse Christine Merritt was born on 10-1 and our whole family loves her to pieces. I’ve only seen pictures, but I have the privilege of seeing her hopefully in March. She, of course, has been showered with a multiplicity of knitted items. :-) All washable and cotton. My brother is a changed man since becoming a father, and we’ve all seen it. God is certainly working in that family, and my prayer for them is that God will give both my brother and SIL the wisdom and strength to be the best parents they can be.
November and December were interesting months. With the holidays fast approaching, God was showing me I needed to let something in my busy schedule go. I was unwilling at first, as I love everything I was doing. However, though a mini-crisis, I saw that the Worship Team had to be let go for a short time. The worship pastor was very understanding, and a weight was instantly lifted from my shoulders. I am also excited to be returning next week! God is very gracious!!
Now, during this break of sorts I had hopes to look into possible lessons for either voice or oboe – to master one or the other. Well, what do I do but go and learn a completely new instrument. For those of you who don’t know, I am currently taking cello lessons, and I love every minute of it. Well, maybe not the extremely frustrating minutes, but you get the idea. And God totally provided. The lady who’s teaching me is charging a very minimal amount, AND she’s letting me borrow her old cello until I can get one of my own! The sound is so mellow and warm, and has such a broad range. Not sure where this is leading, but I have a ways to go before playing in front of anyone, anyway.
I feel very blessed and extremely thankful for all my wonderful friends at Sierra Bible Church. I have gotten to know some wonderful ladies this year such as Kaysi H., Amanda B., Katie I., Heather H., and Valerie H. I hope to get to know you all much better this coming year. I also drew nearer to my best friends – Leah, Amy, Kelly, and Mandy. I thank God nearly everyday that you are in my life – challenging, blessing, encouraging – and most especially - praying!!!
Christmas was at my house this year for the very first time. I had a wonderful time planning and preparing and decorating. The tree is still green and lush. (But it will be going bye-bye very soon.) The cats loved the dangling ornaments – fortunately I only lost one small one. Now that the holidays as almost over, its time to focus on the New Year coming in!
But wait – what about how I did on 2008’s goals?
2008 Goals
Spiritual
1. Be in the Word and pray more
2. Read at least a couple of books by Christian authors (namely C.S. Lewis and Elizabeth George.)
This one was so easy with God’s help. I was definitely in the Word more as well as prayed more. Kind of had to – what with being a D.L. and all. :-) I did read a couple of books – “Beautiful in God’s Eyes” by Elizabeth George, and “Outrageous Joy” by the Women of Faith leaders.
Financial
1. Pay off remaining 2 cards to be debt free by Dec 08.
Now – this one wasn’t quite accomplished. I do have one card left, but that’s because I decided to get a jump on 09’s goal of saving. So it wasn’t a complete bust! :-)
Physical
1. Lose weight with exercise.
2. Eat healthier - less bread products.
Hehehe – like the year before I did great during the summer, but any weight I lost definitely is back on. *shrug* Eh, I tried. And I will try again. And again.
Personal
1. Knit from my stash (exceptions being February and for gifts.)
2. Write more - a lot more.
Now – these ones I accomplished. Big time!! I did knit from my stash (except for the exceptions.) I did fall off the wagon once – and that was only because the yarn was less than $2 a ball. Definitely couldn’t pass that one up. ;-) I am going to do this again this year – with the only exception being for gifts.
As for the writing – did that too. Earlier in the year. Kind of lost it about June, but if you are really interested (and I mean really) you can ask me about it in person. Lets just say that the stuff I wrote would only appeal to a very small demographic. I did enjoy it, and most of what I wrote was received pretty well. I am going to try it again this year. Hopefully, I’ll get some inspiration soon!
Now, hopefully you’ve stuck with me this long! ‘Cause here comes 2009:
2009 Goals – “Take one day at a time in ‘09”
Spiritual
1. Spend more time with God in the mornings.
2. Use prayer as a more effective part of communion with God and pray with specific goals in mind.
3. Tithe (I couldn’t decide whether to put this in spiritual or financial as it is both.)
Financial
1. Put a lot of $$ into savings.
2. Look into buying a house.
Physical
1. Walk! Exercise! Walk! Ride Bike! Hike! (Eh, you get the idea.)
Personal
1. Knit from my stash (except for gifts.)
2. Do some designing.
3. Write creatively about various subjects.
Now, what do you think?? Seriously, I’d like to know your thoughts. Especially, since if you didn’t know me all that well before – now, you do!!
Please make it a great, safe, and productive year!
At the beginning of every year for the last few I’ve set goals for myself instead of resolutions. It has definitely increased the percentage of those goals being kept rather than letting the resolution slide the week after New Year’s, or totally forgetting I even had that resolution on Jan 2nd!
In the past two years I’ve met at least 70% of my total goals, 90% of that has been financial and spiritual! This is definitely something that is helping me – especially when I have it posted someplace where I’ll see it on a regular basis. The last couple of years, it’s been my blog (handmadebyhannah.blogspot.com) but I haven’t been keeping that up regularly, so I need to find another place.
One thing I’ve been doing also is recapping the previous year, and then laying out the goals for myself for the new year. It has been on my blog previously, but this year all y’all get to hear about it too, and can help keep me accountable. :-)
So here goes:
Well, it was an awesome year. Went by fast, but hey – time does that as you get older (as I hear it, anyway!) To recap, it started out with God nudging me toward checking out BSF (Bible Study Fellowship for those not in the know.) My friend Leah was in it and highly recommended coming even though they were already halfway though the study of Matthew.
Let me tell you – even studying half of Matthew (especially the later half) was powerful stuff. It kick started my quiet time in the mornings (which truth to tell wasn’t much in the way of organized or consistent.) God also drew me closer to Him through study of His Son, and through more consistent time with Him. Leah and I also became closer friends and sisters-in-Christ as a result.
In February I took an actual vacation and went to visit some family. That was a lot of fun. That was also when I found out I was going to be an Auntie!! I cannot tell you how excited I was. I even picked up some yarn on my trip to knit the first thing. (Funny – that cardigan actually became Ilse’s Christmas present.) I was able to make time to stop at Stitches West (which if you’re not a Knitter/Fiber enthusiast I really can’t describe except as a convention for yarnies.)
The middle part of the year was somewhat unremarkable – except that I really enjoyed BSF, was singing in choir at church (the Easter cantata was great as was an a cappella piece,) and playing on the Worship Team. June and July are always fun – with hiking and biking and a couple of camping trips thrown in for good measure.
Then August rolled around – and that’s when God really went to work on me!
First it was the Mentoring program at church. I don’t know why I needed to go to the Orientation Coffee – I just knew I needed to be there. Okay, I thought, maybe I need some guidance from a more mature woman of God, or maybe God was going to be using me in someone else’s life. It turned out that He was going to use me in another’s life – someone with experiences and years more than me, even. God has been so gracious – when I call on Him for strength and wisdom and clarity of speech, He is there. And I’ve learned so much over the past few months – especially about the true power of prayer, and more effective use of prayer. I have been so privileged to be witness to His wondrous answers to those prayers.
But God didn’t call me to just that. Oh no, He had a lot more in store for me!
Back in June, the teaching leader of BSF had called me – asking me to pray about becoming a discussion leader. I had thought and prayed about it previously (when my friend was asked) and said I wasn’t ready to commit to that quite just yet. I let it go, didn’t think much about it until the end of August when Leah happened to mention that Kim was still looking/praying for a couple more discussion leaders. And of course, that’s when God started poking me saying “Hey, I think you can give up your Saturday mornings to be with Me!”
So, after a couple weeks of constantly thinking and praying about it (and being nudged unsubtly by a couple of other friends), asking God to just let me be - I finally called Kim and told her what had happened. We met, and talked, and two weeks later I was at my first leaders meeting.
The last few months have been awesome. Walking through Exodus along with Moses and learning about this great man of God has opened my eyes to a whole host of things. About a month into BSF, I became somewhat discouraged because I didn’t have a group yet, and it didn’t look like I would anytime soon. However, God nudged me again and showed me that I was a blessing and learning more as a sub than having a group of my own. Working with all of the women in BSF, including all the leaders, as well as the blessings showered on me through the mentoring program has shown me that God has given me a gift for encouragement, leading of all things to work in women’s ministries – a place I never would have seen myself going!
But wait - the year’s not over yet!
At the very beginning of October, I became “Auntie Hannah” for real! Ilse Christine Merritt was born on 10-1 and our whole family loves her to pieces. I’ve only seen pictures, but I have the privilege of seeing her hopefully in March. She, of course, has been showered with a multiplicity of knitted items. :-) All washable and cotton. My brother is a changed man since becoming a father, and we’ve all seen it. God is certainly working in that family, and my prayer for them is that God will give both my brother and SIL the wisdom and strength to be the best parents they can be.
November and December were interesting months. With the holidays fast approaching, God was showing me I needed to let something in my busy schedule go. I was unwilling at first, as I love everything I was doing. However, though a mini-crisis, I saw that the Worship Team had to be let go for a short time. The worship pastor was very understanding, and a weight was instantly lifted from my shoulders. I am also excited to be returning next week! God is very gracious!!
Now, during this break of sorts I had hopes to look into possible lessons for either voice or oboe – to master one or the other. Well, what do I do but go and learn a completely new instrument. For those of you who don’t know, I am currently taking cello lessons, and I love every minute of it. Well, maybe not the extremely frustrating minutes, but you get the idea. And God totally provided. The lady who’s teaching me is charging a very minimal amount, AND she’s letting me borrow her old cello until I can get one of my own! The sound is so mellow and warm, and has such a broad range. Not sure where this is leading, but I have a ways to go before playing in front of anyone, anyway.
I feel very blessed and extremely thankful for all my wonderful friends at Sierra Bible Church. I have gotten to know some wonderful ladies this year such as Kaysi H., Amanda B., Katie I., Heather H., and Valerie H. I hope to get to know you all much better this coming year. I also drew nearer to my best friends – Leah, Amy, Kelly, and Mandy. I thank God nearly everyday that you are in my life – challenging, blessing, encouraging – and most especially - praying!!!
Christmas was at my house this year for the very first time. I had a wonderful time planning and preparing and decorating. The tree is still green and lush. (But it will be going bye-bye very soon.) The cats loved the dangling ornaments – fortunately I only lost one small one. Now that the holidays as almost over, its time to focus on the New Year coming in!
But wait – what about how I did on 2008’s goals?
2008 Goals
Spiritual
1. Be in the Word and pray more
2. Read at least a couple of books by Christian authors (namely C.S. Lewis and Elizabeth George.)
This one was so easy with God’s help. I was definitely in the Word more as well as prayed more. Kind of had to – what with being a D.L. and all. :-) I did read a couple of books – “Beautiful in God’s Eyes” by Elizabeth George, and “Outrageous Joy” by the Women of Faith leaders.
Financial
1. Pay off remaining 2 cards to be debt free by Dec 08.
Now – this one wasn’t quite accomplished. I do have one card left, but that’s because I decided to get a jump on 09’s goal of saving. So it wasn’t a complete bust! :-)
Physical
1. Lose weight with exercise.
2. Eat healthier - less bread products.
Hehehe – like the year before I did great during the summer, but any weight I lost definitely is back on. *shrug* Eh, I tried. And I will try again. And again.
Personal
1. Knit from my stash (exceptions being February and for gifts.)
2. Write more - a lot more.
Now – these ones I accomplished. Big time!! I did knit from my stash (except for the exceptions.) I did fall off the wagon once – and that was only because the yarn was less than $2 a ball. Definitely couldn’t pass that one up. ;-) I am going to do this again this year – with the only exception being for gifts.
As for the writing – did that too. Earlier in the year. Kind of lost it about June, but if you are really interested (and I mean really) you can ask me about it in person. Lets just say that the stuff I wrote would only appeal to a very small demographic. I did enjoy it, and most of what I wrote was received pretty well. I am going to try it again this year. Hopefully, I’ll get some inspiration soon!
Now, hopefully you’ve stuck with me this long! ‘Cause here comes 2009:
2009 Goals – “Take one day at a time in ‘09”
Spiritual
1. Spend more time with God in the mornings.
2. Use prayer as a more effective part of communion with God and pray with specific goals in mind.
3. Tithe (I couldn’t decide whether to put this in spiritual or financial as it is both.)
Financial
1. Put a lot of $$ into savings.
2. Look into buying a house.
Physical
1. Walk! Exercise! Walk! Ride Bike! Hike! (Eh, you get the idea.)
Personal
1. Knit from my stash (except for gifts.)
2. Do some designing.
3. Write creatively about various subjects.
Now, what do you think?? Seriously, I’d like to know your thoughts. Especially, since if you didn’t know me all that well before – now, you do!!
Please make it a great, safe, and productive year!
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