Black-Eyed Susans

Sending you a bouquet of sunshiny flowers to brighten your day!

Let the heavens rejoice, and let the earth be glad;

Let the sea roar, and all its fullness;

Let the field be joyful, and all that is in it.

Then all the trees of the woods will rejoice before the LORD.

-Psalm 96: 11-12

Let all those who seek You rejoice and be glad in You; and let those who love Your salvation say continually, “Let God be magnified!”

- Psalm 70:4

Poems from Amy Carmichael

I have been reading A Chance To Die by Elisabeth Elliot, which is a biography of Amy Carmichael's life. I never realized how many poems Amy Carmichael wrote. One of my favorite things has been to read the poems included in the book, especially after understanding the background and circumstances which caused them to flow from her pen onto paper. What meaning they have! I enjoy using them as my own personal prayer as well.

I loved the last stanza of "A Song for One in Like Temptation":

Give me Thy thirst: kindle, O Christ, Thy fire,
Passion of fire, and love's sincerity;
My wild wind-harp, take, make of it a lyre
Whose music shall win men to turn to Thee.

And another:

Strength of my heart, I need not fail,
Not mine to fear but to obey,
With such a Leader, who could quail?
Thou art as Thou wert yesterday.
Strength of my heart, I rest in Thee,
Fulfil Thy purposes through me.

Summer Sewing Project

My mom discovered a neat website called Lazy Girl Designs. They sell a bunch of cute and amazingly easy patterns for little purses, pocketbooks, totes, and more! Their products remind me of Vera Bradley type purses. Mom got their pattern for the Veronica Pocketbook, and I zoomed away on the sewing machine and produced this beautiful handbag on my own. I love it especially because it is the perfect size to carry the few things I bring along on any day trip.

It goes so well with denim!

Two pockets are included inside the bag.

The pattern was very easy to follow. I found it very helpful that the directions had a color photograph pertaining to each step of the way. Another pattern we have done from Lazy Girl is the A-Door-Able -- Mom made a bunch of them for our ladies book club and we filled them with goodies for each participant.

Check it out and be inspired!

Summer Projects

Aren't snuggly blankets wonderful? . . .

Some of our friends have these fun, fleece blankets that look so soft and heavenly. Mom and I just couldn't resist, and raced to the fabric store to purchase some fleece (on SALE!) for ourselves. I made mine in an afternoon -- since it is a no-sew pattern it really comes together quick, especially if you have another knot-tier helping. It's reversable too!

The Beginnings of a Scrapbook

For some things, blogging does not suffice. Blogs can't last forever, can they?

This summer, I have started my first real scrapbook. I wanted something that I could safely keep -- something I could flip through over and over again. Although it has taken time and effort, as I put together this memory album of the trip to Sweden I can also reflect and remember the blessed time God granted us there. While I look at the pictures, cut, and paste, I think more about the whirlwind trip we had and each individual aspect of it. It makes me just realize how much we did in only a week and a half!