Amanda this is for you!

A must read for quilters

I just finished reading this book and I enjoyed it so much. I probably would not have read a book about slaves during the Civil War but it is part of a series, The Elm Creek Quilts, that I have been reading for a few years. Even though this book is fiction it touched my soul. Quilting is the original bond, but it goes much farther than that. This is a story about one woman's quest for freedom and a desire to care for her family. Her quilts are more than coverings, they are history written in fabric. This book is fiction but it tells a story of so many women, women who are part of our heritage. Just another reason I love quilting so much.

Wednesday's Wonderful Woman

In the sixth month, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin's name was Mary. The angel went to her and said, "Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you."
 Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. But the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end."
 "How will this be," Mary asked the angel, "since I am a virgin?"
 The angel answered, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called^[c] the Son of God. Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be barren is in her sixth month. For nothing is impossible with God."

 "I am the Lord's servant," Mary answered. "May it be to me as you have said." Then the angel left her.

When God called Mary she listened. Do I listen when He speaks to me?

James 1:26-27

 

 ²⁶If anyone considers himself religious and yet does not keep a tight rein on his tongue, he deceives himself and his religion is worthless. ²⁷Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.

Yesterday at Bible Study we filled 55 pillow cases with items for boys at a school in Joliet. Most of  these boys are either homeless or in foster care and have very little. We were very lucky to be working with a local organization... My Joyful Heart.  They asked us if we could sign cards for the boys and by the time the ladies were finished each boy will receive a pillow case full of things including a hat, gloves, scarf, toothbrushes, soap, socks, and lots of candy. We were able to get the names of all the boys so each pillow case was personalized with their name and a Christmas message. Many hands made light work and we were finished in about an hour. Kim for My Joyful Heart was there to pick up the bags.