Thoughts on Needle Threaders and Thimbles

I'm really blessed to have some thoughtful and creative friends, who also happen to read this blog! One of those friends read this post, in which I made a comment about my hand tremors and the challenge of threading needles. So, she bought and introduced me to this handy little gadget:

On one end is a flat metal loop that easily fits through the eye of a needle, but the loop is also wide enough to easily thread. So, you slip it through the eye, then thread the loop, then pull it back through the eye, and voila! The needle is threaded quickly without any fuss or bother. It has dramatically decreased my wasted time and frustration! You may also notice that there is a tiny razor on the other end, which I have found to be very handy in efficiently snipping loose ends. So now the needle threader is one of my favorite tools.

The second audio book I read was Peter Pan. Unlike War and Peace, this one is a lifelong favorite of mine that I have read a dozen times. It's a book that I think children enjoy, but adults can deeply appreciate.

While we're on the subject of sewing instruments, I smile as I remember one of my favorite scenes: Peter and Wendy's "kiss." There is a bit of a language/cultural barrier in the nursery after Wendy sews Peter's shadow back on him (the only natural thing to do), and when Peter holds out his hand to receive Wendy's kiss, she gives him a thimble. In return, Peter chivalrously gives her a "kiss" as well - an acorn button from his shirt. Wendy threads it on a chain and wears it around her neck to keep it close to her heart. Later in the story, Peter's "kiss" actually saves her life... in that classic, timeless way of the very best fairy tales.

And why does this lead me to worship? Because I know God loves to take our smallest tokens and use them in the biggest ways. Our paper flowers, our thimbles, our pasted valentines that are our pitiful and best attempts at expressing our love and thanks - these are more precious to him than diamonds. Our choice to get out of bed and live for him today, our small step forward of faith and obedience, our simple effort to be kind and caring to others - this is the stuff of legends, in the hands of our great God. And the little pieces of our broken hearts and dreams - these are the raw materials he uses to display his hope, power, and glory.

Just as an acorn button stopped an arrow from piercing Wendy's heart, so also can God take our prayer of commitment and our cry of praise... and draw a lost and dying world into his family and his kingdom.

War and Peace and geometric patterns

I've been trying to get through the classic historical novel, War and Peace, for months. Why? Because I love to intellectually torture myself, of course! And because I crave knowledge - I love to learn and I hate feeling like I don't know important things. War and Peace is one of those books that I think everyone knows of but few have actually read or know what it's about, and I want to be counted among the few. Not because I love war stories (I don't) or am a sucker for ridiculously complex Russian names (I'm not), but because if a book has lived as long as this one has and is still considered one of the greats, I want to know why.

It's a little over 1,200 pages of combined historical commentary and fictional plot, set in 1805-1815, during the Napoleon era. I read the majority of it on my Kindle (Kindles are wonderful for reading hefty books), but decided to download an audio version for the last 20%. Thus, I finished reading W&P while simultaneously beginning my cross-stitch project.  I love multi-tasking!

While my cross-stitch pattern is large, it is not too complicated. Books, as you might already know, have a general geometric shape to them, all straight edges and right angles. There's not a lot so far in the way of shading and blending of colors. So it's been a relaxing and refreshing start. Don't they look nice?

I'll admit that there was quite a bit in the book that I didn't really understand. There was a lot of high philosophy that was over my head, and it was hard to keep all the characters straight. But I'm ok with that because I grasped one significant take-away: Napoleon was not as amazing as we like to think. In fact, none of the political and military commanders of this tumultuous corner of history were incredibly vital to the course of human events. Before you think me dark and cynical, let me explain.

Tolstoy went to long and great lengths in his story to show how foolish everyone was - leaders that tried their hardest to do what they thought would be the best thing, other leaders trying even harder to foil those plans for their own benefit... plans made, battles fought, schemes attempted, blah, blah, blah... And if any of them had been successful, much worse things would have happened than actually did. We often attribute good and bad things that happen in the world to people who seem to us powerful and fearless and clever and indestructible. But Tolstoy boiled it down to an age-old proverb:

"In their hearts humans plan their course, but the LORD establishes their steps." - Proverbs 16:9 

When directed at selfish me and my plans, this doesn't feel like good news. But when I think of this truth in the perspective of our history and the scheme of eternity, it does bring great comfort and peace. Think back on different eras of history - the real-life evil villains who intended to wipe out whole ethnic groups or take over the world or erase God! How good it is to be reminded that they are not all powerful - THEY DID NOT WIN. None of their wicked schemes came as a surprise to God, and never once has God had to fret over "what to do, what to do!" He is the all-powerful one and establishes the paths and boundary lines for every stooge who thought they could usurp his authority, throne, and name.

The Psalms proclaim his might and power and majesty over and over... I love looking in the pages of Scripture and seeing this truth repeated like an anthem. But when I look up, when I look back, when I hear the stories from every generation, I see that anthem continue. God is the King of all Kings and will be forever and ever, Amen!

Introduction: So Many Books... So Little Time!

Because of my previous cross-stitch/worship-blog project, a friend gave me a very creative gift for my birthday (back in April): she gave me a cross-stitch project. But she didn't just go to the store and buy a packaged set - she actually printed out a pattern, bought the corresponding colors of floss, and bought a canvas! It's a pretty big (8in x 12in), and the image includes 18 colorful books on a bookshelf and the words "So Many Books, So Little Time." It is pretty special, because my friend knows I love cross-stitching AND books AND creative, thoughtful gifts.

I had a lot going on during the past few months and just didn't feel like I could commit to it yet, so I set it aside for the opportune moment... which I believe has finally arrived! I decided that instead of music, I would listen to audio books while I work on this project. Who knows? Maybe I'll get through 18 books in the time it takes me to complete it! But I will blog about the books I'm reading/listening to, and how they call me to worship... because YES, I do believe stories are a wonderful way to worship! 

Here we go! 

"He wrote His song into everything..."

I finished the three-part picture this week! Here it is: 

The three panels were in different parts of the book, and while I used the same pens, pencils, and crayons throughout, isn't it interesting how different the colors look? Maybe it tells a story of the variations in my strength and mood from day to day...? Anyway, it's far from perfect, but it brought me a lot of joy as I did it.

Here is the original painting, by Thomas Kinkade:

Wow! Isn't that stunning? I have no idea how he made the fireflies glow or the water sparkle like that, but I love it!

My favorite thing about this picture, though, is how musical it is. From the seagull squawking away, to the frogs popping out of the pelicans' bills and riding the boat oar, to the flamingos doing three-part harmony, to the ducks playing on turtles like bongos... not to mention the whistle of the breeze through the willows, the soprano trill of the water cascading down the rocks, and the rippling melody of the waves touching the boat... and anyone who has a romantic nerve in their being can hear that moon sing a lullaby in operatic tenor! The whole image is motion and rhythm and tune and life.

And just as my coloring art is an imperfect imitation of a fabulous painting, so is the painting a dim reflection of the world God has created... where every heart and every thing was truly born with a song it was made to sing. What is the song that you hear?

Listening to: "Sing," by Ellie Holcomb

Creating Opportunity

I'm taking a little break from any big arts and crafts projects for now, just coloring and doodling a bit here and there, and yet I continue to see the creativity of God in my life.

Over the past couple months, I've been honored to participate in a local church's development of a new Sunday morning English language learning program. A team of about 10 members of the church volunteered to invest in this program as a way to love and serve the international members of our community. Most of them do not have a teaching degree, and only a few have worked with people from other cultures, but I've been so impressed and blessed by their willingness to do whatever is needed to make this possible. So we met several times to plan, practice, promote, prepare, and pray together, and last Sunday was our first scheduled class! Look at all these beautiful, eager, friendly faces that were just anticipating welcoming their first students!

No students showed up that morning.

Smiles and shoulders sagged ever-so-slightly as the whole team felt disappointed but worked hard to maintain a positive outlook. We sat around the classroom and looked at the snacks that were waiting to be eaten, the pencils that were waiting to be held, the chairs that were waiting to be sat upon. I looked around at the faces that were waiting to greet, connect, teach, learn and love, and prayed silently, Lord, we're ready...what's the hold up? 

There have been times in "ministry life" when I have felt spiritual oppression, barricades, and attacks and have learned how to pray against those things in the name of Jesus. But that morning, I didn't feel any of that. I felt like we were all exactly where we were supposed to be, doing exactly what we were supposed to do, and could almost visibly see Jesus sitting with us, smiling, nodding, even clapping. I got the strangest feeling that he had no intention for there to be any students in our class that day. This was smack-dab in the middle of his will and plan. What I couldn't figure out was... why?

Our group decided the best way to spend this time together was to pray. We prayed for the dream and vision that we shared, we prayed for those who would join us soon, and we thanked God for whatever-the-heck He was doing. Then we came up with a new strategy to bring people in...

See, the original plan was to invite clients through World Relief, invite local international churches to come, and announce it at this church. We purposefully did not send mass announcements out through the schools and other community organizations, because we didn't want to get overwhelmed. Since this team is new to this sort of ministry, I wanted to keep it small for our 6-week "trial run." The plan is, after the trial period, the team will take the summer to use what they learned and prepare a full program to launch in the fall. We just didn't expect our limited invitation to have no results at all.

So the new strategy is this: personal invitation. Who do you know in your community who could benefit from this program? Do you know anyone who does not speak much English? If not, take it to another degree - do you know anyone who knows anyone who wants to learn English? A friend or neighbor is much more likely to show up at this church, than someone who is handed a flyer about a place they've never gone and a group of people they've never met. The team considered this, and then started to respond:

"I could tell some of the parents of my kids at school..."
"My manicurist might be interested..."
"You know, I've been looking for a good excuse to check out that new temple down the road..."

Fast forward to Week #2!

Same smiling and welcoming faces, same bright and empty room. Except... one. One woman came in, and the beautiful shade and shape of her face told me that she was probably from South Sudan. She was welcomed with all the pent-up joy and love that our team had been storing for two weeks! She was familiar to some people in the group because she attended that church and had friends there. She understands and speaks English well, and said she hoped to learn to read and write with us. We all introduced ourselves to her and asked her to share some of her story with us, which she did. We prayed with her, and as we ended our time one volunteer (who had brought a beautiful spread of snacks) wrapped up all the cookies and oranges for her to take home to her family. The woman thanked us and asked if it was OK if she invited a couple friends to come with her next week. YES!! we all but shouted eagerly.

While the team was waiting, I talked with a few of the members, and listened to their stories. They told me about the people they had seen, met, and talked with throughout the previous week, people they had barely noticed before that they realized were all around them: the Korean man who owns the dry cleaner, the Pakistani couple with the gas station, the Hispanic construction crew in their neighborhood, etc. The team was suddenly seeing and caring about the international members of their community! And I wonder if maybe that was God's plan and purpose all along...

One person matters. She is strong and brave and full of grace. She felt loved and welcomed into our room, and will link arms to bring others in. Maybe the people in the community - the nail salon, the gas station, the temple - will feel loved and welcomed, too, and because of that maybe they will come see what this program is about. It might be small and slow-growing for a while, but it is also deeply personal and intentional.

The measure of success of this dream is not in numbers of students or progressive language skills, but in renovated hearts and transformative relationships... in the ways we begin to look and act and love more like Jesus.

The Tale as Old as Time

I finished it! One month, from beginning to end, and so pleased with the result... 

Thank you, Andrew, for giving me such a thoughtful gift, and thank you, readers, for following along on this little journey with me! It was really special to spend this time listening to some of my favorite praise songs, reflecting on love and grace, and meditating on color and story and symbolism in stitches. I took so much joy in creating and worshiping the Creator in the process.

In case you were curious, the image came from the Thomas Kinkade Disney Dreams Collection, and is just a small piece of a much bigger and even more elaborate and beautiful painting called "Falling in Love." (I did look it up, and there are also 5x7"-half-picture and 16x12"-full-picture cross-stitch patterns of the same painting - that would be a challenge!) Yet another illustration of how our limited vantage point is only a small piece of the grander story...

This last song link is not "technically" a praise song, but if you've learned anything from this blog series, I'm sure you can find a way to let it lead you to worship. And if you do, please comment below and let me know how. (Also, be sure to pay special attention to the last image that is shown at the end of this music video!)

Listening to: "Beauty and the Beast," by Celine Dion and Peabo Bryson


P.S. Cross-stitching is just one way I like to be creative. I also like to color, sketch, write poetry, crochet, take pictures, etc. Maybe you like to cook, bake, garden, cut hair, carve wood, do make-up, sew, glue, paint, macrame, quilt, basket-weave, Lego-design, make wreaths, make jewelry, make music, build, fix, or renovate. Whatever you do to add beauty and life and purpose to the world, remember that it is a gift from the Creator, let it draw you closer to his heart, and use it well as an offering of praise and worship to him.

Belle, Complete

I'm so close to finishing this project! I'm done with all the cross-stitches, and am working on the outline now, and just completed the image of Belle. 

I really love the character of Belle, and I always have, because I felt like I could relate to her. She's a bookworm, a dreamer, and a little odd, not really fitting in to the quiet and predictable and "provincial" life she feels surrounded by, longing to be a part of something much bigger than herself but not knowing what that is quite yet. And for all her ideas about who she might become or where she might end up, I'm certain that she never could have imagined that she would be experiencing this moment, hand in hand and face to face with a Beast that she did not fear, but instead cared for, trusted, and loved.

Being a dreamer is hard sometimes, especially when you are a follower of Jesus. The problem isn't that we're limited and the world is too small - quite the contrary! Knowing that God is creative and awesome and has limitless resources, time, and power and that ALL things are possible with Him... and knowing that HE actually has a wonderful plan and purpose for me... is overwhelming. I tremble in silent wonder on the brink of the great unknown - the days and months and years, the steps and miles and voyages he has in store. It's all so much more than I could dream of on my own - my wildest imagination cannot touch the glory of His plan.

Over and over I see it happen to people in the Bible, and over and over again I have seen it happen in my own life: simple, quiet, unassuming characters in a poor provincial world, who just hold on to the Promise with faith and trust in the God of the universe... walking step by step into adventure and magic and thrilling hope. Oh God, you are great and do marvelous things!

Listening to: Better Than Life, by Phil Whickham 

Common Thread

I started working on Belle recently, and I was surprised by how many colors I use for her that I also used for Beast. From Dark Red-Brown to Medium Gold, it just goes to show that no matter how different we think we are, there are things that we all have in common, that bind us together.

In the story of Beauty and the Beast, the natural tendency is to think of Belle as "the Beauty," but I was reminded of what the enchantress told Beast when he was cursed: "Do not be deceived by appearances, for beauty is found within." Really, the story is about discovering the beauty inside the beast. As Belle got to know the Beast, she began to see that inner beauty, through the ways he showed kindness and gentleness toward her, and in the ways he fought for her and protected her.

I was thinking about how (contrary to the handsome actors who typically play him in movies) Jesus wasn't a beauty. Isaiah said that "he had no form or majesty that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him. He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not" (Is. 53:2-3). Thing is, He is God, so he really could have picked any human shell he wanted to, right? He could have looked like Hercules or even Jim Caviezel if he had wanted to! But I think he chose to look average-to-ugly (or less than desirable) to be even more like us (Phil. 2:6-7)... to give us more common thread to relate to and feel in some way connected with him. I'm so thankful he stooped so low, not just in his life but abundantly more so in his death...

This week before Easter, as I reflect on the cross and all the bloody, gory, horrific realities it represents, I am overcome with thankfulness... because I know that Jesus died so I could be forgiven and restored. He may not have been a pretty face, but to those of us who have met him - who have been saved and redeemed and changed forever by him - he is the most beautiful person in the universe.


Listening to: How Beautiful, by Twila Paris

For the Birds

I finished up "the Beast" and a few odds-and-ends, so I'm now done with five or so colors! A friend told me about how if you save the bits of left-over thread, you can set it outside and the birds will use it to "decorate" their nests... which sounds like something my Grandma Chandler would have done, so I've decided to do it!

Some of what I have been finishing up involves just 1-5 stitches here and there around the edges of the image. Part of me doesn't want to waste the effort it takes to thread the needle (topic of the next post) to put a couple of tiny Xs where they may or may not even be noticed. But then I realized that these little spots are actually part of the bigger picture... the one that goes beyond the frame and the canvas. They are edges of leaves that belong to unseen trees, and they are stones that lean into other unseen stones that make up unseen walls that hold up towers that... well, you get the idea. They remind me that what is seen is not the whole story and is not where the journey ends. They are like the ellipses at the end of a sentence, indicating there is more, so much more...

(see what I did there?)


Everything in all creation points to the bigger picture - from the smallest leaf to the highest tower, from the most powerful ruler to the baby that is so tiny and new its mother doesn't even know about it yet -  nothing is insignificant in turning our focus and leading our hearts to majesty of God. Praise the Lord that what is visible is not all there is. Praise the Lord that what is mortal is not the end. Praise the Lord that his glory does not fade, his love does not fail, his mercy does not die, and his amazing story stretches from eternity to eternity... 

Listening to: "O Praise the Name (Anastasis)," by Hillsong Worship

The Beast, in Layers

Ok, enough with the background colors already... Do we even remember what this image is about? Right, Beauty and the Beast - that classic tale of unconventional and unexpected love. 

I've turned my attention to the Beast... There are four shades of brown that layer upon each other to create his shaggy head, so it took a couple days for me to complete it. As I worked on his face, I listened to the fabulous soundtrack to the live-action(ish) movie, especially enjoying Dan Stevens' solo, "Evermore."

This image that I'm stitching comes at the moment in the story when Beast realizes he loves Belle, and because of that love he has to let her go... choosing to give her freedom is a frightening and difficult thing, because she could choose to abandon him and forget him. But his love is stronger than his fear, and he does what is right, even if it hurts (or kills) him. What courage! 

It feels like the gospel is in this story... the way selfishness and hatred create a beast, a curse which cannot be reversed except through the pure and true love of another. It isn't a true analogy, because Belle isn't Jesus, she is human and has her own issues to work through... but I'll save those thoughts for when I stitch Belle. :) For now, as I focus on this moment with the Beast, I'm praising the Lord that in my weakest, worst, "beastliest" state, He loves me, and He is faithful and true. 

Listening to: "My Redeemer is Faithful and True," by Steven Curtis Chapman