Bible in 90 Days - Day 11

I didn't read this morning. Usually, I try to read my Bible first thing in the morning or right after I get back from exercising. Today I had to be ready to leave the house at 8:30 and spent the whole morning scrambling. I didn't read today's assignment until 4:00 this afternoon.

I missed my morning reading. I felt like I was getting the day off on the wrong foot by not reading the Bible first thing. It's amazing how quickly I've come to rely on that prayer time and devotional time spent in God's word.

Today's reading was Numbers 9 through 21. What impressed me the most was how often I read "and the Israelites became angry and complained about God's care." Over and over and over again. God took care of His people. He still takes care of His people. And yet the Israelites complained because they weren't happy with the food. They were afraid God wasn't going to provide water. They were jealous of Moses being the leader even though Moses had the job they would probably run screaming from if they really understood what was involved!

Lord, please help me to be content and to trust You. Help me to avoid complaining but to remember that You ALWAYS provide. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen.

My First Quilt Top!

I am so excited! I finally finished my first quilt top.



I kinda sorta like it. I don't like the vertical blue border we had to add to bring the quilt to the correct finished size. This quilt was not planned out from the beginning. I made the blocks 12" each. Then we (seemingly randomly) picked a sashing size. Then we worked with what little fabric we had left to make the brown border. After that, we measured the quilt and determined that we had to add a second border to bring it to the needed size. Blech. My perfectionism was screaming the entire time.

That said, I learned A LOT making this quilt top. I now know to plan the entire top in advance, how to press the blocks (as opposed to ironing. Oops!), and how to keep my seams straight. The back of this quilt top is not pretty but I consider it a successful lesson.

Tomorrow, I will be attending the monthly women's ministry meeting. My quilting teacher will be showing me how to assemble the three layers and how to tie it all together. I'm not sure how long tying takes, but maybe I'll have a finished quilt soon.

Next on my project list is my grandparents' quilt. I have the fabric picked out and washed. I just need to iron it all and then I can start cutting the squares out. Maybe since I made a bunch of mistakes on my first quilt top, I'll be able to avoid those mistakes on my second! Once I finish this quilt, I'll be starting Hazel's mystery quilt. I'm already 10 days behind on the instructions, but I'm hoping to finish my grandparents' quilt in a month. Then I will start on Hazel's quilt and catch up on the instructions.

Bible in 90 Days - Day 10

I started Numbers today. The overwhelming majority of the reading was about the first Israelite census and the sacrifices given when the sanctuary was completed.

God gave the priests an awesome blessing that they were to bestow on the people.

The Lord bless thee, and keep thee:
The Lord make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee:
The Lord lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace
Numbers 6:24-27.

What an amazing blessing!

Bible in 90 Days - Day 9

I finished reading Leviticus today, covering chapters 15 through 27. These chapters covered laws about adultery, lying, Sabbath breaking, etc. It also talked about how to diagnose illness and if someone is considered unclean, as well as the steps for them to become clean.

The reading was a bit dry but I had to wonder how many of these guidelines should still be followed today. The laws for cleanliness would probably still be considered good guidelines for avoiding contagions.

I've realized that spending so much time in the Bible, between half an hour and an hour a day, has left me more picky about my leisure time. Hubby and I wanted to rent a movie tonight. Most of the time we rent from Redbox as we generally have codes for free movies. Unfortunately, Redbox didn't have any movies that we wanted to see. Prior to starting this challenge, I might have wanted to see some of the newer dramas. But I looked at the R rating and realized that I didn't want to watch something that would push me out of the comforting feeling that Christ is nearby.

I can't guarantee that my pickiness concerning books and movies will continue. I hope I will continue to be more aware and choosy of what I'm watching. But for tonight, we chose to visit Blockbuster and picked up Toy Story and Toy Story 2. Good clean fun and they are movies that I would feel comfortable watching with Christ.

Bible in 90 Days - Day 8

Wow. My takeaway from the day's reading is that sin is serious. I read Leviticus 1 through 14 and most of it was about different types of offerings. The lists are detailed. Specific sins require specific offerings. The age, type, and gender of an animal is detailed. Each animal had to be in perfect condition, not a spot or blemish on it.

Sin is very serious if it requires such attention to detail when the sinner sacrifices to receive atonement.

I am so glad that I was born in this time period. It would be really hard to stomach picking out an animal, taking it to the sanctuary, and then slitting it's throat. All because I lied. But that's how serious sin really is. My sins killed Jesus Christ. And the Jewish sacrifices illustrated the gravity of sin. I am thankful that I don't have to sacrifice an animal every time I sin. But I also pray that I will be ever mindful of how serious my sins are, how much they cost both the Father and the Son.

Bible in 90 Days - Day 7

First week is complete! I've read all of Genesis and Exodus.

This morning, I found my thoughts drifting during the reading. Parts of it were really interesting (golden calf) but most of it was a list of lists about the tabernacle. I know the details are important and the sanctuary is a great study. But it's hard to just read it all, especially 11 chapters of it.

I love how Exodus concludes.

Then a cloud covered the tent of the congregation, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. And Moses was not able to enter into the tent of the congregation, because the cloud abode thereon, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. And when the cloud was taken up from over the tabernacle, the children of Israel went onward in all of their journeys: But if the cloud were not taken up, then they journeyed not till the day that it was taken up. For the cloud of the Lord was upon the tabernacle by day, and fire was on it by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel, throughout all their journeys
Exodus 40:34-38.

God was physically with the children of Israel throughout their journey to Canaan. Even after the Israelites rejected God's leading them into Canaan, He didn't abandon them. The text says that God was there throughout all their journeys.

Even when I am not perfect, when I speak crossly to my husband or don't study my Bible as I should, God is still with me. He loves me. And for that, my natural response is to love Him in return.

Pillowcases complete!

I am so excited. Finally, after much delay and a bit of procrastination, I have finished my first set of pillowcases (used this pattern). The first one was completed several weeks ago, but I procrastinated on finishing the second pillowcase and then took an emergency trip to Texas.


The picture is the pillowcase I finished this afternoon. They're matching, so I saw no need to set up the other and take a picture. ;)

I bought this fabric years ago, I think while I was still in high school. My plan was to sew two pillowcases for my brother, as he was obsessed with using chili peppers to decorate his bedroom. I don't know why I waited so long to start these, but hopefully he still likes them. If not, he will at least appreciate the humor in his old decorating taste.

If I have the time tomorrow, I'm going to hand wash the fabric for my grandpa's quilt. Then I can start cutting out all the squares I will be sewing together.