COUNTRY COMFORTS

The house and barns had been completely painted now and their fresh, clean colors offered a stark contrast to the fading landscape all around.
from "The Fields of May"


I wanted to share a few pictures with you today to show you what I've been up to. I recently finished these two embroidered miniature pictures after someone gave me the kits years ago. They always appealed to me, but I thought they would be a big project. Turns out they were relatively easy to do and very pretty when done. I was thrilled to hang them upstairs in my "country farm corner," in the big open hall area. Couldn't get everything in this last picture, but the large framed painting is a rooster and red barn. The black framed picture between the new embroideries is a couple of chickens looking out through the wire in their barn window. This was taken on one of our trips to Tennessee! Sitting right below the weather vane is a rusty iron chicken planter on wheels that sits in a transferware bowl and pitcher. I have baby's breath in the chicken planter! Sorry I couldn't get that in the picture!

How about a little recipe suggestion for this wintry, day in the country? Yesterday I made something new. Actually I made it up and thought you might enjoy it as well. Here's what I did. I took about three-four frozen boneless, skinless, chicken breasts and put them in the crock pot on low early in the day, turning it up to high later. After they were cooked and bubbling I added a can of cream of chicken soup, some pepper, and about half a can of tomato sauce. I stirred it up and let it cook for a while longer on low. The chicken tended to flake apart easily after awhile. I turned the crock pot down (I have a 'keep warm" feature) and added about a cup of sour cream (only because I didn't have cream cheese, which I would have preferred!). Before supper I cooked up some fancy pasta and served the chicken mixture over the top! Easy meal. Everyone said it was good. I was thinking that I could now take the pasta and chicken, add milk and Italian seasoning, cook on low in the crock pot and have soup for a second meal! It was a great combination of flavors with an elegant twist for very little effort. Try it and let me know if you liked it!

What else am I doing lately? Well, writing, enjoying my new book that is now in print--hurray! and lots of needlework. Started a very unique pair of gloves for JT and am working on dedication dresses (heirloom style) for the little granddaughters.

I might be speaking or "tag team speaking" with Clint this Sunday as he preaches on the gifts of the Holy Spirit from 1 Corinthians. Pray for me if you think of it--I haven't exactly consented and given him a 'yes' answer yet, so the details and studying are not worked out yet. However, this subject is very close to my heart and intriguing to me. I am looking forward to studying the examples that are in the Bible--there are many--where even in the Old Testament, the prophets were obviously functioning by the Holy Spirit and doing ministry enabled by His power. As well as that, you can read through the book of Acts after reading and studying the list in 1 Corinthians and see the obvious--that the people in the early church and the miracles we read about were manifestations of the Holy Spirit--the gifts in operation! It is really a cool study. Blessings, LORI

TANGLED THREADS-2

Here are the promised pictures of the bobbin lace bookmark project! I hope you like them. I finished the project just about 2-3 days after I started it. Let me explain to you a few of the features of this bookmark. This will be a little bobbin lace lesson for you. I suppose this looks just like alot of tangled threads to most people, especially in the construction stages. Actually I have thought that myself when trying to work difficult patterns!

You will see that the body of the finished bookmark is about 5 inches long. This is very small indeed! On the second picture you see what look like "fans." These are called "fans"--surprise! They are made with whole stitches or cloth stitches. The area between the "fans" is called "ground." Various grounds can be worked in bobbin lace. One of the grounds shown here is "rose ground," (third diamond down from the top) a ground I am quite unfamiliar with working. It was a challenge to me. The "ground" is the little series of squares between the fans. The other section between the fans is called "spiders." If you can take a real good close-up look at these sections, you will see why the lace in this section is called spiders. The threads appear to form a body with eight legs! The top and bottom diamonds of ground are half-stitch ground--one of the simplest stitches, but a challenging ground for me for some reason. If you look really closely, you can see that I made mistakes! Oh, well; I'm self taught!

I told you there are some spiritual insights to be drawn from bobbin lace. What looks like a mess of tangled threads to most people can be made into something of exquisite beauty by the lacemaker. It reminds me of our lives. Many people have things in their pasts that make their entire life seem like "tangled threads." Threads of dysfunction, threads of excesses, threads of mistakes making miles upon miles of problems that seem to be tangled beyond repair. However, when a life of tangled threads is given to Christ, He is able to weave something beautiful out of the threads. He can take what was a real mess and create something worthwhile. You can put the threads of your life on His pattern (take a closer look at the pattern on my last post) and the results will soon begin. His pattern is outlined in the Bible. When you follow its instructions, you will reap good results. Just like the lace needs support from the pins until it is thoroughly woven, we too need support and encouragement in various ways as we live this life. It is an error to think you can "get saved" and then just go off your own way and never receive the support of daily Bible reading, the support of a church, or a relationship with the Lord through prayer. If the bobbin lace were not woven around pins, there would be no strength to it. The same stitches that are now beautiful and orderly would collapse on themselves and be shapeless.

If you are one of those people who feels their life is a mess of tangled threads, allow the Lord to begin His weaving process to produce an article of useful beauty! It's never too late and you're never too messed up for Him to recover! "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new." 2 Corinthians 5:17 Blessings, LORI

TANGLED THREADS

Take a look at the pictures below! How's this for some interesting winter projects? Do you know what this is? Allow me to introduce you to one of my hobbies--Bobbin Lace! This is the principle way lace was made before machines were invented during the industrial revolution. Bobbin lace was popular from approx. the 1500's on until machines came on the scene that could do the same work. Bobbin lace is made on a "pillow" that is packed with some form of stuffing. The traditional material is straw. Then the pillow is covered with a smooth cloth. A pattern with holes in it is placed on top and bobbins wound with thread are hung in pairs at the top of the pattern and the lace is woven on the pattern and supported at regular intervals with pins. In this first picture, you see one of my pillows; I have several. This one is homemade. The bobbins from left to right are as follows: 2 homemade ones constructed from bamboo skewers and wooden beads. Next are English style plastic bobbins with beads attached for weight. The beads are called "spangles," and serve to weight the bobbins and keep them from rolling around too much. I love spangling as much as I love lacemaking. I collect glass beads and save broken jewelry for this purpose. You also see a dark bobbin closer to the center of the pillow. This one is a nice wooden English bobbin--the most expensive style I own. Almost directly under the pattern near the center is a plain wooden one that appears like a sort of "handle." This one is a Danish style bobbin, if I remember correctly. It's been quite a while since I purchased it. Next to it is another homemade one and so on across the pillow. Atop the pillow is a beautiful magnifying glass and you can probably guess why I keep that attached to the pillow. It fits in the black bag. Two pincushions are also pinned to the pillow as well as a pair of scissors.

The second picture is a close-up of some of the spangles. The green beads with roses on them are antique glass beads that I have in abundance. A friend gave them to me. Of all things...she found them in a dump in an old cold cream jar. Someone had saved the beads from an old necklace and apparently they were thrown away. Wow, was I glad to get those! The very last picture is one of my other pillows--straw stuffed--with my all-time favorite lace pattern. I read that it is meant to represent the winding of a certain English river. When Rhiannon and I visited England two years ago, we suddenly crossed a river and the sign indicated that it was this one! We had to take a picture! The piece of lace called lies next to the pattern being worked on the pillow. I keep it together so that when I demonstrate people can see the finished product as well as the work in progress. This is a "Bedfordshire" lace pattern. Many types of bobbin lace are named for the regions in England or Europe where they were produced. Befordshire is my favorite style, though I have not become totally proficient at working it. I did make the piece shown. The Bedfordshire style has many thicker areas in the patterns as well as picots--the little loops that you see on the edges. Another feature of "Beds" the shortened name for this type of lace is "plaiting," a type of braiding that is difficult to see in this picture.

Since we posted these pictures, I have finished the bookmark being constructed on the lavender pillow. I'll try to post a picture soon. It is exquisite, if I do say so myself.

I know this looks like tangled threads to many people, but it intrigues me. Stay tuned for some spiritual comparisons that can be drawn from lacemaking! Blessings, LORI

WHERE'S THE POST?

I suppose some of you have been wondering why I haven't posted as often as usual lately. Well, this week the reason is that someone borrowed my camera card and I haven't been able to take pictures to make the posts more interesting. And to add to that--there isn't much interesting going on here right now! Winter in the north can be rather confining. I've experienced that more than ever this year. Without the chicken chores to do, I don't even get outdoors as much as I used to in other years.

The slowed economy has affected us a bit and we stay home more often than we used to. For instance, we usually went out to eat at least once during a weekend and I noticed last week that I was watching the same television program on a Saturday evening for the fourth week in a row! Now, that's unusual!

I even got out my Old English course a few days in a row and studied a bit. Kori and JT got me this course for Christmas a few years ago and I haven't finished it. I love to study the roots of our language--to me it is fascinating.

So, being kind of "closed in" there is less to post about! However, I have been writing on my series and am getting close to completely finishing the third book. I am in the "tweaking" stages, adding chapter titles, checking wording, etc. Soon it will go to the proofreader.

I have an upcoming speaking engagement in March and I'm getting ready for that already. I'm doing alot of tatting so that I will have bookmarks to sell along with books.

So, for now that's about it. Longing for my garden........ Stay tuned and keep the faith! Blessings, LORI

"FIRST LOVE" AND FEEDING MY FEATHERED FRIENDS

It sure is good to be back posting something after a whole week! I just had nothing to say for a change! Imagine that?! I really did though, because meanwhile I was writing up a storm on my series!

Here are some pictures of me making homemade bird food. I ventured out today and went to one of our local stores that specialize in bird feeding supplies. I purchased some cracked corn and a suet holder, a finch-feeding sock and some thistle seed. We are in the midst of a huge snowfall here in southern Michigan. I knew the birds would be hungry and having a hard time finding food once it really hits. I've been meaning to make up my special recipe suet all fall and winter and never did it. Today I finally go to it. Our church has a sausage sale each year for our bazaar. The by product of that is lard. I buy a few tubs of that each year and mix with cheap peanut butter. I add to that whole wheat flour, wheat bran, cornmeal; whatever grain-based stuff I have like that. Then I usually add old jelly and freezer burned fruit. The birds love it! I freeze the stuff in hamburger-patty style molds on a wax-papered cookie sheet. Today's recipe included strawberry jam, pear jam, sour cherry jelly, sweet cherries, strawberries and dried cranberries! It's kind of like a peanut butter and jelly sandwich for birds!

I taught a friend how to make the suet and since she has been doing that her birds have become very choosy. They much prefer the homemade to any other kind. She rations it out to them because they are so eager for the stuff that they go through a cake a day! The last picture is right after I put out the food. A few little birds came immediately to indulge! However, I must tell you, they went to the store bought cake first. I'm not sure if they don't like my cooking this year or what. I suspect it had something to do with the fact that the cake was not yet hardened and I placed it on wax paper that was rustling with the wind. It usually takes a few days for them to get used to something new, I've noticed. Aren't we people even a little like that?

A few thoughts on first love......Since we are nearing Valentine's Day, I thought it appropriate to comment on "first love." This phrase was going through my mind today as I prayed and pondered. Of course, immediately the Bible verse from 1John 4:19 came to mind. "We love Him because He first loved us."

Jesus was the perfect example of love. He first loved us even when we were unlovable. Isn't that a great thought? It's a rare person that doesn't want to experience the excitement of finding out that someone is "in love" with them. I kept thinking about the kind of love we term "first love"--a romantic sort of love that most everyone has experienced at one time or another in their lives. Of course, since I write courtship fiction, I do try to encourage believers to wait for God's choice of "first love." Still, we most all can identify with that in one way or another. It's a really wonderful feeling to find out that someone is attracted to you. Remember?

Well, as I pondered this scripture, I thought about how very wonderful it is that Christ has a type of "first love" for us. He is pursuing us. He longs for us to give Him our heart. It is His initiative that draws us to seek Him. Even when I feel rejected by others, (and believe me, it does happen!) I can remember that I am wanted and loved by Christ who is the most perfect example of love.

As you think of Valentine's Day, think of love and dwell on Christ's love to you. The Bible speaks so much about all kinds of love. God is love.

Hey, just a little note--one of the exciting things of late is that I recently read my new copy of "A Sturdy Fence." How exciting for me! There's alot about love in that book! Blessings, LORI

THE QUEST FOR WISDOM

I've been busy finishing a few projects--remember my committment to do that a while back? Well, one project came up quite unexpectedly--a project that had hung in the closet unfinished for some time. I discovered that a dress I was making for my granddaughter was finally something she had "grown into," and therefore needed to be finished as soon as possible. An hour or so of work and it was done. The dress front features an "apron" that I made from an old embroidered pillowcase! What do you think? The other project actually belongs to a friend. She asked me to finish a set of dresser cloths. I crocheted around the edge and am now working on the matching one that needs embroidery as well!

I want to share with you what I noticed in my Bible just yesterday. I had recently re-begun the practice of reading a chapter in Proverbs that corresponded to the day of the month. I did this years ago and it was a great way to sort of "fast forward" your understanding since Proverbs is a great wisdom book.

Of course, yesterday's reading was chapter 2. I immediately noticed that the chapter was speaking of how to gain wisdom. My eyes and ears perked up as I've been recently needing some guidance on several little issues. I made sure as I read the first few verses that I had diligently followed the requirements for receiving. I checked them off mentally as I read. Yep, yep, yep, did that, etc. I was excited to find that in verse 7 the Bible declares that the Lord has even "stored up" wisdom for the upright. Am I upright? According to the New Testament we are being made the righteousness of God in Christ (2 Cor. 5:21). I wouldn't be upright on my own, I try to do good, but I fall short. Thankfully, Christ exchanged my shortcomings for His righteousness. So that one was covered. Then the middle verses seemed to list all kinds of things that I will be preserved from if I walk in this understanding and wisdom. How encouraging to know that getting closer to God preserves me from alot of trouble. I can testify to the truth of these verses as I look at the many traps I've been saved from in my life because of the knowledge of God's principles. Thank you, Lord!

I've recently needed answers on a number of little situations. I was encouraged as I read this Proverb today and found that wisdom is already stored up for me. It's a matter of drawing on what God has already given to the saints who seek Him. As usual, if I seem to have a block on some matter, it's not God who is not speaking, it's me who is not hearing! Take heart today in the God who speaks, the God who goes before you to preserve you, the God who sees the end from the beginning and looks out for your best interest, ready to give you all you need for life and godliness. Read 2 Peter 1:3 and meditate on its truths. Blessings, LORI