True Love

They say there is a young lady in New Haven who is beloved of that Great Being who made and rules the world. They say that He fills her mind with exceeding sweet delight, and that she hardly cares for anything except to meditate on Him. If you present the world to her, with the richest of its treasures, she disregards it.  She is unmindful of any pain or affliction. She has a singular purity in her affections. You could not persuade her to compromise her true Love even if you would give her all the world. She possesses a wonderful sweetness, calmness, and kindness to these around her. She will sometimes go from place to place, singing sweetly. She seems to be always full of joy and pleasure, and no one knows exactly why. She loves to be alone, walking in the fields and groves, and seems to have Someone invisible always conversing with her.

 

Written of Sara Edwards by Jonathan Edwards, her future husband
(From Marriage to a Difficult Man by Elizabeth Dodd)

Picture by Johnson

Why Were You Born?

This video, created by my Pastor, was such a blessing to me! I encourage you to send it to your friends and family who need to hear God's message of His wonderful plan in creating them! This will soon be available as apps for the 'iphone' and 'ipad' and hopefully for other cellphones as well!
It will also include further information to learn more about each slide soon!

My favorite slide is - "Why were you born?---- Because God wanted you here!"

How simple yet profound! I did not create myself so I have no right to dictate my path in life. I was wanted here by a Master Designer and He has a special plan for me and for each of you as well!

Excellence vs. Perfection

Excellence is willing to be wrong,

Perfection is being right.

Excellence is risk,

Perfection is fear.

Excellence is powerful,

Perfection is anger and frustration.

Excellence is spontaneous,

Perfection is control.

Excellence is accepting,

Perfection is judgment.

Excellence is giving,

Perfection is taking.

Excellence is confident,

Perfection is doubt.

Excellence is flowing,

Perfection is pressure.

Excellence is journey,

Perfection is destination.

~Donna Otto from "Between Women of God"

"Who can find a virtuous (excellent) woman..."

Proverbs 31:10a

This was an eye-opener for me! The Lord really showed me how ugly my perfectionism can be in light of the virtuous model that He has set forth! God does not want me to be "perfect" in my own strength and power, He wants be to allow Him to show forth His strength through me!

He Giveth and Giveth

He giveth more grace as our burdens grow greater,

He sendeth more strength as our labors increase;

To added afflictions He addeth His mercy,

To multiplied trials He multiplies peace.

When we have exhausted our store of endurance,

When our strength has failed ere the day is half done,

When we reach the end of our hoarded resources

Our Father’s full giving is only begun.

Fear not that thy need shall exceed His provision,

Our God ever yearns His resources to share;

Lean hard on the arm everlasting, availing;

The Father both thee and thy load will upbear.

His love has no limits, His grace has no measure,

His power no boundary known unto men;

For out of His infinite riches in Jesus

He giveth, and giveth, and giveth again.
~Annie Johnson Flint

We sang this song in church yesterday. The Lord touched my heart so deeply as I heard these beautiful words. These words came from a lady plagued by rheumatoid arthritis who was a "shut in". She lost her family and was alone in the world, except for her sister and her Lord. She witnessed the Lord's infinite power and mercy and the Lord used her mightily to minister to others.

This encouraged me, because, sometimes, I don't feel like I have much to give and I am so overwelmed with burdens that I bear, but Jesus comes and giveth and giveth and giveth again. This too is my testimony. May you too come and give all your burdens to Jesus and experience the rest and peace in Him.

"Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.
For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. "
Matthew 11:28-29

(Picture from All-Posters by Annie Henniker)

Drawn by Him

"Draw [Lead me away] and we will run after thee:"

Song of Solomon 1:4

The Lord has shown me with all of my "perfectionist anxiety" that not an ounce of my efforts are enough to bring me closer to Him. It is because of His "drawing" powers that this daughter of "weakness" can run after Him. He must draw and I must follow. When I see things from this light it takes all the pressure off of me and frees me to truly bask in the Light of my Savior!

But like a block beneath whose burden lies

That undiscovered worm that never dies,
I have no will to rouse, I have not power to rise.
For can the water-buried axe implore
A hand to raise it, or itself restore,
And from her sandy deeps approach the dry-foot shore?

So hard's the task for sinful flesh and blood,

To lend the smallest help to what is good;
Ah! if but only those who active be,

None should thy glory see, thy glory none should see.
Lord, as I am, I have no power at all
To hear thy voice, or echo to thy call.

Give me the power to will, the will to do;

O raise me up, and I will strive to go:

Draw me, O draw me with thy treble-twist;

That have no power, but merely to resist;

O lend me strength to do, and then command thy list.

Secure in My Savior's Love

The Lord has been revealing so much to me lately about my relationship with Him and the Love that He has for me. I realize that how much my heart overwelms with love for my Savior is all because of His undying love for me. I am so secure in His love for me that I can truly give everything that I have and everything that I am in service to Him!
This song is truly my love song to Jesus!

My Jesus, I love Thee, I know Thou art mine;
For Thee all the follies of sin I resign;
My gracious Redeemer, my Savior art Thou;
If ever I loved Thee, my Jesus, ’tis now.

I love Thee because Thou hast first loved me,
And purchased my pardon on Calvary’s tree;
I love Thee for wearing the thorns on Thy brow;
If ever I loved Thee, my Jesus, ’tis now.

I’ll love Thee in life, I will love Thee in death,
And praise Thee as long as Thou lendest me breath;
And say when the death dew lies cold on my brow,
If ever I loved Thee, my Jesus, ’tis now.

In mansions of glory and endless delight,
I’ll ever adore Thee in heaven so bright;
I’ll sing with the glittering crown on my brow,
If ever I loved Thee, my Jesus, ’tis now.

~William R. Featherston

I so await the day when I can look into my Precious Jesus' face and sing about my love and adoration to Him. It truly "will be worth it all" when I see Him!

Nothing Ever Felt So Right

I have just recently finished the Girl's Study Group Classes at my Church.
Upon completion I have had an overwelming feeling of satisfaction. Satisfaction, not in myself, but in the Lord.
So many people have told me that when you're right in the center of God's will, it just feels so right! I have never had such peace, such a feeling of "right" as I have had since completing these classes. My parents have always told me that everything I had went through when I was younger, such as my father leaving when I was little, self esteem problems, etc., would all be worth it someday when the Lord would use it for good. I have had faith in that for so many years and now I am able to sit here and testify with all my heart that it is so true!!!!!!!
When I was able to finally share parts of my story and testify of what the Lord can do; when I heard the voice of Jesus say, "Kayla, this is it, this is what I've promised you all of these years-- that all things would work together for good because you love me, it's happening." (Romans 8:28)
I can testify to that verse so much more now and I can now say that nothing, nothing has ever felt so right as when you are in the middle of God's will. There is nothing that this world could offer that could give you as much peace or satisfaction as what comes from my Lord!

All praise to Him for blessing me so richly!

What's New...

...with Sewing Seeds & Seams?

Well, a lot of changes have been going on and I figured I needed to post a quick update.
The Lord has slowed my pace down quite a bit as far as the Sewing Classes go. I am, at this time, no longer teaching at the Homeschool Co-op and I have not been teaching regularly at home either.
The Lord has had me focused more on my family-- teaching homeschooling, and ministering to my family in various ways.
I've also been teaching girls at my church things that the Lord has/had revealed to me to encourage them to keep a deeper walk with the Lord.
I feel that the sewing classes prepared me to speak as the Spirit led me, and to feel comfortable teaching and talking to girls.
This new phase of encouraging girls and helping my family in more and more ways is very exciting for me and I look forward to posting more.
As far as sewing goes, I'll still be sewing on my own and finishing projects for others, which I'd still like to share with you all!

Many Blessings in Christ!

Basking in the Son

Today the Lord gave me a unique picture of living in His presence. Lately, I have had a feeling of discouragement when I read the Lord's Word. I knew that this was not right and I got on my knees and sought the Lord to find out why.

I tend to be a perfectionist in areas in my life; this is something the Lord is trying to weed out in me. I know that the Lord created me with an attention to details, but I allow Satan to get a hold when I take it too far. The Lord showed me that this is what I was doing in my time in His Word. I became so caught up in trying to be "perfect", that I missed out on the truths the Lord was trying to show me. He wants me not to just read about Him, or work for Him, but to walk with Him and talk with Him, cultivating a sweet relationship. I was so caught up in an agenda of what I needed to become rather than enjoy my Lord.

That's when the Lord gave me the picture of the lizard. A lizard is cold-blooded so it has to spend time in the sun to regulate its body temperature. The lizard could spend time in his little underground hole studying about the sun and drawing pictures of the sun for the other lizards to see, but he's going to die of hypothermia if he doesn't get in the presence of the sun.

That's how we are, we can learn about the Lord, minister to others about the Lord, and try to develop Godly qualities, but we will wither Spiritually if we are not "basking" in our Lord's presence!

I know thy works, and thy labour, and thy patience, and how thou canst not bear them which are evil: and thou hast tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars:
And hast borne, and hast patience, and for my name's sake hast laboured, and hast not fainted. Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love.
Revelations 2:2-4

(Photo credit- Allposters.com)

Dust of the Actual

In reading Things As They: Mission Work in South India by Amy Carmichael, I came across a phrase that has radically changed my thinking. It has caused me to more clearly see things in the Spirit rather than in the flesh.
Although, Amy Carmichael uses this phrase to describe her mission work and the struggles that she faced; I believe that it is very applicable to our lives. She first heard this phrase in a poem and a portion of that poem is written in the quote; but she puts the meaning into the phrase that gave me insight.

"Finally, I should explain the book's character[poem portion] "Tell about things as they actually are; so said the Two with emphasis. I tried, but the Actual eluded me. It was as if one painted smoke, and them, pointing to the feeble blur, said, "Look at the battle! 'the smoking hell of battle!' There is the smoke!"

The Poet's thought was not this, I know, when she coined the suggestive phrase, "The Dust of the Actual," but it has been the predominating thought in my mind, for it holds that which defines the scope and expresses the purpose of the book...It does not show the Actual Principalities, Powers, Rulers of the Darkness, Potentialities, unknown and unimagined, gathered up into one stupendous Force-- we have never seen it. How can we describe it? What we have seen and tried to describe is only an indication of Something undescribed, and is as nothing in comparison with it-- as Dust in comparison with the Actual."

In another place she writes:

"These deep-rooted ancient and strong philosophies are formidable enough, when rightly understood, to make us feel how little we can do to overturn them; but they are just as "Dust" in comparison with the force of the
"Actual" entrenched behind them. Only superficial Dust; and yet, as in every other case, nothing but the Breath of God can blow this Dust away."
(emphasis and things in brackets added)

These quotes and more have taught me to see past what I can "see" with my physical eyes to what is really there-- the Actual. That in all situations of life,

"...there is Something greater behind it. It is only the effect of a Cause-- the Dust of the Actual."

The "Actual" is the Lord and His army, Satan and His army, and the souls of men.
I have learned to look past the "dust" of others (there flesh and actions) and to look to what is really there, the forces behind what they do and to them as a person.
I have learned to look past the "dust" of situations and seek the Lord to see what is "actually" there, the root issues, the will of the Lord, the workings of the Lord in bringing about His kingdom, and the vices of Satan.

We need to start living in this Heavenly mindset, because this earth and
all the things of the physical nature do not matter; only the things of the
Actual do!

" For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against
principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this
world, against spiritual wickedness in high places."
Ephesians 6:12

Intercession

This video was so encouraging to me. It reminded me of the big picture, which is not about myself, but how I can best serve the Lord. It shook me from the apathy of my "own litttle world" and reminded me that there is indeed a dying world out there.

‘It’s not your skin and how you can save it ~ it’s how you can spend it for His glory.’ – Eric Ludy

"And he saw that there was no man, and wondered that there was no intercessor: therefore his arm brought salvation unto him; and his righteousness, it sustained him."

Isaiah 59:16

Wait on the Lord

"He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might

He increaseth strength.
Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall:
But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary;

and they shall walk, and not faint."

Isaiah 40:29-31

This is my Mom's favorite verse; I remember hearing it when I was younger. When the Lord led me to read it the other day, I realized the full impact of these precious promises. The Lord gives power and more strength to those that don't have any to begin with. The youths, those who we look at in the world that seem to have everything we could wish for, will one day faint and be weary. True strength lies in whom we put our trust in- the Lord. When we "wait upon the Lord" we are relying upon Him and He gives us renewable strength; strength that keeps getting stronger and stronger.

I don't know what you may be going through today- maybe it's physical strength that you feel you are lacking, maybe you feel like you lack the strength to finish a tough project, or maybe you lack the Spiritual strength you need to face a hardship in your life. If you rely on yourself you will lack ability just as the select youths (the best athletes of the day). Rely on the Lord-Wait on Him and He will renew your strength and give you everything you need!

(Picture from Allposters.com)

Sewing Post

Finally a post about sewing;
but, not my own sewing though.
Lately, I have been doing a lot of writing so I have not spent too much time behind my sewing machine. I miss it dearly so I will be soon!

I wanted to share a tutorial with you from a young lady whose blog I have enjoyed very much. This Tiered Skirt Tutorial is great for beginner and experienced seamstresses alike, because it does not require a pattern, and only requires that you know how to gather and sew straight lines! I have made a couple skirts out of this and I really like them. I would post a picture, but they are getting quite worn, time to make some more!

So, I hope you'll try the tutorial and enjoy!

Ashes to Beauty

This song really sums up what I have been thinking about lately. When I was younger, and even at times now, I struggled with a poor self image. I always wanted to know how I could make myself beautiful. I always did things to fit in and make myself "likeable" to other people. I found everyone of my efforts to be fruitless; outward vanities couldn't make up for the pain I felt on the inside. As it says in:

~Proverbs 31:30~
"Favour is deceitful, and beauty is vain: but a woman that feareth the LORD, she shall be praised. "

I realized that beauty on the outside could not fulfill what I was lacking on the inside- true beauty. True beauty comes as we completely give ourselves to the Lord and die to our flesh and live for Him. This beauty can never fade, never be taken away, and never be measured in a beauty pageant. This beauty is lasting and fulfilling and real. As you listen to this song may you see that at the foot of the cross is where we can really trade our ashes of mourning for beauty- Real Beauty!

~Isaiah 61:3~

"To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he might be glorified. "

Happy Belated Valentine's Day!

My Jesus, I love Thee

My Jesus, I love Thee, I know Thou art mine;
For Thee all the follies of sin I resign;
My gracious Redeemer, my Savior art Thou;
If ever I loved Thee, my Jesus, ’tis now.

I love Thee because Thou hast first loved me,
And purchased my pardon on Calvary’s tree;
I love Thee for wearing the thorns on Thy brow;
If ever I loved Thee, my Jesus, ’tis now.

I’ll love Thee in life, I will love Thee in death,
And praise Thee as long as Thou lendest me breath;
And say when the death dew lies cold on my brow,
If ever I loved Thee, my Jesus, ’tis now.

In mansions of glory and endless delight,
I’ll ever adore Thee in heaven so bright;
I’ll sing with the glittering crown on my brow,
If ever I loved Thee, my Jesus, ’tis now.

~William R. Featherston, 1864

The above song is one of my favorites. On Valentine's Day my mind cannot help but run to the Love of my Saviour and Lord and the Love that I have for Him in return. You have not experienced true love until you have experienced love such as this. This love, is sacrificial, true, pure, and genuine. The Lord gave of Himself and how can I not in return renounce all of the "follies" of my sin and serve Him completely!

Real joy and happiness is in this Love. May we experience this Love with the Lord and may it shed abroad to others!!

(Picture from Antiqueclipart.com)