Knit and Crochet Bible Study

Month: October 2016

  • Through My Headset–Crash the Chatterbox

    “..and take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.” 2 Corinthians 10:5

    Recently my small group did a 6 week study that so impacted my life I have to share it.

    After we completed the study I plugged in the headphones to hear the book, read by the author.  I particularly liked that what the stories the author used in the video were not the same as in the book, so I am not just rehashing what we had covered.

    Pastor Steven Furtick really shed light on that chatterbox we listen to in our heads.  The best visual I could think of to describe the chatterbox and its constant badgering in my head is the old video game Break Out (is that what it’s called?). A  ball goes from one side of the screen to the other, breaking down bricks of the wall, smashing against them and moving in another direction. 

    In my head the ball bounces back and forth, breaking my concentration, my confidence, my self worth. Each brick it smashed created dozens of shards that attacked me, telling me I a failure, I cannot do anything right, no one wants to listen to me, I am nothing.

    In the video series, Pastor Furtick interviews “The Chatterbox” and brings this imaginary attacker to life. By seeing the chatterbox as someone I could face, I could challenge, it gave me strength to say “shut up, I am not listening to you”.

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    I have heard and read many articles telling me to just trust God and everything would be okay. But I found that voice in my head was louder than God’s voice. God was speaking, but in the loud chatter of all the lies, I wasn’t hearing His truth.

    Now I tune in to God’s voice, like a dial on the radio. I am actively practicing shutting out that chatterbox that tells me I am nothing. That chatterbox that is filled with lies and deceit.

    It has to be a conscious effort. It doesn’t happen naturally, yet. But like everything else, I must continue to daily do this, it must become as natural to me as breathing. I must choose to listen to the truth of God’s Word, just as I choose to listen to my husband, child, or friend as we sit in a crowded coffee shop. I tune out the noise of the coffee shop to hear the one I am with; so I must tune out the chatterbox to hear the God of my life.grandma_ghetto_blaster_lg_clr

    If you have a chatterbox in your head, I highly recommend “Crash the Chatterbox” book and study.  In fact, you can go to You Tube and watch as Pastor Furtick delivers this message in a 6 part series while you are working on your latest knit/crochet project.

    Tune out the world, tune in to God.

    “..and take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.” 2 Corinthians 10:5

  • I Am A W.I.P

    Romans 12:2  Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but be a new and different person with a fresh newness in all you do and think. Then you will learn from your own experience how his ways will really satisfy you.

    If  you have been working knit or crochet projects for any time at all, you are familiar with the term WIP. It stands for “Work In Progress”.   In my home I have several closets which have become hide-aways for various WIP projects.

    I place this projects in these hide-away places when I find an error in my work that I do not wish to address; or I have become bored with the direction the pattern is going. Sometimes I do so because I have found a project that I think is more interesting. In other words, I am not satisfied with the project.

    It’s not only the projects that get hidden away.  I am learning that I, too, tend to hide. It could be because I feel I have been wronged, or that I have done wrong. It could be that I don’t feel worthy or that I want something different. I want what someone else has, whether it is a physical object or a perceived emotional state; either way I am comparing myself to others. I am not satisfied with who I am. I am hiding because, in my mind, I am incomplete.

    The truth is, I am incomplete.  I am a work in progress. Hiding away doesn’t change that. Staying out in the open doesn’t change it either. I am God’s Masterpiece, unfinished, stitched more each day (Ephesians 2:10)!

    I may try hiding, yet unlike the projects I toss in the closet and forget they are there, God knows where I am and continues to work on me.  He reminds me not to seek the approval of those around me or to conform to others. I will never be satisfied because there will always be someone who will find a fault or disagreement with me.  He is stitching me with a fresh newness so that I may be satisfied in Him.

    God continues to work on the project that is me. He hasn’t given up on me and tossed me aside.  Even with what I consider flaws in my pattern, He sees them as design enhancements. He continues to weave Himself through the stitches each day with a fresh newness.

    It’s time to step into the light, unfinished, yet in progress, until completion.  My satisfaction is in Him.

  • My First Knit Crochet Bible Study Groups

    My First Knit Crochet Bible Study Groups
    I thought I’d use this month to share how I started my first groups. You could call it ‘the foundation row’. (for the story of how the Knit and Crochet Bible Studies started check out the about page on my website CLICK HERE)

    After compiling several ‘lessons’ I approached the Women’s Director of my church. She read the stories and really liked the idea. The church leaders agreed to try a semester to see if and how it would go over.
    We met in our church coffee shop where the ladies were allowed to sit in comfy chairs and on sofas instead of at a table like most other classes. This allowed for a very relaxed atmosphere.
    At our first meeting there were about 6 ladies and myself.  I gave a brief description of what the next few weeks would be like then launched into a knitting lesson. (The ladies had all been instructed to bring in a skein of yarn and set of needles.)  By the end of the evening, everyone had cast on and was working on the knit stitch. Over time, the purl stitch, increase, decrease, casting off and more were added as well as some crochet techniques.

    The routine after the first session was to have everyone working on their projects while I read the short lesson and then led a discussion.  During the first weeks there was a not a lot of discussion as many find it hard to knit/crochet and talk at the same time while in the early stages of learning. However, it wasn’t long before everyone could move their hands to the stitch and add their thoughts to the conversation without losing their place. Yes, we did learn to frog (rip it) during these episodes as well 🙂 
    By the next semester, getting started was a bit less hectic in my teaching of the craft as I now had some experienced knitters and crocheters. Instead of standing in the midst of several and trying to teach everyone, I could stand in the middle, demonstrate, and each new person would be alongside an experienced person who would help them one-on-one with what I was saying.

    Not all participants wanted to knit or crochet. We had one join our group who brought along a rug she was hooking and others brought in embroidery work.
    As in all groups, some excelled quickly into the craft; some had difficulty and lagged behind. The same applies to Bible Study and our individual relationship with Jesus Christ. We are all at various levels, no matter how long we have been involved.

    Have you hosted a Knit Crochet Bible Study?  What techniques worked for you? What didn’t?  I’d love to hear your stories.