Knit and Crochet Bible Study

Category: Tangled Thoughts

  • Stitched in Christ

    After much procrastination, prayer, hard work, editing, and more prayer, a second ‘Knit and Crochet Bible Study Devotional/Journal’ is now available in Kindle and paperback formats on Amazon.

     

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    I have no big testimony. I live a simple life. I often wonder how God can use someone who enjoys yarn crafts and loves teddy bears. Then I found the verse in Matthew 18 about seeking Him ‘like a little child’. To me this means look for His love, mercies, and grace in the simple things.

     

    This is not intended as a deep study of Scripture. It is designed to encourage you to “be still, and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:10); to seek Him in the small things, even in the gift of knitting and crochet He has instilled in you. It is designed to encourage you to seek a deeper relationship to become ‘Stitched In Christ’.

     

     

    I want you woven into a tapestry of love, in touch with everything there is to know of God. Then you will have minds confident and at rest, focused on Christ, God’s great mystery.  Col 2:2 MSG

  • My Life In Stitches

    My Life In Stitches

    I want them to be encouraged and knit together by strong ties of love. I want them to have complete confidence that they understand God’s mysterious plan, which is Christ himself. Colossians 2:2

    What stitch pattern would represent your life  For me, I think it is the ripple.

    With the ripple stitch, there are highs and lows. It seems I am always climbing high or rolling down.

    Things seem to be going smoothly, all is going as planned, when suddenly…….life happens.

    Perhaps a phone call with bad news, maybe a friend said something hurtful. Down I plunge. And while there I see everything in the negative.

    Then a gracious smile, a pleasant conversation, and I am rising again.

    It continues like that.

    But then I look back at the pattern after a few rows are completed. It looks lovely  A color change here and there and suddenly what seemed confusing and disjointed becomes a warm blanket.

    While facing the ups and downs I feel alone, there is no rhyme or reason. Then I look back. Look how far I have come! Even if I have to frog a bit, there is still a patch that shows me I have made progress. It is here I stand, knowing I may roll down the hill, but realizing I always climb back up.

    What stitch pattern would describe your life?

  • Felted in Jesus

    Patient endurance is what you need now, so that you will continue to do God’s will. Then you will receive all that he has promised. Hebrews 10:36

    (download a copy of the lesson FELTED here)

    Project Suggestion: knit or crochet a square with wool and felt it, then cut out a shape to use as a reminder you are felted.

    Wool felts with water and agitation which causes the scales on the wool to swell, rub against each other and bind together. This process creates a denser, shrunken fabric. Felting is the name of the process that give us the finished product.

    Have you ever noticed in Bible stories that a person is often put in situations that can be described as felted, often rubbing against someone or something? In the end, they become stronger in the Lord.

    Think about King David. Before he slew Goliath, before he became king he was a shepherd boy. How did David know he could take down Goliath? By the many years he spent protecting the sheep from wolves, bears, and other torments. He had been in danger, in agitating situations, many times and had learned how to handle himself. (see 1 Samuel 17:12-30)

    What about Shadrach, Meshach and Abendnego? Imagine the agitation they felt standing in a fiery furnace. (see Daniel 3)

    Ruth went through the loss of her husband, leaving her family and hometown. She cared for her mother-in-law and moved to a country where she was an unwanted foreigner. She went on to be a part of the lineage of Jesus Christ. (Read the biblical book of Ruth for the full story)

    Joseph was sold into slavery by his brothers. He gained the confidence of the Pharoah and was promoted to being second in command. He was imprisoned when Pharoah’s wife falsely accused him of rape and still, years later, he was back in a position of authority again. Talk about being agitated.

    What other Bible persons can you name? How about persons in your life you have witnessed experience this felting in their life? Do you remember Martin and Gracia Burnham? They were missionaries from Kansas who serves as missionaries in the Phillippines. They were captured and held hostage for over a year by a militant group of Muslims in 2001. Martin was killed during their rescue. (You can read the story in Gracia’s book In the Presence of My Enemies. You can also read more about this on her website GraciaBurnham.org .) They endured because they were felted with the Lord.

    How have you been felted? Have people around you created the hot water and agitation in your life? God doesn’t give you the people you want, He gives you the people you NEED – To help you, to hurt you, to leave you, to love you and to make you into the person you were meant to be.

    Can these discouraging periods of our times remove us from God? Read Romans 8:35-39.

    Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine or nakedness or peril or sword? As it is written: For Your sake we are killed all day long; We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels, nor principalities nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

    Once a piece is felted it cannot be torn. It can be cut and shaped as desired. Once you are felted with God, nothing can rip you away from Him.

    Are you felted into Jesus?

  • Anger’s Foothold

    And “don’t sin by letting anger control you”……for anger gives a foothold to the devil. Eph 4:26-27NLT

    When this verse came across my daily reading today it hit a nerve.

    Struggling with chronic pain, I have come to realize that anger sets in most when I lose control of the pain.

    It is a daily struggle to keep my focus off the pain, but some days it seems impossible.

    During these times I have to fall to my knees and cry out to God. Where I have no control, He is in control. My focus goes off the anger, off the pain, and onto Him. If I don’t, anger can set off a series of sins through harsh words, broken promises, and incomplete responsibilities.  Others are hurt by my anger response.

    The verse does not say ‘anger is a sin’, it says ‘do not sin by letting anger control you’.

    I must step away from anger when it seeks to lead me into sin. In stepping away from the anger, I must step toward something – that something must be God for me to feel peace.

    I have told you these things, so that in my you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world. – John 16:33

    Giving in to the anger is a choice. Realizing and accepting the anger is a choice I must make.

    It’s a daily choice, sometimes even a minute-by-minute choice. I choose God’s peace.

    Lord, I cannot do this alone. Thank you for those around me who hold me accountable. Thank you for loving and accepting me even in my sinful nature. Forgive me for my sin and help me to continue, daily, to choose you and your peace. Amen.

  • Unfinished–But Not Frogged

    While working on the final edits of the Proverbs 31 Woman personal devotional my husband pointed out I needed a better cover.

    So I headed to my craft room to find a WIP to possibly photograph and use since the subtitle of the devotional is “God’s Work In Progress”.

    I found something I had totally forgotten I even started.

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    I found this in one of the dozens of tote bags I have hanging in a closet. I found the original pattern and my notes for a sweater, though I did not mark what size I was making.  I found the right front complete and the left front 1/4 done.  Unfortunately it is a lace pattern with a 16 row repeat while decreasing. I had a bit of trouble deciphering my scribbled notes and determining where I was in the pattern.

    I am too far in to this sweater to frog it. Determined to move forward, I placed a lifeline in the row before I attempted to move forward. After a rocky start I did mange to determine where I was in the pattern and work through 2 full repeats.  I am on my way.

    I am excited to know that as God’s work-in-progress He never puts me in a tote bag and hides me away in the closet.  He didn’t frog the whole project (rip-it, rip-it, rip-it). He is always working on me.

    I look back at how God has brought me to this point in my life. I made a lot of mistakes and turn some wrong turns. But God has never left my side.

    Just like the Proverbs 31 woman was not born with all the qualities describes, I must learn, make decisions, and grow.

    I am a work-in-progress on God’s knitting needle.

    Now to get back to that sweater. I wonder what weight point I was at when I started it. Will it fit?

  • My One Word for 2017

    I first got the idea after reading the book “One Perfect Word” by Debbie Macomber. For several years I chose one word which would be my word for the year.  When I did this, that word resonated throughout the year and helped me to focus.

    Last year I didn’t choose one and as I look back at 2016 it feels undefined.

    So I am choosing a word for 2017.  The word is ‘committed’.  I am committed to stepping out; I am committed to moving forward; I am committed to following the path God has laid before me; I am committed to believing I am not walking alone; I am committed to me; I am committed to action.

    So many thoughts, ideas, and desires have flooded my mind and my heart.  It is time to get them out of my head, off the paper, and into action.  I may fail, yes. But I may succeed.  Either result is frightening. But I have committed to facing the results, no matter what it may be.

    Do you celebrate a word for the year? What word did you choose?

  • 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.

  • Through My Headset – Precious In His Sight

    I recently ran across an audio series by Theresa Ingram, wife of Pastor Chip Ingram of Living on the Edge.  I downloaded the MP3 and PDF files and thoroughly enjoyed the “Precious In His Sight” series and teachings of Theresa.  I related so well to her words.

    The first part is titled “Mirror, Mirror On the Wall” and looks at  what God says is true about my appearance; I am Beautiful in Jesus’ Eyes.  I was created in God’s image. I am beautiful because He designed me, knows me intimately, and loves me. Though man looks at the outward appearance, God looks at the heart.

    Part 2 is titled “From Cinderella to a Princess”, noting we are righteous in Jesus’ eyes. There is a difference in our lives before and after Christ.

    In part 3 you are “Born to be a Winner”. Theresa discusses how to experience in you what is true of you. What untruths do you tell yourself? What is true of you? I loved her question “what is tatooed on your mind?’   Your self-talk could be your biggest weapon satan will use against you.

    Finally, in part 4, appropriately titled “Wings” you are reminded how uniquely gifted and enabled by God to make a significant impact with your life. Yes, are can make an impact. She discusses the 4 road blocks we set up that hinder God from using us.

    I was very touched by this series. I heard myself in her stories.

    Once I finished I learned that there is an audiobook titled “Precious in His Sight” which is unabridged. The MP3 files are available through Amazon and the Living on the Edge website.

    I highly recommend this to every woman who has even the slightest bit of self-doubt.  Yes, God can use you and wants to use you. He can and wants to use me.

    This website, my desire to become a life coach and to begin public speak, along with my Knit and Crochet Bibles Studies, and my teddy bears are just the tip of the story He is unfolding in my life.

    What story is He unfolding in your life?

  • Where Two or More Are Gathered

    Wherever two or more are gathered….there will be conflict.

    It is fun to gather with others, spend time with our yarn projects and share our lives. Even when these gatherings are in an effort to share in Bible Study or just meet in a God honoring fashion, conflicts and difficulties arise. 
    caryn_holding_hands_with_friend_lg_clrI have received emails from people asking how to deal with various situations that have risen in their gatherings.  Unfortunately, where people gather, conflict will be present.  So how do you handle the conflicts?

    I would like to share with you some ideas for learning to deal with others that I have used to help me. Please note, I have no affiliation with any of these.  At the time I posted each link they led to a valid, instructional item.  As you should with all links, use your judgment when clicking through.

    This video series from FaithGateway are very informative and demonstrate various encounters, then discuss ways to deal with them.   CLICK HERE

    Sometimes, we just say the wrong thing.  With women together there are often comments between married and single individuals. This article helps to understand not all comments meant to be encouraging are encouraging.  CLICK HERE

    What conflicts occur with your groups?  How are they handled? Share your thoughts and comments below.