Life Craft

Ran across another blog that spoke of a blogger app. I'd never heard of such a thing (little bit of a "duh" on my part, I think). So of course I have to try it and I'm writing a new post on my phone! Seems pretty straightforward, but doesn't seem to be as customizable as I'm used to. The "headings" feature in particular is lacking, so everything is going to look the same. Plus it keeps disappearing my type, so it looks like my page is completely blank, which is frustrating.  Ok, so I don't usually do things with pics, so let's try inserting one... This is front and back of a shuttle painted by friend Karen. So festive! Here's a snowflake I recently tatted. It's a pattern by Grace O Tan called Cherry Blossom

My friend Debra recently wrote a blog post about jars in her blog.  (If you're not a regular reader, I encourage you to read it as it is always thought-provoking).  Please read it  here .  In the post she spoke of several "jars" and what they might contain...  It got me thinking about my own "jars" and what I had put into them over the years, but also what they were FOR. Not Just for Show In the Tuesday Women's Bible study, we're studying the fruit of the Spirit.  One of the things we've talked about is that the "fruit" that we grow isn't so we can strut around showing off our beautiful fruit... mostly because it isn't ours anyway; it's fruit of the Spirit.  Rather this fruit that we grow is meant to be consumed.  People around us are starving for love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, meekness, and self-control. Back to the Jars Which got me thinking about Deb's post and the jars.  It's not enough

 Happy International Tatting Day!!! In a world that's trying it's best to pull us all apart, it's wonderful to have an excuse to come together! And bonus points: you're supposed to eat chocolate today!  Score!  What a great day. Though I'm still struggling, personally, I am overjoyed looking at others' works.  Some have even been brave enough to post their failures, and that's also inspiring.  Some days, the devil just wants to hold you down and tell you you're defeated.  But thank God that God is such a BIG God.  Bigger than the lies of the devil.  Bigger than my feelings.  Bigger than the failures that threaten to keep me locked inside so no one sees. So much talent is lurking out there... shuttle designers, pattern designers, tatters, video makers, bloggers, vloggers, teachers.   I encourage you to look.  Just a YouTube search and you'll find a whole new world!  Join a Facebook group about tatting, there are so many good ones, filled with so many

 I've been tatting awhile now, and I still have SOOOOOO much to learn!  I still suffer from the downfall of the newbie - wanting to learn it all at once and trying to run before I walk.  Someday, I shall be free from this downfall, but alas, then I fear I shall be dead. I've been working on my YouTube channel (Opposable Thumbs & Scissors), but have found a new downfall - too many ideas & not enough energy, talent, nor knowhow.  Most days I still feel like I'm slogging through thick mud - I'm heaving my body around and my head is full of fog.  I'm praying that it ends soon and try to push myself to do something.  I think I've allowed this to bring me down, and have struggled to tat even the very basic of patterns. I'm pressing onward, though!  Trying to remind myself that I can do all things through Christ!  And that I have the mind of Christ, and His mind isn't full of fog.  I want to be an encourager and leave people feeling better.  Hopefully I

 Wow!  I can't believe it's been a year since I started this blog, nor that it's been a year since I've written one single thing other than on the day I created it.  I guess I shouldn't be surprised, as I always set out to write something, and then fall short.  Sometimes I wish that writing wasn't so incredibly personal to me and that I could just whip out works as others seem to do.  Then I realize that that is not who I am, nor who I was created to be, so I'm happy for the 'whippers' and continue to be me and bare my soul in print. I am still wild about tatting, but a lot of things have happened to me personally over this last year that have given me pause.  Not about the art itself, but my part in it.  My relationships with others.  My passions.  Some not nice things have happened to me, and while I will not divulge any details on any public platform, those things have served to open my eyes to things I wasn't even noticing before.  Not about

 Tatting!!! Tatting is a form of lace making made with fingers, shuttle, or needle.        There are TONS of places to learn about what tatting is online, and it has a full and wonderful history.  It is an old art, but it's being revived again.  Thank the Lord for that and that I found it! Maybe if there is an interest, I'll put some more information here or even make a whole blog about it, but for now I'm just leaving this here. How did I get started in tatting? Well, that needs a bit of backstory.  Let me start by saying that I love helping people.  The Lord opened an opportunity to begin doing just that with some older members of my church.  This is how I met Grace.  She had lost her husband a few months prior (I sadly never got to meet him) and she was moving from her house into an apartment.  Grace is legally blind, so when I helped her move, we had to go through every little thing with me describing what I thought it was, her deciding if she wanted it, and then rememb