sword drills with children

Have you ever done a sword drill? And I'm not talking about something you'd see at a Marine boot camp.

When I was in elementary and middle school, my Sunday School class regularly participated in the practice of "sword drills". Aptly named as the Bible is the "sword of truth", these drills involved a room full of children holding their Bibles above their heads and holding the breath in a moment of mounting anxiety. Eventually, a youth leader would call out a Bible verse at random and all the troops kids would scramble as fast as their little hands could to find the verse and yell out that they had it first, a sort of biblical bingo if you will. Naturally, the first child to find the verse would receive a small prize.

I. Hated. Sword drills.

First off, I always came near last. Secondly, I thought it was the most illogical thing ever. I mean, in what situation is someone going to yell at you and force you to scramble through your Bible like your childhood depends on it, while your friends competition looks down their noses at your for not being a nimble enough Christian? Oh, the humiliation.

However, this Christmas, I had a revelation (no pun intended) about why we make kids memorize scripture. So I was lying in bed, awaiting Christmas morn, when at 5 am I was shocked into consciousness by one of the worst nightmares I've had in a long time. You know those moments...you're trying to mentally reconcile the fact that it was just a dream but you can still feel adrenaline coursing through you. So there I laid in the yuletide dark on the verge of tears, when that verse came to me: for you have not been given a spirit of fear, but of...but of.... Now, cue me not remembering the rest.

This was genuinely the very first time in my life that, without being prompted, a situationally appropriate Bible verse just popped into my head. And naturally, I couldn't recall the most important part.

So I quietly crept out of bed and downstairs, my heart and mind still racing with fear, and I googled it. Thats right, no Bible on hand, I just looked it up online. 2 Timothy 1:7-- 

For God has not given us a spirit of fearfulness, but one of power, love, and sound judgment.

And it hit me all at once...peace over my nightmare and the understand of that's why we teach kids to memorize scripture. That's why we're supposed to memorize scripture. Not so we can be the queen of sword drills or so we can recite long passages from rote memory (another practice I never quite understood), but because in those quiet moments where we need to remember what God has said...it's written on our hearts. Maybe reading a little more Deuteronomy 11:18 would have been beneficial so I'd have understood this 15 years sooner.

Granted, I still think sword drills are pretty useless. It's not about speed, it's about understanding. But finding peace in 2 Timothy and finally starting to understand (and not understand) some of the stuff I was brought up on...well, it was a little Christmas miracle all on it's own.

Happy Christmas

Well everyone, my little sis is getting in this evening...which officially begins our real Christmas season! We'll probably spend most of the night chatting away like sisters do. Tomorrow brings church and more fun family time (plus my first solo ever with our church choir - eek!). As such, I'll be taking a short blogging hiatus just until after Christmas. So, I'd like to take a moment now and just say

Happy Christmas!!!

to all of you. I hope it is a wonderful time with family and friends. God bless!

being "old" & a Christmas quilting tutorial

EDIT: Sorry, but all of the images originally posted in this tutorial were lost in the great blog-tastrophe of 2014. Please email me if you have questions!

Sometimes, I feel really old. (You are really old, fo' real!) I don't quite know what it is, but at the ripe age of 24, I have already caught myself saying the following: 

"Do they really need to listen to their music that loud?"
"Most attractive man I can think of? Cary Grant."
"It was a great weekend, I spent most of it quilting!"
"Your Christmas music is weird…can we just listen to some Bing already?"
"It's a nice apartment, but I really wish I could have a garden."
"Yes! I'd love to join your recipe-swap!"
"Oh, if her father only knew she was out in that! (tut tut)"

I could go on, but I've probably made my point. Despite my occasional general silliness, I'm beginning to believe that my "inner child" is more likely a woman named Edna who enjoys rocking chairs and keeps Werther's candies in her sweater pocket. However…I do have this cool blog, so that's young and hip, right? And hopefully that statement isn't invalidated by the use of "young and hip"? I hope….

Well, to embrace my inner Edna, here are some exciting quilting projects I worked on last weekend, just in time for Christmas! First is a 3 block table runner that I (naturally) forgot to take pictures of while doing.

And now, an actual "tutorial" for a square table runner I made for my mom with the extra fabric from my table runner. I've seen these called "fan blocks" and "Dresdens" so I'm not sure which it technically qualifies as. First off, I made a template from some heavy stock board, then cut out all my pieces.

Next, sew each set of four together with a 1/4" seam allowance. Once you have (4) four-piece fans, sew all of those together to complete the fan or Dresden or whatever.

Since I wasn't quite sure how to attach it all to the backing, I cheated and use iron-fusible interfacing on the points.

Then, iron that down on your background fabric and use a circle of interfaced fabric for the center. Make a sandwich with some batting (I used heirloom cotton) and backing, and pin it all together. 

Sew it up, trim off your excess batting, and then fold the backing up and double fold it to create a "cheater binding". I know this is a bit vague but I didn't take pictures and I don't really feel qualified to try to explain that bit (maybe in another tutorial). Add a bit of hand embroidery to sink it all together, then voila, you have a square table runner that looks much better in-person than the photo but you're still gonna put it up online anyways because you did it!

My mom loves it and put a gold candle in the middle and it looks lovely. Yay for fun projects!

Even though I'm sure in a few years, I'll look back and be completely aghast that I even put this online. But hey, you have to start somewhere, right?

Anyways, I know this is a long post but I'd love to hear if you've ever felt out of place with people your own age. Please share (it'll make me feel less awkward about "Edna" – haha)!


Edit: Don't forget to check out my new tab at the top for some great quilting blogs & resources!

scrumptious breakfast casserole

It may not look super fancy from the amazing-quality photo below (sarcasm much?), but I promise, this dish is super delicious and great for serving to a crowd. I'm planning on making a half batch for my family for Christmas morning!

Scrumptious Breakfast Casserole

6 slices white bread

1 pound sage sausage

2 cups half-and-half

1 tsp dry mustard

1/2 tsp salt

dash of pepper

dash of hot sauce

7 beaten eggs

3–4 medium cooked & unpeeled red potatoes

1 medium bag of mixed, shredded cheese

• Fry sausage until it is almost completed browned and drain on paper towels. (Your kitchen will smell like a glorious campfire meal!) Beat the half-and-half, mustard, salt, pepper, hot sauce, and eggs together.
• Cube bread and potatoes and combine. Add sausage and 2 cups cheese. Fold it all together.
• Spread the bread-potato-sausage-cheese mixture into a lightly greased 9 x 13 casserole pan.
• Pour the egg mixture over the entire dish.
• Cover and refrigerate overnight (this is optional and great for making the night before, but if you cook it straightaway, allow for a shorter baking time).
• Bake at 350 degrees for around 1 hour or until it doesn't jiggle in the middle.
• Cover with remaining cheese and pop it back in the oven long enough for it to melt.

Note: the potato chunks can get very hot so warn guests to let it properly cool before eating.

tuesday tunes: Christmas favorites

Though there are lots of great versions of this song, this is by far my favorite! It's "Baby, It's Cold Outside" with Margaret Whiting, Johnny Mercer, and Paul Weston. Naturally, the shower scene from Elf is a close second (which is much less dirty than it sounds if you have yet to experience the amazing-ness that is Elf).

My traditional favorite: O Come, O Come Emmanuel. For today, I thought I'd share a truly beautiful instrumental version from The Piano Guys.

two-in-one

Today's post has two different sections based on what you'd like to read. I know many people who feel that they just cannot read or hear any more about the recent tragedy, and I'd like to be sensitive to that. However, our pastor shared some incredible thoughts this weekend and I would like to share those. So…if you would like something lighter to read today, I direct your attention to the "weekend thoughts" title in bold; if you'd like to see some unique thoughts on Christmas and the events of Friday, scroll further down. Whatever you decide to read, I hope you have a blessed Monday.

weekend thoughts

Last week as a pretty quiet one for me as I enjoyed some much needed time off. Unfortunately, it has come to an end as Strider is now home for break (when did 3 weeks turn into forever?) and I am back at work. Like the old woman I sometimes feel I am, I spent most of Saturday and Sunday evening working on two Christmas quilting projects. (pics and a tutorial to come!) It was a quiet and restful time and very nice to do some of the little projects I enjoy working on.

In addition, my annual Christmastime re-reading of Little Women has commenced! I love enjoying this wonderful book every year and as with all great literature, seem to find something new every time I read it. Is there anything you re-read every year?

Also…can you believe it is just 8 days till Christmas!!!

Christmas & Sandy Hook

I, like so many others, am feeling overwhelmed and heartbroken by the events of this weekend. I won't elaborate on the tragedy itself as you are probably feeling as inundated with media coverage as I am. I know there has been so much said and reported, but I appreciated a unique thought my pastor shared this weekend in regards to the recent events and the upcoming Christmas holiday.

During the Sunday sermon, our pastor read from Matthew. He prefaced it by saying that these verses are a part we usually leave out of the Christmas readings because they are uncomfortable this joyful time of year. It reads:

"When Herod realized that he had been tricked by the wise men, became furious, and he gave orders to kill all the male children in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under, in accordance with the time he had learned from the Magi. Then was fulfilled what was spoken by the prophet Jeremiah: 'A voice was heard in Ramah, weeping and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children and refusing to be comforted, because they are no more.'" Matthew 2:16-18

How those verses struck me! After finishing, he pointed out that at this same time all those years ago, people were mourning for their children, just as we are mourning now. He reminded us that the world was in total darkness, desperately praying for the Savior to be born, to bring a light in the middle of so much suffering. 

How timely…to think that the people of Bethlehem were hurting the same way we are right now. 

And what a way to meditate on the upcoming Christmas season, reflecting on the fact that in a very similar situation as we are now trying to wrap our minds around, Jesus was coming. God knew the world was weeping for its children and He had already sacrificed His own son to come to Earth, to ease our hurt and to save us. 

In discussing it later, my mother and I agreed that this definitely isn't part of our typical "Christmas story" reading. But we appreciated that our pastor had the courage to bring to light something so hard, and yet so relevant during this time of year.

favorite blog friend friday: Lashes & Beard

What can I even say about Claudia (aka Lashes of Lashes & Beard)? She. Is. Awesome!

One of the very first people to reach out to me in the bloggy-world, I felt so cool the first time she emailed me—like it signified my initiation into blog world...first contact in an unfamiliar land, ya know? Her super cool blog is also the first place I ever had one of my blog buttons featured. Yay for blog friends!

Anyways, Claudia is just one of the most welcoming and kind people I've met through blogging. Wife to "Beard" and mommy to a sweet little boy named Isaiah, she is authentic and lovely in so many ways. You should definitely check out her blog—it features all sorts of fun link ups, recipes, giveaways, crafts, and inspirational thoughts about faith. Though quite a bit more girly than me, she is a great one to follow and for some reason I believe is really good at giving hugs (even though we've never met in real life)!

Fun fact: Claudia's favorite Scripture verse is:

 "Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may
receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need." - Hebrews 4:16

So hop on over and meet Claudia at Lashes & Beard. And join in now on her Bloggers for Christmas link-up running through the rest of Dec!