Summer's Grace

Summer light
Hazy skies
Heat waves start their dance

Cicada songs
Fireflies flash
June bug's aimless flight

Bluejays splash
Robins seek
Earthworms for their feast

Cotton balls
Growing tall
Passing showers bring

Honey bees
Sip the sage
Crepes don jaunty dress

Eyes to see
Ears to hear
The gift of summer's grace

The Prayer Project

Prayer:  a time of conversation with God.  Involves both listening and speaking.  Its subject may be worship, petition, intercession, repentance, or musings.  

My desire:  to be in continual communion with the Lord as I go about the day.

This desire has also been my struggle ever since I have come into this season of having a lot of solitude to my days.  There has been the issue of my motivations--how well my day goes with prayer being a measure of my worth.  That tanked very quickly.  Then there is the frustration of structure.  I have tried both a structured prayer list and being spontaneous to no avail.  Between the two, though, I know I need a measure of structure--a rhythm of prayer to the day.  The biggest struggle is the lack of words.  Sometimes prayer flows so effortlessly but, more often than not, I just don't have the words to pray.  It makes sense that since my talkativeness tends comes in bursts with much silence in between, that it would also be the case for me in prayer.  Expressing myself in words can be challenge in general, so it shouldn't surprise me that it is the same with prayer.

Recently I learned about a daily devotional geared towards urban professionals:  843 Acres  I like the way it is thoughtful, short, and to the point; and I found myself drawn to some of the prayers at the end.  They reminded me of the Common Book of Prayer we were introduced to during our time at a local liturgical church, and some of the wonderful prayers it contains.  

Those times when I find prayer the easiest are often prompted by something I have seen or read that echoes in my heart.  The devotional inspired the idea of compiling prayers from readings and Scripture to use as jumping off points during my times of prayer during the day.    
So I have a new adventure before me:  The Prayer Project.  

And the journey continues....

East Meets West 2

Flowers and butterflies were the theme of East Meets West 2.  The pink backing and binding gave this quilt a feeling of sweetness.

East Meets West 1

Last year, for a few weeks, we had a couple of ladies from the Philippines who were in the States visiting family come to our quilt group.  Quilting was a new endeavor to them, but they dove right in.  Before they left, we had almost enough blocks to make two quilts, so we filled in with a few blocks and I worked on quilting the tops.  Here is East Meets West 1:

This pattern is again the Disappearing Nine Patch with a very scrappy theme.  

For me, every quilt is either an opportunity to try something new or to practice a design. On this quilt I wanted to try doing a flower shape with that started with a swirl. 

In the sashing and outer border I did a combination of swirls and meandering.  

We finished up with a cheerful yellow backing and bound it with a fun multi-coloring fabric. I love a happy quilt. :-)