So as I look over my posts, I see that I am not keeping up on what is on the needles!  

Another FO first and this one was a hard one to accomplish as it was a surprise Christmas gift for my dear husband.  He has been lamenting the fact that we no longer have garden space.  Our new back garden is just a big parking lot...great for easy care and for when friends come over but not for growing vegetables!  

So I knitted him a reminder of his gentleman farmer days in Bedworth...a Garden Gnome.  This one can live in his home office/man cave.

Now Mr. T is a little happier now that his friend is with him again...looks a little like him too (happy co-incidence, lol).

There is going to be an addition to Nana's Clubhouse activities in January.  My card making skills are going to move up a notch...I am becoming a Stampin' Up Demonstrator.  One way to acquire my needed ideas, skills and supplies for our own personal cards as well as an income supplement to aid in the initiatives we are launching and continuing in Serbia.

If you are in the Southport and in need of papercrafting supplies, give me a holler. Also I am starting up a crafting group that will meet monthly at Shoreline Church, Mornington Road, Southport.  More information to follow.

I have also been asked to run a Paper Crafting workshop at The Yarn Fairy, Wesley Street, Southport on the 4th Saturday in January, 25th January to be exact.  Call them at 01704 538968 to book your space. £10 includes all your supplies and instructions...come along and have a dabble. 

the magi: bring their treasure

Finishing is better than starting. Patience is better than pride. Ecclesiastes 7:8 NLT We began our Advent journey with the Magi, and we end with them. Their destination was to worship, so after seeing the star reappear, they follow. The house they entered certainly was not a King’s palace; the people before them were not powerful and influential. They saw a young girl, a small child. The carpenter was not there. He was probably at work. The home was modest with little room for them to stay over.  Yet, as they did at the beginning of their journey, they put all their experiences with Kings and leaders; beauty and riches, behind them. They came to see. They came to worship. The scripture tells us they were ‘overjoyed’ at seeing the star, and that they ‘bowed down and worshipped him.’ This moment was the highlight of their lives, and they respond with generous gifts. What is the meaning of their gifts? Practically, gold is precious and of great worth in all societies. Frankincense, researchers at Cardiff University in Wales tell us, has a powerful medicinal effect: it calms the pain from arthritis. Myrrh is a perfume used for anointing. Symbolically, gold can be seen as representative of kingship, frankincense is a tool that healing priests would use and myrrh is a symbol of mortality as it was used for embalming. But the real gift of the Magi, no matter how many of them, no matter what they brought, was their worship. They gave time and energy; vision and wisdom. They gave of themselves. In first seeing the star, they took stock of all their gifts and gifting, pooled their best resources and came and gave freely to a child in worship. They bowed down in ‘overjoy.’ They saw Jesus. Today on Boxing Day, after the busyness of the season, ask yourself: Where am I today? At the end of this season, what star will I follow? Can I see it? Am I even looking for it? Can I give as the Magi, from my first and best gifts, for the long term? Is my destination mapped out from the start?

jesus: a baby wrapped for all

Luke mentions the baby Jesus as being wrapped in ‘swaddling clothes’ or cloths, twice in five verses (verses 7 and 12, chapter 2). Mary was Luke’s primary source in this gospel narrative. These are a mother’s details. Mary would have made and placed the clothes on her baby. Swaddling clothes are not a sign of poverty.  Religious parents wrapped their children with a prayerful future purpose. These clothes were narrow strips of fine linen about two inches wide. They were wrapped around a baby’s body after the child was gently washed with water very lightly salted; tight from head to foot. The salt symbolized qualities of truth and honesty: the prayer here is that the child would speak words salted with truth. The tight wrapping symbolised the parents’ prayerful desire that the child would grow straight, free from wayward choices and unrighteous life. Only the child’s face was left uncovered so they could breathe. These clothes were left on the newborn only a few days. They represent the parents’ desires for the child: a life of straight paths in word and deed. But there is more here. For the shepherds such wrapping in a manger must call to their minds how they would wrap new born lambs; for mothers such wrapping is an indicator of tender love: Mary made the linen clothes and washed and wrapped her child with her own loving hands. For us such clothes may foreshadow the strips of linen Peter sees when enters the empty tomb. ‘He bent over and looked in at the strips of linen lying there but did not go in.’ (John 20:5) We can go into the manger this Advent, as a shepherd in wonder; as a mother with joy or as people wrapped in his love: the love of a baby and a Saviour. A baby who loves all. What a wonder to be wrapped in. As we approach Christmas and anticipate the excitement of present-giving let’s remember that we have already been given a King who gave it all.

I have been working on filling some knitting orders for Christmas.  Here's one straight off the needles... and will be in the post to Coventry tomorrow morning!

Now that is one Foxy hat!  Merry Christmas Miss Jessica!

Second one going on the needles this evening, but thankfully it isn't due for a couple of months for the Johnson baby.

Advent Wonder: joseph: generous by design

Joseph is a model of the quiet, ever present, unspoken yet reliable wonder that is not immediately recognised in life. His words are never recorded in the Gospels. We may not see him, but we do see what he builds. As a carpenter, he worked with the grain and shape of different woods; he planned and designed. He saw Mary, a young girl, and planned a family; a home; a shared life. As David’s linear descendant he brought with him a family history that shaped him; a deep past and future to be shared. And then he finds his design shattered. Mary is with child, and not by him. Time for Plan B. Faithful, reliable Joseph plans a quiet divorce (Matthew 1:19).  But then his plans are interrupted by another builder, who changes the design: But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife…She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins (Matthew 1: 20-21) God intervened through an Angel in a dream and Joseph’s plans were redrawn. Instead of following his own plan, he built a life as Mary’s husband and our Saviour’s father. Here is the wonder – that the Lord used Joseph’s obedience and his skills to build a fully human Saviour God: Jesus.  God’s son, raised and taught by human hands. How? Having watched and learned from his earthly father, Joseph - a practical man who laboured with loving hands - we see Jesus using his hands time and again to heal, and to save. He heals the man born blind with spittle and dirt that he rubs in blind man's eyes; he reaches out a hand to save a drowning Peter, he feeds the five thousand and the disciples by breaking bread. He was a carpenter’s son with a carpenter’s hands: generous hands that eventually stretched out on a wooden cross to save his people from their sins. Jesus crafts our salvation with his very human hands which he learned to use from a humble, quiet, earthly father: Joseph, a skilled carpenter with generous hands.

Great weekend of out and about...a little bit of Christmas after a craft crawl with my friend, Hayley.

Saturday 7:15 am the car was loaded with Geocachers, Paul & Kirsten and crafters, Hayley and me.  We set out for Chester and the surrounding area.

Well after dropping our adventurous geocachers, off to McDonalds for a top up on breakfast and a coffee then we were off to our first stop HobbyCraft. You want to ask why HobbyCraft?  It has been over 6 months since I have stepped into one as there isn't  one any closer to Southport, insert sad face here. Oh well, it was so much fun as this shop had a great fabric section as well all the knitting, papercrafts, painting, etc.  There were so many wonderful ideas for Christmas too!  I was truly in my element!

But we hadn't made it to the main event...The Stash!  A great knitters haven and boy did we have fun.  Located in an industrial estate and in a warehouse.  I was beginning to think I had the wrong address in the SatNav.  Opened the door and found a knitter's paradise...

Shelves and shelves of lovely fibres.  Then the samples all about, yes that is a knitted umbrella and of course with the matching wellie socks for your outing.  We all need a place like this not to just shop in as we were invited to sit and have a cuppa.  Hayley and I brought our knitting so we settled in for a good natter.  

While in Chester, don't miss out on a visit to The Stash and in the meantime, check out their website for some delicious fibres you just can't live without.

Tomorrow, a little bit of a Dickens Christmas...be merry!

Advent Wonder..Angels 

Abundant in worship

The word ‘angel’ in the Greek means ‘messenger’ and whenever angels appear we usually expect them to fulfil this purpose as messengers of God. One of the subtle wonders of Advent is that this is not their only role in the narrative, neither is it their primary role. 

One Angel visits the shepherds and announces, “A Saviour has just been born in David’s town, a Saviour who is Messiah and Master. This is what you’re to look for: a baby wrapped in a blanket and lying in a manger.” This sparks a chain reaction: the shepherds run immediately to Bethlehem, see the baby and it is they who deliver the message of the Messiah’s birth to everyone they meet. So, if the shepherds are the messengers, what is the primary role of angels in the Advent story? Wikipedia describes the angels of the Nativity as ‘messengers’ and shepherds as those who ‘adore.’ It is in fact the reverse. The messenger job belongs to the shepherds in the field. So what is the angels’ role?

Adoration.

Adoration of the Word made flesh; the good news that the Saviour is born. This is what they long to see and sing of. Let’s look at their song:
Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favour rests.” Luke 2, 13-14 NIV

It is a simple chorus, a few words. But not just a few raise their voices: ‘a great company’ appear and sing. They are united, generous and abundant in their adoration and worship.

Advent Wonder #2:  
“Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” Luke 1:38

Mary was probably about fifteen years old when the Angel Gabriel approached her with the news of a child’s birth. At the time, it was hardly welcome news. She was engaged to Joseph but not married. In a moment she became an unwed pregnant teenage girl, open to gossip and speculation. According to the Torah, she could be stoned: her life, and her unborn child’s life, were in Joseph’s hands. Physically, her body would never be the same again after the rigours of pregnancy and childbirth. The destiny of her child would provoke jealousy from earthly rulers such as Herod.  Her life had been mapped out with Joseph creating a family with economic security, but now everything hung in the balance. So how does Mary react? Her response is generous. She surrenders her plans and her future and plunges her life into uncertainty.

Yet, in the midst of great unknown she composes a song of praise and worship: the first song ever composed about Jesus’ birth. It is a song of generosity. It is a song that speaks of her understanding of who her son is. It begins, ‘My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour.’ (Luke 1:46)

Mary is the first person to experience authentic salvation - the good news – and she proclaims it extravagantly.
What songs will you sing at Christmas time? Will your voice echo Mary’s, remembering and rejoicing in the ‘mighty things’ (Luke 1: 49) he has done for you? Are you surrendering to his plans?

Wow, it has been quite a year already...

Hundreds of cards, trips back and forth to Serbia and the States, settling into the new flat and now it is time to get ready for Christmas!  I love this time of year!

There's lots I could share on my creations, like our Christmas card that will be going out shortly thanks to our daughter Erin.

Well that is card# 2 with the addition of "Peace on Earth" in the upper right hand corner. I don't know if I have a photo of the original card!  Oh well, you will see it when it arrives in your mailboxes.

But more importantly, today is the beginning of Advent...preparation for His coming birth. Here's a piece from the newsletter I receive...

The Magi: generous on purpose

“We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him” Matthew 2:2 We start our Advent journey with the Magi because they are our guides. They saw the end at the beginning. For centuries before Jesus’ birth, the Magi studied the skies - looking for a sign that he was coming. They studied the prophecies; they passed down ancient wisdom from one generation to the next; they watched and waited. Long before the manger in Bethlehem, these scholars searched for a single star that would lead them to the one who had been born King of the Jews. A voyage was inevitable. But it wasn't going to be an effortless journey.   What might it mean for you to give up your home and your livelihood, and pursue God for months – maybe even years – across whole nations? With drive, purpose and conviction the Magi left their world behind and journeyed generously. They gave their time and they prepared thoughtful and precious gifts: gold, frankincense and myrrh. We don’t know how long the journey took. But what we do know – what we can be certain of – is that the Magi journeyed with purpose. By carefully studying a rich history of knowledge, they were able to plot their future journey with purpose and passion. And what was their end-point? Worship. We share with them the same purpose as we begin the season of Advent.