Regrets

I don't know about you, but I have a lot of regrets. Things I did that I wish I hadn't done, & things I didn't do that I wish I had done.  If I were to write them all down, I'm sure I could fill a notebook with them.  Maybe a few notebooks.

I used to compare myself to an elephant.  You know what they say about elephants ... they never forget.  In my mind I would relive various situations from my past ... beating myself up for having done, or not having done, whatever it was that I had or hadn't done.  This is always a stupid thing to do.  You can't change whatever it was that you did or didn't do in your past.  That time has passed, never to return again.

You can always tell if you're in danger of reliving your past in a negative way.  Some of the telltale signs are thoughts that begin like this:

"Why didn't I ...."

"If only ....."

"I wish I hadn't ...."

Some of the regrets we have about our past have maybe impacted our present.  Our lives are what they are now because of something we did or didn't do in the past.

"Why didn't Bob & I listen to our parents & go to college first instead of marrying right after high school?  We both could have had better jobs, & we could have afforded a nicer house, & we wouldn't be having all the money problems we're having now."

"If only I had exercised & stayed away from junk food when I was younger, I could have avoided all these health problems I have now." 

"I wish I hadn't let my sister be in charge of things after mom died.  She took everything of mom's that had any monetary or sentimental value, & she didn't even like mom!"

If we allow them to, thoughts like these could ruin our present & our future.  They can make us bitter & resentful & depressed.

I am not proud to say it but I had a lot of thoughts like these once upon a time, & they indeed made me bitter & resentful & depressed.  I was especially foolish in that I would often relive the bad decisions I made in the past & this would of course make me relive the pain of what I had or hadn't done over & over & over again.

Can you imagine Paul thinking this way?

"I wish I hadn't persecuted the Christians.  If only I had taken the time to look into what this Jesus had to say, I would have realized that he was the son of God so much sooner, & the Christians I had put to death could have been alive today!  Why didn't I ask God to open my eyes to the truth instead of assuming I knew it all?"

Or Peter?

"I wish I hadn't denied Jesus three times.  He told me I was going to do it ... if only I had listened to him!  Why didn't I believe him?  I could have asked him to help me not deny him!"  

Paul & Peter probably regretted these things, but they didn't let them overshadow their present or future lives.  They looked back, acknowledged their bad decisions, learned from them, & moved on.

The regrets I had/have, I was never able to do like Paul or Peter ... acknowledge my bad decisions, learn from them, & then move on.  One of the things I often used to say was how it's not fair that you have to keep paying in the present for the bad decisions you made in your past.  Yep ... I said that.  I've grown up a bit since then   : )    

I learned a few years ago to not dwell on the past.  The bad decisions I made, however, are not forgotten.  Some of them have impacted my present & my future; some have not.  I still have regrets ... I suspect I always will ... but with God's help, I will never again allow them to drag me down into a pit of despair.

I read a great little devotional from Our Daily Bread last month.  It talked about Sarah telling Abraham to sleep with Hagar so that he would have the child God promised to him.  Sarah was not pregnant, & she was getting a little tired waiting for God to give them a child.  She decided that perhaps God meant for this child to be born of another woman.  I honestly don't know where her mind was at the time.  Anyway, when Hagar became pregnant, Sarah despised her.  The devotional talks about how bitter Sarah was against Abraham, Hagar, & Ishmael when he was born.  The last paragraph reads like this ...

"It may never have been easy for Sarah to have lived with the consequences of her decision to go ahead of God.  It may have taken a miracle of grace to change her attitude, but that could have transformed everything.  Sarah couldn't reverse her decision, but through God's strength, she could have lived with it differently & given God the glory."

This is what we all need to "get" way down deep inside us.  The bad decisions we have made in the past can't be reversed, but we can live with them differently.  God will help us.  We just need to ask for His help   : )

I wish you a very blessed Sunday!

_____________________  

Note:  The Our Daily Bread devotional I mentioned above is a devotional I read when I first became a Christian.  Somewhere along the pathway of my life I lost touch with it.  A couple weeks ago I was in a doctor's waiting room when I found one that someone had placed on a table as a giveaway.  I smiled at the memory of the pleasure it had brought to me in my early walk with the Lord & I have been enjoying it every day since.  I especially like that the devotions change from day to day, year to year.  If you would like to have a copy mailed to you every 3 months, they are free for the asking.  Just send a letter & ask for a subscription. 

RBC Ministries

PO Box 2222

Grand Rapids, MI  49501-2222  

Please Pray for my Grandson

You remember Flat Phoebe & Real Phoebe, don't you?  Well, that's Real Phoebe above with her brother Dante after a rough & tumble hockey game.  Dante is in need of prayer.  I do not wish to detail the reason why, but of course God knows the reason.  If you could spare a few prayers for Dante, I'd really appreciate it.

Thank you. 

1 Thessalonians 4:11

I'm coming up rather empty today I'm afraid.  Too many topics to choose from & no distinct feeling on which one to write about, so I've decided to just share one of my favorite verses with you.

Wishing you all a blessed Sunday & rest of the week!

Words to Think About

I have prayed about what to share with you today.  I always have several ideas & deciding on just one is sometimes difficult.  However, while listening to the radio this morning, I heard one of the most beautiful songs I have ever heard in the entirety of my life.  The words are from the heart of the man who wrote it, but they are from my heart as well.  Perhaps they are also from yours?

I wish you a very blessed Sunday & a heart filled with praise & awe of the wonderful God we have the privilege to serve!

2014 JCS Christmas Ornaments Issue Review

The new JCSCO issue is now available online in download form (click here).  Being me, although I'll be purchasing a "hard copy," I had to download the issue as well.

In my opinion, the "gotta stitch" ornaments offered last year were many ... more so than in previous years.  This year's offerings have kind of gone back to those prior to 2013.  I did find a few "gotta stitch" ornaments in this issue, however, so without further adieu, here are my Top Nine for 2014 (I couldn't find ten).  They are listed in the order in which they appear in the magazine. Photos of individual ornaments are sadly unavailable at this time.

1.  NOEL - Pickle Barrel Designs.  Maybe it's the word NOEL appearing on this ornament, but there's something about it I like.  Features a banner with the letters N, O, E, & L, separated by snowflakes.

2.  Joyous Square - My Big Toe Designs.  The word JOY designed the way only MBT can design it.  This will be one of the first ornaments in this issue that I'll be stitching!

3.  O Holy Night - Faithwurks Designs.  Extremely simple, quick-to-stitch ornament.

4.  Faith - Nikyscreations.  A primitive angel design. One of my favorites!

5.  Come & Behold Him - Fancy Work.  A simple design honoring what Christmas is all about.  I love it!

6.  A Woodland Wish - Blue Ribbon Designs.  I was lucky to find a download photo of this one.  I love these woodsy designs by BRD.   I'll be leaving off the date though.  You know me & dates   : )

7.  Three Crowns - Cherished Stitches.  There's a whole section of bird designs in this year's issue.  I can't say much for any of them, but this one calls to me.

8.  Star of Wonder - The Stitchworks.  A lovely design of a shepherd snowman looking up at the Christmas star.  Beautiful!

9.  Let It Snow - Dames of the Needle/Finger Work. Dames did a great snowman design in last year's issue (Windy Night, page 56).  This year's ornament has the same kind of whimsy.

And there you have it!  This review probably doesn't mean much to you without photos to accompany my choices, but as photos become available I will add them.  

Forgiveness & Mental/Emotional Abuse

I've been thinking a lot about forgiveness for a couple of months now.  I know full well that God wants us to forgive others when they "sin against us."  These "sins" could include saying something hurtful to us, lying to us, lying to others about us, stealing from us, etc.

There was once a time when my understanding of forgiveness was, "If someone says something nasty to me & then tells me they're sorry & asks for my forgiveness, I'll most certainly forgive them!"  But that is not what God is telling us.  You can't ignore the fact that when Jesus was hanging on the cross, He asked God to forgive the soldiers who crucified & mocked Him, saying "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they are doing." (Luke 23:34)  It is clear that we are supposed to forgive others whether they ask for our forgiveness or not!

Then there is the account in Matthew where Peter asked Jesus how many times he should forgive someone ... "Seven times?"  Jesus replied, "No, seventy times seven!"  (Matthew 18:21-22) Jesus was not giving Peter a magic number, telling him that he should forgive someone 490 times & that's it.  No, Jesus was saying "never stop forgiving."  Buzz Lightyear would translate verse 22 as "Forgive to infinity & beyond!"

There are many verses in the Bible that talk about forgiveness.  This post would be quite lengthy if I were to list them all.  Some of these verses address Christians forgiving Christians; others appear to address Christians forgiving anyone, Christian or not.  Some include the admonition that if we don't forgive others, God won't forgive us. 

Sometimes it's very difficult to forgive.  This is where faith & obedience comes in.  We may not "feel" like forgiving someone, but we are told not to make decisions based on our feelings.  Feelings are ruled by emotions.  Emotions are unreliable.

Sometimes our pride stands in the way.  We think that if we forgive someone, we are "letting them off the hook" for whatever it was they did to us. There is a saying that someone dreamed up a few years ago that I have heard enough times that it actually nauseates me now, but the message is nonetheless true.  "Unforgiveness is like drinking poison & hoping the other person dies."  It simply means that we harm ourselves, not the person who offended us, by holding on to unforgiveness.  Unforgiveness leads to bitterness, & bitterness causes all sorts of problems in our lives including physical illness!

God freely extends His forgiveness to us, & He wants us to freely extend our forgiveness to others ... but what if we need to forgive something "really terrible," like abuse?  We all know how dangerous physical abuse can be.  If someone in your life is physically abusing you, you can still forgive that person but it would not be wise for you to continue in a relationship with them. Everyone you know would understand you staying away from that person.  People are, sadly, less able to understand you staying away from someone who mentally/emotionally abuses you.  I believe that mental/emotional abuse is even more prevalent than physical abuse & possibly more deadly in it's own way.  There are often no outward scars when someone is being mentally/emotionally abused, but the inner scars can run deep.  I have known several people who were mentally/emotionally abused by one or both parents, siblings, or other family members.  They knew God wanted them to forgive these people, but that did not mean that God wanted them to continue exposing themselves to the abuse.  Some of their friends & family members were very judgmental.  How could you sever ties with your mother, your father, your brother or your sister & claim you had forgiven them?  Mental/emotional abuse is nearly impossible for someone to understand if they haven't experienced it themselves.  You do not need to concern yourself with what others think of you, however.  You are to concern yourself with what God thinks of you. If you have forgiven the people who have mentally/emotionally abused you, & you've gone to God & asked Him for help, & you know that He approves your reasons for cutting that person out of your life, that is between you & God ... no one else.   

Autumn Decorating, A New Outlet Mall, & Critters in The Devil's Playground

Oh so many things to share with you today!  First of all, the temperatures are staying cool & therefore I am still smiling & singing that Pharrell song   : )   In fact, it's been so cool this morning that I treated myself to a long-sleeved jersey & broke out my fluffy slippers from last year   : )

This past Thursday I decided I should probably put away my 4th of July decor & make the house look more fall-like, so I did a bit of autumn decorating with ...

my autumn painted breadboard ...

my autumn painted sewing drawer ...

& another autumn painted breadboard.

I know what you're thinking.  "Wow!  The Easily Influenced Stitcher must be exhausted from all that decorating!"  Well, there's more!

I brought my autumn/winter colored Fiesta dishes out in front of the spring & summer colored ones. My kitchen walls aren't lime green, by the way ... they just showed up this way in the photo.

Here are some autumn-themed pictures for my walls ...

& here are a few more autumn-themed decor items.

And here are some stenciled wooden signs to welcome the season.

Yes, I was totally exhausted from all that decorating ... but I did manage to add one more decorative item!

I couldn't resist   : )   Now I can look up & see this sign while I'm stitching   : )

A new outlet mall opened in Louisville last month ... The Outlet Shoppes of the Bluegrass.    

The mall is actually located in Simpsonville, but it's close enough to Louisville to be considered a Louisville mall.  John had a doctor appointment in Louisville yesterday, & on our way home we decided to stop & explore the new attraction.  I'm not one who frequents outlet malls.  I never see much in the way of bargains.  When I do find something I like that's a good deal, it's usually not my scent, color, or size.  (Omar the Tent Maker has yet to succumb to the call of the outlet mall.) Yesterday was an exception though.  The Outlet Shoppes of the Bluegrass included a Ghirardelli store!!!  I have seen a few different varieties of Ghirardelli squares in my lifetime (their Milk & Caramel squares have always been my favorite), but this outlet store had varieties I never imagined!  A woman with a basket of Ghirardelli Minis gave John & I a free sample, which just happened to be a free sample of the Milk & Caramel ones, as we entered the store.  I wanted to hug her!  Then after we walked around a bit, a different woman gave us each another free sample of these mini Milk & Caramel squares!  I wanted to hug her even more!!!  But back to the varieties ... there were so many to choose from! John & I were both interested in the Intense Dark Cherry Tango variety but we didn't want to buy a whole bag in case we didn't like them, so we were happy to find a "mix & match" display where you could choose however many of whatever you wanted ... so we bought one IDCT square for each of us.  I think I've now got a new favorite ... they were delicious!!!  If we would have tried them before we left the mall we would've bought a bag or two.  Instead, I thought these two in the photo below sounded good so they are what we brought home   : )

There is a small cafe at the Ghirardelli store which offers several ice cream concoctions as well as a pretty good looking (per the photo on the wall) cup of hot chocolate.  I think we will need to visit again for a cup of that hot chocolate & a bag or two of those Intense Dark Cherry Tango squares   : )

As for the critters, a couple days ago I was able to get this photo of one of our hummingbirds.

Just after I took this hummingbird photo, I noticed that Greta, our groundhog, was in the driveway. Isn't she cute?  

And that's it for today my friends!  I don't know what's going on but I think I've published more posts this past week than I have in a long time! Must be the cooler weather   : )   I finished stitching one of my exchange ornaments last night & will be starting another exchange piece this evening.  Fun-fun-fun!!!