Ode to the Sewing Machine #16

Many of you follow my "Ode to the Sewing Machine" posts.  We've all seen the ads on craigslist, ebay and elsewhere.  The clueless sellers give those of us who sew a belly laugh, or two!

          

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And I can't be bothered to take a picture of it either!

The edge was here today

Today has been an emotionally trying day. I haven't felt much like eating, but I did get my exercise in today. I am trying to remember what I posted yesterday on my blog... maybe that's why the Lord sent that thought yesterday, to prepare me for today? 

My son has mental and emotional disabilities. He's 12, very intelligent but his behavior problems get in the way of homeschool work. It took him 278 days to complete 4th grade. He got all A's and B's! He has Tourette's, Aspergers/Autism, OCD, ODD and ADHD. 

So I live with drama, basically. I'm a laid back person, it takes a lot to get me mad and even when I'm angry it takes a lot to push me over the edge. Today was the edge. I haven't gone over it...yet. Stress leaked out, several times today, those salty wet things that slide down your cheeks, you know that kind of stress I'm sure. 

I've been through some pretty tough trials in my lifetime and after the last extreme stress (2005-06) I learned the Lord DOES rescue me from evil. But it sure would be nice if it were on my timeline instead of his, you know? (grin) 

So here's to remembering "God is for me, so who can be against me?" "Press on and have hope, because God IS faithful" "His mercies are new every morning, GREAT is His faithfulness". 

Whether your problem is discouragement, illness or aging, sometimes all you have left is Jesus. 
When you're angry and bitter, you can still cling to Jesus in the midst of your tears. You can grab onto him and refuse to let go until he brings you through it. You'll find, to your surprise, that he holds on to you even tighter than you hold on to him. 

Jesus understands sorrow. He knows about being hurt. He remembers the terrible moment on the cross when his Father was forced to abandon him, because he was filthy from taking on our sins. Jesus won't let me go. 

Thank you Father. 

One true king

I know who holds my hand

 

Do you have negative energy today?

Created by Natalie Pascoe

You know that like attracts like, right? Positive people are drawn to positive energy; negative people are drawn to negative energy. We tend to perceive negative energy as something other people have. Sure, sometimes we feel negative – as in, “go away and leave me alone, world!” but did you know that negativity can be so ingrained in you that it goes unnoticed? 

That’s because negativity sometimes wears a disguise called ‘reality’. It’s easy to rationalize that you’re ‘just being realistic’ in not daring to act on a dream – and believe it! You may assume that positive people are not being realistic – that they’re being naive, that they are in denial with their heads stuck in the sand, that they put on fake smiles in the face of difficulty and so forth. But are they really happy fools or is there something to their positive attitude?

Consider this: since when does ‘being realistic’ necessarily mean that things will go wrong and that you have to accept that as the truth? That doesn't mean that being realistic is automatically negative. When you view the world from a ‘realistic’ standpoint, you can’t help but be negative.

"IF" your version of reality is negative, you are conditioned to believe that whatever can go wrong, will go wrong and whatever can go right, will probably go wrong too. Your unconsciously held beliefs make you into a negative person without your being aware of it!
So – if this negativity is so ingrained in you that you don’t notice it, how do you determine whether you’re stuck in a cloud of negative energy that is attracting the wrong people, wrong situations and wrong feelings? And how can you be sure you’re not perpetuating that negativity?

Here’s a quick quiz to gauge the level of negative energy within you:

•  Do you complain? All the time or just sometimes?
• Do you often discuss what’s wrong in the world more than what’s right? This includes the ‘terrible’ weather, ‘horrible’ traffic, ‘idiotic’ government, ‘lousy’ economy, ‘stupid’ in-laws, etc.
• Do you criticize? All the time or just certain people?
•  Are you attracted to drama and disaster (can you unglue yourself from the TV when there’s a news story of a disaster and can you avoid getting involved in the lives of dysfunctional celebrities?)
• Do you blame? All the time or just certain situations?
• Do you believe that you have no control over most of your results? 
• Do you feel like a victim? Do you talk about people doing things to you?
• Are you grateful for what is or will you be grateful when things finally start going right for you?
• Do you feel like things are happening to you? Or do you feel that they are happening through you?

These last two points are important:

• If you’re not grateful except when things go right, you are negative. 
• Gratitude is positive. If you are grateful for what is (including the unpleasant school of life lessons), then you can invite more and more positive energy into your life.

Here’s another interesting idea to consider: have you noticed that positive people seem to get what they want out of life, and even if things don’t go their way, they still enjoy their lives… while negative people whine and moan about their misfortunes and even the good things in their lives?

To clear negative energy, try this 3 -step process:

1. Take ownership: “When you think everything is someone else’s fault, you will suffer a lot. When you realize that everything springs only from yourself, you will learn both peace and joy.” – the Dalai Lama
   
2.  Cancel negative thoughts and replace them with positive thoughts. This takes practice, dedication and making a decision to see the world through the eyes of “what can go right” instead of “what can go wrong.” You’ll have to catch yourself anytime you are acting out or speaking out your negativity, and immediately change your tune.
3. And when you feel drawn back to negative thinking, remember...
   
   Visualize the positive instead of getting sucked into negativity; overcome past conditioning; think intuitively from the soul instead from ‘reality’; create a new, desired reality in your imagination and manifest it in the outer world. Nobody wants negative energy to permeate their lives, yet many of us allow it. But we allow it unconsciously, based on past conditioning that suggests an inevitable outcome to certain situations. When you overcome that conditioning and realize that the future is NOT cast in stone but that you have more control over your circumstances than you believe – then you can begin to consciously design your life.

What’s going to happen then? Your positive energy will magnetically attract what you consider to be good and right for you: people, situations, things… and you’ll notice a huge, huge increase in your happiness and inner peace.

Why not start today?

(sources include the website Raw for Beauty)

Ode to the Sewing Machine #15

Many of you follow my "Ode to the Sewing Machine" posts.  We've all seen the ads on craigslist, ebay and elsewhere.  The clueless sellers give those of us who sew a belly laugh, or two!

0 bids on this one?  Can't imagine why?  I know I always take a picture of the back of something when I'm trying to sell something. (If you notice, not one of his photos shows the front of the machine!)

Free shipping on this one is a deal maker for me!!! 

Gonna bid on it right now before someone else does!

Is that what boat anchors go for nowadays?  Posted 26 days ago and it still hasn't sold yet?

Finally!  A sowing machine!

God's not dead, He's surely alive!

This is one movie I have to see! I haven't been to a movie in years, but I'll be at this one.

One Nation Under God

Built into our constitution, our founding fathers built a foundation of freedom. From the beginning, Christianity was not the law of the land.  Christianity was the principle behind the law of the land. One undeniable fact: At its core, the United States of America is a Christian nation.  A noble and significant quality embedded in the Christian faith is freedom for the religions to compete in the public arena of ideas. Americans have the freedom to change their nation from a Christian nation to any other type of their choosing. The majority will decide. While giving us this freedom, there were warnings given by our founding fathers.

On April 29th, 1607, the birth of a nation began.  Sea-weary Englishmen landed at Cape Henry on the shores of Virginia and lay the foundation for what would become the most powerful country the world has ever seen. What was to be the United States unfolded that day, America's destiny and purpose were sealed at Cape Henry.  All that would follow hinged on the single proclamation that this land belonged to Jesus Christ. In the Mayflower Compact of 1620, the Pilgrims reaffirmed the mission set forth by the original Virginia settlers.

The Puritans carried the Cape Henry legacy further. On the deck of the Arbella, halfway between England and Cape Cod, leader John Winthrop declared, "We shall be as a city upon a hill. The eyes of all people are upon us, so that if we shall deal falsely with our God in this work we have undertaken and so cause him to withdraw his present help from us, we shall be made a story and a byword throughout the world."1

This is the heart of America, 'the city upon a hill,' and the core of what America's been all about since day one. The basis for American life, at that time, was to be committed Christians who were to so let their light shine to one another and then to the whole world, that the world could see that as an example.

More than 100 years later, America set off on her own course towards independence, the Godly foundations laid in Virginia established the character of our Revolution.  "Before God, I believe the hour has come," said John Adams of the Revolution. "My judgment approves this measure and my whole heart is in it. All that I have, all that I am and all that I hope in this life I am now ready to stake upon it. And I leave off as I began, that live or die, survive or perish, I am for the Declaration. It is my living sentiment, and by the blessing of God, it shall be my dying sentiment. Independence now and independence forever."2

John Adams wrote:

“Statesman, my dear Sir, may plan and speculate for liberty, but 

it is Religion and Morality alone, which can establish the Principles 

upon which Freedom can securely stand. 

The only foundation of a free Constitution is pure Virtue, and if this cannot be inspired 

into our People in a greater measure than they have it now, 

they may change their Rulers and the forms of Government, 

but they will not obtain a lasting liberty.”

George Washington's reverent, Christian heart, Benjamin Franklin's call to prayer and John Adams' reverence for the will of God symbolize the undying commitment of our Founding Fathers to the creation of a nation which would glorify God. The American character was born in Scripture and nurtured by the Holy Spirit, yet today, our national heritage is under siege.

Four hundred years have passed since America was first conceived at Cape Henry, and respect for our roots is growing cold. Yes, one undeniable fact will remain: At its core, the United States of America is a Christian nation... with the gift of freedom. Americans have the freedom to change their nation from a Christian nation. Christianity is not the law of the land.  Christianity was the principle behind the law of the land.

James Madison warned of a risk in 1795:

"The moment that religion, the pure and undefiled religion, loses its influence 

over our hearts, from that fatal moment, farewell to public and private happiness. 

Farewell--a long farewell--to virtue, to patriotism, to liberty."

John Adams wrote in June 1776: "We have no government armed with power capable of contending with human passions unbridled by morality and religion.  Avarice, ambition, revenge, or gallantry, would break the strongest cords of our Constitution as a whale goes through a net. Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people."

Yes, our constitution was made for a moral and religious people.  And the people have the freedom to change.  Place that constitution into the hands of an immoral and unreligious people and you see the America of today.  The moral and religious people of yesterday laid down their right, choosing comfort rather than politics.  They turned a blind eye to difficult topics, and chose topics that were pleasing to their ears.  And like a frog in a pan of water on a stove, morality and religion was shed slowly, without realizing it was happening.  It happens.  Layer by layer until bare bones and stark reality hit.

What will you do?  The bright light that shown to all the world is dimming.  Will you continue laying down, rolling over to change the view... choosing the more comfortable scenery of your pew?  Your soccer field? Your quilt guild meeting? (Please fill in the blank here)  Did the founding fathers die for nothing?

You have the freedom to change this country... or not.   Ezekiel 33:8

My thanks to David Norris for contributing to this article.