AUGUST OFFERINGS

It's been far too long since I LINGERED on this blog.
I've spent most of the past several years offering my thoughts on my 'daily' blog.
I've decided to simply place a daily quote on dailygracesfromgod.blogspot.com and use this spot to linger longer with deeper, longer thoughts.
Today is as good a day as any to begin.
I moved this first story from my other blog so . . . .
ENJOY!

August 1, 2018                                              I'm Stuffed!

Can you remember the last time you ate a sumptuous meal?

I think of Thanksgiving meal when I was very young.

Aunts, uncles, grandma and neighbors would join our large family.

Mom set the tables elegantly with tablecloths and good china.

Even the ‘kids’ table was set for a feast. 

Aunt Betty’s brought her green bean casserole.

That’s the one with the mushroom soup smothering the beans with canned onion rings on top.

Then there were real potatoes that dad worked so hard to mash with loads of real butter and whole milk.

The meal would not be complete without the candied yams with huge, glazed, marshmallows on top.

Of course there was the jello and marshmallow salad, 

Ambrosia, and perhaps another salad,Waldorf, with apples and walnuts in it.

Remember the cranberry sauce?

My favorite was right out of the can, sitting in a little dish, jiggling it’s rippled sides as we passed it around.

The grand finale was grandma’s pies - always pumpkin, apple and mincemeat.

We all ate until we were stuffed.

After we cleaned up and gathered leftovers, we settled in for a few hours recounting the extraordinary feast we’d shared.

Sunday’s sermon brought forth memories of another grand feast.

The Gospel of John, chapter 6, is a long discourse (the first of 5 weeks of sermons in our denomination).

The sharing of Five Loaves and Two Fishes with 5000 men and then their families is a miracle we continue today as we come together for our weekly Eucharist, which means “thanksgiving”.

In this story of the feeding of the five thousand, Jesus drew the hungry crowd up the mountain and invited them to sit in the lush, green grass.

Picture to tranquil setting of Psalm 23 . . .  “The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want.  He makes me to lie down in green pastures.

The people were hungry for another way of life, for a rest from the constant taunts of the Roman soldiers.

They were hungry for hope.

They were hungry for one who could lead them . . .  a Shepherd.

They were striving for divine purpose from the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

They were clinging to their identity as Jews and seeking reprieve from pressure to make Caesar their god.

They were starved.

Jesus’ discourse would take hours.

It was late in the day.

Where do they find bread to feed these people so that their starving bodies can comprehend the new Bread, the new Hope, the new feeder of souls who would eventually feed them for all eternity?

Five loaves and two fishes from one trusting little boy.

Jesus received them graciously, Blessed them, Broke them and gave portions to each of the 12 men who had been with him since the beginning of his ministry.

They distributed, and distributed and distributed as portions multiplied to feed all until they were ‘stuffed’.

“Take, Eat”

The people sat, took and ate . . . and the remnant was picked up in twelve woven baskets.

The remnant of Israel, the remnant of the 12 tribes . . . sitting there, filled to overflowing with the Presence of God, the Bread of Life . . .  filled until they were stuffed!

And after many hours of digesting all of what Jesus offered God’s people, Jesus and the 12 withdrew into the boat and went to the other side (Capernaum).

The crowds walked around the upper part of the lake and eventually met Jesus and his team . . .  asking for MORE.

Were they hungry for free food that multiplied from nothing by through Jesus’ blessing or were they hungry for more of Jesus?

  

That’s what Holy Eucharist is all about.

Some churches offer ‘communion’ once a month or four times per year.

They offer a piece of ‘remembrance’ of this feast and take it very seriously.

Why, if taken so seriously, is this simply a remembrance?

Why is this receiving of God’s Presence through His Son, so rare?

How can we be ‘stuffed’ after being starved for such long periods of time?

Why not offer Eucharist, which is Greek for Thanksgiving, every day of worship?

Why not ‘feast’ on Jesus as often as possible?

Why not make sure we, who are called to draw others into the arms of Jesus, are continuously fed with His Presence?

Throughout scripture Jesus healed the sick, shared words and broke bread with the crowds.

Each time he broke bread he blessed it and shared it.

Each time Jesus spoke, his words were shared far and wide.

In fact, to this day we bite off a ‘piece’ of Jesus as we digest God’s Word.

We digest the full Presence of Christ, God’s Truth, God’s Word, the Bread of Life.

In the same way, by eating of the bread and by drinking of the wine, we receive the Word of God, a piece of God, so that we are filled to overflowing.

We are ‘STUFFED’ with the Presence of God in Christ Jesus.

In fact, we are so stuffed that we can’t help but share this banquet with others who choose to come into the full presence of Christ Jesus through baptism.

Each week I am ‘stuffed’ with such an overflowing presence of my Lord, the Bread of Life, that I can’t help but share this banquet experience with others.

For any who read these very brief notes on the feeding of the 5000, I pray you consider the true meaning of “I am the Bread of Life, . . . whoever comes to me shall never hunger.”

It might be fruitful to read, mark, learn and inwardly digest all of John, chapter 6.

You’ll be STUFFED.

                                       ~~~~~~~~~~~~
I took this next 'lingering' moment from my Daily Graces From God blog just in case someone is new to my blog sites.
I so love this experience and I truly did linger much longer than usual with this complex embroidery project.
Enjoy!

July 17-31                                        Lingering Longer

During this 'lingering' time I tested myself by returning to a special kind of embroidery I began decades ago.
Hardanger is a region in Norway that distinguishes it's festive costumes (Bunads) by it intricate embroidery.
The Bunad apron and parts of the blouse include their 'cut' designs.

I took a class with a friend during a sabbatical I took shortly after we were married, decades ago.  I found the stitches too difficult for me to continue on my own after our three-day Hardanger seminar so set it aside.

Fast forward to this month.

Once I returned to my Hardanger Embroidery project it took me at least a month, working every night for several hours, to complete. 






Since it is "white on white" I also had to wash my hands before I touched the piece. . . and not work where I love to sit on the little back porch.  It has been too  hot and sticky.

This time I was aided by YouTube videos.
I watched one video four times before I got the hang of one particular stitch.

The top photo shows half the snowflake-star with holes with the other half blank.
Before 'cutting' in very particular places, the piece looks like the right side . . .  no holes.
I pull larger threads leaving little threads that must be 'bound' (second photo).
Each hole must be bound on all sides for the piece to work.
The fabric is now washed but needs to be ironed before little sequins are placed on a few tiny squares to complete the piece.

All in all, I feel quite proud of myself for pressing through this challenge.

            

Many times I had to removed work.
In fact, if you notice, the little 'window' squares have some stitching above and below them (both pictures).
These stitches shown on the left were removed as I learned the best stitch for this space . . .  with tiny holes that were made by pulling each thread tight.
These two shots show the 'window' boxes with change in lines above and below.
The one on the left was taken before I completely redid the "Nun's"stitch above and below the windows.
Can you see the difference?

On the left is a simple one-stitch on four sides.
On the right is the corrected stitch (yes, I tore out all the 4-sided stitches on the left) and replaced them with the corrected Nun's stitch.

Stitching threads very tight (part of Hardanger) 'pulls' threads away from the fabric to make tiny holes, adding to the character of the pattern.
This shot of the corner (above) shows the Nun's stitch done correctly to create a boarder that allows all threads to be pulled beyond it.
That's how we create the fringe.

The full length picture of the piece was just ironed.
However, adding the last part . . . sequins in the snowflake-star makes it look a bit raggedy.  

A close up of the completed snowflake-star shows the sequins a bit better.

This piece could be used on a table.
However, I intend to steam-iron this again and place the piece on blue fabric and frame it.
Carefully smoothing the fringe before placing under glass will be a bit tricky but I think it will look nice next to another piece of art.

So, on to another adventure where I linger a little longer,
writing words and setting up the curriculum for my Hebrews class I hope to teach this winter. 

Study and needlework enables me to linger just where I ought to be for the moment.
Love these lingering moments.