From Whom All Blessings Flow

I am perpetually overwhelmed by God's many blessings. Wholly undeserved blessings, bestowed on this wholly undeserving sinner!



Why He gave me such a Godly, wonderful (and handsome!) husband is beyond my comprehension.



I've spent the last week or two packing up just about everything we own, since we'll be closing on our first home this week -- there are too many blessings to count in that situation! Not least of which was finding a tenant to rent our apartment, allowing us to get out of our lease early without penalty.



We have plenty of food on the table, a roof over our heads -- truly, what more could we ask for?





And, to top it all off, I have the most adorable niece in the world! *wink*



God is indeed gracious. It is so easy to be grateful and "contented" when it seems as though heaven is raining down blessings. It's also so easy to take it for granted. But God's blessings continue to flow, even when things seem bleak from our human perspective. "Blessed" does not equal "supplied with every type of material comfort and desire." I hope and pray that when times of trial come (as they surely will!), He will remind me of His continual care and His promise to supply all our needs.

In the meantime, we don't have to look far to count our blessings. The roll of packing tape continues to diminish, as the mountains of boxes grow. There are so many things to look forward to -- some grass to call our own, for instance! Room to spread out. A garage. Our very own laundry room (collecting 20 quarters a week is no easy task!).

Posting may be sporadic over the next days/week, but as soon as we settle in I hope to return to my not-so-regular posting schedule!

Dent de Lion

This rather unassuming plant hardly seems to merit its name -- "Dandelion" is a corruption of the French "dent de lion," or "lion's tooth" (so called because of the spiky leaves.



Of course, if you prefer a different language, you could always go with the German "Loewenzahn," the Welsh "dant y llew," or the Italian "diente di leone." All of which sound rather noble for a weed!

The little dandelion above (in the "parachute ball" stage) is growing quite contentedly in front of our apartment building. Such a happy, whimsical plant! I am so grateful that God gave us such beauty and diversity on our planet -- even when it comes in the form of a lion's tooth.

A Little Taste of England

A little British imports store that I noticed "by chance" proved to be a wonderful discovery -- in the form of a cold can of Ribena. If you've never tried black currant, you're missing out.



Luscious, fruity deliciousness, with just a hint of fizz. Pablo claims it tastes like medicine, but I prefer to compare it to ambrosial nectar. When I'm in a philosophizing mood, that is.

To my dismay, the shop was out of Bassett's Jelly Babies (which to my mind are the most whimsically delightful candies of all time), but the store owner promised that they'd have more in soon.

Oh, how good it is to have a little taste of England once more!

Say Hello to Summer, 50's style

I'll bet you didn't know that "interesting things are happening to the scoop-necked blouse." But apparently Butterick thinks there are.



Unless they've changed their position some time in the last 50 or so years. Judging by the expression on the model's face, she quite agrees. Just check out that flair, that tiny wasit, that perfectly flipped hair!



Unfortunately, I have neither a tiny waist nor perfectly flipped hair. But I do have the blouse! I recently made up (read, "finished sometime late last night") Butterick 8614, a vintage 50's blouse pattern.



I love the concept of including the sleeve in the bodice, thereby foregoing the often arduous task of setting in sleeves. The pattern illustration gives the appearance of bias tape around the collar -- in actuality, it's topstitching that creates the look. Since I was using a patterned material, I decided to modify the pattern to include the bias tape.



I'd love to try it again in a solid at some point -- the bias tape worked fine, but changing the facing involved some significant alteration. One thing I loved about this pattern was the darts; normally I loathe darts, and do everything in my power to avoid them. But these were the easy-to-match-up, no-finagling-necessary kind of darts. I decided to add a simple sash belt, to create the illusion of a waistline. *wink*



I think this blouse has a bit of an "Anthopologie-esque" look to it, which I like. But best of all, it's light and airy. And in Florida, that's not something to be taken for granted! I'm now officially inspired to delve into my collection of vintage patterns to spruce up my summer wardrobe.

Random Tuesday Musings

The author of the blog "Wit Behind the Ears" posted about one of my Austentations journals, which she won in a giveaway over at Opening Lines -- you can read about it here!



In other Etsy news, there are two new Pride and Prejudice journals in the Austentations shop, and a reversible scallop apron in the Oh Sew Delightful shop!



After a slew of custom orders, I'm finally sewing something for myself! I pulled out one of my vintage patterns today, took a deep breath, and started cutting. So far so good -- if all goes well, I'll be adding a little bit of 50's flair to my summer wardrobe.

Not that I'm in any hurry to get to Summer! This Spring is too beautiful for words; lazy bumblebees hovering outside our door, trees in full bloom, gardens profuse with color (and pollen!). Life is blessed.

The Reason For Hope

I am awed by the sacrifice Christ made on the cross for His sheep -- His wandering, straying sheep, who cannot even find their way to Him unless He leads them. Such suffering is imcomprehensible and humbling.

But it is Christ's resurrection from the dead, His triumph over the grave, that gives me hope. He is indeed the "firstfruits of the dead," the assurance that He can and will keep His promise to raise us even as He was raised. O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory!

As we sang the the hymn "Ah, Holy Jesus" in church today, I reflected on the words in the second verse: "Alas, my treason, Jesus, hath undone thee!" Treason is a harsh word, and difficult to swallow. But what makes it worse is that it is not nearly harsh enough to describe our rebellion against God. Who would sacrifice themselves for a traitor? Only the Son of the Most High.

"Ah, Holy Jesus" (Herzliebster Jesu)

Written by Johann Heermann (1585-1647)
Music by Johann Cruger (1598-1662)
You can listen to a lovely version (sung in German) on Youtube.

Ah, holy Jesus, how hast thou offended,
that we to judge thee have in hate pretended?
By foes derided, by thine own rejected,
O most afflicted!



Who was the guilty? Who brought this upon thee?
Alas, my treason, Jesus, hath undone thee!
'Twas I, Lord Jesus, I it was denied thee;
I crucified thee.



Lo, the Good Shepherd for the sheep is offered;
the slave hath sinned, and the Son hath suffered.
For our atonement, while we nothing heeded,
God interceded.



For me, kind Jesus, was thy incarnation,
thy mortal sorrow, and thy life's oblation;
thy death of anguish and thy bitter passion,
for my salvation.



Therefore, kind Jesus, since I cannot pay thee,
I do adore thee, and will ever pray thee,
think on thy pity and thy love unswerving,
not my deserving.

I pray that the Lord has richly blessed you on this "Resurrection Sunday!"

Spring Sale!

To celebrate the coming of Spring, my Scallop Apron PDF pattern is on sale through the end of April in my Etsy shop!



And yes, I know it's April 1st -- but I can promise you that there's no fooling here! *wink*