Bees, Boats, and Blessings

This post is turning out to be much later than I had intended. July flew by much too quickly, and August is flying by as well. We have been blessed with a very full summer that also included a first time trip to Glacier National Park. We hope that you and yours have been enjoying the summer as well. Here are a few highlights of our vacation.

The colors of the wildflowers in the alpine meadows were stunning!

 We undertook an 11 mile roundtrip hike with a 1,600 foot gain in altitude to take in the beauty of the Grinnell Glacier and Upper Grinnell Lake. 

Another spectacular view looking down on Lower Grinnell Lake and Lake Josephine. The beginning of our hike lay beyond Lake Josephine (the one in the FAR distance).

Back to some of my summer sewing projects …
For this post, I thought I would share a couple additional quilt rows that I have completed. As with some of the recent posts, these rows were created from kits I acquired from quilt shops in Utah during the Row by Row Experience event. This first one features bees and beehives and was designed by Quilts, Etc. in Sandy, Utah. Utah is known as the Beehive State so it wasn't too surprising that several quilt shops in Utah included bees and beehives in their rows last year. This was a rather fun row to put together using several homespun plaids and wool appliqué work. I liked the textures of the homespun and the different colors and textures of wool for the beehives. If you look closely, you can see that even the bee bodies are in different shades of yellow and gold. 

A great way to beat the summer heat is to cool off in the water, right? The second row I am featuring was designed by Pine Needles quilt shop in West Jordan, Utah. This shop is located in Gardner Village, which features a number of great shops. I like the "waves" in this row that are created by sandwiching a length of jumbo ric-rac between the row of boats and the row of "water."

Which brings us to the blessings …

Three weeks ago, I had the wonderful privilege of attending a Living Proof Live weekend featuring one of my favorite Bible teachers, Beth Moore. The event was in Boise, Idaho, about a half day's drive from our house. Even with the drive, the weekend was a tremendous blessing and has challenged me in my faith walk. Here is a recap of the weekend for you to enjoy. If the video link doesn't play, you can also view it here

Before the formal lesson began on Friday evening, we were challenged to imagine ourselves in the scene described in Matthew 14:22-33. The disciples are in a boat sailing to the other side of the sea. The boat has become battered by the waves, and the wind is contrary when they see Jesus walking toward them on the water. Jesus greets them with the words, "Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid." Peter, who tends to be the first to speak (what the others are probably thinking), responds by saying, "Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water." Jesus responds with one simple word, "Come." The rest of the story is familiar to many of us - Peter does respond by coming to Jesus, but then quickly responds to what he sees around him and begins to sink. Jesus responds with an admonishment of, "O you of little faith, why did you doubt?"

As I contemplated this passage, I was struck by a couple of new insights. First of all, Jesus didn't calm the waters before He called Peter to come to Him. He simply said, "Come." Am I trust Jesus and step out in faith even in the midst of the storms I encounter or will I hesitate, remain in the boat, and wait for the storm to pass. Secondly, when Peter stepped out of the boat, his feet were firmly planted on top of the waves. As I face circumstances of uncertainty and trial, do I really believe that Jesus provides the capacity to walk firmly on top of them?

As you, perhaps, are facing some uncertain circumstances of your own, I will leave you with these same words that Jesus spoke to a boatful of disciples who were battered by waves and contrary wind.

"Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid." Matthew 14:27