Storms

Hello friends and family,

Well it has been a rough week.  Last Saturday I woke up with a sore throat and it progressed to a full blown cold by Monday and I have been hard pressed in doing what I had to do let alone fun stuff like this blog.  Not much quilting going on, so sad!  Any way I am feeling like I will live except for this nagging cough.  Beyond all this, which is nothing in the scheme of life, my best friend went to the docters last week and this week she was given the devestating news that she has breast cancer. Yet even with this news she still remains positive although a little scared.  She is a true testiment of the faith she has in our Lord.  My prayer is first and formost that our Lord will answer all our prayers and heal her so that she may be a testiment to His greatness.  Second that I may have the faith she has so that I may be there with her as she walks this new storm.  God grant us His grace to her first and to all who call her friend.  We will all need your loving hand. 
My heart goes out to all weathering storms, no matter the type.  They are all orderded to grow us in Him and to change and mold us so that all the world sees is His face and not ours.  God has granted me the priveledge of leading a prayer quilt minitry for our church.  Thru it I have been able to see His mighty hand in so many ways.  It has been an awesome priveledge I share with 7 other ladies. All dedicated to pouring out their love for Christ thru this ministry.   Now, I have begun a labor of love for my best friend, a  prayer quilt lovinginly cut, sewn, quilted and continually prayed over as I work on it. It will serve as a reminder to her as she goes thru this new trial of God's faithfulness, and that she has the prayers of the saints lifting her up and that they are there with her in spirit.

When I began the ideal for her quilt I chose a flower basket pattern. It is not the typical flower basket and all I had to start with is a picture- fun!  My friend loves flowers and she loves blue and purple.  So I set out to find floral cottons to create the flower portions of the quilt.  So far I have been able to first figure out the pattern since there was none just a picture.  I was able to cut it out yesterday and today I began the piecing of it.  I will take pictures tomorrow so you can be a part of the prayer quilt process also.  Our ministry is a little different than most prayer quilt ministries.  Each quilt is custom designed and pieced together.  I have a mid arm quilting machine and we are able to put decorative quilting on each quilt  This part is the unusual part.  Most quilting ministries just tie the quilt ( not that there is anything wrong with this).  My heart was to create an heirloom quilt that would last for generations as a reminder of God's faithfullness. That is why we fully quilt the quilts.   

Tomorrow I will share some pictures of the quilts we are working on and the quilt for my friend.  One of the amazing things that I have seen in this ministry is the fact that we do not per say do custom orderded quilts for the ministry yet each time one is requested we happen to have the perfect match in the cupboard.  God's inspiration in advance of the need.  How much does He love each one of us. 

Well it is late and I am tired but I didn't want to let another night go by without blogging. 
So for now I am signing out.  See you on the flip side.   
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