Shelter in Place, Day 58. Another book of the Bible read, another border block pieced:

After reading through book after book of doom and gloom, the next book in my Bible read-through, Haggai, was a welcome relief. Just as all those previous prophets foretold, the kingdoms of Israel were indeed destroyed. And sure enough, a remnant of God’s chosen people have returned to live in Judah. Haggai’s message was to get busy rebuilding the temple so God’s presence could come home. I think he got pushback, and I can’t blame them. They’d been working so very hard, building new lives from scratch. To take the time and expense to build the temple was not high on their list of priorities. In a nutshell, Haggai’s reply was, “God’s will, done God’s way, will never lack God’s supply.” (This was a quote I heard many years ago, it’s a good one.)

In my previous post, I said that there was enough variety around my home to keep me from feeling like I’m trapped in a Groundhog’s Day movie. Some examples:

This guy was hanging out on my wall. He is huge, and those antennae are totally boss. He’s a silk moth of some variety. Now in the final stage of his life; he has emerged from his silken cocoon with no mouth parts. But he has no interest in food. It’s all about the pheremones, baby. Those antennae will help him find a mate so the next generation can be produced. Circle of life.

Every year, frogs lay eggs on in our pool when it sits dormant in cooler weather. Every Spring, we rescue those eggs and raise the cutest little polliwogs. Then we have these delightful visitors all year round.

My husband didn’t mind this little guy hanging out in his sink

I’ll share my morning events:

My day begins with a cup of coffee, after which I go outside to garden for awhile. Today I started with picking fruit. I filled my hands with the first ripe blackberries of the season. I was delighted. Then I filled a bucket with nasturtium flowers for our lunchtime salad, and I’m going to attempt a pesto sauce as well. Delightful.

Then I moved to a shady spot, and began hacking away at and pulling out a giant plumbago plant that has taken over the fence line. I was delighted to see several noisy little finches flitting all around me while I worked. Then it dawned on me; they’re probably protecting their nests. So I backed off and moved to another section. Then I saw it. A weasel, so cute and playful, moving in and out of that plumosa. Then I realized it was after the nests. The finches were besides themselves. I was horrified. I picked up a few oranges from under a tree and threw them into the dense growth, but I doubt if it helped.

The circle of life can be such a bummer sometimes.

I’ve finished reading Zephaniah, the next book of the Minor Prophets. And here’s another border block to go along with my Bible Sampler Quilt project.

I’ve heard this quarantine situation described as being in a Coronavirus version of the Groundhog’s Day movie. I don’t feel that way myself. I can fill my days with enough variety to keep things interesting. I could be the poster child for the introverted personality. But things are stacking up that are starting to wear on me.

Zephaniah shared the same old message as the seven previous books of the Minor Prophets, which is basically this: Because the children of Israel have strayed far from their faith, the punishing judgment from their righteous God is at hand. Zephaniah in particular uses the term “The Day of the Lord” a lot. As in, the day when the whole earth will be devoured by His burning anger. This after three solid chapters describing the doom and gloom in great detail. Yikes is right.

It’s a bit like the Groundhog’s Day I referenced: reading book after book of the same depressing message of angry destruction, at the same time that the media fills the airwaves with doom and gloom. And I have to agree that the world as we knew it has turned topsy turvy with no end in sight.

I googled the name “Zephaniah” out of curiosity. That’s not a name that’s making the top ten on the baby boy list. I learned that it means “Yahweh hides”. What a coincidence. We are all currently hiding from each other. We hide behind our doors, behind flimsy cloth face masks in pursuit of protection. Even that groundhog hid from his own shadow. And this is the thing that’s wearing on me: the steady drip of fear.

But then God does it again, He shows His gospel hope. Right at the end of the book, Zephaniah reports that God will leave a remnant; a humble and lowly people who will take refuge in the name of the Lord. Their restoration will be such that they shout for joy in triumph, rejoicing exultantly with all their hearts.

I’ll take my cue from these words. Take note: God means business. He’s not messing around regarding life and death. Proverbs reminds me that it is the fear of the Lord that is the beginning of wisdom. You surely don’t want to be on God’s bad side. But being born into sin; we’re all on His bad side.

He has a remedy. Like Moses, God allows me to tuck into the cleft of the rock so that I am safe from His awesome and terrible power. The rock is His Son. Hidden in Christ is where I receive refuge, as well as all the protection and provision I need.

So we can do this. We can get through the day after day doom and gloom. God’s got it covered.

I’m still here, staying home, still sheltering in place, still sewing face masks, and finishing border blocks for the Bible Sampler Quilt project.

“Stay safe out there everybody”. I’ve heard this phrase a lot lately. Newscasters end their reports this way, friends add this to parting farewells. I suppose it’s meant to be a positive tag line, so I feel like a chump here when I ask, “How in the world am I supposed to “Stay safe”? We’re in the middle of a global pandemic. I live in earthquake country, and as if killer bees aren’t scary enough, the Murder Hornets have just arrived on my continent. And who are we kidding? We could die in our sleep tonight.” Life isn’t safe.

This well-meant phrase reminds me of another, equally well-meant: “Sending positive thoughts your way”. Yes, I’m glad you’re thinking of me during my difficulty, which brings comfort. But if I’m in great need, I’d want to be tapped into a greater power than a thought. Again, I feel like a bit of a chump when I ask, is this the best we can do?

I’ve finished reading the next book of the Bible, Habakkuk. This well-known phrase popped from the print in chapter 2, verse 4: “The just will live by faith”. I know it’s repeated in other places in the Bible, and I’ll be reading it again in the New Testament. But you heard it here first, folks.

Who exactly are the “just”? And how will they live “by faith”? This familiar phrase can seem vague, and can easily be misunderstood.

I learned in junior high confirmation class that “justified” means “just as if I’d” never sinned. So . . . the “just” are perfect, sinless people?

That’s impossible.

Exactly. The “just” are regular, sinful people. The only difference is, they put their faith in Jesus Christ. And faith comes by believing. They believe in the knowledge that Jesus Christ took it all, the sins of humanity, upon Himself to the cross and died with them. It was my sin, and yours, that put Him there. When He rose again, He overcame sin, death, and the power of the devil. When we give up any pretense regarding our ability to control our own safety, and put our faith in Him, we are born again; cleansed by the sacrificial blood He shed for us. Therefore it is “just as if we’d” never sinned. So you see how the only way “the just” can possibly live at all is “by faith”.

So we can do better than saying “Stay safe” to each other. We can share the faith we live by: The good news of the gospel. It won’t guarantee safety from COVID19, even better, it provides the ultimate safety: Being hidden in Christ, under the shadow of His wings. For eternity.

So, instead of saying “Stay safe”, I would take a cue from the early Christian church. Talk about living in dangerous times. While they were washing their hands without indoor plumbing, and trying to avoid diseases without modern medicine, they were being hunted down and brutally killed by the Romans. Yet they were known by how they loved one another and how they lived in faithful joy.

Those first Christians would probably chuckle and give an eye roll if they were told to “Stay safe out there”. They knew better. They would greet each other with a kiss and say “Christ’s peace”. Farewells would include the word “Maranatha”, Lord come soon.

May the peace of the Lord reign in your hearts and minds.

Maranatha.

The gardens are bursting wherever I look. Pardon my photography, I’m too lazy to wipe down or trim up the scene before shooting. And this is supposed to be funny, mimicking the beautiful photos of quilts thrown over fence posts in tranquil settings to show a finish. Well, here’s another block finished for the Bible Sampler quilt any ways.

Fascinating. Who hunts lions? Hubris. Was this analogy to lions in Nahum’s prophecy a taunt? It was certainly ironic. Nineveh, mighty Nineveh would fall to the Babylonians, never to rise again.

My OMG for the month of May:

https://www.elmstreetquilts.com/2020/05/one-monthly-goal-may-link-up.html

The next UFO I’ve chosen to finish is to get this top loaded on the quilting frame and quilted.

I may be displaying some hubris here myself. I’m spending lots of time outside in this gorgeous May weather, and not a lot of time in the sewing room. There’s lots of necessary gardening chores going on, and I’ve challenged myself to take a long walk or bike ride every day in May. But I felt like a bit of a cheater when I chose small, achievable UFOs in months past. It feels great to have those done, but this OMG is supposed to be a challenge. So I’m really going to challenge myself in May. What do I have to lose?

Remember that Simon and Garfunkel song?

Tomorrow will end the month of April. And what a month it was. It revealed many truths about society, about our own social circles, about ourselves. It had its downsides and its upsides.

One of the best upsides for me was what happened because of the face mask frenzy. Overnight, my sewing skills, tools, and stash grew in worth in the eyes of others. My family gravitated to my sewing room to help with production. I helped others sew. I got to troubleshoot some old sewing machines for others who were dusting them off and getting busy. I now view FaceTime as my friend.

Even with all of the mask making, I finished my UFO challenge for the month.

https://www.elmstreetquilts.com/2020/04/one-monthly-goal-april-finish-link-up.html

I really enjoyed finishing this up. I love to handstitch binding. I loathe pulling in threads. There were a lot of them too, because I had used a weak multicolored thread to quilt this, and I didn’t want to change it out just because it kept breaking. But I plugged along, slowly pulling in threads, evening after evening after evening. It helped that I was relaxing with my husband and watching Masterpiece Theater.

I also finished the book of Micah. And there it was again, another obvious reference to the future arrival of Jesus Christ, Savior of the World. It was tucked right in the middle of this Old Testament prophetic book warning Jerusalem to prepare for punishment and doom.

Micah 5:2 – “But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of you shall come forth to Me the One to be Ruler in Israel, Whose goings forth are from of old, from everlasting.”

In a nutshell, he’s letting Israel and Samaria know that they are headed to destruction. Even so, there will be a remnant that will be preserved, and will return to Zion. Written in the 700’s B.C., we can agree that these words have all been fulfilled in real life.

Finally, one more finish to share, another border block for the Bible Sampler Quilt.

I’ve finished reading the book of Jonah. We all know how it goes. What impressed me was that God turned His wrath away and forgave the Ninevites. True this: No matter how evil or cruel, not one repentant heart is beyond the reach of God’s grace and mercy. And there was forgiveness for disobedient Jonah, too, even as he sulked under the tree after the turn of events didn’t go his way.

The Ninevites worshipped a god by the name of Dagan. Now get this, Dagan was a creature, part man and part fish. Fish! How about that. How curious that God caused Jonah to be swallowed by a fish before bringing His message to the fish-worshippers. Some might call this fortuitous, but I’ve got to hand it to God, that was one clever move. I’ve heard that one reason the people might’ve listened to Jonah was because his skin might’ve been bleached white from three day’s worth of soaking in digestive belly-of-the-whale juices. I would add that being a great fish survivor would have definitely boosted Jonah’s street cred.

Have you heard this one before? If you were given a brand new car on your sixteenth birthday, and you would not be able to replace that car, it being your only means of conveyance for the rest of your life, how would you then care for that car?

Of course the connection is that you are given your one body. How do you want to experience moving through your life: with ease and strength, or disease and weakness? I want the wheels on my bus (although I’d be a Porsche if given the option) to go ‘round and ‘round. It’s up to me. Maintenance is the key.

I’m writing from my shelter in place, as the quarantine for all of us “nonessentials” continues. But we can almost see light at the end of this tunnel, the forest for the trees. And what we are seeing is this: The victims who fell to the virus had underlying physical conditions. The poor souls in ICU were not in tip top physical condition to begin with. Now of course there are exceptions, there always are. And we cannot control the genetic makeup of what we’ve been created with. But we do control our lifestyle choices. The takeaway here is that building a healthy body and a strong immune system certainly can’t hurt us. My hope is that we remember this when we go “back to normal”. My hope is that we “go forward to our new normal” instead. We prioritize the caretaking of ourselves, our homes, our loved ones, just as we have been made to do these past two months.

I think our “new normal” future will include accessorizing our outfits with face masks. I’m all for bringing back the wearing of white gloves too, mid century style. How smart was that?

On to the Bible Sampler quilt project. I finished reading the next book, Obadiah, which took all of about five minutes. The quilt block took much longer:

Obadiah reports a vision he received from God to the Edomites. Descended from Esau, they have held a long-standing grudge against Israel and Judah, from the house of Jacob. Although they too were descended from Abraham, they aren’t part of the blessing given to the twelve tribes of Israel. So when Judah was destroyed and carried away to captivity, they gloated and rejoiced. If the words of the oracle are literal, they may have even looted their wealth and stood at the fork of the road to cut down their fugitives.

The lesson here? Don’t kick a man when he’s down. And if you do, here’s what verse 15 warns:

“For the day of the Lord draws near on all the nations. As you have done, it will be done to you. Your dealings will return on your own head.”

This one-chapter book ends with a message and a promise. That is, the house of Jacob (Israel) will return to its promised land, while the house of Esau will have no survivors.

California Shelter in Place Order – Day 40.

Forty days of social isolation. Forty days of limited freedom. It feels like a very long time. How is it going for you?

I’ve fallen into a rut rhythm. Clean a little, garden a little, cook a little, read a little, write a little, sew a little. I’m trying to keep it fresh.

I’ve challenged myself to make one Bible Sampler quilt block per day, in between face masks, to mark this epic time in history. I’m doing the borders now because I’m reading through books of the Bible that don’t have a corresponding block in the project.

And get this, I’m going to need exactly forty of these triangles for my quilt.

This is number 17.

The lavender is blooming and I put these on the orange and lemon cakes I made for our Easter meal yesterday.

I’ve finished reading Amos. This guy is probably the inspiration behind the phrase “Prophet of Doom”. In a nutshell: Just like in the book of Joel, Amos appeals to the Israelites to stop their evil practices, especially the ones against innocent women and children. He reports his visions of the impending destruction of Israel. Then it happens. Assyria swoops in and destroys the northern kingdom. The end.

But wait, there’s more! Amos also prophesied that the House of David will be restored. He foretold this even before its destruction took place.

I love this. Hope and the promise of salvation are always present – even in the gloomiest of Old Testament scriptures.

https://youtu.be/RkKvdvZ77-0

Start at 52:00.

That is all.

(I’m making masks on this Good Friday.)

I’ve finished the book of Joel as I read through the Bible with my Bible Sampler quilt project. Here’s another border block done:

When I began, I thought this blog, journaling my trip through the Bible and the quilt, was going to be a hop, skip, and a jump of lighthearted fun. What a ridiculous thought, considering the profound life and death content of the True Word of God. And I can’t help but think in these COVID19 days how up til now, people have been trying to skip through life with a lighthearted avoidance of the issue facing all of us: death. This virus has changed that around, hasn’t it?

The message from God through his prophets have some inconvenient truths as well, which I’m sharing today. (I thought I’d give you fair warning.)

There was an earthquake near me yesterday. The house shook for a bit, then all went back to normal.

Did I just say, “normal”? These days are anything but. Let’s just review: Our entire nation, indeed the world, is on lockdown due to a pestilence that we cannot control. There are locusts swarming in East Africa, and because of the Coronavirus, we cannot control the impending damage they will cause. The economy is spinning uncontrollably downward, and as of now, we see no end in sight. I would not say that these events are signs from God, but I would say that He is certainly getting a lot of attention these days.

These days. What ARE these days? Are they the last days? I have the answer: Yes, they are. The proof is found in this little book of Joel. Only three chapters long, it packs a wallop. I’m going to jump to Pentecost, where Peter addresses the crowds of “Jews, devout men, from every nation under heaven”. (Acts 2:5). He quotes a passage in the book of Joel to explain why the disciples were speaking in other tongues:

Acts 2:16 – “This is what was spoken of through the prophet Joel: ‘And it shall be in the last days’, God says, ‘that I will pour forth of My Spirit upon all mankind, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams; even upon my bondslaves, both men and women, I will in those days pour forth of my spirit and they shall prophesy. And I will grant wonders in the sky above, and signs on the earth beneath, blood, and fire, and vapor of smoke. The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and glorious day of the Lord shall come. And it shall be, that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.’” (Joel 2:28-32)

Peter went on to explain that Jesus was the fulfillment of all of the prophesies, and the Jews that were listening were pierced to the heart. They repented, were baptized, and the early church was born. Which brings us to today. We are still living in the church age, which are the last days, as Peter clearly pointed out at Pentecost.

Back to the book of Joel. Because God loved us while we were yet sinners, He speaks through the prophet Joel to warn His people of their impending punishment. His people have grown completely unfaithful, due to social distractions from the Canaanites they live amongst. To help Joel get their undivided attention, God forms a swarm of locusts that destroys their spring harvest.

God has patiently endured their unfaithfulness, but everyone hits the wall of “Enough”. God’s tipping point is the violent shedding of innocent blood. The sin that is the most reprehensible in all these books of the prophets that I’ve read so far, the sin that stirs God to punishing action, is the sin of infanticide. The Israelites were sacrificing their babies to Molech of the Canaanites. Why? It was a transaction with the idol for future prosperity. Hmm, ring any bells here? Are we sacrificing pre-born babies today in the name of convenience and future prosperity? How can we think that this can go on without stirring up God’s righteous anger?

This is not good. If God warned His people with earthquakes, pestilence, and locusts for this same sin in the days of the prophets, what then shall we do?

In this case, we are the movers and the shakers. We have a living relationship with God, and He listens to our prayers. In the days of Joel, he called on all believers to gather, assemble the elders, and repent for the sins of the people. In these last days, this is the still the most important thing we can do. And we can do it while sewing together all those face masks.

Joel 2:12: Return to the Lord with all your heart . . . For He is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger, abounding in loving kindness, and relenting of evil.”