Shine Bright Book Release!

The Girl Defined devotional releases today!

Things are crazy busy over here, but I want to share this new book with you! I love the books and articles that Kristen Clark and Bethany Beal have put out in the past (I did a review of Girl Defined here in 2018), and I am so excited for this devotional. You can get it at www.girldefined.com/shine, and there is going to be an online study group going through it together starting June 1st, if you want to join!

Isn't it pretty?! And my launch party copy arrived like a present this afternoon. I haven't had a chance to sit down with it yet, but I will be getting to it this evening, and I will be giving a full review on it soon! (I plan on reading through the devotions during the launch, and then going back through it at a slower pace to do the "study deeper" with some friends :).) I'd love if you joined!

I have several posts coming up... I just need to edit them (and add pictures!). A lot has happened the past few months. And then next month has a full plate, too. But until then, have you heard of Girl Defined ministries before? Have you done a devotional you would recommend lately? Let me know if you get this one!

Rejoicing in Hope,

Ambrielle

His Strength in our Weakness

"And I, when I came to you brothers, did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom. For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. And I was with you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling, and my speech and message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, so that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God." -1 Corinthians 2:1-5

One thing that I love about bible journaling is that I can be reminded later of things that I was struck by before. While I can/did/do use a journal as well, it's so much nicer to have it with the text where I can read the context, as well <3. I was struck again by the passage above last night, as I was getting my post together.

Paul, admitting fear. And trembling. His own weakness.

Paul, the author of almost half of the New Testament books. The author of Romans, specifically, who openly rebuked Peter the apostle. Weak, fearful, trembling.

And what a beautiful reminder this is for us. For Paul goes on to say that this was for the people's own good... so that God might be glorified more in their lives. Paul's setbacks were for God's power to shine through instead of his own efforts. And he didn't let them stop him in discouragement from doing what he was called to do.

They just caused him to lean into Christ more.

Paul knew what it was to say "Christ must increase, but I must decrease"; "let the one who boast, boast in the Lord." He had seen God take his own humble efforts, and use them within God's plan for the spreading of the gospel, and he *knew* it wasn't of his own doing.

But he also knew something else; God had called him to this path of ministry, and he couldn't stop just because it was hard. Because God uses *people* to bring His hope to those around them, and He knows that we are not righteous enough, strong enough, or even, for some of us, bold enough - on our own. But He has given us the gift of having a part in the spreading of His gospel, anyway. He uses us, in our weakness, to show His strength. We are given the joy of planting, and of watering seeds of truth.

"But only God gives the growth." (1 Corinthians 3:7)

And that's as it should be.

So that faith might rest in God, and Go alone <3.

A Peek into my Journaling Bible

 

I have been asked about my bible journaling, what it is, what I do, and if I would mind sharing some of that with you all a couple of times, and I thought that would be fun to do for my post today :)!

 

Mama and Daddy gifted me my journaling bible for Christmas a few years ago <3. I had seen this new thing called "bible journaling" going around the internet (especially Pinterest) for several months, and when Mama sneakily asked it I thought Tori would be interested in this, I said I didn't see why not - that I would love one, if I wasn't afraid I wouldn't use it (because I have a bad habit of not starting things that I don't know I'll get perfect). Well, I ended up with this gorgeous bible, and I have loved it! While the perfectionist in me still often creates my design in pencil before making it permanent with ink, really, there are no rules! Bible journaling is a great way to gather prayers, scripture memorization, creativity, notes, and questions all in one place, and it's so nice!

I admit that, though I love to use my journaling bible for "bible journaling" (more word art/artwork to illustrate verses), that's not always my favorite part. You know what is? Journaling bibles come with so much SPACE. I can scribble notes all over the page, or underline words without other words getting lost. For someone who takes as many notes as I do, it's still not enough and I also keep a "sermon journal" (also used for personal study) in my bible case, but for those little notes or extra-special notes, the room in this bible is amazing!

A lot of the time, it's just simple little things that I will do in my bible while reading or right after church, but just taking two or three minutes to work on a visual to go with a thought/sermon helps it stick so much better for me, and I love that!

But when I sit down to my personal bible study, I like to do something a little bigger, when I have time, with the verses that stand out to me, and usually that is some word art of one of my favorite verses from my reading :). 

While I'm not much of an artist, and I prefer word art, I have done artwork a couple of times. 

 

Or I combine the two :)! Typically if I am doing something more detailed, I lay a paper under the page I am working on, and place another sheet over it when I finish, for about 24 hours, so that there is no ink rubbing off/leaking through on the other pages :).

I know that this might seem like a somewhat boring page to others, but I poured over this genealogy visual for about an hour, and it is honestly one of my favorite things I have done so far. I also did the other major genealogy list from after the flood, and it is just so neat to be able to see these while I read through the chapters <3!!!

This is another of my favorite ways to use my journaling bible! I drew this partial map on Ephesians' cover page. It has all the main map details on it from wikipedia, but then I am able to add in notes as to where in the bible those surrounding places are mentioned, and things like that :)!

I love to use gel pens because the colors are gorgeous <3! But I also have a thin line black ink pen that I am obsessed with because I can fit twice as many notes using it as opposed to a regular one ;). There is truly no right or wrong way to go about bble journaling (I mean, I just showed you a small sample of my own here, you can't get a full grasp of how different the pages in mine can look from each other!), and I love how it helps me stop and digest, if you will, what I am reading!

Do you have a journaling bible, or are you interested in getting one :)?

Rejoicing in Hope,
Bri <3

A Drop of Ink May Make a Million Think

This summer I asked some of you why you thought that people write (I love giving out tag questions, because you can tell a lot about a person by asking a question like this ;)!). Of course, the obvious reason that pops into your head may simply be "they enjoy it?" Which is true... but I love to think about the possibilities for writing. I love quotes about writing. I love writing ;).

One of my very favorite quotes about writing says that "we write to taste life twice". I really think that this is the reason I write. While I love to connect through words, and I do hope that the Lord can use some of the lessons He teaches me to bless others, the truth is, my blog has never had a real theme; it is just my way of sharing where I am in life.  And my journal has always been a thought process, not a history piece.

Because it's true, writing is how I process. Events, moments, ideas, dreams, plans, lessons, they all run through my head in a never ending loop until I sit down and write them out - usually in my journal, but also in letters and, to a lesser degree on my blog. (Often, for big events, I sit down and journal it to think through it myself, and then once it's sorted out in my own mind, I share it here, where I feel like I can share it in the best way possible... so often they look very much alike in what they deal with, haha, and I feel like it's a waste of time to do it twice... but that's just how it works for me. Each has a special place to me for different purposes!)

And when I think of writing, I think of the fact that we have God's Word given to us in written form. The God of the universe could have chosen any way He wanted to give us His truth, but He chose to give it to us in writing. In a book that we can hold and see and smell and feel and read through, and "taste", not just twice, but over and over and over again.

And I love that ability. I love to read of Jairus and how Jesus healed his daughter, and hear in my mind again one of our pastors teaching through this passage, and the vivid emotion he was able to breath into the passage because he was a father of an only daughter, just about Jairus' daugher's age, and he could clearly imagine the emotions that he would feel in this situation. I love to go through Hebrews and remember that it's said to be detailed sermon notes, and see the verses I have underlined that point to God being the only source of our rest. I love to read Leviticus and realize just how much Christ has paid for on the cross. I love to read these words that were meant to teach and train and remind and exhort and encourage and bring about worship.

There is something special about having the ability to dwell on the words over again, to see them, to go at your own pace, to have them available not once through hearing them, but as often as you will.

A drop of ink may make a millon think... and God chose this form of giving us hope. And the Lord has gone a step further, and given His children this written word, yes, but also the comprehension, the ability to learn and not just see. And for His word and His blessing on it's reading, I am so very grateful <3.

How have you been tasting the words of the Lord lately :)?

Rejoicing in Hope,
Bri

You Are What You Eat

"You are what you eat" - how many times have we heard that statement? It is typically used to remind people that you want to watch the quality of the food you consume; avoid dyes, toxins, sugar. *throws away my candy wrappers somewhat guiltily but quite contentedly* But I believe it's just as important to watch what we feed our minds and form into habits.

Just like it's easier to grab some junk food then to make a meal, it's much easier to slip into bad habits or wrong thinking than it is to reach for what is "noble, right and pure". These habits are things we don't even think about - we just do them, whether we would agree with them or not if we stopped to think, because it happens so fast. We find ourselves thinking, "whoops; I shouldn't do that again." But without something to direct us away from it, it rarely works; we find ourselves doing it again and again.

One suggestion I have heard and used at times has been, when you find yourself doing or saying something that you shouldn't, to recite a bible verse - one you have chosen and memorized beforehand specifically to remind you of why you are trying to break this habit.

This can be a slow and discouraging process, but it does help. Instead of just noticing when you fall, you are noticing and correcting, and this helps re-train your mind through repitition. Slowly, you will begin to notice that, as your mind is renewed, you stumble less and less.

Abbi has recently been doing something similar. Abbi lives life fast paced; she is always running, hurrying, in the thick of the most action, excited and exuberant. This can sometimes be a danger to people, including herself. She's probably taken a tumble down the stairs more times than the rest of the family put together! Mama has asked her countless times to please, please not run on the stairs, so she doesn't injure herself, but Abbi just couldn't remember to slow down; there is so much to do! So she decided that whenever she found herself running down the stairs, she would make herself go back to the top and walk down. And you know what? After a few weeks, she had to turn around less and less, and it's been quite a while since we heard one of her formerly quite recent tumbles!

Breaking a habit or thought pattern requires replacing it with something. Just like saying "no" to a food you usually eat that isn't very good for you doesn't mean you skip a meal, it is helpful to find something to replace your thoughts or activites. This is why, when I am discouraged or rushed, I like to try to sit down and read the bible or a book that encourages living for Christ. It's also why, when I take a break from being online, I usually put together a list of extra things to get done. I am replacing those habits with something more in line with my goals :).

Eventually, those replacements will become what you desire. It will still take "feeding" to remain healthy, but you will find them more satisfying and refreshing, and won't be as often tempted to reach for lesser things. It had been interesting lately, because my Mama was going through a christian history book with my younger siblings lately, and it's obvious how the Lord has renewed her mind through her diligent searching out of His truth. The book has wrong theology sprinkled all through it, but as a young christian, she didn't even know it was wrong theology when she first read it to me when I was their age. Now, she has so steeped herself in God's word and godly teaching (and, by God's mercy, been given "eyes to see"), that it is a struggle for her to realize that this was the christian history we once read and excepted!

Of course, as everything else in a believer's life, it all goes back to honoring our Heavenly Father. We don't read the bible to have an easier time or be better people; we read it to understand more of Him, to serve Him better, to have the tools to share His light with those He places in our pathes. In all that we face and question, God has given us His standard in His holy scriptures, and they are always the first thing we should turn to in dificult situations, but we should also be dwelling in it continually, to prepare ourselves before the battle.

Sometimes, you might not feel like reading; you might feel too tired, or distracted, you might think you will get more out of it at a later time, you may even feel guilty reading God's word without being "perfect" at it, and you may want to let this discourage you; But one thing I have found to be true is that this is the very time you must come to the throne in prayer and scripture reading! Ask God to give you a heart soft to His word, and then just read. While you may not feel like you are retaining much, you are whetting your appetite for it, and you will find yourself craving it more and more! This has been on my mind frequently recently, as my family and I have been doing a bible study online with thousands of others - a reading through of the bible that is described as "feasting", where we are frequently told to "come to the table and eat". And I love that!

So watch what you eat - spiritually! Find an accountability partner if it helps, set aside a time that you can make it a priority, find ways to incorporate the word of God into your daily life... you are what you eat!

Rejoicing in Hope,
Bri

Commanded to Rest

We looked yesterday at how rest is a command in scripture, and how it better ables us to to obey other commands (we specifically focused on joy, but there are so many other areas it touches, as well!). Today, we'll look at that command a little closer.

In one of my favorite passages about the taking of rest, the disciples have just come back from their ministering around the area, "proclaiming that people should repent". They are eager and diligent to give Jesus a full report of all that they have done for Him since they were last with Him. But there are people every where, and Jesus sees that His disciples need a break before they continue to serve. He commands them to rest, and they obey. We aren't sure how long this rest is, or whether they really had much more than a bite to eat and the quiet of being on a boat away from the crowd, able to talk to Jesus, who came with them, without interruption, before they jump back into work, because the crowd follows them. But we do know that Jesus knew that rest was important for them, and that He cared for them, so I am confidant that they were refreshed before Jesus landed, and, having compassion on the people, started serving, and asking His disciples to help, once more (Mark 6: 31-34).

Most of our timelines in life are found in the pattern of the sun and moon; our year, our month, our day, our seasons, the tides. They all depend on these "neighbors" in our home, the Milky Way. But were did the timeline of our week come from? Where did we get a seven day week? That comes directly from scripture, and Genesis 1-2, where God created the universe in six days... and created rest on the seventh.

"Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. And on the seventh day God finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done. So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all his work that he had done in creation." (Genesis 2:1-3)

He then makes the observing of this day of rest a holy day, and lays down His expectations for this day to the Israelites when He brings them out of Egypt: "Six days shall work be done, but on the seventh day is a Sabbath of solemn rest, a holy convocation. You shall do no work. It is a Sabbath to the LORD in all your dwelling places." (Leviticus 23:3)

Jesus explains to the Pharisees in Mark 2:27 that "The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath."

And here in these 3 verses we find the balance to this command of rest. The Sabbath was created
by God,
for man,
to the Lord.

Over and over, in both the Old Testament and the New Testament, we are given examples of how the Sabbath was "a day of rest for the people", but "a day of worship for the Lord". And the reason for this is simple; when we worship the Lord, we come into a deeper fellowship with Him, and when we are abiding in Him, our hearts find rest; when we are resting in the Lord, we have the strength to serve Him and those around us; and as we work for Him, through Him... we find ourselves ever more grateful for who He is, and ever more desirous to worship Him.

Our week was set up to give us this natural rhythm of savoring Christ and sharing Christ, but it also happens on a smaller (and larger) scale all through out our lives. We give our bodies physical rest every night, but there are times that we take additional rest when sick or suffering from too-short nights too often. The same should be true of our Sabbath rest. We have a time set aside to habitually worship and spiritually rest, but we also must learn to come and sit at His feet when we are "weary with much care". To remind our hearts to be still; to learn of Him; to feast on the truths of the gospel.

There are different ways to do this at different seasons. Bible reading, prayer, hymns, extra scripture study, online sermons, edifying books. It may depend on your resources at hand, the time you can make available, and the level of your need. But He is always there to carry your burdens, to still your spirit, to bring rest to a troubled sea of doubt. And He does this for us - to His glory.

"Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid." (John 14:27)

On My Book Shelf ✽ Girl Defined + Little Life Moments

Good afternoon everyone! I hope your day has been wonderful and that your week has been blessed! It's hard for me to believe it's already Wednesday for some reason. But I am here to talk about lots of little things of varying importance, for anybody who would like to discuss them with me ;)!

You may have heard of this book before... it was actually really big in the circle of blogs I read for several months, but I was late to the trend, as usual ;). (My tbr list is so long... Mama bought this book like a year ago and I just finished it, hahaha...) It has a gorgeous cover (and interior, actually - the design is so pretty!) When I finally got around to reading it, I had heard enough people mention it that I knew that it was either really, really good, or I was going to be disappointed to find that it was way under the standard I had been told it hit ;). But having finished it, I can say: it was really, really good.

Within 24 hours, I had gone through the first 4 chapters (considering I wasn't skipping the study section and bible studies always seem to take me a while to go through, this is definitely saying something for this book!) Reading through the first chapter I kind of felt like it was going to fall short... until I was hit with a bombshell that I hadn't expected, and then I instantly became excited to go through the rest! I had heard a lot about this book in the context of biblical self image and modesty, and really didn't expect much more from it through most of the first chapter, but then there was just one little sentence that jumped out at me (I think it might have even been in the study questions, not the actual chapter!) about finding our identity in Christ or in... well, literally anything other than Christ, and I got a glimpse of just how deep this book was going to delve, and it truly made me stop and think, and then I couldn't wait to get into the rest of it! This book covered so much... loving the Lord with your whole heart, using your time wisely, finding your identity not in what other's think of you but it who God has called you to be, living bravely for Christ, the jobs a girl could take on (do you think they were able to give an answer that would work for everyone without knowing their circumstances? It was the best way to answer that question I have seen!), how we have been placed here "for such a time as this", and yes, modesty and self-image... directly and indirectly, it dealt with SO much, and I loved it.

Kristen and Bethany write like they are right there, with plenty of stories of their own shortcomings to encourage you that they've been here and they know; but they have also been blessed to see the truth, and they want to share it with all the other woman out there. I truly loved going through this book... it was such an encouraging read, but more than that, it was refreshing. I am going to say that 95% of everything in this book is something that I have thought through in the past. But looked at from a new perspective, it wasn't redundant at all. And it's sisterly advice "spurs on to good works"; whether this is new to you or you are well versed in these matters, whether you are working steadily or are feeling discouraged. It was easy to read, but deep to think through, and I honestly look forward to reading it again! It's definitely going to be one of the top books I recommend after this :)!

(For those of you who wanted to know when I shared the Undivided study, yes, this book (as Undivided did) uses more bible translations than the KJV when sharing verses. I read the ESV and HCSB along with the KJV habitually, so this wasn't a problem for me, but for those of you who's conscience would be hurt by this, I didn't want to accidentally deceive you by not bringing it up. When a translation that I don't feel is the best is shared in a book, I know I can always look it up in my own bible to "rightly divide the word" for myself; if you think that you can do that, I still wholeheartedly recommend this book, because it is such a blessing!)

-----

In other little news from today...
Noah this afternoon woke up from his nap and yelled for me. I came to lay down with him, and he gave me the tightest squeeze, gave a sleepy smile, and told me, "Oh, so comfortable. It's not 4 o'clocks yet." And went back to sleep <3.
For the curious, "4 o'clocks" means nap time is over. He may get up at 4 o'clock... sometimes he tried to test us by telling us it is 4 o'clocks ahead of time ;). Unfortunately, unlike him, we can read a clock ;). But this is the first time he has voluntarily said it was NOT 4 o'clock just to get to stay at nap time, I found it adorable.

I'm working on a new "thing" for the shop today :D! Daddy suggested this one, and I have to say, I love it. As soon as he suggested it I knew 1. It needed artwork. 2. I wanted it to be a chalkboard (although, now that I have finished the design, I also really want to make a happy, colorful canvas one, so, we'll have to see about that!). So last night, I sat down and freehanded a sketch of an ice cream cone, and today I dug out a chalkboard! I had some issues with my photoshop which was frustrating, but once it cooperated, I loved how the design turned out :D! This was actually my first time using the graphite transfer method on a chalkboard, and it IS possible, soooooo... lots more ideas just opened up where chalkboards are concerned. *wheels turning* And what does everyone else think? Should I add hearts around the ice cream cone, or not? Here's the original sketch...

And I am ridiculously pleased with how that fast draft turned out. I am no artist, y'all, so forgive me my excitement. But I pulled up a pinterest sheet of ice cream doodles and combined about three to make that ^. Peter was sitting beside me, pointing out all the mistakes I was making ("THAT ice cream cone doesn't have a cherry!!!" - he told me I must not know what I was doing, hahaha), but when I finished my pencil sketch and started tracing over it with a permanent marker so it would show up well in photoshop, he goes, "Woahhhhhh, you are a good tracer though!!!" We all have our skills ;).

Speaking of the shop... Under The Tapestry is celebrating 3 years on Friday, and I am holding a contest on my FB page and running sales all week long to celebrate :)! So you'll want to check those out here and here.

How is your week going? Have you read "Girl Defined"? If so, what was your favorite thing about this book? Would you add hearts around the ice cream cone? And are you going to join in Under The Tapestry's contest :D?!

Rejoicing in Hope,
Bri <3

Looking Back at July ✽ Little Moments

Happy August, everyone! I hope your July was wonderful and that this new month will hold lots of blessings for each of you! Life was busy and full in July, and now we are all just wondering when Baby Bear will choose to grace us with his presence ;). Here's a little look at our month...

One night while Mama and Daddy went on a date, I had the little ones make personalized pizzas for supper. It made quite the impression on them. Abbi especially talks about it constantly, and I would say it was definitely a memory maker for them, haha!

Abbi made her pizza shaped like a stocking on accident, lol!

I wuv him <3. He woke up early and came to snuggle me in bed while I did my bible reading, but by the time I was ready to get up he was fast asleep again :).

We were gifted these chairs by a kind couple at church who are moving, so sweet!

Peter drew the kissy-face emoji from memory after seeing it once as I scrolled through instagram. Too cute!

Mama and I have been crafting half the month; she took up fabric stamping (so awesome!), and I have been working on a baby blanket for 3 weeks... hopefully just two more days worth of work to do there! I kind of had a goal to finish in less than 40 days, which is, I think, my current record for how diligent I was on getting one from start to finish. I'm not a very competitive person except against myself, then I am ruthless, haha! But I'm not going to share any pictures, we'll get some with baby eventually ;).

Our garden... haha. Well, the bell peppers and tomato plants started flowering. But it's so late now, I doubt that it really does much good. But, as Bethi says, we did better than last year! We've got three cucumbers that are quite big, and we harvested a whole basil plant (which is currently drying in the dehydrator, and it smells delicious, but it's taking so loooonnnnnng, haha!). Last year we got three basil leaves. And Bethi lost them. This year is, sadly, an improvement. We had such a great garden before we moved to VA, it's sad!

-----

Josiah: "I am hiding the dice from Noah. He can't see it way up there!"
Yeah, well neither can you, buddy... haha!

Noah, sitting in the van, about to go into church...
"Get pizza!"
After church:
"Get pizza now!"
*babbles about pizza*
Mama: "What if we don't get pizza?"
Noah, little lips quivering: "Because [translated "but"]. It be tasty."
*pizza for lunch*

Noah, with a caution cone on his head: "I'm a birthday!"
*Mama gives him a real birthday hat for fun*
Noah: "Where's a mirror? I sooooooo cute!"

Abbi: "Noah! It's raining!!!"
Noah: "More whipped cream!"
He typically loves rain, but apparently :whipped cream > rain:.

Also, obviously Noah is the family comedian of the year. You can't beat two year olds. (Sorry, Tori.)

Can we all just agree that if you clean the play kitchen set at church and there AREN'T toy cars in the oven, the question begs to be asked, did they even use the nursery last week?

Tori: "Noah calls cardinal birds, caramel birds."
Peter: "...Cardinal birds?...
"...I think I know why...
"...I call them caramel birds, too."

*Me, talking to myself, obviously*
Andrew: "WOULD YOU JUST BE QUIET."
I thought that that habit had died down for some reason, but nope, it's totally still buried in there, and it's resurfacing full force. Honestly it annoys me too when I notice, but it's just so involuntary, lol.

Also, does anyone else find themselves making a conscientious decision to Stop. Singing. In. Their. Head. and breath a sigh of relief when everything is quiet for two minutes before you start again...accidentally? Or no? Is that just me?

Noah, pointing to a cucumber; "Cucomoe!"

Abbi: "We've loved each other all our lives."
"Except you were MISSING for eleven years of my life, and it was sad."
Abbi: "But we have always loved each other in our hearts, even when we didn't know it..."

Abbi and Emmi, pretending to be indian princesses, walk past our organization station:
Emmi: "Ooo! You have a morning schedule! Not many tribes have those."

Josiah, when Tori asked if he liked salsa chicken: "No, but I just keep on eatin' it. And when it spices me, I have to take a big drink."

Andrew: "I didn't want to take my belt to bed with me! I might swallow it while I slept." (???)
Tori: "And then every time you would open your mouth to sing, you would start... BELTING."

Josiah explaining "Duck, duck goose": "You sit, and we'll goose you."

Bethi: "You don't get points for doing nothing."
I mean, she was being sarcastic, but that's a great life lesson right there. Thanks, Bethi.

While mourning the fact that the first baby cucumber I found was eaten by bugs, two much bigger cucumbers were growing and I never even knew it, I was so surprised when I found them, haha.

Noah is only too young for coffee when he wears this shirt....

...If he is wearing literally any other shirt, he says he is big enough. It's hilarious. I will tell him, "You're too young for coffee!!!" and he looks down at his shirt to see whether he is too young today, or not.

I'm turning on the dehydrator for basil...
?!?!?!?!?!
"It won't turn on."
*checks plug*
"Ohhhhhh, good."
*plugs it in* *turns it on*
"It still won't start. Where is the manual? Maybe I forgot something.... nope. Oh dear. Wait a minute... I bet..."
...
"Yep. Y'all, I plugged in the coffee pot."

I take a video of Noah telling me what his "Dino-mite Dude" shirt says, because it's cute, and he asks to see it.
After it's over, he tells me, giggling, "That was Noah. Noah talking like a baby." Like he doesn't talk all day long like a baby for obvious reasons... like, um, being a baby ;).

Abbi and Emmi celebrated Christmas in July... with an umbrella tree, a precious moments figurine, and air cocoa with candy canes in a Christmas cup, hahaha!

Tori, while I edit this post... ""Are you laughing at your own blog?"
Me: "Cardinal Birds?... I think I know why..."

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These knitted washcloths are available in Under the Tapestry :)! I was asked to sell these by a knit-washcloth-fan, and I have several sets available! And Under the Tapestry celebrates it's 3 year opening anniversary on August 10th! How would y'all like to see that celebrated :)? I have some ideas, but I am still finalizing things, so I am open to suggestions!

I also impulse free-handed this little mouse for Noah one night. He had been carrying around a baby's first laptop just to play with the little "computer mouse" on it. So I thought, I bet he'd like one without the laptop attached, and that evening I crocheted it up on the fly in a little over an hour. I finished it after he went to sleep, which made me sad, because I had told him I was making something for him... but then he woke up being carried to bed, and I was like, "Hey Noah..."... and when he saw it, he gasped and grinned from ear to ear, and it was just precious! I told Bethi, "That was worth it!!!", to which Noah replied, "Yeah, Merphett," and shoved the mouse in her face, so now this little guy is called Merphett the Mouse, and the pattern for him is going to be up on Under The Tapestry Handcrafts soon!

And here are the posts I shared on Forget Not His Benefits this month, in case you missed them :).

Life Lately

Undivided: A Study in 1st Samuel 

Whereas it was in Your Heart

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How was your month :)?! Any ideas for Under The Tapestry's 3rd "birthday"? What are you looking forward to in August :)? Many blessings to each of you in our precious Lord and Savior!

Rejoicing in Hope,
Bri :)

Whereas it was in Your Heart ✽ 1 Chronicles 6

(Quick note before I dive into this blog post... that picture of the metal heart? That's a picture of the metal workings on a canon at Jamestown. It always makes me laugh a little bit that we found that there!)

I have been continuing to read through the bible once again, and am currently in 2 Corinthians. I don't usually go through this slowly, but I have changed up how I go about my devotions once again, gong through the bible and doing bible studies at the same time, and so it's working out well for me to go at slower pace for my read-through. I like to try to read through the whole bible at least once every year :). I'm also doing chronological right now, which is neat :).

Solomon just dedicated the temple in my reading, and says these words, which, coupled with some of the things that are shared in the passages leading up, really stood out to me this time, despite having read them many times before:

"But the Lord said to David my Father, 'Whereas it was in your heart to build a house for my name, you did well that it was in your heart. Nevertheless, it is not you who shall build the house, but your son who shall be born to you shall build the house for my name." -2 Chronicles 6:8&9

David had a desire that he would be able to provide the ark of the covenant a permanent resting place in Israel, and that they would have a house dedicated to the worship of their God, a way to show their respect and reverence for the one true God. This was a wonderful desire, and a thing that anyone would assume he was called to do, as it was on his heart; but God told him no.

David's reign had been to bring peace to the land of Israel, but because that endeavor had cost much in the way of war, God told David he was not to build the temple; he was to leave this to his son, who would come into a kingdom already secured in peace. But God does't tell David that he needs to forget that desire, in fact, He tells David, "you did well that it was in your heart". Just because it didn't fall to David to bring about this work, didn't mean it was a bad thing that he longed for it.

And so David didn't give up that longing to see the temple of the Lord build. He didn't disobey and build it anyway, and he knew he would never actually see the finished project. But he didn't huff and sit back because he couldn't be the one privileged to carry out the job. Instead, he still wanted to see to it that he did all he could do to make sure that his son was able to carry out this desire. He couldn't build the temple himself, but he could provide for his son all that he would need to build it after David was gone.

We read in 1 Chronicles 28 that David had put extensive work into drawing up the plans for the temple. David divided up the work between the Levites, David drew the plans for the building, David gathered up the materials needed, and David encouraged the people in the coming work. David may not have built the temple, but he enabled the Israelites to do so as far as he was able.

And that was just really beautiful to me, and it made me think, what desires are on our hearts? They may be noble, godly desires, but our circumstances may hold us back from accomplishing the work. Do we give up in despair? Do we try to pretend that the desire is not there? Do we maybe think that it's not fair that we can't do something that fills us with so much passion?

Our circumstances might be temporary, or the Lord might never change them. Are we holding onto the fact that someday it will be different and just gritting our teeth until things change? If they never change, will we have wasted our entire life waiting?

I know a wonderful woman who loves children, would love to bring up a family someday, and would love to foster. But her circumstances don't allow that right now. But she hasn't left that stop her; she works with children all the time, giving their families help in bringing them up, and frequently babysits for fostering and adoptive families for free as a ministry, enabling them to continue on with their good work refreshed and supported. Just like David, she may not be allowed to fulfill that desire directly, but she hasn't ignored it; instead, she expresses it through another channel, enabling others to do what she herself feels called to. Which in turn means she is also doing what she was called to do, it just looked differently than she expected at this time! I think it's something we all could learn from. Because sometimes, yes, we just aren't working hard enough (that's a whole other side to this, that I won't get into; if you know that you could do what you are called to do and won't, that's totally different!), but what do we do when it's truly impossible to do what we thought we were called to do? Might we be trying to accomplish the work in ways we weren't meant to?

So what about us? What are our heart desires that don't seem to be able to tangibly work out? How could we re-direct those good things into something useful? Who has the right circumstances for that work, but needs enabled or mentored or encouraged or supported in actually accomplishing it? Can we offer that to them, and follow the ministries the Lord has laid on our heart in a way that may feel less direct, but is just as needed? Because who knows, maybe that is just why it has been laid on our hearts!

Rejoicing in Hope,
Bri

Undivided: A Study in 1 Samuel ✽ Bible Study Review

It's the middle of July. In SC. And I am chilly. Yes, I know I am insane.

So, I have a cup of hot chocolate in my hand, obviously, and I have been singing snatches of LifeWay's 2018 VBS songs all morning because I helped with a local VBS and now I truly believe they are stuck in my head for life, and some of them were great songs, but they won't stop playing on repeat in my head, and so please help me.

BUT, if this sound track can maybe stop running through my head for a few minutes ;), I wanted to share with you a bible study that I just finished up on Sunday :)!

I am in a blogger group on Facebook (By His Grace Bloggers, if anyone is interested in joining us!), and one of our blogger friends in the group just released a new bible study, "Undivided: A Study in 1 Samuel". She offered it free for those of us in the group in return for a review on Amazon, and you know me, I love the bible studies that lead you through the passage, especially when they are free ;), so I jumped right on board! I enjoyed this study so much though, I wanted to share it with y'all, as well!

"Undivided" walks us through the book of Samuel, making clear that this is not simply a historical book for Israel. "The hero isn't Samuel or David, but God." Throughout the whole book, we are given glimpses of God at work, bringing about his plan, showing favor to those to whom He will show favor, keeping His promises no matter the circumstances, showing His might, protecting His people, and yes, punishing the wicked and trying the faithful; we see Saul rejecting the gift he has been given, the favor of the Lord, and giving his heart to earthly things, and we see God raising up David, a man with an undivided heart for God (with human failings, yes, but dedicated to honoring the Lord in all that he attempts, and repentant when shown his sins), to lead His people to Himself.

As soon as I opened the PDF book file, I was intrigued, because I was expecting a chapter by chapter study, like most; but no, it is set up so that you went through section by section, instead! You all know that the original manuscripts didn't have chapter and verse numbers. Well, this study is set up to go through a scene of the book a day, instead, and I loved it! I feel like you get a better feel for the setting when you do it this way. One passage that especially stood out to me as being "different" going through this way was 1 Samuel 13-14:46. Somehow, before, I have never really caught that Saul's fear of the Philistines and disobedience in the offering of the burnt sacrifices was so close in time to Jonathan's fearlessness in God and breaking his father's vow that not a man would eat all day. Somehow, that just seems so like Saul, unable to obey himself and yet so soon forgetting that other men can make mistakes as well. Obviously, that has never changed, it's always been in the passage the same way, but things like that stand out more and make you think when you read them in connection with each other rather than in bits and pieces. So that was one thing I really enjoyed about this study!

Another thing that I loved was that, in a section for application/reflection, additional bible passages were shared, and there were questions to ponder through, like most bible studies ;). But I found that these questions were very easy to spark your thinking to ponder for a few minutes, but that they also were very easy to carry further, and you could really spend a lot of time working through them and studying through them and really examining yourself; so I think it works great either way! Stephanie had a great way of writing, too, that drew you in and kept you engaged, and also made you think a bit more about how the passage fit together, with those around it and with the rest of the bible. I wrote down several selections of her comments in my notebook!

This study is set up to take 14 days, but there is a suggestion that you could read through the day's passages one day and then do the bible study work the next day so it would take 4 weeks, and I think I would suggest that. I got through it in 3 weeks, I think, because I was truly trying to do a day's assignments all together, but I just couldn't quite do it. That might have just been me, though. I am pretty sure I have mentioned here before that the Doorposts bible studies that I love are supposed to take 5-20 minutes a day, depending on the assignment, and I routinely take 45 minutes no matter the assignment, haha ;). I just get sucked into all the extra stuff you can do on the side, and usually end up writing, cross-referencing, note-taking, and researching a lot!

Have you ever done a bible study on 1 Samuel? Are you interested in "Undivided"? You can find this bible study on Amazon here!

Rejoicing in Hope,
Bri

The Blessings We have been Given in the Holy Spirit

"The Spirit helps us in our weakness. for we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit." (Romans 8)

Mama invited me to join her in studying Romans 8 with her this month through an online study she joined, and I have been enjoying it so much! The assignment I worked through today was to find all the things that the Spirit does for believers to be found in the chapter, and I thought that I'd share the list here, just because I thought it was a wonderful reminder of the blessings we have been given as the children of God :).

The Spirit
-Set us free from sin and death.
-Fulfilled the righteous requirements of the law in and for us.
-Set our minds on the things of the Spirit.
-Gives us life and peace.
-Dwells in us.
-Gives Christ ownership of our life.
-Puts to death the deeds of the flesh.
-Leads us as a Father leads a son.
-Bears witness with the Father that we are His children.
-Gives fruit in the life of the believer.
-Helps us in our weakness.
-Intercedes for us.
-Searches the heart.

This last point reminds me of another passage that I enjoyed another more-in-depth study of this summer, Psalm 139, where David cries out, "Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me, and know my thoughts! And see if there is any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting!"

"The Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God," (Romans 8, verse 26-27).


Among all that Christ does through His Spirit in our behalf, I think one of the most precious is that one point, "He intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words". When our hearts are heavy, He is there, pleading for us with a heart full of love to us who are so undeserving. Matthew Henry states that "though we may be losers for Him, we shall not, we cannot, be losers by Him, in the end." He repays all we may suffer, for a time, in this world. Though we may not even know ourselves what it is we need, He sees the most confused or hurting thought behind our cries for help, and comes before the Father to plead for us!