Thursday, July 30, 2009

Stone Vessel with 'Priestly Inscription' Uncovered In Jerusalem - Jewish World - Israel News - Israel National News

Stone Vessel with 'Priestly Inscription' Uncovered In Jerusalem - Jewish World - Israel News - Israel National News

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The PupPee - (Boy Dog Diaper) KNIT - My First Pattern

Since I don't have a knitting blog, here's a link to my first pattern. It is for sale - 100% of proceeds going to a 501(c)3 puppymill rescue I work with.

FREE Pattern Download

V. 3 update (July 2011)


Here's the Ravelry link, if you'd like to favorite or queue it there.

As of March 2010 I've decided to make these patterns free of charge, though we ask that you help shelters and rescue organizations in whatever way you can. All the PupPee patterns were recently test knit & crocheted on Ravelry, some pattern re-writes are in the works, so look for a new version soon:

Please adopt a pet at PETFINDER.COM!

You may also help by:
  • Neuter your animals to control pet overpopulation
  • Adopting one of the many dogs & cats (current euthanasia rate due to the economy has gone up from 60% to 80% at kill shelters)
  • volunteering at a shelter or rescue
  • donate money, food, medicine, etc.
  • volunteer to foster an animal
  • look at PETFINDER.COM to find rescues & shelters near you and contact them to find out what they need.

Check out or join the PupPee group on Ravelry for updates, ideas and help.

Thursday, July 9, 2009

More Than a Ball of Yarn

As a knitter, sometime crocheter and lover of yarn, I loved this post! :o) From http://www.truewoman.com/?id=740

Mary KassianMore than a Ball of Yarn

Your Purpose posted on 07.09.09 by Mary Kassian

There’s a mall with a small Zellers Department Store not far from my house. Because I’ve frequented it often over the years, I’m quite familiar with the layout of the store and roughly what’s contained in each aisle. Several months ago, I ran into Zellers to buy a few things for the house. I rounded the corner from the aisle containing pillows and blankets into the next aisle, where I expected to find candles, vases, and home decor. But what I saw stopped me dead in my tracks. The aisle had been transformed. From top to bottom, beginning to end, it was stocked full of colorful balls of yarn. I stood there gawking in amazement.

Now you may not think that there’s anything particularly unusual about a yarn aisle in a department store. But I was stunned. The reason I was stunned was that the womanly art of knitting and crocheting fell by the wayside a long time ago—along with the idea that the best place for a young wife and mom was in the home.

When I was a little girl, my Oma (granny) had taken me to the yarn aisle to pick out beautiful skeins for my next crocheting project. And although it was still possible to find yarn in craft stores, I hadn’t seen a shelf—let alone a whole aisle full—in a department store for what seemed like eons.

The feminist women-centered analysis (err . . . brainwashing) of the seventies and eighties had convinced women like me that womanly crafts like knitting and crocheting were trivial, if not borderline demeaning. We were taught that women should stop doing menial things for the home and devote our attention to things of serious importance—like developing a career and earning a lot of money. I hadn’t picked up a crochet hook in decades.

I was so overwhelmed by my thoughts that I stayed there in the yarn aisle for a while, pondering the cultural significance of it all. I ran my fingers over the skeins, feeling the thickness and texture of the strings. I studied the sizes and types of hooks and needles. I thought back to sitting at Oma’s feet, having her guide my clumsy young hands in basic crochet stitches. I thought of the pretty doilies she taught me to crochet and the sense of pride and accomplishment when my mom displayed my work on the living room coffee table.

I thought about the relaxed womanly camaraderie . . . a grandmother sitting for hours mentoring and training her young granddaughter in womanly arts. Things that she had learned from her grandmother. And she, from her grandmother before her. I thought about the whole concept of an older woman training a younger woman how to be a woman and how to pour herself into making a house a home. I thought about the admonition of Titus 2:3 for older women to teach younger women good and beautiful things. The sense of nostalgia that swept over me at that moment was profound. We women have lost so much.

I think that many women are beginning to feel the vacuum. They’re yearning for womanly things. That’s why a whole aisle of yarn has, after a 25 year absence, suddenly re-appeared at my local department store.

Inspired, I bought a ball of crochet thread and some hooks. I pulled out some old patterns I had kept stored in a box in my basement, and sat on the couch refreshing my memory on how to crochet. The next time I stayed with my sister-in-law and brother-in-law in Houston, I bought some bright pink, blue, and green skeins and large plastic hooks to teach my young niece how to crochet. We sat on the floor for a couple of hours as I guided her inexperienced hands in how to hook chains and do single crochets. We laughed together and worked together. When she was finished, she decorated her bed frame with bright, pretty crocheted flowers. I don’t know who was more proud.

What took place that day was a whole lot more valuable than a day at the office. It makes me think that our foremothers were a lot wiser than we gave them credit for. It is us—and not them—that have been deceived by an elaborate yarn.

Tuesday, July 7, 2009

Rapture

The Lord is coming very soon. Are you Ready? Watch this short video for an illustration of what will happen when the Lord comes for His church and what is the fate of those who are 'left behind'.

1 Thessalonians 4:15-18
For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep.
For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first.
Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord.
Therefore comfort one another with these words.

I recommend http://www.gotquestions.org/rapture.html for concise Q&A on the subject. For example: Question: "What is the Rapture of the church?"

Answer:
The word “rapture” does not occur in the Bible. The concept of the rapture, though, is clearly taught in Scripture. The rapture of the church is the event in which God removes all believers from the earth in order to make way for His righteous judgment to be poured out on the earth during the tribulation period. The rapture is described primarily in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 and 1 Corinthians 15:50-54. God will resurrect all believers who have died, give them glorified bodies, and take them from the earth, along with those believers who are still alive and who will at that time also be given glorified bodies. “For the Lord Himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever” (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17).

The rapture will be instantaneous in nature, and we will receive glorified bodies at that time. “Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed—in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed” (1 Corinthians 15:51-52). The rapture is the glorious event we should all be longing for. We will finally be free from sin. We will be in God's presence forever. There is far too much debate over the meaning and scope of the rapture. This is not God’s intent. Rather, in regard to the rapture, God wants us to “encourage each other with these words” (1 Thessalonians 4:18).

Recommended Resource: The Rapture: Who Will Face the Tribulation by Tim LaHaye.

I Can Only Imagine (by Mercy Me)

This is just the most beautiful song!!!! It's been my favorite from the first time I heard it. If you already know it, enjoy the video, if you are not familiar with it, please consider its implications now. Will YOU be there with me?