Advent, Day 22

Today we have the story of Job. The Devil got permission to take away all Job's riches, children, and health. The Devil expected Job would not be faithful to God, because he thought his faithfulness depend on the things God had given him. Job suffered, but remained faithful, and prayed for his friends who claimed he had been sinful to deserve all the calamities (he hadn't).



The Lord brought back all the riches he had lost, and more children than he had lost, but I never felt that new children could really replace lost children. Plus, I feel sorry for his wife. (There were more than a dozen children lost, and replaced.)

Most of the Christmas shopping is done, but just have to start wrapping.

Advent, Day 21

Today the story is Esther. She risked her life by going to speak to the king when he had not called her, and by doing so saved her whole nation.



The pavilion took forever to stitch, but I think it is really beautiful.

Advent, Day 20

Today's story is Daniel in the Lion's den. I think the claws make these lions look very fierce. He was thrown to the lions because he refused to stop praying to God!

We are in the middle of watching the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe... I am afraid bedtime is going to be late. It is very exciting!

Advent, Day 19

Today's story is about Shadrack, Meshack, and Abednego. (There was a kids' song to go with this, so I always remember their names.) They refused to bow down to an image of the king, and so he had them thrown into a fiery furnace. Once in the furnace there were not 3 but 4 people walking around, and one looked like an angel. (See the one with the halo in the window?)



It was at this point that this project changed from being "my" sampler to "our" sampler. C helped me stitch the bottom panel of the furnace door; it was straight stitching all in one color, and she sat on my lap and stitched for 10s of minutes at a time. She was so proud! I have to get a picture of her stitching from DD2, but I will post it for you.

Advent, Day 18

We are coming down to the wire, and I had better get stitching!

Today's moment is the story of Jonah. God answered Jonah's call by sending the big fish to swallow him. Jonah was running away from God because he didn't want to preach to people who were not Israelites, and he knew God would  forgive them. So this story opens up the Good News to the peoples of the world!



I love the row of sailors!

Advent, Day 17

Today's Advent story is Elisha and his servant. God had been telling Elisha the plans a neighboring king had been making in his war council; the king was convinced he was harboring a traitor until someone told him what Elisha had been saying. The king then sent soldiers to surround Elisha's house to get him to stop it. The servant could only look at the soldiers and was petrified, but Elisha could see the truth; he was protected by an even greater army.



You have to look very closely to see the angels in the cloud. There are rows of them!

Advent, Day 16

Today's story is one my dad used often on the mission field. Elijah had just finished a mountain top experience, defeating thousands of prophets of the false god, and successfully praying for the end of a 3 year drought. After that, coming down from the high, he was ready to die.

God took care of him, watching over him while he slept, and feeding him several times, preparing him for a long trip to God's mountain where he heard God's plan for the future of Israel. Dad's lesson was that after you have an experience that wrings you out, you need to take time to recharge in order to continue your ministry.



Do you see the food and water in the background?

We decorated outside for maybe the 2nd or 3rd time since we have lived in the house. Doesn't it look nice?



Happy 3rd Sunday of Advent: Joy to you!