The Year That Was 2012

Well, I've made it through another year, and I think I managed to keep all my resolutions from last year, so I think I'll keep the same one's again for next year. It was a close call as I had to finish an item that I started on the weekend to make sure that I didn't have more than 6 WIPs come midnight.

So now it is time to see what I've achieved this year.

I started on a path that will get me some formal qualifications. Unfortunately, my study was interrupted when we had to move house, so I didn't complete the work that I needed to this year and now I have to wait until the second semester next year before I can make another attempt.

On the crafting side, I entered 6 items into the Albury Show and was awarded 3 1sts and a 2nd. As well as this I managed to finish 100 items (I had miscalculated when I put the figure up on Friday). Here are all of my finished objects.

 In this picture you will see 44 Hanging Towels, 8 Toys, 7 Drink Bottle Cosies, 4 Teapot Cosies, 3 Toddler's Jackets, 3 Rose Towel Hangers, 3 Plastic Bag Bags, 3 Jug Covers, 2 Dishcloths, 2 Scarves, 2 Pair of Booties, 2 Blankets (one of these was started by someone else then handed to me to finish), 1 Set of Wine Glass Socks, 1 Toddler's Sunhat, 1 Pair of Gloves, 1 Tea Cloth, 1 Beanie, 1 Christmas Tree and 1 Bookmark.

In the meantime, Sue made these.

She seems to have so many things on the go at the moment but doesn't seem to be able to find the time to finish many of them.

OK, now onto the plans for next year.

At the end of January I will be eligible for early retirement, which means that I can access my Superannuation (all $40,000 of it). Seeing as how it's not enough to actual live on for any length of time, Sue and I figured we would use it to go on a holiday. So, for the first time since I arrived in Australia (for me), and the first time since she was born (for Sue), Sue and I are planning to leave the country for about 8 weeks and fly over to the UK so I can get a look at the country of my birth and to generally tour around. We plan on going all the way up to Inverness and over to Ireland as well as trying to see as much of England and Wales as we can.

I also plan on finishing my Cert IV in Web Design but, if the planned trip goes ahead, I will miss the first half of the semester so I'm hoping that I can get some of the work done (based on what I was doing this year) and just hand it in when we get back back.

I'm not sure how any of that will effect my crafting goals but here is what I have planned. I will try to get all of my current WIPs finished. The following is the list of what I'm currently working on.

Rose Clan Dress Tartan Rug
Crochenit Cot Blanket (trying a method for doing rows that are longer than the hook)
Toddlers Jacket
Jumper (sweater to you Americans) for me
AustralianaV2

Box Stitch Blanket

At least 2 of those were carried over from last year, but I'm confident of getting them finished next year.

The next thing to do is to make a dent in my to-do list which currently looks like this.

Things to make to replace stock for my market stall:

Bottle Cosies in more team colours

3 String bags

Teapot Cosies

bag holders

Sunhat and booties (white)

Tommy Turtle

Koala

Owl

Pineapple Angel Bookmark

Small Bunny

Things I'm itching to get started on:

Crochenit Knee Rug (same as Cot Blanket and will also use up some of my stash of 8ply)
Crocheted Slocks
Something from my "99 Granny Squares" book
Something in Tunisian Crochet Lace (I'm thinking of modifying Ellen's Jacket pattern by substituting a lace stitch in the main body of the pattern)
Something from the Book I won from Ellen Gormley (I've had it over a year now).
A doily from an old pattern book I bought (I've had this 1 for about a year now also).

Banner for Stall (still in the design stage but it can wait)

Table Runners for each Australian state and territory (currently trying to design the ACT one).

Tunisian Crochet Intarsia Table Runner

Spiral Blanket (saw one on the internet and figured I could have a go at it without the pattern)

Dinosaurs (I've made one but Planetjune has plenty more and I've bought patterns for 12 of them)

I would also like to experiment a bit more with Tunisian Crochet Intarsia.

So, my resolutions from last year were to have more entries in the Albury Show (I had 2 last year and 6 this year), make a dent in my stash (I did, but it was a very small one), and to finish the year with no more WIPs than I started the year with (I had 6 at the start and I have 6 at the end). I think I managed to keep all of those and I can't see any reason why I wouldn't be able to keep them again next year.

That's it from me for this year so it's time to say Happy New Year to all and I hope to hear from everyone in 2013.

Richard.

Going, not knowing

No you version notes again this week, I think our COs has given up on them considering that next week is their last week with us before moving to Wagga Wagga, so you will have to put up with my sparse notes.

Alice in Wonderland came to a junctions and didn't know which way to go and asked one of her companions to guide her. She was asked where she was going and when she replied that she didn't know her companion suggested that it didn't matter which road she took in that case.

When we come to crossroads, sometime we need to step out in faith. We don't know what lies ahead.

The reading for today came from Act 20: 22-28


22“And now, compelled by the Spirit, I am going to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there. 23I only know that in every city the Holy Spirit warns me that prison and hardships are facing me. 24However, I consider my life worth nothing to me; my only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me—the task of testifying to the good news of God’s grace.
25“Now I know that none of you among whom I have gone about preaching the kingdom will ever see me again. 26Therefore, I declare to you today that I am innocent of the blood of any of you. 27For I have not hesitated to proclaim to you the whole will of God. 28Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. Be shepherds of the church of God, which he bought with his own blood.

Most people like to be in control (or at least like to think they are). They like to plan ahead and know what's coming up, but sometimes you need to step out in faith, like Paul going to Jerusalem.

No matter what happens in our life, change of leadership, change of circumstances, etc, we need to be spirit filled people, compelled by the love of Christ to encourage fullness of life in our community (this last bit comes from our church mission statement).

Our corps is going through a fairly major change right now with our officers of 3 years getting posted to a new corps and new officers, fresh out of college, arriving to take over in a couple of weeks, but we as a church have to keep our focus on God.

May God bless you richly this week.

Richard.

FO Friday 28.12.2012

Well, here we are, the last Friday of the year. This means that today's FO is the last for 2012. It might not be the last item I finish in 2012 but any that I finish this week won't be shown until next year. So, what exciting FO could I possibly have to finish the year with? See for yourself.

6 Hanging Towels

Well, maybe not all that exciting, but these 6 towels bring my tally for the year up to 101 finished items (not counting any of Sue items that finished off for her) of which 97 were started and finished this year, 3 were carried over from last year and one was started by someone else and finished by me. I will do a final run down of all these FOs on Monday.

If you want to see what everyone else has been making just check out the links in the sidebar.

Richard.

WIP Wednesday 26.12.2012

Well, Christmas has been and gone for another year and that means that this year is almost at an end, so this will be my last WIP Wednesday for 2012. As an extra special treat you get to see all my current WIPs, which have all seen some progress this week, even a couple that I wouldn't normally work on at this time of year (thank God for air-conditioners). Some might say that I've been quite slack, sitting in  front of the TV crocheting when I could be doing other things, others might say that I've been very productive, I'll let you decide.

Here they all are.

Rose Dress Tartan Rug

Definitely not one I would work on if I didn't have air-conditioning in this place. Even with the air-con it is very warm under this.

Hoodie for Me - Dawg by Drew Emborsky (The Crochet Dude)

 I made the pocket this week. Now I need to sew it all together before making the hood and doing the cuffs.

AustralianaV2 - designed by me

 The next group of things are coming into veiw. For those that want to know, just above the Kangaroo, Emu and Wattle is a Lyre Bird, a Pineapple and a Platypus (or it could be a crocodile, I'm not sure).

Toddler's Jacket #4

 I've manage to add a few more rows to this one.

Box Stitch Baby Blanket

I Almost managed to do a full 2 rounds on this one.

Crochenit Cot Blanket

Last night I thought I had worked on all 6 projects, but then I remembered that I hadn't worked on this one this week, so I got it out this morning and worked on it while watching the start of the Boxing Day Test and the start of the Sydney to Hobart.

So that's it, all 6 projects have been worked on this week. I'm not sure if that will happen again for a while but I'm hoping that I can get all of these finished for next year's show (end of October), as well as a couple of woollen blankets and other things. I want to enter more than 6 items in next year's show and cover as many categories as I can.

If you want to see what everyone else has been making this week, just check out the links in the sidebar.

Richard.

The Nativity

We didn't really have a sermon today but we had a study of the nativity as written in Luke chapter 2

The Birth of Jesus

1In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. 2(This was the first census that took place whileQuirinius was governor of Syria.) 3And everyone went to their own town to register.

4So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. 5He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. 6While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, 7and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.

8And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. 9An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 10But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. 11Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. 12This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”

13Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,

14“Glory to God in the highest heaven,

and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”

15When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”

16So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. 17When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, 18and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them.19But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. 20The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.

The only players not found in this scripture are the wise men.

I hope you all have a very merry Christmas and that God blesses you richly this week.

Richard.

The Week That Was 22.12.2012

Things have started to slow down this week with only 2 concerts and just the regular comings and goings.

The first concert was with the band on Thursday evening at an old peoples home (or should that be "assisted living accommodation"). Everyone seemed to appreciate our effort and enjoyed a good sing along.

Yesterday afternoon I was at another home entertaining more elderly people and their carers with the choir from the community centre. While they couldn't sing along with all our songs they seemed to enjoy it anyway.

Since it's getting close to the end of the year I figure it's time to review my to-do list, which seems to be getting longer all the time.

Things to make to replace stock for my market stall:

Bottle Cosies in more team colours

3 String bags

Tea Towels

bag holders

Sunhat and booties (white)

Tommy Turtle

Koala

Owl

Pineapple Angel Bookmark

Small Bunny

Teapot Cosies

Current Work In Progress:

Rose Clan Dress Tartan Rug
Crochenit Cot Blanket (trying a method for doing rows that are longer than the hook)
Toddlers Jacket
Jumper (sweater to you Americans) for me
AustralianaV2

Box Stitch Blanket

Things I'm itching to get started on:

Crochenit Knee Rug (same as Cot Blanket and will also use up some of my stash of 8ply)
Crocheted Slocks
Something from my "99 Granny Squares" book
Something in Tunisian Crochet Lace (I'm thinking of modifying Ellen's Jacket pattern by substituting a lace stitch in the main body of the pattern)
Something from Ellen's book (one that I won at its launch).
A doily from an old pattern book I bought.

Banner for Stall (still in design stage)

Table Runners for each Australian state and territory (current;y trying to design the ACT one).

Tunisian Crochet Intarsia Table Runner

Spiral Blanket (saw one on the internet and figured I could have a go at it without the pattern)

Dinosaurs (just bought the pattern from PlanetJune)

While my WIPs list did get a little out of hand for a while, with up to 9 items on the go at one time, it is now back to 6, which is how many I had at the start of the year (part of my new years resolution), so I won't be starting any new major projects until new years day (then I probably start 3 at once). On a not so good note, at least 2 of those WIPs were on my list at the end of last year (Jumper and Tartan) while another was also on the list (Toddler's Jacket) but I've actually finished 2 of those since then and started another.

That's it for this week. I think I'll skip the "Week That Was" post for next week and just do a "Year That Was" on New Years Eve. I'll try and put together a round-up of Sue and my FOs in the meantime.

I hope you all had a good week.

Richard.

FO Friday 21.12.2012

In spite of the business of the season I've still managed to get some crochet time in and finish an item, and here it is.

Charity Blanket

I'll take this into church after Christmas so that it's ready to give to someone when winter is approaching (I don't think anybody would want it at this time of year).

This brings my current WIP count down to 6, which is the number of WIPs I had when the year started so I won't be starting any major projects now until New Years Day. In the meantime, I'm going to try and put together a collage of all my FOs for the year for a round up New Years Eve.

Check out the links in the sidebar if you want to see what everyone else has been making.

Richard.

WIP Wednesday 19.12.2012

Hello and welcome to another WIP Wednesday. Things always seem to be busy around here at this time of year but I have still found time to watch a bit of TV and crochet. After finishing one item (which I will show you all on Friday) I managed to work on a few of my other WIPs and here is the status of my efforts as at 4:00pm this afternoon.

AustralianaV2 - designed by me

 I managed to add another 4 rows to this this week, and for those that haven't figured out yet, all plants, animals and other things depicted on the table runner can be found in Australia, so that's not an Ostrich next to the Kangaroo, it's an Emu.

Toddler's Jacket - Zoom by Ellen Gormley

 I also managed to add 4 rows to this. I will have to consult the pattern to see how close I am to finishing the body.

Box Stitch Baby Blanket

I managed to add almost 2 rows to this. It now measures approx 75cm (30") across. I still have a couple of small ball of yarn left so I figure I will use as much of that as I can then do a couple of rows of white for a border.

That's it from me for this week. Check out the links in the sidebar to see what everyone else has been making.

Richard.

Putting Christ back into Christmas

Hi all, it's been a while since I did this and my notes from this morning were a bit sparse, but here is this morning sermon.

The reading this morning was from Luke 2:8-12

8And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. 9An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 10But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. 11Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. 12This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”

In the business of the season, don't forget the reason!

If a stranger were to come to town, not knowing anything of our religion or culture, what message would they get at this time of year? Among the hustle and bustle of busy shoppers, all the pretty decorations and parties, would anyone be able to convince him that the birth of a saviour was the main reason for the celebrations?

I tend to think that it would be easier to convince them that the main reason for the celebrations was a fat man, with a white beard, wearing a red suit and giving out gifts for no particular reason was the main focus and that it was just another excuse for getting drunk.

We need to put Christ back into Christmas!

May God bless you richly this week.

Richard.

The Week That Was 15.12.2012

Well, this week was pretty much like last week, busy.

On Monday we had the Community Centre Open Day, so I picked out a few items  and took them to the centre to show people what the Crochet Tutor can do. I got a lot of positive comments. I'm not sure if that will translate into students wanting to learn to do it for themselves, I'll just have to wait and see.

Also on Monday, as part of the open day, the Mirumbeena Melody Makers (of which I'm a member now) had their second singing engagement. I missed out on the first one as I was otherwise engaged, but we had a good little sing along and everyone there seemed to enjoy it.

On Tuesday afternoon we had another singing engagement, this time for the diabetics meeting, and again everyone seemed to enjoy our singing. For this one our leader mixed in some oldies along with a few Christmas carols and the things that we had been practising all year.

Thursday evening, Sue and I joined others from church to serenade shoppers at a local mall with a few more Christmas carols. There were a few complaints that the band were too loud and were making it difficult for the people in the coffee shops trying to hear peoples orders. Hopefully that won't prevent us from going back next year.

Yesterday was a blah day. We did very little all day. It was great.

Today was one of those days where almost everything we had planned was cancelled or otherwise affected by the weather. The original plan for today was that Sue would drop me off at the markets with all my goods and chattels so that I could sell a few things while she joined the band for the annual toy run after dropping off someone at a bar-b-cue fund raiser that we were running. Well, one look at the weather radar just when I was thinking of getting myself ready to go to the markets told me that the markets were a washout. This also put a dampener on the toy run as there was no where we could set up the band out of the weather.

While it was a very long and busy day at least two of the planned events were quite successful, in spite of the weather. The toy run went ahead without the band playing even though numbers were lower than hoped for. It still raised quite a bit of money and there were quite a few items donated for use by the church over the Christmas period. The Bar-b-cue was also successful, even if people did need to hang on to the canopy to stop it from flying away (not that the canopy was doing much to keep everything dry with the wind blowing the rain in for a large portion of the day).

I only have a couple of appointments next week and they are indoors so it doesn't matter how much rain falls or how windy it gets (so long as it doesn't blow the roof off) these things will be unaffected.

That's it for my week this week. I hope you all had a good one.

Richard.

FO Friday 14.12.2012

Well, as promised on Wednesday, it's now time to show you what I've managed to finish this week.

As of 4:00pm, which is when I went out to take my photos, I had finished ...

6 Christmas Towels

 ... and ...

2 everyday towels

 However, while watching TV this afternoon and evening I managed to finish ...

Another 2 everyday towels

Of course I couldn't take these outside to photograph them as it was just too late, but I did want to include them in the round up anyway.

Just check out the links in the sidebar if you want to see what everyone else has been making.

Richard.

WIP Wednesday 12.12.2012

Things seem to be so busy at this time of year. In the last 7 days I've been carolling with the band, markets, open day at the community centre and out singing with the choir. It's getting difficult to find time to crochet! That hasn't stopped me, of course, but it has slowed me down somewhat. Apart from sewing in some ends for the charity blanket (which I haven't bothered to photograph because it doesn't look much different to last week) and making up some towels to replace the ones I sold last Saturday (which I will show off on Friday as they are FOs), the only things I've worked on this week are the projects I took with me to the markets, so here they are.

Crochenit Cot Blanket

 I managed to add a couple more rows to this one.

Box Stitch Baby Blanket

 And a row to this.

Toddler's Jacket - Zoom by Ellen Gormley (GoCrochet)

And a couple of rows to this.

Maybe I'll take something different with me this Saturday so something else can see some progress.

To see what everyone else is making just check out the links in the sidebar.

Richard.

The Week That Was 08.12.2012

We come to the end of another busy week, with next week looking even busier, but that can wait until next week.

Monday saw me back in the gym. I'm still trying to get rid of some of the weight that I put on earlier. I'm not sure if I'm succeeding yet as I haven't  weighed myself for a while. Monday afternoon was the usual flake in front of the TV and try and get some crochet done while catching up with things that I had recorded. I generally fail at both because I tend to go to sleep.

Tuesday morning I went to the gym then spent most of the afternoon shopping so I didn't get my afternoon nap until quite late.

Wednesday was a quiet day, a bit more TV watching, a bit more crochet and a bit more trying to catch up with my emails.

Thursday morning I was back in the gym, then back in front of the TV in the afternoon. We had had our first carolling outing in the evening and we (the band and singers) were received quite well, everyone seemed to enjoy it.

After carolling, Sue and I did a bit of shopping. We've been thinking about getting ourselves a tablet. Aldi were advertising a 7" model for just under $100 but it was a very basic, low res unit that we didn't think was worth it, wo we decided to check out Dick Smith and Kmart. We ended up getting a couple of 10" model from Kmart for $199 each. They're not particularly great but I think they will do for a little while. I'm sure they will be adequate for what we want to do.

Friday was another quiet day with Choir practice in the afternoon and an outing for dinner with a group from church. Beechworth has a very nice Chinese restaurant and they serve a very nice banquet. A goo time was had by all.

Today was market day in Myrtleford. My stuff seems to sell quite well in Myrtleford but this does create a problem. I need to get busy and replenish my stock. I sold have my Christmas towels and more than half my normal towels, so now I need to get real busy so that I have some for next week. While I know next week is the last week that I will be setting up shop before Christmas I still needed to buy some more Christmas towels so that I would have some for next year. I usually bring mine out to sell before they become available in the shops so there won't be another chance to buy them before then. All in all, the last couple of trips to Myrtleford have been quite profitable.

Well, that's my week this week, I hope you all had a good one.

Richard.

FO Friday 07.12.2012

As promised on Wednesday, here is the finished Dragon.

Dragon #4 - Chose Your Own Dragon Adventure by Tracy Trock (Freshstitches)

This one is a little asymmetrical because I just can't seem to get everything positioned properly, not that it doesn't look OK anyway.

If you want to see what everyone else has been making just check out the links in the sidebar.

Richard.

WIP Wednesday 05.12.2012

Here at Rose Manor things are starting to wind down for Christmas. Crochet classes finished last Friday and Craft'n'Cuppa broke up for the year today. We also have some extra activities as we approach Christmas with carolling with the band and other Christmas break up parties. This doesn't mean that I have stopped crocheting for the year but it does mean that there may be less opportunity for me to work on some of my larger projects. If I spend an hour a day working on one project then I should be able to work on all my projects each week so hopefully progress won't stop.

Here are the projects that have seem some progress this week.

Charity Blanket

I decided to frog the last round and redo it in dc (us sc) as I didn't have enough yarn to do the scalloped edging. I do have another ball of green that is similar to the darker green used in this blanket and I'm going to use it to do a scalloped edging and hope that the colour isn't too much different or the different stitches hide the fact that it is different.

Toddler's Jacket - Zoom by Ellen Gormley (GoCrochet)

 Just a couple more rows have been added to this.

Box Stitch Baby Blanket

 And just one row to this.

AustralianaV2 Table Runner - designed by me

 Made good progress on this at Crochet Class on Friday.

Dragon #4 - Make Your Own Dragon Adventure by Tracy Trock (FreshStitches)

I was hoping to have this finished by now but just don't seen to be able to spend enough time on it. just need to sew on the feet, finish the decreases on the body, stuff it and close it up, so it should be finished for Friday. Somehow I've managed to attach things on this one so that nothing is centred, so it is going to be a little lop sided. Hopefully no one will really notice that anything is out of place.

There were 3 other projects that didn't get worked on and I'm going to have to moving if I want to make the last of my New Years resolutions. I resolved to finish the year with no more WIPs than what I started the year with and I currently have two too many. The dragon will be finished shortly but I'm going to have to finish at least one of the others before the end of the month if I'm to avoid breaking that resolution.

If you want to see what everyone else has been making, just check out the links in the sidebar.

Richard.

FO Friday 30.11.2012

It's Friday again and time to show off what I've finished this week.

Medium Jug Cover with Orange Beads

Medium Jug Cover with Yellow beads

Medium Jug Cover - Variegated Blue with Blue Beads

Just three jug covers this week. This should bring my stock of medium jug covers back up to acceptable levels. I still need to make some small ones as I'm running a bit low on them.

Check out the links in the sidebar if you want to see what everyone else has been making.

Richard.

WIP Wednesday 28.11.2012

Hello and happy hump day. Things seem to be slowing down a bit as we get closer to Christmas and summer here in Rose Manor. I've only managed to work on 3 of my WIPs this week.

AustralianaV2 - designed by me

 I managed 3 rows on this before my E-Book Reader started complaining of a low battery. I'll have to remember to charge it up before Friday.

Box Stitch Baby Blanket

 I think I managed about 1/2 a row on this on Friday morning.

Toddler's Jacket - Zoom by Ellen Gormley (GoCrochet)

A couple of rows were added to this.

This Friday is the last day of term for the crochet class and next Wednesday is our Christmas break-up for Craft'n'Cuppa so progress of these may slow down a bit for a while while I concentrate on building up stocks for markets. I have 3 items finished this week but you will have to wait until Friday to see them.

To see what others have been making just check out the links in the sidebar.

Richard.

Prayer

It has been a while since I posted the Sunday sermon here but this morning's sermon was quite powerful and I thought it should be shared. Our officers are away this week so the meeting was lead by the band with Kelly, who plays trombone along with myself and her father, doing the message. Kelly used a you-tube video during her message and I asked her afterwards if she would send me the link so that I could include it here. She sent me more than that, she sent me the entire message, and here it is.

Prayer

Who has ever been labelled? Good or bad? I have noticed that most labels given to people these days are not of a nice nature. Why is this? Is this because we live in a judgemental society where the first thing we do is judge others and label them? How does this help us – does this make us better people, does it make you feel better? In Romans 12 verse 14 says “Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse.” It also says in Deuteronomy 30 verse 7 “The Lord your God will inflict all these curses on your enemies and on those who hate and persecute you.” So what this is saying is that we simply smile and pray for the person who is persecuting us and DO NOT retaliate, God will look after the situation – sounds quite simple, we tell our children not to say nasty things back, but is it that simple. It really is about being the ‘bigger’ person.

While preparing this morning’s message, and searching for inspiration, just when I was about to give up, my son came to me with what he and I believe was a message from God. He has asked me to watch a clip on YouTube, which he felt everyone needs to watch. Before I show you this clip, I need to find out how many of you have ever heard of Justin Bieber. What comes to mind when you think of him or hear his name?

I simply asked the same question on a public social forum, and these were some of the responses I can share with you. Justin Bieber – young; “Bieber fever” or the craze that is him and his music; singer; boy; gay; blonde; cute kid; hairstyle; eeewww; and ‘does nothing for me’. Not all nice labels. But do any of these labels really tell you who Justin Bieber is? Well, yes, he is a singer, and that’s about it – there is more to this talented young man than superficial labels. Justin Drew Bieber is an 18 year old Canadian singer-song writer who was musically discovered in 2008. He is a Christian and he said he has a relationship with Jesus and talks to him and that Jesus is the reason he is here. He is the only son of Jeremy Bieber and Patricia Mallette. His parents were never married, and she was only 17 when she fell pregnant with Justin. Everyone tried to talk her into having an abortion, which is where Justin’s strong opinions on anti-abortion have been formed. Justin has a stepfather, Bruce. He also has two half-siblings to his father. Why am I telling you this you might ask – it is to simply point out that, while he is famous and people have labelled him, we do not actually know who he is. As a friend on Facebook pointed out “So many people dislike the guy and yet they’ve never met him.”

The YouTube clip that my son wants to share with you is a Justin Bieber song titled “Pray” and these are the lyrics:

I just can’t sleep tonight

Knowing that things ain’t right

It’s in the papers, it’s on the TV, it’s everywhere that I go.

Children are crying, soldiers are dying, some people don’t have a home.

But I know there’s sunshine behind that rain

I know that there’s good times behind that pain

Hey, can you tell me how I can make a change?

I close my eyes and I can see a brighter day

I close my eyes and pray

I close my eyes and I see a better day

I close my eyes and pray

I lose my appetite, knowing kids starve tonight

Am I a sinner, ‘cause my dinner is still on my plate?

Ooh I got a vision to make a difference

And it’s starting tonight.

I close my eyes and pray for the broken hearted

I pray for the life not started

I pray for the ones not breathing

I pray for the souls in need

I pray, can you give ‘em one today?

So now, I want to look at different aspects of this song.

Have you ever not been able to sleep or wake up in the middle of the night? Someone told me recently that I should use this time as a time to pray. If you don’t know who or what to pray for, then ask God for a name. You may not know the name you are praying for, but rest assure, this is God’s moment and this person needs prayer. Romans 12, verse 12, New International Version says “Be joyful in prayer” – the New Living Translation says “Be patient in trouble, and keep on praying”

The third line in that song says “It’s in the papers, it’s on the TV, it’s everywhere that I go” – this line is so true. So much of today’s news headlines are made up of heartache. Again the Bible says in verse 13, “When God’s people are in need, be ready to help them.” For some people and situations all we can do is pray for them.

The next line – “Children are crying, soldiers are dying, some people don’t have a home” - this is an example of the previously mentioned heartache. But what can you do? You can sponsor a child in a developing country; you can send greetings and messages to soldier fighting on our behalf for peace. And you can Pray.

When Justin sings “But I know there’s sunshine behind the rain, and good times behind the pain” He is displaying his faith in God to make things right. How does he do this – “He closes his eyes and he prays.”

In the second verse of the song he talks about losing his appetite knowing that kids in the world are starving. And also the fact that while we leave food on our plates, does this make us sinners. When I first heard the third line of this verse – “I got a vision to make a difference, and it’s starting tonight” – the first thing that came to my mind was Michael Jackson’s song “Man in the Mirror”. This song was also about making changes and differences in the world, and the best person to start with is the person staring back at you in the mirror. While researching Justin Bieber’s songs, I discovered that he was influenced by this same song, which resulted in him wanting to make a difference and how he came to write this part of his song. Bieber said the following about his song ‘Pray’ – “It’s a very uplifting song, very motivational. It definitely comes from the heart. It’s very beautiful. I definitely thought of Michael Jackson’s ‘Man in the Mirror’ when I was writing it.

The final verse of this song lists some of the things or rather people that Justin prays for, and we could take a leaf out of his book. He, we can pray for the broken hearted. The life not started or unborn babies, those not breathing or those who have passed on – we can pray for those left behind and for the memories we share. We can pray for souls in need, everyone needs prayer. And then Justin offers a challenge – can you pray? Can you spare a few minutes or even seconds to say thank you for the things you have in life, for your family and friends, to pray for the sick, the lonely, and the poor.

If you don’t know how to pray – talking to God is just like having a conversation with anyone, it doesn’t have to be fancy, just tell him what you’re thinking and what is on your mind and in your heart.

You can view the video clip that goes with Justin Bieber’s song, Pray by clicking this link. Please open your minds and your hearts and hopefully after watching this clip, you will not only be encouraged to pray, but also have a different opinion about Justin Bieber. 

God speaks in the silence of the heart. Listening is the beginning of prayer. The most important part of prayer is listening and waiting for God’s response.Let us pray – Lord, we do pray for the broken hearted, the crying children, soldiers, and the homeless. We pray for people both within our church community and out that are unwell. May you help us to make a difference in this world, starting with our community. Help us to pray and to be able to hear the answers to the questions we seek. In your name we pray, Amen.

My Copious Comments

The only comment I am going to add to this is Amen.

May God bless you richly this week.

FO Friday 23.11.2012

After another busy week here in Rose Manor, where I've managed to work an about nine different items and hand in one of my assignments for college (there are about 8 and that didn't get done), I've also managed to finish 3 of those nine items. What's more, I made all 3 within the week between WIP Wednesday posts, so I didn't even show progress reports for these 3. Here they are.

Ankylosaurus - by Planetjune

 This little guy (approx 6" from nose to tail) took all of 3 days to make and is the first of several dinosaurs that I plan to make.

Decorated Christmas Tree

 I actually finished crocheting the tree last Friday afternoon but didn't get the decorating done until Tuesday afternoon.

Fan Bookmark

This one took me all of 3 hours Tuesday evening.

There are plenty more items on my to-do list but I can now count a couple of items as done.

If you want to see what everyone else has been working on then checkout the links in the sidebar.

Richard.

WIP Wednesday 21.11.2012

Another Wednesday is here and time to show off my WIPs. I've been plenty busy here so there are a few things that have been worked on this week.

Medium Jug Cover

 I started this one last night after finishing another project. I know I have more than enough projects to keep me going but I need a few of these to replenish my stocks.

AustralianaV2 - designed by me

 I'm making good progress on this one although I still have a long way to go. Another couple of sessions and the Kangaroo and Emu will be complete.

Box Stitch Baby Blanket

 I know, you can't see any progress on this, but it has been worked on.

Toddler's Jacket #4 - Zoom by Ellen Gormley

 I've added a couple of rows to this one.

Crochenit Cot Blanket

 And a couple of rows to this.

Charity Blanket.

I started doing a scalloped border on this but I don't have enough yarn. I guess I'm going to have to frog that and just do another row of dc (sc to you Americans).

While you may think that working on 6 projects at a time is a little excessive, it gets worse as these aren't the only things I've worked on this week. I've managed to complete 3 other items which I will show off on Friday. I also have 2 other projects that I haven't worked on for a while and will get back to shortly, as soon as I've restocked my market stall.

In the meantime, check out the links in the sidebar to see what everyone else has been working on.

Richard.