Wednesday's in the Parlor

RANDI K DESIGNS giveaway

2011-11-17T11:58:00.000-05:00

Knitting with Sandra Singh (if you would like to see some absolutely beautiful work and get your name in for some wonderful giveaways...go visit this site...she has a link to RANDI K DESIGNS...they're wonderfully done. ;)

BLOCKING

2011-10-10T22:05:00.000-04:00

Some INFO from the CRAFTSY site:

If you've never BLOCKED any of your work, this really does help your pieces look better.

Their blocking process goes like this:
1) Fill up the sink with lukewarm water and a squirt of Soak Wash.
2) Immerse the shawl and gently squish the water through.

3) Spin out the extra water in the dryer.
4) Pin the shawl out on top of a rug.

6) Want to wear it the next day, so dry it with the hair dryer.

COSTA RICAN TEAM update

2011-07-13T10:05:00.000-04:00

In case you haven't read the COSTA RICA TEAM website...

they posted here about delivering the shawls from our ministry...

:)

PSM update

2011-06-10T14:17:00.000-04:00

First, welcome to our newest member, Emilia, who joined us on Wednesday. We hope you will join us every week as we continue to serve God and hug the world one shawl at a time! There have been several newer folks recently and we thank God for sending us more workers for the fields. Please remember, whether you are a new member, a veteran who has been away a while, or a “regular attender” (sounds like Davis speaking) we love having you any time, and all the time. If you forgot how to do what you are doing, please come by and let us refresh your knowledge and refresh your spirit as well. You are always welcome. Just click your heels together and say, “there’s no place like Prayer Shawl Ministry” three times and you will be transported back into our colorful, soft, cuddly world!!

Do you believe in miracles? Really, ask yourself…do I truly believe God can do miracles? Well, here is proof. We have just delivered 110 prayer shawls to the Costa Rica mission team!!! YEA COSTA RICA AND PRAYER SHAWL TEAMS! These shawls will be used to comfort women who have been victims of domestic violence for the most part, and others who are potentially at risk for the same. It is a vision given to the Barry B. by God and we have been part of making that sign of healing and comfort come to the people of Costa Rica. Thank you to all those who have crocheted their fingers off. The commissioning of the Costa Rica teams will take place on Sunday June 26^th at 930 and 1100 in the main sanctuary, and the blessing of the shawls will take place that same day at 1100 in the youth Warehouse. I would love to invite as many of you as possible to be there for that special occasion.

That being said, I have taken a great leap of faith by giving Barry all those items from our closet. Communion is in 16 days and we are very short on those items. I have total faith that God wanted us to proceed in this direction, and so He will provide what we need for the time we need it. He always does. So, if you are still working on fast, open weave items, keep them coming. Atlanta is hot in the summer and we could use more for our own folks here at the end of June. God has certainly looked out for us in that we have not had to deliver a prayer shawl to anyone within our community in almost 2 weeks. When we finally sit down to listen to Him, we can get just a glimpse of His Master Plan!!!

Can any of you help me with the shawls on the 26^th? I will have just gotten back from seeing my extended family the day before so am beginning to make plans now. I will need to bounce around between all three services upstairs and the youth service downstairs. As many of you as can lend me 15 minutes of your time to help place shawls on the rails and gather names for our book would be greatly appreciated. Please let me know as soon as you can. I will need help at 740am prior to the service, 910am, 1040am and after the last service ends around noon. I don’t expect we will have many to put up after the last service, so this should not take too long.

This Tuesday morning begins our morning PSM meeting. Come and join us in room 311 from 1030 to 1230. Bring a friend or two. I will have some coffee available for this meeting. I will be there early that day to get organized so if you want to be there earlier, just let me know and I will accommodate that request. I am truly hoping to expand this ministry to many other women and men, youth or seniors who want to be a part of this incredible mission. Spread the word like butter on toast and we will cover our community in love.

Keep praying for blessings for the hands that prepare the items, the feet that deliver them, and the words spoken over the items and over the recipients. Keep praying for God to expand the hearts of many to allow us to work greater miracles all for His glory and for His Kingdom. I love you all like sisters that we are in the ministry of the King.

In Christ,

Dana

PSM update 5-31-11

2011-05-31T14:15:00.000-04:00

Where did this month go? Wasn’t it just Christmas and here we are living in the heat of a Southern summer. Wow. I have a great idea. Come on inside and crochet or knit! We need you, and especially right now. So, with that introduction…

Beginning Tuesday June 14^th, we will be starting a new daytime version of the Prayer Shawl Ministry. Meetings will be in the same room (311) from 1030am to 1230pm. If folks want to do lunch afterwards, we will make that happen. For those who cannot come on Wednesday eves, or are teachers and cannot come during the school year, this is your opportunity to get started. Please join us even if you never have crocheted or knitted before, and bring friends. I am hoping to expand our ministry to handle the increasing demands for completed items. There seems not only to be an increase in need, but an increase in awareness of our ministry. That is great news. God has provided us with so much and now I ask Him for more workers. We are happy to teach so please send folks to us. Additionally, I sense God telling me that it is time we take our show “on the road” so to speak. I will be lining up PSM sessions at local restaurants, coffee shops, book stores, etc. for the summer. I will of course check with the store prior to invading with all of us, but it is time the outside world sees what we do. I feel that God is calling others not in our church to come be a part of our amazing group.

Speaking of new members, we want to welcome Vanessa M to our group. Vanessa joined us last week and is excited to be with us as we are to have her. Also, Martha W. joined us last week to learn to crochet. She has been a member for a while, but has not been on the “production” side of things. Welcome Martha. And, if you come visit me at home, I put you to work. This is how we have Anita S. in our group now. She spent an evening at my house and left with crochet hook and yarn. Welcome to all of you from all of us! Anyone who visits is up for recruitment. We are grateful to have our new folks and grateful for all those who are faithfully stitching away. For those who have not been in a while, we will offer refresher classes anytime you need them.

Our next communion Sunday has been changed to June 26^th. This gives us a little time to get our inventory back up. We can use shawls, cloths, caps, and about any color and size are needed. As we just sent 160 prayer cloths to Joplin, MO., we are short on those. That is not as much of a commitment as a whole shawl would be.

I will send out a prayer update after our Wednesday eve class. Until then, keep praying for those already on the list as well as for God to expand our ministry in both group members and vision. He is a most awesome and worthy God and we love to watch His work and His workers in action. God bless all of you and all the folks this ministry touches.

Will write more again very soon.

Blessings,

Dana

PSM update 5-23-11

2011-05-23T14:14:00.000-04:00

Hello precious ladies. I wanted to let you know how yesterday went. Did you know that yarn, once spun into shawls, caps, and squares have wings? Well, I have proof for you. we placed 75 shawls, 8 chemo caps, and many square cloths on the altar….and they flew away like birds being chased by a cat! Every single shawl was claimed. God is amazing. We did not have one leftover request which means….God knew the exact number we would need to have on hand and we get yet another example of trusting God for His provisions and for His timing. Isn’t God amazing!!!

We have around 96 items donated to Costa Rica so far with a minimum number of 110 needed by end of June. They are hoping for 150, and I can promise you that if they are praying about this and have even whispered it into God’s ears, He will arrange for us to come up with those as well.

I mention all of this to give God the glory for all He has done and for all He will do. Speaking of which, I am putting you on high alert…. I am praying that God bring us new sources of shawls, be they knit or crochet. I am praying for new members to our ministry and for those who have not been active for some time to return to us so we can continue to grow and serve God’s children here and over in foreign lands. It is not yet summer, technically, and I am thinking about what we will need in October through December already. OK, so I cannot even plan dinner for tonight, but I am thinking way advance for this ministry as we need to stay that far ahead of our requests. If you cannot do a full shawl and only want to tread a toe or two into the ocean of commitment, will you please consider making some prayer cloths to replenish our rapidly dwindling stock? I am attaching a few patterns for you. As much as possible, I would like to have cloths with crosses on them. The pattern with the open cross is the ideal for crocheters, but if it is too difficult, please don’t give up. you can make simple patterns and we can always embellish them with a cross. We need many so any you make will be valued and appreciated. Forget how to crochet or knit….no problem! We will be happy to give you tutoring in person. Just let me know. You can always go on You Tube and find the series of video clips called “Crochet by Teresa”. She is an excellent teacher.

I thank all those who helped place shawls on the altar or gather names for our book. Your small investment of time makes a huge impact for the Kingdom. God multiplies those kindnesses in the lives of all who are touched by this ministry in any way whether it is actively making products, delivering items, praying for requests, donating funds or materials, or receiving love through receiving an item made with God’s love, mercy, and healing touch.

I love you all for who you are and for whose you are.

In His name and for His sake,

Dana

a thank you note

2011-05-21T14:05:00.000-04:00

Wanted to share this with you. sometimes we get simple notes, and other times, long epistles. This one was special and I wanted to share it with you. we received it on 5-15-11. It states:

Prayer shawl ministry,

The “Bridges Class” today were sharing stories about how prayer blankets and prayer shawls have been such a blessing to family members and friends. The blankets mean so much to the individual who is sick and the family members. The individual acts of kindness by you is incredible. The love and praises of God is flowing out of your ministry!

God bless you!

Here is another one:

I am the recipient of one of your beautiful prayer shawls. As I ws recuperating from recent surgery, the shawl was a visual conveyance of your love, care and concern. As I face the fight ahead, I continue to be uplifted by your act of kindness. Thank you for reaching out to others during their times of need. Sincerely, Geneva

And another:

Words can’t express how much the prayer shawls meant to my husband and myself. Thank you for your time and prayers. They are working! He still will need a lot of prayers and healing in the months ahead, so thank you in advance. I hope in time we can visit you to say thank you in person. You make such an amazing difference in peoples lives. Blessings, Ken and Mary

And another:

Thank you for the beautiful prayer shawl. Every time I put it around me, I know I’m surrounded by God’s love and the love of others. Thank you so much for thinking of me and providing me with the prayer shawl. I will be wrapped in love and prayer every time I have it on. God bless you all, June

And another…..

Thanks so much for the beautiful pink shawl that you made for my mother. Though she never got to use it, it would have meant so much to her and now means so much to me. I will think of her and remember your kindness each time I use it. In His love, Susie

I get many of these cards each week. if you want to see others, there is a shoebox collection of them. Just let me know. I wanted you to know how much your time and talent means to so very many people. God is blessing the many from work from this ministry. From humble beginnings, to His glory, we keep on working and keep on blessing.

Love to all of you,

Dana

PSM update 5-18-11

2011-05-18T14:02:00.000-04:00

Greeting to all! We had another incredible evening for the ministry. Barb Conner came by with several triangular shawls for Costa Rica. Nancy dropped several off, but left after. We hope you feel better soon Nancy! Dorothy made a “bikini” shawl. Don’t let the name fool you, it is totally appropriate to wear – just made from a mix of colors with that name. it is awesome! Zena, Beverly, Loretta and myself all worked on some items for this weekend as well as Costa Rica. Mills stopped by with shawls from Martha and Carolyn. Let me just say…the crocheted shawl that Martha made did not make it 5 minutes before it was taken for someone in need. Good work Martha! See crochet isn’t so bad after all. We even had a special guest, Sarah Solty, come pray with us. We are honored to have new guests, even for one evening. If you were not there, you were truly missed. We notice when you are gone and pray for you to return to us. It was wonderful to have Lenore stop in for a visit.

This summer, I would like to make an informal offer to have a daytime prayer shawl ministry meeting. I am taking suggestions on days of the week and will come up with a majority decision, so send that info in to me. This would be a great time to invite someone who cannot drive at night or may be a school teacher and cannot make it during the school year. We will not have childcare, but we welcome children. Please respond within a week. We will continue our evening meetings but will adjust the schedule some. We will take the week of camp meeting off (third week of July) If other changes are made, you will get plenty of notice.

Barry will be counting the Costa Rica shawls tomorrow and give us a firm count on them. We believe we are over half way on this project. Great work everyone and thank you so much for all the extra effort. God will be glorified and many people blessed through this amazing project. Keep them coming.

Attached is a crochet pattern for one skein triangular shawl made with simply soft. I might have to try it out this week since it looks so good, and fast. Do the knitters need easy patterns? Let me know and I will be looking for good new ones.

Another thing to think about… I would love to have a one day crochet workshop on a Saturday. We can meet at the church if I can get permission, or we can meet out in the community or in someone’s home. I am happy to offer mine unless you are allergic to cats. We have 3 indoor cats. I would love to pull down some of the unfinished projects from the back of the closet and get those taken care of. We can use folks to come and just edge off projects, or tuck in loose pieces, or join squares, etc. We can all have lunch together and just enjoy the day. Anyone up for that? if so, please let me know if you would be able to attend on a Saturday and which one might be better for you in June or July. If we don’t plan it now, it won’t happen.

Communion is Sunday and I still need some volunteers to give 15 minutes of time before or after services. Truly it is not that time consuming, but many hands make it less stressful on everyone. I have had two folks volunteer to help. Are there any others please? I will be there around 730am to sort out and set out the shawls. We will then reposition them at 910 for the next service, add on at 1040 for the last service and clean up at noonish. Any help we can get is welcome.

No new names were added to our prayer list, but if you have one, send it to me and I will get it recorded. I will be delivering one to my friend Cheryl Hood who just lost her father to cancer. Loretta took one for someone in her church. Send me details as I forgot to get them from you.

Have a great week and please respond to any suggestions made in this email.

You are a wonderful part of this ministry. God bless you,

Dana

PSM Update 5-13-11

2011-05-13T14:01:00.000-04:00

Happy Friday the 13^th to all. As I don’t believe in superstition, it is going to be another fantastic day here in the Kingdom. One reason to celebrate is that God has sent us a new member! Sheree has joined our group and wait until you meet her – she is amazing! She is in the process of making a beautiful shawl out of some new yarn recently purchased with donation funds. I hope you will welcome her into our group when you see her. I hope you all will also keep praying for God to send more workers into our ministry. We could definitely use some more as we have room for many more and need for even more than that. God please expand our ministry with workers, with donations, and with desire to serve those who are in need. What a blessing this is! No matter if you crochet, knit, buy yarn, deliver items, or join us in prayer, we treasure your participation in this ministry.

We had a pile to pray over again this week. God has been very good to grant us so many blessings. We are pretty much approaching our minimum and beyond for our Costa Rica mission and still have many to place on the altar rails next Sunday. With 9 days to go we can even add on more than that. Yes! The Costa Rica items will be packed up by late June for the initial shipment and if we need to send others, they will be shipped the following month. Try to make them light weight, open weave patterns to make it easier and less costly to ship as well as to accommodate the warmer weather there. I am doing most of mine in V stitch, 2 foot wide by 5 foot long rectangles.

Well, I must run off to high school where I feel like I am going through a second teenager experience. It was hard enough to be a teenager the first time, but when you live at high school at age 55, it can be pretty ugly…and exhausting. High school is definitely not for the faint of heart or body! If you get bored, or need a change of pace, come see the Collins Hill HS Chorus show in the HS theatre at 7pm, tonight and Saturday eve. You won’t be disappointed!

Love to all, even when I am overly busy and way too distracted,

Dana

PSM update 5-10-11

2011-05-10T13:59:00.000-04:00

Hello to all my favorite people! I hope this finds you well and happy. It has been a while since my last email and I ask your forgiveness in the delay. I have had to attend to many things in the past few weeks which has distracted me from the weekly updates, and I apologize for not getting any information out to you. My youngest daughter, Sarah, is involved in Chorus at Collins Hill HS and the annual chorus show is this coming weekend. I put together their program, which is a huge undertaking. I also do road signs as well as 500 little details along the way! If you are in need of some very good, very inexpensive fun this week, come see the show on Thurs, Fri or Sat May 12 – 14 at 7PM at the HS auditorium. Sarah has a group act each night, but a solo on Saturday. Proud mama will be so happy that night!
Unfortunately, I have also had to deal with the loss of our cat Kevin. She was the sweetest little girl and loved to be with you at all times. She adored crochet activities from winding yarn to sitting on the project as I was creating it. she was always so supportive of my work in the ministry! She died suddenly last week of seizures, and I am not over that yet. She was the cat we got from my father-in-law when he remarried. Kevin was very special and dear to all of us, and I know she can never be replaced. Just know that I cry easily these days so if you ask a question, I may answer it with tears in my eyes and shakiness in my voice.
The PSM is going nuts for Costa Rica! We have finished about 60ish items towards our initial goal of 80. I hope you can help out with either making an item or donating some yarn for others to create shawls with. I have gotten many donations of yarn, so feel free to come by and join the fun. if you need to work at home, I can help get you yarn and patterns (after this weekend is over though). I make most of mine as 20-24 inch wide and 4.5 to 5.0 feet long rectangles in either V stitch or another open weave such as dc, ch1, dc repeats. We have a deadline of 5 weeks max from now, so keep on keeping on! It may take a village to raise a child, but it also takes an entire church to send off a mission team. We are going on this mission without even leaving the zip code!
Not this weekend coming, but the following one, May 22^nd, is communion Sunday again. Time flies. We will be putting our items on the altar rail for the congregation to bless through prayer and for them to take for themselves or for others in need. It is a time that I can use all the help I can get. It is difficult to put the items out as folks want to talk with you about a special request and others are wanting to get information and still others need their requests placed in the prayer book. Please consider donating 30 minutes of your day to help make this offering to God effective in reaching His people. Let us all chip in a little bit here and there to share the burden of work, but more importantly, to share in the glory God will receive through your love and support. Even if you have not made any items or have not been active in many months, please consider joining in as we serve our Christian family on that day. Help will be needed from 740 until 8am, 900 until 930, 1040 to 1100, and then briefly at noon for 15 minutes to gather any remaining items and take any names down for a waiting list (has been happening rather routinely lately!). The expression made popular by “Field of Dreams” is “If you build it, they will come”. I prefer to think of this ministry as “if you crochet or knit it, they will come claim it!” Email me with your schedule availability please.
I will add to the prayer list tomorrow, but wanted to get this part to you right now. Sorry for the late hour, but sleep has not been my friend lately. I am sending you the list of prayer requests that came from the pink book. I am absolutely positive that I am missing some so please let me know if you have one we need to share with the group. I have listed them from most recent back to the last communion Sunday. I don’t always get the privilege of knowing each person on this list, or even to deliver to these folks. If you know any of the names below and can update our information, please do. For those who are devoted prayer warriors….we need you! keep praying for these recipients and for our ministry to always be under God’s watchful eye and loving heart.
Have a great day. I am finally cutting off for the night. I doubt I will be at the meeting tonight, but if things go well, I might make it. Dress rehearsal is after school and I might be one tired little girl by the end of it!
Thanks for all you do for all of God’s children.
God is good, all the time!
Dana

PSM Update

2011-04-01T13:56:00.000-04:00

Got several things for you which will be arriving under separate covers today as I get time. First…the beginning. As always, we love having you part of this amazing ministry. If, however, circumstances change in your life and you would care to be removed for any reason, just let me know. We would miss you, but understand the load of emails can be overwhelming.

I have added one more name to our roster. Barbara D. came by on Wednesday to meet us and we adopted her the moment she said hello! She will fit right in with us and I hope you will welcome her into our group. Barbara and Zena spent some time comparing notes from life in Jamaica and we all were thoroughly entertained that they knew so many folks in common! Welcome Barbara!

If you know someone who does not currently knit or crochet, but is interested in learning, have them come on in. Beverly and I will be reviewing some crochet DVD lessons. We will be happy to teach anyone to do either skill, or both! Now is a great time to join….but wait, there’s more! (as seen on TV). If you join in the next…oh several months…you will be part of some exciting projects. Not only will we give you the membership with all its benefits of fun, friendship, and hilarity, but you will be part of sharing God’s love with many people. We will be making up to 150 loosely crocheted or knitted shawls for the folks in Costa Rica. Barry B. has asked us to make some for his group to take when they go in July. It will be a true blessing to shower our sisters and brothers in Christ with our love, and believe me when I say that we will get even more out of it than we put into it. I know this sounds like an overwhelming task, and frankly, it is. But what is impossible with man, God makes light work of. If God is for us, than nothing can stop us and we will be able to get this done. I will be researching very open, fast working patterns for us to make. We won’t have to have shawls for communion in April, July and August, so we do have some time this next month to work on building up a supply. I will be placing a “want ad” in the epistle for anyone who knows how to knit or crochet to help us with this project.

Also, we want to make a baby blanket for our very own Andrew dnd his wife Kristin as they are expecting their first baby this fall. I have a pattern attached for an open cross prayer square. Let’s all practice making that pattern (and adding to our dwindling supply of squares) and if we get good at it, I will buy some lovely baby colors for us to make squares for a baby blanket. What do you think about that idea? I know this church will be blessed by baby Erwin as much as it has been by Rev. Andrew and his bride. Hey, and while we are at it, we are blessed by Andrew’s parents and grandparents as well. Just ask Sam and Kathi T!

We will not meet next week, April 6^th, during spring break week. when we return on Wednesday April 13^th we will have patterns available for you and we will practice the open cross pattern together. For those who need to come early, just let me know and I can try to get there by 5pm if needed.

Will send out our prayer list this afternoon as well as other info, so stay tuned!

I love you all for your prayers and offerings. You are the hands, the feet, the words of God shining light on a sometimes darkened world. Keep your light shining and give all the glory to our Father in Heaven, for He is good all the time; all the time God is good.

Dana

PSM meeting

2011-03-30T13:54:00.000-04:00

Hello all. We will be meeting this week, same time (530 – 730) same place (room 311)! Please bring any completed items to be prayed over. We will NOT meet next Wednesday, the first week of April, due to Gwinnett County school spring break. When we return a week later we will be starting a fun new project! I will send a hint after the meeting tonight, but until then, be blessed and please come see us, and all our fun yarn.

Love to all in Christ,

Dana

The evolution of the sweater

2011-03-23T07:09:00.001-04:00

Coordinated sweater, scarf, and tam as winter fashion accessories in Fleisher Yarns' advertisement in The Ladies Home Companion, December 1920. (Courtesy Susan Strawn)

Comfort and Good Looks: Sweaters and Scarves as Fashion Essentials
by Susan Strawn
Knitted sweaters and scarves are a mainstay of the modern American woman's wardrobe. Surprisingly, however, it was only a century ago that they began to claim their place in mainstream American fashion.
Knitting was long considered a utilitarian craft, best suited to making warm socks, gloves, and mittens. As early as 1846, Decorative Needlework by Miss Lambert provided patterns for such handknits but focused mainly on soft infant and toddler garments and bassinet covers.
A few adult sweater patterns appear, tucked among the counterpanes and domestic whimsies, in late-nineteenth-century knitting books. The Butterick Publishing Company's Art of Knitting (1892) includes a pattern for a man's "foot-ball sweater" (a turtleneck pullover), but patterns for women comprise only accessories, capes, and shawls.

An advertisement in the July 1922 issue of The Delineator for the summer issue of Needle-Art. The copy states, "Scarfs that match will be worn with slip-on sweaters this Summer, making them 100 per cent more attractive. How shall you make the scarf? The Summer Needle-Art will give you full instructions..." (Courtesy Susan Strawn)

At the close of the century, women were becoming more active outside the home, some entering careers, and these women wanted simpler styles suited to their new roles. For some time, people had been agitating for dress reform, maintaining that the tight-fitting fashions of the time were not only uncomfortable but unhealthy as well.
Sweaters, it could be argued, played a role in dress reform and gave women greater comfort and freedom to pursue an active life, including sports.
Women's sweaters and scarves attained fashion status during the 1910s, and in 1917, The Ladies' Home Journal declared sweaters a wardrobe essential.
Sweaters of the early 1900s were long, typically worn with a wide matching scarf or "girdle" (belt). Department stores and mail-order catalogs sold millions of commercially manufactured sweaters, and abundant patterns were available in books, needlework magazines, and in booklets published by yarn manufacturers.
After World War I, American fashions became increasingly youthful and more casual, reflecting the greater freedom and equality that women had earned. Nonetheless, Paris still was a dominant arbiter of taste. Elsa Schiaparelli and Gabrielle (Coco) Chanel in particular popularized knitwear. "Paris now knits her blouse," proclaims the magazine The Delineator.
In barely two decades, knitted garments for women had transformed from utilitarian to fashion essential. We can thank an unlikely combination of influences—the turn-of-the century craze for sports, dress reform that suited changing roles for women, a multitude of new knitters during World War I, and the brilliant Parisian designers who popularized knitwear—for making knitted sweaters and scarves a wardrobe mainstay.

PSM update 3-20-11

2011-03-20T13:53:00.000-04:00

God is good, all the time. Today was no exception. Communion Sunday is a day where we get to come together and reconnect with God. We get to admit that we are far from perfect, and we get forgiven all over again. Grace enters us through the elements and through it we are renewed in the spirit and in our relationship with the Lord. Communion Sunday is also a day where we get to offer something back to God. We place our prayer shawls upon the altar rails as an offering to the Lord. It is a sacrifice of our time, our resources, and ourselves to something much bigger than us. We don’t know who will receive any given prayer shawl, we are just obedient to place them there. We don’t know who will be in need when we begin a new item, nor do we know who will be the instrument of delivery for that item. There is a lot we don’t know, but one thing we can be sure of is that God knows all the details. He knows when items are needed and how many. We witness that each week when items come in for prayers and blessings. He gives us yarn when we need it, and sends new members when we have asked for them.

Today was a day to watch God in action. We had only 3 weeks to restock from last communion. That is the shortest turnaround time we have, and last month we had given everything out plus some IOU’s. This month we had an abundance. Three services later we had less but still some for the coming week. There was one shawl which really was too big to be included. It was gigantic. It was sent in to us and I personally struggled with what to do with it. we prayed over it and left it in our inventory. Wednesday eve I was still struggling with it. for some reason, this one was bothering me. At 8am, I decided not to include it in today’s offering. I figured we had enough to cover, but at 1125 I just felt a pull in my heart. I got it out of the closet and put it in the cart. At noon someone came to me while we were packing up and asked to receive that one item. It surprised me, but I offered it to that person. Come to find out, the recipient who it was intended for is a 6 year old girl struggling with issues way beyond her years and fighting stress that no one should understand, ever, at any age. The folks who took it for her thought it was perfect. I pray that it is. I know God thought it would be or we would not have watched that miracle unfold. Yes, it was a miracle and I was blessed to be part of it.

There was a young man who took a shawl off the altar at the 11am service. As he left, I was in the wings on the other side of the building, but saw it on the camera. I wanted so badly to get his name to pray for him, but figured that would not happen. God knew better. He sent this man straight over and into the hallway where I was waiting. I talked with him for some time. He really looked like someone who normally would not be here, but God sent him to us…today…in time to receive a gift of His grace. God knew all along who that shawl was intended for.

There are many stories like these, and many more to be written which God alone will create. It is an honor to share these stories with you. It is a privilege working with such a great group of dedicated workers. It is a blessing to hug a stranger and know that God’s love is going back and forth from each of you to the other.

The world is changing. Each day there are new challenges. Each day there is news of conflicts, disasters, economic misfortunes, political unrest. Each day there is also a new sunrise and a new beginning. God gives us unlimited opportunities to do good in this world for all of His children. Please hear His call for your life, for what He has in store for you. Take that call, take that chance, take that opportunity to pray, to connect, to study, to crochet, to send a letter to a shut in, to donate blood, donate yarn, donate your time, speak to those who need a kind word, to show God that He is important by putting His will as your priority. Jesus did, and I want to grow in wisdom, in strength, and in favor with God. Will you come on this wild ride too?

I love you all dearly and pray blessings shower you and your family on this Sabbath day.

In Christ’s name and for His sake,

Dana

Calling all PSM members...quick note

2011-03-17T13:50:00.000-04:00

Good Thursday to all of you! I wanted to send out an update for the ministry, and so here I go!

First..This Sunday is communion (have you ever felt like déjà vu – been somewhere, done something, got the email recently). It has only been 3 weeks since the last one which might make this one difficult, but God has already worked out a plan for that, so we don’t need to worry. Praise be to God! I do however, still need help with placing the items on the altar rails. I can use some extra hands for maybe 15 minutes (truly, it does not take very long) at 745AM, 830AM, 1040AM and noon. There have not been any left to pick up for the last couple of times and I suspect the same will occur this month. I will need the help placing the items out, and help gathering names for our prayer list. If you can help with this important task, I sure would appreciate it. please let me know ASAP.

Next…I would like to find out if anyone is interested in joining a morning edition of the PSM. We will teach knit, crochet and supply your needs as we do in the evening, but this would make it easier on those who cannot get out at night or have conflicts. Please let me know if you would attend such a meeting.

Next next…WE NEED NEW MEMBERS to help us keep the shelves filled. We have plenty of yarn and patterns, but need hands to create items. It is becoming important to add new members as the demands for our items has risen. Please be in prayer for our ministry and if you know of anyone who would like to learn, participate, or just plain make and donate items, I would be so grateful. It would be such a relief. No prior experience necessary.

Please come by next Wednesday eve and check out the supply of new or nearly new yarns we have been given. As some of these yarns have been in storage for a while, it is a good idea to gently wash all items made with these yarns prior to their submission.

I miss you when you are not there, enjoy your company when you come join us, and love you all the time no matter where you are.

Blessings,

Dana

BLOCKING...how to do it

2011-03-09T16:19:00.000-05:00

From Lion Brand Yarn:
Blocking refers to the process of stretching and shaping a finished piece to ensure it is the proper size and shape. There are many ways to achieve this, depending upon the yarn used. Blocking can be used to finish any item and even out stitches. Because acrylics are sensitive to heat, they should not be steam blocked. Always follow the care instructions on your yarn label.

WET BLOCKING
Note the measurements of your garment and wash according to yarn label instructions.
Lay your garment flat on a clean towel and roll the towel, pressing out as much water as possible.
Repeat this with other towels until the item is mostly dry.
On a flat, clean surface, such as a towel or blocking board, lay out your item and pull it into the desired shape.
Pin to a blocking board if desired.
Let the garment air dry.

STEAM BLOCKING
Lay your item on a clean, dry towel on a flat surface.
Place a cool wet washcloth over your item.
After heating your iron to the appropriate setting for your fiber, press the iron on your washcloth for a few seconds. This will create steam.

Repeat as necessary, rewetting your washcloth as needed.
Pull your item into the proper shape while steaming.
Afterward, allow your item to air dry. Pin to a blocking board if desired.

SPRAY BLOCKING
Lay your item on a dry towel on a flat surface. Mist with a spray bottle of room-temperature water. Pull the item into the desired shape. Pin if desired. Let the piece air dry."

Jer. 33:3

"Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know."

Blessings,

PSM update 3-2-11

2011-03-02T12:49:00.000-05:00

Good morning to you! I hope you had a wonderful week. We had great success with prayer shawl items on Sunday as once again every item was taken off the altar rails and a wait list of 6 items was recorded. God is so good that we had that many almost ready to be prayed over. Beverly and I finished up a few and prayed over them on Monday so we are back in business with items in our closet. To God be all the glory for this amazing ministry!

Couple of things to remember. We will meet this week at our usual time. Next Wednesday is Ash Wednesday. We will meet only from 530-645 that day so we can all attend services at 7pm. If you have items to bring in and pray for, please join us early that eve. If you choose not to attend the service you are welcome to stay in the room working on a project, but the Ash Wednesday service is very moving. Try to be there for it if you can.

I am sending a couple of new patterns. The country tweed is a great way to integrate yarn colors. It is a bit more advanced than the other pattern which is all done in half double crochets. It goes very quickly and you can use many different types of yarn for this project.

Got coupons? Consider getting one or two skeins of yarn this week to share. Michael’s still has some homespun on sale for $2.49 (discontinued colors only) as well as many discontinued types of yarn as they prepare to transition into their new Loops and Threads yarns. They are really nice (Northlake carries them already), so I am excited for the change.

Is anyone interested in beginning a day time prayer shawl group for those who don’t like to travel at night? It would be awesome to have another set of folks praying and creating. Give that some consideration and much prayer if you will.

Got to finally go to sleep, so see you all later on.

Blessings,

Dana

Prayer Shawl Ministry Update

2011-02-21T12:47:00.000-05:00

Good morning to all. Just a quick note to remind you that this coming weekend is communion. As always, we are putting our prayer shawls out for the congregation to pray over and take as needed. If you have any items which need to be prayed over, please bring them to the meeting on Wednesday or contact me by tomorrow for pick up as needed. I will not be at the meeting on Wednesday eve as I will be chaperoning 20 high school students in Savannah for All State Chorus. Beverly will be helping me get these items ready for Sunday. I will be back in town late Saturday night. Can anyone help us put out the shawls at 740AM, 900AM, 1045AM and put them away at noon? We could use the extra help at all these times. I find it difficult to get names for our book, put items out, and talk to people in need at the same time, so if you can at all spare just a few moments on Sunday, let me or Beverly know.

March madness is coming soon, and that will mean…more fun! Details to follow, but be on the lookout for spring activities. If you know of a friend who is interested in joining our ministry, please let us know. The need is great and our fingers can only work so hard before we need to go on to other activities. We would love to have new friends!

Have a great day and hope to hear from you soon.

In Christ,

Dana

Prayer Shawl Ministry Update

2011-02-10T12:45:00.000-05:00

Good evening to all. We had a wonderful meeting again this week. Wish you all could be there. We need to set up our lap tops and do a “Skype” session. If teens can talk face to face only through computer monitors, well, we can have a satellite campus running out of your own home as well! Would that be progressive or what?

We added about 8 new items to the finished closet this week after distributing some right fresh off the prayer line. Thanks to all who contributed and thanks to all who are praying. Keep thinking of creative ways to invite friends to join us in our mission to place God’s comfort on the shoulders of all those in need, with unconditional love and limitless prayer.

For those who are computer wise, and have lots of change just lying around…. I have taken to putting all my spare change daily in a jar and rolling it up weekly. Well, it used to be earmarked for general spending money, then it was for youth activities at church. Now, I gather up under $2 in change in less than a week, go to Michael’s or Joann’s with their 40 or 50% off coupons and buy one skein of yarn. I love that because it is not a very big drain on my budget, yet it helps the ministry. So, get out the piggy banks, mason jars, coke bottles, or whatever the spare change goes into and make something beautiful out of something small and seemingly unimportant. Whereas one penny seems a small amount of funds not useful for any purpose, a week’s worth of daily pennies is enough to pay the tax on a skein of yarn. If you decide not to do that permanently, try doing it for lent. I try taking on a new habit in addition to breaking from something that is important to me. Let’s make that our group challenge activity for the lent season. God will take old, dirty, beat up pennies and make beautiful shawls out of them. YEA!!!

Have a great evening. I hope to see you all very soon. Feel free to email back just to catch up if we have not seen or heard from you in a while. You will continue to be one of us no matter where you are.

In Christ,

Dana

Quote for the day: Intelligence is knowing that a tomato is a fruit. Wisdom is not putting it in fruit salad.

Prayer Shawl Ministry Update

2011-02-08T12:43:00.000-05:00

Good Tuesday morning to all of you. I hope you are enjoying the sunshine out there. We have had the craziest weather this season. More reasons to keep crocheting and knitting!!!

I want to continue with a quick math refresher course. It goes like this. 0 items left on the altar last weekend plus three requests equals -3 items in the closet. Next… -3 items plus many prayers = 13 more in closet on Wednesday eve. Next, 13 shawls minus the ones given to those in need plus several crisis calls on Thursday eve equals enough shawls to cover all the shoulders in need of a prayer shawl, plus 12 more in the closet. If that sounds like the kind of math you were taught in school, then maybe you went to a faith based school!!! God has been so very good to us. Now, my father was an accountant and he was a very good accountant in his time. His boasting included keeping several active Mafia members in NY out of prison without doing one illegal thing in the process. (can’t tell you the names since dad used code names for them!) BUT… my Heavenly Father is the greatest math major, accountant, and provider ever. He makes things possible using Love instead of Law, Faith instead of Fact. Here is where we have an exercise.

I say: God is good

You say: All the time

I say: All the time

You say: God is good

And we all say AMEN!!!!

· Traveling mercies at all times for our team of faithful deliverers. It is an honor to do so and I appreciate your help. Travel safely on these crazy Gwinnett roads.

· Blessings to all those preparing items to share with those in need. Prayers for God to guide your hands and find time to crochet or knit while still getting everything else done.

· Thanks to God for His provisions of funds for this ministry, materials to prepare items, and His love to keep us all sane!!

If you have a name of someone who either needs a shawl, cap, or square cloth, or someone who may have received one but is not listed for prayers, please let me know. The items given come with the promises that someone is praying for them. Don’t take that entire responsibility on yourself. Let us help you with this. We are all one family and pray for each other whether we know the people or not. God expects no less from us and has equipped us for this service.

Love you all dearly whether you are next door or next state over. Be well, keep up the fabulous work and look for info soon on a new video driven lesson session coming to a PSM meeting soon.

Dana

PSM update

2011-01-30T12:40:00.000-05:00

Hello wonderful sisters. Just a quick note to let you know how valuable you are and how important our ministry is……………

Today was Communion Sunday. As has become our tradition, we place our shawls, chemo caps, and squares on the altar rail for the congregation to pray over and claim for themselves or others. We encourage all to take them for anyone they know is hurting, having a rough time, or just needs a tangible reminder of God’s love in their lives. It is such a blessing to put these items out and watch what God does with this. Often, we will place 50 total items out for all 3 services and we have about 6 or 8 left. This month God provided us a bounty of items. He just kept delivering and delivering and we kept busy praying over them. It seems fitting to say that God surely knows what He is doing. Not only did we put out more items than usual (I believe it was around 70 to 80 items), not only did I clean out the closet downstairs as well as the extra supply upstairs, even my secret stash for emergencies, not only did we give EVERY shawl, cap and over half the squares away, but we now have a wait list of at least 3 people who need shawls this week. Of the ones I got to talk with, people were taking items for events which have only happened in the last 2 weeks, explaining to me why God stocked us up so very well. Isn’t God great in His wisdom and grace!!!

I am appealing to all of you to help restock the cabinets. I would very much appreciate if you are currently knitting or crocheting items, to continue to do so. Please consider using larger hooks or needles, making the items a bit more open which makes the project easy to complete in a relatively short period of time. I love the tighter weaves for those who need a warm item and don’t want to discourage that technique, but if you are just starting a new project, feel free to make it the “jiffy” way! Most of our shawls are 24 inches wide by 60 inches long. Lap blankets are wider and shorter. You are always welcome to take yarn stock from our closet or purchase your favorite yarn to complete and donate an item. Remember that if you purchase your own yarn, you may keep the receipts and use them as a tax deduction to a charitable organization. They add up and will give you a nice little break on your taxes!

Thank you to all who helped put the items out on the altar rails and pews. I could not have done this without your help. It took three of us to restock after the 8am service and before 930. I am going to come up with a system to encourage everyone who takes one to email the information to me for our prayer list. I want to encourage the praying of the recipients by name when we can. When we don’t have a name we rely on God’s knowledge of the recipients. I am also going to put out information to search for new members to help create these “Master”pieces.

You are a true blessing to me and to the body of Christ. Keep up the good work whether that is knitting, crocheting, purchasing yarn, delivering items, raising funds for our ministry or praying for all aspects of this ministry. You are vital to our success and everything you do helps share the message of God’s love to others.

Love in Christ,

Dana

PSM update

2011-01-28T12:38:00.000-05:00

Hello to all members and fans of the Prayer Shawl Ministry. Hope you are having a wonderful week. We had a great group this week. Thanks to Robin who gave us a wonderful prayer and reminded us that this ministry belongs to the Lord. He has blessed us so very richly with an abundance of completed items as well as yarn to work with. God is good all the time.

I am attaching two patterns that have been requested. One is the wheelchair wrap pattern that has been so well received. The other is a specialty item. It is a bag that goes on a walker for those who need walkers to get around. It enables the user to carry things while keeping their hands free for sturdy grip and good balance. If you have any questions on either one, please ask me and I will try to help you with them.

LAST CALL to help out with a donation of a Michael’s gift card to dear Mildred, a friend of Helon Gragg who made 10 incredible hand knit sweaters for us to sell at $35 each to help fund our ministry. She paid for all the materials herself, and we want to help encourage her generosity. I am fronting some extra funds, so if you can contribute, please let me know ASAP. Every dollar is a blessing.

For those of you who have not yet heard, Zena got an A+ report card from her doctor today. She is now the star student and is cleared to resume normal activities. Her tests and EKG were all normal. Welcome back to the hustle and bustle of life Zena and we celebrate with you. Beverly and I had the honor of going to Zena’s home on Wednesday afternoon to deliver a prayer shawl for her. We prayed together, asking God for His healing power and thanked Him for all He has done. Zena was very appreciative and we all agreed that it was not the shawl, but the prayer sent up to the Lord in earnest love and faith which has touched God’s heart and healed Zena’s. PRAISE GOD.

Do you know of anyone else needing a prayer shawl or just prayer in general? If so, let me know and I can share that news with the group. Before I send out a new revised copy of the PSM members, does anyone object to sharing their contact information? By next newsletter I want to send you a revised list with all the members in case you want to contact one another or pray for each other.

We are always in need of a few more sets of hands. Consider inviting a friend to the meetings. All levels welcome as we will be happy to teach beginning knitting or crochet.

Continue to shine your wonderful light into this world, reflecting the Father’s love on those who need a bit of sunshine (or SONshine) in their lives.

In Christ,

Dana

PSM update - 1-19-11

2011-01-19T12:37:00.000-05:00

Well, it is another great day in the life of the Prayer Shawl Ministry. We had a lovely meeting last night and lots of fun going through yarn bins. We have sorted the yarns by color group or texture. If you love Homespun, we have lots of it now, and we have many different shades of red heart yarn. Like fuzzy yarns, we have some! Come and join us next Wednesday and pick out something for you to work on at church or at home.

I wanted to mention that we have been blessed to have an angel among us. Helon has a friend, Mildred, an 86 year old woman who makes children’s sweaters. She buys all her own yarn, designs and knits these amazing sweaters. Each year the proceeds of the sale go to a charity and this year we were designated as the one! We would love to thank her with two things. First, we have a card which you can sign. If you did not get a chance this week, we will hold it until next Wednesday. Also, we would love to have everyone chip in just a few dollars to help send her a Michael’s gift card. What she does is so generous and gracious that we truly would love to give back a portion. Would you please consider chipping in some funds? This does not have to be big, just a thank you gift. You may get the funds to me anytime, or at the meeting next Wednesday (last day for collection please) or give me a reply and we will make connections. If you see Helon you may get the funds to her as well. A big thanks to Helon for making this all possible. You are truly a blessing to us.

I am attaching a few patterns for you to look over. I have another meeting tonight at 7pm so I will send out the full prayer list later on. Until then, stay warm, keep knitting or crocheting and be blessed.

Dana

Prayer Shawl Ministry Update

2011-01-08T12:36:00.000-05:00

Well, Happy January to all and I do hope you will be able to enjoy this beautiful day before we are all trapped inside for a while. Good news – we live in the south and it will warm up again soon, melting all the snow. Extra good news – we can crochet or knit all day long and not feel guilty! Bonus for us!

Next, we will be meeting this Wednesday if the snow is not bad. I do hope you can join us. We have lots of new yarn and colors to play with. If you need a home delivery, please let me know. Because we did not have communion in December, we do have quite a nice supply of shawls and blankets in our closet. If you know of someone in need, just let me know and we will get you what you need, and deliver it for you if you would prefer. Our next communion is the end of January. We will need some volunteers to help place the shawls on the altar rails at 7:45am, 8:30-8:45am, 10:30-10:45am, and remove any leftovers after the 11 service ends. Please let me know if you are available.

I am so proud of the work you are doing for God’s glory. Keep up the good work, whether it is crochet, knit, deliveries, supplying yarn, or simply praying for our concerns. Every part is essential to God’s plan and for His sake. Be blessed. I will send out another email within the week with new patterns to try out. Until then, be well, stay warm and stay safe.

In Christ,

Dana

Prayer Shawl Ministry Update

2010-12-10T12:33:00.000-05:00

Hope all of you are doing well and staying warm. Keep making shawls and you will always have a blanket on your lap!!

It seems like this Wednesday will again be difficult for most of you so we will not meet again on Wednesday eves until January 5^th when the dinners start up. Bring friends in the new year. As Christmas approaches, I do pray that all of you stay safe and remember the true meaning behind the holiday. It is to celebrate the birth of our Lord and Savior. I will be looking out for Christmas hugs at church that night but for those who cannot make it, have a blessed Christmas and a wonderful new year. Isn’t it great that we get fresh starts? God makes those possible for us not just on January 1^st but every day and every hour. Just ask for His help and He will be right there. Faster than FedEx and with comfort as well!

Love to all,

Dana

Prayer Shawl Ministry Update

2010-12-05T12:32:00.000-05:00

Dear Ladies,

I am not believing how close we are getting to Christmas! Who wound the clock up so tight that it is going around too fast? I hope you had a wonderful thanksgiving weekend and are getting ready to celebrate the birth of our savior. Today I heard a startling fact in youth services. Did you know that Americans spent $450 billion dollars on holiday season gifts last year and this amount is about the same for the past few years. Did you also know that the water crisis in Africa is the number one killer of people? There is such a shortage of clean drinking water that the rate of cancer and noncancerous tumors is way higher than elsewhere. The World Health Organization estimates that it would take $10 billion dollars to construct enough wells for the people there. Let’s do the math….450 billion on gifts…and 10 billion to do God’s work helping one another. It made me want to cry! I hope that you will keep this statistic in mind as you go shopping this year. Consider sending someone you know a donation to a charity in lieu of another Christmas sweater, or another DVD or computer game. You can help save the world and encourage exercise at the same time. WIN!!!

Last weekend was communion Sunday and we received about 20 skeins of yarn. Today we received about 8 skeins. It is a start for our next supply of shawls. I am going to encourage you to start using bigger needles/hooks and use some more open patterns. We need some shawls that are not as thick or as heavy for some folks who need shawls but not necessarily warmth. If you are about to start a project, please try to make us some lighter ones to stock up on.

I have been approached by the Costa Rica mission group about helping provide 150 prayer shawls/blankets for their trip in July. Now, most folks would say this is impossible, however, I just witnessed God provide more than that in blankets for soldiers in the last month. I have talked with Lisa H. about doing some blankets and mixing them with some shawls. These shawls can be open patterns, and not as wide as a lap blanket size. I am asking you to be in prayer for this project. We have not made a commitment yet, but if God wills it to be, He will find a way to provide for it with materials and workers.

I hope to see you on Wednesday. We will meet this one and next, but then break until January 5^th. Need pattern ideas? Just let me know and I can send some your way. I am researching some new ones from Library books and will share the scanned copies once done.

Lots of love to all of you,

Dana

PSM Update

2010-11-27T12:30:00.000-05:00

Good day after Thanksgiving to all of you! I am so grateful to have you as a member of this ministry. I thank God each day for the success of this ministry and for His blessing upon its future.

I hope you have all relaxed and enjoyed friends, family, food, and fun times. That is what this weekend is about for us! I have been going through shawl patterns and making progress on getting items collected for our scrapbook. We also have to update our web page so if you have any suggestions, please let me know. I want to take a more recent group photo to put on the web site. Can you be at the meeting this Wednesday eve? I will try for that and if it is not to be, we will reschedule for next week.

This Sunday is Communion Sunday where we put our shawls out for blessing and for use by all. We are taking a bit of a risk by putting everything we have out for the 3 services, but God has always been faithful to provide for us, and so we trust Him in this decision. If you find yourself free before or after any service, please lend Beverly and Mary Anne a hand as they place all items out and talk to the recipients. We want to get their names to pray over if possible, but again we trust that God knows them all. I will be with the children in the Studio teaching them the meaning of our ministry. I hope to convey the purpose of our ministry as well as the need to pray for and with others. It is a job that will bring in many blessings and will be well worth the effort. Anyone free to come help out? Those kids are fabulous!

As the donations for yarn start this week, I pray that you will be filled with baskets of great color and promise. If you need delivery of yarn for at home work, please don’t hesitate to ask and you will receive it. We love our at home members and their spirit of dedication. Thanks to those members who have been purchasing their own yarn during this time when the pickings were getting slimmer. We are going to be so ready for the new year! Speaking of that, we will meet on Dec 1, 8, and 15. We will then be off for the rest of the year. We will resume our time together in January with the first Wednesday being January 5^th. In the interim, if you have shawls that are completed, please send me an email or call me as we will probably need them during that time. We will call a small group together as needed to pray over these items. Thanks in advance for all the work that you do and will do for the ministry!

I will make a point of sharing the many thank you notes with you next session. Some are so very touching. I have become aware of the need to keep some of these private, so I will not share them by email. Just know that you are well appreciated by so many people.

May God bless you during this holiday season leading up to Christmas. Keep Christ first in all you do, and in all the decisions you make this season. Remember those less fortunate and give glory to God for all He has done. I love you all so very much.

In Christ,

Dana

Prayer Shawl Ministry Update

2010-11-15T14:18:00.000-05:00

Welcome to cooler weather! It is time to snuggle up with a warm blanket, handmade of course, and keep on making more! Don’t turn up the heat on the house, just pile up some yarn on your lap and put a pot of coffee or tea beside you. Think of all the money you will save in utility bills!

We had a wonderful week with several new items donated, more yarn for us to use, and God sent us a special gift… a new member! Welcome Lenore to the “Chicks with Sticks”. You are going to love our crazy group and we all are going to welcome you with open arms, and crochet hooks. I am attaching the new member list. I am missing a few birthdays and other info, so please review the list and send the info to be added.

Nancy has put together the packages for the soldiers. We are all good for the year on items. Our budget only allows for 10 boxes to be shipped to military personnel per year. I would like to spread the word that if anyone has a specific request for a soldier, or wants to make a donation to the cause, it is $10.70 per donation box. I am not asking our members to contribute unless you feel so lead, but please spread the word so that more boxes can be sent to a soldier overseas. We rely on contributions for our ministry and God has blessed us with yarn and patterns. I will be making an appeal for additional donations of yarn during the holiday season. Instead of giving someone a small gift at an exchange, why not consider donating a skein or two of yarn in their honor? That will be my focus during this time. Hope you will join me on that one. I appreciate all those who have brought us materials, whether full skeins or balls of smaller amounts. They all are useful and appreciated.

Communion Sunday is the Sunday following Thanksgiving. We will again put out our prayer shawls and some baskets of prayer cloths for members to take. If you would like to help with organizing, please let me know. It takes maybe 15 minutes prior to and at the end of the services to do that.

Volunteer opportunities seem to be all around us these days. Are you good at scrapbooking? OK, how about just plain organization? I would love someone to take on the task of organizing our thank you cards in a way that we can keep them together and display them. Got ideas? Please be thinking on this one as I am running low on time to take on this important task.

Remember to put our meeting on your calendars and bring a friend. Like Jello, there is always room for more!! (I am dating myself with that ad campaign)

More stories later, but got to run for now.

In Christ,

Dana

PSM update 11-12-10

2010-11-12T14:19:00.000-05:00

Hello Chicks with Sticks. Have I told you lately that you are my Prayer Shawl Superheroes!! Do they make a pattern for a cape that has PSM on the back that we can make? Then our super cool delivery team can wear it and fly through the air to their next destination! Truly, I do appreciate every minute you put into this ministry from crochet to knitting, from finishing unfinished projects to creating new combos of colors, from buying yarn and sneaking it into the closet so no one knows to finding new recipients in need, from attending each week to simply praying for the requests sent out by email….you are the best team of God’s prayer warriors I could ask for. Know that you are loved and prayed for, and that you are truly His hands and feet on earth.

We are in the process of putting together a simple holiday gathering which will include sharing a snack together and taking a field trip upstairs to the Upper Room Prayer Sanctuary. Nothing formal, nothing to dress up with and fuss over (Hey – this is ME organizing it and I don’t do formal!!!). I am hoping those who are on this email list and have not had a chance to join us for a while will feel free to join us for this gathering. I will send details when I get more. What day would work best for any of you? Would it be better to do a Sunday after church or Wednesday eve or another day in an afternoon? I would love as much input as possible. This is a day that we can all sit back and relax, bring a friend or two, and just enjoy one another’s company. I won’t complain if anyone brings a skein or two of yarn as their date. Any social butterflies interested in helping plan this gathering? No experience necessary!

Please consider asking for donations of yarn in lieu of gifts at your Christmas holiday cookie/ornament/white elephant gift exchanges. What a great legacy we can leave by making others’ needs more important than our own. If you do get inquiries on what yarn to donate I suggest you tell them Red Heart Super Saver as this is the most economical and easiest to find. We also love the Caron one pound skeins, JoAnn’s Sensations yarns and Homespun yarns. I have been accused of not having a holiday spirit because I don’t want to get gifts or buy extravagant ones for my family and friends, but I tell you the truth…this is more in the spirit of the Lord to want to give to others than to store up my own treasures on earth. I never grew up with Christmas as I was raised Jewish, but I saw what all the other kids were getting. I grew up believing that the whole purpose of Christmas was to get all new toys and clothes, and to get rid of the old stuff you did not use anymore to make room for all the new stuff. Now I know that Christmas is the celebration of our Savior who came to earth to show us how to live and how to give of ourselves. Jesus did not even have a place to lay his head down at night during his ministry years, yet he had more riches than all the other people in the world. At his crucifixion he watched while others played dice for his clothing, yet he had enough grace to ask his heavenly Father to forgive the people who have sinned. History is only as useful as we can apply it to our futures. Take the lesson of Christ’s unconditional love and share that with people this holiday season, and you will truly be blessed by that.

Thanks to the ladies who joined us on Wednesday this past week. We accomplished much and saw some new projects in the making. Robin’s gorgeous blue shawl found a new home in record time. It was a beautiful item and will be loved for many years. Susan is still working her magic on the two tone shawl. It is fabulous. Dorothy is working on an item to go to a children’s charity fundraiser. Beverly is still working on soft boucle items which I would love to wrap myself up in. Nancy is loving the Simply Soft yarns and we have a whole bin of them to use, so I am sure you can share that joy with her. Zena continues to amaze me with her beautiful bounty of shawls each week. Jeremy is mastering the double crochet technique. We missed you Lenore and hope to see you back soon. We miss all the home bound folks and hope you all are doing well. We also would love to send our best to our South Carolina member, Carolyn. I would love to see more of all of you. Please let me know if you are in need of yarn delivered to you for projects at home. Several members are unable to attend on Wednesday eves due to childcare issues and we are happy to set you up with materials to take home. Your wish is my priority! A special shout of thanks to Beverly and Helon for delivering our prayer shawls. You two are awesome for sharing God’s blessings with others.

Have a great weekend, and be well my friends. Remember to shout out about a social time together.

In Christ,

Dana

PSM update 11-12-10

2010-11-12T12:28:00.000-05:00

Have a great weekend, and be well my friends. Remember to shout out about a social time together.

In Christ,

Dana

It’s done…finally

2010-11-03T15:25:00.000-04:00

After what seemed like forever this project is finished.

I hate to leave things unfinished for so long and after finally throwing in the towel on the very difficult pattern and making a few modification this project was finally turned in.

Needless to sat I will be giving the next knitting project pattern a very close once over before I committing myself to it again.

For all my whining and complaining I was thankful to see it turned in and even more thankful that it did not linger in the closet for very long.

God is good and He works His purpose in all things, even Prayer ~~Swear~~ Shawls that turn into a not so fun experience.

Blessings

Chicks With Sticks Update 10-27-2010

2010-10-27T15:14:00.000-04:00

Hi Ladies,

Just a short update for a small group with a big spirit due to a dark and stormy night here in Lawrenceville! For those of you who couldn’t make it tonight, we understand, but you were missed – please join us next week. God was kind to us as always. Four beautiful Prayer Shawls and three Chemo Caps (thank you for the Chemo Caps, Ellen) in bright, beautiful colors came in tonight. As always He knows what we need. The Prayer Shawl cabinet is full and we have a few extras in the Prayer Shawl closet.

Jeremy brought in his first finished item – a butterfly! Nancy has already started another bright burgundy, green and white shawl after turning in two in those shades tonight, and picked up new yarn for a man’s afghan. Robin knitted additional length to her blue afghan. I am still crocheting an aqua boucle shawl. Cindy has an afghan or two ready to turn in!

Thank you notes came in from several recipients of Prayer Shawls. It’s nice to be appreciated for the work we do, even though we are as blessed as the recipients. Here are excerpts from the notes we received this week.

Jim and Dian said “…thank you for the prayer shawl. It has brought Jim so much comfort and warmth as he continues his fight with cancer…”

Tom said “I was so pleased and surprised to receive the beautiful prayer shawl this weekend. They were undoubtedly prepared by the most loving of hands. The arrival coincided with the need of warmth and prayer associated with the treatments I have begun to receive for my cancer…”

Bonnie said “Thank you all so much for your time and devotion to this ministry…Mine is by my bedside each night. It truly is such a blessing . Thank you all.”

Robin and Bruce said “ We want to thank you all so very much for the beautiful prayer shawl that you made for me and my husband. We were so pleased to have received it knowing that it had been prayed over and the love, prayers and work that went into making it, makes it that much more special!...”

Julie said “What a wonderful surprise to receive the lovely shawl!...I know that your Prayer Shawl Ministry is a great joy to many and I so appreciate being a recipient of your efforts. I am grateful also for your prayers…”

By next week, there will be a count of the wool helmet liners and the wool scarves that will go in the Care Packages going to the troops overseas that will ship around the end of November. We’ll coordinate with Nancy Ford to as far as the number we need for the packages. Last year the congregation brought in items such as cards, hard candy, stationary, letters, etc., that were added to the boxes. We also put Prayer Cloths in the boxes and did the packing for Nancy. It took about an hour to pack them and then Nancy shipped them.

We are truly blessed to be part of such a wonderful ministry. I am thankful to have made so friends with so many wonderful Sisters in Christ. Please put the Wednesday evening meetings back on your calendars, 5:30 to 7:30. It’s a great opportunity to develop relationships with other women, enjoy stories and laughter, share patterns and techniques, learn to knit or crochet! And you are important to the ministry – not just for what you can make, but for the lives you touch and the lives that touch you! Don’t miss out!

Love and blessings,

Beverly

"One kind word can warm three winter months."

Prayer Shawl Ministry update 10-16-10

2010-10-16T15:09:00.000-04:00

Good day to all. And…it is a very lovely day indeed. The sun is shining brightly reminding me that the Son is shining in all our lives even brighter. That is so obvious when we look at the work of our hands. Jesus math is continuing as we seem to be blessed richly with donations this week.

First, let me say how much I missed seeing everyone on Wednesday. I was driving to and from Nashville to retrieve Emily for a weekend home. It was a long ride, but well worth it all. I must say that God was certainly present in the minivan as He made me oh so starving somewhere in North Georgia short of Chattanooga. I got off an exit because I saw a Panera sign. Little did I know it was 5 miles away from the exit. As I was wondering why in the world I was going so far out of my way for a bowl of soup, I figured there had to be a reason and just gave in to the desire to have veggie soup. WELL…. Of course God was behind it all as I found out after that by getting off there I was able to take some side road that avoided all of Chattanooga which was totally under construction. It would have been a minimum of a two hour delay. On the way home I actually passed the delay while flying 60 miles an hour in the other direction. GOD IS GREAT, even better than a Garmin or Tom Tom GPS system. He understands the value of spending time with your child instead of fighting the details of the schedule you had set for yourself.

Donations this week were plentiful. Ellen brought in a donation of Red Heart and Caron Simply Soft yarns. Mills brought in two large boxes of yarn from our dear sister Carolyn. She is our SC member who knits beautiful shawls. She sent the left over yarns from her shawls. Kathy donated some gorgeous fall colored Red Heart yarn.

Nancy brought in two shawls she made, Zena finished three (one of which was made specifically for Loretta to deliver), Barbara brought in a gold and white shawl, Becky turned in two shawls made from the peach colored Caron yarn, Dorothy made one for a UT Volunteer fan (bright orange!) or anyone who needs “just a touch” of orange in their life as my Uncle Herbert used to say, and Beverly turned in two boucle shawls plus several which needed some finishing TLC before they were ready for sharing. There is such an abundance that the downstairs closet is full and the upstairs closet has some extra items. Thanks to everyone for your contributions. No contribution is too small to count and no donation is ever unnecessary. Each skein of yarn represents hope to someone, each item represents comfort and might be the thing that helps an individual hang on to the love of God.

We are so proud of our Jeremy. He is the son of our Facilities Director who works diligently to maintain our beautiful church building. Jeremy has been so persistent in learning how to crochet and wants to be with us each Wednesday. He is the sweetest young boy and I hope you get to meet him soon if you have not already done so.

You all are so precious to me and I am praying that each of you is doing well. Let us know if you need deliveries of yarn to make items at home, or delivery of items to folks we are not yet aware of. If you get a hankering or a coupon and decide to purchase any yarns, we can pick them up from you if you want us to make a shawl for someone or just for the common closet.

Let God guide your decisions, let Him fill you with His wisdom and kindness, and follow your heart into the arms of Jesus daily.

Dana

Prayer Shawl Ministry Update

2010-10-08T15:06:00.000-04:00

Greetings and love to all in the Prayer Shawl Ministry! Whether you are an active contributor of items or a regular prayer support partner, you are a sister in the cause of sharing God’s love. Welcome to another update.

This past Sunday we shared our love with the congregation and beyond by distributing prayer cloths to all who attended church upstairs and at the warehouse. I am proud to say that some folks even asked for extras for people in need. Our simple gift of love will be spread to many and God will be glorified greatly. Praise Him! We gave out between 1000 and 1100 items and have more left to share. Isn’t the Lord amazing? We originally said we thought we needed 1200, but 1400 would make us feel comfortable. We actually counted each bag in anticipation of Sunday’s distribution. Do you know how many we had? No joke….1400 exactly. We will be sharing some with the Co-op and other smaller churches in the next few weeks. If you know of a need, please let me know.

So….growing up in a Jewish home meant lots of guilt and lots of worry. We worried that we were not worried enough about any matter. My mother has multiple gold medals for Olympic Marathon worrying. But…here is the reason not to worry. God is great at Math. So, you are asking yourself if I have lost it, but wait for the explanation. Sure I know math. Math is precise and easy to figure out. Until you encounter God that is. Last week we had about a dozen prayer shawls in the office cabinet and a few more upstairs. On Sunday we did not put them out at communion. Yet, we had requests for 5 of them and we were able to share. This week the need was the highest we have had in a long time. Since Sept 27 we gave out 21 shawls, 17 of them in the first week of October. The loops of the yarn were barely tucked in before we gave them away, but when I counted the numbers in the closets on Wednesday eve, we had 27 left. Now, you do the math and let me know if this reminds you of some fish and bread story we have been taught. Why worry about where the supply will come from? God provides in abundance. It is a good thing He never went to school in Gwinnett county as he does not follow the rules of the Math AKS standards. His math is miraculous. Praise God!!! Moral of the story….don’t waste time worrying about things. Just trust God, lift it up in prayer, and let Him take it from you to do His will.

One more thing and I am through, kind of, like Davis sometimes…

It is nearing Christmas. I am feeling pretty sure that I don’t need any more stuff in my life. Stuff is so unimportant to me. This Christmas I am asking everyone I know who shares small gifts to purchase one or two skeins of yarn for the ministry. I know of at least 5 small exchanges I am usually involved in and who needs any more white elephants or dollar store exchange items? Please consider doing the same. Think of the difference we can make in people’s lives if each person in the congregation donated one skein of yarn. You know, our storage is limited, but our God is not and He will find space for storage if the harvest brings in a huge crop. He has that math thing down. Multiplication is His specialty. I am not even going to worry about the storage, but am asking God to tell all to cast their nets on one side of the boat and let the nets be so full of yarn that it takes the whole ministry to lift the nets into the boat. He’s done it with fish, He’s done it with people, and now let’s watch Him do it with yarn.

I love each of you dearly. Your contributions make a difference in the kingdom and your smiles keep the days bright. Your love is a light that shines in the darkness. I thank God each day for each one of you.

Love in Christ,

Dana

Prayer Shawl Ministry Update

2010-09-30T10:38:00.001-04:00

Hello all you beautiful ladies! Hope you are enjoying the rain we have had this week. After all the rain we had a year ago, and the drought before that and after that, I am astounded that everything green has not vanished yet.

Today we gathered in our usual room to start the process of putting together the prayer cloth tags. We did a ton of work, but there is more to go. If you are available and interested in helping, join us in our usual gathering place to tag more items. We will be there around 1:00 pm on Thursday, September 30, more or less.

If you have baskets, please bring them by. Put your name on them with painter’s tape or a tag of some kind. It is best to have baskets with handles, but we will take any larger sized basket. Needs to hold a large load, maybe 75 to 100 squares would be ideal.

On Sunday, we have 4 services to cover. So far I have Linda, Beverly and DeShawn down for the 9:30 service. I have Beverly and Nancy down for the 11 service. I will be at the 8:00 am and at the 11 youth service. Anyone else want to join the fun? if you sent an email that I did not receive, call me. I would love to have 1-2 more for 8am, one more for 11am and one more for youth at 11. It is my prayer that we have record attendance this week and use almost all our squares. It really would be awesome to spread the word about the Word in that way, don’t you agree?

I was absolutely delighted last night with the numbers of gorgeous shawls submitted. You all have been working so diligently and God is rewarding the dedication to this ministry. We have seen lives touched, people changed, hearts opened and warmed. We are so blessed to be God’s hands and feet, and I do hope you know how much I love each and every one of you.

I will be putting a notice in the epistle for next week that will ask for donations of yarn. I have gone through our cabinet and reorganized the bins. Although it looks like a lot of yarn, we go through it very quickly. Some of the yarn has been there for over a year due to color or texture. We need to get our Zena thinking caps on and create new color combinations! If you have yarn you are not using at home, or if you know of someone who does, or if you are a member of a Sunday School class and can ask for donations, please let the Holy Spirit give you the courage and the words to ask. This is not for us personally, but it is for God’s people. Many folks have yarn at home they will never use, or have been a recipient of a shawl and would be willing to donate a Jo-Ann’s, Hobby Lobby, Michael’s or Wal-Mart gift card or a direct donation to the Prayer Shawl Ministry.

As Christmas comes closer, keep in mind that instead of swapping $5 white elephant gifts at numerous parties, you can suggest each person buys 2 skeins of yarn to donate to a good cause. Use your discretion along with a large dose of prayer to get creative. I know that there are a million good causes to help with, but you will forgive me please if I am partial to this one. It is dear to my heart. Can you imagine if everyone brought in one skein of yarn per person on one Sunday at church? What a difference that could make for the entire year in our ministry! (just sayin’….)

Have a blessed day and if we don’t finish tagging and counting today, I will see if anyone wants to party together tomorrow. We are such wild chicks with sticks!!!

Love to all in the name of Christ,

Dana

Announcing the 2010 Bernat Knit & Crochet for Breast Cancer collection

2010-09-26T10:43:00.000-04:00

Some patterns for Breast Cancer awareness month. The chemo cap patterns were sent with the previous email. Let me know if you need any others. If you want to get a pattern from the pictures just point your cursor to the picture and click. It takes you directly to a downloadable version of the information Or…if all else fails…call me!! Think pink!

Dana

Member's Newsletter | September 2010

Bernat is Proud to Present the
Knit & Crochet for Breast Cancer Collection for 2010

We are extremely proud to present the 2010 Knit & Crochet for Breast Cancer collection, available at participating retailers while quantities last. AC Moore, JoAnns, Michaels, Walmart Canada and Zellers are just a few of the participating retailers that have joined us in our efforts to raise awareness and funds to fight this terrible disease.

Bernat is contributing $30,000 to Susan G. Komen for the Cure® through the purchase of the yarn in the Knit & Crochet for Breast Cancer collection from August 15, 2010 through November 15, 2010. For more information about Susan G. Komen for the Cure, breast health or breast cancer, visit www.komen.org or call 1-877 GO KOMEN. A portion of the Bernat® contribution will be directed to the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation.

The Knit & Crochet for Breast Cancer collection includes four limited edition pink yarns, all easy-care and wonderfully soft to the touch, along with coordinating project ideas that make thoughtful, comforting gifts or whimsical statements.

To give you a good start on your next knit or crochet project, check out our coupon in the Halloween issue of Woman's Day magazine - on newsstands now. Present the coupon at your favorite retailer for $1.00 off any pink Bernat yarn.

New Free Patterns in the Limited-Time-Only shades
of the Knit & Crochet for Breast Cancer collection

Greetings from Bernat®

When my Mum was diagnosed with breast cancer, our family felt helpless. The woman who brought us chicken soup when we were under the weather now had to deal with a serious disease and there was little we could do to help. Prior to Mum's mastectomy, I did some research and discovered that women recovering from the operation often benefited from having a small pillow placed under their arm to ease any pressure on their recovering side. My Mum taught me to knit and crochet and sew, so I put some of those skills to use making her a little pillow. I was thrilled to find something I could do, however small to comfort her. 5 years later, I'm proud to announce Mum is fully recovered and cancer free!

I designed this Comfort Pillow covered in hearts to allow all of you to show a little love and support for those recuperating from breast cancer surgery. Knit the pillow with Bernat Satin's "Flamingo" and you can contribute even more knowing a portion of your purchase will go toward breast cancer research.

Happy to have a healthy Mum;
Julia
Bernat Designer

The 2010 Bernat Mystery Afghan Crochet-Along begins!

It begins! It's time for our very first Mystery Afghan Crochet-Along.

You're officially invited to join the fans, employees and bloggers as we crochet our way, clue by clue, to a fantastic new afghan out of Bernat Softee Chunky.

You can download Clue #1 now on the Bernat Blog. Keep us posted on your progress through the comments, and come back each Wednesday for a new Clue. The final clue will be released December 7th.

How it works

The Bernat Crochet-Along is a sampler afghan crocheted in five colors of Bernat Softee Chunky. What the final afghan will look like is a mystery - you'll have to crochet each clue as it comes out and gradually discover the final result.

Who should join

Anyone who loves crochet or wants to learn is welcome. The first clues are at an Easy level, and the clues gradually get harder. Don't worry - we've got tutorials along the way to keep you learning. If you're an experienced crocheter, you'll love watching the clues unfold.

Have questions?

We've got answers! Check out our official detail page with answers to all of your questions.

Thank you,
The Bernat® Design Team

You are receiving this email because you have subscribed to the Bernat® newsletter with the following address: smith5006@bellsouth.net. Our apologies if you received this in error.

This message was sent from Bernat Design Team to smith5006@bellsouth.net. It was sent from: Bernat Design Team, 320 Livingstone Avenue South, Listowel, ON N4W 3H3. You can modify/update your subscription via the link below.

keeping up with the bouncing ball of yarn!

2010-09-25T15:03:00.000-04:00

Hello to all our friends from the Prayer Shawl Ministry! It is time for another update so here I go….

First…next Sunday Oct 3 is World Communion Sunday. Our group has been preparing for this for about 9 months now. We have over 1200 prayer cloths ready for distribution at all 3 services. I am asking (ok..I am begging) for help with this task. We will need to print tags to go on the squares, and using a darning needle and some yarn, tie them to the items. As you can well imagine, this is a rather large task to accomplish in one week, but I have faith that we can do it! I am planning on printing the tags Monday. If you can help at all, please let me know. I will be asking folks who show up on Wednesday to please help instead of crocheting or knitting that one night. I will also need volunteers to help distribute these items at each service. I need 2 people for each service plus representatives at the youth and children’s services. So far one person has come forth to help and that isn’t enough to meet our needs. Please prayerfully consider helping out even for just a small time. The communion shifts will only be the 15 minutes it takes to serve communion.

Second…the fall festival is just around the corner. Unfortunately for the calendar, so is the Breast Cancer 3-Day walk that Barb and I will be participating in. I am hoping for volunteers to transport shawls and other items from the church, to the campground and man the cabin while the festival is going on. Last year some folks made treats to share and they were delicious. If you can help with any part of that festival, please let me know by end of the week. If we do not have sufficient folks available, I will need to let Cindy Walters know that we won’t be coming. I don’t want to wait much longer in case she has someone else in mind for the space

Third…if you are on the email list and have not come to a meeting for a while, why don’t you come on in and see all the new patterns we have. You are welcome to select yarn from our closet and do your project from the comfort of your home. We have many folks out there who are not able to come to church but still donate completed items. You can be one as well! Just let me know and I will get you hooked up. One other note..as this ministry relies solely on donations to pay its “bills” for supplies, we occasionally find ourselves in a bind for yarn. If you have some at home that you want to share with us, please do. If you would like to make a donation of yarn or a gift card to Jo-Ann’s, Michaels, Hobby Lobby or even Walmart to get supplies, we would certainly appreciate that as well. I hate asking, but you never know when someone has a stash of yarn at home. We can start our fall cleaning and get rid of old stuff while helping out with a great cause.

There is a beautiful song which comes from the Shaker society which I believe has a lot of value for us in our present day. We spend so much time rushing around trying to get everything we need done, that we lose focus on the things we love and our priorities. Sometimes the “to do” list for ourselves trumps the “to do” list that God sets before us. Spend time each day really worshipping Him. Pray for those folks listed above as well as others on your own list. Pray for this ministry to be successful and reach those in need. In keeping with the spirit of being simple, I remind you that although we have a growing book of pattern instructions and many color of yarn, your project does not need to be extremely complicated or intricate. It can be one color or a block of several colors. It can be a straight double crochet, or knit stockinet stitch. It can be long, wide, triangular, or round. The point here is that it is less about the prayer shawl itself and more about the faith that comes with the shawl, the prayers spoken over it, and the continuing prayers for the recipients. Pick up a skein this week and before you even find the dreaded hiding end piece, pray that God is preparing the heart of the recipient, that He sees who this item is being made for and why. Pray for the hands which prepare these creations and the continued donations needed to keep our ministry running. Then, chain some stitches, or cast on some stitches. It is your choice and your creativity that makes each item special. Enjoy reading the words and may your week be blessed, your days be invigorating, and your nights give you much needed comfy rest.

With love in Christ,

Dana

'Tis the gift to be simple,
'tis the gift to be free,
'tis the gift to come down where you ought to be,
And when we find ourselves in the place just right,
It will be in the valley of love and delight.

Refrain:

When true simplicity is gained,
To bow and to bend we shan't be ashamed.
To turn, turn will be our delight,
'Til by turning, turning we come round right

'Tis the gift to be loved and that love to return,
'Tis the gift to be taught and a richer gift to learn,
And when we expect of others what we try to live each day,
Then we'll all live together and we'll all learn to say,

Refrain:

'Tis the gift to have friends and a true friend to be,
'Tis the gift to think of others not to only think of "me",
And when we hear what others really think and really feel,
Then we'll all live together with a love that is real.

Refrain:

The Weekly Yarn

2010-09-16T08:56:00.001-04:00

Good day to all you lovely ladies! I am getting this out to you now as I will be heading up to Nashville with a church group to work on a Habitat for Humanity house. I have never done one before and it sounds exciting. As a side benefit, I get to see my daughter in Vanderbilt on Saturday. God is certainly good!!!

Hugs take very little time and last such a long time!

Dorothy again amazed us with her new creation. She was concerned about the colors being too bold, but the shawl never made it to the closet as it was grabbed up almost instantly for someone. Great job Dorothy!

Nancy continued to bring us love in the form of prayer cloths. I love the combo of colors. It is a true rainbow of delight.

Robin totally amazed me as she took a huge bag of yarn which seemed unusable (too thin, not much of any single color), combined skeins and made this fantastic shawl of many colors. It was gorgeous. That one left at the same time as Dorothy’s so it is gone. Robin…did you take any pictures of it?

That was such a great surprise and just shows us what God can do with the “unusable” when we listen to His calling.

Zena was back from her adventures, bringing in several wonderful shawls. Welcome back Zena – we missed your smile and laughter.

Kathy stopped by to donate yarn, which was almost instantly grabbed up.

Here is another God story. I was gathering yarn for Zena and could not find any of a certain color that she needed. I just got finished saying that she would need to change her ideas for this shawl when in walks Kathy with that exact yarn and color. God’s planning is amazing. His timing is perfect.

Beverly cleaned out her closet and donated many usable skeins of yarn. We will be kept busy for a few weeks with that donation. Bless you for that.

Of course, I could not resist loading her up with a few from our closet that I know she will make into masterpieces!

Deshawn was back for a while as well. Nice new yarn you have there Deshawn.

Folks drifted in and out and it was good catching up.

Martha received and sent in more gorgeous shawls from Carolyn in SC. Carolyn also sent in knitting needles of assorted sizes.

If anyone wants to learn a new skill, let me know as I love knitting. We can’t thank our home members enough for keeping us stocked with shawls and with love. You are part of our hearts each week when we pray together!

Sunday Oct 3 is World Communion Sunday. We will be at each service as well as at the youth service handing out prayer cloths to people. I will need two volunteers for each service as well as one or two at youth/children's services. I hope you will pray about this as we have an opportunity to reach many people that day with a blessing from God through us to them. I would love to make eye contact as well as heart contact with each recipient that day so we can truly share God’s love for His people. Please let me know if you are interested and available to help out. It will just require standing during communion with a basket of cloths.

Also, the fall festival is coming up again. I will not be able to be there as I will be participating in the Komen Breast Cancer 3-Day walk. Barbara will be with me as well. Does anyone feel called to be at the festival with our shawls and other items? You would need to transport them from the church and back again as well as man the booth area during the festival. I need to know by next week as if there are no volunteers by then I will be releasing the cabin spot to another group. We really would love to be represented, so pray about this please.

Personally I am asking for donations of yarn for my Christmas gifts this year. Wouldn’t that be fun to see what we get and how colorful our closet will be?

Got to run for now even though there is much more to share. I promise to get patterns to you when I return from Nashville.

Until then, keep blessing us with your handiwork and keep remembering to sprinkle a little extra love into your yarn.

With love in Christ,

Dana

the weekly yarn

2010-09-15T14:56:00.000-04:00

We had a great meeting last night. We have continued to be a smaller group and missed those of you who could not make it. Please feel free to come on any week you can, even if it is only for a short while. Hugs take very little time and last such a long time! Dorothy again amazed us with her new creation. She was concerned about the colors being too bold, but the shawl never made it to the closet as it was grabbed up almost instantly for someone. Great job Dorothy! Nancy continued to bring us love in the form of prayer cloths. I love the combo of colors. It is a true rainbow of delight. Robin totally amazed me as she took a huge bag of yarn which seemed unusable (too thin, not much of any single color), combined skeins and made this fantastic shawl of many colors. It was gorgeous. That one left at the same time as Dorothy’s so it is gone.

Robin…did you take any pictures of it?

(Why yes I did take a picture of it!!!)

That was such a great surprise and just shows us what God can do with the “unusable” when we listen to His calling.

Zena was back from her adventures, bringing in several wonderful shawls. Welcome back Zena – we missed your smile and laughter.

Kathy stopped by to donate yarn, which was almost instantly grabbed up.

Beverly cleaned out her closet and donated many usable skeins of yarn. We will be kept busy for a few weeks with that donation. Bless you for that.

Of course, I could not resist loading her up with a few from our closet that I know she will make into masterpieces! Deshawn was back for a while as well. Nice new yarn you have there Deshawn. Folks drifted in and out and it was good catching up. Martha received and sent in more gorgeous shawls from Carolyn in SC. Carolyn also sent in knitting needles of assorted sizes. If anyone want to learn a new skill, let me know as I love knitting. We can’t thank our home members enough for keeping us stocked with shawls and with love. You are part of our hearts each week when we pray together!

Sunday Oct 3 is World Communion Sunday. We will be at each service as well as at the youth service handing out prayer cloths to people. I will need two volunteers for each service as well as one or two at youth/childrens services. I hope you will pray about this as we have an opportunity to reach many people that day with a blessing from God through us to them. I would love to make eye contact as well as heart contact with each recipient that day so we can truly share God’s love for His people. Please let me know if you are interested and available to help out. It will just require standing during communion with a basket of cloths.

Just a reminder that Joann’s fabrics will take all competitor coupons for yarn. If the coupons have different numbers, you can use multiple ones at the same time. This will give you a hefty discount. Feel free to go shopping! Personally I am asking for donations of yarn for my Christmas gifts this year. Wouldn’t that be fun to see what we get and how colorful our closet will be?

Got to run for now even though there is much more to share. I promise to get patterns to you when I return from Nashville. Until then, keep blessing us with your handiwork and keep remembering to sprinkle a little extra love into your yarn.

With love in Christ,

Dana

the weekly yarn

2010-09-12T14:52:00.000-04:00

Good day members and friends of the Prayer Shawl Ministry (otherwise known as the Chicks With Sticks). I wanted to catch you up on news from the meeting and beyond….

First, Dorothy brought in her first prayer blanket made in red and black. It was wonderful! Many people stopped by and it caught their eyes as well. Great job Dorothy! It reminded us of the need for blankets in both UGA and GT colors. Of course I am partial to GT colors since they are Vanderbilt’s colors as well! There are folks out there who love the Dawgs and Falcons, and just plain love the combo of red and black. These folks may not be church members and may not want a prayer blanket if it is not part of their world, but God’s love comes in all forms. Even those who do not yet know God and His amazing grace might take the first step by receiving that love in the form of a blanket or shawl. Jesus wants us to reach the whole world, so why not try meeting the world on some common grounds like football, or college teams, or any other way? Just a thought, although I still believe God knows which colors and items need to go with which person.

Which…..brings up the next story.

Our dear Beverly has a heart bigger than all of the oceans put together. She was on her way to deliver a blanket to a person at church on Wednesday. She tells the story best, but I want to brag on the event and on God, so here I go.

The person who she was to deliver it to was not at the church that night. She had a specific one for this member, and instead of dropping it off for later pick up, she carried it back to the meeting. When she was in the gathering area, she met a woman who was looking for a specific meeting in our church. They got to talking (what a surprise!!) and never did find the meeting but instead found out that this woman’s mom was just diagnosed with bladder cancer and it was not looking particularly good. So, as God would have it, Beverly asked her if she wanted the prayer blanket for her mom. They had lots of hugs and tears together, and the blanket went home with the one God had chosen for it. I tell you…isn’t God great! Thanks to Beverly for being such a willing vessel to deliver God’s love and to hear His voice speaking.

Do you have stories to share?

Why don’t we make a book about them? When you have a touching story of a prayer shawl delivery or construction, please write them down. The grammar does not need to be perfect and the spell check takes some of the fear out of writing, but what if we could compile these blessings for others to see, read, and share? What an awesome blessing it would become. Feel free to write them on your computer, and email a copy to me. I will keep them together and share with others, as well as starting a binder with these stories. I had no idea that was going to come out of me when I started this letter so I guess it must be God at work…as usual…again! We love you Lord!

Patterns and other news will follow in another edition, but that is all for now.

I am leaving you with a chuckle for all those who have school kids. It is too hot to relate here, but up in Minnesota I am sure they understand the humor!!!

Love to all,

Dana

today's update for the Prayer Shawl Ministry

2010-09-05T14:46:00.000-04:00

Now, we all know that God is good all the time, but some days that realization is somewhat overwhelming. Today was one of those days. Just when you think things are slowing down, God sends you the message to keep on creating more shawls!

As you know, today was communion Sunday. We placed many of our items on the altar rail to be blessed by the congregation as well as for those who are in need or know of someone in need to be the messenger of hope. We place trust in God for His provisions and He never fails us. In true form, we had a cart stacked high with items at 7:45am, and it returned to the closet with just a handful left on it.

How amazing that we were again able to supply the needs of a congregation and still have shawls and caps left over for the week! Keep knitting and crocheting as we are down to less than a dozen shawls.

I was astounded at the end of the 11 o’clock service. I came in to collect any unclaimed items and as I entered with my cart, folks were waiting to take the ones that had not been displayed during communion. We had one shawl left on the altar rail and only two caps. I was richly blessed by the stories I heard and by the number of people stopping to express their gratitude to our ministry. The Lord made me smile all day thinking of the love He has shared among His children.

Reminder also that this Tuesday morning at 8am in the upper room there will be a Coffee and Conversations with God. We pray for the needs of the church as requested by the staff, and then fellowship for a while together. It is a small group with big hearts. Please join us and pass this information to anyone you think might be interested in joining us.

I am also going to copy and forward some info I received through Beverly. I will save the thank you notes received to read on Wednesday but wanted to share the following now. Hope you all are having a very wonderful weekend, and be blessed in all you do. Don’t go to sleep tonight without telling someone you know how much you love them. It makes for much more restful sleep to do so.

From Beverly…..

This ministry began with a group of women who participated in the first Women’s Leadership Institute at Hartford Seminary. One of the members began knitting “healing shawls” for women who were undergoing treatment for breast cancer and other illnesses. Other member soon began to knit shawls for new mothers. More recently, women have knitted shawls for men who are ill-and have received very heartfelt thanks for this gift of healing. These wonder gifts of love can be found all over the country now.

Simple directions for crocheting a shawl from Knitting into the Mystery by Susan S. Jorgensen and Susan S. Izard. This book has many ideas and prayers for this ministry.

Yarn: Use 4 skeins of Lion Brand Homespun.

The texture and feel of this yarn makes the shawl soft and warm. Since it is 90% acrylic it is washable. The yarn may be found at Michaels, JoAnn Fabrics and other craft stores.

Before you begin your last skein, set aside yarn to make a fringe for both ends of the shawl.

Hooks: Use size M or one which provides a loose fabric and a quick product.

Pattern: Chain 1, turn, single crochet in each of the stitches to the end. Chain 3 and turn. Double crochet in top of each single crochet. Repeat this row two more times. Chain 1 and make 1 row of single crochet to end. Chain 3 and turn. Do 3 rows of double crochet.

This pattern was developed by Rita Glod

To begin the shawl, chain 54 stitches loosely or chain stitches for the desired width of the shawl. Begin the first row of the pattern. Repeat the pattern (1 row single, 3 rows double) to the end. Finish with one row of single crochet. Weave in loose threads from joining skeins.

Fringe: The length of fringe is an individual decision. You can fringe every stitch or skip several stitches. You can tie beads on the fringe, knot it, or be creative in any way.

Decide the length of the fringe. It is doubled, so cut the fringe twice the desired length. Loosely wrap the yarn for the fringe around a piece of stiff cardboard as many times as you want pieces of fringe. Cut the yarn along one edge of the cardboard.

Double the fringe piece and, using a small crochet hook, pull the loop through the stitch; insert the ends of the fringe through the loop and pull tight. Knot the ends of any yarn that frays easily.

Alternate fringe: With the uncut reserved yarn, crochet loops of yarn on to the end rows of the shawl using a single crochet stitch to catch to strands of the loops to make them stable. No cut ends, no fraying.

This pattern makes a shawl good for wrapping around shoulders or around knees. Make afghan sized shawls starting with more stitches. You will need more skeins of Homespun yarn.

For those who want to minister with this craft here’s a prayer for beginning your work:

Creator God, I ask a blessing from all who have come before me, whose hands have been instruments of creation and beauty; who have picked up humble tools and homespun wool in order to provide cover and warmth for themselves and those they loved; who have felt, as I will feel, the yarn in their fingers; who have seen, as I will see, the growth of the fabric; who have heard, as I will hear, the yarn sliding over the hook.

Bless this yarn and these hooks. May this shawl be a sign of your healing presence: May it warm those who are weary, surround those who suffer and encircle those who are in pain. May your gentle touch reach out to heal in the light of Christ. Amen.

(Prayer adapted from "Beginning to Knit Meditation" by Janet Bristow)

Blessings to all.

Dana

The sort of weekly yarn...

2010-09-04T14:43:00.000-04:00

Sorry about the delay in making contact this week. Technical difficulties with my operating system as well as my email have kept me behind. I sometimes wonder if this technology thing is all it is cracked up to be! What happened to the good old days of talking face to face, or at least by phone? I wish I could make it a weekly habit to call all of you and one week I am going to do just that, but for now, please accept this update.

Sunday will be communion at all 3 services and we will again be displaying our prayer shawls for all to bless and to take as needed. I hope you will encourage someone to come forward and accept God’s blessing if the need arises. If you do know of situations which would benefit from personal delivery, please let me know and I will have Beverly or Helon make contact with those folks. We are here to serve beyond our friends, and beyond our congregation to the mission field of God’s people. Never be shy about doing work for the Lord!

I have been sorting through several patterns to send out to you. I am only sending one of each type, both with a similar theme. It seems that often we are left with small bits of colors. We make them into prayer cloths, but it occurred to me this week that those seemingly useless amounts can add up to something bigger than itself. God finds a way to take lots of people who have a common thread and knit us together for His purposes. He takes some that are white, black, red, yellow, (fuschia, orange, teal, turquoise, and purple too) and weaves them together in an intricate yet simple way to create a bond that is strong for Him, one that reflects His image. These patchwork patterns are all about that theme. If you have a collection of short skeins, start making some uniform sized squares to put together. As in the Amish barn raising tradition, we work together and before you know it… a new creation has risen! Be part of that creation. This will also take the pressure off those folks who do not want to make a whole shawl at a time, but want to collect and contribute pieces slowly. Speed is not the goal here, but love for others is.

We love our home bound and correspondence course members and thank you for bringing in or sending in your completed works. What a pleasure to see them roll in. They inspire us greatly. Keep up the great work!

I would like for you to focus prayers this week on a specific thing. If you can all pray that God softens the way for the Prayer Shawl Ministry to receive donations of yarn from stores which discard them, I would appreciate that. I recently contacted Joann’s corporate office and the Wal-Mart on Collins Hill to ask for some donations of soft yarns being phased out due to shelf space or color. Joann’s in Duluth has about 20 skeins of Homespun in yellow shades that I am asking to have donated. I don’t know if this will happen, but your prayers are my best support in this. I had to purchase crochet hooks as we have run short on these for new members. If any of you have extra hooks or knitting needles that you no longer need and want to bring them in, please feel free to do so.

We look forward to sharing and caring again this week. I hope young Jeremy will be back with his enthusiastic smile and his willing hands. Thank God for youngsters who are not intimidated by us veterans!

One last thing…On World Communion Sunday, I will probably need 4 volunteers per service to help with the distribution of the prayer cloths. The early service is different than the other 2 but we will still need the volunteers. Can you be in prayer and let me know if you can spare an hour that day? More details will come in the next correspondence.

Until then, be blessed and not stressed. Let God handle the details and watch Him work His beautiful plan. I dearly love all of you and look forward to another week of laughter, fellowship, and sharing.

In Christ,

Dana

“The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.”
Eleanor Roosevelt

and more and more and more…

2010-09-01T15:34:00.000-04:00

The Weekly Yarn - August 25th

2010-08-25T14:41:00.000-04:00

Good day to all our Chicks With Sticks. The Prayer Shawl Ministry has begun a new season in this new school year.

Meeting Notes: For those of you who were not there on Wednesday eve, we really missed you! We had our first open house event this week and God has brought us new hands and new hearts. Welcome to our newest members! Nancy was back for week 2 bringing us several gorgeous prayer cloths; Patty and Dorothy are first time visitors who blessed us with their enthusiasm and willingness to help out. God knows who to call and when to call them. Praise Him!!

We had many of our available shawls on display that evening and when you looked around at all the colors, shapes, and sizes, it reminded me of God’s people. Some were small, some were very long, some were bright and bold while others were subtle. Some were very delicate and some were bulky and sturdy. We are all different, and our reasons for being part of this ministry are different, yet underneath it all, we are all made of God’s fabric and knit (or crocheted) together using His pattern to make us perfect in His eyes. We are truly blessed to be the hands and feet of our Savior, serving Him in this amazing ministry of hope. It does not matter if we are there every week, or are working as a stay at home contributor, or even an out of state contributor. What matters is that our hearts are in line with God’s will to serve others.

We were again blessed by the arrival of several beautiful prayer shawls, chemo caps, and prayer cloths. Each week the abundance comes in. Each week we send out shawls, and get back even more. I like God’s math program very much. He is into multiplication big time. We are prepared for our next Communion Sunday on September 5^th. We will again place shawls, blankets, etc. out on the altar rails for 930 and 11 services, and in the first pew row for the 8am service. If you are interested in helping arrange these items prior to each service, please let me know. It will require very little of your time and makes a big difference for the congregation.

Prayer Cloths: Congratulations to all the Chicks With Sticks for your persistence! Prayer Cloths keep coming in at a steady pace. We are well on our way to having sufficient prayer cloths for October 4^th (World Communion Sunday). Won’t it be awesome to see every person who enters this building on that day get offered a prayer cloth to keep, knowing that we have prayed over each and every one of them!

Announcement for all: After many years of dedicated leadership, Beverly Smith will be stepping down as the leader of the Prayer Shawl Ministry. Beverly has been our contact person, deliverer, producer, coordinator, and general cheer leader for our group. Thanks so much Beverly for doing a fabulous job expanding this ministry into the blessing it is for our church.

Beverly and Helon will be our shawl delivery team and are happy to have you join them. Delivering a prayer shawl is the biggest gift you can give yourself. You get the blessing of praying with those who need extra prayers, as well as providing a smile for them in times of illness, stress, or any other life shaking situation. If you feel God leading you to become part of the delivery team, please let me, Beverly or Helon know. You get more out of it than will be required to put into it.

After hearing God’s call, I have decided to step up and take Beverly’s position of leadership. I hope I can be as effective as she has been. I am looking into new ways to grow our ministry, and am always open for suggestions. I covet your prayers in this time of transition as I learn the ropes and get adjusted to new tasks. No one is perfect, and I certainly am not, so if something comes up that needs attention, do not hesitate to let me know. I will try my very best to get to all the suggestions, ideas, and tasks for this ministry in a timely fashion.

I hope you all have a fabulous week. Keep knitting, crocheting, and praying, for it is in that quiet time that we will all hear from God.

Love and blessings,

Dana

“A woman is like a tea bag…you never know her strength until she is in hot water” Eleanor Roosevelt

Completed Project for 8-18-10

2010-08-18T15:37:00.000-04:00

The Weekly Yarn - August 18th

2010-08-18T14:37:00.000-04:00

Meeting Notes: The entire evening was a blessing from God!

· God blessed us with an abundance of new Prayer Shawls and Prayer Cloths to pray over.

· God blessed us with 110 Prayer Cloths this week, so we’re now up to 1197. Keep up the great work. We need 303 more to reach our goal by October 3^rd, World Communion Sunday.

· God blessed us with a new member. We welcome Nancy to the Prayer Shawl Ministry.

· God blessed us with the return of members we hadn’t seen for awhile.

· God blessed us with the opportunity to pray for many individuals who received prayer shawls in the last week.

· God blessed us with the ability to take four more Prayer Shawls for delivery this week.

We serve an amazing, awesome, huge God! He blesses us with the Prayer Shawl Ministry by letting us be His hands and feet for this wonderful Ministry. Join us as soon as you can.

Special August 25^th Meeting: Please plan to be there! Watch for the announcement in the epistle this Friday. The next meeting will include a social “just for fun”. The announcement in the epistle will say something like this:

JOIN US

MEET THE CHICKS WITH STICKS THIS WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 25^TH

Light refreshments will be served!

5:30 to 7:30 pm / Rooms 308 & 309

Learn about the Prayer Shawl Ministry. See some of the prayer shawls, chemo caps, prayer cloths, and other items.

We’ll teach you to knit or crochet, tell you about upcoming projects, and share stories, laughter, and love!

Helon and Jane have agreed to make a light cookie dessert and a punch or tea. Anyone else who is interested in bringing a dozen cookies or a punch type of drink or lemonade or tea, please contact me. Paper plates, napkins, and paper cups are needed also. I don’t anticipate needing more than 50 of the paper goods at the maximum. This is supposed to be very casual – just a chance for potential new members to come in to see what we do, ask questions, meet us without feeling like they are walking in and making a commitment. I hope we get some takers – the worst that happens is we enjoy a few cookies and social time!

September 5^th – Communion Sunday: Please mark your calendar to help arrange the Prayer Shawls and Prayer Cloths at 7:45 for the 8:00 service, 9:15 for the 9:30 service, at 10:45 for the 11:00 service, and fold and put away the shawls at 12:15 on September 5^th. As you know, the Prayer Shawls and Prayer Cloths have been greatly appreciated on Communion Sundays and disappear quickly. Please let me know which service you will be available to assist with the items. Thanks.

The Knots Prayer:

Love and blessings,

Beverly

May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ - I Thessalonians 5:23

The Weekly Yarn - August 11th

2010-08-11T14:31:00.000-04:00

Meeting Notes: August 11^th found us organizing the wonderful Prayer Shawls, Chemo Caps, and Prayer Cloths that came in, as well as a large donation of yarn from Loretta Pena. God continues to provide for his flock! The Prayer Shawl Cabinet is full, as is the Prayer Shawl Closet full of additional Prayer Shawls, along with the Prayer Cloths that we are storing for October 4^th. Good stories and laughter were plentiful as we worked to get things in order.

Children’s Blankets: One decision was made to try to have on hand 5 or 6 Prayer Afghans for young children – not as gifts, but for the same situations that adults go through. Such a situation came up over the weekend, and through God’s Grace, we had a blanket that worked wonderfully, but that isn’t always the case. So we discussed it and decided we should work to make it purposeful in the future. We have 6 on hand right now so we’re in good shape, but keep that in mind as you look at patterns.

Prayer Cloths: Congratulations to all the Chicks With Sticks for you persistence! The Prayer Cloths were counted as of August 11^th and we have 1,087. Only 413 more to make by October 4^th for World Communion Sunday and six weeks to make them in! We need approximately 70 per week. When we stated our goal of 1500 by October 4^th at the beginning of the year it seemed impossible, but, thanks to your consistency and faithfulness, we will make it. You are awesome.

Love and blessings,

Beverly

"Worry does not empty tomorrow of its sorrow; it empties today of its strength." — Corrie ten Boom

The Weekly Yarn - August 4th

2010-08-04T14:29:00.000-04:00

God is good to us all the time. Thanks to all of you who are working so diligently from home over the summer. You are keeping the Prayer Shawl Ministry going with the beautiful Prayer Shawls, Prayer Cloths, and Chemo Caps you’ve made. The privilege of praying over all of these items has been a true blessing!

With school starting on the 9^th of August and the Wednesday evening meals starting on the 18^th, it feels like a new beginning is just around the corner for us. I hope to see a flood of members join us on August 18^th after the Wednesday evening meal when you can take your children to child care if that helps you. Those of us who have attended our meetings over the summer have missed you!

Tips from Lion Brand Yarn: I have found that when patterns call for working with more than one strand of yarn at a time that putting the skeins inside of plastic sandwich bags with one corner clipped for the yarn to be pulled through prevents the yarns from tangling and makes the project move along much more quickly. - Susan N.

Love and blessings,

Beverly

If you have done the best you can do and if you have gotten all you could extract from something -- you have given all you had to give, then the time has come when you can do no more than say thank you and move on. – Maya Angelou

August Update for the Chicks With Sticks - August 3rd

2010-08-03T14:15:00.000-04:00

Just A Note: Having been out of town since the middle of July, there is much to tell you so I decided not to wait until the meeting tomorrow. As you can see, a lot has happened recently! You are a marvelous group of women who keep things going on no matter how hot the summer gets. I hope to see many of you tomorrow evening.

Thanks From the Costa Rica Mission Team:

Dana & Lisa,

On behalf of the Costa Rica mission team, I want to thank both of you and the teams that make up the prayer shawl and blanket ministries. On our most recent trip to Costa Rica, we were fortunate to take along a number of shawls and blankets, though we were not certain how or when God would be calling for those. But call he did! Pastor Douglas and his wife, Yami, asked several of us to travel to homes of church members who were struggling with illness or problems. During those trips, the pastor poured anointing oil in our hands, and together, we prayed aloud our own prayers of healing while laying on hands. These were very spiritual times, and we clearly felt God with us. When we presented the prayer shawls and prayer blankets, however, the recipient and family members present became overwhelmed with gratitude. They were so touched that God used each of your team to provide comfort and healing to THEM, even though you didn't know them by name or circumstance at the time the blankets and shawls were being created. We let them know that our church would continue to pray for them by name.

Four shawls also went to the women who helped us with Bible School each day and who prepared a meal of thanks for us before we left. We believe these women will be continuing the ministry we began at the community center (Bible School).
We left the remaining blankets and shawls with Pastor Douglas and Yami to distribute as needed. Again, thank you and your teams for serving with hearts like Jesus!

Cindy

Special Request From Linda A.:

“Hey there girls, I know that you have a lot of contacts that have huge hearts for people in need, so I thought I would ask if you might be willing to pass along this information. I have a young mother, Ashley who is need of new born baby boy items. I met her while she was staying at the V. L. and she is really is the sweetest thing ever. She and her hubby were able to get out of the Villa and are currently renting a place in Buford. Unfortunately, due to his job changing, they are not being able to make ends meet and are currently looking for another place to stay that is cheaper for them. She has a little boy Riley, who is almost 3, but all his baby things were taken from them a while ago. (that is another story). If anyone you know may have some things to pass along, I will be glad to pick those up from you at church if you would let me know. If you feel led, to buy them something or give a monetary donation, that would be great blessing to them, but don't feel obligated in any way. Let the Lord lead you in this! Thank you for your loving and giving hearts!!

Addendum from Linda: She is due the end of August, but I am just trying to help her get some things together so she feels more at peace about having him. She is in a very rough place right now, trying to find a new place to live, and raising her other little one, Riley. She has also had numerous health issues during this pregnancy, so I think that anything we can do to give her a little "lift" during this time, would be great!

Be blessed, Linda”

Giving – Sharing – Caring: While looking at yarn at Hobby Lobby, I picked up a brochure by Bernat called “bernatcares.com”. It includes a page on Prayer Shawls with this paragraph that fits our group so well.

“A prayer shawl is a thoughtful gift to share with someone who is grieving or immersed in difficult times. They can embrace with comfort & healing, uplift with your wishes and prayers, and bring warmth to the lost and ailing. There are many occasions to share a prayer shawl both in times of loss and celebration. No matter how simple or complex your prayer shawl, the message is the same - your kindness has been felt.”

The brochure has several tips in it also.

1. While making your prayer shawl, be sure to have positive thoughts, a prayer, or blessing repeated with each stitch. Your wish will be passed on to the recipient.

2. Use new yarn. Be sure to use yarn that can be machine washed and dried – your treasures will be cherished for years to come and become keepsakes for a grateful family.

3. Use bright shades to brighten up the receiver’s day.

4. Send only clean items void of animal hair and food spills.

5. Think upbeat thoughts and pass your positive wishes along with each stitch to someone who needs them. It will be good for you too.

Go to bernatcares.com to download patterns to knit or crochet for individuals in situations who need uplifting through God’s love and comfort in one of these items.

Our Prayer Shawl Ministry is registered online under my e-mail address, if you would like to have access to this feature please contact me and I will pass along the information for you to get registered.

Love and blessings,

Beverly

“I dwell in possibility” – Emily Dickinson

The Weekly Yarn - July 14th

2010-07-14T14:13:00.000-04:00

Meeting Notes: The meeting last night was a time of prayer, laughter, story-telling, and pattern sharing. We prayed over prayer shawls, a chemo cap, and prayer cloths. We prayed because Zena can crochet again, since she found out she’s not allergic to yarn! We prayed for the individuals who have received Prayer Shawls recently. It was a small, but wonderful group.

Ellen counted the wool helmet liners and found we already have 8 completed liners and 4 completed wool scarves for the Care Packages for the Armed Forces in November. She is half way through with another helmet liner. Last year our goal was 12 helmet liners and scarves, so that sounds like a good goal for this year also. Any of you who want to get started early, that would be great. The knitted helmet liner pattern is attached. Please note the wool yarn color requirements on the pattern.

Prayer Cloths: Our next need is for Prayer Cloths for October 3^rd which is World Communion Sunday. We still need approximately 500 Prayer Cloths to meet our goal. Please work on those in your spare time. The objective is to have the Prayer Cloths available at each entrance for individuals to take if they wish on that day in observance of World Communion Sunday. The patterns are attached for Prayer Cloths also.

Meeting Schedule:

July 21^st – no meeting, Camp Meeting Week

July 28^th – regular meeting time and place

August – regular meetings throughout the month

August 18^th – Wednesday evening dinners begin

Special Announcement: “If you do not feel like cooking tonight (July 15^th) take your family out to dinner to Chick-fil-a on Pike St (next to Gwinnett Medical Center) from 5:00 PM to 7:00 PM. The Liberia Mission Team is having a fundraiser. So you will have a dinner and you would help out a great cause. Hope to see you there!” From Aneta

Just A Note: Some days are good days and some days aren’t so good – and there may be no particular reason for the difference between the two days. We live in the real world where it’s hard to pick these feelings apart and analyze them. We really need a community that can tell when we need a hug or a pick-me-up or support of some type.

God has established the Prayer Shawl Ministry to be the support or the “pick-me-up” for individuals in situations needing help, needing peace and comfort during times of grief or illness or stress or other difficult times. All He needs from us is to be his hands and feet. He does the hard work – supplying the yarn and other needs, as well as the individuals to deliver completed items to. He always comes through when we need Him.

The blessings would seem to go to the recipients of the items delivered; however, the person delivering the item is equally blessed! Join us on Wednesday evenings to enjoy your share of blessings.

“It’s faith in something and enthusiasm for something that makes life worth living.” – Oliver Wendell Holmes

Love and blessings,

Beverly

"I will lie down and sleep in peace, for You alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety." - Psalm 4:8

PS: I will be on vacation from July 17^th until August 2^nd. I will still receive e-mails and still have my cell phone with me (770-862-5430). Dana will be in town the first week I’m gone and Barbara will be here both weeks. Please feel free to call or e-mail either one of them. See you in August!

Children in Church

2010-07-10T14:09:00.000-04:00

A little boy was attending his first wedding.
After the service, his cousin asked him,
"How many women can a man marry?"
"Sixteen," the boy responded. His cousin was amazed
that he had an answer so quickly.
"How do you know that?"
"Easy," the little boy said.
"All you have to do is add it up, like the pastor said,
4 better, 4 worse, 4 richer, 4 poorer."

After a church service on Sunday morning,
a young boy suddenly announced to his mother,
"Mom, I've decided to become a minister when I grow up."
"That's okay with us, but what made you decide that?"
"Well," said the little boy,
"I have to go to church on Sunday anyway,
And I figure it will be more fun to stand up and yell,
than to sit and listen."

A 6-year-old was overheard reciting the Lord's Prayer
at a church service,
"And forgive us our trash passes, as we forgive those
who passed trash against us."

A boy was watching his father, a pastor, write a sermon.
"Ho w do you know what to say?" he asked.
"Why, God tells me."
"Oh, then why do you keep crossing things out?"

A little girl became restless as the preacher's sermon
dragged on and on.
Finally, she leaned over to her mother and whispered,
"Mommy, if we give him the money now, will he let us go?"

Ms. Terri asked her Sunday School class
to draw pictures of their favorite Bible stories.
She was puzzled by Kyle's picture,
which showed four people on an airplane,
so she asked him which story it was meant to represent.
"The Flight to Egypt ," was his reply.
Pointing at each figure, Ms. Terri said,
"That must be Mary, Joseph, and Baby Jesus.
But who's the fourth person?"
"Oh, that's Pontius - the pilot!"
The Sunday School Teacher asks,
"Now, Johnny, tell me frankly,
do you say prayers before eating?"
"No sir," little Johnny replies, I don't have to.
My mom is a good cook."

This is the best one.
A little girl was sitting on her grandfather's lap
as he read her a bedtime story.
From time to time, she would take her eyes off the book
and reach up to touch his wrinkled cheek.
She was alternately stroking her own cheek, then his again.
Finally she spoke up, "Grandpa, did God make you?"
"Yes, sweetheart," he answered, "God made me a long time ago."
"Oh," she paused, "Grandpa, did God make me too?"
"Yes, indeed, honey," he said,
"God made you just a little while ago."
Feeling their respective faces again, she observed,
"God's getting better at it, isn't he?"

Work Hard, Do Your Best, Keep Your Word,
Never Get Too Big For Your Britches,
Trust In God and Never Forget a Friend.

The Weekly Yarn - July 7th

2010-07-07T14:06:00.000-04:00

Meeting Notes: The meeting time was a busy one spent organizing the Prayer Shawls that had been prayed over previously by filling the Prayer Shawl Cabinet, sorting out the ones going to Costa Rica, and setting aside the ones that don’t fit in the cabinet right now for future use. Praise be to God.

We had many shawls, afghans, and prayer cloths to pray over again. Thank you for working so hard from home this summer. August 18^th is the date the church suppers begin, so we’re looking forward to a big group that evening.

Meeting Reminder: The 14^th will be the last meeting in Room 308 prior to Camp Meeting. There will not be a meeting on the 21^st. The next meeting in Room 308, after Camp Meeting, will be on the 28^th.

Love and blessings,

Beverly

“Suffering isn’t ennobling, recovery is.” – Christiaan Barnard

The Weekly Yarn - June 23rd

2010-06-23T14:03:00.000-04:00

Meeting Notes: It was so nice to welcome back new faces this week. Even after the large number of Prayer Shawls given out on June 20^th during Communion, the Prayer Shawls and Prayer Cloths came back in. Thank you, ladies for your hard work and dedication. The Prayer Shawl cabinet is comfortably full. The mission group going to Costa Rica has the number of Prayer Shawls they requested. The mission group going to Nashville to help the flood victims has the number of Prayer Shawls they requested. The Prayer Cloth number has grown to a little over 800. God provides again!

A Reminder: There will not be a meeting on June 30^th due to the upcoming 4^th of July weekend. This will give everyone an opportunity to take a little vacation. We’ll meet again on July 7^th!

Camp meeting begins the week of July 18^th; therefore, we will not have our regularly scheduled meeting on July 21^st. Communion will be held at camp meeting on Friday, July 23^rd.

The regular meetings in July will be the 7^th, 14^th, and 28^th. Please mark your calendars.

Just A Note: Davis mentioned a book by Ira Byock, M.D. called “The Four Things That Matter Most” in one of his sermons recently. Those four things are the ability to say:

· Please forgive me

· I forgive you

· Thank you

· I love you

As I read the book, Dr. Byock was talking about the importance of saying these things before the end of a life. However, it struck me how important it is that a person be able to say these things every day since we don’t know which day will be the beginning of our next life.

We often take for granted that others know how grateful we are for their kindness and thoughtfulness. Maybe we don’t really need to send a card or make a phone call. Or, maybe we do! However, think how we feel when someone sends us a special note or makes that phone call. It’s an act of kindness and thoughtfulness that we remember.

“No duty is more urgent than that of returning thanks.” – James Allen

Love and blessings,

Beverly

“Those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and will not be faint.” – Isaiah 40:31

The Weekly Yarn - June 16th

2010-06-16T14:02:00.000-04:00

Meeting Notes: Thanks be to God for the Prayer Shawls, Prayer Cloths, and Chemo Caps that came in last night! Once again we had an abundance to pray over. While attendance was light, the production goes on. Thank you for working from home. Conversation was happy and noisy as usual.

Please continue to keep Zena in your prayers. Her allergy to yarn continues to worsen. There is still hope for her to work with cotton yarn…but even that is slim. Her doctor is warning her to stay away from yarns right now. As you know Zena is one of our most talented, productive members.

Another support connection was made during our meeting, thanks to Zena. Robin M., a member of the new Beth Moore class being conducted a few classrooms away from ours, works for a Pregnancy Resource Center. They give a pair of booties, a baby hat, or a baby blanket to teen moms who discover they are pregnant and don’t know what to do next! Among other things, they conduct classes to teach them about motherhood. http://www.prcg.org/

Hilary introduced me to this non-profit group when she was pregnant. They got her started on the right foot. Hilary and I happened to walk in just as the administrator of this group lost her husband unexpectedly to a heart attack, so I drove back to the church to bring back a Prayer Shawl for her. We were able to help the group out with a few baby hats, booties, and baby blankets that had been donated to the Prayer Shawl Ministry. God is good all the time.

June 20^th: Communion Sunday is June 20^th. We have coverage to put out the shawls for the 8:00 and the 9:30 services; however, we still need help putting shawls out for the 11:00 service and putting away after the 11:00 service. Please let me know if you can help.

If you have been working at home this summer, we would appreciate your turning in anything you have completed on the 23^rd of June since the cabinet is often low after Communion Sunday. Thank you for your diligence and faithfulness.

June 30^th: There will not be a meeting on June 30^th due to the upcoming 4^th of July weekend. This will give everyone an opportunity to take a little vacation. We’ll meet again on July 7^th!

Prayer Cloths: October 3^rd is World Communion Sunday which is the Communion Sunday we plan to offer Prayer Cloths to worshippers who attend services that day. Our goal is to have 1500 available by that date. We’re a little less than half way there. The attached Prayer Cloth patterns take 10 to 20 minutes to make and just a little bit of yarn. There is a bin in our storage closet with small balls of knitting worsted in all colors. Please come by and pick out two or three colors to carry with you to make while you’re on the phone, riding in the car (not driving), or waiting at the doctor’s office. Thanks.

Helmet Liners: There was a question last year about the helmet liners and scarves being acceptable in the Care Packages. After much research, we have received an answer stating “as far as the helmet liners go, …you aren’t violating any rule”. We have a few helmet liners and scarves left from last year. As soon as we start back at full strength in August, we’ll count them and decide how many we need for Care Packages this year.

Things We Do: As the weekly updates are sent out, it’s often easy to overlook all of the things we are involved in as a group because they just come up a week or a month at a time. When our activities are reviewed in a larger perspective, we’re a busy group of “Chicks With Sticks”. Shown below are a few of our projects:

· Helmet Liners and Scarves for the Armed Forces Care Packages

· Chemo Caps for the Cancer Support Group

· Prayer Shawls for Communion Sundays

· Fall Festival Participation – a display of our projects, as well as other handmade items from our members

· Support of Grace Arbor once a year by taking projects in and explaining what we do

· Prayer Shawls to the Grief Support group at Christmas Time

· Prayer Cloths for the Upper Room

· Prayer Shawls for Mission to Chili and other special groups and projects

When you look at our activities over a year, the knitting needles are clicking and the crochet hooks are constantly going. It’s no wonder we have so much fun at our meetings! Don’t miss another moment.

Just A Note: From a Women’s Devotional Bible:

“I need to slow down. And I’m asking the Lord to help me do it. I want to move slowly enough to be aware of all the joys he has hidden for me. I want to slow down enough to grow as he wants me to grow. I want to be quiet enough to hear his voice. I need his wisdom to know how to spend my time and how to order my days.” – Kathryn Hillen

“But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.” – Romans 8: 25

Love and blessings,

Beverly

"Worry does not empty tomorrow of its sorrow; it empties today of its strength." — Corrie ten Boom

Weekly Yarn ~ June 9th

2010-06-09T13:58:00.000-04:00

Meeting Notes: You missed the Western theme in the room tonight. Because of VBX, our room was decorated with bandanas, all manner of “critters”, western hats, and even a holster on the door!

We miss you when you’re not at the meetings; however, we were busy praying over the Prayer Shawls, scarves, Chemo Caps, and Prayer Cloths. Some of the Prayer Cloths were taken to the Upper Room, since the bowl had been emptied. The Prayer Shawls were placed in the storage closet and are ready for Communion Sunday on June 20^th. The Chemo Caps and scarves were taken to the Church Office for distribution.

Zena, we’re praying for good news about your hands from the doctor tomorrow. Thank you for being there and picking out the colors for the unfinished project. Linda, the two shawls you brought in earlier this week are beautiful…keep up the good work. Loretta, we need all of the Prayer Cloths we can get as you know, and it looks like the Prayer Shawl is almost complete. Dana turned in a waterfall colored blanket weave shawl. Alida, the two shawls are wonderful. We appreciate your hard work. And thank you, Alida, for keeping up with the Prayer Cloths.

New Member: Please welcome Carla as a new member. She will be a member who works remotely because she’s attending the Financial Peace University at the present time and teaches classes on Wednesday evenings in the fall. However, she will happily contribute Prayer Shawls to the Ministry.

Off-site Prayer Shawl Chapter: Susan from a local Assisted Living Community is also joining the Prayer Shawl Ministry and is willing to start a group of crocheters and knitters at that location. Sheri, Dana, and I met with Susan on Tuesday, June 8^th, to talk about how we work. Susan said she’s an organizer and can get 10 women in her living room!

She is going to “talk to her facility about putting a notice in their next publication so that residents who would be interested in joining a crochet/knitting group for prayer shawls should contact her - Methodist, Presbyterian, Baptist or whatever. She knows a couple already that are interested and this will get the word out to more.”

God works in wonderful ways. Many of you may already know Susan, so please welcome her aboard.

Reply to Thank You Note for Yarn Donation: Last week, the Prayer Shawl Ministry received a large box of yarn from Mrs. V. A Thank You Note was sent to her, and this was her reply.

“You are very welcome for the yarn. My mom has done a lot of knitting and crocheting in the past, but is trying to downsize right now, so she is giving away a lot of things. She was so touched that your church gave my brother Mark a prayer shawl and I think she wanted to bless you all back. Recently a friend of mine from Michigan sent me a prayer shawl at a time when I really needed it. It has meant a great deal to me. God bless you and have a great summer! Love, Laurie”

The yarn is certainly a blessing to the Ministry and will make many Prayer Shawls or other items.

Unfinished Projects: Over the last week, Dana and I have organized the Prayer Shawl Ministry storage closet due to the new yarn donated the last few weeks. In the process, we discovered several projects that came in with donations that are partially completed. Linda happened to stop in for additional yarn and picked up a Granny Square to complete and a bag of Prayer Cloths that needed tidying up. Thank you, Linda. Zena picked up six matching Granny Squares to put together to make a new item by adding additional yarn.

If any of you are interested in looking at the projects to complete or “recreate”, the bin will be brought into the meeting room for you to peruse. It’s a good way to get a head start on an item! Some of the items can become Prayer Cloths just by tucking in loose ends or adding a trim row.

Helmet Liners: This article is in the latest issue of Woman’s Day magazine. If you wonder what the helmet liners that we made last year mean to military personnel, consider this article. We’ll start making them again soon!

Serving Her Country:

“I joined the military in 1989 out of sheer stubbornness,” says 44-year-old Charlisa H. of Louisiana. “My dad said women didn’t belong in the Army. I wanted to prove that he was wrong.”

Once enlisted in the Army Reserves, Charlisa trained twice as hard to prove she could protect fellow soldiers; her natural leadership skills drew others to her when they had a problem or needed an ear. “I loved the discipline and responsibility,” she says. Working on hurricane duty and community activities, Charlisa became an officer, and by 2001, she knew Afghanistan or Iraq was in her future. “I wasn’t afraid,” she says. “I’d taken an oath to defend the Constitution of the United States, and I was proud to do it.”

But something more immediately life-threatening arrived first: In 2004, Charlisa wasn’t feeling well. Her blood pressure was high and she was nauseous. Concerned, the army discharged her. She was diagnosed with kidney failure, signaling the end of a military career she loved and the beginning of dialysis three days a week for the rest of her life unless a matching kidney is found.

Deeply depressed, she found knitting to be her only salvation—and it changed her life. One day in 2005, as she stood in the library with a few knitting books, she overheard two women talking about how they could help their family members serving overseas. “I’m a soldier,” Charlisa interrupted. “I can help.” Together the three women started a support group, which has now grown to include 300 families. Not only do they help provide childcare and emotional support to local military families, they also send as many donated goods to soldiers overseas as they can. “I know what it feels like not to have family support, and I want to make sure that our troops know there are people back home who care,” says Charlisa.

Wanting to add something personal to the care packages, she came up with the idea to knit helmet liners. Her knitting group has made about 300 to date. Joset J., a sergeant first class in the Louisiana Army National Guard, knows firsthand what a knitted helmet liner means to a Louisiana soldier. “For those of us from a warm climate, the freezing nights in Afghanistan are a real shock,” she says. “Charlisa’s helmet liners cover everything on your head but your eyes.”

The troops in the Louisiana National Guard also know that Charlisa is the go-to person when they have a special request—like a traditional Louisiana crawfish boil. (Much to the delight of the soldiers who asked, Charlisa found a way to have all the ingredients shipped overseas!)

“What else would I do?” says Charlisa matter-of-factly. “I’m a former military officer. My job was—and is—to take care of soldiers. Just because my kidneys don’t work doesn’t mean I can’t do what God put me on this earth for.”

Just a Note: Hilary gave me a book called “God’s Little Devotional Book on Success”. This is an excerpt from it that seems to fit the Prayer Shawl Ministry.

Snowflakes are one of nature’s most fragile things, but just look what they can do when they stick together.

“When people tell me that they would like to do something but think it would be impossible, I think to myself, Yeah, I used to think that way myself…” The old adage, “There’s strength in numbers” is still true. When people work together toward a common goal they can accomplish the impossible.

“Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another.” – Hebrews 10:25

Love and blessings,

Beverly

"Satisfaction lies in the effort, not the attainment. Full effort is full victory." – Mahatma Ghandi

The Weekly Yarn ~ June 2nd

2010-06-02T13:51:00.000-04:00

Meeting Notes: As you may have noticed, you have a substitute author for “The Weekly Yarn”. Ellen is taking some time off over the next few months to catch up on things. Please bear with me again as I write the weekly updates. The leadership will be shared among myself, Dana , and Barbara.

It’s a time of exciting things going on, even in “the good old summer time” so don’t miss a moment! While our meeting was small in number, it was mighty in activity. Barbara brought in three “manly” afghans that she made. Zena’s hands are getting better, so she couldn’t resist finishing a few Prayer Cloths while she was there tonight. Dana brought in a myriad of new afghans from her travels with her mother. I managed to complete the first Prayer Shrug, but it takes practice to wear it! Susan brought in three beautiful Prayer Shawls – a pink one, an ivory one with beige trim, and a beige one – such wonderful work. Carla, a member of the Financial Peace University class across the hall from our meeting, came in to say she would like to join us and be an off-site member.

Our Lord blessed us with an abundance of Prayer Shawls and Prayer Cloths to pray over. The cabinet was organized and stocked, with overflow in our storage closet! Four baby blankets were placed on Nancy desk to go to Children’s Hospital for the Critical Intensive Care Unit or the Cardiac Step Down Unit. The next thing we need to work for is a larger Prayer Shawl Cabinet.

A huge box of yarn was donated by Mrs. V. containing knitting worsted of all shades, Simply Soft, and several other varieties of yarn. We have such a stash of yarn that we hope you shop in our storage closet before you purchase new yarn for your next project. God is so good to the Ministry! We come to Him in faith, and He provides.

Communion Sunday: Please mark your calendar to help arrange the Prayer Shawls and Prayer Cloths at 7:45 for the 8:00 service, 9:15 for the 9:30 service, at 10:45 for the 11:00 service, and fold and put away the shawls at 12:15 on June 20^th. As you know, the Prayer Shawls and Prayer Cloths have been greatly appreciated on Communion Sundays and disappear quickly. Please let me know which service you will be available to assist with the items. Thanks.

Fall Festival: Remember how much fun the Fall Festival was last year? It will be Oct. 24^th this year from 2:30-5:30! We will have the same cabin and the theme will be the same, basically just an old fashioned Fall Harvest Festival. So mark your calendar, prepare to share the Prayer Shawls, Prayer Cloths, and other items we make with those who don’t know us. The fudge will be there again, and any other yummy handouts you want to make available! And anyone who wants to volunteer to display old quilts, embroidery, or crochet and knit on the porch – let’s do it up right again, ladies! Put your thinking caps on. Let me know what you want to volunteer to do or to bring.

Reflections: In a Women’s Devotional Bible, I read this quote by Mother Teresa which pretty well sums up the work we do in the Prayer Shawl Ministry:

“Prayer enlarges the heart until it is capable of containing God’s gift of himself. Ask and seek, and your heart will grow big enough to receive him and to keep him as your own. Wherever God has put you, that is your vocation. It is not what we do but how much love we put into it.”

We often talk about making and delivering Prayer Shawls, or putting them out on the altar rail on Communion Sunday and watching them disappear. Spreading God’s comfort through these items is such a privilege and a blessing to us. Sharing tears with the recipients is such an honor. It is not what we say or how we do it, but the love we put into the sharing that makes the difference.

When I look back on my lifetime of experiences, I see how God has worked to give me skills that fit into this Ministry of His. He trains each of us to have the skills to meet the needs in the season of our lives. We just need to understand “His thoughts are not our thoughts” and be patient enough to see His plan.

Just A Note: Even in the summertime, the Prayer Shawl Ministry meets every Wednesday from 5:30 to 7:30 in rooms 308 & 309. Please join us for fellowship, laughter, and stories! You can work on your current project, make Prayer Cloths (we need 50 every week), peruse the pattern books (thanks to Jane, we have a ton!), or encourage the rest of us.

· If you’re bored with your pattern, we have new ones!

· If you’re stuck on a pattern or a stitch, we’ll help!

· If you’ve lost your knitting needles or crochet hook, we have more!

· If you need new yarn, we have it!

· If you need an excuse, you’re out of luck because we need you!

Love and Blessings,

Beverly

“May the Lord our God show us his approval and make our efforts

The Weekly Yarn - June 2nd

2010-06-02T10:02:00.000-04:00

Our Lord blessed us with an abundance of Prayer Shawls and Prayer Cloths to pray over. The cabinet was organized and stocked, with overflow in our storage closet! Four baby blankets were placed on Nancy’s desk to go to Children’s Hospital for the Critical Intensive Care Unit or the Cardiac Step Down Unit. The next thing we need to work for is a larger Prayer Shawl Cabinet.

Update on Alex: Alex, who was injured in an accident a couple of weeks ago, is waiting for a spot to open at Shepherd in Atlanta. The family thinks that a spot is opening soon but is waiting for final confirmation. As you can probably imagine, the waiting is very hard as they get their hopes up and then get delayed.

Update on Dee: Dee is home from the hospital and doing much better. She still suffers from vertigo and goes to physical therapy to correct that. We hope to see her at one of our meetings very soon.

Reflections: In a Women’s Devotional Bible, I read this quote by Mother Teresa which pretty well sums up the work we do in the Prayer Shawl Ministry:

· If you’re bored with your pattern, we have new ones!

· If you’re stuck on a pattern or a stitch, we’ll help!

· If you’ve lost your knitting needles or crochet hook, we have more!

· If you need new yarn, we have it!

· If you need an excuse, you’re out of luck because we need you!

Why do you have to be so far away? We miss you! And hope to see you soon.

Love and Blessings,

Beverly

“May the Lord our God show us his approval and make our efforts successful. Yes, make our efforts successful!” – Psalm 90:17

The Weekly Yarn ~ May 26, 2010

2010-05-26T13:46:00.000-04:00

We welcomed many new shawls and lots of yarn, this week.

Beverly hit the jackpot during her Goodwill crawl...we have two bins full of new yarn that she found! In addition, we prayed over twenty beautiful shawls and afghans, four of which came from Miss Carolyn, our member in South Carolina.

Beverly also received an email from a member of our congregation offering a generous donation of several afghans, which she will pick up soon.

Beverly and Ann counted the 581 prayer cloths and 65 pocket cloths that have been received, so far. Our goal for World Communion Sunday, in October, is 1500, so we are over a third of the way there. If we receive 50 a week through the end of September, we will be set. In an earlier email, Beverly sent two patterns for prayer cloths, which are attached.

In addition, several new patterns were featured in the latest Caron newsletter. Their link is
http://www.caron.com/connections.html .

Have a happy and safe Memorial Day.

Love, Ellen

The Weekly Yarn May 26, 2010

2010-05-26T10:07:00.000-04:00

We welcomed many new shawls and lots of yarn, this week. Beverly hit the jackpot during her Goodwill crawl...we have two bins full of new yarn that she found! In addition, we prayed over twenty beautiful shawls and afghans, four of which came from Miss Carolyn, our member in South Carolina.

Beverly also received an email from a member of our congregation offering a generous donation of several afghans, which she will pick up soon.

During our meeting, Beverly and Ann counted the 581 prayer cloths and 65 pocket cloths that have been received, so far. Our goal for World Communion Sunday, in October, is 1500, so we are over a third of the way there. If we receive 50 a week through the end of September, we will be set.

Several new patterns were featured in the latest Caron newsletter.

Their link is
http://www.caron.com/connections.html .
Have a happy and safe Memorial Day.
Love, Ellen

The Weekly Yarn ~ May 19

2010-05-24T13:42:00.000-04:00

Though there may be fewer of us each week, we will still be meeting through the summer. Now that school is finally out, come on by to check out our pattern and yarn supply. If you are stumped on a project, bring it in for a conference! Please feel free to bring the kids...even if you think they cannot sit still very long, it may be just the amount of time you need. Who knows, maybe they will want to learn to knit or crochet, too. We will have the room from 5:30 to 8:00 each Wednesday night, so drop by when you can.

Last week, we prayed over another generous supply of shawls and stoles.

God is so faithful to furnish them at just the right time!

On Sunday, prayer cloths, shawls and chemo caps were made available at all services. They flew out into the community, as people prayed over them and carried them to their new destinations. What a joy to be able to touch so many lives.

Nancy sent me the following note following Sunday's service. If you ever wonder why we do what we do....well, this says it all. Praise God.

"I wanted to write and let you know that I felt compelled to get one of the blankets this weekend at the altar after praying. You see, I work for Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta in Cardiac Services, which includes CICU(Critical Intensive Care Unit), CSU (Cardiac Step Down Unit), and the Catheterization Lab. I felt like one of the children might need one.

So I went to work today and stopped off and saw the CICU managers, telling them my story. They told me that they knew the perfect family to give it to, that there was a child going home to hospice today and they could really use it. Please let those wonderful people who do this work that they are very special and that their work doesn’t go unnoticed. Just in case they want to know which blanket it was, it was a white blanket (with dazzle or silk in the thread)with large yellow, pink and blue stripes in it and was probably 3ft x 4ft.

Thank you for allowing me to give such a wonderful gift to a family in need of God’s love and care.

Thank you,

Bob"

Have a great week!

Love, Ellen

Meeting Update ~ May 19, 2010

2010-05-19T10:11:00.000-04:00

Last week, we prayed over another generous supply of shawls and stoles. God is so faithful to furnish them at just the right time!

Nancy sent me the following note following Sunday's service.

Thank you for allowing me to give such a wonderful gift to a family in need of God’s love and care.

Thank You”

If you ever wonder why we do what we do....well, this says it all.

Praise God.

Now that’s a stack!

2010-05-12T16:12:00.000-04:00

The Weekly Yarn ~ May 12

2010-05-12T13:40:00.000-04:00

Once again, we welcomed new yarn and shawls into our midst. Dana, yet again, hit the jackpot with yarn finds. Check our bins, if you are looking for inspiration.

There were 17 additional shawls over which we were privileged to pray. Thanks for all your faithfulness Carolyn, Martha, Zena, Pam and Dana! Our cabinet in the office is overflowing, in time for Communion Sunday on the 23rd.

During the turmoil of the remaining few weeks of the school year and all the attendant angst for all involved, I have had to be reminded of the words from James 3:17-18...

" But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, unwavering, without hypocrisy. And the seed whose fruit is righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace."

Am I the only one who has to say ooops?

Have a lovely week.

Hope to see you Wednesday.

The Weekly Yarn May 12, 2010

2010-05-12T10:25:00.000-04:00

Once again, we welcomed new yarn and shawls into our midst. Dana, yet again, hit the jackpot with yarn finds. Check our bins, if you are looking for inspiration.

There were 17 additional shawls over which we were privileged to pray. Thanks for all your faithfulness Carolyn, Martha, Zena, Pam and Dana!

Our cabinet in the office is overflowing, in time for Communion Sunday on the 23rd.

During the turmoil of the remaining few weeks of the school year and all the attendant angst for all involved, I have had to be reminded of the words from James 3:17-18...

Am I the only one who has to say ooops?

Have a lovely week.

Hope to see you Wednesday.

Ellen

The Weekly Yarn

2010-05-05T09:24:00.000-04:00

This week we welcomed new yarn, shawls and a visitor to our midst!
Dana brought in more gorgeous autumnal variegated worsted yarn...there are several solid colors in our stash, as well, for those who want to mix and match.

We were treated to a visit from one year old Cadence, who came with her Grandma Robin. Miss Cadence reminded us how soft our shawls are, how little noise a skein of yarn makes when it is spiked to the floor, and how incredibly fascinating the contents of purses can be! It was great to have her cheerful presence with us.

Our table was piled with shawls over which we prayed. Some went directly to recipients from our meeting.

Last Thursday was the National Day of Prayer, and the Director of our Older Adult Respite Program asked me to come and talk to the folks at Grace Arbor about the Prayer Shawl Ministry. They enjoyed hearing about our ministry and some of the items we make. God continues to use our work to bless others!

They made a request for a knitted or crocheted BUFFALO! Does anyone have a pattern? Or want to write one?

Don't forget that May 23 is Communion Sunday. If you can be there to help set up or take down shawls, let us know!

See you next week.

Weekly Yarn - April 28th

2010-04-28T13:38:00.000-04:00

From Our Honorary Member: Carolyn is our new member from Greer, SC who has completed several helmet liners, prayer shawls, and prayer cloths for the Prayer Shawl Ministry.

Martha also sent me a copy of your newsletter and I want you to know that I am extremely happy to be considered as an out-of-state Honorary member of your group. I have never enjoyed knitting as much as I enjoy making the prayer shawls. I told my husband that it was a real pleasure to just knit and not have to worry about whether or not it would fit.

I just thank God that I can knit something that will hopefully bring comfort and maybe a ray of sunshine into someone's life. It is such a joy to be able to share these prayer shawls with someone in need. No one will ever receive the blessing from the items that I receive in making and giving them. If my knitting is a talent, then I praise God for giving it to me.

You are indeed doing a wonderful service in reaching out to others and I would like to say a heartfelt thank you.

Sincerely,

Carolyn

What Is A Prayer Shawl? (From Annie’s Attic/Crochet Prayer Shawls 2 Pattern Book)

“Prayer is the practice of communicating with God, a request or a petition. In John 17, Jesus set the example for us to pray for one another. Now imagine a gift that is handcrafted with prayers, wrapped in love in order to bring comfort to the recipient and blessings to the donor. Now, think prayer shawls. When we stitch prayer shawls for those we love and care about, we are following Jesus’ example, for as we stitch, we also pray for the person for whom we are creating the shawl. A prayer shawl can be a way to reach out to others who are hurting or simply a way to let someone know we are thinking of them. When stitching a prayer shawl, we petition God with every stitch on behalf of the person who will receive the shawl. The petitions are continued throughout the creation of the shawl. Upon completion, a final blessing is offered before the shawl is given.”

The final blessing is offered on each completed item at the Prayer Shawl Ministry Wednesday evening meetings. The item is then stored in the Prayer Shawl cabinet until it is selected for delivery to the person God has chosen to receive that particular item. When it’s delivered, it goes out with a card that includes a blessing for that individual. God’s ministry of making Prayer Shawls blesses not only the recipient, but the person doing the stitching as well. Give thanks that you have been blessed with the time and the talent to make a gift that will give another person such comfort and joy.

May Birthdays: Please wish Lisa a Happy Birthday on May 6^th. It seems she’s our only “birthday girl” this month.

Communion Sunday: May 23^rd is the next Communion Sunday. Please mark your calendar to arrange the Prayer Shawls at 9:15 for the 9:30 service, at 10:45 for the 11:00 service, and fold and put away at 12:15.

New Patterns: Attached are two crochet patterns and two knit patterns for your “viewing pleasure”. If you have any trouble opening and printing the patterns, please let me know so I can make a copy available at the next meeting.

Just A Note:

“This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you.” - John 15:12

The Weekly Yarn

2010-04-28T09:00:00.000-04:00

From Our Honorary Member: Carolyn is our new member from Greer, SC who has completed several helmet liners, prayer shawls, and prayer cloths for the Prayer Shawl Ministry.

Note from our newest member:

You are indeed doing a wonderful service in reaching out to others and I would like to say a heartfelt thank you.

Sincerely,

Carolyn

What Is A Prayer Shawl?

(From Annie’s Attic/Crochet Prayer Shawls 2 Pattern Book)

New Patterns: Follow the link provided for the Lion Brand patterns and then do a search for the pattern number and you can then download the PDF for the pattern.

Free Crochet Pattern
Lion Brand ® Vanna's Choice®
Corner Granny Afghan
Pattern Number: 90545AD

Free Knitting Pattern
Lion Brand ® Homespun®
Heartfelt Shawl
Pattern Number: 81040AD

Azani Shawl

One Skein Summer Wrap

“This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you.” - John 15:12

Completed Projects - 4-21-2010

2010-04-21T17:33:00.000-04:00

The Weekly Yarn

2010-04-21T08:44:00.000-04:00

Communion Sunday was April 18, and prayer shawls and cloths flew from the altar rail into
the community, as the congregation was encouraged to pray over the items and take them to those in need! God's provision the previous week were sufficient to meet the need. Though our cabinet echoed a bit, by Wednesday there were new shawls and cloths over which to pray, and our cabinet no longer echoes.

Philippians 4:6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.

In addition to new shawls and cloths, we welcomed new yarn. Dana brought in a number of beautiful selections. Stop in to see what is available for your next project.

This coming Wednesday, Sheri will present shawls to graduates of the Rainbow class.

We look forward to seeing everyone on Wednesday.

Chicks With Sticks update

2010-04-07T11:17:00.000-04:00

Just A Note: Even though there isn’t a meeting tonight, there is always something new going on with the Prayer Shawl Ministry.

The Thought for the Day, March 24^th in the Upper Room: “New stages in our spiritual journey offer new chances to learn and serve.” The corollary to that thought is that new challenges in our physical journey bring about changes, not always by choice, in our daily roles in the way we serve. Effective Monday, April 5^th, I have resigned as the leader of this ministry due to several health issues. The health issues are not the type that will be cured, but are chronic, and are the type that make it difficult to meet time commitments consistently, and in the manner that I know are appropriate for this group.

However, this does not mean I will not be part of the Prayer Shawl Ministry! I love the Prayer Shawl Ministry, all it does, and all it means to individuals in need! My crochet hook still works! I will still be available to deliver Prayer Shawls and share tears with the recipients. My printer still prints the cards that go with the Prayer Shawls. I just need to have more flexibility.

After a meeting Monday evening, several members have stepped forward as leaders and are working out their roles in this ministry of God’s. Ellen has volunteered to answer any questions you have. The meetings are still on Wednesday evenings, in the same room, at the same time – no changes are planned except for continued growth. God’s abundance, love, and support will carry us forward to meet the opportunities and challenges He brings us.

Thank you for your love and support over the last year. You’ve been willing to go through uncharted waters as we tried things that had never been done before since we didn’t have a road map to follow. Keep the same openness…God will provide and lead!

Love and blessings,

Beverly

“There is a time for everything and a season for everything…a time to search and a time to give up, a time to keep and a time to throw away.” – Ephesians

The Weekly Yarn - March 31st

2010-03-31T11:22:00.000-04:00

Meeting Notes: The bright, cheery faces matched the bright, sunny evening outside as the meeting went on and we prayed over beautiful Prayer Shawls and Prayer Cloths. And, oh the stories you missed if you weren’t there! Zena was back from vacation in Jamaica, and she still magically pulled completed items from her “Mary Poppins” bag – it had to be at least that deep. Alida contributed beautiful lap robes and prayer cloths, just as she faithfully does even though she’s unable to attend the meetings. Jenny’s shawl is getting longer and longer – she’ll have her first project done soon. Barb is back from Honduras and the walk to Emmaus. With only four more weeks left in her Disciple class, she promises to crochet like there’s no tomorrow. Belle had the biggest skein of red yarn I’ve ever seen, and was crocheting as fast as possible. Ellen is back to the Chemo Caps – she’s got to teach others to make those caps. Dana has a unique basket weave shawl going out of Homespun yarn. Robin has a beautiful shawl out of several colors of Homespun just about completed – God has a special person in mind for that one. Robin, our spring bride, came in to say hello. She has a pass for a few more months.

Members and Meetings: Each of us are volunteers in the Prayer Shawl Ministry; however, I believe we are each in this ministry for a reason that is between ourselves and God. He has given us the time, the talent, and the desire to be His hands and feet for the tasks He sets before us. He brought us together because we are all different – with different strengths and skills to share. We’re each an essential piece of this ministry. When we put our individual talents together, and follow God, we can do the impossible. When you aren’t with us, we are missing a vital piece of this ministry. It’s hard to imagine us without you – please join us on Wednesday evenings when you can.

No Meeting on April 7^th: Next week is Spring Break for the local schools, so there will NOT be a Prayer Shawl Ministry meeting to allow those of you with children to enjoy your families.

Rainbow Ministry: On April 21^st, Reverend Sheri needs 7 Prayer Shawls for the Rainbow Ministry – 1 in a color suitable for a man. This is the date of their final meeting this year, during which each of the parents receive a Prayer Shawl, and each of the children will receive a fleece blanket from the Prayer Blanket Ministry. Please keep this need in mind, so we can set the 7 shawls aside for this meeting. If you have any questions regarding the Rainbow Ministry, please contact Sheri.

Communion Sundays: Thanks to approval from the Pastors, the draping of Prayer Shawls on the altar rail on Communion Sundays has brought blessings to many unnamed individuals. On February 28^th, about half of the Prayer Shawls on the altar rail were distributed to individuals who may not have come forward, or made their needs known without the shawls being available. Seeing the shawls go out wrapped around someone with tears in their eyes, or folded carefully for a person who will receive it from that person, is the act we talk about in our meeting prayers. God has a name for every item we make even before it is complete. The item just needs a way to get to that person. I’ve heard people enter the sanctuary and say when they see the shawls on the altar that it’s Communion Sunday, because the shawls are on the altar!

Thanks be to God for the opportunity to drape the shawls on the altar.

April 25^th: April 25th is the next Communion Sunday. Please mark your calendar to arrange the Prayer Shawls at 9:15 for the 9:30 service, at 10:45 for the 11:00 service, and fold and put away at 12:15.

Prayer Cloths: We have an ongoing project for World Communion Sunday, which is the first Sunday in October. It is our goal to have approximately 1500 to 1600 Prayer Cloths from which attendees at the various services may select one if they wish on that day. Please keep this project in mind as the months go by. We need an average of 200 a month to reach our objective.

Just a Note: It is my privilege and pleasure to be part of the hardest working, most dedicated, compassionate group of women I’ve ever worked with, in the Prayer Shawl Ministry, aka: Chicks With Sticks. Thanks to your ongoing faithfulness to God’s Prayer Shawl Ministry, the cabinet is filling up again! We go through times of thick and thin, overflowing and barren shelves. God knows the ministry’s needs and is always there to meet them.

Donations of yarn keep coming in. The selection is great right now, so if you haven’t been to the storage cabinet recently, God has so abundantly filled with a rainbow of colors, types, and styles of yarn, feast your eyes and choose your favorite color. Turn it into an item that will wrap an individual in need with God’s love, comfort, and healing! Dana and Meredith have put together project packages if you want something ready to go!

There are pattern books and pattern sheets for knitters and crocheters. If you can’t find one you like, just ask for help. Jane has pattern books available from Red Heart. Zena designs her own patterns. The Internet is awash with websites that offer patterns for beginners to highly advanced artists.

We have crochet hooks and knitting needles in many sizes and styles. There are even knitting looms, if you want to try something different. Please don’t be shy.

This ministry makes items from Prayer Shawls, afghans, lap robes, chemo caps, preemie caps, and Prayer Cloths, to Helmet Liners for our troops, and scarves for the Grace Bags. Make the item that you are most comfortable with and enjoy the camaraderie offered by the other members, while you become His hands and feet for those who need His help.

Then take the next big step out of your comfort zone, and deliver a Prayer Shawl, or another item, to one in need. Share the tears of relief or grief or joy or love! You will be as blessed as the recipient, and you will find Agape love! Your heart will burst with love. Try it – you’ll like it.

Love and blessings,

Beverly

"God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” - John 3:16 (NIV)

God is so cool y’all!

2010-03-11T10:58:00.001-05:00

God’s coolness came up last night during our weekly Prayer Shawl meeting, as it usually does. In our conversation as we steadily crocheted and knitted away, Dana mentioned that when we are praying over our children, specifically our girl children that we are in fact praying over them as well as any future children they will have as each female child born is born with all the egg she will ever have at the time of her birth.

Again how cool is God in how intricately He knit’s (I’m so punny) the human body together.

Well this of course made me think if this video. I had watched this several weeks ago and it just blew me away. It is simple amazing and it is a true testament to just how amazing our God really is.

I just thought I would share it with all of you!

Blessing y’all

Robin

The Weekly Yarn - March 3rd

2010-03-05T12:44:00.000-05:00

Meeting Notes: The Prayer Shawl meeting was busy as usual with the chairs full, and the needles and hooks going, as well as stories, requests for prayers, and laughter.

Our youngest (9 weeks old), newest member, Leah Kae, was in attendance – although she really ate and slept most of the time! She hasn’t decided whether she’ll knit or crochet yet.

Three Prayer Shawls, three scarves, and many Prayer Cloths were prayed over. God already had individuals selected for the three Prayer Shawls, as well as for several of the ten remaining Prayer Shawls in the cabinet. Needless to say, the cabinet is looking pretty empty.

Many of the Prayer Shawls were given away during Communion Sunday on the 28^th when they were on the altar rail. God has selected so many individuals lately to receive the items we make, and He has a list of several more individuals ready for upcoming items.

He blesses us and loves us so much. He shows it by allowing us to be His hands and feet with this task He has given us. Thank you for all you do for the Prayer Shawl Ministry.

Patterns: Here is the pattern for the Granny Square afghan.

Free Crochet Pattern from Lion Brand Yarn
Lion Brand® Vanna's Choice®
4-Square Granny Afghan
Pattern Number: 90352AD
SKILL LEVEL: Easy
SIZE: One Size
About 48 x 48 in. (122 x 122 cm)
CORRECTIONS: None as of Feb 23, 2010. To check for later updates, click here.
MATERIALS
• 860-174 Lion Brand Vanna's Choice Yarn: Olive
3 Balls (A)
• 860-099 Lion Brand Vanna's Choice Yarn: Linen
2 Balls (B)
• 860-135 Lion Brand Vanna's Choice Yarn: Rust
2 Balls (C)
• 860-140 Lion Brand Vanna's Choice Yarn: Dusty Rose
3 Balls (D)
• 860-125 Lion Brand Vanna's Choice Yarn: Taupe
2 Balls (E)
• Lion Brand Crochet Hook - Size J-10
• Large-Eye Blunt Needles (Set of 6)

GAUGE:
Small Square = 9 1/2 x 9 1/2 in. (24 x 24 cm).

BE SURE TO CHECK YOUR GAUGE.

When you match the gauge in a pattern, your project will be the size specified in the pattern and the materials specified in the pattern will be sufficient. If it takes you less stitches and rows to make a 4 in. [10 cm] square, try using a smaller size hook or needles; if more stitches and rows, try a larger size hook or needles.
NOTES:
1. Four identical Small Squares are crocheted, then sewed together to make center square of Afghan. Outer portion of Afghan is worked around the center square.
2. To keep the Afghan square, join new color in a different corner on each rnd.
3. Beginning ch 3 counts as a dc.
4. Beginning ch 4 counts as dc, ch-1.

AFGHAN Small Square (make 4)

With A, ch 4. Join with sl st in first ch to form a ring.

Rnd 1: Ch 3 (counts as dc here and throughout), 2 dc in ring, ch 2, (3 dc in ring, ch 2) 3 times, join with sl st in top of beg ch. Fasten off.

Rnd 2: Join B with sl st in any ch-2 sp, ch 3, (2 dc, ch 2, 3 dc) in same ch-2 sp (beg corner made), ch 1, *(3 dc, ch 2, 3 dc) in next ch-2 sp (corner made), ch 1; rep from * around; join with sl st in top of beg ch.

Rnd 3: With B, ch 4 (counts as dc, ch 1 here and throughout), * (3 dc, ch 2, 3 dc) in next ch-2 sp, ch 1, 3 dc in next ch-1 sp, ch 1; rep from * 2 more times, (3 dc, ch 2, 3 dc) in next ch-2 sp, ch 1, 2 dc in next sp; join with sl st in 3rd ch of beg ch-4. Fasten off.

Rnd 4: Join C with sl st in any corner ch-2 sp, ch 3, (2 dc, ch 2, 3 dc) in same ch-sp, ch 1, (3 dc in next ch-1 sp, ch 1) to next corner ch-2 sp, *(3 dc, ch 2, 3 dc) in corner ch-2 sp, ch 1, (3 dc in next ch-1 sp, ch 1) to next corner ch-2 sp; rep from * around; join with sl st in top of beg ch.

Rnd 5: With C, ch 4, *(3 dc, ch 2, 3 dc) in next ch-2 sp, ch 1, (3 dc in next ch-1 sp, ch 1) to next corner ch-2 sp; rep from * 2 more times, (3 dc, ch 2, 3 dc) in next ch-2 sp, ch 1,(3 dc in next ch-1 sp, ch 1) to last ch-1 sp, 2 dc in next ch-1 sp. join with sl st in 3rd ch of beg ch-4.Fasten off.

Rnds 6 and 7: With D, rep Rnds 4 and 5. Fasten off. Sew squares together in pairs, sew pairs together to make
Center Square.

Outer Portion of Afghan Color Sequence For Outer Portion of Afghan
Work 2 rnds each with E, A, B, C, D.

Rnd 1: Join E with sl st in any corner ch-2 sp of Center Square. Ch 3, (2 dc, ch 2, 3 dc) in same ch-sp, ch 1, *(3 dc in next ch-1 sp, ch 1) to joined ch-2 sps between Small Squares, (3 dc in next ch-2 sp, ch 1) 2 times, (3 dc in next ch-1, ch 1) to next corner ch-2 sp, (3 dc, ch 2, 3 dc) in corner ch-2 sp, ch 1; rep from * twice more, (3 dc in next ch-1 sp, ch 1) to joined ch-2 sps between Small Squares, (3 dc in next ch-2 sp, ch 1) 2 times, (3 dc in next ch-1, ch 1) to last ch-1 sp, 2 dc in ch-1 sp; join with sl st in top of beg ch.

Rnd 2: With E, ch 4, *(3 dc, ch 2, 3 dc) in next ch-2 sp, ch 1, (3 dc in next ch-1 sp, ch 1) to next corner ch-2 sp; rep from * 2 more times, (3 dc, ch 2, 3 dc) in next ch-2 sp, ch 1, (3 dc in next ch-1 sp, ch 1) to last ch-1 sp, 2 dc in ch-1
sp; join with sl st in 3rd ch of beg ch-4. Fasten off.

Rnd 3: Join A with sl st in any corner ch-2 sp, ch 3, (2 dc, ch 2, 3 dc) in same ch-sp, ch 1, (3 dc in next ch-1 sp, ch 1) to next corner ch-2 sp, *(3 dc, ch 2, 3 dc) in corner ch-2 sp, ch 1, (3 dc in next ch-1 sp, ch 1) to next corner ch-2 sp; rep from * around; join with sl st in top of beg ch.

Rnds 4-20: Changing color following Color Sequence as established, rep Rnds 2 and 3 until entire Color Sequence has been worked twice.

Rnds 21 and 22: With E, rep Rnds 2 and 3.
Rnds 23 and 24: With A, rep Rnds 2 and 3.
FINISHING
Weave in ends.
ABBREVIATIONS / REFERENCES
Click for explanation and illustration
beg = begin(s)(ning) ch(s) = chain(s)
ch-space = space previously made dc = double crochet
rnd(s) = round(s) sl st = slip stitch
sp(s) = space(s) st(s) = stitch(es)
tog = together

We have many granny squares already crocheted that are in our yarn closet which can be used for the base of this afghan, if anyone wants to start that way, as well as quite a bit of new worsted yarn to work around the squares. It would allow us to make lap robes or afghans and have a base with which to begin to fill our cabinet.

Jane has also donated many pattern books with simple knit and crochet patterns that work up quickly. If you need ideas, you can check our storage closet and go through the Red Heart pattern books. We appreciate the books, Jane.

Just a note: I and several members of the Prayer Shawl Ministry are in a Women’s Bible Study by Beth Moore called “Breaking Free”. In a recent week’s lesson, the message Beth gave was so appropriate I wanted to share a portion of it.

Beth talked about the “captivity of activity” which leads to being overstressed and overtired. I think we can all relate to that. She also made the point that we become servants of those whose approval we are trying to win. This led to her saying that if we don’t have a plan for our lives or our time, someone else always does. When we feel overwhelmed and out of control, it’s possibly because we confuse activity with accomplishment.

Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be of courage; be strong. Do everything in love.” 1 Corinthians 13-14

Love and blessings,

Beverly

The Weekly Yarn - Ash Wednesday, February 17th

2010-02-17T12:29:00.000-05:00

Even though there wasn’t a meeting this week, God still provides opportunities for the Prayer Shawl Ministry to work. Prayer Cloths were placed on the altar rail prior to the Ash Wednesday service, and individuals were allowed to take one after they received the ashes if they chose. Approximately 2/3 of the Prayer Cloths left the altar rail for a new home!

Two Prayer Shawls and a Prayer Cloth were turned into the Church Office earlier in the week. Thank you so much, Melanie, for bringing the completed items to the office. We’ve missed you and hope to see you soon.

Special Prayer Request: Dana has requested special prayers, and a note to her mother if you feel led to do so. This is her request:

My mother’s biopsy results came in today and confirmed that she indeed does have breast cancer. This is her third round with cancer as she has successfully battled breast cancer and lung cancer before. She will be seeing a surgeon on Thursday at 1pm and I will update you on any progress. I will need to go up to NJ sometime in March, but not sure when yet. I would ask for your prayers for her well being and also will ask for those of you who are good with letters of encouragement to please send her a note. I did this once before and it really lifted her spirits to know that people were concerned about her. She is so negative about the church but loves to get these cards, so I am considering it a witnessing and get well tool at the same time! If you would care to (please don’t feel obligated) you may send her a note at:

Erin is in need of additional prayers at this time also. Please keep her in your prayers. She has received a Prayer Shawl and Chemo Cap. Dana is going to deliver a Prayer Cloth too.

Prayer Shawls Needed: I met with Sheri yesterday regarding individuals in need of Prayer Shawls, and there are nine (9) individuals God has selected to receive Prayer Shawls. Please let me know if you can help with the delivery of any of these items.

Thanks to each and every one of you for your faithfulness, hard work, and willingness to be God’s hands and feet for the Prayer Shawl Ministry.

Love and blessings,

Beverly

“I have chosen you and will not throw you away. Don’t be afraid, for I am with you. Don’t be discouraged, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will hold you up with my victorious right hand.” Isaiah 41: 9-10

The Weekly Yarn - February 10th

2010-02-10T12:26:00.000-05:00

A group of cold weather friends braved the winds on the 10^th and made it to the meeting last Wednesday. It was a noisy, intimate meeting with lots of talking, laughter, and shared stories. We had to keep talking, knitting, and crocheting to keep warm! Such an abundance of Prayer Shawls, afghans, scarves, and Prayer Cloths were turned in…so many that each of us had more than one item to hold while we prayed. God is good as always. The Prayer Shawl cabinet is nicely full now! Thanks be to God.

February 17^th: There will not be a meeting on February 17^th to allow our members to attend the Ash Wednesday Service at 7:00 PM in the Sanctuary.

February 24^th: We will meet at our regular time and place on the 24^th. Reverend Sheri Smith is also holding a Prayer and Healing Service in the Upper Room at 6:30. Anyone interested in attending both is welcome to step out of our meeting and come back.

February 28^th: Communion Sunday is February 28^th. Our Father blesses us with the opportunity to put Prayer Shawls on the alter rail for our church family to pray over, and to take if they need. Some individuals won’t come forward at other times to ask for help, so this is a wonderful way to allow them to be wrapped in God’s love.

Please mark your calendar to help arrange the Prayer Shawls, Lap Robes, and Prayer Blankets for the 9:30 and 11:00 services.

Bible Verse Selection: Based on your votes (by one vote), the verse that will be etched on the crystal bowl in the Upper Room that holds the Prayer Cloths is:

John 14:27 (New International Version)

²⁷Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.

Love and blessings,

Beverly

“Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see”. – Hebrews 11:1

Weekly Yarn – February 3, 2010

2010-02-03T12:22:00.000-05:00

I missed the meeting on Wednesday evening, but there are always a couple of items to send out. In the meantime, this is the story of the meeting as I heard it!

“The meeting went very well. Helon and Jane brought a friend. Jane's husband brought boxes and boxes of new pattern books....only opened up four or five of them. Dana sorted and reorganized our stash. She also "encouraged" Zena to take several extra skeins to work on...We added five shawls to the cabinet, and only three had gone to new homes since the last meeting. It was a lively group.”

Great job, ladies. God works through you all the time!

February 21^st: February 21^st is the next Communion Sunday. Please let me know if you can arrange the Prayer Shawls at 9:15 for the 9:30 service, at 10:45 for the 11:00 service, and fold and put away at 12:15. Thanks for your help.

Bible Verses: Yes, this was in the e-mail last week. There haven’t been very many replies and I want to give everyone an opportunity to vote on the verse they prefer. If you have already replied, thank you. If not, and you wish to voice an opinion, please let me know.

There is a crystal bowl in the Upper Room, on the right just as you enter the chapel. The bowl holds Prayer Cloths for individuals to take with them if they choose, after a service or a meeting with Steven Ministers. The bowl will be etched with one of the following three Bible Verses.

Isaiah 41:13 (New International Version)

¹³ For I am the LORD, your God, who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you.

Ephesians 3:20 (New International Version)

²⁰Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us,

John 14:27 (New International Version)

²⁷Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.

Please select one of the three, and let me know your preference by February 13^th.

Love and blessings,

Beverly

I am God, and there is no other; I am God and there is none like me.” Isaiah 46:9

Weekly Yarn - January 27th

2010-01-27T08:39:00.000-05:00

The first month of 2010 ended with a joyful meeting. Several beautiful Prayer Shawls, a Lap Robe, and Prayer Cloths were turned in to pray over, which is always the highlight of the meeting. God continues to supply completed projects to be delivered and new yarn for new projects. We are truly blessed.

Prayer Cloths for World Communion Sunday:

As of the 27^th of January, there are approximately 180 Prayer Cloths ready for World Communion Sunday in October. To reach our goal of 1600, two hundred per month are needed. There are a few at member’s homes that haven’t been turned in, so we are on schedule. Great job! Please keep up the fantastic work.

Communion Sunday: February 21^st is the next Communion Sunday. Our Father blesses us with the opportunity to put these items out for our church family to pray over, and to take if they need. Please mark your calendar to help arrange the Prayer Shawls, Lap Robes, and Prayer Blankets on the altar.

New Member: Sean, our first male crocheter, joined us on the 27^th. Sean did a great job of learning the chain stitch and double crochet, and left with pictures of the stitches so he could practice. Welcome Sean – we’re glad to have you in the Prayer Shawl Ministry. You are a great addition.

Bible Verses:

Isaiah 41:13 (New International Version)

¹³ For I am the LORD, your God, who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you.

Ephesians 3:20 (New International Version)

²⁰Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us,

John 14:27 (New International Version)

²⁷Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.

Please select one of the three, and let me know your preference by February 13^th.

Thanks for your reply.

Love and blessings,

Beverly

“Remove the obstacles out of the way of my people.” – Isaiah 57:14

The Weekly Yarn - January 20th

2010-01-22T08:42:00.001-05:00

There was a full house again on Wednesday evening…and dare I say, the usual noise and laughter. This is the most joyous meeting I’ve ever been involved in. We hope to see those of you who are missing out on the joy next Wednesday!

Jane blessed us with new patterns for knitting and crocheting, and plans to bring in many more in the next few weeks. Be sure to check the pattern files for new patterns if you are looking for something different.

Helon wrote a moving story of one of the experiences she had while delivering a Prayer Shawl. Once again, if you haven’t been blessed with the opportunity to make a delivery, step forward now! You’ll volunteer over and over once you make one delivery.

The Prayer Cloth inventory for World Communion Sunday in October continues to grow. You’ll receive a count by the end of this month so we can stay on track to achieve our goal of 1500. Compliments of Loretta Pena, attached are two new Prayer Cloth patterns to crochet.

Communion Sunday: January 31^st is the next Communion Sunday. Please let me know if you can arrange the Prayer Shawls at 9:15 for the 9:30 service, at 10:45 for the 11:00 service, and fold and put away at 12:15. Thanks for your help.

More Yarn: Ellen picked up more full skeins of blue, purple, pink, and red, as well as smaller amounts of other colors from Goodwill on Thursday morning! Our supply continues to meet our needs. Thanks, Ellen. And if you need help putting colors together, Zena has a great way of combining the hues!

New Members: Two new members joined us this month. Please welcome Laurel and DeShawn. Laurel is a knitter and DeShawn is a crocheter. Both are active in Bible Study.

As we look at what we do each day in the Prayer Shawl Ministry, it often seems overwhelming as new opportunities open up.

On January 14^th, in the Upper Room devotional, the verse reads “The Lord says “See, I am doing a new thing!” – Isaiah 43:19.

The Thought for the Day reads “God does not call the prepared; God prepares the called.”

We need to keep in mind that God provides us with what we need to complete the task he calls us to perform. We just need to step out in faith. He will be with us.

Love and blessings,

Beverly

Okay – maybe it’s not this cold right now!

Sandie's Filet Prayer Cloth

Size: depends on hook, but try to make pocket cloths no larger than 4” x 5”

Materials: G or H hook (or whatever size goes with the yarn you chose), smallish ball of yarn, worsted weight gives the size listed but you can actually use any weight if size doesn't matter (check with coordinator for the requirements for their charity effort)

Time commitment: about 20 minutes

Note: If you prefer to have all the “holes” the same size, ch one less and do (ch 1, sk 1) instead of (ch 2, sk 2)

ch 16 (or 15 - see note above)
Row 1: dc in fourth chain from hook and in ea chain across. ch 2, turn. (14 dc)
Row 2: dc in ea of next 5 dc, ch 2, sk 2 dc, dc in ea of next 6 dc (including tch), ch 2, turn
Row 3-5: repeat row 2
Row 6: dc, (ch 1, sk 1, dc) twice, ch 2, sk 2, dc, (ch 1, sk 1, dc) twice, dc in tch, ch 2, turn
Row 7: (dc in next dc and in next ch-1 sp) twice, dc in next dc, ch 2, sk 2 chains, (dc in next dc and in next ch-1 sp) twice, dc in last two stitches, ch 2, turn.
Row 8: repeat row 2
Row 9: dc in each st across, working 2 dc in ch-2 sp
You will end on right side. With either same yarn, or contrasting color, work border on this side.
Border: ch 1, sc around, working (sc, hdc, sc) OR (sc, ch 2, sc) in corners (whatever keeps your corners from curling). Work 2 sc in post of each dc along side and 1 sc in each stitch along top and bottom. If your work does not lie flat, try using a hook one size smaller for border.

Sandie's Puff Stitch Prayer Cloth

Materials: same as filet
Size: depends on hk
Special Stitch:
Puff Stitch: yo, insert hk in next sc, yo,pull through (3 lps on hk), yo, insert hk in same sc, yo and pull through (5 lps on hk), yo, insert hk in same sc, yo and pull through (7 lps on hk), yo and pull through all 7 loops.
Note: The puffy part will be on the wrong side. That's okay. Work your border on that side.
Instructions:
ch 14
Row 1: sc in second chain from hk and in ea chain across. ch 1, turn. (13 sc)
Row 2: sc in ea of next 6 sc, puff st in next sc, sc in ea of next 6 sc, ch 1, turn
Row 3: sc across, ch 1, turn
Row 4-9: repeat rows 2 and 3
Row 10: sc in ea of first 2 scs, (puff, sc) 5 times, sc in last sc, ch 1, turn
Row 11: sc across, ch 1, turn
Row 12-15: repeat rows 2 and 3
You will end on wrong side. That is where you want to work your border.
Border: ch 1, sc around, working (sc, hdc, sc) OR (sc, ch 2, sc) in corners (whatever keeps your corners from curling). Work 2 sc in post of each dc along side and 1 sc in each stitch along top and bottom. If your work does not lie flat, try using a hook one size smaller for border.

The Weekly Yarn - January 13th

2010-01-19T07:47:00.000-05:00

It was a great evening at the meeting on the 13^th. Sixteen of our members attended – the highest number for us in quite a few meetings. The chatter and laughter showed how much we had missed each other. Those of you who haven’t attended for a while, we still miss you and hope to see you soon!

Additional Prayer Shawls and Prayer Cloths were turned in and prayed over. The Prayer Shawl cabinet is “comfortably full” now. We’re running low on items for men, or at least in colors suitable for men. Many of the patterns work for anyone by changing the color and type of yarn used.

Several thank you notes from recipients of Prayer Shawls, Chemo caps, and other items – written and verbal – were received and read. It’s always wonderful that God blesses the recipient and the deliverer.

I know I’ve said this before, but if you haven’t delivered a Prayer Shawl yet, and shared the blessing of the moment, felt the presence of God, and shed tears with someone in need, you have missed out. We have several individuals in need of Prayer Shawls…please let me know if you can deliver one!

Praise God we have heard from Living Waters and all of the individuals working with them in Haiti and all are well, and on their way home as soon as transportation allows.

As Davis said in his sermon this week, it is important “…to give of ourselves and to give freely of our talents.” As members of the Chicks with Sticks, you’re doing a great job! Thank you.

Love and blessings,

Beverly

“Surrender your blunders to the Lord. He can use them to make the pattern of your life more beautiful.”

Corrie ten Bloom

The Weekly Yarn - January 6, 2010

2010-01-06T10:55:00.000-05:00

The New Year brought us a cold night outside and a blessed night inside for our first meeting of 2010. As we met and talked, more and more women braved the cold to attend the meeting. We were glad to welcome two new members last night, one knitter and one crocheter. We reviewed last year’s activities, and all of the new opportunities God will bring us this year.

I invited our youngest (8 days old) future member as a visitor – Leah. She hasn’t decided whether she’s going to knit or crochet yet. Of course Hilary, her mother, came along too.

God’s Bounty: God’s hand was so evident in our meeting on the 6^th. The Prayer Shawl cabinet was looking sparse, with eight or nine shawls at the beginning of the evening. The discussion centered around the upcoming Rainbow Group meeting, and the individuals that would be comforted with Prayer Shawls, as well as additional individuals who had extended family members pass over the holidays. It appeared the already sparse cabinet would be depleted.

A few shawls sat on the table in the center of the group as we prepared to pray. By the time the shawls were distributed, the twelve members in attendance each had a shawl to hold! Robin prayed that God would order our time so we would be able to meet the needs He brought us, and Dana prayed He would bring us additional yarn to keep us supplied. As we prayed, two more shawls were delivered and a donation of yarn came in. God gave us a bounty to pray over.

Prayer Cloths: It was discussed and agreed on last night that enough Prayer Cloths will be knitted or crocheted by the first Sunday in October, World Communion Sunday, to offer one to everyone in attendance on that day. The total needed will be approximately 1400 to 1500 in order to cover the individuals in the Sanctuary, the Upper Room, and the Youth areas. We have eight months to complete the total required, which means about 200 per month. If each person on our membership roster made one per week, we will meet our objective.

The Upper Room magazine article for January 6^th talked about doing a big task a little at a time, rather than trying to complete it all at once. By breaking it down into smaller parts and doing a little each week, this objective doesn’t seem daunting – but very doable.

The verse for the 6^th was appropriately “Do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring worries of its own. Today’s trouble is enough for today.” – Matthew 6:34

Thanks be to God: In mid-December, the Grief Share support group gave Prayer Shawls to the participants to help them through the holidays, when it is often most difficult to handle their loss. Several individuals stopped by at our last meeting in December to thank us for making the shawls they received.

Reynata and Joan stopped in last night to tell us how much the Prayer Shawls meant to them during the holidays, and how they wrapped themselves in the shawls, how they slept with them at times, and felt God’s love many times over the holidays. We are so blessed to be able to provide this service for God, to share the tears with the recipients of these items, and to feel their grief and relief.

You are missed when you’re not at a meeting. We hope to see each of you very soon!

Love and blessings,

Beverly

Your greatness is not what you have, it’s what you give. - Unknown

Happy New Year!

2010-01-05T10:50:00.000-05:00

The next meeting of the Prayer Shawl Ministry is January 6^th at 5:30! I hope to see you there. It’s a great place to warm your heart and soul in this “bitter” cold weather. Dinners begin tomorrow evening at 5:00, so it’s a wonderful opportunity to avoid cooking.

If you are looking for something new to make, attached are patterns for shawls made of yarn in our storage closet.

We accomplished a lot in 2009! Please take a few minutes to reflect on our activities and provide feedback on what we did. No doubt there are many more things we can do; however, before we add new things, let’s review our current activities to decide if we want to retain them, change them, or delete them. In addition to providing items to individuals in needs, our activities included:

1. The Fall Festival – Country Fair Cabin

2. Grief Share Support – Shawls were given close to the holidays

3. Presentations made to:

a. Priscilla Circle

b. Grace Arbor

4. Armed Forces Care Packages – Knitted helmet liners, crocheted scarves, Prayer cloths in the packaged and help assembling packages

5. Communion Sundays – Prayer shawls, blankets on the altar rails

It would also be helpful to provide feedback on how we increase our membership and attendance.

Your response is important to how the Prayer Shawl Ministry responds to individual’s needs in 2010.

Love and blessings,

Beverly

“Purpose is the engine that powers our lives.” Denis Waitley

Merry Christmas in the Weekly Yarn - December 24th 2009

2009-12-24T10:42:00.000-05:00

Merry Christmas, Ladies

I think my Christmas spirit has finally arrived today!

It’s been a wonderful 2009. Thanks to God and your willingness to be His hands and feet, the Prayer Shawl Ministry has grown, reached many new individuals through many new items and activities. I pray that all of you have a blessed Christmas.

As 2009 draws to a close, there are just a couple of updates for the Prayer Shawl Ministry.

December 27^th is the next Communion Sunday. There is one service that day at 10:30. We have very few Prayer Shawls in the cabinet, so we’re adding Prayer Cloths, scarves, preemie caps, and Chemo Caps. The addition of other types of items will fill the altar rail and allow the congregation to see all the items available to them when they’re in the need of God’s comfort and love. Anyone who will be in town on the 27^th, and has time to help prepare the altar between 10:00 and 10:15, please come to the service early.

January 6^th, 2010 is our next meeting. Between now and then, watch for communication about a review of 2009, ideas for 2010, and a couple of new patterns.

Merry Christmas,

Beverly

“In the face of uncertainty, there is nothing wrong with hope.” Bernie Siegel

The Weekly Yarn - December 9th

2009-12-09T10:43:00.000-05:00

God is Love. Wednesday was a loving evening with the Prayer Shawl Ministry members. Not that there isn’t always a lot of love to share when we meet! This felt different. There were a lot of hugs, laughter, shared stories, and warm hearts.

Hilary came in from her baby shower to share stories about how her pregnancy was going – what better time of the year than Christmas to talk about having a new baby.

Rev. Sheri came to visit our meeting which is always a blessing. We didn’t know then how wonderful her timing was!

Robin came in with the rosiest cheeks and biggest smile to give us wonderful news! She and Jim are getting married – with Tyler’s blessing, of course. Rev. Sheri led us all in a prayer of praise and blessing for Robin and Jim.

Blessings Abound: Very seldom do we have a Prayer Shawl recipient come to one of our meetings to receive a Prayer Shawl; however, Mary Ann came to receive one for the loss of her grandmother. What a blessing and a privilege to wrap her in her golden shawl, explain to her how it was made with prayer, prayed over in our meeting, and then pray that the shawl bring her God’s love, comfort, healing power, and peace. She also took a Prayer Shawl with her for her father, Donald, who was seriously injured in a golf cart accident which was hit by a van. We pray he is comforted by the shawl selected for him. It was a shawl just completed and turned in on Wednesday.

Becky came in to pick up three Prayer Shawls for friends of hers who were diagnosed with cancer last week. Three of the completed shawls from Wednesday evening were just what she needed. Only God could have known what we would need that evening. God is so good.

You cannot imagine the changes you make in other’s lives, and your own, until you deliver a Prayer Shawl and share the tears of joy, grief, and relief.

December 16^th is the last meeting for 2009. Enjoy your Christmas holiday just Enough.

January 6^th will be our first meeting in 2010. Come back with renewed spirit and excitement. Think about all we accomplished in 2009 and what we may do in 2010. God will bring us new opportunities and challenges so let’s be ready to answer his call.

New Member: Please welcome Mary Ann to the Prayer Shawl Ministry. We’re glad you’re joining us.

Updates: Since we’re ending 2009, please check your information for errors or changes and let me know about them. If we don’t have all of your information, please provide the missing pieces. Thanks.

Love and blessings,

Beverly

“…Those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength.” Isaiah 40:31

Prayer Shawl Meeting, November 18

2009-11-18T08:00:00.001-05:00

What a blessing to be able to participate in the prayer service for our men and women serving in the armed forces.

Thanks, Sheri, for such a moving time of worship on Wednesday night. Thanks also to all of you who made helmet liners, scarves and prayer cloths, and brought candy and beany babies to send to our folks in uniform.

Later, we prayed over three shawls and a prayer cloth to add to our cabinet, and welcomed another generous donation of yarn for our stash!

A number of our group were missing due to illnesses that are circulating. Hopefully, everyone will feel better after the holidays.

We look forward to seeing you all back soon.

Happy Thanksgiving!
Ellen Carey

The Weekly Yarn - November 18th - Thanks be to God!

2009-11-18T08:00:00.000-05:00

Calendar Reminders:

November 25^th: There will not be a meeting. The next meeting will be on December 6^th.

November 29^th: Prayer shawls and Prayer Blankets will be on the altar rail on Sunday the 29^th. Please join me at 9:15 outside the Parlor if you can help arrange the items on the altar rail prior to the 9:30 service, and at 10:45 prior to the 11:00 service, and at 12:15 to fold and return the items to the cabinet after the 11:00 service. Thank you for all you do.

Generosity: As we begin the holiday times, gifts to be given and gotten are on our minds, parties to attend, and a host of other activities. Generosity can be elusive as we get caught up in the hustle and bustle.

Davis outlined four requirements of generosity on Sunday, the 22^nd, in his sermon.

1. Generosity is an act of grace. Grace is an attitude of gratitude.

2. Generosity can occur in scarcity, as in abundance.

3. Generosity cannot be coerced, but it is a voluntary act.

4. Generosity is defined by the Incarnation.

You are all guilty of being generous – generous with your time, love, care and concern for those who are in desperate situations, those who are hurting, and those who need the comfort and healing power of God’s love. You never have enough time, sometimes, not enough money, but you’re always there. You give voluntarily, not because you are coerced. You give because you are a member of the Body of Christ. Thank you.

You cannot imagine the changes you make in other’s lives, and your own, until you deliver a Prayer Shawl and share the tears of joy, grief, and relief. Promise yourself you will step out of your comfort zone and share one of these precious moments in 2010. We’ll have a practice session in one of our meetings in the first quarter if you like.

Care Packages: Packing will be done at 10:30 on Tuesday in the Church Office conference room. Please be there if you can. I realize this is very short notice.

Other items needed for the packages are:

Ink pens
Notepads of paper

Hot cocoa mix

Individually-wrapped licorice
Microwave popcorn
Ramen noodles
Macaroni & cheese

Toothbrushes

Playing Cards

Body Powder

Deodorant

Socks

Tip of the Week: I read this in a newsletter recently. It’s a good storage option for those of us who tend to buy yarn before we need it and keep a store of it on hand in case we have a brilliant idea in the middle of the night. You know who you are!

“I have finally found the perfect storage solution for the huge amount of yarn which I have amassed during my 50 plus years of knitting. I store them in a closet in hanging sweater garment bags which have several cube-like compartments. The yarn is sorted by type and color in plastic bags in the compartments and is easy to see and retrieve at first glance.” - Jennifer M.

God’s Plan: I have to share a story with you – a God moment. When I was at church this morning, straightening the Prayer Shawl cabinet and doing other tasks, I realized there were a couple of Prayer Aghans on the bottom shelf that had been purchased about six months ago at Goodwill, when we were desperate for anything to fill the cabinet. Almost immediately after they were purchased, and added to the cabinet, beautiful handmade shawls started coming in, and the cabinet overflowed again. These two blankets continued to be pushed to the bottom and to the back of the cabinet without an owner.

Today, as I straightened the cabinet, and realized the cabinet was still comfortably full, I made the decision to take them with me and donate them back to Goodwill. I dawdled around a bit and did a few more little tasks before I left. As I walked out the door, a very upset woman walked up to me, saying her mother was very ill, supposed to go to surgery, had no money for a cab, but they had taken a cab to the church, and the cab driver was calling the police. She continued to say her mother was nearly naked and cold, and she couldn’t get in the church, but she knew Reverend Allen and named a couple of other people, and knew that I could get her in.

I was taken aback to say the least…what should I do? All of the warnings we’d heard about what not to do when someone confronts you in the parking lot went through my head! My first response was to give her the two blankets and say, “Wrap your mother in these two blankets!” The church door was locked so I went to the buzzer, and said “There is a lady out here looking for Reverend Allen” and the receptionist said “he’s on his way out”, as the door opened and Allen stepped out.

Reverend Sheri was walking up the sidewalk as tears started down my face! The two blankets that I thought were give-aways had someone’s name on them. God just needed hands and feet to take them outside at precisely the right moment to hand them over!

Never doubt God has a plan for all that we do.

Happy Thanksgiving:

We have so much for which to be thankful. God has blessed us with abundance. I pray you are blessed with a Thanksgiving that is filled with all of the blessings you deserve.

Thank you for all of the blessings you have brought to the Prayer Shawl Ministry.

Blessings and love,

Beverly

“A smile is the light in your window that lets other know there is a caring person inside.” – Dennis Waitley

The Weekly Yarn - November 11th

2009-11-11T07:00:00.000-05:00

God is so generous in his blessings and peace. We had a fairly full house, but we were unusually quiet! In fact, everyone commented on how quiet we were. Maybe we were contemplating the hues of the yarn or the Holy Spirit was talking to each and every one of us as our needles and hooks clicked away. Who knows…it was a peaceful time with our patterns, yarn, and each other.

Two beautiful prayer shawls were turned in – one brilliant gold and one silky deep blue, along with a blond chemo cap, a pink baby cap, 3 more helmet liners, wool scarves, and several prayer cloths.

This is a picture of one of the prayer cloths.

Here is the pattern:

Crocheted Cross Prayer Cloth

Materials Needed:

MC = Main Color, size 4 yarn Color B, size 4 yarn Size F crochet hook

Completed size: 5”x5” The gauge can be changed by selecting a different size yarn or hook.

Changing colors: Pull new color through last loop of old color.

Carrying colors: Lay old color on top of row and crochet over it.

Instructions:

Chain 24. Row 1: With MC, in the second chain from the hook, sc and sc in each remaining chain. Chain 1 and turn.

Row 2: Sc in top of each sc in row 1. Chain 1 and turn. Rows 3 – 4: Repeat Row 2.

Row 5: Sc in the first 9 sc. Join color B to MC. With color B, sc in next 5 sc. Carry MC under 5 color B sc. Change to MC in last loop of 5^th sc and sc to end of row with MC. Chain 1 and turn.

Row 6 through 17: Repeat Row 5.

Row 18: Sc in the first 9 sc. Join color B to MC. With color B, sc in next 5 sc. Carry MC under 5 color B sc. Change to MC in last loop of 5^th sc, but continue to carry color B along top of row for 4 more stitches. Sc to end of row with MC. Chain 1 and turn.

Row 19: Sc in the first 5 stitches. Change to color B in the last loop of the 5^th sc. Carry MC along top of row as you sc in the next 12 sc in color B. Pull up MC in last loop of 12^th sc and sc in MC to end of row. Chain 1 and turn.

Row 21 through 23: Sc in the first 5 stitches. Change to color B in the last loop of the 5^th sc. Carry MC along top of row as you sc in the next 12 sc in color B. Pull up MC in last loop of 12^th sc and sc in MC to end of row. Chain 1 and turn.

Row 24 through 27: Repeat row 5. Row 28 through 29: Repeat row 2. Do not cut off.

Edging: 3 sc in each corner stitch, in each sc across top, sc in each edge row, sc in each chain along the bottom. Join with a slip stitch to first sc. Cut off and weave in.

If you have a problem with the pattern – yes, it’s one I made up and I’ve never written out a pattern I made up before please contact me.

Help Needed, November 17th: Tuesday morning at 10:00 a short work time will take place to put each helmet liner and wool scarf in a plastic bag with washing instructions and a card that says it is from the Prayer Shawl Ministry. The prayer cloths are already in plastic bags with cards, but we’ll verify they are ready to go too. This should take an hour or less to prepare for the Prayer Service on the 18^th in the Upper Room at 6:30.

Any donations we want to make of hard candies, other food items, Beanie Babies, cards or letters, can be brought then and stored in our closet to be taken up at the same time on the 18^th. We will meet at the storage closet at 10:00 AM on the 17^th.

November 18^th Meeting: It will begin in Rooms 308 and 309 at 5:30, and at 6:20 we’ll go to the Upper Room to pray over the helmet liners, scarves, and prayer cloths that will be sent to the members of the Armed Services who are stationed overseas. They will be included in Care Packages along with other items being sent to these individuals.

In addition to the items we have to contribute to the Care Packages, donations are being accepted from the congregation for hard candies, granola bars, and other commercially packaged treats (no peanut butter, or anything that can melt or be crushed in shipping). Beanie Babies will be included to be given to local children as a goodwill gesture. Most importantly, cards and letters will be appreciated to let the soldiers know they are loved and remembered. Soldiers are prohibited from accepting homemade foods.

There will not be a meeting on November 25^th. Enjoy Thanksgiving with your families.

November 29^th is Communion Sunday. Please let me know if you can help arrange the shawls prior to the 9:30 service, add shawls if needed prior to the 11:00 service, and fold and put the shawls away at noon. So far I’m the only one signed up for this project.

Prayer Cloth Bowl: A crystal bowl holds the Prayer Cloths in the Upper Room. One of the members of the congregation has volunteered to etch a Bible verse on the bowl and we have the opportunity to suggest the verse we would like to have on the bowl. Please pray about it and send suggestions.

Love and blessings,

Beverly

“My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness. Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.” – 2 Corinthians 12: 9

The Fall Festival

2009-10-19T20:36:00.001-04:00

What a delightful day! There was a nip in the air, and a good time was had by all. One Prayer Shawl found its rightful owner as did two Prayer Cloths.
Many families were introduced to the Prayer Shawl Ministry and several families told stories of how the Prayer Shawl Ministry had touched them previously.

Martha, one of the original founders of the Prayer Shawl Ministry, took first place in the Bake-Off with her famous pound cake. There was food flowing from all sides of the Campground. Peanut butter, chocolate pecan, and the mysterious cherry-vanilla fudge were offered inside the cabin along with Captain Crunch peanut butter "surprises". The same treats were offered on a table just outside the cabin along with chocolate pecan toffee.

Len had hand-made ceramics and other art on the porch of the cabin which was a great draw. Thank you, Len.

Carleen and Lisa were in appropriate dresses of the era for a country fair.

And Barbara was in overalls and a sweater dressed for the weather.

What would we change for next year? Not much!
Maybe add 10 degrees to the temperature with God's help.

    Bring tablecloths for the tables.
    Bring paper napkins for the candy.
    Make a white story board for the Prayer Shawl Ministry for inside.
    Bring the brochures we have for the Prayer Shawl Ministry.
    Make a large sign for outside the cabin.

For the first real effort at the Fall Festival, it went very well. I requested the same cabin from Danette for next year if it's okay with everyone else.

Love and blessings,

Beverly

"Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up." Galatians 6:9

This is too cute!!!

2009-10-17T08:29:00.001-04:00

Free Crochet Pattern
Lion Brand® Wool-Ease®
Amigurumi Candy Corn
Pattern Number: 80763AD

Free Crochet Pattern from Lion Brand Yarn
Lion Brand® Wool-Ease®
Amigurumi Candy Corn
Pattern Number: 80763AD
SKILL LEVEL: Easy
SIZE: One Size
About 3 in. (7.5 cm)
CORRECTIONS: None
MATERIALS
• 620-301 Lion Brand Wool-Ease® Yarn: White/Multi
1 Ball (A)
• 620-171 Lion Brand Wool-Ease® Yarn: Gold
1 Ball (B)
• 620-157 Lion Brand Wool-Ease® Yarn: Pastel Yellow
1 Ball (C)
• Lion Brand Crochet Hook - Size G-6
• Large-Eyed Blunt Needles
NOTES:
1) Work in continuous rnds; do not join or turn unless otherwise instructed.
2) Yarn is sufficient for multiple Candy Corn.
CANDY CORN
With A, ch 2.
Rnd 1: Work 4 sc in first ch. Place marker in first st for beg of rnd; move marker up as each rnd is
completed.
Rnd 2: Work 2 sc in each st around – 8 sts.
Rnd 3: Sc in each st around.
Rnd 4: *2 sc in next st, sc in next st, rep from * around – 12 sts.
Rnd 5: Sc in each st around.
Rnd 6: *2 sc in next st, sc in each of next 2 sts, rep from * around – 16 sts.
Change to B.
Rnd 7: Sc in each st around.
Rnd 8: *2 sc in next st, sc in each of next 3 sts, rep from * around – 20 sts.
Rnd 9: Sc in each st around.
Rnd 10: *2 sc in next st, sc in each of next 4 sts, rep from * around – 24 sts.
Rnd 11: Sc in each st around.
Change to C.
Rnds 12-16: Sc in each st around.
Fasten off.
FINISHING
Lightly stuff Candy Corn and sew lower edge closed.
Weave in ends.

ABBREVIATIONS / REFERENCES
beg = begin(s)(ning) ch(s) = chain(s)
rep = repeat(s)(ing) rnd(s) = round(s)
sc = single crochet st(s) = stitch(es)
Free Crochet Pattern: Wool-Ease® Amigurumi Candy

Blessings

Robin