The Weekly Yarn - July 14th

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

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

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

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

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

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

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