Day 9 - Ministry Monday...

Last week I shared a little bit about my church...well, today on Ministry Monday of The First 25 Days of 2012 I'm going to spotlight a missionary ministry based from our church...

C.A.R.E. - Christ's Ambassador's Reaching the Elderly is the mission of Norman and Priscilla Aabye. (Pronounce like Abby.)

This is their prayer card with a brief description of what the mission is about. Then below is an overview of what they do from their blogspot...

C.A.R.E. Ministries

2 1/2 million elderly live in 25,000 nursing homes across the USA. 40% of these elderly are considered "castaways" or an "inconvenience" by their families. Some never receive a visitor. Most feel abandoned and suffer from some degree of depression. Others, having lost mobility, feel trapped with no hope.

 

In 2006, the Lord led us to establish C.A.R.E. (Christ's Ambassadors Reaching the Elderly) Ministries as an independent Baptist, local church based mission work dedicated to reaching what we believe are "America's fastest growing, yet most neglected people group: the elderly in nursing homes"!

 

Do you know someone in a nursing home? Probably. How important is it that this segment of society, that gave us so much, should have one more opportunity to hear the good news of the Gospel of Jesus Christ? We are doing just that 6 days a week, in 13 facilities throughout northwestern Pennsylvania and northeastern Ohio, seeing many come to faith in Christ as their Saviour. In addition, we are now recruiting couples who share our burden to reach the elderly, who will come and work with us, and be trained to begin similar ministries in key locations throughout America.

 

As you follow along on this blogspot, our prayer is that you will develop the same burden we have to reach these dear ones while there is still time.

Norm & Priscilla Aabye

 

Missionaries Norm and Priscilla are originally from Connecticut, where he started and pastored River Valley Baptist Church for 18 years. As stated above, they moved out here to begin their ministry...and to be near their only child, our Pastor, Jason Aabye, and his family.

 

We are so grateful they did, because not only are they doing a GREAT work as missionaries to the 13 nursing homes, they are also a major help to the church! Most days of the week you will find them at school (Open Door Baptist Academy) helping the kids with their school work. They are loved by the children and are affectionately referred to as Grandpa and Grandma Aabye {especially by me [even though they are only old enough to be my parents and not my grandparents ;) ] and my girls :)}

 

Why not check out this greatly needed ministry by clicking over to their blog, reading about what is happening, and find out what you can do to help this lost and neglected segment of society.

 

 

Now also when I am old and greyheaded, O God, forsake me not;

until I have shewed thy strength unto this generation,

and thy power to every one that is to come.

Psalm 71:18

 

Amanda

 

{Another prescheduled post, done the night before...YEAH! This is so exciting :) }

However...if it wasn't for these being daily post that go with The First 25 Days of 2012,

I probably wouldn't even be preschelduing anyway!

Day 8 - Singing Sunday...

This Sunday begins our covering of some great songs that really touch me...even now, after I've heard them many, many times. Today I'm going to share The Way You Came on The First 25 Days of 2012!

I listen to this song as sung by Lois and India Rasquinha on their CD "Cleanse Me" produced through Faith Music Missions...you can go to this site to listen to the song. (This particular one is even available for free download - or you could purchase the whole CD...it's beautiful, you won't be disappointed!)

The Way You Came

First Verse...
You think you're to late
you're life is such a mess,
You carry such a weight of sorrow and distress
But God see's past your pain
He see's a dieing soul
His lamb for us was slain
so let Him make you whole.

Chorus...
Jesus Christ died upon a tree
to change a broken life
to set a captive free
You simply cannot rearrange the way your life is
There has to be a change,
so let me say this

Come just as you are
but do not leave the way you came

Second Verse...
Come just as you are
but do not leave the same
You have come this far
do not leave the way you came
The gift of life is waiting
It is truly from the Lord
So won't you stop debating
stop following the world

Chorus...
Jesus Christ died upon a tree
to change a broken life
to set a captive free
You simply cannot rearrange the way your life is
There has to be a change,
so let me say this...

Jesus Christ died upon a tree
to change a broken life
to set a captive free
You simply cannot rearrange the way your life is
There has to be a change,
so let me say this...

Come just as you are
but do not leave the way you came

Therefore if any man be in Christ,

he is a new creature:

old things are passed away;

behold, all things are become new.

2 Corinthians 5:17



Sing with a joyful noise unto the Lord...
Amanda



Day 7 - Show, Show Saturday...

Hope today finds you enjoying your weekend...it's Saturday, so, I'm going to show a Christmas present given during the past holiday season. Also, I hope you are liking The First 25 Days of 2012!

Today is only highlighting one present...my second completed quilt! It is a lap quilt made for Chad's parents.

I named it the Stained Glass Door Lap Quilt...

I made it up as I went along...starting with a Turnover pack from Moda. Nostalgia by April Cornell. The borders are yardage bought at JoAnn's on Black Friday :) and the binding is a cream I had in my stash.

 This quilt also took some great pictures, so I have quite a few here...but my 'quality control' makes them even cuter...

 If I had known she was going to invade the photo shoot, I would have gotten her out of her jammies and into something that coordinated with the quilt :)

 I loved some of the prints in this collection...so dainty and pretty.

 So cute how she stopped right above the labels just as I was taking the picture.

 

 Scanning the situation...

 Checking it out...

 Straightening things out!

 It's even great for while reading a book!

 This lap quilt came out to about 40 x 57 inches and even when it didn't quilt well...my seam ripper and I got quite well acquainted...it turned out great! My machine has since been fixed and is running smoothly...YEAH! I hate using my seam ripper :)

Chad has even used this quilt already when we were visiting for New Year's.

I will be glad and rejoice in thee:

I will sing praise to thy name, O thou most High.

Psalm 9:2

God has given some people an amazing ability to sing, and I am so glad for those that use it to sing wonderful songs that uplift and glorify God, and encourage us in the service of the LORD. Listening now to some great music that just makes me want to sing praises to God...and to practice the piano :)
I am so thankful for the abilities God has given to use to honor HIM!

Amanda

Day 6 - Fabulous Friday...

Today's the day I'm going to share some of the things that are catching my fancy on this Fabulous Friday post of my The First 25 Days of 2012 celebration.

I recently started on ...and it's great for collecting ideas. The best thing is that the things I like that I might want to refer back to can just be 'pinned' to this virtual memory board/bulletin board...and the link is saved right there for you - COOL! Takes less time and space than saving it to my computer. Not to mention the ability to organize it all :)

Ok...so I'll show you a few quilt blocks that I really love and want to try out soon (and have pinned on to my pin board). If you want to see any of these and their links, just click on the picture!

(via)

This is one that I actually saved to my computer in August...and just remembered it :) I just love the colors! 

I'm a new follower of the Fiber of All Sorts blog, I had visited back in August, but now (after revisiting) I found quite a few other things on this blog that I really like too. Like this block...

(via)

And this Dresden...

(via)

I've been wanting to try this out for a while, but haven't gotten the ruler for it yet...I guess I should have put one of those on my Christmas list...to late now! My Birthday list is already full too...Chad gave me a quilting class - the Curves Class that starts a week after my birthday, Yeah!

So, as if I need more projects...but there are!

Like this great idea for charging the cell phone...I definitly need one of these!

(via)

Always love a log cabin quilt...

(via)

These are a great idea, and I need to make some bookmarks...

(via)

I could keep going, but I think that this is enough inspiration for now...just need to start sewing some of these!



Rejoice not against me, O mine enemy:

when I fall, I shall arise;

When I sit in darkness,

the Lord shall be a light unto me.

Micah 7:8

Another reminder that the LORD never leaves us. He always has a way of showing us His precence...we just need to remember to look for it, because there are going to be times when we sit in darkness. We need to look to God and remember His grace and mercy to us...being sure to not wollow in self pity. (My study Bible notes that the 'fall' in this verse is refering to falling into trial, not sin.)

Amanda

This is a scheduled post...I did it last night for this morning...yeah! I'm ahead on something :)



Day 5 - Teaching Thursday...

Welcome to the fifth day of The First 25 Days of 2012... Today, I want to share a tutorial with you. It is an easy and adorable, simple bag. Great size for carrying piano books in.

I wrote up this tutorial in December for a friend that is just starting to sew and she wanted to make a couple for her younger sisters for Christmas. Her bags turned out beautifully...and she didn't ask any questions once she had the pattern, so I think this is definitely a great bag for a new sewer. (However, the making of the ruffles are NOT included in the directions...if  you want to make the ruffles and need help, don't hesitate to contact me!)

Since I did write this one up earlier, it is set up like a Word document turned into PDF format...so click here to go check it out! Some of my pictures are not the greatest...I'm going to try to work on that, but I did do a lot of pictures in the tutorial. And with it already in PDF, it's alot easier to print out :)

This seems like a great way to share a tutorial...I'd appreciate any feedback as to whether it is preferable to have a tutorial directly here on the blog or the link to a PDF. Thanks!

Let me know if you make the bag and what you think...I'd love to hear your comments!

Linking this one up to the great weekend linky parties...check them out for more crafting fun.
 

And the LORD said unto Satan,

Hast thou considered my servant Job,

that there is none like him in the earth,

a perfect and an upright man, on that feareth God,

and escheweth evil? and still he holdeth fast his integrity,

although thou movedst Me against him,

to destroy him without cause.

Job 2:3

The story of Job is not an unfamiliar one to me, but this morning I open my Bible to this passage and this crossed my mind...

God allowed Satan to do things against Job because God knew that Job was a faithful follower of Him. It made me think, if God had a choice of allowing hardships to occur to someone, would He be able to find me steadfast and faithful enough to choose me? Not that I want to experience trials, who does? But, would I be found to be able to withstand them as Job did so graciously? Trails are not always a punishment from God, they are also a trying of your faith and used to strengthen your trust in God.

Amanda

Day 4 - Working Wednesday...

The First 25 Days of 2012 is onto the 4th day and it's Wednesday...so we are going to find out what's getting worked on during this Working Wednesday. That means we can hop over to Lee at Freshly Pieced for WIP Wednesday and find out what everyone else is working on this new year.

Yesterday, I actually finished up the two projects I started since Christmas. One was a mug rug/pot holder (8" x 8") I made using my new template I received for Christmas...

New Wave is what I'm calling this pattern of placement of the pieces, but it is the Drunkard's Path template...which I HATE that name, couldn't they have called it something like the wobbly path or winding path template instead?
At first I wasn't sure I really liked this arrangement, but I think it is growing on me. Chad liked it. It wasn't as hard as I expected, but I think I still want to take the Curves Class with Rachel at Stitched in Color...which is now open for registration.

Also, I finished a throw blanket for Chad yesterday. On Christmas Eve, I went to JoAnn's and while there I picked up a 1 yard fleece remnant for $3...it was woodsy and masculine with bears on it.

I went home thinking I could make a pillow cover for a floor pillow for Chad. [I only had one present for him at the time...and he had a bunch for me :)] However, my machine was really giving me fits by then and so I just didn't do anymore sewing.

So, I wrapped up the yardage and gave it to him undone. He was a good sport about it...even laid it out over him as a blanket...which it was just a little to small to cover him well. Together we decided to make it into a throw blanket instead of the pillow cover.

I added some fluffy soft material that I had in my stash. Now it fits the top of our queen sized bed. 

Where the two materials meet is just done like a rag quilt. It is very soft and cuddly.

So, the breakdown of my WIP...

New Projects: 2
Completed Projects: 2
Continuing Projects: 3 [Liz's Sashed Postage Stamp Quilt, the Table Topper, and 'the lost' Quiet book]

However, I do have a bunch of projects I plan on starting [and some finishing] soon...even today :)

Non-sewing related WIP...taking down the Christmas decorations. The big tree in the living room will hopefully come down today!

{Update: Also adding this to the Finish it up Friday #9 over at crazy mom quilts hosted by amandajean.}

Come, and let us return unto the LORD;

for He hath torn, and He will heal us;

He hath smitten, and He will bind us up.

Hosea 6:1

This passage is talking about when Israel repents and turns back to God...but if we take and apply this to us now, we can glean from it.

If we just follow and lean on God, either in continuing to, or returning to Him (like the prodigal son), we can trust that though God allows hard time and trials to come into our lives, He will take care of us. His touch is a healing and soothing comfort that we can find even during the trials. It's just hard to remember this as the trial rages, but He is there to hold you.

Take comfort in Him...

Amanda

Day 3 - Tasty Tuesday...

It's the 3rd day of the New Year and it is blustery cold...

This is our second day of Lake Effect snow...I Love It!... but that's probably because I don't have to leave the house :) On Sunday night the ground was bare, by Monday morning everyone was out snowblowing and shoveling.

So, on this Tasty Tuesday of The First 25 Days of 2012, I'm going to share one of my favorite soup recipes...Corn Chowder.

We love this soup around here, and the best part is that it taste good with a variety of meat...so you can use what you have on hand (relatively speaking).

Corn Chowder

1 can corn

2 - 10.5 oz. cans of condensed cream of chicken soup, undiluted

1 1/2 cup chicken broth

1 tube bulk sausage, fried/crumbled and drained

      or 2 cups diced ham

      or a pkg of bacon, cooked and crumbled

      or 2 cups diced Italian sausage

Egg Dumplings

Salt and Pepper  (your preference)

Combine corn, soup, broth, and meat in large sauce pan/small dutch oven and bring to a boil...stir regularly to help reduce sticking on bottom of pan. (Also, spraying the pan first with cooking spray helps with cleanup.) Once soup is boiling, add egg dumplings. Once all are stirred in, cook about another 10 to 15 minutes. Serve.

Egg Dumplings

2 eggs
1/4 tsp baking powder
flour

Whisk eggs with baking powder. Stir in enough flour to make a slightly sticky dough. Add salt and pepper if wanted. Drop into boiling soup in small amounts (about 1/4 to 1/2 tsp.)

I hope this warm, hearty soup helps you through the winter months.

On another note, I wanted to mention that I do have a Facebook page for the blog, so if you have any comments and don't have a way to comment here on the blog, feel free to visit Facebook to join the conversation. I will also open comments for the giveaway on FB too, when the time comes...hope everyone has a chance to join in :)

The LORD hath heard my supplication;

the LORD will receive my prayer.

Psalm 6:9

It is wonderful to know that I serve a God that listens and cares about our requests...even we ask that our children to go to sleep :) However, they don't always get answered as quickly as we like or the way we want, but it is always what is right for us.

Learn to pray more, and rely on self less...
Amanda