Time Management

“Time is money.”

Surely everyone has heard this phrase. Well, what about the next one?

“For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” (Matthew 6:21, NIV)

I know that what Jesus said is true. And I happen to agree that time is money. This leads me to believe that how I spend my time indicates where my heart lies also.

If I told you I really love my husband, but then said I never spend time with him… would you believe that I love him? If I said I really care for the homeless, but then said I never give money to charity and never volunteer my time… would you believe that I truly care? Now, if I tell you I am a Christian and I love God with all my heart, soul, mind, and strength, but then said I never read the Bible or pray or spend time still and silent before Him… would you believe that I love God?

I have not been a good steward with my time, efforts, energy, or mind. I have not worked at glorifying God. I have not worked at being more Christ-like. Every day that I waste is a gift gambled with.

Bible Challenge

I read some last week, but didn’t make note of it. I’m going to take a break from posting about this for a while because I don’t get on the computer every day anymore, so am not keeping track of it as well. I will keep reading, but just won’t post about it weekly.

One thing that has helped is having a daily Bible study. The one I’m using now will be done at the end of February, so I’m going to look online for a free daily study to do. If you have any suggestions, I’d love to hear them!

She Knits: Nate’s Socks

Nate’s long, plain, brown socks are finally complete. I enjoyed knitting these for him and would gladly cast on another pair now, but it feels like a huge accomplishment to have them finished. The best part is that they fit so wonderfully and he loves them.

Pattern Info:
Fleegle’s Toe-up Socks by Susan Glinert
Source: Fleegle’s Blog

This pattern is more of a set of guidelines than a real pattern. I obtained a different gauge than what she does in the pattern, so used different numbers. I aimed for 9 stitches per inch because I’ve read that tightly knit socks will wear better. I did follow the toe shaping, gusset increasing, and heel turn instructions. I, however, added calf-shaping because he wanted knee-high socks. This I did by measuring his leg circumference at various spots and using my gauge to get an estimate of tapering, then trying them on him as I knit them. I ended with about 1.5 inches of 1×1 ribbing at the top.

One sock fits a little tighter than the other. On the second sock, I had to use different needles and that one ended up slightly looser, longer, and stretchier. He is happy, though, and that’s what really matters. If I make him another pair, I would definitely use the same pattern (I did write it all down!) except I would begin the toe with 2 fewer stitches because the tip of the toe is just a bit wider than his big toe, so the corners end up in little points. Not a huge deal, but it’s something I will change if I can for future socks.

Yarn Info:
Knit Picks Palette
Fingering weight
Thicket colorway
100% wool

I thoroughly enjoyed working with this yarn. It’s not overly soft; perfect for socks. I can’t comment on how it will wear over time, but it’s spun nicely and I don’t think I came across a single knot in the 2.25 skeins I worked with.

Photos:
Excuse the messy background… he was sitting on the porch for sunlight and the carpeting there is really… erm, ugly.

WIP Wednesday

I’m excited to show you these WIPs because I actually have pictures this time.

I’ve still been chugging along on Nate’s socks. As I started the second heel, one of my bamboo needles broke. I only have one pair in each size, so had to buy new ones. I bought some nickel-plated double-pointed needles from Knit Picks. They came in the mail last Thursday and since then, I’ve really plowed through the second sock. It feels like I can knit faster on these needles, although that doesn’t make much sense. Maybe because of the slicker finish? I don’t know. Anyway, I’ve got a couple more inches to go before working the ribbing. I think Nate is very excited. Here is how it looks so far:

Nate's Sock in progress

Last week I also received a package from Knit Picks containing items purchased with a birthday present gift card from last year. I bought another skein of yarn to finish Nate’s socks (I had to use some of the second for the first sock, so needed another skein.), some locking stitch markers (that I LOVE!), and two hanks of laceweight yarn that looks like this:

Oregon Coast Heather

This is a skein of Knit Picks Shadow, which is a 100% wool laceweight, in the Oregon Coast Heather colorway. It looks like a fairly dull brown in the hank, but is absolutely gorgeous once knitted up. It actually has a strong purple/pink shade to it that I am so excited about. I’ve started the Swallowtail Shawl pattern for myself in this yarn because I wanted to venture into lace knitting. Here’s the shawl in progress:

Swallowtail

It’s a triangle shawl knit from the long straight edge (hypotenuse of the triangle that will eventually lay across the shoulders), down to the tip at the bottom. In the photo above it looks quite crumpled, but that is the nature of lace, so I’ve read. It will look much nicer once it is washed and block. Here are two closer photos:

Swallowtail (and a purple stitch marker!)

Swallowtail

Praise and Worship

In light of a recent Bible study passage, I’ve been contemplating the difference between praise and worship. In the study, praise is defined as the thanksgiving for God’s actions, His providence, His behaviors. Worship is defined as the adoration of God’s character. One focuses on what God has done/is doing/will do, while the other on who exactly is God.

I’ve since realized that the psalms are full of both praise and worship. The psalms are a fabulous place to begin studying God’s actions and God’s character. I have added another set of markings to my annotations list so that, as I read, I can underline praise and worship. Praise is underlined in blue and worship in red. It’s fun to read psalms in this way.

In Psalms 95 and 96, I’ve learned the following:

1. God is “the Rock of [my] salvation” (95:1)
2. “the Lord is the great God, the great King above all gods” (95:3)
3. God is my “Maker” (95:6)
4. God is “[my] God” (95:7)
5. “great is the Lord” (96:4)
6. God is “most worthy of praise” (96:4)
7. God is “to be feared above all gods” (96:4)
8. God is majestic, strong, and glorious (96:6-9)
9. God is just (96:10)
10. God is true (96:13)

Also,

1. God holds “the depths of the earth” in His hand, and owns “the mountain peaks” and “the sea” (96:4 & 5)
2. God is Creator, God “formed the dry land” (95:5)
3. God cares for His flock (95:7)
4. God saves (96:2)
5. God performs “marvelous deeds among all peoples” (96:3)
6. “the Lord made the heavens” (96:5)
7. “the Lord reigns” (96:10)
8. God “firmly established” the world (96:10)
9. God judges “with equity” (96:10)
10. “the Lord… comes to judges the earth” (96:13)
11. God “will judge the world… and the peoples” (96:13)

Annotating the Word like this inspires awe in me as I underline again and again. I plan to do this whenever I get the chance to spend time in psalms and possibly elsewhere as well.

This begs the question: Do you annotate your Bible? Do you make notes? Do you underline? Do you highlight?

I use colored pencils in a color code I came up with to underline pieces of scripture that fit into categories. I also make margin notes on occasion, and have now added blue/red underlining for praise and worship verses. I’m interested to know how you study the Bible.

Bible Challenge: Week 15

This is another installment in my personal Bible Challenge weekly updates. If you don’t know what this is or want to know how it started, follow this link to the introductory post (opens in new window). If you simply want to read more posts like this one, choose “Bible Challenge” out of the category cloud on the right sidebar.

First, I want to apologize for getting this post up so late. I’ve been limiting my computer time in an effort to (1) do more house cleaning, (2) do more school work, and (3) do more knitting. It’s working–I’ve been doing some of all three–but it means this weekly post gets forgotten and I don’t post as often. Although, the post frequency might be caused by my not having finished any projects recently!

So, I didn’t read very much last week, but here’s the list:

Monday: Mark 1:35-39
I’m still following the Bible study notes I have and am enjoying them. This one was about establishing a set time each day to meditate on the Word of God. By the word “meditate,” I mean to simply focus on God’s Word and being still and listening to God as He reveals understanding and knowledge about His Word.

I like this, but haven’t tried it yet. If I read the Bible in the morning, the passages I read tend to resonate all day with me. I end up thinking about it and forming opinions and interpretations, and will sometimes end up doing a bit of research in the evening to see what others have to say on the scripture I read. So I don’t have a time each day dedicated to being still and quiet and only thinking of the scriptures I read, but I do contemplate them throughout the day.

I can see how this would be beneficial, but am not sure how I might implement it just yet. I think it is definitely important to spend quiet time with God, but I guess I feel like I don’t know how to do that. It seems silly, I know! Just sit there and be quiet and still and let scriptures run through your mind as they come up. Easy. But it’s more intimidating than you might think!

Tuesday: Revelation 4:1-11
This is where the writer introduces the concept of worship. He defines worship basically as the adoration of God and His character. Well, how can you adore God’s character if you don’t know God’s character? Reading the Word of God is one way to learn about who God is. And this knowledge, in a Christian especially, usually spontaneously results in awe, admiration, and adoration, as it should.

I imagine it in this way. Let’s say I have an acquaintance I don’t know very well. If I learn that, for example, the acquaintance volunteers at the homeless shelter once a month, then my curiosity might be peaked and I would think pretty well of the person. I gained knowledge of some behavior, and that behavior gives me insight into that person’s character. I might think they are giving and selfless. Thus, my perception of them increases. It works similarly for bad perceptions. If I were to learn that an acquaintance stole from a friend, then I wouldn’t think the person wasn’t someone I’d like to get to know further.

God reveals His character through His Word in records of His actions (that we can then extrapolate from, as above) as well as His pure revelation of His character to people in past. I imagine that Abraham, after the almost-sacrifice of Isaac, probably learned a lot about God’s character through that experience.

The writer here encourages me to ponder God’s character and to spend time worshipping Him.

Wednesday: Job 42:1-6
The writer explains here that in order to truly worship God, we must know that God is worthy of that worship.

Thursday: 1 Chronicles 16:7-36

Friday
Saturday
Sunday:
I didn’t read any of these days. I am now playing catch-up on the studies for those days.

Bible Challenge: Week 14

This is a weekly update of my Bible reading last week as part of my Bible Challenge: a personal goal to form a habit of reading the Bible every day. Choose the category “Bible Challenge” on the right side menu to see more posts like this one. The introduction post explains how this began.

Monday: Matthew 4:1-11, Acts 17:1-15, Genesis 35-37
I worked through the study for both today and yesterday, since I was lazy yesterday. I am really enjoying this small study and have recently noticed there is a free online supplement to this little booklet. I’ll be checking that out today, as I’m sure I will find it helpful.

One obvious, though unforeseen, happy consequence of spending so much time in God’s Word is that navigation is getting easier. I used to get a bit frustrated because I’d have a verse in my head and I’d know the book, but it took me a long time to find it. Or when I would try to study, I’d spend more time at the Table of Contents than in the actual Scriptures! Since this study has me flipping throughout the book, I am remembering where books are in relation to others, and am thus better able to navigate. A joyful side effect!

Tuesday: Psalm 39:1-13, 1 Samuel 1-3
Nate and I read from 1 Samuel last night together. I read from Psalms for my personal study.

Wednesday: Luke 18:1-8

Thursday: Jeremiah 33:1-9

Friday
Saturday
I didn’t read either of these days. I didn’t forget, I was just being lazy about it.

Sunday: Luke 11:1-13, Isaiah 65:17-25,Philippians 4:1-9

Snap, Crackle, Pop!

I have a set of  bamboo circular knitting needles that I do all of my knitting with. I purchased the set shortly after learning to knit because it was inexpensive, and my research told me I could knit anything–big, small, in the round, flat–on long circular needles. This has definitely proven true, as I haven’t needed any other needles. The set I bought came with 15 sizes from size US 0 to US 15 (I think… maybe only 13). They are great needles with flexible cables that allow for easy magic-looping (a technique which allows the knitter to knit in-the-round small diameter items with a long circular needle).

I’ve used the size US 1′s (2.25 mm) for I think only one other project, Cassie’s socks. I was working on Nate’s socks last night (the heel of the second sock) and snap! One of the tips broke off about an inch from the end! Oh no! I nearly lost about 15 stitches, but was able to save them on the other needle and cable. They broke in such a way that they were easily super-glued back together. Nate did that for me and then sanded down the sharp edges. That spot was definitely rougher than the rest of the needles, but it wasn’t the worst thing to work with, so I pressed on.

About three more rows in, I hear another snap! This time, it was a clean straight break that couldn’t be glued back together. I was kind of upset because I was really gettin’ in the groove on this heel, and it kind of sucks to be interrupted like that. Nate had the idea and I let him try it because, hey, it’s possible I’d get a useable needle out of it, and it’s not like he could make it more unusable than it already was. He filed down the needle into a point similar to the other (except, it’s about 3 inches shorter now), sanded it, and then applied a coat of varnish to see if it would be smooth enough to work with.

After drying all night, it’s still not very smooth. Since I can already see the size US 0′s and 2′s breaking, I bought 3 sets of DPNs from Knit Picks today in their nickel-plated line in sizes US 0, 1, and 2. I’m really loving the sock knitting, so I can see myself knitting many more pairs. These are the sizes I’ll use for sock knitting, so it’ll be nice to have some good quality metal needles that won’t break after knitting a pair of socks with them. Also, the slick surface and pointier tips might be nice.

Nate’s socks are thus on hold until I get these needles in and do a little practicing. I’ve never used DPNs before. For those who don’t know, DPNs stands for double-pointed needles… they are needles with a point on each end. You arrange them so that you have 3 or 4 in a triangle or square holding the stitches and you knit with the 4th or 5th needle. There’s a lot of sticks and a lot of points to keep up with. However, I’m confident I will get it figured out. It just looks like maybe poor Nate’s socks won’t be finished by the end of winter.

WIP Wednesday

I haven’t shared any projects recently because… well, I haven’t finished much. I did complete the first of Nate’s pair of socks on Monday, though. It fits very well, and I am especially proud of it because it was a tall order. (Ha, pun intended!) He wanted socks that would reach almost to his knees to protect his skin from his rubber boots. In the winter, it gets so wet and soggy here that he wears his rubber boots nearly every day. He does tuck his jeans in, but another layer helps. The wool should keep his feet warmer, as well. And, for those who don’t know, wool absorbs a lot of water, so maybe his feet will stay a little drier too.

These socks were very easy, done toe-up beginning with a Turkish Cast-On and then working the gusset and heel according to Fleegle’s Toe-up Socks pattern. I worked the entire thing in stockinette (knitting around and around and…), decreasing after the heel because his ankles are not very big, then increasing again for the calf. I worked one and half inches of plain 1×1 ribbing and bound off using Jeny’s Surprisingly Stretchy Bind-off. Overall, they were quite simple–the most complicated part was figuring out how to increase for the calf shaping.

He’s so happy with the first sock, he wore it for a few hours right after I finished it. Now I can’t wait to get the second finished, so maybe he can wear the full pair before winter is over! I’ve begun increasing for the gusset, but that only puts me about 10% into it.

I intended to get a couple of pictures of it on him today, but forgot before the sun went down. You’ll have to wait until the other is done to see how they fit!

My Spiritual Army

My knowledge of the Bible, as I’ve come to visualize it, is my personal army. Every verse I know is a soldier; every verse I know well is, perhaps, a cannon or other tactical weapon. Some verses serve as protective barriers, defenses. This army is used in combat against the enemy at least once a day, probably more. They withstand baratement and attack day and night, really. They never die, but they can be severely wounded.

Each day that I read the Bible, I add cavalrymen, cannons, foot soldiers, captains, sergeants, colonels (only because I like spelling colonels), army nurses, fort walls, iron gates, and deep, rolling waters in my moat. My reading and studying provides medicine for the wounded, patches for the damaged walls.

Every day I do not read or study the Bible, my men suffer from lack of food and clean water, damaged barriers, and missing medical supplies. The next day, it’s as if I have to read three times as much to make up for my neglect.

These soldiers are used in battle against Satan. He sometimes tempts me into battle with foods I know I shouldn’t eat or activities I know I shouldn’t participate in. Other times, he attacks me without warning and catches me off guard. He showers my men with negative talk (“you aren’t good enough”), promises he can never keep (“do/eat/wear this and you’ll be happy”), and temptations.

I pray today that God will help me replenish my army. I pray that the Holy Spirit dwelling in me will override my enemy’s attempts to knock me off the right path, and I pray these things in Jesus’ Name. Amen.

Now I am interested–how is your army doing?