Even a Cup of Cold Water

 I'm putting these thoughts here more as a journal entry, so I can find them later -- really mostly Scripture passages all on one subject: How essential are acts of mercy to being a Christian?

Isaiah 58:6-9 -- "Is not this the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the straps of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke? Is it not to share your bread with the hungry and bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see the naked, to cover him, and not to hide yourself from your own flesh? Then shall your light break forth like the dawn, and your healing shall spring up speedily; your righteousness shall go before you; the glory of the LORD shall be your rear guard. Then you shall call, and the LORD will answer; you shall cry, and he will say, 'Here I am.'"

(See the previous verses to find out how some folks who thought they were God's people, were not. They focused on going to church, fasting, and self-humbling actions.)

*****

James 2:14-17 -- "What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, 'Go in peace, be warmed and filled,' without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead."

(And if giving lip-service to helping the poor is bad enough to cause dead faith, as in NO faith, then how much worse if one were to ridicule the poor, exploit the poor, or make their poverty worse? Some who claim to love Jesus do these very things!)

*****

Proverbs 19:17 -- "Whoever is generous to the poor lends to the LORD, and he will repay him for his deed."

(Think of that! Jesus puts Himself in the place of the poor, needy, and destitute. And if you help them, He considers that you have helped Him. Those acts of mercy put you directly on God's radar screen, and He knows you.)

There are many other verses, especially in Psalms and Proverbs, about how God hears the cries of the needy and oppressed. Do you want God to hear your prayers? Be needy and oppressed. If you can't do that, then help the needy and oppressed, and God will notice you.

*****

Matthew 7:21 - 23 -- "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day (i.e. judgment day) many will say to me, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?' And then will I declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.'"

(Clearly, many people will think they are going  to heaven because of how they have lived: they've preached, they've even battled evil and performed miracles. But God does not know them. "You?" he says. "I don't know you. Who are you? A child of mine? No, I don't recall you at all.")

*****

Lastly, on judgment day, Jesus will sit on His throne to judge everyone -- every person and every nation. First He will separate His brothers and sisters from those who are not His. 

Matthew 25:34-46 -- "Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me."

There is no mention even of a profession of faith here! (Not that a profession isn't important, of course. It's a wonderful thing. But do these people even think they are going to heaven? Do they think they are beloved of God?) 

When told they are going to heaven, they're surprised. "Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?" they ask Him.

These folks did not do acts of mercy for religious reasons. They did not do them for the Lord. They simply did acts of mercy out of compassion. Jesus has to tell them, "Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me." This of course corresponds to the proverb above -- on this earth, Jesus identifies with the poor.

What about the other people before the throne, the ones who God does not know, who are not blessed by Him, and who will not enter heaven? Jesus says to them, "Depart form me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me."

They are naturally shocked. They don't remember ever seeing Jesus during their lives, and if they had they certainly wouldn't have neglected Him this way. "Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to you?" They protest that they are innocent, and that Jesus is mistaken.

But Jesus identifies with the poor, the needy, the prisoner and the sick. They neglected these people all their lives, instead devoting themselves to other religious duties -- church attendance, Sunday school teaching, singing cantatas, fasting and praying, studying theology, evangelism. Perhaps they were even super-religious and taught in a seminary, or were missionaries or touring Christian singers, or wrote long blog posts about the Bible. None of that saved them, and none of it indicated faith. None of it showed that God knew them, which is so much more essential than that they thought they knew God.

"Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me."

And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.

How many Christians have squirmed a little at this passage, and then ignored it. It doesn't correspond well with what we've been taught about "you're not saved by works" and "focus on studying the Word," and "it's all about faith, and faith alone."

This is very convicting to me. I've spent my life primarily doing the church duties and only lately caring much about works of mercy. I want to change that. I want not only to feel compassion when I see the needy, but to do something.

Isn't it fascinating that Matthew, the ex-tax collector, the wealthy man turned disciple, should include so much of this thinking in his book about Jesus? He must've regretted his years of exploiting the poor and longed to turn that around.

*****

Matthew 10: 40-42 -- "Whoever receives you receives me, and whoever receives me receives him who sent me," Jesus told his 12 disciples. "The one who receives a prophet because he is a prophet will receive a prophet's reward (we know that's not much!), and the one who receives a righteous person because he is a righteous person will receive a righteous person's reward (also not much). And whoever gives one of these little ones even a cup of cold water because he is a disciple, truly, I say to you, he will by no means lose his reward."

Do you want to know you are God's child, loved of Him and going to heaven? A cup of cold water will do. Many cups, plus soup, a warm coat, a place to sleep, a visit to a local prison. You may not know it, but you will find Jesus there.

The Passing of Beauty

 

My grandmother’s mantel clock chimes familiarly.

It is forty-five minutes late.

Autumn leaves shimmer yellow and

their light quivers on the sheets

where my mother lies,

whispering her breaths.

Her old toes wiggle out

into the air.

I ask if she is comfortable.

The house is quiet as we wait,

As the grandchildren drive here

to see her a last time.

Chopin, our favorite, faintly drifts

in the air as she breathes, and stops,

and breathes.

I lie on the couch in the afternoon,

listening for her.

My eyes close, then flutter open

and look for the sheets to lift

and fall. And lift.

A pot of spaghetti sauce bubbles

quietly on the stove,

Her recipe, her million meals,

her love, her children

and grandchildren.

Her life, such a beautiful life.

Even now, such a beautiful life.

White Oak, WVa

Sept. 12, 2025

 So many things must dry first.

A first layer of watercolor,

The glue binding the fabric together,

The fresh soap, the sheep's fleece.

Curing all things takes time,

Until the damp is gone.

So it is with us.

Weep all the tears you need.

Then you'll be ready to go on.

A Cool August!

 Hello, friends. July was so miserably hot this year that I was in fierce dread of August. However, a "cold" front dipped down into the South, and ... tada!! ... the temps dropped about 12 degrees, and August is much better than usual!

I've been knitting and sewing small quilts for NICU babies. I've been taking a break from the farmers market, but I'm still making a few things at home, like a batch of shampoo bars yesterday. Around July 4, some family came for a lovely visit, and we were outside a lot. Adam built me a new, massive chicken pen, fully enclosed! I'm quite happy with that.

This is a "tummy time mat" for little babies to enjoy the floor.

We hosted a lovely 5th Sunday Sing at our church in June.

I've done a good bit of spinning lately.

I visited my mother in West Virginia. That's a new great-grandchild for her.

Finished: hand-knitted wool sock pair #3

Another tummy time mat for a little girl, strip-pieced squares

We enjoyed our anniversary in July!

A homemade chocolate chess pie, made yesterday.

THIS is a very fun dish: crispy tater tots, pico (I bought mine at WalMart), and yumyum sauce (you can buy that too, but Adam made some for this). Delicious!

Thanks for visiting today, friends! I'm hoping beyond home that this cooler weather will continue. It feels almost like autumn, my favorite season! 

Hello, Summer!

And good-bye spring!

Hello, friends. I'm back for a little update on my activities. When Adam is teaching school I spend my days on practical housekeeping duties and craft projects.

I've been quilting a little. This is a string-pieces quilt, still in its blocks. I love making these squares.

I dove back into wet-felting. These two bowls were made using a soft play ball. I've since made a third bowl that turned out better, with swirly woolen flowers on the side.

I also dusted off my loom. I hadn't woven anything in over a year. The weft in this throw is my own hand-spun yarn, naturally-dyed.

Gretchen, I think you wondered if I ever finished that brown sweater .... Well, I did! The upper sleeves are rather bulky, but it's warm and cozy.

I had a very brief visit with my brother during his family's travels. We are 2 years apart.

I'm still painting too, mostly painting cards. Here are a couple of examples. 

 I still go to the Saturday farmers market nearby and sell my wares each week. Today is Adam's last day of teaching school for the year (hooray!!), so now we settle into our summer routine. He will sew. I will do my crafting pursuits, and we will both nap in the afternoon. We are so very thankful for each other, and for a simple, pleasant life. Like everyone, we have our private griefs, but also great joys, and we choose to focus on those! I hope you are all well out there in blogging world. 

My latest new project is knitting preemie baby hats for a hospital in a nearby city. I also want to use those quilt squares to make "tummy time mats" for young babies to lie on the floor. I plan to donate all these to some agency that can use them for new mothers.

What are you up to?

Love Is Patient.

 For quite a few years I've been ruminating on the passage in I Corinthians about love. I've memorized it, pondered it, prayed about it, and evaluated myself by its standard. "Love is kind," would seem like a perfect place to start, but no! It starts with "Love is patient." 

I've always been impatient: impatient with others, impatient with God, impatient with myself, and impatient with inanimate objects. We all know the signs of impatience: frustration, anger, irritability. We excuse impatience. I thought for years that my impatience was actually efficiency; I tried to do everything as quickly as I could, and I was immediately impatient with anyone or anything that slowed down my "efficiency." But I wasn't efficient; I was impatient. I was unloving.

I won't belabor the point, because we all know what it looks like. We're just not comfortable with calling it "unloving," or more accurately: hateful. To be impatient with a child is to hate the child. To be impatient with our aging and slow bodies is to hate ourselves. To be impatient with how (or when) God does something is to hate God. It's no wonder that chronically impatient people are so miserable! They are full of hate and don't know it.

Life has squelched some of my impatience as I've had to slow down, and this simple phrase from Scripture has convicted me. Oh, how I wish I had changed this part of myself when I was a young mother! Impatience with small children is perhaps the saddest, most damaging version of this sin.

I recognize impatience in myself now, and I think (hope?) I'm better at stopping myself, correcting myself, and asking God to help me show love instead.

Have you thought about this topic? I'd love to know your thoughts too.

Bracing for the Cold!

Hi, friends. It's been quite a while since I posted an update. Sorry about that! I thought I did one at the end of December, but I suppose not. Anyway, here are a few snippets of life lately.

I knitted this "rainbow" scarf for one of my grandson's for Christmas. He asked for it.

We did travel to Chattanooga for Christmas and got to visit with kids and grandkids. They were so sweet to shop and prepare for our arrival. Isn't their tree lovely? The grandkids were great and so much fun!

There are 3 grandkids we did not get to see this Christmas, which is sad. But we can't see everyone every year; we live too far apart.

I've been spinning and knitting in January. This is some wool (many various breeds) that I prepared (some from raw fleece), naturally dyed with plants that I picked here on the farm (like lichens, goldenrod, dandelions), spun on my spinning wheel, and now it is ready to make something with. But what? That's always the big decision!

Leo has found a sweet spot in my studio to snooze. Cats are skilled at finding the comfy, sunny, soft spots in the house.

Leo and Adam are becoming good friends. In the evening when it's time for TV watching, Adam calls, "Lee-Ohh!" and Leo comes trotting in and snuggles there by Adam's right arm.

I'm trying so hard to finish knitting this sweater. I have only the bottoms of the sleeves to complete. It's a bit wonky (as most of my knitting is!), but I think it will be very warm, cozy, and wearable. The right sleeve is now nearly done.

 And that's where we are right now. I'm sitting on the couch, waiting for cold weather and snow this week, and knitting away with brown wool. We will probably only get 2-4 inches of snow, but in the South, that's a lot, especially here on the coast. Adam will almost certainly have no school on Wednesday (hooray!) Now ... if we can only keep the house warm!

I hope all of you are warm, content, peaceful, and thankful right now. In the midst of life's sorrows and trials, it's often a Herculean effort to keep inner peace. May God, with his Holy Spirit, help us all to keep that peace.