A Cup of Comfort

[kimberly]

Hello friend....come sit with me in the sunroom. i'm working on a quilt I'd like you to see. Put your feet up and I'll get you a cup of cinnamon orange tea.

Several years ago i began a 'crazy quilt'. Little scraps of rich fabrics all sewn together randomly, or---'crazily'. There are velvets, satins and brocades, mixed with floral cottons and silks...even pieces of old neckties. For months I have been embelleshing, embroidering, ribboning and beading on each seam. There are pieces of small jewelry used amongst the ribbon flowers and embroidered leaves...no seam is left bare.Occaisionally the threads tangle and knot, and I have to clip them out an begin over. I will most likely be working on this quilt for a long time, but I'm in no hurry...it's a labor of love.


It's comforting to me to know God works on us the same way. He begins with raw materials and transforms us into a rich tapestry of colors, textures, and embellishments. He never hurries or decides to quit. If we get something wrong, He asks us to prune it out and helps us begin again.
It's a labor of love to Him, and each of us is a unique mix of all the gifts and talents He ribbons and beads us with. He will work on us to the day of Christ's return for us, and never tire of doing it. The love of the Father for His creations is immense, and He delights in our growth and gain.

I hope you know, dear friend, what a blessing you are in God's eyes. He created you and desires to see you bloom and flourish in rich experiences and lavish love! He doesn't mind the seams, or the ravelled places. He's the Master Craftsman, and knows what to do.

Until next time, God bless and keep you.
Kimberly

[spicegrl127]

hi, kim! i love the posting's you have been doing. it is so wonderful the way you write, i feel as if i at mom's with you 2, having tea and visiting!
i would like to invite friends from oasis to join me in my kitchen. it is cheery and bright, with the warm smells of heavenly baking. today it smells of cinnamon and sugar. i sit in between cookie sheets baking, and read my favorite book, (besides the bible), the travelers gift, a good spiritual read. this is a nice way to spend the afternoon! thanks forthe idea! i love you, heather

[kimberly]

Thanks Heather, for the invitation!

[kimberly]

Good to see you again friend, come into my workshop today and share some blueberry tea with me. We'll leave the door open so my little doggie can run in and out, and we can smell the last of the summer flowers on the breeze.

Here in the shop, among the drawers full of paint colors, brushes, and things ready to paint on, I have a real sense of God's presence in my life. There are green ivies potted on the windowsill, sunlight streaming in the door, and the blueberry tea smells inviting.

I'm taking a break from painting a lemon tree on a plaque for my sister-in-law. It's been an enjoyable process, as usual. The Holy Spirit, who gifted me with this talent, is for me a vital part of painting anything. It's His talent, and he has loaned it to me to use. For years I thought of it as my ability and gift. Now I know differently, without Him I can do nothing. He still loves to create, and I love it that He will do that through me. What a comfort to know that the Living God wants to interact that closely with us.

I know you must have some gifts and talents from Him as well...everyone does. Each of us is enabled in some kind of talent from God. It's up to us to search it out, ask for His help in developing it, and using it. God gives to each person the unique talents He desires them to have, and discovery of what they are is part of the journey we are on with Him.

We are made to be creative. Whether you create sermons, art, songs, teach, raise children, write, bake cookies, nurse sick people....whatever you do, do it the best you know how. God's enabled you for whatever He's asked you to do, no matter what it is. 'Cookies' might sound like a silly thing, but no gift is useless or silly to God. Talents come in a lot of shapes and designs.Many a good thing came out of the bread God asked me to bake for the most unlikely people. I often think of what I might have missed, if I hadn't done what I felt Him asing me to do.


I hope you have a chance to use your talents this week, interacting with your Father as you do, friend.
God bless, Kim

[spicegrl127]

hi, kim!
i look forward to sitting in your workshop when i visit! as you know, blueberry tea is a favorite of mine!our doggies can run about togeather! i will bring my scrapbooking to work on. i am making one for brin right now. shhhhhhhhhhhh do not tell! toomorow, i shall invite you to my cozy corner where i scrapbook. until then, love to you and mom

[kimberly]

Yay! I have scissors!

[spicegrl127]

yay! can't wait. today i have rolls rising and i am in my corner at the kitchen table scrapbooking. it is cloudy here, and very cool! i love fall, and having lights on, it is a warm feeling!! my verse for today is ephesians 3:20,amplified version! love to you and mom

[kimberly]

Hello my friend! What a beautiful day it is....early September, and the air is crisp and cool. Sit while I put the electric kettle on and fix the cups with my favorite spice tea...it always reminds me of autumn. Plenty of cinnamon and a hint of nutmeg.

I love the change of seasons. Soon it will be applesauce making time....the trees are already showing tinges of yellow and red. The acorns are crunching under foot in the drive. There'll be pumpkins and bright colored mums on the front porches, and nights will be frosty.

It all reminds me that the seasons of our lives change too. Things never stay th same forever...although we sometimes wish they would. But without change, we don't grow.

Frosty autumn nights will give way to chilly winter evenings, the bright leaved trees will become bare. We'll stay inside more, and turn on the fireplace for warmth, and wait for spring.

It's a comfort to think that when all seems to slow or stop to a standstill in our lives, that God is at work. He never slumbers or sleeps. He is always aware of us during any season we are in. Just like the spring following a season of cold, when life seems to be dormant and non-existent, God is still working on a plan for renewal.

I've learned to rest in His pastures during a season of stillness, knowing that soon, the seasons will change again. There will be somethig new I'm called to, someone to serve in His name. A life in Christ is never still for long, so any waiting time I have I spend renewing my spirit in the Word......
and enjoying days like this one, the sounds of children playing coming in the windows, the fresh breeze, and the warm spicy tea. I'm glad you came today, dear friend.

So, look forward to changing seasons in your life, God is at work and exciting things will be happening as you trust Him with your future. Growth is positive! Thank You Father for renewal and change in our lives!

God bless, Kim

[kimberly]

Welcome back, friend. Sit by the big window with me, put your feet up, and let me get some apple cinnamon tea for you. I've got fresh baked cookies too.

Autumn is one of my favorite seasons. From here you can see the leaves beginning to change colors, and the squirrels are busily gathering acorns. Fall always makes me want to bake more, visit more, get out in the crisp air more. I get a 'doing' spirit. Maybe it's in anticipation for the coming slower days of winter.

I strive not to forget to slow down and wait on God in this busyness of doing. For all the joy, there are sad circumstances and problems that try for my attention...

...yet my response has to be to turn to God. He alone can comfort my concerns and anxious thoughts. My part is to keep on with what I know to be His will....trusting Him in all corcumstances. My verse today reminded me of that:

So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised.

[akita777]

I love iced tea. Ice cold tea with lot's of sugar. That's the way I drink it. My wife likes hot tea and coffee. I like the smell of coffee more than the taste. My wife's pancakes are the best, she makes them thin almost like crapes and she uses olive oil to make them. I love them with lots of real butter and blueberry jam with the edges just a little crispy. Oh I can smell them now. To sit there with our two teenagers at the table for breakfast is a real treat from our father in heaven. There was a time when we did not eat as a family. But, through some circumstances we ended up getting rid of the TV for a while and man did the Lord step in and show us all kinds of things to do together around the house. We actually remodeled the dining room and the living ourselves.(except of course for some help from the plumber) I remember when we would stand in the rooms completely torn apart and pray that the Lord would show us how to do the work. It was all an act of faith that he can and does show us how to use the talents he gifts us with.

We had never done anything like that before. We had no experience but we did have google. We just took it one step at a time and in 6 months we were done. All the walls re-textured, new flooring new doors and hardware. Base molding and crown molding. It was a time of praising the Lord and I was so jazzed about what we did with his help and guidance....

Then something really strange happened. I was attacked by the enemy telling me that he was the one who showed me how to do all the work. I became paranoid. Surely all this work was not done because of him, right?? This led me into a spiral that has lasted the last year. I am beginning to come out of it by the help of the Lord through his spirit and the help of other Christians.

There is NOTHING more blessed than to be in good fellowship with the Lord and know it and not doubt. To have the fullness of his presence and not be hindered by thoughts of the evil one. I long for the day when all my mind and all my soul and all my spirit can be fixed upon him without interruption. Nothing but being enveloped in his love forever, and ever, and ever......Love you guys...Steve

[Ingegrity]

Nice thoughts!

Thanks!

Ing

[kimberly]

It's been a long while since I've been here. The seasons of my life are whirling with activity and changes. But now, after the business of Christmas, comes a time that I love. I tend to nest myself into my home, only going out when I need to. People are gracious about coming to me, and I continue with my Tuesday bible study here at the house. I go on with making bread for a few friends, the wholesome wheat kind full of natural ingreadients. (Let's face it, the friends are kinda health nuts like me.) I sit and paint in my small shop, make tea, and talk to Him. It's a time when no one is listening but me and Him, and I can say whatever I feel. Or not say a word.
I need this season to re-fuel. I need the solitude and personal time. The rest of the year He and I are close, daily talking, but this season is special for me. It's an anticipating time, a building for the next season of relationship. Because just as the natural seasons flow from one to the next, so does my relationship with Jesus. It's ever-moving and alive.
It should be, I think. This is the season that gives me new direction, a change of ideas, a re-charge on some older ones. Jesus is full of plans and I want to be too. This resting and re-newal period is vital for me. It keeps me going and strong in an otherwise weak and unhopeful health situation. With this Savior on my side, I can defy what others think should be happening to my body. It elates me and fills me with joy.
Nothing is more comforting and re-affirming than going to an appointment and hearing- " Your test results are great- everything looks good"- Yeah, that's my God.
So I'm settling in for a season with the Holy Spirit , my Comforter. His prescription: rest and renewal, in Him.
Have a blessed winter season.
Kimberly