The other day when I turned on the radio in the car this is the song that started playing:
I’m divin’ in I’m going deep
In over my head I wanna be
caught in the rush
tossed in the flow
In over my head I want to go
The rivers deep
The rivers wide
The rivers water is alive
so sink or swim
I’m divin in
This is what I woke up to the other morning, as I sipped coffee later I was reminded of a conversation with somone I used to work with telling me he was on one of those exercise machines and hit total stride in time with the song. It is a great rhythm to walk/exercise to.
Today’s post will be something of a joyful noise (Psalm 100), akin to how the stitching happens when I’m not particularly focused on anything or see something, feel something and start going with it.
The first reading yesterday is from the book of Daniel about Susannah being falsely accused of adultery by a couple of the Elders/Judges, and Daniel, being open to the Holy Spirit discovers/discerns the wickedness of their hearts and saves Susannah’s life. Both judges lose their lives for this false accusation, and I have to wonder how those leaders who stood by and let this happen were their hearts convicted? Did they see this wrong for what it was and repent? Then I got to thinking about the Woman caught in adultery in the New Testamant. Jesus starts writing something in the dirt, Scripture doesn’t record precisely what it was however I wonder if it was the names of these judges, the names that those “catching this woman in adultery” would know, because this is in their Canon of Scripture, the stories that point to God in some way, or to how we ought to live. I think too that before casting the rocks of condemnation with my own words.
I finished reading Elizabeth Scalia’s Little Sins Mean a Lot the other day. I was disappointed in one thing, and one thing only – that I was done. When I was in my late teens & twenties I read with great haste, as one does. Over the last 15 years or so there’s been a slowing down, a savoring, stopping to think & pray & write. While this may seem a bit of a non-sequitor please allow me a little latitude. My husband is great about cleaning windows in the car when we stop to fuel up, he cleans the inside too as we always have window cleaner and papertowels in the car. I struggle a little bit being the short person I am it’s a little more difficult. The windows aren’t always super dirty, more like annoyingly dirty and therefore produce a little bit of glare making it harder to see while driving, particularly at night. I didn’t fully appreciate this until I was taking care of vehicles on my own for a period of time.
Little Sins, much like the road stuff from bugs and dust to air pollution and bird fertilizer on our car windows, build up over time hindering in many ways our ability to clearly see through the spiritual windshield. Rooting them out, Confessing, and making changes in our daily lives are primary steps in cleaning that spritual windshield. That clean windshield also allows us to see the bigger sins in our lives and work towards rooting them out. This also helps us develop the spiritual maturity we need to know when temptation comes along that we can deal with it or get the help we need to deal with it. Some sins are directly caused by a need for healing and a profound act of forgiveness.
PS I will be sharing on another of Elizabeth’s books later on. Right now I have to read and write and prepare.
Over the last few years in everyday living God our Father has pointed over and over and over and over to the need for community. God is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit a community all in One I AM. This is long before our twenty-twenty and twenty-twenty one social isolating/limiting social interaction happened. The moments when I knew I needed community come to mind in vivid recollection both in my own physical response and in spiritual heartache. The need for community and being outside community for whatever reason can be heart rending in so many ways. Personally when there is a somewhat difficult experience we tend towards pulling back from our community.These last two book studies at our local Parish have affirmed the need for Community and that God works toward restoring us to community. Even the Scribes and Pharisees are being called back to Community.
The quilt world just finished our 3rd virtual trade show in a year. Everyone I talked to, yes I spent hours in Zoom rooms talking to people, misses the interaction, energy, excitement, creative conversation that is part and parcel of our quilting world. There is something about interacting with, and touching the community that is energizing, we speak the same language, we teach the language to new people, we plan, work towards growth, form friendships, and see who’s there from show to show. One of the conversations clarified a few things for me, and gave me an idea for how to handle filming classes. We know the numbers of people coming to big events will change, and more will do some kind of virtual class session, the need for human contact though remains the same.
Going deeper into anything from faith and quilting to books and pizza; from quilting to understanding and knitting and drawing, takes time and an oppeness to learning new things even though we fall and skin our knees or a rotary cutter meets the edge of our finger or a machine needle – well I just won’t go there but I’ll allow your imagination to do the work for me here there’s effort, trial and error, with each step we get stronger or see more clearly, it takes two minutes at a gas station to clean the windows and it’s something that makes a big difference.
So back to this whole Joyful Noise bit. I cannot carry a tune, I do sing with great gusto though. I love singing along with songs. I love making a joyful noise with my quilts combining things weights and textures and feeling the rhythm of things that work well together even though they shouldn’t. The joyful noise I make here and now whether in my quilting work, or in prayer is a sweet, sweet sound in Your ear. Sometimes too prayer feels noisy and off, it’s scattered and unfocused just like quilting keep going.
God bless,
Teri
A Quilter's Heart 