I’ll share the whole song with you at the end of my post, but for now, here are the first few lines:

“Speak, O Lord, as we come to You to receive the food of Your Holy Word.  Take Your truth, plant it deep in us; Shape and fashion us in Your likeness, that the light of Christ might be seen today in our acts of love and our deeds of faith.”

Did you know that there are some 340 million people in the world that do not have the Bible in their native tongue, that is, in the language they know and understand best?  This would be the language in which they think and pray.  Some call it the heart language.  In that 340 million people, there are over 2000 languages that do not yet have any portion of the Bible in their language.  Among some of those languages their are even some churches who are trying desperately to disciple followers of Jesus, but without any portion of Scripture that the people understand.  You can imagine a pastor’s work when he doesn’t have a Bible to use that his people understand to teach them the way of Jesus. You can imagine the error that can creep in over time when a church does not have the Word of God to teach and correct and train in righteousness.

This song struck me today because we were singing it as a preparation to hear the Word of God preached. “Speak, O Lord, as we come to you to receive the food of Your Holy Word.”  A later verse asks God, “Teach us, Lord, full obedience, holy reverence, true humility; test our thoughts and our attitudes in the radiance of Your purity. Cause our faith to rise; cause our eyes to see You majestic love and authority. Words of pow’r that can never fail–Let their truth prevail over unbelief.”  We could ask this today, knowing that God’s Word is what does these things for us. It teaches, corrects, rebukes, trains in righteousness.  It tests our thoughts!  But my heart was so heavy for those in the world today who do not even have a translation of the Scriptures available to them.  Not one word is there for them. Not one.

Did you know that $5 million dollars was spent on developing the New King James Version of the Bible?  Did you know that there have been 29 translations or revisions of the Bible in the English language…..since 1990?  All while not one word is there for the 340 million Bible-less people.  Not one word.

There is good news too, and that is that there are organizations out there working hard to close the gap and get a translation of the Bible in all of those languages that need one.  There are those who have gone and those who have given, and those who are preparing to go.  But the need is still great and if anything I have said here has struck a chord with you, I ask you to prayerfully consider getting involved in the task of Bible translation.

Daniel and I have been burdened so much by this need, that we are praying and doing what we can to prepare for however the Lord would see fit to use us for this task. Ultimately we cannot say right now what it is going to look like for us, but currently we are seeking to further Daniel’s education (and possibly my own) in a way that will benefit this task.  But don’t let the fact that Daniel is on his way toward a Ph.D. let you think that you would not be able to join in the work.  It doesn’t take a Ph.D. to do Bible translation, only a willing heart and a love and reverence for God’s word.  The rest will work its way in.  If you want to know more, check out Wycliffe Bible Translators, not the only translation organization out there, but one of the best.  If you are not convinced this is a real need (and even if you are), check out the Hare family’s blog.  They are friends of ours from seminary who are currently in preparation to go to Cameroon, West Africa to begin a Bible translation.  They have done a wonderful job using their blog to explain the need and why they feel God is calling them.  Check it out.

Now, if you have time (and maybe you do, since you just read my long post!), listen to this song and thank the Lord that you have His Word to teach and correct you and train you in righteousness.  Ask the Lord that He would send workers who would bring His word to those who do not have it; “words of power that can never fail”—that He would cause ” their truth [to] prevail over unbelief.”

“Speak O Lord till Your church is built, and the earth is filled with Your glory.”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Qhg4cI7v5w

I shot this intending to get Glory dancing, which she did for about 3 seconds, but Isaiah made me giggle.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y7cdYkkA6r4

Sorry for not embedding them on the blog…I tried and apparently I don’t know how to code it anymore. Oh well, links work just as well.

Here’s the next item on the list to cover your little one:

A sweet little sundress.

The front of the bodice is smocked and decorated with a pretty pink thread.  The straps close with buttons, one on each side.  I have enough of the fabric shown to make up to a 2T.  If you need something bigger, just let me know what type of fabric you are thinking and I can try to accommodate.  I need measurements for all orders so that we can make sure the dress fits just right.

Measure the shoulders (across the back from about where a shirt sleeve seam would start to the opposite shirt sleeve seam on the opposite shoulder).

Measure from the nape of the neck to just below the knee or wherever you would like the dress hem to stop.

Measure around the chest.

Smocked dress: $28

For info on ordering go here.

Isaiah had lots of fun with our former pastor’s daughter, Sarah, at the wedding….I don’t think he stopped running except maybe long enough to down some cake (by the way, Mariel, that was delicious!)

We had a great week and got to visit with lots of old friends and meet their children!  It was awesome and a little bit strange to see our kids playing with the children of our college friends (yes, I know there are a handful of you out here in Kentucky too….I just meant the folks we haven’t seen in awhile). I know there were some of you we weren’t able to see and we were torn, but we were actually only IN California for four days, so all the folks we saw mostly had something to do with the wedding.

We stayed a couple of nights with my (Kerry’s) college roommate Mary and her family.  She and her husband Kris have two beautiful girls and we loved getting to meet them! We took a trip to our alma mater and it was VERY weird to have our kiddos walking around campus with Mary’s daughter (her other daughter is 3 months old…she isn’t walking as far as I could tell).

We loved getting to see everyone and even got to visit our old church in Norco, CA. 

And last, but not least, we got some much needed grandparent time in Nevada! (And I’m sure they got some much needed grandkid time too!)

Final note: If you live in an area of the country with sub-freezing temperatures in the winter…DON’T visit California mid-winter looking to enjoy a break from the cold. You will come home and FREEZE!  I thought my blood had thickened after living here for four years, but I have not been able to get warm since we came home.  I am blaming it on the 74 degree weather in Cali.

1) I got my computer cord yesterday! Yay!

2) We (Kerry and kids) were unexpectedly given the opportunity to join Daniel in California at a wedding for which he is best man.  We will be gone January 31 (Monday) through February 8 (Tuesday). That means if you order anything between now and the 8th there will be a slight delay.  I will do my best to finish up as much as I can before I leave (and I have a couple helpers so it’s not just me sewing).  I already have some orders to fill and orders will be filled in the order they were received. 

BUT if you place an order between now and February 8th, I will enter your name in a drawing to win a mini version of my bamboo velour baby blanket, at around 15″ x 15″ it is just big enough to make the perfect lovey, but not so big as an actual blanket that will drag all over the ground.  It is finished with green satin edges.

This sling is for all those mamas out there who wish they had a fourth hand (I sprouted my third hand sometime during my second pregnancy….if you don’t have yours yet, you will soon).  Glory is approximately 19 lbs and I feel totally comfortable wearing her in this.  We should get some good use out of ours for awhile, and since Glory loves it, I plan on using it.  It will also work for a newborn (not the back-carry), it just takes some learning.  A baby carrier is something I could not have lived without when Glory was a newborn and I had a toddler running around, and I think that all parents of two or more should own one! (Parents of one will enjoy it too, of course!)

I will supply directions and special safety instructions, so don’t worry if you aren’t sure how to use it just yet!  If you are local, I would really like the chance to show you in person just so I can help you get it on safely.  If you are not local, then we’ll have to do it via computer, but I think it can be done, and you might even be able to find a local mama who knows what she is doing too!

This ring sling is made using a heavy twill.  The special aluminum rings were designed and tested specifically for this purpose.  The best part about this sling is that the tail is embellished with a piece of silk I purchased in Cambodia when I was in college.  It’s been hiding out in my cedar chest waiting for the perfect use, and what better use could there be?  I bought it while on a mission trip, and now it is going to help fund one!

This sling has a pink silk with pink rings.  I also have grey-blue silk with matching rings.  I can always order more rings and more twill, but I have limited amounts of silk and when it is gone, it is gone, so order now!  Slings are one-size fits most.

Ring sling with Cambodian silk (specify pink or blue): $55  now  $45!

Don’t despair yet.  I don’t mean for this post to be only a rebuke.  I only said that part in order to get the gravity of anxiety across.  So when we repent of sin, we are supposed to turn the other way and do something else, right? What the Lord has been giving me lately is something with which to replace anxiety.  It’s actually right there in the last part of that verse in Philippians, which we really like to quote, but we might totally miss the point if we don’t start with calling anxiety sin.  Thanksgiving.  I don’t mean thanking Him in advance for the thing you are asking Him for.  I mean just plain, straightforward, thanksgiving.  Psalm 34:10 says “The young lions suffer want and hunger; but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing.”  No good thing.  I must confess that I have been guilty of anxiety over money, and all the while neglecting to recognize all that He has given and all that He has promised to give.  He may not promise all the luxuries I might want, but He promises that those who seek the Lord lack no good thing.  If that is His promise, then the anxiety over money just seems that much more serious of an offense.  In my anxiety, I have been calling God a liar.  But the Lord is good not to leave us in our sin!  On the days I am tempted towards anxiety over money, the Lord has been turning my heart towards His many gifts.  He has graciously provided for us time and again and there is not a single good thing that I can think of that we have lacked.  As the Lord has worked in my heart, I have discovered a rather interesting phenomenon (actually, I am sure it is not a phenomenon, but rather an intentional design), it is that it is literally impossible to be anxious if one is truly offering the Lord thanksgiving.  When I am thanking God, I cannot at the same time be anxious over anything, because when I am thanking God I am acknowledging His past provision and being reminded that I can be completely confident in His promise of provision for the future.

I write this as an exhortation for all of you believers in Christ Jesus.  I know it had a rebuke too, but only because it has been my rebuke as well.  If you are seeking God, the Maker of Heaven and Earth, you have absolutely no cause for anxiety and every cause for thanksgiving.  If you are in a difficult time financially, don’t forget His promises.  I don’t mean go around spending money wastefully because, hey, “the Lord will provide.”  You may still have to feel the squeeze financially.  But I do mean rest in the peace of knowing that you lack no good thing.  If you still feel that you are lacking, examine your heart and ask what it is that you think you lack.  Then ask yourself if that thing is good.  I mean really good.

If you are reading this and are not a believer in Jesus, you may think I am just talking a bunch of jibberish nonsense.  But if you can examine your life and see that you do lack a good thing, in fact, the greatest thing, that is peace with God, then perhaps you are hearing the call of Christ on your life to follow Him.  Peace with God can only be found through Jesus Christ.  Apart from Jesus, there is only wrath and seperation because you have offended a holy God by your disobedience to His word.  But by the death and resurrection of Jesus you can be at peace with God if only you trust His power to save you.  He is powerful to save you because He is both God and man and lived the perfect life that God requires.  So for those who believe in His name, He gives the right to become children of God and children of God lack no good thing.

“Oh, fear the Lord, you his saints! For those who fear him have no lack!” Psalm 34:9

I’ve been getting into babywearing with this baby.  It is a very enjoyable thing for me and probably the reason I survived the newborn phase with two children.  Glory still loves to be snuggled up next to me and usually stays quite content when we go out because she has her mama so close.  I’ve made a few slings of varying styles and discovered that the little girls at church have really taken a fascination with them.  In fact, one mom told me her daughter had been trying to tie scarves around her to hold her baby dolls the way I hold Glory.  That mom requested a child-sized sling for her daughter for Christmas, and let’s just say her daughter was more than a little ecstatic about it.

The style of carrier I used for the doll sling is called a pouch sling. It is basically a sash with a pouch built-in for the baby.  Here’s a full-sized one I made for a friend (sorry about the quality of the pic):

Is there a little girl in your life who loves to play mommy?  Give her a doll sling so she can keep her baby snuggled close.

I have two slings pre-made, but will make more if need be.  These slings will fit an average sized girl from toddler to around 4 or 5.  There is a little wiggle room with size on these because they are only for dolls and so the safety of the baby is not an issue (in an adult sized one you would need it to fit snugly and perfectly for it to work right and be safe).  But if you are unsure about fit, measure your daughter from her shoulder to the top of her opposite hip bone (like where you would put your hands on your hips) and if the number is below 18 inches, it will fit.  If you have an older girl, or an above average sized girl then just let me know what that measurement is and I’ll gladly make one that fits.

Here are the two slings. They are reversible too!

Sling #1

Sling #1 showing reverse (the red and white polka dots).

Sling #2 showing reverse (the stripes).

Please specify which sling you would like. I will keep this updated for when they have sold. If you would like a larger size, please let me know. 

Baby doll sling (choose red or purple): $15

Info on how to order is on the page at the top of our blog marked “Fundraiser Order Info and Links.” Or you can click here.

In an effort to show you what these slings look like on a child, I managed to convince Isaiah to let me take his picture with one on.  The condition was if I let him keep playing with his handcuffs.  Guess it’s better that way, just so you know he is still a man’s man. Oh, and that’s Glory’s doll, not his.  Oh my he is going to hate me when he is older!

Update: Here are some new fabrics available. I can still do the above two as well.

Sling #3

Sling #4

Sling #5

Sling #6