Sew Wonderful

You will never believe the phone call I received from my dear Mrs. Nagy. She called to tell me she had something for me. A sewing machine. This sewing machine was given to her daughter by a friend a number of years ago and now, she was passing it along to me. Mrs. Nagy reminded me of the saying her mother taught her and what she, in turn, taught to her daughter.

Give to others what has been freely given to you.

If you sew, if you are a seamstress, please, just pass right by this post. It will be nothing but sheer silliness to you. I would encourage you to read this instead. Actually, even if you don't sew and you read this post, I encourage you to read this.

These pictures should tell the story. I have added words to help clear-up any confusion, or perhaps, to confuse things all the more!



This is my new sewing machine. It's been sewing for someone for almost 40 years.

This is a bobbin. Do you see the light blue thread? I made this bobbin on my new sewing machine. All by myself.

Side story...

Mrs. Nagy spent an hour or so last Friday morning going over important things I needed to know about a sewing machine. How to oil it, thread it, change stitches and settings, etc. While we did not make a bobbin together, she quickly described what I needed to do. I was so afraid I would forget what she taught me that I went home and did everything (except the oiling part). And as you can see, she taught me well!

This is not my quilt. I repeat, this is not my quilt! I decided the best thing to do was to cut out a stack of 5 inch squares and practice. I even used my new rotary cutter. Mrs. Nagy explained, drew a picture, and then showed me how to sew pieces of fabric together. She explained how important it is to press the seams in the right direction. See how the top row seams are pressed left? See how the next row seams are pressed right? That's important to know. When we went to Amish Country a couple of weeks ago a young Amish girl was showing me a quilt she was working on. She had me feel the seams of the small pieces that were sewn together. She said, "Do you feel that?" "Yes," I answered. "That's how you know you've done it right." I guess the best way to describe it is, it feels like one continuous seam. Honestly, I didn't have a clue what she was talking about. Now I do!



I didn't take the time to press all the seams down since I was just practicing, but that, my friends, is a perfect intersection of four 5 inch squares!

This, on the other hand, is not. See the buckle in the fabric? I found out afterwards that two of my 5 inch squares weren't.

Not pretty is it? It's best for me to learn while practicing on scraps of fabric than to have this happen on my real quilt. Since I had this mistake (actually, there were two of these), I know what not to do.

In all, I sewed 24-5 inch squares together. Three rows of 8 squares each. I have a funny feeling it will be kept in my sewing box for all eternity.

And so, there you have it. My first sewing machine. My first bobbin. My first seams sewn on a sewing machine. My first successful intersection. My first practice piece.

I feel sew wonderful!

Dreams Do Come True

I know it's been a while, but do you remember Big Dreamin? Or perhaps you remember this very disturbing post? While it would seem that I haven't spoken on this subject for a while, I have been very busy. Just last week, I spent eight hours with my favorite sewing teacher and mentor, Mrs. Nagy. It was just the two of us and we were on a mission. Let me just say this again, I just love that woman. I feel like she was hand-picked by the Lord, just for me, when I needed her most.

If you remember, I started a crib-size quilt that was going to be just for me. It was a practice quilt. The more I worked on it, however, the lovelier it became. I decided I wanted to give it to Rachel. I also decided I wanted to do something special for her since she's going to camp and will be away from home for the very first time. So, I made a special quilt pocket embroidered with her name. The pocket is meant for me to tuck inside love letters to Rachel. The quilt was suppose to be a surprise on the day she arrived at camp (you know, she opens her luggage and finds it stashed away), but circumstances forced me to give-up all the secrecy and present it to her a little early. Actually, I was relieved. It's hard keeping a secret around here! The pocket isn't quite finished, but it will be very soon. And I can't wait to tuck inside that pocket the very first quilt love letter.

One steamy afternoon we all went to Hobby Lobby to walk around and do some sight seeing. Out of the blue, Caleb tells me he knows what I can get him for his birthday. A quilt! Little did he know I had planned on making him a quilt since he's going to camp too. He will be away from home for the first time and will be gone for two full weeks. That's fourteen days. Please pray for me. His request made things a little easier on me. No more sneaking around and he picked out the fabric he wanted. Well, it just so happens Mrs. Nagy walked into Hobby Lobby while we were there looking around. Caleb was convinced we had planned it, but it was absolutely coincidental (divine meeting is what I like to call it). Mrs. Nagy helped us with some of the decision making and thought Caleb's selection was quite lovely. His quilt was much easier since it's not actually quilted like Rachel's. I finished it in five days!

Drum roll please... Michelle's very first quilts!


The circles were fun to stitch and we all love that satin border


Mrs. Nagy was kind enough to machine sew the satin border


My very first embroidered stitches...not bad, eh?


Sleeping Beauty slumbering with her quilt for the very first time


Caleb's quilt is cotton twill on the front and flannel on the back


I used black cotton yarn to create the quilting


I lazy-daisy stitched Caleb's name on the front of the quilt before basting it together


Prince Charming sleeping with his quilt for the very first time

Oh, did I ever love making something so special to present to both of my kids. I absolutely loved seeing them snuggling with their quilts early the next morning.

With the kids heading out for camp soon, I think the next person who will need a quilt, a big squishy comfy quilt, is Yours Truly. I am already looking forward to going back to Hobby Lobby and lingering in the fabric department.

Let me say this for the record: I love quilting

And just in case you're wondering, dreams do come true!

A Cup of Tea

Michelle and Rachel at the Ladies Spring Tea


This gorgeous May pole greeted everyone upon arrival


Is there anything better than strawberries dipped in chocolate?


Beautifully presented tea sandwiches


Scones and assorted pastries

Rachel and I invited Mrs. Nagy to join us at the Ladies Spring Tea hosted by our church this past weekend. When I walked into the room and saw the May pole with all the pastel satin ribbons reaching to the far ends of the room, it took my breath away. It was simply stunning! Needless to say, the food was incredible and the presentation of every little detail was quite amazing. I heard someone talking in the Ladies Room that it took over five hours just to assemble the tea sandwiches. What a labor of love!

The theme of this year's tea was Legacy of Love. The scripture that brought everything together was:

One generation will commend your works to another;

they will tell of your mighty acts.

Psalm 145:4

A panel of women comprised of grandmothers, mothers, and daughters answered questions about how they were living out their faith as a family and what Psalm 145:4 meant to them. I realized I was sitting with a woman whose great faith had been given to her at her mother's knee while they lived in a concentration camp. Mrs. Nagy passed on her faith to all three of her children and now, they are passing their faith onto their children. God's faithfulness down through the generations is an amazing thing to me.

I have come to realize that a person's background doesn't matter. No matter how deep the pit, no matter how dreadful the mud and mire, His arm is long enough to reach you. There is no one, no one that is beyond the reach of God's love. I know. I am a living testimony to His grace and mercy. Listen...the first generation of commending works to another may very well start with you.

Who knows--leaving a legacy of love may very well involve conversations over a cup of tea.

Giving thanks to my Jesus today,

Caution: Moron Post

Yes, this would be me.

I am such a moron. Let me say that again. I am such a moron.

I had no intentions today of writing about being a moron, but since I have just discovered that's exactly what I am at this precise moment in time, I'll write about it.

Moron: A stupid person; dolt; a person of subnormal intelligence; a person who is not very bright

What's worse, my two-days-away-from-being-twelve-years-old daughter, kindly pointed this out to me a mere 15 minutes ago. Lovely.

Last week I went to Hobby Lobby and selected fabric for my next quilting project. I'm making a crib-size quilt this time. Not too big, but not too small. I have no one in mind...no baby shower coming up. I'm doing this just for me so I can practice. I chose a funky multi-colored circular/flower design on a white background. I chose it because I thought it would be fun to hand quilt. Then I chose a beautiful baby pink flannel to complement it along with quilting thread, batting, and my very own set of quilting pins. Unfortunately, when I arrived home I quickly discovered the pink flannel was faded along the top where it was wrapped on the bolt of fabric. This made for a lovely white line straight down the middle of my fabric. This right here should have been a sign.

I took the fabric back to Hobby Lobby and selected a baby blue 100% cotton fabric instead and checked it before walking out of the store. I've never done this before and had no idea I needed to check the fabric. Lesson number one.

This takes us to today's events.

I was hoping to have my quilt ready to start quilting before our get together with Mrs. Nagy on Wednesday.

I washed and dried both pieces of fabric.

I ironed both pieces of fabric.

I placed both pieces of fabric together, trimmed two edges of the blue fabric so there was a two-inch difference between the fabrics and then carefully placed the batting in between.

I used my new quilting pins (yes, they were positioned straight!) to secure all three layers in place.

I started basting by finding the center and stitching from there to all four corners, then from the center to all four sides. I even added additional diagonal basting stitches since I thought there was too big a gap between the center to the corners. Then I basted around all four sides of the entire piece. I was quite proud of myself. This right here should have been a sign.

Enter Rachel...

"Which side is the top?"
"I suppose either one of the short sides."

Warning: moron stage one has just begun

"No, I mean which side is the top?"
"Well, I don't think it matters really. It's to fit a crib so it will be one of the short sides."

Warning: moron stage two has just begun

"No, what I mean is, is the blue side the top?"
"No, the white side is the top. That's where the design is."
"Oh. So why do you have it cut like this?"

Warning: full-blown moron, but still doesn't know it

"Why do I have it cut like what? I left enough to fold the edges over when it's finished."
"But I thought you said the white fabric was the top of the quilt?"
"It is."
"OK, but shouldn't the blue fabric be cut bigger than the white fabric so the white is on the top when you fold the edges over?"

Are you afraid for me?

"You know...if you want the top to be white, you would need the white to fold over like this (she's now showing me what she means) so that way the border is folded over the blue, like this."

Light bulb finally turns on.
Heart sinks.
Reality sets in.
Big mistake.
Gulp.

"Oh. Big sigh. I guess I had better call Mrs. Nagy and find out what I should do."

Then I added this little line so I could feel better about myself...

"Well, you know, I wanted to add a three-inch white satin border on this anyway, and I'm sure it will work out just fine."

I hope so.
I hope so.
I hope so.

The look on Rachel's face was absolutely classic. It said something like, "Mmmm hmmm. Yea. Right." With respect, of course.

So I have a call into Mrs. Nagy and am patiently waiting to find out if I have to remove all the basting stitches and cut down my crib-size quilt into something a little smaller.

I hope not.
I hope not.
I hope not.

Lesson number two: Just because Mrs. Nagy has shown you a little something about a needle and thread does not make you qualified to start a quilt on your own.

Insert whining here...

I was just trying to be a good student, all prepared for class, you know!

I'm heading to a corner to cry now. With my dunce cap, of course.


P.S. Yes, it's perfectly OK to feel sorry for me. I have a funny feeling Mrs. Nagy will not allow things to stay "as is."

Sew Amazing!

Notice the basting... Notice the quilted heart and square...
Notice the crooked pins... Mrs. Nagy told me that's a no-no


Finished! You have to look closely to see the quilted squares and hearts


Notice the bottom edge and the tiny little blind hem stitch

Michelle's Magnum Opus

Do you remember Big Dreamin'? I posted it only a week ago. Mrs. Nagy started to teach me how to hand quilt. And I've been a busy girl. During our get together yesterday, she taught me how to finish the edges and create mitered corners. I must say, it's a beautiful thing...quilting.

Drum roll please...

I finished my little hand quilting

project this afternoon!

Can I say that I am so proud of myself? You know, me, the one who can't spell sew and can hardly sew a button on a shirt! I made a mini-quilt. I stitched every single stitch with my own two hands.

I believe this is big enough news that perhaps this very night you'll see me featured on the Evening News. The news feed will say something like, "Sew Amazing--It's a Miracle!"

Me sew?

Me sew and stick with it?

Me sew and like it?

Me sew and love it?

Me sew and finish a project?

Me sew and finish a project in seven days?

Yippee!

I have learned, finally, that there's something to be said about creating a thing of beauty with my own two hands. Something that will last. Something I can pass down to my children. My Big Dreamin' is a little closer to reality.

I absolutely love quilting!

Can't wait to start the next one...something a little bigger perhaps. Perhaps!

Your humble blogger,

Big Dreamin'

Today was yet again another wonderful Wednesday with Mrs. Nagy. Are you sitting down? We are in the midst of cross stitching and embroidering, but today Mrs. Nagy had something else in mind. Something new. We are, however, responsible for continuing our other projects at home.

First of all, she presented to us a quilt she was given last week by her son-in-love (that's what she calls him!). This is an unfinished quilt that, in his hands, represents six generations. She pulled out a little piece of paper which documented who was who and how it was this quilt came to be. It's almost 100 years old! It is absolutely stunning...truly. While looking at it, Rachel and I realize that every single stitch was put in place by some one's two hands. No sewing machine ever touched this fabric. I don't know anything about quilts or quilt patterns, but this one looked like a huge honeycomb. It had hundreds and hundreds of little hexagons that made a pattern of 121 flowers. Every flower was made with a different fabric! The quilt was lovingly given to Mrs. Nagy to finish. It needs batting and a back and, of course, quilted.

Can I just say that almost every Wednesday when we walk into her house, we find her seated at a huge quilting rack working diligently on her daughter's king-sized quilt made-up of beautifully colored triangles. Honestly, what a labor of love. I am amazed. It is stunning.

So, can you guess what Mrs. Nagy had in mind today? Yes, she was going to teach Rachel how to quilt. She had already prepared Mary Engelbreit fabric and muslin backing for two pot holders. She taught Rachel how to cut the fabric using a rotary cutter and she learned how to baste in order to keep all the layers together. She learned the quilting stitch last week (Mrs. Nagy asked her to sit at the king-sized quilt and help her!), so she's ready to start quilting in no time.

Let's pause here for a moment. If you are someone who knows how to sew, I realize you might be laughing right about now. But I'm here to tell you that I can hardly sew on a button. Just ask Mr. Wonderful. I had never before today looked upon a rotary cutter...I mean, are you kidding me? Anyway, if this post is just a little boring because someone taught you how to sew, then use this time to go and thank God for her. Really. I never learned. I cannot tell you how thankful I am that Mrs. Nagy is teaching my daughter.

So here I am, standing in the background watching. I can feel my little heart longing to learn how to do this. But remember, it's all I can do to cross stitch (you know, make little x's in a row). How on earth can I quilt. After a little while I muster-up the courage to ask very timidly, "Mrs. Nagy, do you think I could learn how to quilt? You know, I can't even spell the word sew." Mrs. Nagy is so gracious to me. She says, "You spell sew, s o. You'll do just fine!"

In a matter of minutes, I had fabric, batting, muslin, a basting needle, quilting thread, a thimble, a finger cot (for pulling the needle), and a stitching-hoop. My project is a little bigger (but actually simpler) than Rachel's. The fabric is probably 18x24 inches and actually has a pattern that looks like a mini quilt. Before we left today, I had basted together all three layers and started quilting. I tell you the truth!

Can I just say how excited I am? I'm driving home and having a silent conversation in my head as I envision wonderful things made with my own two hands. This is big dreamin' folks. Big Dreamin'. "I could make each of my kids a quilt!" "I could make my own grand baby a quilt!" Oh the thought of it...me quilting! Reality slowly starts to enter my mind and I take a big deep breath. "Let's not get too excited, Michelle. One thing at a time."

Mrs. Nagy, I adore you. You bring such joy into my life. I love that my daughter is learning such a wonderful craft while sitting by your side. And all the other wonderful life lessons we are beneficiaries of as we stitch and talk together. You are truly God's gift to us. Thank you for your gift of time.

Me, quilting?
Yesterday, no way.

Today?
Maybe, just maybe!

Four O'Clock

Today I managed to mess up some purple x’s. Not surprising, I guess. The fact that I got through last week without incident should have told me something. Did I really think I could do it yet again? Nope. It was only wishful thinking. I don’t know how I did what I did, but it was too complicated to figure out. We even got out a magnifying glass! That right there ought to tell you something. Mrs. Nagy said, “Just let that be Michelle’s signature.” Isn’t she just the sweetest?

And then there’s Rachel. Miss Perfect Student. Hmph.

We talk non-stop the entire time we’re there. I’m really amazed we get anything done at all. But women have this wonderful ability to multi-task (although me and cross stitching might be the exception). We started talking about Rachel playing piano and her need for a big challenging piece (she’s been bored lately). Mrs. Nagy shared how she taught herself many years ago to play piano just so she could play the old hymns. One thing lead to another and the next thing I know, she’s telling us the song she would like her daughter-in-law to play and sing at her funeral. She started speaking the words to the hymn (which I did not immediately recognize), but found she needed to sing in order to remember the words. Here is this beautiful godly woman singing right there at her dining room table. The old hymn is called The Holy City. I only recognized it after I heard the melody. The words paint a beautiful picture of Heaven.

Here’s the last part of the song…

And once again the scene was changed;
New earth there seemed to be;
I saw the Holy City
Beside the tideless sea;
The light of God was on its streets,
The gates were open wide,
And all who would might enter,
And no one was denied.
No need of moon or stars by night,
Or sun to shine by day;
It was the new Jerusalem
That would not pass away.

Jerusalem! Jerusalem!
Sing for the night is o'er!
Hosanna in the highest!
Hosanna for evermore!

By the way, we talked about flowers too. When they lived in Austria, her mother had a tiny little patch of ground outside their two-room apartment (a converted barrack) where she planted herbs and vegetables. There, a little row of Four O’clocks would grow. These flowers always remind her of her mother. Don’t tell Mrs. Nagy, but I will be on an important mission around Mother’s Day!

Short Ends

It's Wednesday. And a gorgeous Wednesday at that. Another afternoon spent with our dear friend, Mrs. Nagy. Now I want you to know that I managed to cross stitch today without any major problems. That's a huge accomplishment for me. All the little blue x's are now complete so, I was ready to move to the purple x's. I think I counted and recounted 8 or 9 times to make sure I was starting in the right place. I wasn't about to make that awful mistake again.

Rachel continues to make Mrs. Nagy so proud of her ability to follow directions and pay attention to the smallest of details. Her pillowcase is just beautiful. It won't be long and she'll have it completed and ready to start the second one. Mrs. Nagy is already talking about going on a little shopping trip to find the next embroidery project. She's certain Rachel is ready for the next level! Did you notice there's no mention of me being ready to move on?

One of the great things I've come to love about us stitching and embroidering and sewing together is that we can talk and work at the same time. And Mrs. Nagy always has a little something for us to enjoy. She's such a gracious hostess. Today we tried a sampling from a little tray filled with dates, apricots, walnuts, almonds, and chocolates. As far as I know, this was the first time I've ever tasted a date. I really enjoyed it! Rachel, not so much. Not surprising though. Speaking of dates, Mrs. Nagy told us she's never been on a date. She had an arranged marriage. But that's another story for another time.

As always, a wonderful nugget of wisdom was dispensed during all the stitches we made. She told us a story of when she was a little girl living in Austria. They had been through of a number of refugee camps by this time. She found herself in school as a foreigner. Foreigners were looked down on. She only spoke German and the other children would make fun of her. She said she would come home in tears not knowing what to do. Her mother, Julianna, told her these words:

"Take the short end and God

will reward you in the long run."

Mrs. Nagy spoke this little saying to us in German and it actually rhymes, making it easy to remember. I guess I immediately likened it to hearing, "Looks like you got the short end of the stick!" When someone gives you the short end of the stick, so to speak, respond with love and kindness. Mrs. Nagy said she never really understood what this meant until she was much older and had experienced many occasions where she took the short end. She said she has always found this to be true...that God rewards his children in the long run.

Sew, Repent!

Today is Wednesday so you know what that means...another afternoon with Mrs. Nagy!

Last week while Rachel was diligently working on her pillowcase, Mrs. Nagy showed me how to cross stitch. This proves Mrs. Nagy is the most patient woman on the planet. Several years ago I thought I'd try and be crafty so I picked-up a little cross stitch kit. It looked easy enough. I took everything out of the package and read the directions. I looked around to see if anyone was watching then quietly slipped it back into the kit and hid it in a basket where it's been ever since.

I have to tell you that I just realized what the thing says right across the front, "Everything is possible with God." Obviously this doesn't apply to me and sewing.

Anyway, she got me off to a great start. I actually found the middle...who knew that would be such a big accomplishment. I got started and seemed to be on a roll. At one point I paused, quite proud of myself, and handed it to Mrs. Nagy for her inspection. "Oh, remember when I told you how you have to be careful and stitch in the same direction?" Ah, no. "See how the blue looks like it has changed colors? That's because you have stitched it in the opposite direction." Oh. She picks up the package, looks at what these tiny little blue lines represent and kindly says, "You know, it's OK. These are clouds and clouds are different colors, right?" Right. By this time, our afternoon session was coming to an end. My Rachel is an incredible student and I can tell Mrs. Nagy is so proud of her. I, on the other hand, was happy to call it a day.

Now it just so happens I didn't have an opportunity to cross stitch over the past week. Today was a new day and a new blue line of x's could begin. I would make sure every stitch went in the same direction. And so I begin my little x's while Mrs. Nagy helps Rachel learn three new embroidery stitches. Cross, cross, cross...stitch, stitch, stitch. This is going much better today than last time. I run out my thread and tie it off, all ready to begin the next section. Hold on a second. Why isn't this lining up? You have got to be kidding me. Keep in mind, I really don't want to tell Mrs. Nagy what I have just done, but I must because I don't know what to do. For a split second I thought I'd just keep going and pretend I didn't see the problem. You know what happens to little problems that are ignored, right? I do too. I quietly interrupt the wonderful lesson that's going on next to me..."Um, Mrs. Nagy? I think I've done something wrong. I'm suppose to have two blank squares, but I have three." That may not sound like a big deal to you, but I'm here to tell you the whole thing would be off by one square and that would be a big deal in the end. Mrs. Nagy takes it and looks at it. "Should I just pull everything out and start that whole section over?" She kindly tells me yes and adds, "Count three times, stitch once." Kinda like cutting wood...measure twice, cut once. I discovered that it's much easier to pull out little blue stitches than to put them in. You can be sure the next two hours I spent time counting and recounting and then marking the little square with a pin just to make sure I knew where I was!

I thought about this little miscount I made today. Had I kept going, I would have had a very big mistake at some point. It would have shown up eventually, especially to the eyes of an expert. Where it concerns needle and thread, I'm certain I can't pull any quick ones on Mrs. Nagy!

Isn't life a lot like that? We usually know when we do something wrong. Instead of recognizing our problem, we just keep going full steam ahead. What might have been an easy fix turns into a major reconstruction. I am so happy to know God has provided a way for me if I will but stop and repent and ask for forgiveness. A funny little word most people today think is old-fashioned. Repent really means to stop, turn, and go in the opposite direction. The older I get, the easier this becomes. I suppose it's because I've been through too many major reconstructions in my life and continue to find the easy fix is always less painful.

Note to self: Repent does not apply to cross stitching (unless, of course, you're stitching little blue clouds).

Just a Reminder

Do you ever get a thought or image stuck in your head? I've had this little problem since last Wednesday night. I've thought about it when I wake up in the morning and dreamed about it after going to sleep at night. I've imagined having to be the one asking the question as well as be the one giving the answer. What is it, you ask? It's a haunting story Mrs. Nagy shared with us when we had her over for dinner last Wednesday. She shared many stories. Amazing stories. Incredibly sad and heart-wrenching stories. This one has stuck with me. I guess, in a small way, it reminds me how I feel whenever I think back on the movie, Sophie's Choice. That movie still haunts me. I guess because I just can't imagine being in that kind of position. I pray I never am.

When Mrs. Nagy was in the concentration camp, she was there along with her brothers, her mother and both sets of grandparents. She told this story with a little bit of humor because she still found it funny. Her paternal grandparents had different belief systems. Her grandfather was a Christian and knew he would one day be with his Lord in Heaven. Her grandmother didn't believe in Heaven nor God, for that matter. When it came time for the once-a-day "food" distribution (a small cup of clear broth they called soup), the grandmother would take the soup from the grandfather and drink it along with her cup of soup. Grandfather had nothing to eat. She figured he was ready for Heaven and she wasn't. She announced to everyone she would outlive him and was going to make sure he died before she did.

It came to pass when one day the grandfather came to Mrs. Nagy's mother and asked if she could share her cup of soup with him. He was so hungry. Mrs. Nagy remembered the incident quite well. Her mother looked at him and told him no. She told him she didn't eat herself, but gave whatever she had to her children. She had the great responsibility of making sure the children survived this hell on earth. Mrs. Nagy said he dropped his head, turned, and walked away dejected. He died the very next day. He starved to death along with thousands of others. Now here's where Mrs. Nagy laughed...the grandmother died within an hour of the grandfather. Even though she took his food every day, she only outlived him by an hour. Mrs. Nagy thought this was heavenly justice for a woman who had been so cruel to her own husband.

One might imagine the seemingly cold answer "no" hadn't any emotion whatsoever. I would like to think this poor woman, watching her own little children slowly being starved, was overwhelmed with grief as she told her father-in-law she couldn't share her soup. I wonder if she wanted to go after him and tell him she was sorry. I wonder if her circumstances were so desperate at this point that no feelings dare be shown. Weakness meant certain death. What strength it would take on this mother's part to refuse such a request. What compassion it would take on the grandfather's part not to impose his will upon his daughter-in-law. My mind plays it out many different ways. I end up in the same place each time. The cruelty of man upon his fellow man is a reminder of the fallen world in which we live. In the words of Elisabeth Elliot, "It is for this we have Jesus."

Beautiful Things

Every experience God gives us, every person he puts in our lives, is the perfect preparation for the future that only He can see. Corrie Ten Boom (1892-1983 )

I have this quote framed, along with a pressed flower, hanging in our guest bathroom. Most of us have it memorized since it’s right in the center of the wall. Corrie Ten Boom and her family lived under the horrific conditions of a Nazi concentration camp. Why? For loving and hiding Jews. Corrie lived to tell her amazing story and went on to travel the world telling people of Jesus’ redeeming love. I highly recommend her book, Life Lessons from Corrie Ten Boom.

Today, Rachel and I get to spend the day with our dear friend, Mrs. Nagy. We had the privilege of meeting her and her older brother, Adam, at a Bible study we attended several years ago. We invited them over for dinner and our friendship began. Mrs. Nagy, her brother, and their family survived many years in a concentration camp. These camps weren’t for Jews, but for Germans. At the end of the war, Tito (many regarded as a hero) rounded up everyone in Yugoslavia with a German name and placed them in concentration camps. It didn’t matter who you were--rich, poor, young or old. The men were taken first, followed by the women and children. Thousands starved to death. Hundreds committed suicide. Their compelling story along with thousands of others who survived, have mostly been kept secret. My husband and I sat with Adam for an entire afternoon as he recalled the horrors he saw as a 9-year old boy. His sister was 4. Imagine living on 3 kernels of corn a day. Imagine salt (snuck into camp) used as money. Imagine waking up many mornings and seeing dead people hanging in trees. No longer able to bear their circumstances and without hope, through the watches of the night they found death a better option. After being rescued a number of years later, another story begins as this family travels by foot across Europe, and they are shuffled through many refugee camps. God saw fit to put these precious people into our lives and we are so thankful. We are forever changed because of their story and their compelling love for Jesus.

Mrs. Nagy is sharing her God-given gifts with Rachel and me. Taught at her mother’s knee, she is a master at handiwork which includes sewing, quilting, knitting, crocheting, and embroidery. Her collection is breath-taking. Last week she taught Rachel the lazy daisy stitch and presented her with a special pillow case project. I don’t know what stitch we’ll learn today, but I know for certain we will get in bed tonight richer because of the time we spent together with Mrs. Nagy. This dear woman lives out what she believes. She is the embodiment of a spirit-filled, authentic Believer who constantly gives God praise, no matter what the circumstances. Many lessons not related to embroidery are being learned as we sit across her dining room table together. I am so thankful for her wisdom and great kindness.

I shared with Mrs. Nagy how I have tucked away several pillow cases given to me many years ago by my husband’s grandmother, Loretta. They are exquisite and I don’t use them because they are so beautiful. Mrs. Nagy reminded me how the soldiers came to their home and they had five minutes--bread was baking in the oven. She recalled how her mother kept her fine things tucked away and unused because of their beauty. When they were taken from their home, they never returned. The beautiful things were gone forever. Mrs. Nagy sternly told me, “Take them out! Use them! Enjoy their beauty now!” That’s exactly what I am going to do. Beautiful things should never be kept secret.