Proverbs

So we're going through the book of Proverbs right now at church. It's been a while since I've read any proverbs and so it's been kind of fun. I've forgotten how funny some of them are. Here's a few of my recent favorites:

Do not rebuke mockers or they will hate you; rebuke the wise and they will love you.

Instruct the wise and they will be wiser still; teach the righteous and they will add to their learning. Proverbs 9:8-9

One person gives freely, yet gains even more; another withholds unduly, but comes to poverty. Proverbs 11:24

Gray hair is a crown of splendor; it is attained in the way of righteousness. Proverbs 16:31

Better a dry crust with peace and quiet than a house full of feasting, with strife. Proverbs 17:1

Do not wear yourself out to get rich; do not trust your own cleverness.
Cast but a glance at riches, and they are gone, for they will surely sprout wings and fly off to the sky like an eagle. Proverbs 23:4-5

If anyone loudly blesses their neighbor early in the morning, it will be taken as a curse. Proverbs 27:14

It's amazing to me that even hundreds of years later, these proverbs are still applicable. I guess we don't really change much as humans over the years. It reminds me of Ecclesiastes when it says "there is nothing new under the sun". I also love how witty some of these are. It would have been fun to be around Solomon and whoever else were coming up with these. I picture these older men sitting around a bar or a campfire trying to out do each other in who could come up with the best saying. But it probably wasn't as exciting as that.

Media Monday: Favorite Photo from March

This is my favorite photo Matt took this past month. It's a picture from our trip to California on the day where we spent a few hours in Santa Barbara

Spring Fever

A few weeks ago I received a package filled with seeds for this years garden. Every time I get those seeds in my hands I'm ready for winter to be over. But March and April I know are wild months in terms of weather. But the longer days, receiving the seeds, the slightly warmer weather (slightly warmer might just be a figment of my imagination), and fewer cloudy days are making me long for summer.

So what's on tap for the garden this year? Cucumbers, beans, peas, carrots, onions, spinach, tarragon, basil, oregano, corn, and pumpkins. I'm going to hold off a few weeks before I start diagramming out the garden layout.

If anything, I know that we are more than halfway through winter and so there is hope.

Media Monday: Salt, Light, Yeast, Seeds

More Twentyonehundred project Matt helped a little bit with.  These were used at Staff Conference to help reinforce the theme of being salt, light, yeast, and seed on campus.


Salt from InterVarsity-twentyonehundred on Vimeo.

Light from InterVarsity-twentyonehundred on Vimeo.

Yeast from InterVarsity-twentyonehundred on Vimeo.

Seed from InterVarsity-twentyonehundred on Vimeo.

Next Quilt Project

Now that I finished my last quilt project it's on to a new one. I saw the pattern for Pathway to the Stars a few years back and have been wanting to try it for a while now. I think I'm going to use browns and reds as the main colors instead of the lighter colors show in the pattern. All in all it should be an easy project.

Pathway to the Stars by Sarah Maxwell and Dolores Smith Pattern

I'm also doing a little experimenting with crazy quilting for an upcoming quilting class I'm doing for our yearly Art's Fest at work.

Media Monday: Greek Conference

Every year, Matt and his team travel over to Indiana to help with a national Greek Ministry conference. Here's a taste of what happened there (Matt helped shoot this video):

Greek Conference Indianapolis 2011 Highlights from Greek InterVarsity on Vimeo.

Quilt Experiment

One of the goals I have for this year is to complete projects that have been sitting around in my closet. This is one such project.

I began this quilt about two years ago after being inspired by some fabric I found (the outlining multi-color squares in the middle). This ended up being a 5' x 4' size quilt and everything from cotton, to silk, to wool was used in making this quilt.

I didn't really have an overall plan for the quilt nor did I have a pattern. Having no pattern proved harder than I thought. At almost every stage I ended up spending hours staring at the quilt thinking, "what's next"? I also found it harder to actually create what I was seeing in my head.

Moral of the story: I don't think I'll ever not work off a pattern again. Or at least, I think I'll wait for a year or two before trying that again.

But it's finally done and I think I'm happy with the overall result. If anything, I'm super excited about how the colors worked together and that I got my corners so straight.

Media Monday: Greek Conference

Matt was recently down at an InterVarsity conference for fraternity and sorority students. This is one of his favorite conferences to help with mainly because there are so many great photo opportunities. Some of his favorite pictures are over at his blog: http://fpphoto.blogspot.com/2011/02/greek-conference.html

Nurture Shock - Chapter 2

The second chapter of Nurture Shock is subtitled: "Around the world, children get an hour less sleep then they did thirty years ago. The cost: IQ points, emotional well-being, ADHD, and obesity."

A few of my favorite quotes:
"While modern parents obsess about our babies' sleep, this concern falls off the priority list after preschool."

"Sleep-deprived people fail to recall pleasant memories, yet recall gloomy memories just fine."

"Sleep is a biological imperative for every species on earth. But humans alone try to resist its pull. Instead, we see sleep not as a physical need but a statement of character. It's considered a sign of weakness to admit fatigue - and it's a sign of strength to refuse to succumb to slumber. Sleep is for Wusses."

Overall commentary on this chapter: I love how I have more reasons to sleep! Or reasons to put any kid I babysit in bed on time :)