“Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore do not be anxious, saying ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.” ~Matthew 6:25-34
It has been a minute since I have posted, but I did finish my baby quilt!! I am very happy with how it turned out and baby Adeline is just as adorable. I want to write about something I have been struggling with quite a lot lately, but I also want to share how I made this quilt, so I hope you enjoy! As always, I would love your feedback or insight into quilting and/or the Bible, so please feel free to comment or email me!
I had so much fun making this baby quilt, because I tried two new techniques that I had never done before. The first one I want to tell you about is trapunto quilting. I had a lot of people ask how I made the name into the baby quilt, so I am going to try and make a tutorial for everyone who is interested. Stay tuned for that in a couple of weeks! (I’ve never made or edited a video, so might take me a bit to figure out:) Trapunto is from the Italian word for “to quilt” and is also known as the “stuffed technique.” It utilizes multiple layers of batting to make the quilted design have some texture and depth. I used this technique for both the butterflies and the name. I will definitely be using this technique in more of my quilts, because I love how it looks.
“And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?”
I don’t know about you, but I struggle with being anxious about many things, and this verse really convicts me. Christ says that being worried will not fix the situation, so why do I worry so much? Thankfully, I do not worry much about what I will eat or what I will wear, especially since I wear a uniform almost every day 🙂 . However, life causes stress, and stress unchecked can turn into an anxious heart and mind. Christ specifically says, “do not be anxious.” It could be very tempting to say, “easier said than done,” but the Bible is clear that being anxious is not a Godly attribute. If we are striving to be more Christ like, then we need to overcome our fears and stresses. But how? I wish I had the perfect answer, but unfortunately, I struggle with this too! However, the Bible gives plenty of advice on how to overcome our anxious thoughts.
Being anxious does not make you unworthy of God’s love. Everyone has struggled with having anxious thoughts. You are not alone if you deal with anxiety. There are many stories in the Bible of God-fearing men and women who had fears and anxieties. If you read Psalms, you will find many prayers and songs from Kind David crying out to God in distress. David did not keep the stress and worries to himself, he cried out to the LORD for strength. Many of his prayers and songs start out with questions and concerns, but end with praising God’s name and faith in His plan. “Casting all your anxieties on Him, because He cares for you.” ~ 1 Peter 5:7. David knew that God cared and loved Him, and that He had a plan for David that was pleasing to God. He had faith that God would see him through.
“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.
And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” ~ Phil 4:6-7. Prayer. Maybe you are a prayer warrior, or you have a hard time praying consistently. Either way, the Bible calls us to pray to our Heavenly father instead of being anxious. Just as David does in the Psalm, we are meant to lay all our concerns over to God through prayer. To go even further, by supplication, which means “the action of asking or begging for something earnestly or humbly,” we are to tell God our troubles. We are not called to be mild prayers, but rather to beg earnestly and humbly. But it does not stop there! We are to pray with thanksgiving. Even if life is stressful, we always have something to be thankful for. Focusing on what we are thankful for also helps put our troubles in perspective.
Prayer will most likely not make whatever is troubling us go away immediately or even at all. Jesus did not promise His followers an easy life on earth, but He did promise to be always with those who love Him. As in Phil 4:7 and in Matt 11:28-30, giving your heavy heart in prayer to God will bring you rest. Philippians says that if we are not anxious but in prayer let our requests be made known to God, we will find peace, that passes all understanding! How amazing is that! Just by telling God our troubles, we can find peace.
The second new technique I used is called flange binding.
I really love hand binding. I think it looks so good, and is a therapeutic activity. However, sometimes there is just not enough time! Also, hand stitching can be less reliable to stay in, especially if you know a quilt is going to be washed a lot. That is why I decided to try flange binding. It utilizes the machine for both sides of the binding, and it also adds a really cute pop of color into the quilt. I followed the Missouri Star Quilting Company’s tutorial to make my binding. See the slideshow below of the picture by picture making of this baby quilt, Metamorphosis.
“Therefore do not be anxious, saying ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” I have been reading this passage frequently this past month to remind myself of Christ’s calling to lay my anxieties down. Writing this blog post, these few verses stood out to me. I asked myself what is the cause of my stress and anxiety? I believe that part of my trouble with worry and stress lately has been because I am not seeking first the kingdom of God. What am I worried about? Work. Why? Because I want to do well. Who am I bringing glory too? If I was truly focused on bringing glory to God and His kingdom, maybe I would be less focused on my stress and work load, and more focused on bringing those around me closer to God. “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.” The other part of being so stressed is because I am not faithfully bringing my needs and worries to God in prayer. Praying once about something and hoping it will go away or be fixed is not what God desires. He desires us to come to Him faithfully over and over again. These two passages have brought to light where I have fallen short, and what God is asking me to work on. If you are struggling with anxiety or stress, I hope this brings you comfort today that God cares for you and desires for you to lay your burdens at the foot of the cross. I pray you all draw near to God today. Happy Quilting!
Quilt Bus 
Powerful message! Yes, I too have been anxious lately and I find it interesting that God has pointed us to the same scripture verses. I have become overwhelmed with my work and God convicted me today to give my notice that I will be done by the end of the year. So, I did and afterwards I felt free. Of course, that does not mean that I won’t get another job or maybe stay where I am in some other capacity (it’s been over 20 years). But, it does mean that work no longer controls me and through these scripture verses, I have a new freedom. I know that God has me covered and pray that I will now have more time to do God’s work rather than man’s work. I do know one thing for sure I will be doing a lot of that ‘prayer and supplication’. Thanks for sharing – I think it’s God telling me I made the right choice. I will be praying for you too!
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