“Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace.” -Ephesians 6:14-15
Happy Thanksgiving! I wanted to finish this mini-series on truth before all the holiday season’s craziness really kicks off with our big feast tomorrow. We have asked ourselves “What is truth?” and we have explored the definition of Biblical truth. Now, it seems fitting to wrap up the topic by asking, “How does the truth change me?”
There are hundreds of Bible verses about truth; what it is (or I should say, who it is), what it means, and how we apply it. While I show you this dragon quilt, I will intersperse some Bible verses about truth throughout, and we can wrap up our discussion on truth at the end of the article.
“Teach me your way, O LORD, that I may walk in your truth; unite my heart to fear your name.” Psalm 86:11
A great idea for a quilt starts with your imagination. Sometimes the hard part is being inspired, but other times it is difficult to take your vision and make it a reality. In this case, I thought I knew what I wanted the quilt to look like. Fortunately for me and my baby girl, I think it turned out way better than I had envisioned.
“Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth.” -2 Timothy 2:15
This quilt is paper-pieced. The pattern is called Emerald Mountain by Modern Quilt Patterns. I was able to pull all the fabrics from my personal stash, which was a huge bonus!
“Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another.” -Ephesians 4:25
The dragons are turned-edge quilt applique, a new technique I learned this year. Here is the video I learned from, but I will also go over the steps in the next blog post! The key to making the dragons is figuring out what layers you need and choosing the right colors. I would also recommend making your applique bigger than mine, because the little tiny pieces were really challenging!
“Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.” – 1 John 3:18
I learned a fun little trick while assembling this quilt that made the process easier. If you have some blank wall space and the quilt is not too large, you can hang the quilt up on the wall with masking tape and use adhesive spray between the layers instead of pins. This saved my knees!
The quilting was also a ton of fun to do. I wanted to highlight the geometric shapes and add depth to the sky without taking away from the dragons. I added extra batting behind the dragons and quilted some smaller details, such as the dragon’s belly and wing ribs, before adding the batting and backing to finish with Free Motion Quilting (FMQ). The extra batting helps the dragons to pop out a little. For the binding, I used the flange binding that I have come to love for baby quilts.
How does the truth change me? If the truth is Jesus Christ, and I have accepted the good news (the Gospel) that he taught, then I should be transformed! Paul writes to the Ephesians, “To put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.” (Ephesians 4:22-24) Paul then gives practical advice on what this walk looks like: be angry and do not sin, do honest work, avoid corrupt talk, build others up with your words, be kind, tenderhearted, and forgive one another (Ephesians 4: 26-32).
Our acceptance of the Gospel truth changes us from the inside out. Therefore, people around us should see the truth we believe in our daily walk (our lifestyle). We are called to stand firm (Ephesians 6:13-14) in the truth, to handle it rightly (2 Timothy 2:15), and to speak the truth to our neighbor (Ephesians 4:25). John urges us to love in deed and in truth (1 John 3:18)! The acceptance of truth starts in our heart and then shapes our words, our deeds, our prayer, our praise, and our whole life! Let us fasten our belt of truth daily! Happy Quilting!
“Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.” -Philippians 4:8
Quilt Bus 