How to Crochet a Dishcloth

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Back by popular demand: my favorite pattern for crocheting homemade dish/wash cloths!

"Natural fibers" are all the rage these days - I use a 100% cotton thread when sewing these useful (and highly gift-able!) cloths.  The thread I use can be found on Amazon here:  Cotton yarn

This pattern has excellent texture, a gap-free pattern, and shrinks fairly uniformly so the cloth tends to keep it's shape after many washes.

Here's the pattern:

Chain 34 loosely

Row 1: Dc in fourth ch from hook and in each ch across.

Row 2:  Ch 1, turn; sc in first dc, ch 2, skip next dc, sc in sp before next dc, ch 2, ** skip next 2 dc, sc in sp before next dc, ch 2; repeat from ** across to last 2 st, sc in top of beginning ch.

Row 3:  Ch 3, turn; dc in first ch-2 sp, 2 dc in each ch-2 sp across to last ch-2 sp, dc in last ch-2 sp, dc in last sc.

Repeat rows 2 and 3 until piece is approximately square.

You can leave it as is, or you can sew a border for a more finished look.  I do a simple dc border all the way around the edges, taking care to evenly space the stitches to avoid ruffling or puckering.  Sew 3 stitches in each corner to make the turn.  If the piece "cups" after making the turn, rip back to the corner and add a corner stitch.  I frequently have to do 4 stitches in the corner.

Happy sewing!

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Believe is a VERB!

"I will instruct you and teach you in the way which you shall go, I will counsel you with My eye upon you” Ps 32.8

Do we believe God? Do we believe Him enough to act like we believe Him?

He promises to instruct us, teach us, and counsel us.

Do we believe that enough to slow down, quiet our minds, and LISTEN?

And when we hear His guidance, do we believe enough to obey no matter what? When it seems contrary, confusing, or random…do we obey based on His goodness and faithfulness instead of constantly running it through our human filter and rejecting it if it “doesn’t make sense”?

He is good
He is kind and gentle
His thoughts are different than ours…His perspective is infinitely higher and wiser

Today’s challenge….believe Him and act like it!
 

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"Zero Compromise"

(Image created with AI...but the expression is not quite right...it should be much more stern)

 

I just had a strange experience during worship, and I sense that it's something I'm meant to share.

It was strange because I often "see/sense" Jesus during worship.  Sometimes He's standing, sometimes sitting.  Sometimes He even dances or comes so near that I can almost feel His breath.  He's sometimes exuding joy or peace...sometimes just a quiet expression of enjoyment on His face.

But today, He was serious.  So stern and serious that my little girl self rose up for a second and thought He was angry with me, and I felt myself shrinking away from Him.

"Are you mad at me?", I asked sheepishly.

As He looked at me, His eyes softened a bit and I was shocked to the point of laughter to hear the lyrics "sweet child of mine" (Guns and Roses?!!!)  No, He wasn't angry with me.  He is tender toward me.

So I asked some more about what was happening since it was so unusual.

As I looked, it was as if His eyes were laser focused on something (but I couldn't see what He was looking at).  There was something he was intensely focused on.  He leaned forward in His seat and said,

"This is a time to be very careful about avoiding deception.  Know Me.  Know My voice.  Stay close.  Many people don't know who I really am." (I could feel a grief on that last part)

And then, He called to mind a recent conversation I had with one of my children about college life.  I encouraged my child to explore and have fun, to try new things, to really stretch and grow.  "But", I said, "food, and friends, and clothes, and hairstyles are all fun...but it's important that you hold fast to the truth of Jesus.  You must allow for zero compromise in the things of God."

"ZERO COMPROMISE" rang like a bell in my ear.

And then, there was grief again, "So many don't know who I really am".

There was one final shift.  He called to my memory a very vivid dream I had about 3 1/2 years ago.  In the dream, I looked out a window and I saw God the Father strolling casually (sort of casually pacing) in my back yard, and every now and then He'd lift His arm and look at the watch on His wrist...all while continuing to casually stroll. I asked Jesus what was happening, and He replied, "He's the Keeper of time".  I understood that not even Jesus really knew the "time"...only the Keeper of time.

But this time, as I looked, the Father stopped dead in His tracks and was inspecting His watch VERY intently.  It was almost like he was counting the seconds.  There was no causal stroll, no casual glance.  He was watching as if every single little millisecond counts.

As Jesus shared all of this with me, I had the sense that He was entrusting something to my care and that I should not delay in acting.  

My takeaways:
1. I was supposed to share this
2. It's a uniquely intense time in the spirit
3. The church must allow ZERO compromise in the things of God - this is not a time to entertain or worry about numbers.  The Gospel of Jesus.  The person of Jesus.  Worship in Spirit and truth.  People must know the truth of who Jesus is... to their salvation and His glory.
4. We must be on guard agains deception
5.  God is the Keeper of time - we don't have to worry about it...but we should watch and be wise about discerning the times.  Milliseconds matter. 

Stay close to His heart, brothers and sisters.  Be in your Bible every single day.  Worship in spirit and truth.  Get into that secret place with Him like your life depends on it.  Share the gospel and love people well...with zero compromise!

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What's In Your Hand?

 This single sentence stopped me cold today as I read.

“What is that in your hand?” Exodus4:2

There Moses was, minding his own business and caring for the flock. Just a guy, his staff, and a flock of sheep.

Suddenly, God Himself shows up and calls Moses to do something out of the ordinary.

Moses doubts himself and his ability to do what God’s asking. God replies by asking “what’s in your hand?”

I can imagine Moses’s indifferent shrug as he holds out the ordinary staff that he’s carried every day for years.

God takes that simple thing and adds His miraculous to it.

How often do we sense that God is asking something of us, and we reply with “sure as soon as you put something amazing on me, I’ll get right to work”

We wait for everything to look perfect. We wait for the perfect set up. We wait for our skills and our tools to look more incredible than anything anyone else has.

This is how we will know that we are gifted, right?… When all the earthly and human signs point toward guaranteed greatness.

But that’s not how it worked for Moses. God did not give him a special robe. He did not give him a new and upgraded embellished staff. He did not put Moses in a place of authority in Egypt.

By all outward signs, it did not look like a good opportunity for Moses to be successful.

He was still just a guy holding that ordinary staff.

Have you been waiting?

Have you been waiting for the perfect set up? The perfect opportunity? For all circumstances to be aligned perfectly for your best chance at success?

Have you been waiting for your ordinary life and skills to look and feel extraordinary before you take your next step?

I don’t think that’s the way it’s supposed to work. Walking by faith is the opposite of walking by sight.

We are called to step out and do what God asks us to do well before it seems like a good idea by human standards.

So friend, what is in your hand today?

I encourage you to use the ordinary things of your life in the way that God is asking you to, and to count on Him to add His miraculous power to it for His Glory.

Say “yes”… Knowing full well that you are 100% dependent on God showing up

Say “yes“ to that impossible looking opportunity

Take a step out onto the water

Count on God to drop mana from the sky

Shout at the walls and expect them to fall

Go into battle frighteningly outnumbered

Expect God to fulfill every single promise He’s made

When we see God as faithful and generous, He sees us as full of faith and He is honored

All things…ALL… are possible with Him

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Time to Cut the Cord

 

During my time with the the Lord today, I heard clearly , “IT’S TIME TO CUT THE CORD” When a baby is born, they are still attached to their life in the womb via the umbilical cord. There comes a time that the cord stops pulsing with blood and it turns white. It’s value and use is finished. And then the cord is cut and the child is entirely free of its pre-birth life. All that’s left is the healing where the cord once was…and growth. As Christians, we are born again, but we can still be “attached” to our old way of living. Old ways of being, old ways of relationship, old ways of protection, old ways of provision. We hesitate to “cut the cord“ because for a little while at least, it seems that the cord is still pulsing with valuable and important resources. But there comes a time when it’s not only healthy and safe, but necessary… to cut the cord once and for all. This is certainly a personal word for me right now, and maybe it is for you too. Maybe you’re sensing a change of season for your life, and it’s feeling a little uncertain and scary to cut free of the old one. I want to lovingly and gently encourage you to spend time with the Lord and ask him if there’s anything that needs to be cut free so that you can move into the new. “Cutting” might sound scary or painful, but he is precise and utterly gentle. You can trust yourself to him

I also believe that this is a word for the broader church, which is also entering into a new season of life. The old ways we are accustomed to and comfortable with will not only not serve us any longer, but they will become a hindrance to the newness that the Lord is calling us into. Will we allow Jesus to be Lord of his church even if it makes us a little uncomfortable sometimes? Will we allow him to prune and shape the church according to his pleasures instead of according to our comfort and preferences? Will we surrender to his plan, or will we hold tight to our beloved traditions and programs? Cut the cord, Lord. Cut me free of anything that isn’t of you. Cut away any old thing that you do not want me to depend on any longer. Cut away my good to make room for your great.

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