Temptation!

Temptation comes in many forms and I've had more than my share in the last little while!! :-) Who knew I would be so easily led astray!! LOL

Our pastor called our church to a corporate Daniel fast this month. Like Daniel in the Bible, he encouraged the congregation to eat simply and Biblically. Traditionally, Daniel is said to have eaten vegetables and fruits, no meats or sweets or the "rich foods of the king." Jeff and I agreed to give it a try. I did very well at home, even lost 4 lbs in the first 4 days!  ...

But when I traveled with some friends to Berea, KY for their annual Quilt Extravaganza, I didn't fare so well!


My friends and I ate at the inestimable historic Boone Tavern, Berea College's hotel and restaurant of modern Southern cuisine. I was done for!! Chicken in a Bird's nest (the nest is made of deep fried, thin strips of potatoes) with cranberry orange jelly! Spoon bread!! It was fantastic. Not so good for my consistency on the Daniel fast! :-)

And then there were the vendors at the quilt show!! I do not need fabric.  But it's difficult to resist some of the beautiful things I saw.  I managed to pick up just a few goodies.  I still don't know how to use batiks or hand-dyes, but I'm drawn to their rich color and silky texture.  I succumbed to temptation all too easily!

In the wake of my loss this summer, I find myself lonely for Sam so often.  And with that loneliness comes the temptation to fill the emptiness with the wrong things. 

Wanting to be closer than is appropriate with a fun male friend. 
Spending too much. 
Giving in to depression. 
Pulling away from God. 
Telling Him, "I don't want to be close to You right now!"

He is so big and so mighty, though, that my pain and the resulting temptations do not scare or surprise Him!  In fact, He is aware in every way of what I am going through. 

The writer of Hebrews explains:
"...He had to be made like his brothers in every way in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people." (Hebrews 2:17 NIV)

Then, catch this in verse 18:

"Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted."

The Apostle Paul says, "And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it." (1 Corinthians 10:13 NIV)

I don't think it's ever easy to resist temptation.  Sometimes, it's downright painful.  And right now, that pain seems to compound the other loss that I feel.  But Jesus knows all about suffering, and He is able to help.

I don't know exactly what way of escape will be available, but when I need it, He will provide it.  It will probably include that perfect little word that is so hard to say:  "No!"  But He will help me say it.

And He will fill the empty places as no one and nothing else can!

Blessings,

10th Hour

A day late and a dollar short....
Yeah! That's about right!! LOL
Finally! Finally got  my Hands 2 Help Challenge Quilt top completed!!  I've struggled with this one!!

Diane sent me some beautiful bright fabrics along with a soothing gray.  (Her blog -- click here -- is just beautiful, too!) I added fabrics from my stash and this is the finished flimsey:

The quilt has to be in the mail no later than the end of this week, so I'll be putting it on the Hobby Quilter tomorrow to finish it up and get it mailed on time. 

My friend Pat from upstate New York :-), the Project Linus Coordinator in our area, volunteered to send a quilt for the children in Romania!! Pat's quilt, like mine, is bright colors -- and she used the cutest print for the backing!! I'm so thrilled to have an extra quilt to send with mine!!

Seems like for weeks now that I've spun my wheels and not gotten much done, but perhaps I've turned a corner by getting Jennifer's quilt top (last post) and this one complete.

I need to work on Farmer's Wife blocks this week, complete a block for a friend (due on Saturday), get my club's Mystery Quilt installment written...
Lots to do!

My church is reading the Gospel of John together during the next 21 days -- one chapter a day.  Today was the first day and first chapter.  It tickled me to read that a couple of John the Baptist's desciples followed Jesus about the "tenth hour." :-)  (Wonder if they were working on quilts for orphans?! :-D)

Even more impressive, though, is Andrew's response to Jesus:

The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and tell him, “We have found the Messiah” (that is, the Christ). And he brought him to Jesus.  (John 1:41-42a)

It's never too late -- 10th hour or no! -- to know Jesus.  It's never to late to tell someone else and bring them to Him!!

Blessings,

Hope

Today, we very unexpectedly and unaccountably lost our 17 year old son.
He was perfectly healthy, an athlete, and a completely beautiful fine young man. And with no rhyme or reason, we found him this morning, already gone home to be with God.

He loved my quilts and indulged my quilting! :-) He'd picked one for his bed, and I finally, finally got the top done earlier this year with hopes to quilt it for him before Christmas.  He never complained that I was UFO poor or that his top would get pushed back for other projects, other exciting new adventures or techniques or tools.

He was the joy of our home -- a prankster and a ham, with a servant's heart and compassion for stray cats and hurting people, and every single person he met found a friend.  He was a total extrovert.  Every meet he ran in cross country, every 5-K, every Boot Camp, he shook hands and said, "I'm Sam. Who are you?! It's my pleasure to meet you!"

He loved God with all his heart and soul.  When I started this blog last year, he thought he'd give it a try.  We're homeschoolers -- so yeah, that counts! LOL  These were his "Things to Think About."  along with random thoughts on "Chuck" and running and what not here.

His quotes on Facebook included lyrics from Christian rapper LaCrae:
"Living to know God, dying to make Him known."
That was our beloved Sam.

Welcome home, baby.  We'll be along shortly.

"‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’"  Matthew 25:21

Please lift up our family in your prayers.  We are so blessed. We are so grateful. We are so humbled to have been Sam's parents, caretakers of him for a while.

¹³Now also we would not have you ignorant, brethren, about those who fall asleep [^[a]in death], that you may not grieve [for them] as the rest do who have no hope [beyond the grave]. ¹⁴For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will also bring with Him through Jesus those who have fallen asleep [^[a]in death].  I Thessalonians 4:13-14 (Amplified)

Blessings and Peace,

Who I AM

My chicken is having an identity crisis!
Since her sisters were eaten by coyotes or foxes or wolves or something...well, she's been a little lonely, and I've had a time trying to keep her off the back porch.  I don't mind her presence per se'...it's what she leaves  behind that is rather, well...not cool. :-D

But she's made some unlikely friends.  Tommy and Lucky, our cats, don't know what to do with her! She eases up and starts eating out of their cans, like she's one of them!

I even put chicken feed in a can for her...She won't have it! She wants to eat what the cats are eating.  Doesn't she know who and what she is!?!

My sister stopped by yesterday and noticed my design wall with my "All About Me" blocks, so far, on it.  I'm working on framing the fabrics that represent "me" a little at a time, when I'm in the mood. :-)

I have a weird assortment of fabrics representing "me."  And my quilt is only going to be a lap-sized quilt.  I've figured out that I'm kinda a boring person! LOL

I've not been many places, so there are no exotic locales represented by my fabrics.  I love movies and  books and quilts and fabrics, scripture and Christmas, and quilts and fabrics, post-it notes, pens, music and ships.  Did I mention quilts and fabrics? 

 I have some army-type fabric for my husband, and school-marm fabric since I homeschool. I have a purse with my name on it -- not because I like purses (that would be interesting!), but because how often do you find a piece of fabric with your name!?!

I'm framing my novelty squares and rectangles with fabrics and colors that I love, and when I'm finished the quilt will be a snapshot of who I am.

It won't be everything....but it will be representative of many things that are dear to me.

It's a very important thing to know who you are, I think.  Especially as women! We are cast into so many roles -- wife, mother, chef, chauffeur, doctor, nurse, teacher, counselor, lover, quilter -- and we excel at multi-tasking.  It's easy to lose sight of those things that are quintessentially "me."
I cannot let my many roles define me.  Rather, who I am should define them.

Jesus understood all about identity!! As you read the Gospel of John,  Jesus takes you on a journey of His "I Am's":

I am the Messiah (John 4:26).
I am the Bread of Life (John 6:35).
I am the Eternal One (John 8:58).
I am the Light of the World (John 9:5).
I am the Door (John 10:7).
I am the Son of God (John 10:36).
I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life (John 14:6).

He knew Who He was, and that determined all that He did...right down to His gift of death on the cross and His gift of Life through the resurrection!

I suspect my lonely chicken will figure out who she is when the chicks are big enough to roam the yard with her.  On the other hand, she may totally freak me out one of these days by meowing at me!

Either way, I know who -- and whose!! -- I am!!

Blessings,

Changes

Let's face it.
I'm a quilting meddler.
I'm one of those pattern changers who cannot leave well enough alone!
If it's square, I make it oblong.  If's it's fusible, I make it needle-turn.  If it's in pastels, I force it into my pallete of brown, green, gold and red.  (Blue is for cool people: I think I'm a "warm" person. :-P)

All that changing is working well for me so far this week, though! :-D

First is my UFO (Judy's UFO Challenge) for the month of March.  #1 for me was Stars Around the Garden, a block of the month from Bits 'n Pieces.  I've had the 14 pieced blocks done for a while, but could NOT seem to get "into" the applique center medallion.  What to do, what to do.....? 

I rummaged around, found some pinwheel blocks I'd planned to use with another quilt that I meddled with (the one Mary at Quilt Hollow is quilting now!! Isn't she just a fabulous quilter!?!), and thought, "Hmmmm......" 

So I had enough pinwheels for most of the center, and just had a 10 1/2" x 21" space to fill....what can I put in there? OH! Why not Bear Paw blocks!!!!

Here's the result, a finished top for the UFO Challenge! The lighter brighter colors intended for the flowers sorta make my pieced center glow. I don't mind a bit! :-)  It's DONE! (well, the top is! :-D and now I can get back to February's and see if I can get caught up! :-D)

I've also been working on Eventide (the quilt-along with Thelma at Cupcakes 'n Daisies).

Yeah, I'm thinking of changing it up a little, too.  It's very nearly square.  I just prefer oblong quilts.  Probably because beds are oblong.  I don't have any square beds in the house.  I probably don't have any square walls either! LOL (That's a little carpentry humor...very little! :-P)

Here's my progress so far on Eventide.  I have some more quarter-square triangles and Ohio Star blocks pieced....gonna play around and see if I want to make changes to it.

I've got some other projects to complete.....

My "Brown Bag Quilt Challenge" quilt has an April 1st deadline.

My other UFO for March is my Mountain Laurel Sampler (I've got about 2/3rds of it hand quilted; here's one of the blocks)....NOT gonna get that one done this month. 

I've been watching Teresa at Fabric Therapy as she hand quilts her All Around the Town quilt.  I love how she has made the quilt her own with her whimsical additions to the pattern. 

I think it's interesting that what we do as quilters is so very similar to what God does with us.  There is a very clear pattern that He has designed for us; we are to be like Jesus!

Yet He never intended that we should be only clones of His Master Design.  One of my favorite passages, 1 John 3:2 (NIV), says,

Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.

I don't always know exactly how my quilts are gonna turn out.  But my hope is that they will be like the design, yet uniquely mine.  I rejoice that, as I follow and emulate Jesus, I am still free to be who God made me to be! His design; my colors and personality and size!  I will not be Him, but I will be like Him.

Hallelujah!

Cut it out!!

Earlier in the year there was a lot of hubbub about choosing your word for the year.  I thought and thought about it.  But none of the words that occurred to me early in the year were right for me.  Other people picked really good ones. 

Shelley chose "KISS" (for Keep It Simple, Shelley!).  No more complicating things.  Good word!
My friend Paula chose "accept."  To accept circumstances in life that we don't always understand.  To accept generosity and grace....Another excellent word.

I think I've found my word. Finally.

NO -- finally isn't the word, silly!! My word is

CUT!

I'm cutting this year.

Cutting out things that suck the life outa me. 

Like the politics of women.  I don't mean national politics.  I mean women-on-women crime.  Nastiness. Competitiveness.  "If you're friends with her you can't be friends with me."  Or the insidious "Did you know...." about so-n-so (otherwise known as "gossip"). 

Do you get any of that with the women you know?  CUT!!!  I'm finding that if I walk away from conversations that cut down other women, I'm a whole lot less likely to get dragged into the politics of females, AND I never have to worry about what I've said!  Help me, Lord, to cut out my eager ear and wagging tongue!!

I'm cutting out the fat!!

Two kinds of fat, actually.

All the stuff I don't need to do.  I don't need to volunteer for every worthy notion that comes along in my kids' activities or church or even quilt club!  I don't need to say YES just because I CAN.  Can and should are two very different things. 

There are specific things I'm called to do....Be a wife, a mother, a homeschooler, a worship leader, and a quilter.  (Well, of course, a quilter! DUH! :-P) Anything that doesn't fit into the mission statement of those things is open game for the blade.

I'm cutting the fat on my body! It's about time.  Three months into the year, and I'm down nearly 20 lbs.  It's slow going, but I'm determined.  A dear friend of mine, a former pastor who has always been in excellent shape, suffered a heart attack a few nights ago.  He will recover, but how much worse would he have fared if he hadn't been in pretty good shape to begin with?  So -- I'm cutting the fat and the junk foods and trying to eat and exercise in a way that promotes health. 

I'm cutting down the spending.  The stash I have is enough fabric to provide quilts down to the 5th generation.  (Lord help me live long enough!! :-D) I'm trying to make everything from stash from now on. I'll probably still buy the occasional small piece of fabric (like I did today, Paula! :-D) -- but I'm not indulging in every "That's so pretty!" I feel at quilt shows, quilt shops, online haunts and ebay.  Enough!!

And finally, I'm cutting my fabric!!!

With the help of so many of you, who inspire me to be creative and use what I have and LOVE it....I'm cutting into all those pieces I've been saving for "just the right project."  THIS project -- whatever it is! -- is the right project.  THIS project -- will have a place for that yardage or fat quarter or scrap that's waiting in closets or bins or shelves to be cut.

Jesus was all about cutting deadwood in your life.  "If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off...If your foot causes you to sin, cut it off..." (Mark 9: 43, 45).  Better, He says, that you go through life maimed than let the deadwood drag you to hell.  Strong words.
Good words.

His and my soapbox message to me! :-)  (Thank you, Jesus!)
Is there anything you need to cut out this year?

Blessings!

Good Words!

Yay!

My first finish of 2011....

Well, actually finishes! Two of them!!

Yippee!!

In spite of that cock-eyed, hair-crossways, dog-legged, turned bass-ackwards block in the corner of my orderly rows of log cabins and fans quilt top....(see here, and Lord, give me patience!! :-D), I got 'er straightened out, slapped two borders on her and and called 'er done!!

I'm hoping to ship 'er off to Mary at Quilt Hollow who does such beautiful breathtaking work, and since making her acquaintance, I can hardly wait to turn her loose on one of my humble pieces! (You should see her quilts in Scrap Basket Sensations by Kim Brackett!  WOW! isn't even close!)

AND... hehehe! Another finish...this one even more satisfying since it's an actual finish, not just a top, but a whole quilt, binding and all!

"A Bushel of Baskets" -- a pattern from 1988 (is that a hoot, or what!?!)...My friend Paula taught a hand-piecing class using this pattern 'bout four years ago (can it have been that long!?!), and I got about 3 blocks in and started rotary cutting and machine piecing! I don't have the patience for hand piecing.

Sad. And weird! 'cause I LOVE hand quilting.
But I couldn't seem to get the knack for it, and the machine work suited me beautifully.

I did some English Paper Piecing by hand -- little half-inch hexagons (all those hexie-flowers you see in blogland? -- uh-huh, they are fun!), and it was so cool that I started a EPP tumbling blocks (yes, a UFO, thank you very much for reminding me, but I knew it would be a long-term project! :-P).  It was a fun block to do.

So Paula quilted "A Bushel of Baskets" for me and returned it just a few weeks ago, and the binding is on...and it's ready for cuddling, or throwing across the bed where the baskets will be front and center, or across the couch where it will be rolled in and tucked under and shared with family and friends.

That's the thing about a quilt, isn't it?  It's a finished quilt, for sure, when the last stitch goes into the binding.  But it's not really finished until someone loves it. 

I've been thinking alot about finished things today.  "It is finished!" -- those are some good words!! 

And it's no coincidence that they were the final words Jesus uttered from the cross.  Without a doubt, His work on earth was complete. The price paid for sin.  The atonement made, the veil in the temple rent.  Redemption rendered.  It was done. Finis! Complete.

The writer in Hebrews tells us "Unlike other high priests, he does not need to offer sacrifices day after day, first for his own sins, and then for the sins of the people. He sacrificed for their sins once for all when he offered himself."  (Hebrews 7:27, emphasis mine)

But like a quilted and bound coverlet, complete and finished....it doesn't become finished for me until I roll up in it and feel the love.  Until I appropriate its comfort and purpose in my life.

Isn't it just the same with Jesus!? His work for our redemption is done.  But we must appropriate Him -- for His comfort and love and purpose in our lives! -- before what He has done means anything to us or those around us.  Have you called Him your own, yet? Have you appropriated all He has to offer?

Just like a well-worn and -loved quilt, He will cover you with His love. And when you are well and truly "finished" -- He will welcome you home.

"It is finished!"  Good words, indeed!

Blessings!

Christmas

Many things make Christmas for me....
A Charlie Brown Christmas is a classic, of course, with Linus' beautiful telling of the meaning of the day.



A Nativity Story -- a new classic for us -- with the phenomenal story of the conception and birth of the Savior and the additional insights into the very human, frail and willing lives of Mary and Joseph.



And while Christmas is not THE story -- THE story covers the remainder of Jesus' subsequent life, death, and resurrection -- Christmas is the beginning, the foundation for all that was and is to come.

How blessed we are to know Him!
How blessed we are to know each other and be joined together as family by the Love that was birthed that day!

Glory to God in the Highest, and peace, goodwill to all.

May God richly bless you this Christmas!!

Dear Jane, More or Less?

Can you believe it!? Some three years after I began, I have completed my Dear Jane quilt top!! 

Maybe. :-)

A group of ten or so of my local quilt buddies got together back in 2007, each to work on our own version of this beauty.

After a few of us got started, it turned into a friendly competition to see who could stay "caught up" on the ten or so blocks we did each month.  I was the first to complete all my blocks!! (I HATE to be outdone!! LOL) But then, Paula finished hers, quilting and all! and I was left behind. 

Paula's FINISHED Dear Jane!!



And just lately, Norma put hers in the frame for hand quilting.

And mine languished in the unfinished projects pile while I deliberated over doing the pieced/appliqued triangles or not.

(At least I've come a long way from "Dear Jane, Why Are Your Mocking Me?" back in April of this year! LOL)


I decided, eventually!, not to do them; instead I will hand quilt the pieced/appliqued patterns on plain background triangles.  I like the less "busy" look of plain triangles.

When I auditioned the borders back in August, they "felt" too big for the small scale of the blocks.  I can't tell now, after they have been attached, if they are too bulky looking.  I kinda like how they enclose and protect the little blocks.  Do you think they are "too much!?"

I made the sashing larger -- quite a bit larger at 1 1/2" finished as opposed to the prescribed 3/4"! -- so that my hand quilting would show up better.  That's why the triangles have to be so big -- at least they have to be so big so that the points are centered in the sashing, see?

I could lop off an inch or two around the edges.  The background fabric triangles would lose their points -- so I don't love that idea (I lose enough points without deliberately sabotaging them!:-D).  And on a bed, the triangles would be part of the overhang and not necessarily affect the look of the blocks.

What to do!?!

Sometimes its hard to know what to "lop off" and what needs to remain to advance the best of the design.  John the Baptist, teaching and assuring his followers he was not the One, said of Jesus, "He must increase, but I must decrease" (John 3:30, KJV). 

What a succinct and perfect analysis!! Even standing back, looking from a distance or through the lens of a camera, I can't tell what Dear Jane needs.  And it's like that in my walk with God, often.  I don't always know what parts of me need trimming, but I know that there must be much less of the "I" and much more of the "He."  If I spend any amount of time with Him, though, He gently tells me what bits of me need cutting loose so that He can advance the intricate and beautiful parts of me He has spent so much time perfecting!

It's a grand feeling to have completed this part of Dear Jane, and to anticipate the hand-quilting journey (another three year project, if my track record is any indication! LOL)... and like my time with Jesus, the best is yet to come!

Blessings!

Chaos!

Oh, what have I gotten myself into!?!!
I, whose fabric is divided into categories like 1800's, 1930's, Thimbleberries and Batiks, then stacked by color on shelves.

I, whose books and magazines are carefully shelved --  like my corn and mashed potatoes:  NOT MIXING!!!! -- applique' on one shelf, hand quilting tomes on another, history, piecing, etc in their own space, and back issues of magazines (in a magazine holder, thank you very much!), on yet their own shelf.

I.....I!!!  I  have been reduced to this:

Oh, the drama!
Oh, the mystery!!!
The mystery is NOT what Bonnie Hunter's latest mystery quilt, Roll Roll Cotton Boll , will look like.
The mystery is how I -- control freak, "I can't do the laundry 'til it's sorted correctly," --  "The pillows must be turned this direction on the bed," -- perfectionist messy, must-know-where-I'm-going kinda gal -- got into this!!

The first two steps were OH! so easy!  Strips and half-square triangles....Sigh.

And then Bonnie's instructions were to dive into the void, and come up with handfuls of "stuff" and sew it together on phone book paper.
Oh. My. Word. 

I've never done this before.  I've always eschewed stringy stuff -- like rhubarb and greens and string quilts and shrimp (I know shrimp isn't exactly stringy, but a former neighbor grew fresh water shrimp and they have these long stringy tentacle-like thingys coming outta their snout....yeah. Cannot even think of putting one of those in my mouth!!  Eeww! eeewww! eeeww!).  I keep the piano lid firmly closed.  I don't do strings.

But I can't quit the mystery quilt, because quitters, they....

Well, they.....

Quit!

So now, the only way to finish strong is to conquer the chaos!....

And turn this:

Into this....

I had this box of neutrals -- mostly "junk" strips and strings and bits and bites...Almost all of it gone! GONE!

THANK YOU BONNIE!!!!!!

Sigh.  Who knew!?!?!

I have no idea what this mystery quilt will be when all is said and done.  But I will have conquered it like a hero.  A small step for most quilters, but a giant leap for my OCD tendencies and my "I don't do random" personality disorder.  I can't deny it's been fun!!  It's been a stretch for me, though! 

I've got 21 of the 60 needed squares completed.  The next step in the mystery will be revealed today...and I will be ready.  Soon. :-) 

Scripture tells us in Romans 8, "No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loves us" (verse 37, NIV).  The New American Standard version says "we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loves us."  (Emphasis mine)  Ain't it COOL!?!?!

Paul concludes the chapter with a classic (if you need a lift, this is a good place to go!):

"For I am persuaded beyond doubt (am sure) that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities, nor things impending and threatening nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." (verses 38-39, Amplified).

It's a good day!!! I am rolling in cotton! :-D

I am conquering the chaos, baby!!

Blessings!

Another one bites the dust...

The fifth one done!!
I'd planned to get "five in a row" quilt tops completed by the end of the first week of November.  I'm only a little behind that goal.  The three tops for a family who lost a mom to breast cancer will be delivered for quilting on Saturday.  The Sun Bonnett Sue is awaiting its owner's pick-up.

And late Sunday night (well, actually, early Monday morning! :-D)  I finished the t-shirt quilt!! YAAAAYYY! LOL

Finishing feels so good, doesn't it!?

I've got more in the works to be completed.  I'm super busy, so many things to do this week as I get ready to travel to Hattiesburg, MS for Thanksgiving (how cool is that! I and my 3 children are crashing my friend Jennifer's family reunion with about 150 people and some of the best southern cooks in the world!!).  I've got house cleaning, and homeschooling, and bookkeeping work to do. Yet, I'm also in some kind of sewing frenzy.  (I promise I'm not on any kind of stimulant except Pepsi and truvia-sweetened tea!!!!!)

Rack 'em, stack em' and pack 'em!  Head 'em in, and move 'em out!!

Another one bites the dust!!

Isn't that an interesting phrase?  I "googled" it ("Google is the source of all wisdom," I say with tongue in cheek.).  Here's what I found at UCLA's Daily Bruin:

Strangely enough, “bite the dust” has been around since the King James Bible was published in 1611. According to the Bible, “They that dwell in the wilderness shall bow before Him; and His enemies shall lick the dust” (Psalms 72.9). While “lick the dust” is a variation of the phrase we know today, it still contains the similar meaning of falling to the ground in defeat.

One of the first uses of the phrase as we know it today was in Tobias Smollett’s translated version of “The Adventures of Gil Blas of Santillane,” published in 1748, as it appeared in a quote: “We made the two of them bite the dust, and the others prepare themselves to fight.”

But one of the more familiar associations is with Samuel Butler’s translation of Homer’s “The Iliad,” as Butler uses “bite the dust” to describe the death of Roman soldiers in battle. Probably the most recent uses of the phrase (not counting the Queen song) occur in old Western films to describe fallen cowboys.

So from the Bible to Queen, “bite the dust” has been making a reputation for itself for more than 300 years. With phrases that have histories like “bite the dust,” it is a wonder that they are still in use today.

Cool, huh?

But I prefer that first prophecy of the coming of Jesus in Genesis 3:14-15:

14 So the LORD God said to the serpent, "Because you have done this, "Cursed are you above all the livestock and all the wild animals! You will crawl on your belly and you will eat dust all the days of your life. 15 And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel."



Rosalinda Celentano as Satan in Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ.
Mel did a great job of portraying how Jesus crushed the head of Satan!

The Lord bascially told the serpent (the devil, himself!), "Eat my dust!"  And with every enemy He defeats in our lives, He says, "Another one bites the dust!"

Freddy Mercury and Queen got nothing on Jesus! LOL

Now, back to my sewing frenzy!! (Oh! and I'll sweep and dust while the iron heats.)  I've got 9-patches, and sashing, and LeMoyne stars to work on!! And Circuit Rider blocks to prep to take with me on the ten-hour drive.  Maybe I'll have another finish to share before leaving for M-I-crooked letter-crooked letter-I ....

Blessings!

Crooked letter-crooked letter-I humpback-humpback-I. (Does it ever end!?!)