Blue Jays and Trials

I finally finished the blue jays. I really thought when I finished them yesterday morning that I would be writing a light hearted post last night about the stitching these birds. However, lots of things can happen in a quick amount of time, so I have more to document and share than just bird stitching.

I am going to share the birds first for those that just visit for stitching and then I will do a life post after the birds.

I am very pleased with them.

These patterns are just so incredible. There are lots of color changes so not for the faint of heart, but it  is those color changes that make the birds so life-like. How do I keep my sanity with those color changes and detailed patterns?
With this bad boy....

I got this over 35 years ago. It is magnetic board and strips of magnets. The different sizes come in handy. The longer strip for a long line, but often the short ones are good to for marking a line of stitching in a different direction.  

The birds will be framed in a similar manner as the mocking bird and go in the master bedroom at the Auburn house. The original plan is to do three of them and that is still the plan. I have waffled back and forth between two patterns you have seen, but I have decided to go with a third pattern I haven't shared. I will not share that today. I will save that for a later post, but it has been kitted and ready to go.

You know I have only one complaint on the stitching of the birds. I love the look of the linen I used but it is some seriously flimsy linen. If I had a do over I would have chosen something different, but it is pretty.

I plan to do a couple of patriotic and summer smalls before I start  the next bird.  Now, I have to tell you I got tired along the way and was beginning to procrastinate. It really probably had lots to do with the current life situation we find ourselves in, but one night I just thought I really need to get them done. I seen blue jays almost everyday on my neighborhood walks with the mocking birds and another (hint hint). Then there appeared to be a family of blue jays with babies flying around in the trees next door. I watched and it was if they were cheering me on to get this stitch done.

I have spoken before about sitting in my sewing room and watching out the windows at the birds in the trees. They are often seemingly unaware of me, but I love watching them. One day the blue jay came and parked right on the fence while I was stitching. I began to enjoy the last days of stitching this one. Like I said, they were cheering me on!!!

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Now, for life...

Yesterday, news was breaking all day long here of fires in the counties to the east and west of us. If you know anything about the Florida Panhandle, the counties are all lined up running from the border of Alabama to the waters of the Gulf Coast. We are number three coming from the little tip of Alabama. Our county is familiar with forest fires with controlled burns. Our county is largely military reservation so you rarely hear about out of control fires. Santa Rosa County to our west had a very large fire going on all day that they were dubbing the Five Mile Swamp fire. It was largely along the water with a lot of saw grass area and forests around the bay and bayous.

Jeff and I were getting ready to do our weekly Zoom meeting with our church small group when Lindsay called with horrible news. One of her very good friends lives in Walton County which is to our east. The little village she lives in is Santa Rosa Beach. There are tons of things named Santa Rosa all along the Panhandle.  A fire had broken out between Highway 98, the major road that runs parallel to the coast across our area and 30A where the friend lives.

Lindsay's friend had time only to grab the baby, the diaper bag, her purse, and the dogs and flee. She didn't even have time to buckle the baby in. They were screaming for them to flee. Her husband was at work in Destin.

Tyler, my son-in-law works on 30A less than a mile from the friends house. They had to leave north and drive all around the bay to get to Fort Walton Beach where her parents live. That is a long drive to be reconnected.

They did indeed lose their home. Their entire street on one side is ash on a slab. Today it was released that it started due to a "illegal burn" and an eminent arrest is slated.

My son has a good friend, (another fixture at our home growing up) that is a fire fighter in Walton County. He said it was burning so hard and so fast (the wind was crazy yesterday all day) that they would just have to give up a house and move down to try and save the next one. I know there are many exhausted young men today.

I would just ask that you pray for the couple. Their baby was a year old in early March. I mentioned her here a little over a year ago because she was born very prematurely. They spent 8 weeks in Pensacola with her. Lindsay remembered that she had been released a year ago this week because it was on Cinco de Mayo. That is a lot to take in. Lindsay and all her friends have amazed me at the action they put in motion to help them so they are being taken care of, but a lost home during all of this just plain hard.

I mentioned our church small group meeting because we had put together this topic last night based around this idea that I found in a devotional.
"Let's choose to see inconveniences as an invitation to participate in God's plan." by Kayla Ferris
The devotional used the idea that you look at a favorite story in the Bible and look for two things. First, look for the "wonderful". This is anything that demonstrates the goodness and greatness of God. Second, look for the inconvenience. An inconvenience could be something difficult, painful or messy that takes place along the way. The author notes that in doing this exercise she began to notice that the path to wonder in God was often inconvenient.
She used the story from 2 Chronicles 9 of the Queen of Sheba to illustrate the point. Her points included that the trip to see King Solomon for answers was costly, long, and dangerous...completely inconvenient, but completely worth it. King Solomon answered all of her questions and she said to him, "Blessed be the Lord your God, who has delighted in you and set you on His throne for the Lord your God!" The Queen of Sheba gave credit were credit was due and and witnessed the greatness of God.
Now, I know I am totally watering down and simplifying all of this, but I thought it worth noting that was the topic and I feel I know how to pray for Lindsay's friend and her little family.

The devotional went on to say that is hard to be inconvenienced, but often it is that pain or inconvenience that brings us into the wonder of God.  I do pray that for L & T!

We gave our small group an assignment to share their favorite story next week looking for the wonderful and the inconvenience in the story. I look forward to their response, because we can all use reminders that God is in control in times that make no sense at all.

IF you made it to the end, please say some prayers on this national day of prayer along with many others for our nation.

sandy