Attitude Adjustment

It is snowing again.  The weather has been zigzagging between snow and mud.  One day there will be an abundance of mud with a few little sprouts of crocus and daffodils trying to poke their way through the ground, and the next an abundance of white fluffy snow on the ground, car, and the roads.  After a week or so of this, one tends to get tired of the weather changes- and hope for spring fervently.  Some even get angry and complain about the horrid inconveniences of the weather- it’s too hot or cold, I hate the snow or mud- though in the beginning of the winter loved the sight of the beautiful snow blanket that graced the fields or the glittery ice that covered the branches and shone in the sunlight.  Though with a slight attitude adjustment we may realize that the changing weather is perfect for the people making maple syrup, and the warm days a farmer can plant his onions and on the cooler days they will be dusted with light snow “poor man’s fertilizer”.

Manna from heaven- all you have to do is walk outside your tent and gather enough for the day- with the reassurance that you would be fed again tomorrow as well.  Psalms 105:40 calls manna the “bread of heaven”.  Numbers 11:4 states that “the rabble with them began to crave other food, and again the Israelites started wailing and said, “If only we had meat to eat!  We remember the fish we ate in Egypt at no cost- also the cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions and garlic.  But now we have lost our appetite; we never see anything but this manna!”  Yikes- listening to the rabble and remembering the past won’t do an attitude any good.  How many times have we heard negative comments that after a while sunk into your hearts, or looked back in the past with longing- Lot’s wife didn’t have a good time of it- and neither will we(Genesis 19:26).

Ephesians 4:17-23  So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking. They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts.  Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity, with a continual lust for more.  You, however, did not come to know Christ that way.  Surely you heard of Him and were taught in Him in accordance with the truth that is in Jesus.  You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness. Ephesians 4:29-30  Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.

So- we have a choice- we can either listen to the “rabble” in their darkened understanding and complain about our lot- or we can change our attitude by renewing our minds and not take for granted the good things that the Lord is doing in the weather and in our lives.

Puff Cross Prayer Square

Puffed Cross Block

is a free crochet 6 inch square pattern with devotional

See also Mini Puff Cross for a 3inch version

with an G-I hook and bulky yarn or double stranded sportweight or whatever will give you a little more than 6" in 20 stitches

- Chain 20.
R1-3 SC 19 chain1
R4 SC 9 Puff 1 SC9 chain1(Puff is wrap needle as in double crochet and put through loop- wrap again and pull back through about 3/4 inch- repeat in same hole until you have 11 loops on needle and then wrap needle and pull through all- chain 1)
R5 SC 19 chain 1
R6 Repeat R4
R7 Repeat R5
R8 Repeat R4
R9 Repeat R5
R10 Repeat R4
R11 Repeat R5
R12 Repeat R4 (so now you have 5 puffs in the middle- the bottom of the cross)
R13 Repeat R5
R14 SC4 Puff SC Puff SC Puff SC Puff SC Puff SC Puff ( there are 6 puffs) SC4
R15 Repeat R5
R16 Repeat R4
R17 Repeat R5
R18 Repeat R4
R19 Repeat R5
R20 Repeat R4 ( there will be 3 puffs at the top of the cross)
Repeat R5 until 6”- usually only 3 rows- so that it is centered

© Copyright March 2011 by Cynthia Boylan, all rights reserved. This pattern, in whole or part, may not be reproduced – mechanically, electronically, or by any other means, including photocopying -- without the written permission of Cynthia Boylan. Projects made from this pattern may be gifted, swapped or sold. If you use this pattern to sell items on the internet, please credit Cynthia Boylan as the designer.

I wanted to share with you the prayer that Jesus prayed shortly before He was arrested and died on the cross for our sin.

John 17:1-26 "After Jesus said this, He looked toward heaven and prayed: 'Father, the time has come.  Glorify Your Son, that Your Son may glorify You.  For You granted Him authority over all people that He might give eternal life to all those You have given Him.  Now this is eternal life; that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom You have sent. I have brought You glory on earth by competing the work You gave Me to do.  And now, Father, glorify Me in Your presence with the glory I had with You before the world began.  I have revealed You to those whom You gave Me out of the world.  They were Yours; You gave them to Me and they have obeyed Your word.  Now they know that everything You have given Me comes from You.  For I gave them the words You gave Me and they accepted them.  They knew with certainty that I came from You, and they believed that You sent Me.  I pray for them.  I am not praying for the world, but for those You have given Me, for they are Yours.  All I have is Yours, and all You have is mine.  And glory as come to Me through them.  I will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world, and I am coming to You.  Holy Father, protect them by the power of Your name- the name You gave Me- so that they may be one as We are one.  While I was with them, I protected them and kept them safe by that Name You gave Me.  None has been lost except the one doomed to destruction so that Scripture would be fulfilled.  I am coming to You now, but  say these things while I am still in the world, so that they may have the full measure of My joy within them.  I have given them Your Word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world.  My prayer is not that You take them out of the world but that You protect them from the evil one.  They are not of the world, even as I am not of it.  Sanctify them by the truth; Your Word is truth.  As You sent Me into the world, I have sent them  into the world.  For them I sanctify myself, that they too may be truly sanctified.  My prayer is not for them alone.  I pray also for those who will believe in Me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as You are in Me and I am in You.  May they also be in Us so the the world may believe that You have sent Me.  I have given them the glory that You gave Me, that they may be one as We are one; I in them and You in Me. May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that You sent Me and have loved them even as You have loved Me.  Father, I want those You have given Me to be with Me where I am, and to see My glory, the glory You have given Me because You loved Me before the creation of the world.  Righteous Father, though the world does not know You, I know You, and they know that You have sent Me.  I have made You known to them, and will continue to make You known in order that the love You have for Me may be in them and that I myself may be in them."

Here is the link to download the pdf version from Ravelry.