Well well well!!! It didn't quite work out doing a once a month post since the last time I posted was April. I'm very sorry if anyone has been worried or anxious about my whereabouts. Life took a twist and a very unexpected turn and it has made me re-think a lot of things.
The first thing to happen was my friend sadly passed away. She was only 44 years old and left behind a husband and 3 children. She had been a sufferer of MS for a number of years but things took a turn in February when she was diagnosed with a rare but life-threatening disease called PML. It was the only case in the north west of England it was so rare. Anyway she lost her fight on 13th June and the worst thing for me was not being able to see her to say goodbye. I wasn't able to put things right where there was wrong. I wasn't able to reconcile with her to say sorry for the wrongs done by me and forgive for the wrongs done by her. It has made me think a lot about the people in my life and those who are no longer in my life. It has made me think of all my regrets and time lost. It has also challenged my faith and where I have walked in the flesh and not in the Spirit for so long. Would I be ready to go and meet Jesus if my time was up today? Time we can never get back.
RIP Karen
And this brings me to my title, To Thine Own Self Be True. I guess this blog has always been my creative blog where I have showcased my handiwork over the years and I have deliberately left out anything to do with my faith generally speaking as I felt it might offend someone or cause division, or create a nasty feeling. However, as the years are ticking away, I feel more than ever that I have to be true to who I am and if people don't like it then that is their concern and not mine. We preach this quote time and time again about being true to yourself, about being who you are and yet, here am I hiding my little light under a great, big bushel!
So I want to unashamedly come out of the closet and say today that I am a follower of Jesus. I do believe he died for my sins and I do believe there is only one way to God and that is through faith in his Son. It's not by works so no -one can boast and there will be eternal punishment for those who reject God's free gift in this lifetime. Some of these things are difficult to say and I know that I will be pitied or laughed to scorn but even so.... I do believe the days are at hand and the true church needs to be called back to repentance and do the things Jesus told us to do which is to go and preach the gospel to the whole world. The church has been sailing for too long on the Love Boat and need to get back to its mission of reaching the lost. I'm not going to be using this blog as a preach-box but if anyone would like to know more about my faith then please get in touch via email. I'm happy to chat. And for those that do need a wake up call.......
So, where does that leave me? Am I still crafting, stitching, crocheting? Yes. But I think I need to spend less time on it than I actually do. Will I still post up my crafty bits and bobs? Yes of course! In fact, we have just spent the better half of this morning putting up my samplers after decorating. I am pretty pleased with how they all look. It is a very large wall. There is the option of going up the stairs but I don't really want to do that due to health and safety!
I have also had a new start - a LK one. Picture isn't great but you can get the idea:
But mostly I have been working on some commission work I have been doing for some cross stitch magazines. This has been fun but time consuming.
I had a sort through of some wool: from this:
to this - a little colour play:
And there have been lots of inspiring posts but there are too many wonderful things to make and not enough time in the world!
I have been away, out and about and generally pottering.
I have work to prep for for when I go back to school and a house to tidy and kids to entertain. So much going on. I hope that helps a little by way of letting you know where I have been and what I have been up to. I will try my best to do a more recent post with updates instead of leaving it so long.
love,
