Wednesday, May 15, 2013

Knitting and Reading








Still working on the last ball of yarn for the rustic rainbow blanket.  I finished a hat for the Kenyan school and have cast on another.  On a car trip to meet my father in Woodstock to pick up Isaac I started a new project.  The Matinee Jacket from Vintage Knits for Modern Babies.  I am using some beautiful merino hand dyed yarn from a barter with Springtree Road Yarns.

I splurged and ordered a new book, On God's Side - What Religion Forgets and Politics Hasn't Learned about Serving the Common Good,  after hearing the author, Jim Wallis, on NPR.  After listening to him for just a few minutes I knew he was speaking my language.   I have long had a hard time with many churches, people, factions, etc that call themselves Christian.  While it is not for me to judge, and I do my best not to, I have never understood why so many only stress salvation in order to have eternal life.  Please don't misunderstand me, this is huge but I never felt that - that was all.  I just knew that God's main purpose of sacrificing his son was not just for what is to come but was also to teach us what we are to do now, during our short stay here in this world.  Why would God waste his time making such a beautiful creation if we are not to care for it?    Didn't Jesus teach us to pray saying, "thy kingdom come thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven."  I know that it is not enough to be kind, go to church, accept Jesus into our hearts.  I always have felt that so many American churches are getting it wrong.    Jesus' main teachings are to take care of those that need to be taken care of... the poor, the forgotten, the rejected.    That is where I am at in my faith.  I am praying for God to show me every day how to serve and how to make even the smallest decisions, like  should our family be concerned about what we want or need and to question spending money God has given us,  when there are children in orphanages that don't even have a pillow to lay their head down at night.   Jim Wallis really gets into how much better it would be if everyone would forget their agendas (political, conservative, liberal, etc..) and instead, work for the common good. 

I especially like this comment on the back cover ~
"Thank God this is not just another book about God blessing us.  It's a book about us blessing God by caring for God's people, especially the most vulnerable ones among us." - Shane Claiborne, author, activist and recovering sinner; thesimplyway.org

Joining in with the Yarn Along today at Small Things.

11 comments:

  1. Hello :-). Love your knitting, that rainbow jacket looks really cosy. The book you tell about looks really interesting, l have been in several churches over the years and have had some of the same thoughts. I am a salvation army girl and my family has been for generations. I love the motto: Soup, soap and Salvation. Concern for the poorest is what l love the most about the SA. Hope you have a lovely ev. Pam xx

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  2. i am very excited to see how the blanket looks when it is all completed. i do love rainbows. :)

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  3. Just a note of concern...from a loving Christian mama to another...be vary wary of Jim Wallis, please. He does and says many things that do not line up with God's Word.

    Your knitting is lovely! :)

    Warmly,
    Katy

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  4. The knitting is lovely! The book sounds really interesting! I have had so many of the same thoughts on church as of late, and just the attitude of "christians" in general which makes me leery. We are such a polarized country right now, and probably if we were all thinking of the common good, that might help things instead of what we all are doing now. Thanks for the recommendation!

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  5. I love your projects. I think I am going to have to get that book because, while I did not catch that interview on NPR, I totally agree with the premise. Thanks for sharing. I'm going to look for that one!

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  6. Sounds like a thought provoking book and helping others is what it is all about, even the simplest gesture speaks loudly! Love your rainbowing :)

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  7. Beautiful knitting, as usual. I am going to have to check out that book :)

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  8. I have a lot of respect for Jim Wallis and his call to faithful living and am eager to have a look at this book.
    That hat is handsome! I reluctantly decided that I did not have time to get one done given the other things going on in my life right now. Please let us know when another shipment is going out to Kenya, as I would like to participate another time.

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  9. I'll be looking into finding myself a copy of this book--thanks so much for sharing!

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  10. I feel so much the same Tonya, with the churches in the UK also. I will look out the book as it really resonates with me, we were save to serve others, I'm sure of that.
    Beautiful knitting you are working on. I have seen the jacket pattern before but have a reason to knit one now, so will be visiting our library to borrow the book soon, thank you for the reminder :)
    God bless you and your family x

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  11. Dear Tonya, I want to add my voice to Katy's. Jim Wallis is a complex character, and unfortunately not apolitical. Wikipedia describes him as a political activist... I do not say that there could not be truth in what he writes, I just wanted to give you a heads up. (Would you consider reading Tim Keller, as well? I recommend Gospel in Life.)

    I love the Matinee Jacket (I love all of the patterns in that book!), cannot wait to see how yours turn out!
    Emma

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