Hats for Bobby-Week 9

Owl Hat

A little late but better late than never. I had a lot of gray and white yarn so I decided to make an owl hat for my little one-year-old sister. The pattern was obviously designed with a boy in mind, but I changed the color tan to pink to make it a little more girly. She can't wear it until the winter but she loves it. She has a thing about hats.

63 days down, 337 to go!

Hats for Bobby-Week 8

Groovy Crochet-Camelot

This has got to be my favorite hat yet. It's comfortable, not too hot, and is really cute. I did have to add 20 extra stitches in the beginning for it to fit my head. And sorry about the quality of the picture-my sister, who normally takes the pictures, is gone for a month, so this picture, taken at a birthday party, was the best I had.

56 down, 344 to go!

Don't Expect to be Served, Serve

I was coming home from the grocery store earlier today when I came across our elderly neighbor, Bob, trimming the branches on the trees that run along the long lane that we both live on. Usually he has his grandson or my sisters out there to help but today he was all by himself. So I took the groceries in and walked out to help. And I came to realize, while shoving sticks into the back of his truck, that we need to serve, not expect to be served.

Bob is eighty years old, a Southern Baptist of strong Carolina stock. And he's spent his entire life serving others. For his eightieth birthday, his daughter sent out a letter asking for people to do good deeds in her father's name instead of giving him gifts. This touched his heart more than any material thing ever could.

Jesus Himself was a servant and washed His disciples feet as they prepared for the Passover. Jesus is the Lord of all creation, but He humbled himself to one of the nastiest jobs of the time. "For the Son of Man came to serve, not to be served." There are so many things that we can do to serve and all we have to do is open our eyes, and our hearts, to see them.

Hats for Bobby-Week 6

As a tribute to Independence Day, this hat, the "Victorian Pinkie" from week three with an added bow, was made with Sugar n Cream self-striping yarn and modeled (as I have a serious lack of patriotic-colored clothing) by my dear little sister. And she wanted to everything but hold still and smile.

42 days down, 358 to go!
P.S. Thank God for the soldiers who died and are currently fighting to keep your independence. Freedom doesn't come free!

Mercy, Compassion, Forgiveness...You Got It, Why Can't She?

Casey Anthony was just acquitted of murder for her daughter Caylee. Since then there's been a massive breakout of angry people who say she should have been punished. The first question I want to ask is whether or not you actually followed the trial and saw that there was next to know evidence to prove it either way. All the facts contradicted themselves. I read maybe only 4 news stories on the subject, and, from all of them, found that I wouldn't know either way how to charge her. Whichever way it actually was, God knows whether she did it or not.

Second, consider this quote taken from a friend's facebook status:

"Why do people always look for the bad and wanna see the worst in people! If she wasn't guilty then she wasn't guilty! Casey Anthony has a soul just like everyone else yea she messed up and lied, but that doesn't make her a worse person than you or I. We all have sinned and come short of the glory of God."

As Christians, should we be accusing her or forgiving her? Getting mad or showing mercy? Damning her or showing compassion. Jesus could have damned us all. We all sinners. We've all fallen short of the glory of God. But Jesus instead chose to die for our sins and show us forgiveness, compassion, and mercy. He could have called it quits, asked His Father for those 10,000 angels that were standing by and destroyed the whole world and started over. None of us would be here today if He did. We are all recipients of great compassion and great mercy. In return God asks that we love the world as He did. Don't give someone what they deserve. Love them.

Thank God for Independence

On July 4, 1776, a delegation of rebels to the British crown, calling themselves "Americans" and "Patriots", gathered to sign a document that changed the course of American history-the Declaration of Independence. Through this document and the one that followed it, the U.S. Constitution, ensure you and your future generations that you enjoy the freedoms that Britain wouldn't give the colonists. They risked their lives, fortunes, and reputations when they signed the Declaration.

So today as you watch fireworks, eat barbeque, and wave American flags, thank God for the men that risked everything to give you that freedom. And thank God for the men who continue to die to preserve that freedom.

"And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor."

Hats for Bobby-Week 5

Toddler Sunhat

I have a terribly adorable one-year-old little sister and my mom loves to put her in hats. I was originally making this hat for my two-year-old sister, but about half way in I knew it would never fit her head. This one was a little easy to make after you figure out how to do a front post double crochet (simpler than it sounds, promise). I did have to add somewhere around five or six extra rounds on the hat to make it long enough (and she has a little head) so maybe I went wrong somewhere. Who knows? The clip was taken from her older sister's collection of hair bows.

35 days down, 365 to go!