My Little Gift from Heaven

It was yesterday afternoon when a little gift from heaven appeared on my back porch.  At first I didn't even recognize what it was.  I had come home from running errands when I looked beyond the sliding-glass door and noticed something on the ground.....but what was it?  Was is a curled, dry leaf?  A piece of trash?  Or was it a brown bird?  I took a closer look.....and saw that it was a bird.....it was a hummingbird!  I gathered my camera and went outside to inspect.

It was so still.  Its crop was all puffed up.  Was it alive?  It didn't think it looked so good.  I figured it must have taken a hard knock from flying into the sliding-glass door.  I felt foolishly afraid to touch the little creature.  Was it on the verge of death?  Or would it peck me with its beak and try to ward me off?    As I bent down to pick up the tiny bird, I found that it was as sweet as it could be.....and as light as a feather.....and that it sported a beautiful 'coat of many colors'. 

Can you see the little tongue?

The hummingbird rested quietly in my hand.  What to do now?  I wrapped my hand around the little bird and brought it to the kitchen sink.  Perhaps a drink would be nice.  A  sliver of white tongue protruded from the long beak as the little bird sipped the water from the faucet.  Still, at this point I wasn't sure if the delicate little creature would live or die.  I pushed aside the thought that at any moment it might go limp in my hand.



I brought the little bird back outside.  Maybe now it would be ready to get on its way.  But no.....it was content to sit and let me stroke its little head and hold it.  I admired its delicate beauty, its softness and iridescence, and the strength in its wirey little feet that were able to grasp so securely onto my finger.  What a mini masterpiece!

I think he likes it!

Soaking up the sun!

I wondered what to do next.  Since it was a bit cool and breezy outside, I decided to heat up a rice bag as a heating pad for my little friend to let him get warm and cozy.  As he sat quietly, I was careful to monitor a little action from the wings.....sure didn't want the little guy to go flying around my house!

Nice and cozy!

The Best Birthday Cake in the Whole Wide World

When I was a teen, my mom found a new recipe.  It was called Angel Food Cake Delight.  Consisting of angel food cake, three layers of moussey chocolate filling, frosted with whipped cream and sprinkled with crushed Heath bars, this decadent dessert became my birthday favorite, which my mom would make for me year after year.  To this day, the tradition continues, and the confection has become the most requested birthday cake in my own home.  In recent years I have affectionately dubbed it, "The Best Birthday Cake in the Whole Wide World."

This year, I offered to make my own cake to follow the birthday dinner that we would enjoy at my parents' home.  I had decided that I'd take some pictures of the process and pass on the recipe, since I can't personally make enough for all my friends.  So I hope you will consider this my gift to you.  Seems that all the family and friends to whom I've ever served this have completely enjoyed it.....so I hope you will too.

The Best Birthday Cake in the Whole Wide World

aka Angel Food Cake Delight 

Mixing an angel food cake. 

1.  Start with angel food cake.  

I use a Betty Crocker mix, because it's an easy one-step method.  Of course, you could buy one ready-made (but I don't think they're quite as good) or you could make one from scratch if you're feeling really ambitious. 

It needs to cool upside down.

Ready for the oven in a tube pan.

Why do I cool my cake upside down on a bottle?  I just asked myself that question and realized.....because it's tradition!   My mom always did it that way (but I don't think it's actually necessary!)  :-)

2.  Cut cake into four layers.

I just leave the cake on the inner form while I cut the layers.  First cut it in half all the way around, and then cut each half in half.  (Note:  my mom always rubs off the toasty brown top layer, but this time I decided to just leave it.  I don't think it really matters unless the top gets too dark.)

Loosen from pan.

Cut into 4 layers.  The top becomes the bottom. 

  

3.  Filling:  

          *Melt chocolate chips.  I do this in the microwave because it's so easy.  (Takes 2 minutes in my old microwave, yours may heat faster.)  When the chocolate chips look shiny, stir them up.  Better to under-cook than over-cook. Set aside. 

           *Combine powdered sugar, butter, salt and vanilla;  beat together 5-7 minutes.  It will get very creamy and fluffy.  (For this lengthy part of the process, I am grateful for my old hand-me-down mixer.....from garage sale, to grandma, to my mom, to me!)

           *Then add the eggs, one at a time.  It will start to look curdled, like something is wrong, but it's not.  This is normal.  Lastly, add in the melted chocolate chips and blend. 
(Note:  The eggs will not get cooked, but its never presented a problem.) 

Creamy and smooth.

Combining the filling ingredients.

Looks like it's curdled.....but have no fear.....it's OK.

Frosting the layers:

Flip over one layer at a time onto cake plate.  Divide the filling evenly and spread between the layers of cake.  (Finally......lick the bowl and spatula clean.  Mmmm.....my favorite part of this cake!)

Ready to flip the last layer onto the top.

A little messy?  Who cares!

Whipped cream and crushed Heath - Oh my!

Topping:

Spread with whipped cream.  (Here again, you could make your own whipped cream, but by this point in the process, I am always happy to take the easy route.) 

Finally "sprinkle" on crushed Health bars.  The truth is, that on the sides of the cake, it gets a little messy.  I actually kind of toss and pat the Heath onto the sides.  (For a less messy and easier alternative:  Fold the crushed Heath bars into the whipped cream, reserving some to sprinkle on top, and then spread.)

The most important ingredients:

What really makes this cake "The Best Birthday Cake in the Whole Wide World?"  It's knowing that it's homemade with love, memories and tradition.  This year my mom surprised me with "Birthday Girl" candles, and also made me feel 50 years young with the butterfly plates.....too cute.....I love you, Mom!

I'm ready!

My mom and I.

The Best Birthday Cake in the Whole Wide World

•   1 angel food cake
•  1 cup chocolate chips
•  1 cup powdered sugar
•  3/4 cup butter
•  1/8 teaspoon salt
•  1/8 teaspoon salt
•  2 teaspoons vanilla
•   3 eggs
•  8 oz. carton Cool Whip
•  about 6 oz. crushed Health Bars 

Bake cake.  Cool and cut into 4 layers.

Filling:  Melt chocolate chips;  set aside.  Combine powdered sugar, butter, salt and vanilla;  beat together 5-7 minutes.  Then add chocolate chips.  Divide evenly and spread between layers of cake.

Topping:  Spread whipped cream on top and outside of cake, then top with crushed Heath bars.  (Or fold crushed Heath bars into whipped cream and then spread.)  

Chill before serving.

Sweet and Sour

Yesterday was her birthday.  I read it on Facebook.  She had posted that we were birthday buddies.  I hadn't remembered.  We are not friends who see each other much, or talk much, or get together to do stuff.  But she is my friend.....a lovely, gregarious, godly, Christian woman.....and such an encourager.  And so came the desire to encourage her on her birthday.....on our birthday.

My friend Karen

What could I do for her?  I went out to the yard, picked all the alstroemeria I could find that was either blooming or about to bloom, and came in to make a simple arrangement in a recycled jar.  To finish it off, I found a lovely, sheer, yellow ribbon that reminded me of my friend.  It brought to mind her sunny disposition and the warmth that I would always feel coming from her eyes and her smile whenever she would greet me.  Her love is like a nice warm hug.

The yellow ribbon prompted me to add a bit more to my simple display.  I found the soft foliage of dwarf heavenly bamboo which added bits of yellow, salmon and green.  I added to that, red Pentas with their starry clusters and also the round fuzzy blossoms of Sea Pink.  To set it off, I added a stem of two bright yellow Day Lilies.  These blooms would last only a day, but they packed a pretty punch.

My bouquet was ready to deliver.....and it was beautiful, sunny and full of joy.....like my friend.   And then, as I looked out to my backyard, the lemon tree caught my attention.  More bright yellow cheeriness.  What if I brought my friend some lemons?  Would that be silly on her birthday?  I reasoned that most everyone likes lemons, so I went out to pick a few.

"When life give you lemons, make lemonade," ran through my head as I walked out to my tree.  Seemed like an odd message for a birthday girl, or so I thought.  I asked God if he might take my silly gift of lemons and somehow use it to reach my friend's heart.  With simple thoughts, I asked the LORD to use the promptings of my heart in ways beyond which I could orchestrate.

Birthday Buddies!

At the end of the school day, I went with gifts in hand to surprise my friend in her classroom.  Through her eyes,  her smile, and her arms, I received the sunny warm hug that I have come to expect.  But I received so much more.  My friend then shared that my gift meant so very much.....much more than I could imagine.  She shared with me that her birthday had started on a sour note.

Because her heart was breaking, she didn't want to go to work.  She had wanted to get alone with God and cry.  But faithfully she went.....with the LORD by her side.  Through inner dialogue, she conversed with the Lover of her soul, the One who gives us worth, the One who walks through the valleys by our side.  And He was there.  With her.  He met her.  In big and small ways He comforted her, because he can, because our Savior experienced the sweet and sour of life too.....for us.

My friend and I spent the good part of an hour sharing our hearts, telling our stories and praising the LORD for the things he had done....for us.  We reminded one another that in the sweet and the sour experiences of life, our God is always making something good.....in us, and through us, and for us!

Thank you Abba Father for blessings
that come to us in packages both sweet and sour!

Dreams and Reflections

It was with a wee bit of fear and trepidation, that one year ago, I set forward on a new journey into uncharted waters.  My step of faith was beginning this blog.  It was January 21, Martin Luther King Day, and my birthday, so it was a good day for dreaming.....and a good day for making a wish come true.  

Today, a year later, I feel like an over-comer.  I feel successful and excited about all that I have accomplished and learned on this blogging journey. This has been a labor of love.....a creative outlet for writing and posting photos which has taken significant time, thought, reflection, and study.  I don't measure success as big or small, significant or insignificant.....I believe that each step forward in faith is important.  Each step of faith is an act of obedience.....and obedience the LORD can use to bring us closer to himself.  This blog has been a tool that the LORD has used to grow me closer to him, and my hope has been, and continues to be, that it will be a blessing for you in your walk of faith as well.

To be very honest, opening my heart for anyone to read does sometimes fill me with a bit of fear.   I know that sometimes I will make mistakes, sometimes my words will be  misconstrued, and some will misread my motives or my attitudes.  In sharing my Messianic journey to the Hebrew roots of my Christian faith, I realize that there are some who will be offended, some who will think I'm crazy or heretical, and some who may mock me even as I'm sharing my most heartfelt and sincere thoughts.   All those things would hurt me.....but they do not stop me.  Like you, I am on a journey, and I am giving myself grace to change and grow and make mistakes.....where I am today is not where I'm going to be in the future. 

This year I feel unintimidated about my dreams.  This year I feel bold.  This is Martin Luther King Day, the day before my 50th birthday, and again, I am dreaming.  Being half a century is quite a milestone when I think of it in terms of lifespan.  Statistically, it means that about two-thirds of my life is over, and I've got about 25, and maybe even a good many more, if I live to a ripe old age.  That doesn't sound like too much, knowing how time flies and knowing how health issues that come with age can creep in and get in the way.  So what am I going to do with the rest of my life?  What am I going to do in this next year..... this 50th year of my life?

I've been thinking about goals, big and small, accomplishments that are important or practical, things I'd like to try just for the fun of it, ways to love others more, especially my husband, sons, family and friends, and about what I can do to serve those in need.  Most importantly I've been asking the LORD to show me, "How do I seek God's glory and his kingdom above all?"  

These are some of the goals on my checklist (in no particular order) for this next year:

50 Wishes for my 50th Year

1. Go paddle-boarding - sounds like fun and good exercise.  
2. Another year of blogging - my goal is to write at least once a month.
3. Create a book of my blogs from 2013 - got it done already through Blog2Print!
4. Visit the LA shopping districts - never been.
5. Try 4 new foods.  (One down: I was treated to Lebanese food for my birthday and tried "karnabeet" - fried cauliflower with tahini sauce - I liked it!)
6. Paint my toes and fingernails 12 times - because it's a girly thing I don't usually make time for. 
7. Take a field trip with the hubby to Big Daddy's Antiques in LA - because it's a cool company my son used to work for.
8. Learn the Hebrew alphabet.
9. Do a collage series on the Hebrew alphabet.
10. Take a dog sled ride in Colorado with my husband - I'm scared but I'm gonna do it because my son's a musher and we have two free tickets!
11. Finish hand-writing the first five books of the Bible by mid-October and make a Torah scroll with my writings.
12. Pray for a 1/2 hour on my knees each week for 50 weeks.
13. Pray about a God-sized dream I have for 50 weeks.
14. Enjoy 4 coffee-house experiences - because I read this article.
15. Try 4 new beverages - I'm thinking about the seasonal coffee drinks, but who knows?
16. Prepare 4 new recipes.
17. Get a new camera so I can take better photos.
18. Photograph 50 flowers from my yard - don't know if I have that many, but I might.
19. Compile a book with the flower photos I take - because I love flowers, and because I appreciate the beauty that only God can create!
20. Get a massage - I have a gift certificate that's been waiting for me!
21. Purge at least 50 items from my home.
22. Re-organize the garage - need to do some purging there!
23. Finish my big tree painting.
24. Finish my painting/collage series.
25. Do some emergency prepping.
26. Walk on the beach or at the estuary 4 times.
27. Take 12 bubble baths......but first.....
28. Replace the bathtub stopper mechanism - so the tub will hold water.
29. Re-caulk the shower door.
30. Replace a bit of grout in the kitchen.
31. Give my husband 50 massages.
32. Create some products from my art.
33. Try to sell some art.
34. Read in bed regularly.
35. Get more sleep - to get rid of "the yawns."
36. Serve a meal or dessert to 50 guests in our home - but not all at once!
37. Make a habit of celebrating a candlelit Sabbath dinner.
38. Make a photo book of 50 hearts that I have painted or crafted.
39. Keep my desk free from a paper pile.
40. Habitually deal with paperwork  and manage it better.
41. Purge files.
42. Write out a 50 point love list to bless my heavenly Beloved.
43. Write out a 50 point love list to bless my man.
44. Write out a 50 point love list to bless son #1.
45. Write out a 50 point love list to bless son #2.
46. Write out a 50 point love list to bless son #3.
47. Help my husband with the bills.
48. Organize my photos on the computer.
49. Organize my photos in the cupboard.
50. Work on the family photo albums - I'm quite overwhelmed with this! 
 

*Now for a disclaimer:  I hold these goals loosely, knowing that I am not ultimately in control of my life, my health or my circumstances.  Today I can dream.  Today these are possibilities.  Tomorrow could change everything.  

Thank you LORD for today!

 

Dedicating My Heart

As December days march speedily along with the hustle and bustle of the season, my soul finds stillness in the memory of nine glowing candles that graced my dining table.  One white candle stood tall in a golden candlestick, designating the shamash or servant candle in my nontraditional menorah, while eight smaller lights were lit to represent the eight days of Hanukkah.  Also known as the Festival of Lights, this is a celebration of  the Light of the World who told his disciples, "You are the light of the world."  Never familiar to me until the last few years, this is a holiday that is becoming more and more precious to my heart.  Its prophetic fulfillment and foreshadows, and its spiritual truths run deep.
  
 Because this holiday is so new to me, I began last year to create a few decorations that would be meaningful.  I figured that denim would be a perfect medium to use, since I had lots of old jeans to recycle and the color would be just perfect.  As denim has come to have a lot of symbolism for me, that just adds depth to the mix.

"Hanukkah" is no longer a foreign word to me.  I now know that Hanukkah means "dedication", thus the day is also referred to as the Feast of Dedication.  The holiday is a remembrance of the courageous Jews who stood firm with God's help against idolatry in the face of persecution and rededicated God's Holy Temple in 165 BC after it had been defiled.  Nearly 200 years later, we see the Messiah in that very same temple at Hanukkah.  In John 10:22,23 we read, "Then came the Festival of Dedication (Hanukkah) at Jerusalem.  It was winter, and Jesus was in the temple courts walking in Solomon's Colonnade."  If Hanukkah was important to Yeshua, then that makes it important to me.

Make me whiter than snow!

Although the Temple has been destroyed, we must still continue to fight against the idolatry that is so pervasive in this world in which we live.  Individually and corporately we have the high calling to be holy temples for the LORD to live within.  Are we willing to be set apart and holy?  Will we let our lights shine for him?  If this is to be the case, we must continually dedicate our hearts to the LORD.

 What will we look like if we shine for him?  We will look like our Master!  We will exhibit fruit that comes from loving God and our neighbor.  I noticed that just as there are nine candles on the menorah, the Bible lists nine Fruit of the Spirit.  These qualities are the reflection of what the light of God will look like if it dwells in us.   

 This is what I want to look like:

Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness, Self-Control

   

This beautiful song expresses my heart's desire:

To understand new meanings about the ancient festival of Hanukkah in light of Messiah 
and about how it is relevant and important for all believers: 
http://elshaddaiministries.us/MiscPDF/light-in-the-darkness_ebook.pdf

My Simple Sukkah

 This year, for the very first time, I set up a simple sukkah and celebrated Sukkot.   "What is a sukkah?" you might ask, and "What is Sukkot?"   Well, "sukkah" in Hebrew means "booth"  and "Sukkot" is the Feast of Booths, but perhaps it is better known to many as the Feast of Tabernacles as written about in Leviticus 23:39-43.  This appointed time of the Lord was a joyous celebration that occurred in Israel after the summer harvest, and for that reason it also was known as the Feast of Ingathering.

Sukkot was one of three pilgrimage feasts in which the Israelites were required to journey to Jerusalem.  I think of it as a community camping trip!  At just the time when the agricultural communities were feeling satisfied and secure with having gathered the crops into their storehouses, God sent his people away from their creature comforts of home and out into a primitive camping experience with family and friends. How would you like to have three required vacations each year.....time to get away, re-connect, re-group and reassess your priorities?

Sukkot was a time for the Israelites to remember.  It was a time to recall their ancestors' nomadic years of wandering around the wilderness, living in tents, while longing for a more permanent home.....even as the God of heaven and earth had made his home in the midst of them!  Sukkot celebrates that the Lord was very close and very real to his people through his presence and power and provision.

I like to look at this pilgrimage feast from God's perspective.  I think it's like God was saying to his beloved, "Come away with me.  Look at me.  Look deeply into my eyes and see my love for you!  Don't look at the mere gifts that I have given to you and be satisfied, but see me, the one who provided them for you."  God was teaching his chosen people how to relate to him, how to find their home in him, how to be satisfied in a way that would supersede earthly cares and worries.....how to love him.

What an affectionate lover our God is!  He still longs for our undivided hearts with a passionate and healthy jealousy.  I invite you to question your heart with me as I ask myself, "Am I running into his arms.....to be with him, or am I feeling distant, even running away, distracted, uninterested, and overcome with the concerns of this world?  Am I contentedly sitting at his feet knowing that he is the 'one thing', or am I just too busy, busy, busy, thinking, 'I'll get around to spending time with my love later?'"  Sukkot is a time that God invites his people to spend intimate time with him under heavenly covering.

I have found the facts of this feast to be fascinating and very prophetic.  It is the final and seventh feast of year that is celebrated in the seventh month on the Hebrew calendar.  It lasts for seven days, with an eighth day following, and the various sacrifices that God directed during the seven days each add up to multiples of seven!  I am no detective, but it is obvious to me that our God is trying to tell us something here through the repetition of the number seven. 

I have learned that the number seven in the Bible is used to symbolize perfection and completion.  Used in conjunction with the Feast of Sukkot, we must realize that without spelling it out in words, our God is giving us clues as to the importance of this feast.  Galatians 4:4 speaks about the perfect timing of Messiah's birth, "But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son".  John 1:14 tells us, "The Word became flesh and dwelt among us."  In the literal Greek, the word "dwelt" means "tabernacled".  Taken together we see that in God's perfect timing, he sent his Son, Jesus ("Yeshua" meaning "salvation" in Hebrew) to live among us.  It fits perfectly into prophecy that Yeshua would have been born in a sukkah at the start of Sukkot and then was circumcised on the eighth day.  And our Savior also celebrated Sukkot!

I enjoyed a number of lovely meals under the sukkah with friends who appreciated the ambiance of the canopy, but one of the meals I served was to my sons on a breezy, cool evening.  After many complaints about the weather and urges to go inside where it was warm, a mutiny ensued.  Reluctantly I followed, but with the promise of conversation to follow.  I shared how the situation had proved how much we as humans crave comfort and security.  And yet, at times, as during Sukkot, the LORD calls us from our comfort in order to draw us closer to himself. 

This life is like living in a sukkah.  It's not a place of permanence or of true rest and lasting comfort.  We are aliens and strangers living in a strange land.  God alone is our real comfort.  He is our true security.  Where he is.....that is our true home.  

He is our shelter!  

Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High
    will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.
I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress,
    my God, in whom I trust.”

Psalm 91: 1,2

Rags To Riches

Denim.....gotta say again how much I like it.....so comfortable, so versatile, so full of character and variety, and so practical.  And who doesn't appreciate a pair of good-fitting jeans?  But when the jeans wear out and they're a bit too rugged to pass on, with stains or rips in the wrong places, I like to collect and recycle them..... as I have done with this fringy throw quilt.

Up-cycling junky jeans reminds me of the way that God through Messiah has reached down to save and transform me.  Like old jeans that could have been tossed into the garbage bin, the Creator found a way to redeem and rescue his beloved, fallen people, turning them from the eternal punishment that their sins deserved, to the new life that he offers through his spirit.  Like parables, my denim projects tell stories with heavenly meanings.

Denim blues are so mesmerizing to me.  Call me crazy, I don't care, but I feel like my eyes get sucked in and enraptured by the beauty of this cool and soothing color.  I especially love the brightness of the old, worn, faded squares because of how beautifully their highlights contrast with the richer, sturdier, darker blues.....put that concept into a parable, and tell me if it doesn't sound like an encouraging thought!  

I discovered something amazing about the color blue as I was working on my quilt.  Blue is the color of royalty.  God used a blue cloth as the final covering over the Ark of the Covenant (Numbers 4:6) to designate his authority as the ark led the children of Israel through the wilderness.  All the other various articles from the Tabernacle that followed in procession were covered on the outside with animal skins, but the ark of God stood apart.....covered in blue!  The Ark of the Testimony was the earthly footstool of God Almighty.  It represented the presence of the King of Kings among his people. So maybe I'm not so crazy after all!  God chose blue to represent his presence.....and I love it!

Known as a rag quilt or a fringe quilt, this recently finished project had originally attracted me because of the beautifully textured fringy edges.  It offered one more unique way to use the denim fabric that I had collected.  One side has fringes, and on that side I included seams on some of the squares for more interest and texture. The other side of the quilt is smooth.

Another fascinating fact I learned while working on my fringe quilt, was that the men of Israel were commanded to wear fringes or tassels on the corners of their garments (Numbers 15:38,39).  These, they were commanded to attach with a blue thread.  The blue thread linked the Israelites to the King of Kings.  The color of divine royalty visually reminded them that God had linked them to himself.....giving them the privilege and the responsibility of representing the Lord of Lords.  The fringes helped them to remember and to obey all the Lord's commandments. 

Zechariah 8:23 prophesies about a day in which ten men (the number of leaders that quantifies a formal congregation), will grab the corner of the garment of a Jew saying, "Let's go with you for we have heard that God is with you."  This is speaking of a time in which Gentile believers attach themselves to the Messiah (a Jew),  and take hold of the commandments by taking hold of him.  When we love what God loves and hate what he hates, when we keep the Lord's commandments, it's like we are grabbing onto the fringes and attaching ourselves to our Jewish Messiah. 

In the construction of the quilt, each square was double layered, to create a front and a back for the quilt.  To hold the layers together, I sewed X's from corner to corner on each square.  Even that detail took on meaning for me as I continued to study and learn about the Hebrew alphabet.  In the Paleo-Hebrew alephbet , the last letter, tav, had as its letter picture, an X or a cross - a symbol or sign of "covenant".   Combined with the first letter, the aleph, meaning "strength", aleph-tav literally means, "strength of the covenant".  This is what Yeshua was actually declaring about himself when we read, "I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last."  

On Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, I sat on the patio under my just-finished quilt, reflecting on my need for a Savor, knowing that as Isaiah 64:6 puts it, "all our righteousness are as filthy rags" to God.  I thanked my Savior, Yeshua, for covering my sins with his precious blood, for fulfilling all of the laws' demands and for being the strength of the covenant......for me.  I have found my covering.....under the wings of Yeshua, my Kinsman-Redeemer, in whom I take refuge.  Through him, my stains have been washed away, and I can stand before the throne as an unblemished, pure and holy bride, dressed in a radiant robe of righteousness.  Thanks be to God for the eternal riches that he has so graciously bestowed upon me!

  

Nothing in my hand I bring,
Simply to the cross I cling;
Naked, come to Thee for dress;
Helpless look to Thee for grace;
Foul, I to the fountain fly;
Wash me, Savior, or I die.

Interested in a tutorial?  For the one that I followed, you can look here:  http://www.thiscrazyblessedlife.com/2011/08/housewife-in-town-denim-rag-quilt.html

Hmmm.....maybe I'll be able to use the lint for another project!