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Have Quilt, Will Travel!

I’m going to bring my butterfly quilt to convention and hang it up by the LWML Magnolia Market store in the Exhibit Hall. I hope you will come by and see it. It’s quite remarkable.

This beautiful quilt was designed and the top constructed by then LWML Nebraska North District President Crystal Miller. It was then machine quilted with the butterfly stitching. Crystal worked on this quilt on and off for two years. The inspiration was from a painting and the Butterfly E’s that LWML I have  used as my personal logo.

The quilt was presented to me by the LWML District Presidents who served in 2014-2018. All the DPs from the 40 districts serving at the time contributed four cotton fabric fat quarters each. Some of each fabric was used. All forty DPs at the time also signed it.

There are around 400 butterflies if you include those in the quilting stitches. Rev. Mundahl and Rev. Schuessler undertook the challenge of counting them. Look closely to see the new LWML logo and the 2017 Albuquerque LWML Convention logo quilted into the corners.

Look for Crystal here at the LWML Growth and Development Committee exhibit booth. I know you will want to tell her how beautiful it is.

When I look at it I think of all the beautiful women I have known while serving as LWML President. That part of the job I will miss very much! I hope we can stay in touch after this convention concludes my time as President.

Love, Patti

P.S. I’m bringing my own pillow, too!

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A Time to Honor

This past weekend hopefully, we all took time to remember those brave men and women who died while defending our freedoms in the United States to keep us the “land of the free and home of the brave.” Memorial Day seems to be more often a weekend of sales on refrigerators and washing machines but many still do pause and think, “could I have done that?” and remember our military fallen.

Anyone who signs up for the military should be honored because when you sign that contract you are saying you will go to the length of giving your life to defend freedoms valued by Americans.

This weekend we were in Dallas to celebrate the wedding of my nephew Andrew Ross and his beautiful bride, Michelle. This brought together a large number of Rosses from all over the United States because we value family. As one brother said, we honor Mom and Dad Ross by continuing to love and care for each other. They raised 10 children. Together they could run a small town—a priest, a personnel recruiter, a psychologist, a physician, a teacher, a school counselor, a home healthcare CEP, a mayor of Chickasha, a deacon, an insurance salesman and a dear trisomy 21 brother now in heaven. A definite Type A family but loving and generous in encouragement and recognition of each other’s God-given gifts.

Sunday night we dined together, 22 of us, and we remembered those in the family who had served in the military—WWII, Vietnam, and Desert Storm. Out of the 22 we had seven veterans. One uncle died in WWII. Then we remembered the spouses and parents who were also aligned with the military.

The minister at the wedding talked about commitment in marriage. He talked about defending your spouse, he talked about living an example of love to your family. It all seemed to be reflected in the relatives there. This is the second generation to start marrying. The third generation, my grandchildren, were observing closely the cousins and aunts and uncles as they celebrated. In a way, everyone was honoring Mom and Dad Ross. Honoring the God-blessed gift of a Christian family.

I just felt like we took time to honor the commitment of our military personnel who gave their lives for our freedoms and we also honored the commitment of Mom and Dad Ross who gave of themselves for the love and welfare of their family, community, and church. That our family so warmly embraces marriage and family is a testament to them.

Have a great week!

Patti

By the way, we are looking for our LWML military women! Be sure if you are attending the Mobile convention to come to the table and sign up and receive a special recognition ribbon for your service—veterans, reserve or active duty.

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Goals

I ran across a document titled “BOD” in a stack of papers as I was cleaning (rearranging) my desk and my office bedroom this week. It was some things I wanted to bring up at a BOD and it’s not dated. I think it was from January of 2018.

Here’s what I had under the heading, “My personal goals for the coming year”.

  • Continue to engage women in discussion of how to improve participation in LWML activities.
  • Encourage LWML women to use our excellent Bible studies and devotional resources.
  • Work towards the goals and objectives chosen in October of 2016.
  • Continue quality outreach to our seminaries.
  • Encourage our talented LWML women to do their best in making quality opportunities available to women in the Lutheran Church for mission service and awareness.
  • Continue to improve the image of LWML among church and outside ministries and auxiliaries.
  • Review our mission statement with an eye to updating it.
  • Do outreach to international LWML women’s groups in partner churches worldwide.
  • Increase LWML visibility at LCMS meetings and events.

It was an interesting document to run across. Where did 2018 go? Wow, it’s down to four months until I’m finished as president. I really wish I could have had time to make that outreach to other international women’s groups in our partner churches happen. I only got as far as LWML-Canada and the Lutheran Church of the Philippines Women’s League. Hopefully, someone will take that to heart and make my goal their own reality.

I hope you set some goals for 2019 as far as LWML goes. Maybe you will do a better job of journaling as you go along and look at the progress you are making without losing them in a pile of papers!

As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace: whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God; whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength that God supplies—in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen (1 Peter 4: 10-11).

Patti

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New Year Greetings from Pasadena!

Hello everyone and Happy New Year 2019! We are out in Pasadena working as Lutheran Hour Ministries (LHM) Petal Pushers on the LHM float that will be in the Rose Parade on New Year’s morning! What a fun experience this is! This is our third year to take part in the decorating of the floats. The LHM float is the only Christian float in the parade. It always includes Jesus. This year the theme of the parade is “The Melody of Life”. There are a lot of floats that have to do with music. The LHM float is called, “Joy to the World, the Lord is Come” and consists of a manger scene, with doves, bells, trumpets, and a group of people seated on the front as the choir. It’s all situated on a music scroll which unrolls the length of the float.

Watch the parade if you can. It starts at 10 a.m. Central time. The LHM float is about 2/3 of the way through the parade. If you watch on HGTV they don’t have commercials and the float is sure to be covered. We will be going to the parade around 6 a.m. and we are planning to go the football game that is between the Washington Huskies and the Ohio State Buckeyes.

There are quite a few LWML women here working on floats with the Petal Pushers. I talked with women from North Dakota, California, Iowa, and Michigan. Another fun thing the LWML Family does together!

Happy New Year!

Love, Patti

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Quotes from around my desk. Peace

Peace Note
Peace Note

Peace. I don’t have any statistics to back me up but I’m betting that “peace” is one of the most frequently used words in Christmas advertising and marketing. Think of all the wishes for peace that you receive in your Christmas cards.

This quote I have from someone and the Mary Engelbreit picture quote from Eleanor Roosevelt remind me that peace is not something that can be wished to someone and magically they will have it! Peace needs to be worked at. It is not a thing, but an ongoing process. This is most easily illustrated by the various peace processes in our world that succeed, then fail, then are worked out again. In our personal lives we may reach a time of peace only to have life experiences take it away and the process starts again.

I know that there are times when I don’t work for peace. It’s easier to be apathetic and leave the peace process to someone else whether that’s world peace or personal peace. I have to remind myself when I see this note that I need to be working towards peace daily—working at it!

There’s one type of peace that I don’t have to work at and that’s the peace of God that Jesus Christ came into the world to give us. That peace is a gift. Through His death and resurrection He secured the “peace that passes understanding”—eternal life with Him after we leave this conflicted, less-than-peaceful world.

LWML—Lutheran Women in Mission, know about that peace. We serve to spread the message of that peace. God has invited us, with the help of the Holy Spirit, to share His peace to all the earth. In this peace with God we are enabled to engage with each other for peace on earth—so that what God provides may be known everywhere.

I pray for God’s peace for you and for the world this Christmas season. With that peace in your hearts, engage in the peace process in your families, congregations, communities and the world.

Turn away from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it (Psalm 34:14).

“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God” (Matthew 5:9).

Patti

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Quotes from around my desk. Helping those in need.

Last week I shared one of the notes I have around my desk area. This week I’ll share another.

“It will not bother me in the hour of death to reflect that I have been ‘had for a sucker’ by any number of imposters: but it would be a torment to know that one had refused even one person in need.” C.S. Lewis.

All my life I have felt compelled to help those less fortunate than me in material goods. I’m not bragging, I just think God stuck something in my genes! I have always been blessed to have the opportunity to share with others. My last job before “retiring” from nursing was clinic nurse at a social welfare agency’s free medical clinics. This quote was so meaningful to all of us who worked there. It was in the office. Many were the days where following clinics we’d sink into our chairs and bemoan the fact that we felt “taken advantage of” by those who could have paid or by those who “work the system.” However, my co-workers and I were then quick to recognize the ones who really needed the care, who perhaps, were at their wit’s end and out of patience, resources, or hope.

We may face “donation fatigue” at times, especially at year’s end and prior to Christmas. Don’t let yourself be lulled into the “I’ve got mine, let them get theirs”, or the “they’re taking advantage of the season” or other excuses for not sharing what God has given you. Be a good steward and allow God to be the Good Judge. Give cheerfully, even a small amount. It may be that only one of the people you help out was really in need, but you are the person that will help them.

I’m not making this up—as I was writing this my daily verse that got texted to me from YouVersion Bible app is Luke 6:37-38. Coincidence?

[Jesus said] “Judge not, and you will not be judged; condemn not, and you will not be condemned; forgive and you will be forgiven; give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you.”

Love, Patti