By Captain Leilani Armendariz Hemet, CA Corps – Southern California Division
This craft coordinates with this month’s devotional: His Precious Child.
Directions:
Paint a background on a canvas. Be as creative as you want. Let it dry. I would suggest painting first, letting it dry as the rest of the program proceeds and saving time at the end to finish it.
Using either a Circuit, print outs or your own handwriting, add the lyric from “Who You Say I Am” that says: “I’m a child of God, yes I am.”
While you are crafting, enjoy these songs, reminding you of who you are in Christ – you are a child of God!
Hello, My Name Is Child of the One True King
On my best days, I’m a child of God. On my worst days, I’m a child of God. Oh, everyday is a good day, and You’re the reason why.
This month we are focusing on being deeply rooted in the spiritual discipline of Listening Prayer. Prayer is a dialogue between us and God. Often we view prayer as a monologue – where only one person talks (You). In her book, Spiritual Disciplines: Practices That Transform Us, Adele Ahlberg Calhoun writes that listening prayer, “turns us away from elaborate internal commentaries, noisy inner chaos and catastrophic thinking (which makes things worse). It invites us to let go of dramatic internal dialogues and listen to a voice besides our own or that of the evil one.”
Now then, my children, listen to me; blessed are those who keep my ways. Listen to my instruction and be wise; do not disregard it. Blessed are those who listen to me, watching daily at my doors, waiting at my doorway. Proverbs 8:32-34
Inside you will find a devotional, conversation starters, a prayer idea, a monthly Bible reading plan and other helps all around the idea of listening prayer.
By Lt. Helen Reyes Women’s Ministries Executive Assistant – Del Oro Division
Haku Lei Making – A Hawaiian Crown of Flowers
A haku lei, or lei po’o is a lei made for the head (haku literally means “to braid”). The tradition of making and giving lei stems from ancient Hawaii, where lei were used for ceremonial purposes, as adornment, and to signify rank).
Nowadays, wearing a haku lei is a symbol of Aloha – it can be worn on special occasions such as graduations, birthdays, wedding anniversaries, honoring, or welcoming a friend.
The Haku lei reminds me of God’s agape love. The beautiful crown of flowers represents people living in a community bonded with unselfish love by being a good example to others.
Supplies List: ⦁ Flowers, you can use any flowers listed here: Mums, bougainvillea, mini roses, carnation, ⦁ Greeneries: ferns, eucalyptus, baby breaths ⦁ Raffia ⦁ Bowl ⦁ Scissors ⦁ Water
Instructions:
Step 1: Grab a bowl and fill with water (half full)
Step 2: Grab a few strands of raffia and soak in bowl filled with water. Set bowl aside.
Step 3: Grab more strands of raffia and tie at end (see photo), separate the strands into three sections and start braiding the raffia. Halfway through braiding measure the crown of your head. Once finished with the braiding, tie a knot at the end. Leave about 2 inches on each end of the raffia – the excess raffia can be used to tie the haku.
Step 4: Separate your greens and flowers.
Step 5: Start separating the greens and leave a stem (1 ½ inch) for each green.
Step 6: Separate the flowers and leave a stem (1 ½ inch) to be used when wrapping into the raffia.
Step 7: Grab a string of wet raffia and tie into the braided raffia 5 inches away from the end. Take a leaf or two and wrap around the raffia using the wet raffia tightly. Take a flower and do the same process. Alternate wrapping the greenery, flower, and baby’s breath around the braided raffia. When you come across at the end of the wet raffia, grab another one and tie it to the end and continue wrapping the flowers.
Step 8: When you are done wrapping the flowers tie the two ends together and you are finished. Enjoy your Haku Lei!
https://usw-womensministries.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/sept-craft.jpg493342Beth Desplanckehttps://usw-womensministries.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/uswLogo-300x75-300x75.pngBeth Desplancke2024-08-13 10:40:072024-08-19 09:51:27September 2024 Craft: Haku Lei Making
This month we are focusing on being deeply rooted in the spiritual disciplines of meditation on and the memorization of God’s Word. In her book, Spiritual Disciplines: Practices That Transform Us, Adele Ahlberg Calhoun defines these two disciplines this way:
“Meditation is a long, ardent gaze at God, his work and his Word. Slowing down and giving one’s undivided attention to God lies at the core of Christian meditation.
Memorization is the process of continually remembering the words, truths and images God uses to shape us. Memorization provides us with a store of learning, which can be accessed anywhere and anytime.”
I meditate on your precepts and consider your ways. I delight in your decrees; I will not neglect your word. Psalm 119:15-16
Inside you will find a devotional, conversation starters, a prayer idea, a Bible reading plan and other helpful tips and ideas around the idea of mediation and memorization of God’s Word.
By Captain Jan Pemberton Divisional Women’s Ministries Secretary – Cascade Division
This is a perfect craft for those like me who have trouble with traditional crocheting or knitting. This project is to have a warm blanket at the end of your craft and pray your way through each hand stitch. Each loop done for this craft will be covered in precious prayers given to the Father of Heaven for peace, comfort, and love. This blanket can be for yourself or given as a gift to someone special who needs God’s comforting love.
Supplies: (Supplies are for a larger-sized blanket.) 6-7 skeins of chenille chunky yarn Supplies for a smaller lap-style blanket. 3- skeins of chenille chunky yarn Scissors Needle and thread (optional) – to reinforce areas where new skeins of yarn are joined.
Steps:
Step One: Start a slip knot.
To begin, you need to tie a slip knot to start your first chain, then pinch through the center of your slip knot to grab your working yarn and make another loop. You will repeat this process until you have 30 loops. If you want more information on how to tie a slip knot, there are many resources you can find online, repeat this process until you have started your first chain.
Step Two: When you have your first chain finished, start your first row. Be sure to point your working yarn in the direction you are working in; this help with keeping your work contained and easily
Step three: Starting with your first loop, pull another loop facing upwards, then go into the top of every single chain and pull a loop through, keeping all your sizes consistent.
Step Four: This first chain and loops can be a bit bunchy; keep flattening it out with your hands to prevent more twisting and turning.
Step Five: Make sure you have the same number of chain loops; for example, since I have 25 chains, I will have 25 loops.
Now it is time to start our second chain! Make sure to point the working yarn in the direction you are working in; start in the first loop, then pinch your fingers through the loop and pull the working yarn through, making another loop.
Final Steps: This is pretty much your entire process! These blankets take me about 2 hours to complete, so ensure you are comfortable. As someone with a bad back, you will want to ensure this step is not missed because you do not hurt your back by leaning too much. Trust me!
You will do all the following rows in the same way. There is just one important step to remember. Always skip the first stitch in each row. It doesn’t matter if the stitch direction is going left-to-right or right-to-left. If you are on a brand-new row, skip the first stitch and begin working in the 2nd loop. By doing this, you will be creating a beautifully braided effect along the edges.
For each stitch, you just put your hand through a loop, grab the working yarn and pull it into the loop to create another loop. These loops can be quite loose or tight. It is up to you. I recommend trying to keep the loops on the side tighter rather than looser. Mine came out a little looser than I expected, but next time I will choose to keep the knitting tighter. Otherwise, the braided edges will look messy or too loose. Keep working row by row until you have the desired length. It takes very little time to create this blanket.
Extra tips learned during this process: There are a few ways to attach or join with new yarn. You will use at least three or four skeins of yarn and will need to attach new yarn to the piece as you go along. For me personally, I did a lot of research and tried to learn from some experts in this field. I found two recommended methods.
The way I attached a new piece was very simple. When I got close to the end of my skein, I pulled out a new one, took its end, and tied it to the end of my working piece. I then tightened it as much as possible and trimmed the ends. Since I used chenille yarn, this was nearly unnoticeable when I was finished.
An alternative method you can use is needle and thread (choose a color like your chenille yarn) and create several stitches through that very knot. When we are putting this much love into a blanket such as this, we would never want it to come apart, especially if this prayer blanket were a gift. If that happens to you and you made your own blanket without the thread reinforcement, you should just be able to use some extra yarn (if it wasn’t tightly knitted) and re-knot it where the knot came out. It should work just fine.
The alternative method is beginning a new row with your new yarn and weaving the ends of your old yarn into the back side of the piece. This might be easier in the long run but also time-consuming; it is your choice.
I hope you enjoyed this process as much as I did. I am terrible at traditional knitting and crocheting, but this is one that I can see myself doing for many others as a precious handmade gift. As each loop and strand were knitted together, I prayed that whoever received this blanket be blessed with the love of Jesus, the comfort of the Holy Spirit, and the grace and acceptance that only God can give.
This month we are focusing on being deeply rooted in the spiritual discipline of hospitality. In her book, Spiritual Disciplines: Practices That Transform Us, Adele Ahlberg Calhoun writes, “Hospitality creates a safe, open space where a friend or stranger can enter and experience the welcoming of Christ in another.”
Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers a multitude of sins. Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling. 1 Peter 4:8-9
Inside you will find a devotional, conversation starters, a prayer idea, a Bible reading plan and other helpful tips all centered around the spiritual discipline of showing hospitality.
This month we are focusing on being deeply rooted in the spiritual discipline of forgiveness. In her book, Spiritual Disciplines: Practices That Transform Us, Adele Ahlberg Calhoun writes, “To forgive is to condemn a wrong, spare the wrongdoer hatred, revenge and self-righteous indignation by joining them to Jesus’ own forgiving heart.”
Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you. Ephesians 4:32
Inside you will find a devotional, conversation starters, a prayer idea, a Bible reading plan, and other helpful tips all centered around the spiritual discipline of forgiving others.
Everyone will carve a cross, heart, Bible verse or anything that will serve as a reminder that forgiveness is an important part our our spiritual lives.
By Lt. Katherine Hernandez Salinas, CA Corps – Golden State Division
As we discover the power our tongues have and identify ways in which we can better control it, let us create a lovely door hanging wreath. As we gather together and begin to create something beautiful, may we be reminded how important it is to be intentional about using the words that come out of our mouth in a way that will bless and uplift others. As you create this door hanging decoration, be reminded how powerful a simple “hello” or “welcome” can be to someone when done out of love.
Here’s what you’ll need:
Grapevine wreath (the one I used was 18” in diameter)
Mix of faux flowers and foliage
Greenery
Wired Ribbon
Wooden lettering (optional) I used the word Hello.
Paint for the wooded lettering (I used white, but you can paint the lettering any color you want) (this is optional as well)
Hot glue gun and glue sticks
Floral wire
Wire cutters
Jute rope for hanging wreath (optional)
Step 1: Start by painting your wooden lettering (this step is optional, as you do not need to add lettering to your wreath. I did, as I wanted to give my wreath a little something extra). You only need to paint the front and the sides, don’t worry about painting the back part (no one will see it). You may also need to give the lettering two or three coats of paint, depending on how dark you want it to be. Once painted, set aside and let it dry.
Step 2: Cut the flowers and greenery. Then roughly arrange them on the wreath- this will give you an idea of spacing and placement. You can arrange the flowers and greenery however you like. I arranged mine on half of one side of the wreath. You can arrange them on the bottom, top, all around, etc. When I begin to arrange my flowers and greenery, I start with the greenery first, then I add the flowers and other foliage. Once I like the placement of it, I start to hot glue it all to the wreath. Again, I begin with the greenery, then move to the flowers, and lastly the other foliage.
Step 3: Make a bow using the wired ribbon. Once you have your bow made, you can attach it to the wreath using floral wire or using the glue gun.
Step 4: It’s time to attach our painted wooden sign. You can attach it using floral wire or using the glue gun. You can place your wooden sign wherever you like.
Step 5: Cut some jute rope and hot glue it to the back of the wreath in order to hang it, unless you already have a metal door wreath hanger.
There you have it! you just created a beautiful door hanging wreath. You can now hang it on your front door (or any other place you like around your home).
I hope that you had a fun time creating this beautiful door decoration. I pray that it blesses your heart, as well as those who enter your home.
