Monday Giveaway: Memoria Arts

In the Heart of my Home readers already "know" this sponsor. Joy Messimer is the blog designer here; she makes things functional and beautiful. 

Today, I'd like for you to get to know her a little better. Joy Messimer is wife to a handsome Geek and a second-gen homeschooling mama to six. When she's not chasing a newly-walking toddler or discussing the finer points of Latin conjugations with the eldest, she plays with paper and paint and writes about the intersection of faith, he{art}, and life at her lovely blog. She dreams of actually getting to drink a hot cup of coffee instead of the luke-warm, nuked-three-times coffee she usually sips (see chasing toddler, above). She can often be found at the end of the day with gesso in her hair, a baby curled on shoulder, a good book, some knitting, and mint tea. 

Joy blogs at Memoria Arts where she muses on the finer aspects of a fath-filled life.  Her Etsy shop is filled with prints of hopes and prayers. Please visit Joy at Memoria Arts, leave her a comment there, and then come back here and let me know you've introduced yourself. You'll be entered to win your choice of the four prints.

Lord, Hear Our Prayer

The internet is a formidable force for bringing the comfort and consolation and hope of the Lord to all of us. It can be an incredibily powerful medium for community. There is an unfathomable resource for prayer here. We have on the 'net the privilege of praying for people and of being witness to the miracles brought forth when fervent, faith-fulled people pray for one another.

Let's be that community of hope and faith for one another.

How about this idea? What if I pop in here every weekend, share Sunday's gospel and talk a wee bit about how we can live it and pray it in our homes? And then you tell me how we can pray for you that week? Deal?

{And please, do return and let us know how prayer is bearing fruit.}

Gospel

 Mark 4:26-34

Jesus said to the crowds:
"This is how it is with the kingdom of God;
it is as if a man were to scatter seed on the land
and would sleep and rise night and day
and through it all the seed would sprout and grow,
he knows not how.
Of its own accord the land yields fruit,
first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear.
And when the grain is ripe, he wields the sickle at once,
for the harvest has come."

He said,
"To what shall we compare the kingdom of God,
or what parable can we use for it?
It is like a mustard seed that, when it is sown in the ground,
is the smallest of all the seeds on the earth.
But once it is sown, it springs up and becomes the largest of plants
and puts forth large branches,
so that the birds of the sky can dwell in its shade."
With many such parables
he spoke the word to them as they were able to understand it.
Without parables he did not speak to them,
but to his own disciples he explained everything in private.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 

Think

I have a mustard seed and I'm not afraid to use it. ~Pope Benedict XVI

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 

Pray

Dear Lord,

Help me to better love my husband and the father of my children. Let me listen to him genuinely and with love, always offering to him the disposition of firm belief in his best intentions. Let me see him as You do and inspire in him all the confidence to become the man you created him to be.  Let my hands be busy making his home a place of comfort and peace. Remind me to speak often of my gratitude for him and for the hard work he does for our family. Help me to be generous and genuine with heartfelt affection. Let me sincerely offer to him the best of who I am. And, Jesus, help us both to wholeheartedly offer that best to our children.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 

Act

Take a few moments to put to paper a gratitude list. List all those things about your husband for which you are grateful. First, offer the list to prayer. Genuinely thank God for the gift of your good man. Then, in private, speak every one of those words aloud to him.

Friday Giveaway: Sacred Heart Doll

St. Luke’s Brush specializes in hand-painted Catholic toys, wooden
saint peg dolls,religious art and gifts. High quality, one of a kind
toys and gifts inspire your child’s love and understanding of the
Faith. They offer a large selection of gifts, perfect for Christmas,
Feast Days, Easter, Sacrament Gifts and other special occasions.
I highly recommend their use with Catechesis of the Good Shepherd.

Custom orders
are welcome!

 St. Luke's Brush prayerfully paints each item, whether it be a wooden
peg doll representing a Catholic Saint or other religious, informed by
study of Catholic art, iconography, symbolism, recorded history and
tradition.

To honor the Sacred Heart on this Solemnity, St. Luke's Brush is offering this Sacred Heart peg doll. The Sacred Heart of Jesus doll is a one of a kind, 3.5 inch wooden peg doll hand painted with non-toxic acrylic paints and sealed to preserve this keepsake toy.

I just visited St. Luke's Brush and I'm amazed at the selection of items. There are some lovely rosary boxes and some amazing icons, in addition to many new saints. Go find a favorite and let us know what you found. Leave a comment and you will be entered to win the Sacred Heart Doll. Winner announced next Friday.

Friday Giveaway: Sacred Heart Earrings

Good morning! It's the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus; God is Love.  From Loreto Rosaries, comes this beautiful pair of earrings to celebrate June, traditionally the month devoted to the Sacred heart of Jesus. The earwire is 14Kt gold filled, 15mm flat fishhook. They are available in many different color crystals, pearls or gemstones. The 1/2 inch long Sacred Heart Medals are solid bronze and are hand cast from antique pieces.

Pop by Loreto Rosaries and see what's new and then come back here and tell me what caught your eye. You'll be entered to win these earrings. Winner to be announced next Friday.

needle & thREAD

Katie has a new sundress. Almost;-). It's pinned where the buttons should be. She said she wants snaps instead of buttons and I don't yet know how to do snaps. So, today, I'll look to YouTube for snap tutorials.

Katie's dress is made of California Girl by Joanna Figuera. I love this line. I originally bought the fabric for myself, but I'm quilting with it, too, and I didn't want to have a blouse that looked like my quilt. On the other hand, Katie did a darling job choosing her fabric combination. And, well, I might just do a blouse yet.

I have taken a page from Charlotte Mason's book these days, or from Karen Andreola's wisdom on Charlotte, "I always keep three books going that are just for me - a stiff book, a moderately easy book, and a novel or one of poetry. I always take up the one I feel fit for. That is the secret: always have something 'going' to grow by." 

I'm still reading The Jane Austen Guide to Happily Ever After and highlighting carefully so I can better share it with my teenaged daughter. I think I may have inadvertantly mislead some of you last week. It's not a guide to Jane Austen books. Rather, it's a guide to finding love, in the style of the best Jane Austen heroines. It's an exceptionally good commentary on current culture. It probably deserves a post all its own.

I've just begun to read What Happened to Sophie Wilder? This one was written by Alice Teti's brother. I'm taking a chance here, because I go into it with the full knowledge that there is cancer in the story. And I don't do cancer. However, this review really drew me in and I think I can do this. Maybe. As Alice reminded me, "Sometimes I am not up for an emotional journey with a book in the midst of the emotional journey that is actual life, but often I am better for it." Here's hoping.

Finally, I'm listening to Reasons to Believe when I sew. I like to have an audio book  in the sewing room; it helps me not to grow restless.

 

What about you? Sewing? Reading? A little of both? What's on your summer reading list? Do you have a summer sewing list?  Or are you embroidering? Pulling a needle with thread through lovely fabric to make life more beautiful somehow? Would you share with us just a single photo (or more) and a brief description of what you're up to? Will you tell us about what you're reading, also? Would you talk sewing and books with us? I'd love that so much.

Make sure the link you submit is to the URL of your blog post or your specific Flickr photo and not your main blog URL or Flickr Photostream. Please be sure and link to your current needle and theREAD post below in the comments, and not a needle and theREAD post from a previous week. If you don't have a blog, please post a photo to the needle & thREAD group at Flickr. 

       Include a link back to this post in your blog post or on your flickr photo page so that others who may want to join the needle and thREAD fun can find us! Feel free to grab a button here (in one of several colors) so that you can use the button to link:-).