Tag Archives: Lent

The Feast of Saint Patrick

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I arise today
Through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity,
Through belief in the Threeness,
Through confession of the Oneness
of the Creator of creation.

I arise today
Through the strength of Christ’s birth with His baptism,
Through the strength of His crucifixion with His burial,
Through the strength of His resurrection with His ascension,
Through the strength of His descent for the judgment of doom.

I arise today
Through the strength of the love of cherubim,
In the obedience of angels,
In the service of archangels,
In the hope of resurrection to meet with reward,
In the prayers of patriarchs,
In the predictions of prophets,
In the preaching of apostles,
In the faith of confessors,
In the innocence of holy virgins,
In the deeds of righteous men.

I arise today, through
The strength of heaven,
The light of the sun,
The radiance of the moon,
The splendor of fire,
The speed of lightning,
The swiftness of wind,
The depth of the sea,
The stability of the earth,
The firmness of rock.

I arise today, through
God’s strength to pilot me,
God’s might to uphold me,
God’s wisdom to guide me,
God’s eye to look before me,
God’s ear to hear me,
God’s word to speak for me,
God’s hand to guard me,
God’s shield to protect me,
God’s host to save me
From snares of devils,
From temptation of vices,
From everyone who shall wish me ill,
afar and near.

I summon today
All these powers between me and those evils,
Against every cruel and merciless power
that may oppose my body and soul,
Against incantations of false prophets,
Against black laws of pagandom,
Against false laws of heretics,
Against craft of idolatry,
Against spells of witches and smiths and wizards,
Against every knowledge that corrupts man’s body and soul;
Christ to shield me today
Against poison, against burning,
Against drowning, against wounding,
So that there may come to me an abundance of reward.

Christ with me,
Christ before me,
Christ behind me,
Christ in me,
Christ beneath me,
Christ above me,
Christ on my right,
Christ on my left,
Christ when I lie down,
Christ when I sit down,
Christ when I arise,
Christ in the heart of every man who thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks of me,
Christ in every eye that sees me,
Christ in every ear that hears me.

I arise today
Through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity,
Through belief in the Threeness,
Through confession of the Oneness
of the Creator of creation.

The text above is commonly known as the “Breastplate” of Saint Patrick of Ireland. Today is his feast day. I find it a little sad that his day has morphed from a religious celebration of the man who brought Christianity to Ireland into a general excuse for debauchery…at least here in the states. Take some time, in the little left today, to learn about the man for whom this day was named. He has a fascinating story!

I hope you all had a safe and blessed Feast of Saint Patrick.

~Janet

FO Friday: Whoooo’s There?

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In addition to working on my bloom and afghan, this past week I’ve knocked out a few quick projects. I discovered the pattern for these Owl Puffs last year. I’m hooked! They are so cute and fun!

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C’mon! How cute is that?

I tell you, they’re addicting! Each one takes me just a couple of hours start to finish and uses about 20 yds of yarn. They are great stashbusters. The puffs can be made with any weight of yarn and any sized needles. Here are a few I finished a while ago:

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In the above picture, the two bottom owls are worsted weight. In the top photo, the yarns left to right are DK, super-bulky, and worsted. I made two owls using super-bulky as gifts for toddlers, so rather than using saftey eyes, I crocheted eyes.

What to do with them? Well, I’ve given them away as gifts. Some are scattered around my apartment. They would make fun cat toys or beanbags. I’m thinking of leaving them in random places as a sort of yarn bombing.  😉

Also, this wouldn’t be a Finished Object post during Lent without a gratuitous bread photo. I made three loaves, but forgot to photograph the second one.

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Have a happy Friday and a great weekend!

~Janet

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The Knitty Gritty

Pattern: Owl Puffs

Yarn: Hobby Lobby’s “I Love This Yarn” in “Grape,” “Blue Neon,” “Yellow,” “Black,” and “Hot Rose”

Needle: US-3

Eyes: 12 mm safety eyes

WIP Wednesday: More Than I Can Chew?

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It’s the wee hours of Wednesday, and I’m sitting in a rocking chair in a dimmly lit room across from a two year-old who will not go to sleep for the life of him. Or, I should say, back to sleep. He was asleep for an hour before some inexplicable thing caused him to wake two hours ago. *sigh* Now, he has his proverbial second wind, partly, I’m sure, due to the newness of me. He doesn’t remember, but I took care of him when he was an infant. Anyway, it’s too dim to read or knit, and he refuses to be cuddled or rocked, so I think I shall get some blogging done.

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The Hook

I’ve been neglecting my crochet in favor of my various knitting projects. However, Sandra over at Cherry Heart has started a Blanket Along for the month of March, and that is perfect incentive to pick up my hook again and make some progress on my Magnum Opus. If you’re new or just don’t remember (it’s been a while), my Magnum Opus is an afghan I’m trying to make for my bed. It’s going to be between Full and Queen sized. So far, I am only about a quarter of the way finished with the squares. It’ll be interesting to see how big of a bite I can take out of the remainder.

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The Book

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Well…here’s where I should say that I’m still reading God For Us. I’d love to say that but the truth is that I’ve hardly touched it this week. I keep meaning to do better and actually read my daily readings, but it never seems to happen. In a way, not being able to do this perfectly (and really, who can?) just highlights for me that I really do need the grace and mercy Jesus gives. There is no way to be perfect on my own…and isn’t that the whole reason He came in the first place?

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Embracing The Body is a brand new book by a brand new author, my friend Tara. I have mentoned Tara before. She is a Spiritual Director at Anam Cara Ministries, and I did my Advent retreat with her. This book has been eagerly anticipated, and I’ve been privileged to witness its birth over the past year or so. I’ve only just taken a taste, so to speak, and I can tell that this is a book I will have to read slowly and thoughtfully, savoring each bite. I’m only through the introduction, and already pages are dog-eared and lines are underlined, bracketed, and starred. I think the best way to give you all a peek is to quote the back cover:

 “Our bodies teach us about God, and God communicates to us through out bodies. Our bodies are more good than we can possibly imagine them to be. And yet at times we may struggle with feelings of shame and guilt or even pride in regard to our bodies. What is God trying to do through our skin and bones?

In Embracing The Body, spiritual director Tara Owens invites you to listen to your thoughts about your body in a way that draws you closer to God, calling you to explore how your spirituality is intimately tied to your physicality. Using exercises for reflection at the end of each chapter, she guides you to see your body not as an inconvenience but as a place where you can meet the holy in a new way—a place to embrace God’s glorious intention.”

I’m excited. I’m excited to see what God has for me in the pages of this book…and beyond as we journey through it, He and I.

The Needles

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I’m making steady progress on Lexie’s bloom. I’m into the second diamond lace section. Her first birthday is at the end of the month, so I’ve got to have it done by then.

And that about covers it. See you at the Yarn Along!

Have a blessed Wednesday!

~Janet

PS: Little Rascal finally conked out again around 2 am!