Unkind Speech

Before we dive into this week's devotion, did you know that registration is open for the 2025 QAL and Devotional Journey? Roman Adventure starts on March 5th; it's a 40 day quilt along, plus daily devotions from the book of Romans. Get all the details in this post.

Devotion for the week...

Sometimes I'll read a verse during my morning devotions and it'll just stick in my head for days. That was the case the last time I read this: "So get rid of all evil behavior. Be done with all deceit, hypocrisy, jealousy, and all unkind speech" (1 Peter 2:1). The part that struck me most was that unkind speech fell under the umbrella of evil behavior.

When I think of evil behavior, I think of things like murder, abuse, and assault. I don't tend to think of things that are so commonplace we hardly even notice them, and unfortunately unkind speech is rather prevalent in society. Not that that makes speaking unkindly to someone okay, just that it has dulled us to it so much that we tend to think of it as rude, but not evil. And if we're being honest, it's one of those things we know is wrong, but that might show up in our lives more often than we'd like to admit.

Then, the more I thought about it, the more I realized that our unkind speech probably doesn't even have to be spoken out loud to be considered evil behavior. After all, Jesus said "You have heard the commandment that says, 'You must not commit adultery.' But I say, anyone who even looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart" (Matthew 5:27-28). If it's not only the physical act that is considered adultery, then couldn't the same be said for the unkind things we think, but don't actually say?

What do we think when someone cuts us off in traffic, or takes the parking spot we were going for? What do we think when a coworker does something stupid that is going to affect us? That person may never know what we're thinking, but God hears it all.

In light of that sobering thought, the psalmist has recorded the perfect prayer for us all to keep in mind: "May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing to you, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer" (Psalm 19:14). 

Kitchen Party BOM - Blocks 1 and 2

The beginning of 2025 means the beginning of a new Block of the Month quilt in the Stash Artists membership. Here's the quilt we're making this year.

I drew a complete blank on naming it, so I asked members for suggestions. Michelle suggested Kitchen Party, saying, "If I was thinking about how to translate that wonderful experience of music and people and laughter and warmth into a visual representation, your quilt would be it🥳" I love that!

This BOM includes traditional piecing, paper piecing, and machine applique. We started off with that big applique block in the middle. Here's mine. I love how the colours all seem to glow against the rich purple background, which is Northcott's Majestic. All of the fabrics for my Kitchen Party quilt were generously provided by Northcott and are their COLORWORKS solids.

All the pieces are fused in place, but I haven't stitched around them yet. I can't decide if I want to stitch around them now or wait and do it with the quilting. Whichever I decide to do, I'm going to need to get thread to match the medium pink and the purple.

I do have the threads to match the lime green, the teal, the light pink, and the dark pink.

February's block is a paper pieced one, and it has only two seams. It doesn't get much simpler than that!

As always, I used freezer paper for my paper piecing and I made all eight blocks with just one template. I love that I can reuse templates with freezer paper! In fact, this is the same template I used to make the test block when I was figuring out what size the pieces needed to be cut for the pattern.

Did you know I have an on-demand workshop teaching how to use freezer paper for paper piecing? This technique is a game-changer for paper piecing!

I've been keeping my Kitchen Party blocks on my design wall, but they're going to have to come down after this weekend. I'm working on the next Stash Artists pattern and need the design wall to figure out block placement. I'm looking forward to putting these back up when I make the March blocks, though!

Before you go, did you know registration is open for the 2025 QAL and Devotional Journey? This year it's called Roman Adventure and it starts on March 5th. You can get all the details in this post.

A Reminder

Devotion for the week...

How's your memory? I often joke that mine is like a sieve 😂 If something isn't written down in my planner, there's a good chance I'm going to forget about it. I know I'm not alone in this. Paul has been known to go to school without his coffee, even though the travel mug is right there by the door where he puts his shoes on, and I have a friend who makes notes in her phone constantly so she'll remember things she needs to do.

It seems Peter had encountered people with the same problem in his day. He wrote, "Therefore, I will always remind you about these things—even though you already know them and are standing firm in the truth you have been taught" (2 Peter 1:12). The things he was referring to were the foundational truths of the faith, which he had already shared in the earlier part of his letter; things like "By his divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life. We have received all of this by coming to know him, the one who called us to himself by means of his marvelous glory and excellence. And because of his glory and excellence, he has given us great and precious promises. These are the promises that enable you to share his divine nature and escape the world’s corruption caused by human desires" (vv. 3-4).

Peter was writing to believers, to people who already knew all of this, but he recognized the importance of repeating the truth, of reminding people again and again of what they believe. Sure, they (and we) already know it, but hearing it again can't hurt. In fact, there are two benefits to reminding ourselves and each other of the truths we believe.

First, the reminder brings the truth to the forefront of our minds again. We may know God has given us everything we need for living a hold life, but have we thought about that recently? Have we let ourselves dwell on it and rely on it? Or have we been struggling along trying to do everything in our own strength?

Second, the reminder helps the truth settle into our minds a little deeper. If you've heard something once, you may remember it for a little while, but if you've heard it a hundred times you're more likely to remember it forever. Just think about how often we sing the alphabet song with kids to help them remember their letters, or how often you repeat 'righty-tighty, lefty-loosey' to yourself. Repetition works!

Going to church, reading our Bibles, and listening to Christian music are all ways to continually be reminded to the things we believe. I hope these devotions serve as reminders, too!