John 21:15 and 1 Cornithians 13:13

(Thank you to this photographer for the Bible, and to this photographer for the man and lamb.)

Beautiful Old Children's Book Illustrations

Do you love these old illustrations as I do? If so, follow this link and watch the slide show.

Blog Site Updated--Yes, Again

For those of you catching my posts at Google Reader, I've changed my blog again. (Yes, again.) Please come by and see the new sidebar photos. One is an especially nice one by a new photographer in Tacoma.

(For those of you not yet using Google Reader, I tell you, it's the only way to go.)

New Quilt Photos

I took some new pictures of some of my quilts with the new Canon. What an improvement! Please come see them at my Flickr page.

Thinking Pinkly Quilt Meets New Camera

Thoughts from a Kindred Spirit

Here is a blog post from a lovely and articulate young woman who is challenged by AD/HD and Bipolar II, as I am. She expresses so well some of the challenges we face. (Thank you for sharing, Emily.)

A Conversation with Ann

I spoke with Ann Palizzi at length on the phone this morning. She is doing remarkably well. Notwithstanding all the trauma, the drama, the madness and evil influences thrust into her life, she continues to hold fast to her faith and incomparable spirituality. We talked about how her life is now like one of those distasteful television programs that both of us have always deliberately avoided viewing, in the hopes of avoiding evil. Now, through no misstep of her own, she has been thrust into just such an environment of wickedness. Yet the light still shines in her countenance. She knows that she is reaping the effects of those who are praying in her family's behalf.

Thank you for your prayers.

Link to all my posts about Kristy and family.

Amazing Quilts by Others

I know that this will make my own efforts at quilting seem quite bland, but, because I love beautiful quilts so much, I just have to share. Here are some of favorite quilters to whom I turn for inspiration:

happythings
stichindye
square one studio
eggmoney
metrosupialdesigns
yarnstorm
hillary lang
glittergoods

Oh, I have soooo far to go. (But I am eagerly anticipating the journey.)

(P.S. Get yourself a snack and enjoy the slideshows.)

I Am Not Alone

Below is a scripture to which I have been led again and again. It brings comfort to me as I recognize that, due to the inabilities of some to trust and understand me, and due to my own need for isolation at this time, I am like one upon an isle of the sea. And yet, being upon an isle of the sea does not mean that I am cast off. The Lord has brought me to where I am for His purposes and, because I choose Him, He reaches me and will raise me up, even from this place unknown to others. It also reminds me that I am not the only one who faces such challenges, for it speaks to each of us who find ourselves on "the isles of the sea," a great community of brothers and sisters unknown to one another, but connected through the common awareness of the Lord.

From 2 Nephi 10:
20 And now, my beloved brethren, seeing that our merciful God has given us so great knowledge concerning these things, let us remember him, and lay aside our sins, and not hang down our heads, for we are not cast off; nevertheless, we have been ^adriven out of the land of our inheritance; but we have been led to a ^bbetter land, for the Lord has made the sea our ^cpath, and we are upon an ^disle of the sea.

21 But great are the promises of the Lord unto them who are upon the ^aisles of the sea; wherefore as it says isles, there must needs be more than this, and they are inhabited also by our brethren.

22 For behold, the Lord God has ^aled away from time to time from the house of Israel, according to his will and pleasure. And now behold, the Lord remembereth all them who have been broken off, wherefore he remembereth us also.

23 Therefore, ^acheer up your hearts, and remember that ye are ^bfree to ^cact for yourselves—to ^dchoose the way of everlasting death or the way of eternal life.

24 Wherefore, my beloved brethren, ^areconcile yourselves to the ^bwill of God, and not to the will of the devil and the flesh; and remember, after ye are reconciled unto God, that it is only in and through the ^cgrace of God that ye are ^dsaved.

25 Wherefore, may God ^araise you from death by the power of the resurrection, and also from everlasting death by the power of the ^batonement, that ye may be received into the ^ceternal kingdom of God, that ye may praise him through grace divine. Amen.

Another Book of Mormon passage which brings me solace is this one from Mosiah, chapter 24:
14 And I will also ease the ^aburdens which are put upon your shoulders, that even you cannot feel them upon your backs, even while you are in bondage; and this will I do that ye may stand as ^bwitnesses for me hereafter, and that ye may know of a surety that I, the Lord God, do visit my people in their ^cafflictions.

15 And now it came to pass that the burdens which were laid upon Alma and his brethren were made light; yea, the Lord did ^astrengthen them that they could bear up their ^bburdens with ease, and they did submit cheerfully and with ^cpatience to all the will of the Lord.

There is a time to fight, and there is a time to submit. I feel the Lord has brought me to where I am for His wise purposes and that He will deliver me, but it will be in His own time. I feel peace as I submit as cheerfully as I am able.

(My thanks to this photographer for the picture above.)

Ann Palizzi Speaks Out

Here is a link to the KSL television interview with Ann Palizzi, mother of Kristy Ragsdale. It is her first public appearance since Kristy's murder. (Incidentally, Ann told me that this two-minute clip was extracted from a 2 1/2-hour interview.) [Sorry, this link is no longer functional.--Dallan]

(Since so many have visited this blog in search of information about the Palizzi and Ragsdale families, I have added a heading under "Posts by Topic", which will lead you to each of my posts concerning Kristy and her family.)

For When Doubts Arise

"The result was the next morning they decided that they really would go and tell the whole thing to the Professor. 'He'll write to Father if he thinks there is really something wrong with Lu,' said Peter; 'it's getting beyond us.' So they went and knocked at the study door, and the Professor said 'Come in,' and got up and found chairs for them and said he was quite at their disposal. Then he sat listening to them with the tips of his fingers pressed together and never interrupting, till they had finished the whole story. After that he said nothing for quite a long time. Then he cleared his throat and said the last thing either of them expected:
"'How do you know,' he asked, 'that your sister's story is not true?'
"'Oh, but--' began Susan, and then stopped. Anyone could see from the old man's face that he was perfectly serious. Then Susan pulled herself together and said, 'But Edmund said they had only been pretending.'
"'That is a point,' said the Professor, 'which certainly deserves consideration; very careful consideration. For instance--if you will excuse me for asking the question--does your experience lead you to regard your brother or your sister as the more reliable? I mean, which is the most truthful?'
"'That's just the funny thing about it, sir,' said Peter. "Up till now, I'd have said Lucy every time.'
"'And what do you think, my dear?' said the Professor, turning to Susan.
"'Well,' said Susan, 'in general, I'd say the same as Peter, but this couldn't be true--all this about the wood and the Faun.'
"'That is more than I know,' said the Professor, 'and a charge of lying against someone whom you have always found truthful is a very serious thing; a very serious thing indeed.'
"'We were afraid it mightn't even by lying,' said Susan; 'we thought there might be something wrong with Lucy.'
"'Madness, you mean?' said the Professor quite coolly. 'Oh, you can make your minds easy about that. One has only to look at her and talk to her to see that she is not mad.'
"'But then,' said Susan, and stopped. She had never dreamed that a grown-up would talk like the Professor and didn't know what to think.
"'Logic! said the Professor half to himself. 'Why don't they teach logic at these schools? There are only three possibilities. Either your sister is telling lies, or she is mad, or she is telling the truth. You know she doesn't tell lies and it is obvious that she is not mad. For the moment then and unless any further evidence turns up, we must assume that she is telling the truth.'"

C.S. Lewis, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, Harper Trophy Paperback, pages 50-52

Dallan here:
This passage came into my mind this morning, and I felt strongly that I must post it. I began to search for it in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, but quickly became discouraged, thinking it could be in one of the other books of the Chronicles of Narnia series, and that I might have very much trouble finding it. I said a prayer for help, and immediately opened The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe to the very page on which the passage begins.

Quilt Photos in One Place

My quilts are now on Flickr. See them here.

A Poem for Me, for You

I was browsing today in a little poetry book passed on to me by my mother. It is called Two Hundred Best Poems for Boys and Girls and was compiled by Marjorie Barrows and published back in 1930 (and 1938) by the Whitman Publishing Company of Racine, Wisconsin. (It has the sweetest little silhouettes by Janet Laura Scott and Paula Rees Good throughout.) On page 14 of this little browned volume, I came upon this poem which seemed so much to describe the philosophy of my life, especially as I face the challenges of mental illness. I have added the poem to my sidebar, and I share it now here with you.

Morning
Hilda Conkling
There is a brook I must hear
Before I go to sleep.
There is a birch tree I must visit
Every night of clearness.
I have to do some dreaming,
I have to listen a great deal,
Before light comes back
By a silver arrow of cloud,
And I rub my eyes and say
It must be morning on this hill!

A Link to Greater Understanding

Here is a link to a page for LDS church leaders and members regarding mental illness. I hope it helps.

Kay Redfield Jamison on her Bipolar Experience

Nature Understands

Depression is a lonely state which nature understands.

What I am Listening To

I am listening to this today, one of four CD's in a boxed set. Beautiful. Healing.

Thinking Pinkly Quilt

Medications Work

I feel that I should mention that I am on four medications to help manage my bipolar symptoms, and they are helping a lot. For so many years I tried to avoid medications, thinking they were unhealthy. I was wrong, and I'm so thankful for them now. For those who are interested, here is the list.

Atenolol--this is for migraine prevention and it took me from 13 migraines in the month of May 2007, to no migraines as soon as I began taking it.

Lexapro--for depression. I have not yet reached the dosage I need apparently, but we are taking it slow. It is helping.

Lamictal--for mood stabilization. I no longer experience nights of insomnia nor manic bouts of frantic energy. Being able to go to bed at the same time every night and to get up at the same time every morning is very helpful to my well-being. My doctors have emphasized repeatedly the importance of regular sleep for good health, mental and physical, and I'm thankful for this medication which is making this possible.

Lorazepam--this one I take as needed for greater than usual anxiety. It makes me sleepy, so I often end up taking it after an anxiety-producing event, and it calms me down.

I am so thankful for good health insurance. I don't want to be over dramatic, but bipolar disorder is a life-threatening disease. At the very least, I suspect I would have become, without these medications, a very heavy emotional weight for my family to carry. I feel very thankful for the help which has been given me.

Good Idea!

Here is where you can purchase the quilts.