Walking Worthy

Who am I? Why do I write? What is my purpose here? These are questions I have been wrestling with for some time now on this blog.

I never forget the day I realized I was having an identity crisis. I was a senior in college getting ready to graduate and I had no clue what I wanted to do in life and I realized my identity had been wrapped up in things that were not based on Christ.

That time in my life was more painful than I would like to admit to anyone. A year of what should have been celebration was filled with hurt and pain and depression.

But GOD. (It's one of my favorite phrases in the Bible, because it means He is about to do something incredible)

Oh the sweetness of a God who would pursue me while I was in the pit of despair. He wrapped me up and taught me what it meant to pursue Him, live for Him, and walk in a manner worthy of Him.

That is my daily pursuit to walk in a manner worthy of Christ. I want that to translate here on my blog and recently I have felt so lost in what to write. At times I have felt I had nothing to say.

Today I am reminded of my pursuit of Christ. If I would simply take a moment and realize I can't pursue anything other than Him. I must follow Him daily in the big and small things. So it looks like things are about to change around here. The content of what I write is going to focus on the pursuit of Christ in the everyday. We don't need more Christian writers pursuing themselves or fame and glory. We need someone to stand up and walk in a manner worthy of the gospel. That is what makes my heart beat.

I would love for you to join me. Maybe you are like me and you have felt lost in this world that tells you to pursue fame and glory. You are confused by the message that you must strive to be known and be the next big thing. Come with me as we look at what it means to pursue Christ daily in a quite practical way. What does it look like to be a follower of Christ in a world that tells you to strive after yourself. Spoiler Alert: that doesn't mean you can't be famous, but it is all about what you do with what you have been given.

DIY Fall Pumpkins

All the DIY pumpkins have caught my eye on Pinterest. What about you? I just fell in love with the sweater and velvet pumpkins I was seeing. And all I could think of was…I CAN DO THAT.

Please note. I cannot sew well. I DO NOT own a sewing machine. I took one mother/daughter sewing class in 4-H and my mom and I almost killed each other trying to make an apron. It was ugly folks. I DO however own a sewing kit. It has some basic thread, needles, scissors, etc.

Like any good DIYer I searched and hunted on Pinterest. I looked at all the tutorials and decided I could make these pumpkins. I may not be able to sew, but I could conquer these pumpkins….

I settled on two styles of pumpkins: the kind made from a recycled sweater and the kind that require super basic sewing (because I own a sewing kit you know). I headed out and gathered my supplies

Supplies:
Sweater from a thrift store
2 yards of dark gray corduroy with gold polka dots
Sewing kit
Poly-fil
Twine
Wrapped wire (similar)

Making the Pumpkins

With the sweater pumpkins I followed this tutorial found on StoneGable. This was VERY easy. The hardest part was cutting up my sweater because it was so thick. One sweater made 4 pumpkins.

With my corduroy pumpkins I modified a tutorial I found on Masion de Pax. The modification I made was instead of sewing at the very end, I sewed each pumpkin about an inch from the edge giving me more of a little purse.

Making Pumpkin Stems
When I did my Pinterest search I found there were many ways people were making pumpkin stems. I wanted a more rustic look so I took three different approaches.

Wrapped Wire Stem
After closing off the my pumpkins either with twine or my sewing my little purse together I started at the bottom and wrapped up to form a faux stem.

Folded Sweater Stem
Some pieces of sweater that had a finished sleeve cuff. With those pieces I folded the edge over and then tied a piece of wrapped wire  around the base to hold the fold in place. I then made small curls out of the excess wrapped wire.

Rustic Rough Stem: 
Some pumpkins I left rough looking like a little purse. I tied wrapped wire around the base of the stem and made small curls with the excess.