For My Dad

I've been composing this post all week - thinking about my dad while I ran, while I cooked, while I read out loud to my kids and while I sewed.  I am such a lucky girl - to have this man for my dad. 

While Dad retired and underwent surgery in the last two weeks, my thoughts have turned to him over and over again. After ministering to families and folks in small churches all his life, he has retired from the ministry. I'm hopeful that the future means more reading, writing, pondering, and talking, without the constraints of small town ministry.

My sister said recently it's sometimes hard for her to see Jesus in everyone. The more I read the Bible and think about the things Jesus said, the more I realize Jesus ministered or served the "least of these". I have a hard time seeing Jesus in everyone, too. But isn't that where we meet him? All those years in small towns - he was serving Jesus by serving the "least of these". I'm not saying it was easy. As kids we bucked against it all time time. Now I see his ministry as something different - as serving Jesus by serving some of his "least".

My sister and I wanted to make something for him to celebrate this event in his life.  We decided on a pattern and a color scheme and we each made 15 blocks.  The front is made up of 25 of them and I used 5 in the back.  The pattern is from Block Party and is Oh, Fransson's Wonky Stripe Block.  Her's is here and she made another version here.  This was such a great and fun quilt to make - the blocks came together easily and nothing else really mattered!  It was a great quilt to do "long distance".  Finished size is roughly 60 X 60.