I used to have a poster on the kitchen wall showing a gorgeous mountain and waterfall and saying, “What appears to be the end may really be the beginning.” During my life that saying has held me through rough spots and brought me some thrilling beginnings. If only change wasn’t so hard. Living Stones News is changing, but our God is not.

Apparently God is all for change and all for discarding the old and bringing in the new. He uses those topics many times in His Word. The website http://www.openbible.info lists 47 Scripture references under the heading of New Beginnings. Many of the references you are very familiar with, including:

Colossians 3:22-23 says: Slaves, obey your earthly masters in everything; and do it, not only when their eye is on you and to win their favor, but with sincerity of heart and reverence for the Lord.Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men.

In modern times, we might say, “Workers, obey your bosses in everything, not only when they are watching, but out of the sincerity of your hearts. Be single-minded, as in serving your Lord.”

I want you folks to know that I am doing more in my retirement than eating Cheetos and watching the grass grow -- although one of those is too true.

I am still quilting and making pillowcase dresses and stitching up table toppers and potholders for gifts and other people’s fundraisers. Most of it is for a good cause, assuaging my guilt over the time and money spent doing it. Anyhow, spiritual thoughts come to me related to sewing and here are two of them:

My trusty Life Application NIV Bible has a section on “Where to Get Help in The Book of Psalms.” For example, “When you feel overwhelmed” suggests reading Psalms 25, 69 and 142.

Psalm 25, written by David as he fought against enemies, is a prayer for defense, guidance and pardon. Is that what is really going on when we feel overwhelmed? Do we feel attacked by the world or by a best friend? Do we not have a clear direction on what we should be doing right now or in the future? Or is there a sin we have not yet confessed and asked for forgiveness?

J. Michael McMahon, president of the National Association of Pastoral Musicians, asked in a homily published in 2002, “Why Do We Keep Singing?”

He looks at the world condition and sees tragedies in New York, Washington, Afghanistan, the Holy Land and many other parts of God’s kingdom. He sees abortion, genocide, religious persecution, child abuse, maltreatment of women, discrimination and a host of other moral problems.

In her devotional “The Quilt of Life,” Mary Tatem says quilts “wrap our hearts in warm emotions. They represent time, energy and planning. The hours required to create a quilt offer plenty of opportunity to think about the person for whom it is intended. When combining needlework with prayer, a quilter catches a glimpse of the love of God who stitches the fabric of our lives with His plans and purposes for our good and not our destruction.”

The Greeks and Romans have been olive horticulturists since the beginning of time and have used grafting to improve their olive stocks for most of those years. Wild olive tree branches are cut, slits are made in the freshly sawed branch ends and several branches from a cultivated olive tree are inserted. These exposed ends are covered with clay and straw and bound with thongs. As this graft heals, the olives are improved and the yield increases.

If you do a Google search on the word “genealogy,” you get about 43 million hits. Quite a popular topic. The dictionary defines genealogy as “an account of the descent of a person, family or group from an ancestor; the study of family pedigrees; or an account of the origin and historical development of something.”

The Maori people group is of Polynesian-Melanesian descent, and many of them live in New Zealand. One of their proverbs is “Turn your face to the sun and the shadows will fall behind you.” What a great thought for us to make the conscious choice to face the sun and to leave behind the problems of our yesterdays. That proverb becomes much more exciting if we change the spelling of “sun” to “Son.” Then it becomes, “Turn your face to the Son and the shadows will fall behind you.”

“The best way to know God is to love many things.”

My bedroom radiator holds a little flip calendar that offers a daily quote and short prayer. That quote left me pondering for days.

How many things do I love? Am I looking for more things to love? What should that list include?