Peace

"If you wish to experience peace, provide peace for another." -- 14th Dalai Lama

MUCH peace arrived at church this week for the Crafty Angels -- and I thought of the quote up top as I surveyed it all spread out all over my dining room. I am hoping that the creators of that peace will find much peace themselves. Peace seems to be in short supply here in Chicago right now. We are having record heat, record unemployment, record homelessness, and record hunger. All of that conspires to destroy any peace people in need have inside of themselves, and as a result, we have had a record number of shootings and killings over the past few weeks in our city. In addition, people without peace inside of themselves have brazenly killed three policemen -- all three who were off duty at the time -- another record for Chicago. It is a heartbreaking time, and all I can pray for is peace. So you can see that the peace which arrived at church this past week is especially meaningful to me.

Want to see some of that peace? First up is Angel Cathy Falkenstein from Loomis, CA. She took to heart my request for more spa cloths:

Cathy always chooses the happiest colors! And look at the adorable baby hats she made with the leftovers for our babies at Swedish Covenant Hospital -- what a GREAT idea! Thank you, Cathy -- may you have much peace!

Next up is Angel Amy Gawura from Chicago. She also took my request for spa cloths for the women in Cornerstone Community Outreach's homeless shelters to heart:

Instead of making hers from Sugar 'n Cream or Peaches 'n Creme yarn, she chose a special kind of chenille. They are great - and I love the dusky colors. They remind me of the sky at sunset on a winter day -- very peaceful!

She also made these adorable teddy bears out of a furry yarn -- perfect for the children in Cornerstone's homeless shelters. They are nice and soft and squishy -- they will be greatly loved!

And she included these lovelies for our babies at Swedish Covenant Hospital -- that baby hat is amazing, which you can't see because of my lousy photography skills and because the "talent" refused to pose properly! The hat is all cables, perfectly made, on the top. Gorgeous! Thank you, Amy, for providing so much peace in one shopping bag -- may peace be yours.

We also got a box from Angel Hazel Lindsay in Australia -- that's our fearless spokesmodel Cowboy up top, giving the box, covered with colorful stamps, a good sniff before he let me open it. When he was finished with his inspection, we found much peace inside:

Just look at these wonderful matinee jackets (as they are called in Australia and Great Britain) for our babies at Swedish Covenant Hospital! I just LOVE the leaf pattern that Hazel knitted in as a border on the yellow jacket. So pretty!

As you can see, the heat was starting to get to Cowboy! He just sort of melted all over this lovely baby blanket Hazel crocheted. He deemed it ultimately snoozable!

Hazel also included some hats and a scarf for the teen moms we serve at Parenting Progress -- don't you think the teen girls will love these? I do!

I just fell in love with this hat and scarf set Hazel made -- it's a lovely shade of lilac yarn (it looks bluer in this photo) and the yarn has a bit of a sparkle in it. Nothing flashy, just a tiny hint of bling to make it interesting. It is also as light as a cloud. I'm sorry, Hazel! I think I'm going to have to set this aside for ME to buy at our Christmas fundraiser!

And last but not least, Hazel crocheted two gorgeous spa cloths. Thank you, Hazel, for sending so much peace packed in such a peaceful box! I hope you are feeling LOTS of peace right now!

Angel Talyn Klemmetson and her friends have gotten very busy spreading peace around. I was absolutely staggered when I unpacked these:

That is an ENTIRE dining room tablefull of spa cloths! I had to stand on a chair to take a proper picture, and there were so many that I couldn't fit Cowboy on the table at the same time. WOW! I think I'm going to have to revise my plan for spa cloths this year -- instead of 800, I'm going for 1,000!!! Each of these spa clothes are different, too. Just incredible!

Talyn and her friends have also started making scarves for those we serve. The ones with tags are all wool -- so I've set those aside for Afghans for Afghans. The others will go to the folks we serve at the North Park Friendship Center. Thank you, Talyn and friends -- may lots of peace be yours!

Now, don't you feel more peaceful just LOOKING at all this yarny goodness? Can you feel the love knitted and crocheted into each item? Truly, I think all that love raised the temperature of my dining room several degrees! I get excited thinking about all the peace these love gifts will spread later this year, and what a change they will make in how someone in need feels about him- or herself, and their world. May each one of you reading this blog feel God's grace and peace today.