Before I get to the real point of this post, if anyone is interested in seeing our production of Godspell, I posted it on megaupload:
Today was a pretty successful day for me, sewing wise. I finished cutting out a blouse that will go well with my navy suit, and I started sewing the skirt. How do people finish there seams, those of you who sew? I try to stay true to the time periods and stitch two rows of stitching and then use the pinking shears, but as soon as I wash something, it starts to fray something awful. So I think I am going to start using a three step zig zag to finish the seams, but I want to hear what everyone else does. Spill it!
When ever I have a skirt, whether it be alone or part of a dress, I always pin all the sides together and then sew instead of pinning each side and sewing the seam separately. For me, it seems to save time.
I don't usually dress up for work, which I hate, but really, it would be quite silly for me to be dressed to the nines to go to work in a warehouse. Besides the fact that I am the only girl who works there (at a file shredding company)...yeah. That's all I am going to say on that one. But today was just one of those rare days that I could not bear to put on pants or shorts again...bleh. I honestly don't know how people who wear current day style clothes do it. They always seem so tight and constricting, and very very unfeminine and uncomfortable. One thing that I still buy new in department stores or chains is skirts. So that's what I wore today. I got this skirt, I believe, my freshman year of college, and it has remained a faithful go to for days I want to look semi cute and presentable. I don't know if it shows up on the picture, but it is like a rainbow bleeding into each other, with this gorgeous black and gold swirl, feathery design throughout the entire thing. So, yep. It's a rare, modern look for me today.
"He said to his people, "Look, the people of Israel now outnumber us and are stronger than we are.10 We must make a plan to keep them from growing even more. If we don't, and if war breaks out, they will join our enemies and fight against us. Then they will escape from the country"What I don't understand right off the bat, is that if the Israelites outnumbered the Egyptians, how in the world did the Egyptians have enough force to make them their slaves without a war or uprising. I'm sure it is as simple, for lack of a better term, as what happened in Hitler Germany, but still. That is difficult to wrap my mind around.
Something else I have trouble wrapping my mind around is how little respect the Egyptians had for the sanctity of life. This is something of a passion of mine. No, I am not one of those people that think bombing abortion clinics is the right way to go. Nor do I attend protests. My fight is more inward, and I tend to be a prayer warrior for the sanctity of life. So when I read Ex 1:15-17
Then Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, gave this order to the Hebrew midwives, Shiphrah and Puah:"When you help the Hebrew women as they give birth, watch as they deliver.s If the baby is a boy, kill him; if it is a girl, let her live." But because the midwives feared God, they refused to obey the king's orders. They allowed the boys to live, too.Yeah. This wasn't new reading to me. I knew it happened, but still, everytime I read it I am slightly taken aback. How can one man order the destruction all Israelite male babies and not feel any guilt? Praise God for the strength of the midwives for refusing to follow his orders, but then we find out later that Pharaoh said in Ex 1:22
"Then Pharaoh gave this order to all his people: "Throw every newborn Hebrew boy into the Nile River. But you may let the girls live."Then Exodus chapter 2 begins the story of Moses we all know. His mother hid him for 3 months. I cannot imagine the fear and trepidation she must have felt during that time. Also, I wonder how many other mother's tried to hide their children from the Egyptians. And then, she makes a basket for him and lays him in the river. Pharaoh's daughter finds him and decides to adopt him. She hires Moses's real mother to nurse him. Wow. All I can say is divine intervention. Moses was destined for greatness, and God intervened in his life to allow him to live.
Now for questions and thoughts: Did Moses know he was a Hebrew as he was growing up? So Moses killed a guard who was beating one of the Hebrews, which if I am to be honest, awful, but he was trying to help his people. Then the next day he tries to stop two Hebrews fighting each other and this is what he get's thrown in his face: Ex2:14
The man replied, "Who appointed you to be our prince and judge? Are you going to kill me as you killed that Egyptian yesterday?"I think this is the beginning of showing the Hebrews in a selfish, whining, and arrogant light. Yes, they went through a terrible thing being enslaved in Egypt, and having the mass genocide taking place against their newborns, but Moses was trying to help them and that is what they say to him? And that just the beginning. After they are allowed to leave Egypt, it just gets worse. After Moses leaves and witness the burning bush etc., I think he has legitimate fear in Exodus 4:1
But Moses protested again, "What if they won't believe me or listen to me? What if they say, `The Lord never appeared to you'?"So God tells Moses to go back to Egypt and tells him to perform these miracles, but then he says Ex4:21
And the Lord told Moses, "When you arrive back in Egypt, go to Pharaoh and perform all the miracles I have empowered you to do. But I will harden his heart so he will refuse to let the people go.Why? God really confuses me these next couple of chapters. I don't understand why he hardens Pharaoh's heart. Not only the first time Moses pleads with him, but every time after that after every plague, God also hardens his heart. And then, as Moses is making his way back to Egypt, it says in Ex4:24 that Moses and his family had stopped for the night and God was about to kill him until his wife circumcised their son. Uhh?? Why would God want to kill Moses, who he has chosen to deliver his people?
After the plagues, which, can you imagine the terror and panic that ensued during that time?, Pharaoh finally let the Israelites go, it says that 600,000 men left during the Exodus....which I am assuming does not include women and children. That is bigger than most cities. Can you imagine evacuating a humongous city now? The last thing I am going to say, since this is turning out longer than I had planned, is come back to writing about the Israelites. Yes I know I was making fun of them by saying that they whine alot and complain and don't listen (golden calf idol, gathering more manna than they were supposed to comes to mind), but this is the beginning of their persecution that sadly has not ended. The Jewish people have been one of the most persecuted and prejudiced people in all of history. 3 big things come to mind: Exodus, WWII Hitler Germany, and current day middle east practically hates Israel and the people there. Thats it. I know nothing I wrote was terribly profound, but these writings probably won't be. It is meant for me to get my questions and confusions, and thoughts out there.
2 comments:
Love the addition of the bible reading. Keep it up! All for the glory of God.
love the work you've been doing on the skirt by the way!
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