Something Different, Plus Knitting Today!

 This morning in my studies I read this quote:

"[Satan] damages and often destroys families within the walls of their own homes. His strategy is to stir up anger between family members. Satan is the “father of contention, and he stirreth up the hearts of men to contend with anger, one with another.” The verb stir sounds like a recipe for disaster: Put tempers on medium heat, stir in a few choice words, and bring to a boil; continue stirring until thick; cool off; let feelings chill for several days; serve cold; lots of leftovers.

A cunning part of his strategy is to dissociate anger from agency, making us believe that we are victims of an emotion that we cannot control. We hear, “I lost my temper.”...

“He made me mad.” This is another phrase we hear, also implying lack of control or agency. This is a myth that must be debunked. No one makes us mad. Others don’t make us angry. There is no force involved. Becoming angry is a conscious choice, a decision; therefore, we can make the choice not to become angry. We choose!"

Elder Lynn G. Robbins

Years ago I read this quote for the first time, or if not this particular quote, the message in it: we choose how we feel.  It was eye-opening to me. I had thought that feelings just came to us.  Not so. I had an experience with anger that helped me learn it was not necessary in my  life and the life of my family.  (In short--one day I was terrifically angry, so angry that I was nauseous and almost faint.  It was such an awful feeling that I resolved never to feel that way again. And I have not.)

For anyone who has felt trapped by negative emotions/feelings, you don't have to be.  In fact, it is an unpleasant truth that we choose how we feel.  I personally choose to feel happy.

One thing that makes me happy is knitting.  I can make pretty things and give them away. This really really makes me happy.

Two of my most recent knitting projects: the blue potpourri bag--

and the purple and pink potpourri bag--

These bags have been a months'-long learning project as I have been "studying" mosaic knitting.  I am not at the top of the game yet, but am making progress.  The blue bag shows the rounded bottom of the bag.  The purple and pink bag shows that the rounded bottom really is a flat bottom so the bag can sit up.

The bags contain a small handful of botanical potpourri and a cotton ball with five drops of lavender oil dropped on it to give it a nice lavender-y fragrance.  These make me smile.  One day when I get the pattern just the way I want it, I will publish it here in case anyone else wants to knit some of them. It takes me less than two hours to knit. I am hoping to get it together so it is less than that!