Dominion

My wilderness ethic has a lot to do with God. Many justify their actions by saying that God gave man dominion over the earth, to use the resources and fill the land. I don’t believe God’s version of dominion is the same as mankind’s. In my eyes, dominion doesn’t mean to control the earth as we see fit, but rather to be stewards of creation. It was a sacred trust. It was intended that we would act responsibly towards all His creations and by so doing, we would always be provided for. This version of dominion allows each generation upon this earth to live in a state of gratitude for the beauty of God’s creations.

Let the mountains shout for joy, and all ye valleys cry aloud; and all ye seas and dry lands tell the wonders of your Eternal King! And ye rivers, and brooks, and rills, flow down with gladness. Let the woods and all the trees of the field praise the Lord; and ye solid rocks weep for joy! And let the sun, moon, and the morning stars sing together, and let all the sons of God shout for joy! And let the eternal creations declare his name forever and ever!

Sewing, sewing, sewing... and other things

This weekendI created some new curtains for the apartment and had enough left over to make a little pillow. It was the first time I had ever sewn on a machine- seriously sewn (I had tried to sew with a piece of newspaper once- don't do that; and was coerced into trying to sew on an industrial machine, yikes...). Even though I was nervous to use it, and beside the fact that it only cost me a penny (thanks to gift cards), I felt a little bad for "really really really wanting one" and then leaving it to sit for months. To tell you the truth, I was scared to use it. After the sewing machine I used newspaper in went haywire, I considered my fingers too important for such a craft. I later reconfirmed this when I sat down at the industrial sewing machine and it almost sucked my fingertips under its death needle.

Little did I know that sewing could be fun.

Here are the projects. They've been awesome to make, and I'm pretty proud of them. I just finished inserting the dowels and cord for the single panel curtain. The double panel curtains are hung by a tension wire and metal clips. It is way sweet, at least compared to the Motel 6 curtains that came standard with the apartment. A needed upgrade, most definitely.

My first stitches on my machine; really great job. Ha ha:


My first seam:



Getting the dowels in:



How I attached the cord:



It works!



How I tied it off:



Trying it out a little more:



The other curtains and their various parts:



Oh, and my little pillow:

Here's a picture that I mistakenly put in and now it won't erase. No one cares about you, tree.