Soul Cakes for Breakfast on November 2nd

 "In olde tyme good people wolde on All halowen
days bake brade and dele it for all Crysten soules."
(1511)

In England a 16th century custom was to set upon the table a pile of ''Soul-cakes,'' and every visitor was expected to take one, repeating this rhyme:

"A soule-cake, a soule-cake,
Have mercy on all Christen soules
For a soule-cake.''

       "This ancient chant of West Fenton, Shropshire, was sung until recently by bands of young people who made annual rounds of the neighborhood on All Souls' Eve (November 1), begging at each door for ''soul cakes'' for their Hallowmas feast. Soul cakes are spiced oval or round buns which, in early times, doubtless were given for prayers for the dead, or as ''a charity'' for departed souls. "Souling'', as the ceremony of singing for cakes is called, probably originated in the pagan Feast of All Souls''. Soul cakes and souling customs vary from country to country, but souling practices have always flourished best, perhaps, along the Welsh border. Nowadays the custom rapidly is dying out, even in this district, but many vestiges of the old songs still are found in tiny hamlets of Shropshire and Cheshire, as well as in Staffordshire, Lancashire and Derbyshire.
       This custom of doling out bread for all Christian souls persisted well into the seventeenth century, for John Aubrey, the English antiquary, writes in 1686 of seeing ''. . . sett on the Board a high heap of Soulcakes, lyeing one upon another'', like the ''shew bread'' in old Bible pictures. He goes on to describe the bread as ''about the bigness'' of a two-penny cake. It was customary, according to this writer, to give one to each ''souler'', who in return for the gift, droned out one of the following "old rhythms or sayings.'' (above)
       It was customary for the soulers to repeat their ditties over and over again in monotonous, droning tones, without pause or variation, as they made their rounds from parish to parish. The sound must have been familiar, indeed, to Shakespear's ears, for Speed remarks in "Two Gentleman of Verona'' that one of the ''special marks'' of a man in love is ''to speak puling, like a beggar at Hallowmas''. 
       The composition of soul cakes used to vary considerably from one county to another. Usually they were rich with eggs and milk. They were rather flat, round or oval in shape, and pungently flavored with saffron and allspice. In a highly popular sense the ''cakes'' meant ale, fruit or money - anything, in fact, that was given to the soulers at Hallowmas. It is interesting to note that from this early British institution of souling, American boys and girls throughout the United States have inherited the ever popular custom of masquerading in fantastic costumes on October thirty-first, and going from door to door in the neighborhood to demand ''something for Halloween''.
       Soul cakes, as adapted to American taste from recipes of early English housewives, make delicious teatime buns. Instead of the saffron and allspice originally employed, use of a few drops of yellow vegetable dye, if desired, and cinnamon, or a dash of nutmeg or mace.
       The following recipe, patterned after an old Shropshire recipe, makes four dozen light fluffy tea buns, or three dozen good-sized breakfast ones. These soul cakes, served hot with cider and coffee and homemade strawberry or blackberry preserves, make delicious, hearty fare for the modern American Halloween party too.'' Spicer

Shropshire Soul Cakes:

• 6 cups sifted all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup butter or substitute
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 cake compressed yeast dissolved in 1/4 cup lukewarm water
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 2 cups milk
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 4 teaspoons cinnamon

Directions:

1. Cream together the butter and sugar.
2. Crumble yeast in 1/4 cup lukewarm water, to which 1 teaspoon sugar has been added.
3. Set yeast mixture in warm place until it becomes light and spongy.
4. Scald milk and add to the creamed butter and sugar.
5. When creamed mixture is cooled, add the yeast mixture.
6. Sift flour, salt and cinnamon together.
7. Add the dry ingredients gradually to the wet, kneading into a soft dough.
8. Set the sponge to rise in a warm place in a greased, covered bowl.
9. When doubled in bulk, shape the dough into small round or oval buns.
10. Brush the tops with beaten egg. 
11. Bake in moderately hot oven at 400 degrees for 15 minutes, dropping the oven temperature to 350 and baking until the buns are delicately browned and thoroughly done.
12. Yields 18-24 cakes, according to size.

Hungry for History teaches about soul cakes and church history. 

November 2nd was set apart for the traditions observing 

the souls of the departed in Christ.

Breakfast for The Feast Of All Saints

 Songs for The Feast Of All Saints

by Christina Rossetti

Love is the key of life and death,

Of hidden heavenly mystery;

Of all Christ is, of all He saith,

Love is the key. 

       ''The breakfast is the most important meal of the day, because it is the first thing that happens every morning, and it thus strikes the note, so to speak, of the day's harmony.

       Breakfast varies more than any other meal in the number and kind of dishes served - from the cup of coffee and single small roll, brought to your bedroom in some of the European countries, to the hotel breakfast of the United States, which consists of nearly as many dishes as a course dinner. But whatever the breakfast, it should be remembered that it is the opening adventure of the morning, and no pains should be spared to make it an agreeable one. If nothing more is desired than toast and coffee, the standard for these two should be nothing short of excellence. Indeed the fewer dishes served for breakfast, the greater the perfection called for in these few, since where there is much variety, if one dish is poor, it can be discarded for another that is good." Chambers

Italian Coffee by The Pan-American Coffee Bureau

       The best known of all ''foreign'' coffees is the Italian version. It is often called Caffe Espresso although, technically, this is always made in an Espresso machine. Italian coffee is an excellent after-dinner demitasse.

• 8 level tablespoons of French or Italian-roast pulverized coffee beans
• 1 1/2 cups of water

       A drip pot may be used, but a macchinetta is best. This coffee-making device consists of 2 cylinders, one with a spout, and a coffee sieve between them. Measure the coffee into the sieve. Put together with cylinder having the spout on top, and with measured water in lower cylinder to steam. Then remove from heat and turn the macchinetta upside down until the brew has dripped through. Serve in demitasse cups or 4 oz. glasses with a twist of lemon peel and sugar, never with cream. Makes 4 demitasse servings.

• How Nonna makes espresso

Fanny Brice sings "Cooking breakfast for the one I love...'' 

Those Crazy, Crazy Quilts!

      The term "crazy quilting" is often used to refer to the textile art of crazy patchwork and is sometimes used interchangeably with that term. Crazy quilting does not actually refer to a specific kind of quilting (the needlework which binds two or more layers of fabric together), but a specific kind of patchwork lacking repeating motifs. A crazy quilt rarely has the internal layer of batting that is part of what defines quilting as a textile technique.

      Regular patchwork combines the pieces of fabric into a predetermined and regular design, but crazy patchwork uses irregular pieces of fabric without pattern on a foundation fabric or paper. This may create haphazard-looking and asymmetrical designs, or the designer may use some control in placement. Patches can be hand appliquéd onto a base fabric. This method gives the most variety as every patch is unique. There are also block patterns designed for crazy quilt that can be sewn by machine. Sometimes part of a crazy quilt is haphazard while other parts are placed in a planned pattern. A common example of this the placement of patches is a fan pattern. The patches and seams are then usually heavily embellished.

      Crazy quilting created a stir in the 1880's when it became quite a fad in the United States. The Japanese Exhibit in the 1876 Philadelphia Centennial Exposition inspired the crazy quilt with its asymmetrical art. Articles encouraging crazy quilting, or condemning it, could be found in women's publications. Women could purchase packages of random fabrics, as well as already embellished pieces, to use in their own crazy quilts. During the first several years of the crazy quilting fad, fine fabrics and heavy embellishment were the norm. As time passed quilters began to make simpler quilts in the crazy quilt style. Thrifty housewives used everyday fabrics like wool or cotton and little or no embellishment to create more serviceable quilts than the original fancy crazy quilts with the added benefit of using up small or odd-shaped scraps left over from making clothing for the family or other household sewing projects.

Tamar Horton Harris North. “Quilt (or decorative throw), Crazy pattern”. ~1877. 54 ½ × 55 in. Metropolitan Museum of Art.

An Amish crazy quilt created by Lydia Beachy between 1910-1920, made
 of cotton, measures 80 7/8 in. by 62 1/4 in. Part of Smithsonian
American Art Museum Collection.

The Delphinium Embroidery Block

The Original Instructions: Two shades of blue with green leaf are used to embroider this block. The buds and most of the center spike are the lighter blue, while the darker value is used for the larger blossoms to the outside. A few of the bottom flowers might be a third darkest blue or purple. Centers are yellow.

• Embroider Delphinium with A. K. stitch
• Ribbon Delphinium by Risa's Embroidery Chest

The Cosmos Embroidery Block

The Original Instructions: The cosmos block is embroidered with orchid tint flowers, pink buds, green leaves and slender stems, with yellow French knot centers to the blossoms.

• Embroidery of Cosmos Flower by Malina_GM Exclusive
• DIY Cosmos Hand Embroidery 
• CC flower hand embroidery by cheezedal_embroidery

The Lily of The Valley Embroidery Block

Lily-of-the-Valley Block No. 9

Original Instructions: If you are using ivory or other dainty-tint background for the quilt blocks, these blossoms may be embroidered in white with the green of the stem embroidering the few small buds at the ends. Leaves are darker green.

• Malina GM Embroidery - lily-of-the-valley, 3D
• How to embroider lily-of-the-valley by Star's Embroidery (also includes leaves
• Lily of the valley ribbon stitches

The Rose Embroidery Block

The Rose Block No. 8

Original Instructions: The colors suggested are deepest crimson and American beauty tones, rose or salmon pink, yellow or even white. However, to best balance in with all flowers in the made-up quilt, two tones of rose pink using the darker to the center are lovely with dull green leaves. Thorns may be dark red on the same light green of the stems.

• Garden roses. Embroidery for beginners by Diana Vingert
• Bullion knot rose stitch by Knit & Stitch
• Cast on Stitch Rose by NeedlePoint
• 3D white roses
• Brazilian embroidery by BD Hand Stitch

The Value of Easter Day

 " An angel rolled away the stone, and sat upon it." Matthew 28:2.

       Surely the angel of Easter morning did a superfluous piece of work! To roll away the stone of the sepulchre was a very important thing; but to sit upon it afterward - surely that was a useless task! Is it not a lame and impotent conclusion to a great deed! We should have expected the Easter angel, after rolling away the stone, to have been described as winging his way "beyond the clouds and beyond the tomb." But, when we are called to see him sitting on the old gravestone, is that poetry, is that beauty? Yes - the grandest poetry, the most subtle beauty. It is a far finer image than would have been depicted in the angel flying home. It is not enough that the stone of my grief should be rolled away; it must be glorified. Many a sorrow, when it passes away, leaves soreness behind. It is no longer the place of my tribulation to-day, but it was the place of my tribulation yesterday. I weep over my yesterday; I need something to explain my yesterday. To-day has been glorified; I want yesterday to be glorified too. I want to see the angel in the place where my old sorrow lay- on the stone of my former sepulchre. The glory of Easter morning is that it brightens past mornings. It tells me that what I called death was never there. It throws a light upon the ancient graves. It answers the long-repeated question, ''To what purpose is this waste?" It dispels my complaining over the vanished years. It dries my tears shed for the shortness of human life. It vindicates the past justice of my Father.

       Lord of Easter Day, let me see the angel on the gravestone! I cannot see Thy rising; I am born too late for that. But on every gravestone Thou hast left an angel sitting; the stone has itself become radiant. I used to cry for a chariot of fire to bear me beyond death. The chariot comes not, but the angel at the grave is better; he makes the cloud of death itself Thy chariot. Reveal to me that angel at the grave! Give me a view of death as a hallowed thing! It has long been to me the king of terrors; my gravestone has held a spectre. Take away the spectre, and put an angel there! If I saw an angel on the stone, I do not think I should need to see it rolled away. When I was a child I would have abolished the thunder; I thought it was the voice of disorder in the world. I would not abolish it now; I know it is the rhythm of Thine own voice. What has made the change? It is the presence of the angel. The thunder has not been rolled away, but it has ceased to be to me a discord; it has become a chord of Thy music. So is it with death this Easter morning! An angel sits upon the former spot of gloom! Thou hast glorified my pain of yesterday! Thou hast exalted my valley of humiliation! Thou hast peopled my desert of silence! Thou hast lighted my path of despair! Thou hast put the myrtle where the briar grew, the fir tree where the thorn grew! The stone of the sepulchre is not less heavy; but the weight of affliction has become a weight of glory.

The Burden In Heaven

 "For we that are in this tabernacle do groan, being burdened: not for that we would be unclothed, but clothed upon, that mortality might be swallowed up of life." 2 Corinthians 5: 4.

       "Not for that we would be unclothed."  I understand Paul to mean ''not that we would be unclothed of our burdens in the future world." And this is a very strange saying. Paul is comparing earth with heaven. He says, '' In this tabernacle we groan, being burdened." We expect him to add, "when we get to heaven we shall make up for it by a life of ease." On the contrary, he says the advantage of heaven will be that we shall be able to hear our burdens, '' mortality shall be swallowed up of life." The burden which is a hindrance here will cease to be a hindrance there. Why does not Paul rather want to get rid of it altogether - to be unclothed of it? Because he sees a use for it yonder. I remember when I was minister of Innellan attending the last hours of a little deformed girl. She had been a lifelong invalid. She had borne years of pain with the most extraordinary patience. I asked her, in wonder, how she could bear so bravely. I expected her to answer, "I weep now; I shall laugh yet" - '' I go on foot now; I shall have a carriage yet " - " I have poor raiment now; I shall wear diamonds yet." Instead of that, she said, "O sir! you know I am training to be a ministering spirit." That little girl had seen the bridal of the earth and sky - the marriage supper of the Lamb.

       For indeed, my soul, what thou needest is not an unclothing of thy burden; it is that thy burden should be swallowed up in the life of love. Why has thy Father given thee a burden here? To make thee long for the beauty of heaven? A burden is a bad preparation for beauty. If Heaven is exclusively a place of flowers, thou shouldst be in the garden now. Why art thou not now in the garden? It is because thou art not training for a garden. Thou art training to be a ministering spirit. That is why God does not unclothe thee of thy heavy garments. The heavy garments are the fashion up yonder - only, they no longer oppress. God would not diminish thy load; He would strengthen thine arm. There will be more weights to carry in heaven than on earth. Wouldst thou enter into the joy of thy Lord? The joy of thy Lord is burden-bearing. He began by feeling the heaviness of the vesture; but love made it a garment of praise; and now His yoke is easy and His burden is light. Thou shalt not need to be divested of thy care when thou shalt enter into the joy, into the sympathy, of Jesus.

The Pain That Is Divine

 "Every branch that beareth fruit, He purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit." John 15: 2.

       Man commonly inflicts suffering upon unpromising objects; the greatest criminal gets the heaviest sentence. But the penalties which God inflicts are upon the lives of promise, and because their promise gives hope of amendment. Two boys are brought before you, both convicted of lying. The one has been false all his life; the other has never lied before. You will probably decide to punish the first more severely. God's decision is the opposite. Instead of two boys, the passage takes its illustration from two branches. The one bears nothing; the other bears less than it ought to do. You would think the former would be treated more drastically. No, it is the latter. The former is simply removed from contact; the latter is subjected to severe discipline. Why? Because the penalties of God are proportionate not to the sin but to the promise. And, in pursuance of this law, our moral pain is proportionate not to the sin but to the promise. Paul suffers more inward pain than Nero - because he has more goodness in him. I never read of Nero beating on his breast and crying, ''O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from this body of death!" He had not love enough; he had not faith enough; he had not light enough. The pain of Paul came from the life higher than his own the life of the tree.

       No more, then, my brother, canst thou say with the men of old time, ''He is afflicted; therefore he must be bad." Thou wouldst be nearer the truth by the opposite sentence, "He is afflicted; therefore he must be good." In the moral world it is in fine weather that the glass falls. Be not discouraged that the glass falls; in the sphere of the heart it means not rain but sunshine. Be not dismayed although with each peak thou climbest the mist seems to deepen. Abraham never saw the mist till he began to ascend Mount Moriah. He saw it not in Egypt - where his life was really bad; only in the hour of his obedience did there come to him the call to sacrifice. Dost thou ask why Abraham was afflicted on the mount and Lot left scathless on the plain? Because Abraham was on the mount and Lot was on the plain. It is whom the Lord loveth He chasteneth; it is His light that makes thy shadow. Tremble not at the shadow, fear not when thou enterest into the cloud. It is only in thy transfiguration moments that God prepares a cloud for thee. It is only on the summit of Moriah that He bids thee yield thine offering. It is only on thy road to Canaan that He shows thee a path through the desert. The Father gives hard lessons to His promising son.

The Relation of Theism to Christianity

 "Every man therefore that hath heard and hath learned of the Father, 

cometh unto me." John 6: 45.

       The idea is that if a man believe in a personal God he ought, if he would be logical, to accept Christianity. Every man that has learned of the Father should, in strict reason, come to the Son also. There are men who call themselves Deists. They say, ''Have we not a God of nature - a God who meets the eye; why supplement that faith by a mystery?" Jesus answers "to clear away a mystery - the silence of this God of nature." The God of nature meets the eye; why does not He also meet the ear? Nature, you say, teaches you that there is a Father. It is well; but why does not that Father speak? I can understand one losing sight of a heavenly Father; but I cannot understand one having Him in sight and yet believing in His silence. Can you imagine any father sitting beside his little boy from morn to eve and never uttering a word? He could not; he would be bound to speak. It would be quite immaterial whether he said anything new. Love rarely does say anything new; but it delights to repeat its old things. It is not the revelation that is important; it is the revealing, the breaking of the silence, the communion of soul with soul.

       And so, my Father, is it with Thee. I do not know whether in the voice of Jesus Thou hast told me any new secret about the universe. It is Thy voice itself that breaks the great secret. I have received little light on old mysteries. Thou hast told me nothing new about the origin of life. Thou hast left unsolved the enigmas of space and time. But Thou hast spoken. Thou hast said, "I am here; " that is all; but that is heaven. I care not so much what Thou sayest as that I should hear Thy voice. The revelation I want from Thee is the revealing of Thy love. I care not though it should only tell the old, old story. I reck not though it should unbar no secret, though it should unclasp no mystery. Only let it speak - speak truisms, speak platitudes, speak repetitions. Only let it sound a note in the silence - a note which shall say, " I am with you, I remember you, I love you." Its reiterations will be the dearest message of all; its repetitions will be the sweetest message of all; its old, old story will be the gladdest message of all. My love will never weary of hearing the refrain of Thine; therefore, even though nature had told me all, I should still welcome the voice of Jesus.

The Poppy Embroidery Block

The Poppy Block No. 6

Original Instructions: Crimson poppies are among the most gorgeous of flowers. A turkey red cup and bottom petals with the upstanding one in crimson; green center with black dots around it and green stems, bud and leaves makes a brilliant addition to your blocks.

• Use a blanket stitch to embroider a poppy by AU Embroidery
• Poppy flower by best sewing...

The Slavery Which Glorifies

 "Ye are not your own. For ye are bought with a price; therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's." 1 Corinthians 6: 19, 20.

1 Corinthians 6: 19, 20

       This is the only note of triumph I have ever heard sounded over the condition of a slave. Is it not a marvelous note? ''Ye are not your own; ye are bought with a price; ye are the property of another; therefore glorify your master in your body and in your spirit." Can slavery glorify either a servant or his master! Can it glorify the body; does it not bring weariness! Can it glorify the spirit; does it not bring depression! How could Paul thus speak of a slave! Because there is one kind of slavery which does glorify both the servant and the master; it is love. The heart is never glorified till it gets an owner. Before that time body and spirit are very listless. But when the owner comes, when love comes, then body and spirit leap up together; the eye sparkles; the cheek mantles; the feet bound; the laugh rings; the pulse beats quicker; the yoke becomes easy, and the burden light. There is no homage to the master of a heart like the glory of that heart. When it brightens at his presence, when it leaps at his approach, he is glorified. He would not feel his ownership complete if it did not bring this glory, for the proof of my mastery over your heart is the gleam and glitter of its chain.

       I thank Thee, O Lord, for this one slavery -  the bondage of my heart. It is the charter of my glory. All the beauty of my heart lies in its chain; it sparkles most where it is bound. Never let there come to me an emancipation of the heart. I would have freedom in all else. Let the hands be free, let the mind be free, let the will be free; but let the heart ever have its chain. Thou whose name is Love, let me ever be Thy bondsman. I would not be the bondsman of any power but Thee. There are things in which I should always like to be independent. I should not like my body to be fettered; I should not wish my reason to be bound. But I should always covet Thy chain - Love's chain. I should not wish the independence of the heart. I should not like to have nobody to care for. I should not desire my affections to escape from the cage and be free. Love, Divine Love, Im- mortal Love, be Thou the master of my soul!

Renewal In Christ

 "He that sat upon the throne said 'Behold, I make all things new.'" Revelation 21:5.

"Blessed are the peacemakers..."

       To make things new is not the same as to make new things. To make new things is the work of the hand; to make things new is the work of the heart. Whenever one sits upon the throne of the heart, all things are made new. They are made so without changing a line, without altering a feature. Enthrone in your heart an object of love, and you have renewed the universe. You have given an added note to every bird, a fresh joy to every brook, a fairer tint to every flower. The greater part of this world is painted from within. Its deepest colors are given to the eye by the heart; when the heart grows pale, nature grows wan. When Christ sits upon the throne of the heart, He brings roses to the field. He does not make new things, but He makes things new. I do not think we are aware how much the value of a thing depends upon a thought. What is the difference between the wound inflicted by the surgeon and the wound inflicted by the malefactor? It is a thought - the difference between a purpose of pain and a purpose of mercy. Such is the change which, to me, Christ makes on this world. It is a mental change -  altering the physical view. It is just the difference between a purpose of pain and a purpose of love. I once thought the ills of life were messages of vengeance - the thunderbolts of a vindictive God. But when Christ mounted my heart's throne, the thunderbolts became musical. Death was a chariot to bear me home. Pain was an operation to heal disease. Bereavement was a lifting of my treasures to a safer bank. Poverty was the test of my love. Clouds were the trial of my faith. Surprise was the proof of my patience. The fires of life were the cleansing of the golden chain.

       O Thou who art seated upon the throne of the heart, my knowledge of Thy love has made all things fair. The emerald rainbow of my soul has put new lights in the sky. Yesterday the whole creation was groaning and traveling in spirit; but it was in spirit, not in fact; it was a thought in the soul that put sackcloth on the sky. To-day there has come a new thought to my soul; and creation groans no more. The world has caught fire from the joy of my love; the heavens declare its glory; the earth showeth its handiwork. Not only does the Jay sing it; the very night reflects it. Dark places have caught the glow of Thy presence. Every valley has been exalted; service has been ennobled, sacrifice has been beautified, patient suffering has been reverenced, humility has been made regal, self-restraint has been glorified, the sharing of sorrow has been called blessed, the surrender of the will has been called Divine. The virtues of the vale have become the merits of the mount; the poor in spirit have the kingdom, the meek have the inheritance, the sacrificial have the comfort, the unsatisfied have the promise, the merciful have the crown, the peace-makers have the royalty, the martyrs for truth have the empire over all. Jesus, the very thought of Thee has made this world new! Dr. George Matheson

The Bleeding Hearts Embroidery Block

Bleeding Hearts Block No. 12

Original Instructions: The blossoms are in two shades of pink, darker on the larger lines and the lower sections of all are white, with green leaves and stems, of course.

• Bleeding Heart ribbon embroidery tutorial from Asnimar Embroidery
• Bleeding Heart Flower, hand embroidery by cheezedal_embroidery
• Padded stain stitch and knotted Caston stitch may be used for Bleeding Heart designs by Shagufta Fyms

The Daisy Embroidery Block

Daisy Embroidery Block No. 13.

Original Instructions: White daises with deep yellow and orange French knot centers, may be used on a tint background, or if you are embroidering your quilt blocks on white, use very light blue for the white, or deep yellow daisies with brown centers. (In other words, the daisies may be interpreted as Black-Eyed Susans, if you prefer.)

• 3D daisy embroidery by Malina GM Embroidery
• Daisy Flower Tutorial by Afeei

The Principle of Heavenly Rank

 "Every man in his own order: Christ the first-fruits; afterward they that are Christ's."  1 Corinthians 15:23.

       The influence of caste would seem to be ineradicable. We are told that God has leveled down all men in a common condemnation; yet here we read "every man shall rise in his own order." Why not? If you were to reduce all men to one level to-day, they would be quite unequal to-morrow; the best men would come to the front in a few hours. "But," you say, "I expected better things of heaven. I thought in the other world we should be done with all this cutting and carving, this separation of masses and classes, this raising of barriers between man and man. How it disappoints me to hear that a man has to keep his own order! "Nay but, my brother, "what is the order? Who are those that are to stand in front of the throne? It is the men of sacrifice - the men who have most power to hurst the barriers. Christ is ''the first-fruits" because Christ has gone deepest down. Then come ''they that are Christ's " - they that have washed their robes in the blood of self-forgetfulness. Behind them are the rank and file - those who are still unfit for service, who themselves need to be served. These are the invalids of the camp; they require to be waited upon; they go not forth to battle against sin and Satan. In the present world they would have been called the people of means, people of independence, people who keep attendants; but in the coming world the attendants themselves are to have the first room.

       Prepare me for my heavenly rank, O Lord! Thou hast said that the least shall be greatest in Thy Kingdom; prepare me for my coming high position. I speak of preparing for death; that is an easy thing; I have only to practice torpor. But the hard thing is to practice for that which makes heavenly greatness. I could easily make ready for earthly greatness; I should learn to domineer in a week. But to  serve, to help, to minister, to perform menial offices, to retire into the shade that another's light may shine - that needs a long education. I have often wondered why helpful souls are taken away by death. I do not wonder anymore. I leave school when I am fit for this world; the ministrant souls leave school when they are fit for Thy world; they are the ripest fruits of the garden, and they are ripened by fire. The front flowers are Thy Gethsemane flowers - Thy Passion flowers. My place in the New Jerusalem will be determined by my conquest of exclusiveness; and nothing conquers exclusiveness like pain. They who have passed through the furnace of earth come out to Thee unbound. They are freed from the shackles of all caste; therefore they are the prime-ministers of Thy Kingdom.

God's Chosen Servant is Jesus.

The Canterbury Bells Embroidery Block

The Canterbury Bells Embroidery Block No. 7

Original Instructions: Two shadows of blue are used in embroidering this block, lighter for the smallest flowers and top parts of most others with the darker blue on the bottoms and largest flowers. Centers are orange, stem and leaf green. On irregular shaped leaves like this, the poppy etc., a long-and-short stitch may be used instead of merely outlining the edges. Buttonhole stitch is good around the ellipse parts of the bell flowers, too, working up onto the cap part at the top sides and into the center on the lower edge.

• Hand stitch Bluebell Flowers by Stitch Fan
• Bluebells in silk ribbon by craftyattic.com

The Sweet Peas Embroidery Block

Sweet Peas Block No. 14.

Original Instructions: Colors may be of the pink to purple hues, but we suggest two tones of pink on one palm or two of violet on the other, using the darker for the top petals. Outline stitch may be used throughout or a long-and-short or buttonhole stitch around the larger back petal with the center solid. Green starts with the three tiny leaves at the base of the flowers, a light tender green, using three strands of fast-color six-strand floss.

• Sweet Peas embroidery tutorial for beginners from Delicious Monster Tea

Self Surrender

 "As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine ; no more can ye, except ye abide in me."  John 15: 4.

Branches of The Vine.

       No individual becomes great by his own individuality; he only reaches greatness through the life of another. Why is the patriot distinguished? Because he abides in a larger life - the life of his country. Why is the philanthropist distinguished? Because he is a member of a larger body - the body of humanity. Why is the poet distinguished? Because he is part of a larger spirit - the spirit of nature. The truth is, every one of us only begins to live by the act of dying. The branch bears fruit because it loses itself in the tree. An individual man is glorious in proportion as he feels himself to be another. If a branch were conscious it would not say " I am a branch," but " I am a tree." If a subject of the Czar said to a subject of King Edward, ''Russia would beat England in war," the latter would feel sore. Why? Because he has identified his own life with the life of England; her triumph is his triumph, her defeat is his defeat; the branch claims to be the tree. So is it with the Christian. He makes Christ a personal matter - rejoices when He is honored, weeps when He is defamed. I saw a German professor crying like a child over prevailing infidelity. The world would have wondered; it would have said ''Nobody is hurting him!" He would not have admitted that; the branch felt itself to be the tree.

       My soul, hast thou realized the secret of thy greatness? It is not thine independence; it is thy surrender to another - to Christ - to universal Man. It is not even self-denial that will make thee great; what thou needest is not more privation but larger enjoyment. I hear thee speak of the forgetfulness of self. Yes, my soul; but the solemn question is, the manner of thy forgetting. How wouldst thou forget; shall it be by death or shall it be by life? Thou canst forget thyself by chloroform; but that is not greatness; it is the unconsciousness purchased by dying. But I know of an unconsciousness which is purchased by living - living in the life of another; it is the thing called love. The branch could forget itself by being withered; it prefers to forget itself by being in the vine. Get into the vine, my soul! Get into the life of another - the other! Feel thyself a member of His body! Identify thy interests with the interests of Him! Let there beat one pulse between thee and thy Lord! Let His grief be thy grief; let His joy be thy joy! Let thy prayer be the Lord's Prayer, His six golden wishes thy six golden desires in life! Let Him and thee join in prayer together - for the hallowed Name, for the coming Kingdom, for the accepted Will, for the nourishment of life, for the reign of mercy, for the end of sin! Thou shalt reach the sleep of God's beloved when thy forgetfulness of self shall be the remembrance of Jesus.