Curtains

SUNDAY IS PARTY SUNDAY! And that means the place is going to erupt for the GLORY of God. But it also means a lot of extra work, preparing the offering we are going to present to the KING. With that came a new set and a need to make curtains. Sunday is all about THE DOOR. We are gearing up for the new building and are having our last PARTY Sunday in the gym with TREEHOUSE. In order to best communicate the message, we knew that a new set had to come to life on the TREEHOUSE stage. With that meant a door and stage curtains. Today was the day to make that all happen. We had Pat Dickson build the door. It had been painted and was ready. Brandon O'Shields built the piping for the curtains. And a friend and I set out to make the curtain thing happen. We had already purchased the fabric. Today was sewing day. And since I know NOTHING about sewing, I was really just there to be an extra set of hands because the project was so big.

We spent all morning making the curtains, measuring and cutting, pinning and measuring. Sewing and....did I say measuring? To be sure that everything would be perfect. I learned all sorts of things about sewing that I didn't know before. I discovered what pinking shears are! And what scraps are called....scraps. Scraps are just called scraps. I learned about thread and bobbin and how the sewing machine intertwines the bobbin from the bottom and the thread from the top to knit the two pieces of fabric together.

But there are two words today that have changed my LIFE. Yes, I said changed my life. I know you are dying to know how sewing and terminology has changed my LIFE today. All day today, my friend kept referring to Salvage. Salvage is a cool word. It means the property saved, the act of saving anything from fire or danger. So, I was thinking Salvage could be a good Life word from my sewing lesson. I am SALVAGE....property that has been saved from fire and danger. But then, my friend explained to me that the word was not Salvage, but Selvage, which totally wrecked my sewing thought for the day. That is, until I began to understand selvage. Selvage is the edge of a fabric that is woven so that it will not fray or ravel. I then began to think that could be a pretty cool word too. Woven in such a way that we do not fray or unravel. Selvage is about working on the edges so the whole is protected. Making sure the edges don't fray. Being sure you are hemmed in and kept. As I began to realize what selvage was, I saw the need to began to pray over every seam. To be sure things were hemmed in, protected, woven correctly so that things would not fray or unravel.

As my friend began to teach me about grains in the fabric and the need to match up the grains-how we shouldn't try to sew things together that are going in different directions, but to be sure that we match up the grains and then sew it together-I began to think about the LIFE lesson in that. I began to realize how important it is to be paired up with someone who understands the importance of making the weave work. And how if we didn't understand the LIFE lesson behind this, we could be in danger. Because what is woven can not be undone. When you weave something together, it becomes something totally different than what it was alone. Something stronger. It looks different. It serves a different purpose. It is interlaced to make something new. It is not all of one or the other, but combined, something new altogether.

So, there are two words for LIFE today.

Selvage-the need to be hemmed in and protected so that things don't unravel or fray. LIFE woven in such a way that it doesn’t come apart.

Woven-two things going in the same direction, brought together for the purpose of strength and producing something new. Hemmed in and protected so life doesn't fray and TOGETHER to be something different than you are alone.

The Bible says it like this....a cord of three strands is not quickly torn apart. Ecc 4:12

Never thought, making curtains for the stage would produce such LIFE lesson. I am thinking it was a pretty productive day. Not just because we have curtains for the stage, but because of what went on behind (the making of) the "veil"/curtains. An offering of life change was accomplished for the King. So much more than just a curtain.

And the additional cool thought....there was fabric dust EVERYWHERE. Literally...on the tops of cabinets, on the shelves, on the floor. It was everywhere. We had breathed it. It was in our hair. The dye was on our hands, under our finger nails. Everywhere we looked, there was remnants of our LIFE LESSON. Isn't that just like Jesus? To give us a word picture? To teach us and then show us?

Selvage, weave AND remnants...okay, so I three words.

Look what happens when you serve the King! He gives you a WORD....or two...or three...Nevertheless....He changes you!

ALL FOR YOU