“Praise Him”

Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you. I will praise you as long as I live, and in your name I will lift up my hands. Psalm 63:3-4 (NIV)

Praise the LORD, all you servants of the LORD who minister by night in the house of the LORD.Lift up your hands in the sanctuary and praise the LORD. May the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth, bless you from Zion. Psalm 134: 1-3 (NIV)

This quilt was inspired by the calligraphy art work of Holly Monroe (www.HollyMonroe.com), and is used with her permission. Her piece is titled “Praise the Lord”.

The quilt, Praise Him, has a story which begins with Jan Reiter in early October, 2006

Jan was praying in the sanctuary and felt a strong desire to see banners or tapestries to bring warmth to the barren walls. She was uncertain if this was of herself or from God. On the 20^th of October, Kimberly Benson met with Jan in the sanctuary to pray for Epiphany. Jan felt moved to share this heartfelt prayer. She had in her mind that Lisa Ellis was the person to create this tapestry. But before Jan uttered the name, Kimberly said that she knew that just the right person to create this piece was Lisa Ellis! Together they prayed, asking God if it was His will that Lisa’s heart be moved to make a piece for the sanctuary to give God glory. The next day, Kimberly documented this prayer in her prayer journal.

On October 22^nd, Lisa returned home from home group and suddenly felt a strong need to make a quilt for Epiphany. She wrote in her quilt journal that she wanted to make a quilt for Epiphany based on praise and worship and in warm colors that would complement the new building. She immediately started praying that the Spirit would lead her in selecting the fabric and designing the piece.

On October 25^th, with the basic design complete and the fabrics cut and sewn, Lisa began to choose the thread colors for the words of praise. Obvious choices of warm colors, including gold and deep red were selected. But Lisa then received a strong message that the quilt needed blue and purple. She thought, “blue and purple?? They don’t go with the warm colors of the fabric!” Perplexed, she took a digital picture of the fabric top with spools of thread lying across it to see how these colors would look. Finally, she trusted the urge to add blue and purple and began the process of quilting the words of praise.

On October 26^th, Lisa was reading her home group bible study of Exodus 25 on the building of the tabernacle. She was shocked and delighted when she read God’s instructions that the gifts of yarn were to be crimson, blue and purple. She documented in her prayer journal how she had followed this urge and now realized that the Spirit was indeed leading her in the creation of this quilt!

The next day, October 27^th, Kimberly called Lisa and said, “You’ve been on my mind. Is everyone OK?” Lisa replied, “Yes and I am glad you called! I have to tell you this amazing story.” Lisa then told Kimberly about the quilt she was making and the inspiration she felt in choosing the thread colors. Kimberly then shared the other part of the story. She told of the prayer that she and Jan had prayed just two days before Lisa had received the message from God and the quilt design began. There was a quick conference call to Jan to share the news and among tears of joy these three women of Epiphany were brought together in the unity of the Spirit!