Learn From The Turtle*

We continue to receive the newsletter from our former congregation, Grace Lutheran Church, in San Juan, Puerto Rico. "Amazing Grace" is always full of interesting articles and bits of wit and wisdom, we just received the latest edition which contained this, a list of "20 Things To Remember", it's too good not to post here. I'll be printing this one out for future reference, no author is credited.

1. Faith is the ability not to panic.
2. If you worry you didn't pray, if you prayed, don't worry.
3. As a child of God, prayer is kinda like calling home every day.
4. Blessed are the flexible, for they shall not be bent out of shape.
5. When we get tangled up in our problems, be still. Gods wants us to be still so that He can untangle the knot.
6. Do the math. Count your blessings.
7. God wants spiritual fruits, not religious nuts.
8. Dear God: I have a problem, it's me.
9. Silence is often misinterpreted, but never misquoted.
10. Laugh every day-- it's like inner jogging.
11. The most important things in your home are the people.
12. Growing old is inevitable, growing up is optional.
13. There is no key to happiness, the door is always open. Come on in.
14. A grudge is a heavy thing to carry.
15. He who dies with the most toys is still dead.
16. We do not remember days but moments. Life moves too fast so enjoy your precious moments.
17. Nothing is real to you until you experience it; otherwise it's just hearsay.
18. It's all right to sit on your pity pot every now and again. Just be sure to flush when you're done.
19. Surviving and living your life successfully requires courage. The goals and dreams you're seeking require courage and risk-taking. *Learn from the turtle, it only makes progress when it sticks out its neck.
20. Be more concerned with your character than your reputation. Your character is what you really are, while your reputation is merely what others think you are. No matter the storm, when you are with God, there's always a rainbow waiting. Leave gentle fingerprints on the soul of another for the angels to read. I don't want to get to the end of my life and find that I have lived just the length of it. I want to have lived the width of it as well.

Life is Good!

Time Out

Time out, for a week. The Goodneedles are headed north, in search of adventure and cooler temperatures, although fall has arrived here... suddenly and with a vengeance. Armed with a list of quilt shops and a camera, rest assured I'll return with a full report of our Michigan vacation.

In the meantime... I am not the only one who has addressed this particular situation and I don't usually mount a soap box in this forum, but I've thought quite a bit about a post from Bonnie of Quiltville earlier this week and nothing lights a fire under me like this does!

Bonnie has a great blog and is an incredible long arm quilter with a fantastic website full of beautiful quilt photos and free quilt patterns for us to use, straight from her generous heart. Apparently someone has helped themselves to Bonnie's patterns, tweaked them, and is selling them for personal profit; this isn't the first time this has happened to Bonnie. While there may be no legal recourse because of the slight 'amendments', this becomes a matter of ethics. Bonnie's site is copyrighted. Intellectual property is a tough one to protect, but not impossible. The one-click ease that allows us immediate access to Bonnie's patterns for our own personal use is not discriminating, anyone can use the Internet as a vehicle regardless of their intentions. Would the same person who seeks profit from a pattern freely given steal a wrapped gift placed beneath a Christmas tree and sell it on the street? Probably not. Would the same person who seeks profit from a pattern freely given encourage their own child to plagiarize for a good grade on a term paper and pass this work off as their own without citing sources and giving credit? Probably not. Sadly, I think this is a matter of interpretation; not blatant ignorance of right vs. wrong. Just because it's on the Internet doesn't mean it's public domain, this holds true for any copyrighted, protected source. Yes, this type of theft will happen again and again, because it's fast, easy and accessible. But those of use with eyes and keyboards are here, too! Every one of us who has used one of Bonnie's patterns, or even visited her website or blog, has an obligation to be on the lookout for this type of crime. If you see a pattern or design being sold by someone who may not have the rights to it, I encourage you not to purchase it. Ask the designer where it came from. Report the theft. We can do this, we need to do this; stand up for honesty and integrity. When someone uses an underhanded, dishonest tactic for their own personal gain I can not, will not , stand idly by. These so-called designers of 'original' patterns need to be called out and held accountable for their actions! Maybe it's my age, maybe it's politics, maybe it's this-- my 275th post-- that has given me the courage to stand up and speak out here in this place. Join me; stand up for truth, stand up with righteous anger, stand up for what's right, stand up... for all the Bonnies out there!

...thank you.. I'm stepping down now, I have packing to do...
Life is Good!