In Psalm 100, we are likened to being sheep in God's pasture.
As a farmer's daughter, I love the fact that God compares us to sheep rather than goats...
Sheep are well known as being rather stupid. I don't think God is calling us stupid, so please hear me out.
We had both sheep and goats on our farm. If the sheep got out of the paddock and were wandering on the road, they had no idea how they got there, and you would have to take them around and open the gate for them to get back in. If the goats got out onto the road, they knew exactly how they got there and would often dart back through the same hole they had found/made. Goats are mischievous. I guess my point is that God is not laying blame on us, He is giving us the benefit of the doubt so to speak, saying we are a bit silly for getting lost or into trouble rather than saying we are aiming for it. What do you think?
Memory Verse: "Know that the Lord is God.
It is he who made us, and we are his;
we are his people, the sheep of his pasture." Psalm 100:3 (NIV).
Materials needed to create the Sheep of His Pasture quiet book page:
- A4 felt background sheet. I used white.
- sheep button/s
- farm, sheep or pasture scene material
- tulle (soft is better)
- sewing thread
- texta
- paper, ruler, pen... or this free template (this is my first attempt at embedding - if you can't access the template please let me know; I also apologise that Tahlia got to it and drew all over it before it got scanned... you should still be able to use it though!)
Before starting on this page, you may want to check out a very similar page I made for a Puzzle Quiet Book Page Swap. You might prefer the method I used there. It is more of a traditional button maze, whereas this page uses more of a marble maze design (although I am using a button not a marble).
1. If you want to make your own template, cut out a sheet of paper slightly larger than the size you want your maze to be and use it to mark out where you want your lines to go. Make sure there is enough room for your button to move between the lines, including extra space which will be taken up by the zig zag stitch.
I got my inspiration from Joan Ellis, a fellow member of the Quiet Book Club group on Facebook. She posted pictures of marble maze designs she had made, and she has kindly allowed me to share them with you!
EDIT - 2 photos have been removed
Her instructions for making actual marble mazes from material are as follows: Simply cut two same size rectangles. Stitch right sides together and leave a two inch opening. Turn right side out, press. Draw in your maze, stitch the lines securing the end and beginning of each seam, slip in the marble and sew closed.
1. If you want to make your own template, cut out a sheet of paper slightly larger than the size you want your maze to be and use it to mark out where you want your lines to go. Make sure there is enough room for your button to move between the lines, including extra space which will be taken up by the zig zag stitch.
I got my inspiration from Joan Ellis, a fellow member of the Quiet Book Club group on Facebook. She posted pictures of marble maze designs she had made, and she has kindly allowed me to share them with you!
Her instructions for making actual marble mazes from material are as follows: Simply cut two same size rectangles. Stitch right sides together and leave a two inch opening. Turn right side out, press. Draw in your maze, stitch the lines securing the end and beginning of each seam, slip in the marble and sew closed.
To make a template, use a clear ruler. Make the spaces 3/4 inch for a peewee and 1 inch for a player sized marble. To leave room for top stitching all around, she starts with a 1 inch margin around the edges and works her way in.
If you live in the Albuquerque area of New Mexico, USA, you should definitely check out Hip Stitch, a quilting store and sewing lounge where Joan teaches sewing and does free monthly demonstrations. They sell ready made marble mazes and kits so you can make your own. They even offer private sewing classes at a VERY affordable rate. Unfortunately Joan has already done a marble maze demo this year, but I'm sure if you asked nicely she could organise another at some point!
EDIT - 2 photos have been removed
I chose this last example of a continuous loop as I don't imagine that God's pasture has any dead ends!
2. Use your or my free template to cut out your scene material and tulle. Lay your material over the top of your maze template and use a texta to copy the maze lines onto your material if you are able to see through to do it. Otherwise copy them onto your tulle. I did it both ways and found it easier if the lines were marked on the material rather than the tulle because the tulle moves around a lot and it is more difficult to get the lines in the right spot when you are sewing.
3. Sew the material and tulle together along the outer edge of the maze, remembering to slip a button in between before you get to the end. You could use a few buttons, but mine have a flock already painted on them. Also, I didn't want to run into another button on the way around which might slow momentum on a continuous loop.
4. Clip the corners and fold the edges under. Pin it onto your background felt and sew it down around the edges using a zig zag stitch with a very small stitch length. Sew over the maze lines you marked on your material with the same zig zag stitch.
EDIT - 2 photos have been removed
I chose this last example of a continuous loop as I don't imagine that God's pasture has any dead ends!
2. Use your or my free template to cut out your scene material and tulle. Lay your material over the top of your maze template and use a texta to copy the maze lines onto your material if you are able to see through to do it. Otherwise copy them onto your tulle. I did it both ways and found it easier if the lines were marked on the material rather than the tulle because the tulle moves around a lot and it is more difficult to get the lines in the right spot when you are sewing.
3. Sew the material and tulle together along the outer edge of the maze, remembering to slip a button in between before you get to the end. You could use a few buttons, but mine have a flock already painted on them. Also, I didn't want to run into another button on the way around which might slow momentum on a continuous loop.
4. Clip the corners and fold the edges under. Pin it onto your background felt and sew it down around the edges using a zig zag stitch with a very small stitch length. Sew over the maze lines you marked on your material with the same zig zag stitch.
Finished!
Difficulty Level = Easy
You need very little skills to make this page :)
Key Learning Areas and Skills
- Psalm 100 - This page tells about how we are like sheep in God's pasture
- Imaginative Play - Pretend you are a sheep in the pasture, or a dog rounding up the sheep in the pasture, feed your sheep on a lush pasture of chamomile or burdock, etc
- Button/Marble Maze - push and pull your button along a path
- Fine Motor Skills - all quiet books encourage fine motor skill development
- Hand-eye Co-ordination - all quiet books encourage hand-eye co-ordination
Read the Chapter
Psalm 100Devotional
Coincidentally or not, the number of this Psalm is also the number of sheep in the flock before one goes missing in Jesus' parable of the lost sheep (Luke 15).As a farmer's daughter, I love the fact that God compares us to sheep rather than goats...
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| "Dumb sheep ahead" was tweeted by Adam Marshall on the 16th of March 2014. |
We had both sheep and goats on our farm. If the sheep got out of the paddock and were wandering on the road, they had no idea how they got there, and you would have to take them around and open the gate for them to get back in. If the goats got out onto the road, they knew exactly how they got there and would often dart back through the same hole they had found/made. Goats are mischievous. I guess my point is that God is not laying blame on us, He is giving us the benefit of the doubt so to speak, saying we are a bit silly for getting lost or into trouble rather than saying we are aiming for it. What do you think?
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