Fleece for the Flock Link

Angel to Angel

2011-11-02T19:27:00.000-04:00

Thank you so much to all the Blanket Angels who lovingly created the beautiful blankets for the angels at the Angel House foster care group home!!!

They loved the blankets and were excited to have their own personal blanket to cozy up with! It means so much to them when people show they care in tangible ways.

God worked through you to even get the right designs for the different taste preferences!!

Angel House, Inc

The Privilege of Participating

2011-10-20T02:03:00.000-04:00

Greetings to all you Blanket Angels!

Thank you for your faithfulness in prayer and your faithfulness to in preparing the fleece, setting up our project stations and especially with such good and joy filled hearts.

Each one of you is such a blessing!

As a reminder:

Beginning today, please join us in the Magnolia Room (in the W building),
where “Fleece Central” operate throughout all 3 days of LoveLoud.

When: Thursday October 20th and Friday October 21st from 8:30am to 8:30pm, and Saturday October 22 nd from 8:30am to 3pm

Once again, we have been so blessed with the wonderful fellowship and new friendships formed among all you volunteers. 1 Peter 1:3-4 sums it up:

"His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness
through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Through them (His power, glory & goodness) He has given us His very great and precious promises, so that WE MAY PARTICIPATE in His divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires."

Please join me in prayer:

Thank you, Lord, for allowing us the PRIVILEGE OF PARTICIPATING in your
divine nature; for the privilege of sharing your precious promises with those who don't know you or your promises; and for giving us the avenue of fleece blankets as an expression and demonstration of your tender thoughts toward us.

Lord, we earnestly and sincerely ask you for a harvest of souls; that blinded eyes will be opened; that stopped up ears will be unstopped; that your glory and goodness toward us will be lifted up and that all will be drawn to you.

Lord, we thank you for working out all the details - how many blankets; who
receives the blankets; who prepares and who delivers (Closed in truck for ginormous delivery to Clarkston!); and again Lord, the flock of bleating sheep sounding ELECTRIC Shears (blade sharpening & replacement blade discounts!)

Lord, we thank you for the leadership of FBCW. Reward them as only you can with spiritual blessings that money cannot buy and the world cannot corrupt.

Father, we pray

1) You will bring volunteers to complete the cutting, tying and delivery of all these blankets

2) You will supply the extra funds to complete the project

3) You will keep every LoveLoud volunteer safe

4) That everything be for your honor and your glory

5) That the words of our mouth and the meditations of our heart will be pleasing in your sight, Oh Lord, our Strength and our Redeemer.

IN THE MIGHTY, STRONG, HOLY NAME OF JESUS.

Amen

And a Child Shall Lead Them

2011-10-18T12:26:00.000-04:00

This story was messaged to us over night and too sweet not to share.

"I wanted to tell you what my 2nd grade SS class did yesterday.

Inspired by Fleece for the Flocks, I went to Hancock's and got the fleece for one blanket. My 2nd-graders tied the knots yesterday. I wish you could have heard them praying over the blanket. They truly felt in their hearts what it would be like to be given this blanket. Their prayers were so sincere as they prayed for protection of the blanket that it wouldn't be lost or stolen, that it would make the recipient happy, that they would be blessed! It was so precious. I love getting to watch the Lord work in the hearts of our precious children!"

Join us in

TWO MORE DAYS!.

Bring your children, your neighbors, family and friends.

For an hour, for a blanket, for the day. We will be fringing, tying, signing cards and praying over hundreds of fleece blankets and would love for you and yours to share in the blessing.

Don't forget, we will have many opportunities to personally deliver these loving bundles to our neighbors throughout the Atlanta area.

Can't be there personally? Please share this opportunity with your family, friends & neighbors. Message them, tweet about it, post a message to you wall! No excuses, EVERYONE can participate in some way!

Be a Blessing!!...and "Let Your Love GROW………" I Thess 3:12

For less than $10 you can wrap your neighbor in home-spun blessings of love and hope through the simple gift of a hand-knotted blanket. Message us for details in making a tax deductible donation for this year’s blanket projects including some of the following:

The Clarkston, Georgia International Community

KidS3

Angel House for Girls

The Good Shepherd Ranch

Ruth House

Living Waters for Girls

Goshen Valley Boys Ranch

Of Mice, Cookies, Blessings and Blankets

2011-10-18T04:00:00.003-04:00

In the past few years I have had the delight of spending copious amounts of time teaching, playing and learning a plethora of games geared for the 5 and under crowd. I have viewed hours of commercial free 'G' rated entertainment and read countless volumes of children's literature. In the course of my emergence into 'Parenthood: 2001', I've had the occasion to be profoundly moved into action by a simple but profound truth.

"If you give a mouse a cookie..."

You see, last summer my granddaughters school sent a lengthy list of suggested reading material to share with our child before school started in the fall. Several classics were well represented: 'Harold and the Purple Crayon', 'Madeline', 'Caps for Sale' the 'Curious George' series, and 'Corduroy' was actually required...really!

One series included on the list was the "If You Give..." books by Laure Joffe Numeroff. The original story in the set is called

"If You Give a Mouse a Cookie"

The story goes something like this,

"If you give a mouse a cookie,

he's going to ask for a glass of milk.

When you give him the milk,

he'll probably ask you for a straw.

When he's finished, he'll ask for a napkin.

Then he'll want to look in the in the mirror to make sure he doesn't have a milk mustache.

When he looks in the mirror....."

I think you get the picture....quite the shaggy dog story.

I don't want to spoil the ending but ultimately the story ends up back at the beginning,

with the mouse seeing the refrigerator, which causes him to want more milk aaaand...

"chances are if he ask for a glass of milk....

he's going to want a cookie to go with it"

The story goes full circle and ultimately whoever befriends this mouse might be

exhausted AND exasperated by days end...

and this mouse...

he could become a full time job!

I can sooo relate.

How many times do I encounter a situation, a group or person in need and

turn the other way
claim no time, money or leading to help
pretend my bad ear didn't get the whole message
just decide it was not my business, my problem or better yet, not my area of giftedness?

The needs are everywhere, we run into them at every turn.

If we...

Volunteer at a local shelter, hospice, nursing home, Sunday School, a blanket ministry (you fill in the blank)

Should we donate....

Time, Talent, Money or Possessions

We might...

Get to know...really know our neighbors....maybe even those that are not so easy to know much less like.

We are not called to do the easy things, but the hard ones. Matthew 5: 43-48

If we consciously look for opportunities to share all that we have, all that HE has given us...
chances are very good MORE will be needed or expected.

Wow! This little bit of helping could turn into a whole lot of....dare I say it?

WORK!!

Work that might cut into our well deserved down time with family, friends or...TV!

"Come on" we say, "this is for someone else to do...it's their calling...their ministry....their thing"

As my insightful daughter in love Elizabeth often points out,

"Who can truly say we deserve anything?"

You know what...We Don't! Not ONE thing!

and...

Jesus said,

"I have food to eat you know nothing about."
The disciples were puzzled.

"Who could have brought him food?"

Jesus said, "The food that keeps me going is that I do the will of the One who sent me, finishing the work he started. As you look around right now, wouldn't you say that in about four months it will be time to harvest? Well, I'm telling you to open your eyes and take a good look at what's right in front of you. These Samaritan fields are ripe. It's harvest time!

"The Harvester isn't waiting. He's taking his pay, gathering in this grain that's ripe for eternal life. Now the Sower is arm in arm with the Harvester, triumphant. That's the truth of the saying, 'This one sows, that one harvests.' I sent you to harvest a field you never worked. Without lifting a finger, you have walked in on a field worked long and hard by others." John 4:32-38

All too often harvesting requires us to 'give a mouse a cookie'.

God used this powerful little parable to make me realize it's time to step up and step out.

My prayer is that we open up, earnestly seek God, ask Him to send every mouse, moose, pig or neighbor for us to love as He loves each one of us. May we be up to our eyeballs in the blessed harvest God has prepared.

How bout you?

You in on giving that mouse a cookie?

Portions of the preceding post were copied from one written about a month before the first 15 hand tied fleece blanket were made and delivered, nearly 3 years ago. Besides numbers, not too much has changed, except perhaps a greater desire to "Give a..."

For less than $10 you can wrap your neighbor in home-spun blessings of love and
hope through the simple gift of a hand-knotted blanket. Message us for details in making a tax deductible donation for this year’s blanket projects including some of the following:

The Clarkston, Georgia International Community

KidS3

Angel House for Girls

The Good Shepherd Ranch

Ruth House

Living Waters for Girls

Goshen Valley Boys Ranch

LoveLoud 2011 - "Let Your Love GROW………" I Thess 3:12

2011-10-09T10:21:00.002-04:00

Hey all you BLANKET ANGELS!!!

Join us Sunday evening October 9th for the LoveLoud 2011 Rally at FBCW!

We will begin at 6:00pm in the W Building with breakouts beginning at 6:50. Fleece for the Flock will meet in the Magnolia room sides A & B, where we will fill you in on details for this years 3 day LoveLoud event Thursday October 20 thru Saturday 22 2011.

If you can not attend ANY of the days or have another LoveLoud project, please share this opportunity with your family, friends & neighbors. Message them, post a message to you wall!

As we have said so many times before, EVERYONE can participate in this project. You and yours can cut, tie, roll, pray over, sign cards and most importantly HAND deliver each hand tied blanket to someone in need of a God hug wrapped in fleece!

We expect to cut, tie & personally deliver upwards of 1000 blankets this year over a 3 day period. We need ALL hands on deck!

Be a Blessing!!...and "Let Your Love GROW………" I Thess 3:12

tammy

Upcoming Projects - Ways to lend hands and heart!

2010-09-01T22:53:00.002-04:00

Below is a list of some of the projects Fleece for the Flock has committed to for the remainder of 2010.

Angel House

Living Water for Girls

Bethany Place Home for Women and Children

The Cherokee Family Violence Center

2 groups of our Appalachian Neighbors in West Virginia

Children from 3 to 18 of the Clarkston, Georgia International Community

The projected blankets needed is nearly 2,000.

Various businesses, Bible study groups, churches and independent donors are stepping up to help fill the needs. We have some precious benefactors, who much like the widow Christ spoke of in the Bible, regularly deliver fleece or some of of their meager wages to see that others may know the joy and love they experienced as earlier FFF blanket recipient. Please pray, do all that you can to support and share our mission as we seek to obtain nearly the 6000 yards of material needed for these upcoming projects.

Our hope and prayer is that each of you will partner with us in meeting these needs. Many of these opportunities are physically in the Atlanta area. We welcome everyone who can, to attend the various upcoming blanket making events, tie some knots, write notes, encourage and pray for the hundreds to be blessed by these home-spun bundles of love and hope.

Save the Dates!

LoveLoud Weekend: About 8 weeks from now you are encouraged to join Mary, me and about 3,000 of our neighbors as we spend 3 days loving loudly on our Northwest Georgia community. Beginning Thursday October 21st and through Saturday the 23rd, (starting at 8am each day) you find us 'womaning' Blanket Central at FBCW. If you have never tied a blanket or attended one of our 'Flock' parties this is an excellent opportunity for hands on experience. Not only will we be making blankets, writing encouraging notes and praying over all, there will be multiple opportunities to actually deliver and love on our blanket recipients. All of the more than 700 blankets tied these three days will be given out during the same time. Please join us that weekend if you can and prepare to be blessed!

2010 Heavenly Harvest Hoedown: Our 2010 HHH is set for Saturday, November 13th from 8am to 5pm at the First Baptist Church of Woodstock, Georgia. This year's HHH will focus on the almost 1,300 blankets and scarves needed for Christmas delivery to the youth of the Clarkston Georgia International Community, our Appalachian neighbors in West Virginia and the women and children of a local battered women's shelter. Come share bountiful blessings with neighbors near and far. Hope to see you there!

"What I'm interested in seeing you do is:
   sharing your food with the hungry,
   inviting the homeless poor into your homes,
   putting clothes on the shivering ill-clad,
   being available to your own families.
Do this and the lights will turn on,
   and your lives will turn around at once.
Your righteousness will pave your way.
   The God of glory will secure your passage.
Then when you pray, God will answer.
   You'll call out for help and I'll say, 'Here I am.'

If you are generous with the hungry
   and start giving yourselves to the down-and-out,
Your lives will begin to glow in the darkness,
   your shadowed lives will be bathed in sunlight.
I will always show you where to go.
   I'll give you a full life in the emptiest of places—
   firm muscles, strong bones.
You'll be like a well-watered garden,
   a gurgling spring that never runs dry.
You'll use the old rubble of past lives to build anew,
   rebuild the foundations from out of your past.
You'll be known as those who can fix anything,
   restore old ruins, rebuild and renovate,
   make the community livable again. "

Isaiah 58: 7-9 and 10-12

So a Few More May Know

2010-07-23T06:30:00.003-04:00

In the past few weeks volunteers have put heart in hand

to cut and tie 102 fleece blankets for area

Royal Family Kids Camps.

We tried to give you a taste of the incredible joy and excitement encountered while delivering blankets.

The morning after giving the children blankets,

groups of kids stumbled out of their cabin wrapped in their fleece treasures.

One nine year old boy asked his counselor if she had seen and read the card we attach to each blanket, without prompting the little guy proceeded to read the card to her.

‘This blanket is an expression of God’s love for you. Know that while we may not know each one of you by name and face, our God does. Many folks met and tied each knot of love just for YOU. We pray that it will bring you much comfort. When life gets tough, wrap yourself in this blanket and remember – You Are Loved!

In all the world, there is only one you.

You have a laugh, a smile, a heart that no one else can duplicate or replace.

That’s because you are a Special Creation of God!

He formed you with His hands and loves you with all His heart.

You are a blessing to those around you

and these are very good reasons to Thank God.

We join all the host of heaven in celebrating your birth

Love,

The Shepherds and Sheep of

Fleece for the Flock”

“God not only loves you very much but also has put His hand on you for something special”

1 Thessalonians 1:4

Because you cared enough to send more fleece, tie many knots of love and bow in prayer, a few more lambs may more fully know how precious they truly are in God eyes.

Thank Ewe all!!

**Special thanks to Gretchen,
official camp photographer for the great photo's of awesome memories. **

Time Is Short

2010-06-28T17:36:00.002-04:00

Good afternoon friends,

We pray this message finds you well and preferably cool :)

Well, with last minute fabric donations and many willing helpers we were able to complete and deliver a car load of colorful fleece blankets to the 51 foster care children (ages 6- 12) attending the FBCW Royal Family Kids Camp.

Last Tuesday, my granddaughter and I set off to deliver the furry wraps and then go home but instead, we stayed all day fellowshipping with the campers by way of attending a girls grand tea, (which included a full out dress up, makeup, hairstyling and fashion show event all rolled into one!)

While the girls indulged in fruit, a chocolate fountain, delicate finger sandwiches, and baby pink punch, the boys did the same (well...not so much pink punch and make up) but all the rest while being outfitted in white Karate gear and garnering life training Mr. Miyagi would be proud of. Oh what a joy to see the delight these activities brought to each campers life.

After the tea it was more swimming, fishing, canoeing and cool down, before a spaghetti dinner, more games and evening service by way of Shine ministry. By 8pm we were calling each child by name to pick up their blanket.

On a side note: As my grandma use to say, it was 'hot as blazes', sweaty flesh in every direction, yet by all the fuss you would have thought we were giving away ice cream cones and water slide rides, not hot and heavy fleece blankets.

We shared with the group how each blanket was hand made, prayed over and surrounded with knots of love by loving folks made especially for each one them. We also made it clear while each of us did not know them personally by name and face, God surely did and that any time they might need a God hug, a big ol reminder of how crazy He was about them to wrap their selves in their blanket.

As we called each camper one by one you would have thought a rock stars were in the house, this is no exaggeration. With each name called applause broke out and we were met with thousand watt smiles that simply melted our hearts and humbled our spirits. God is so incredibly good y'all!

Looking back into the patiently waiting (and sweltering) crowd we spied smiling boys and girls bundled up in colorful fleece relishing Gods tender embrace that very night! Would that each one of you could have shared this presentation with us. Life changing, kingdom building moments y'all.

You all I know how I love a good photo or two (three or three dozen :) to share with a post, but sadly we are unable to take photos on our own as there are actually children attending these camps who have been abused by photography - so trust me when I say my words are so inadequate in describing the delight and joy expressed by these young ones.

Over the weekend Mary and I were contacted (again) by the director of the RFKC of Athens, Georgia. The Athens director was at the blanket distributions Tuesday and is very prayerfully asking that our group might provide blankets for their 50 foster kids. This group hails from Fulton, Delkalb, Gwinnett, Cobb, Athens-Clarke, Greene and other Georgia counties.

We have explained the lack of funds and material currently on hand, and asked them to pray that resources be provided to meet this need.

We ask that each of you prayerfully consider sending blankets or funds for us to purchase fleece so we may be a blessing to yet another tender group of young ones needing physical reminders of their Heavenly Fathers love for them.

Time is very short and we apologize for the extremely short notice. Please give in some way yourself and be sure to share this with those in your own circle of influence so they may take part in this kingdom building blessing.

Much love and many blessings,

Tammy and Mary

"Be shepherds of God's flock that is under your care, serving as overseers—not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; not greedy for money, but eager to serve; not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock." 1 Peter 5: 2-3

God Hugs Needed - We Need Ewe!

2010-05-03T16:30:00.002-04:00

”Music blared from the speakers in the chapel. The excitement was electric. It was the night of the variety show.

Samantha stood in front of the audience, a huge grin spread across her face. She would open the show.

“Go, Samantha,” someone squealed. The music changed to the “Na na na na” song the campers loved. Samantha raised her hands and moved her feet. The audience followed along.

My voice caught. Tears welled up in my eyes. I couldn’t stop thinking about the transformation in the little girl in front of me.

Samantha’s family frequented the restaurant where I waited tables in college. “Here come the 'inbreds',” was a comment that pierced my heart. No one wanted to serve them.

My silence convicted me. I said nothing—not even a prayer on Samantha’s behalf.

Despite my failings, God didn’t forget Samantha. This was her fourth year at Royal Family Kids’ Camp. Bright eyes beamed from once dull pupils; clean clothes replaced filthy rags; blonde hair shined where matted strands had been infested with lice. She stood on the stage, belting out her favorite song with confidence.

Familiar words from one of my favorite camp songs whispered through my heart. “I will change your name. You shall no longer be called wounded, outcast, lonely, or afraid. Your new name shall be confidence, joyfulness, overcoming one, faithfulness, friend of God, one who seeks my face.”

God changed Samantha’s name.”

One of the hundreds of moving camp stories retold on the Royal Family Kids Camp website. Feel free to head over there and read more if you dare.

Once again we have been asked to share some “God Hugs” in the form of fleece blankets with campers attending all three of the Georgia RFKC's. Based on our latest count, that looks to be some 180 children/blankets in all.

As of today we have fabric for a few more than 20 blankets, and will need enough material for another 160 covers for boys and girls between the ages of 7 to 11.

We have set Thursday June 8th as our deadline. The sooner we receive your donations the better as we need any additional time before camp begins to personalize each child’s blanket prior to delivering them.

We need all of Ewe!!

Fabric requirements and directions can be found here. If preferred, you may donate funds or fabric and allow other flock members to assemble, go here for details.

If you are a flock member living out of state, we welcome any contribution you might send to us directly. However, we also encourage you to adopt a camp in your state so that you, your friends, Sunday school or church might gather together and lead the children with cords of human kindness and ties of love for the children in your area.

For locals, we will be meeting every Thursday and Tuesday from 12:30pm – 2:30pm so long as there is fleece to knot. Please email us directly if you plan on joining us (3rd floor music department hall of First Baptist Church Woodstock)

No matter where you call home, please gather together with some of your own 'peeps'

and be the hope for boys and girls across the country this summer.

much love,
tammy and mary

“What I'm interested in seeing you do is:

sharing your food with the hungry,

inviting the homeless poor into your homes,

putting clothes on the shivering ill-clad,

being available to your own families.

Do this and the lights will turn on,

and your lives will turn around at once.

Your righteousness will pave your way.

The God of glory will secure your passage.

Then when you pray, God will answer.

You'll call out for help and I'll say, 'Here I am.'”

Isaiah 58:7-9

Entertaining Angels Unware

2009-11-13T01:00:00.002-05:00

Blanket angels come in all shape and sizes and usually when you least expect them.

Case in point: This week we have literally been up to our elbows in fleece, thanks to gifting from many generous donors and kind hearts in unexpected places all over the country.

Starting with Debbie, Julie, Anne, Jennifer and the whole crew at Hancock Fabric off Canton Road.

Not only did this group forgo the standard,
"We can't make these decisions, you have to run it past cooperate" WITHOUT even knowing what you might need or why.

No, Hancock's quickly found a way to accommodate us in very generous ways. Though we virtually cleaned them out of fleece fabric this past Monday and Tuesday, they continued to be helpful and thoughtful to the point of posting and promoting our blanket event in both English and Spanish in their store windows and at their counter!

Store Manger Julie

Julie and Anne

Next the 'F-Team' spent 3 afternoons this week

cutting hundreds of yards of fleece from rolls and bolts.

Despite some reservations regarding our fabric choices

everyone worked with a glad heart.......well...um...for the most part...

(any of rumors of FBCW running a sweat shop on the third floor are just false or... at least greatly exaggerated.) It was sweaty for some...but, well let's not go there today, okay?

After 3 days of blood, sweat and jeers (scissor blisters can be painful!!)

we were down to the fringing stage.

On Friday, beginning at 8am, we held the first of two mini Flock parties at American Heritage Academy. Mrs. Huffman's 1st grade class was first and today they learned a bit about geography, Social Studies, good citizenship and empathy for others.

Once these little Blanket Angels learned how they could help the families of

McDowell County have a nice, warm holiday,

they tied hundreds of love knots and within one hours time, finished six blankets. Mrs. Huffman's class were genuinely moved, plan to send goody stuffed socks and personal hand written cards and letters with their blankets to their counterparts in West Virginia.

By days end on Friday, our area Daisy Troop followed

Mrs. Huffman's class lead and tied six blankets of their own.

Oh!! Least I forget, when I got home Thursday afternoon from a day of fleece, I spotted 2 large shipping boxes in my library addressed to Mary and I. Once opened, we discovered a treasure trove of 14 beautiful blankets courtesy of Fleece for the Flock supporters in Maryland. Seems this was the harvest of their latest Girls Night. Brought me to tears yet again y'all!

"Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares. " Hebrews 13:2

tammy and mary

Heaven-ly Harvest Hoedown

2009-11-07T13:00:00.008-05:00

Please join our faithful flock in a

ginormous blanket tying marathon affectionately entitled a

Heaven-ly Harvest Hoedown

benefiting the

West Virginia Christmas Mission!

When? November 21st, 2009 from 8:00 am ‘til 5:00 pm
Where? First Baptist Church of Woodstock
In the Basement of the “B” Building

You do NOT have to spend the day with us!

You can if you choose, but you don't have to.

If you do nothing else, bring your family, friends and neighbors - spend a portion of your day tying some love knots, signing a few cards and sending up some thoughtful prayers for our Appalachian neighbors.

There will be music, fun, games and food!
The only thing missing is

YOU!

• Please bring can goods to help our local food pantry

• Stop by the Cornucopia Canteen *

for delicious seection of homemade soups and chowders, baked goods and beverages courtesy

Diane and Augie Oberkrom of

The Soul Food Market

and

Gus Tselios

and the wonderful folks at the

The Marietta Seafood Market

Be entertained

by a terrific group of performers

including the musical talent of

Heather Richardson

as she debuts her new CD

"He is Good"

Many local Fleece for the Flock members plan to attend.

But we will need a host of other blanket angels to complete the task.

If you can tie a knot, sign a thoughtful card or say a prayer make the time and get yourself there. If your schedule prevents it, let others know who CAN make it. Let them fill in for you.

With every ones help, we can be the hope for

McDowell County this Christmas!

For all you flock members unable to attend in body, continue to pray for the rest of us and the folks receiving each

blanket, scarf and socks.

Young, old, everyone is welcome and can help in some way.

Come share our bountiful blessings with our neighbors near and far.
*All proceeds from The Cornucopia Canteen will go to our local Church on the Street ministries.

Email us for further information

Dear ones, God has blessed us all with so much more than any of us could ever deserve and we should all be reminded of what Jesus said,

" I tell you the truth, whatever we did not do for the least of these, you did not do for me"

Much love,

tammy and mary

"If you are generous with the hungry
and start giving yourselves to the down-and-out,
Your lives will begin to glow in the darkness,
your shadowed lives will be bathed in sunlight.
I will always show you where to go.
I'll give you a full life in the emptiest of places—
firm muscles, strong bones.
You'll be like a well-watered garden,
a gurgling spring that never runs dry.
You'll use the old rubble of past lives to build anew,
rebuild the foundations from out of your past.
You'll be known as those who can fix anything,
restore old ruins, rebuild and renovate,
make the community livable again."

to be blessed by the full text check out Isaiah 58

Fleece - Pass it on!

2009-10-01T20:05:00.005-04:00

Mary and I just got a wonderful FB message from a friend of one our Fleece for the Flock group members. Seems this friend saw a FFF update, read it and thought it would be a good project for a group of home schooled girls she teaches. These homeschoolers have been busy and have 6 blankets ready to deliver.

The girls also wanted to know if they could add a letter or card to each blanket and we of course said YES!! What a blessing folks and just the infusion we needed.

Today Mary and I had our Thursday Flock party at FBCW. Many willing hands and hearts joined us, but we had no fleece. We suspected all along the need for fleece products would always exceed fabric donations - IF we ceased to spread the word!

Tonight we are expressly requesting that everyone genuinely interested in supporting this ministry invite everyone you know to jump in and lend a hand.

We ask that you especially let your friends know that this current campaign to make and gather over 425 blankets and wraps is for the families in one of the poorest regions in the United States, McDowell County, West Virginia.

FYI: This once thriving Appalachian community has been hit by one hardship after another leaving it's diminished population physically cut off, with little to no means of making a living, the county's infrastructure is in shambles as schools, homes and businesses have been long ago abandoned. Due to a series of economic and natural disasters many roads in and around the towns and through the mountainous hollers are virtually impassable. Just getting things to them is its own unique challenge.

These are our neighbors’ folks. Not across the ocean, but on our soil and right in our own backyard. We can not rescue them or fix all their problems, that is not our intent…we are no ones savior.

We CAN be the hands and feet of Jesus.
We CAN send something warm and personal, attach a card or letter.
We CAN lift them up in prayer and in all of these ways we CAN Love them Loudly!

By His grace and for His glory,
Tammy and Mary

"Be shepherds of God's flock that is under your care, serving as overseers—not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; not greedy for money, but eager to serve; not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock."
1 Peter 5: 2-3

Instructions for Making a Fleece Scarf

2009-09-01T22:21:00.004-04:00

These are can be made up as "No Sew" or knotted together like tie blankets.

Using at least 2 different pieces of fleece (8" to 12" wide and a minimum of 36 inches in length), place one on top of the other.

You may sew lengthwise right down the middle through all thicknesses. If you are sewing by hand, you can sew with embroidery floss and they look pretty. You may also pin the two pieces together before going onto the next step.

Cut strips horizontally through all layers, making fringe, about 1/2 inch apart to almost the center stitch line being careful not to cut into your stitch line.
From here you can be done or you can add some embellishment. You can slide pony beads (the big fat plastic ones you can get at WalMart or DollarTree cheap) onto each fringe and knot or you can knot the layers together to make it knotted like the tie blankets.
These are fun, fast, easy to make and a good use of scrap fleece.

Hands of Hope in the Appalachian Mountains

2009-08-31T21:46:00.001-04:00

Okay Group: Vacations are over, kids are back in school and it’s time to get busy on our latest Fleece for the Flock project. We will need you, your friends, family and social groups to complete this latest endeavor, it’s a big one!

The Mission:
Fleece for the Flock has committed to assisting the Hands of Hope Ministry in providing warm coverings for a poverty stricken community in the Appalachian Mountains of West Virginia.

With the recent Diane Sawyer documentary bringing to light the plight of the mountain peoples of the Kentucky, many have seen they don’t need to go across the ocean to find people in dire need - just over the nearest Appalachian mountain. At this time we need about 32 adult size blankets as and any extra blankets we can spare for children and babies. The community could also use as many scarves as we can send, as it get cold in those mountains. We would like to have this need met by the end of September. What do you say, are you in?

By mid December we would like to have 500 blankets and wraps to give as Christmas gifts to our West Virginia neighbors.

By contributing to Hands of Hope Ministry, we have an opportunity assist them in providing inspiration and direction to those suffering various hardships while witnessing the hands and feet of God working in the hills and hollows of southern West Virginia. Please check out their website to learn more about HOHM and the work they minister to this community every day of the year.
Mary and I pray each one of you will do what you can to help personally, spread the word and encourage those in your area to help meet this local need.
By His grace and in His love,
tammy and mary

“The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few” Luke 10:2

Love Letters from God

2009-06-25T13:27:00.000-04:00

On June 24th Mary and I were privileged to be attend a surprise birthday celebration for the children attending Royal Family Kids Camp 2009.

We planned on sharing photos from this outing, but due to security concerns and more disturbing, issues some of the children have with being photographed there was only one designated photographer and videographer allowed at the party. These necessary restrictions limited the images we might have shared with you otherwise.

In lieu of the photos I will do my best to describe the afternoon’s festivities.

As we pulled into the beautiful wooded camp grounds we could sense the tranquility and love covering the place. A number of workers and volunteers were scurrying to finish preparation for the afternoons blow out Birthday bash. The party area was edged by cover decorated tents where tables of snacks, drinks and party games sat in anticipation of the merriment to come.

Adjacent to the play area was a petting zoo with an interesting assortment of mammals, birds and reptiles that included an Australian Bearded Dragon, a pair of darling hedge hogs and the biggest floppy eared bunny I have ever seen.

Did I mention the Wombat?

Before long the campers arrived and immediately dove in with both feet. Donning Hawaiian lei's and grass skirts the shindig was in full swing in no time at all.

One little Flock member got to help celebrate with the campers and help deliver blankets.

There was face painting, balloon sculpture, hula hooping, limbo, whirly bird twirls, watermelon eating contests, a funky line dance routine and some kind of wild and woolly game that involved wrapping some partners or opposing player (I'm not sure) in toilet paper - they kind of got that game going before I was aware of all the particular instructions, but by the looks of things everyone had a great time!

After 2 hours of intense revelry the party goers were moved indoors - to the Main Event a surprise birthday party for every camper.

The main building on site had it's windows blackened and was locked during the pre-party in an attempt to maintain some element of surprise for the campers.

It worked....beautifully!

Some 40 kids were led into a darkened room to have the lights turned on and reveal five adorable hand puppets leading the rest of us in a chorus of Birthday singing. The kids were beside themselves with joy! The room was filled with brightly decorated round tables with stars and crowns everywhere and each place setting sporting a shoebox sized birthday gift box, party crown, streamers and horns.

Oh the horns!

You have never heard such a chorus of ~~noise~~ uh...music that 40 birthday horns can produce. This symphony went on for several minutes until the camp director gave instructions for everyone to cut loose once more for during a 20 second count after which they would need to put them away until they were outside where they were welcome to continue their concert.

After opening their personal treasure packed gift boxes, they were presented with the most darling Birthday cake. The sheet cake icing was sectioned off into little squares, with little detailed caricature portraits of each camper filling each box. Lest anyone get confused, each child's name was written underneath each picture.

We watched as one little guy repeatedly told his big camper buddy (counselor)

"But it's not my birthday."

To which it was explained that this was not a celebration of the day he was born, but rather the celebration of his very birth!

There was so much going on that we nearly forgot to present the blankets - really!

Once we told them of the special knot blankets made and prayed over by members of our Fleece for the Flock family we were surrounded as each child wanted to know which one would be theirs. We felt a bit like a Rock Star or the Ice Cream man.

The oohs and aah's and sheer delight as boys hoped for camo or sport prints, while girls wondered if their blanket would be made in their favorite color.

Without exception, each child was ecstatic over their gift.

As you read this LONG post, think on what may have been accomplished with this project. We are not talking about the events that encompassed these few hours yesterday, but the unknown impact these simple kindness's may have had on these precious lives. The ramification which may not be known this side of heaven. We can only continue to pray it is so.

Right now, we do know that with your help 41 abused and neglected children received a glimpse of God’s unconditional love and formed many new and wonderful memories. Because of simple, beautiful blankets - knotted in love and covered in prayer you helped send these little ones a love letter from God.

Thank you for using your heart, talent and resources in completing this project. Without your generosity, this would not be possible.

We can hardly wait to do it again!

much love,
mary and tammy

Thanks to You We Made it!

2009-06-10T18:30:00.000-04:00

Thanks to many nimble fingers and generous hearts we have filled the need of 40 blankets to be given to the children attending Royal Family Kids Camp . With many individual contributions, 4 Flock Parties, and a lot of prayer we are up to our ears in beautiful blankets.

Thank You All

We couldn't have done it without you!

A Bakers Dozen

2009-06-03T09:38:00.001-04:00

We are thrilled to report that on June 2nd a precious group of 13 gathered together joining hands and hearts for a Flock Party. In a couple of hours our volunteers made a bakers dozen of beautiful soft fleece tie blankets. These area ladies - ages 6 to their 70's combined time and talent for a very worthy project,the Royal Kids Camp of Woodstock, Georgia.

This camp is for children between the ages of 7 and 12. These kids are part of the local Foster Care program and come from some pretty tough situations. The purpose of the camp is to create positive memories for the lambs.

Fun and rewarding work for all

In two short hours fleece was spread on floor and tables, folks of all ages measured cut and tied hundreds of love knots resulting in a lovely collection of cozy wraps.

Thank you ladies for all you have done in caring for these little lambs.

We are halfway there!

2009-06-02T05:34:00.000-04:00

Good Morning Everyone,

June 19th deadline is right around the corner and we still need quite a few blankets for this first major project. As shared previously, we hope to provide 40 no-sew tie blankets for the 20 girls and 20 boys attending the Royal Kids Camp of Woodstock Georgia. We are pleased to report we have 25 blankets or fleece donated specifically for this precious group.

We are halfway there y'all!

Many of you have expressed interest in attending a 'Flock Party' or demonstration. We have two such gatherings planned for next week, and everyone is welcome.

Where: Both parties will be held on the 3rd floor choir hall area of First Baptist Church Woodstock. For those of you unfamiliar with where the choir meets, just go to the Worship center building, take the stairs or elevator to the third floor, walk in either direction, once you come upon an area with black taped floor markers - you have arrived!

When: The fun begins at Tuesday at 1PM and Thursday at 6PM

Supplies: 3 yds of fleece (1 1/2 yards per side)Your 'good' scissors - not the pair(s) the family uses to cut cardboard or rope with.Most importantly - Willing hands and warm hearts!

Who: Everyone!!

Email us with any other questions you may have.

Again, we wish to thank you all for stepping up and joining us as we reach out to our community. Please continue to pray for each blanket recipient - that they may come to know our Lord intimately and they may feel a big hug from God every time they use their blanket or wrap.

blessings and big hugs,
tammy and mary

"Be shepherds of God's flock that is under your care, serving as overseers—not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; not greedy for money, but eager to serve; not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock." 1 Peter 5: 2-3

Contact Information

2009-06-01T00:02:00.005-04:00

Fleece For the Flock, Inc.
334 Homestead Circle NW
Kennesaw, Georgia 30144

Email us here.

Shepherd Watch Spotlights

2009-05-31T23:58:00.001-04:00

Whenever possible we will use this page to display photos and post reports from the pasture. In this way you may share in the joy as different groups or individuals step up to wrap a bit of the flock in a God hug.

Current Needs

2009-05-31T23:54:00.000-04:00

We have a wonderful opportunity to bless some little folks attending The Royal Family Kid Camp. RFKC is a leading provider of camps for abused children. Our desire is to make a blanket for each of the campers and aid RFKC in creating positive memories for these little ones.

We have a list of 40 names that includes 20 boys and 20 girls. Camp runs the week of June 21st. Our goal is to deliver the one blanket for every child attending. If you, your family or your group would like to help us by sending a fleece tie blanket or the fabric to create one or more , please do!

We have set a deadline of June 19th so we may collect all the blankets, sew the child's name on each covering and pray over the whole group before delivering them to the camp director.

Fleece Suppliers

2009-05-31T23:48:00.002-04:00

Your local fabric store and some department stores sell fleece year round. There are many fabric stores online that selling fleece in a large variety of colors and designs.

One such online store is 'Fleece 4 Sale' . (http://www.fleece4sale.com)
They have a large selection of fleece that can be purchased in bolts (12-15 yds) or 60 yard rolls. When buying in bulk, several of these patterns can be purchased for as little at $3 a yard.

Fleece Project Instructions

2009-05-31T23:38:00.004-04:00

Click the links or play to view video instruction.

How to make a fleece tie blanket Video Links. Written instructions are below.

Some excellent short and simple videos that will walk you through the entire fleece tie blanket process.

Picking Fabric for Tie Blankets

Layout and Trim a Tie Blanket

Cut Corners to Make a Tie Blanket

Cut Slashes to Make a Tie Blanket

How to Tie Together a Blanket

For those who prefer written directions, follow the directions below.

Things you will need before you begin:

2 Panels of fleece of equal dimensions
Sharp scissors or rotary cutter and mat
1 square of Cardboard or fleece (fleece grabs the fabric to help keep from slipping)
Ruler/yardstick or tape measurer

Step 1
Choose two pieces of fleece. You can choose two pieces that are the same pattern, two different patterns, two plain colors or a pattern on one side and a plain color on the other.

Tip & Warning: Polar Fleece fabric has a wicking property which takes moister away from the body and into the fabric. If you have the wrong side as the right side, you could be wicking moisture from the elements towards your skin.

To find the right side of a fleece fabric: sprinkle water on two different areas on the opposite sides of the fabric, the side that absorbs or wicks the water the fastest is the right side.
The selvage edge of fleece will curl when stretched; the side it curls to is the right side of the fabric. If using a patterned fabric, be sure the correct side of the fleece is facing outwards prior to tying your fringe. The outside is typically fuzzier and more colorful.

To keep you from accidentally using the wrong side of your cut fabric, mark each cut piece with chalk on the wrong side. Sale associates should be able to tell you which side is the outside and mark it before you leave the store.

Step 2
Measure off lengths of each panel appropriate for the person you are making the blanket for. Recommended measurements are as follows:
· 1 to 1 1/2 yards of each fabric for a baby or toddler blanket
· 1 1/2 to 2 yards of each fabric for a child's blanket;
· 2 yards or more of each fabric for a teenager or adult blanket.

Step 3
Align one piece of fleece atop the other on a flat surface (wrong sides together). Trim off any selvage so both pieces of fabric match. Try to cut in a relatively straight line (this is where a yard stick comes in handy), but it doesn't need to be perfect.

Step 4
Measure and cut out a 4 X 4 inch or 3 X 3 inch square of cardboard, heavy paper or fleece. This will be the length of the blanket fringe prior to tying. If you would like longer or shorter fringe, use a larger or smaller square.

Step 5
Line up your cardboard square with a corner of your fabric. Using the square as a template, cut through both pieces of fleece around the square. Repeat with all four corners.

Step 6
Lay your ruler or tape measure along the edge of the fleece and mark 1 inch intervals. Use fabric chalk to mark, or cut a little ways through both pieces of fabric at each 1 inch interval. You may also simply eyeball the intervals if you have an experienced eye. Cut the fringe at your 1-inch intervals along all four sides of the blanket. The depth of the fringe should match the depth of the corners.

Step 7
Make the blanket fringe by taking aligned pieces of fringe from each piece of fabric. Tie square knots or double overhand knots. Complete one side of your blanket, and then each of the remaining three sides.

Tips & Warnings
Using square knots or double overhand knots prevents the blanket from coming apart in the wash.

Be mindful not to over-tighten the knots. Tighten each knot up to fabric edge.
If you will have to move your blanket before it is complete, or if you are afraid the fabric will become misaligned, you may wish to hold the fleece pieces together with a few straight pins placed a few inches in from the edges once you have the edges aligned.

How to make a Fleece Scarf – As Easy as 1-2-3
This is a good project to make use of scrap fleece pieces.

Things you will need before you begin:

1 Length of fleece at desired length
Sharp scissors or rotary cutter and mat

1. Cut Polar Fleece into desired length in a 12" wide strip, using sharp scissors or a rotary cutter and cutting mat.
2. On 12" edge, cut fringe 1/2" wide, 3" long with the "Shape Cut" Board, measuring with a ruler or tape measure.3. Keep yourself warm all winter

How to Make a Fringed or 'Tie' Scarf

These are can be made up as "No Sew" or knotted together like tie blankets.

Using at least 2 different pieces of fleece (8" to 12" wide and a minimum of 36 inches in length), place one on top of the other.
You may sew lengthwise right down the middle through all thicknesses. If you are sewing by hand, you can sew with embroidery floss and they look pretty. You may also pin the two pieces together before going onto the next step.
Cut strips horizontally through all layers, making fringe, about 1/2 inch apart to almost the center stitch line being careful not to cut into your stitch line.
From here you can be done or you can add some embellishment. You can slide pony beads (the big fat plastic ones you can get at WalMart or DollarTree cheap) onto each fringe and knot or you can knot the layers together to make it knotted like the tie blankets.
These are fun, fast, easy to make and a good use of scrap fleece.

Ways You Can Help

2009-05-31T23:32:00.001-04:00

There is something everyone can do no matter your age, talent.

Make and Donate fleece blankets, scarves and wraps.

Donate fleece fabric directly to the Fleece for the Flock group and allow volunteers to create coverings for you.

Fleece for the Flock is a 501 (c) 3, non-profit organization supported by friends like you who want to reach out to people around the world. We are grateful for those who support this work through generous gifts, both large and small. There is so much to be done. Every dollar you donate will help ensure that we may continue to make wrap neighbors in these home-spun blessings. For income tax purposes, please note that Fleece for the Flocks’ federal Tax ID number is 45-3324933

Host a Flock party – get your family or group of friends, Sunday School class or Bible study group together and see how many fleece items you can create in an afternoon or evening.

Volunteer to make the blankets, wraps and scarves from fabric donated by others.

Pray – No matter the way you choose to contribute, please remember to pray, pray pray for all stages of this project.

Pray for the recipients of each gift, the volunteers who donate time and fabric and don’t forget those baring witness to it all . We wont know all their names or needs but God does. We covet your prayers. Agree with us

Creating these fleece items are so easy a small child can do it. Even so not everyone has the time or inclination to actually make a blanket- and you don’t have to. Feel free to donate fleece or dollars so that others may tie knots for you.

Either way you are helping in a BIG way!

Our Mission Statement

2009-05-31T23:25:00.002-04:00

Fleece for the Flock has one mission: To wrap our neighbors in home-spun blessings of love and hope through the simple gift of a hand-knotted blanket. To share the message that, through Christ, we are connected by grace, yet free to choose our own way. Tied, but never attached! In this way, being the hands, feet and loving arms of Christ as we are called to do in 1Peter 5:2-3

"Be shepherds of God's flock that is under your care, serving as overseers—not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; not greedy for money, but eager to serve; not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock."