Gideon Conquers: First His Fear Then His Enemies

Can you imagine a general who just before the battle his commander-in-chief tells him that he will have many soldiers to fight?

That's what happened to Gideon with God. Gideon was a judge and warrior of Ancient Israel. He was the fifth of the Judges of the Jewish people and is regarded as one of the most outstanding for the magnitude of his "warrior work" against one of Israel's enemy peoples: the Midianites. He was the son of Joash, of the tribe of Manasseh. The known facts about its history are told in the Book of Judges in chapters 6 to 8.

Our God is very clear that it is his glory, and does not share it with anyone. It is important to God that the people of Israel understand that they were delivered by the hand of God and not by their own hand. God then tells Gideon that he has extra soldiers and therefore has to send a portion of them home. God allowed Gideon to use three hundred men that were the key and with them God gave him victory.

This makes me wonder if in all circumstances I give glory to God. We must be careful to give glory to God in all aspects of our lives. After all, the "trees will provide food, and their leaves will be used for healing people."

It's interesting to see how patient God is with Gideon. Even on the day of battle, Gideon is afraid and God provides him with confirmation that he had delivered the Midianites into his hands. Upon seeing the evidence, he is full of courage and begins the attack against the Midianites. I don't blame Gideon at all because he has a moment of panic, without help he and his forces are not going to be doing a lot. Not only do we want to see signs, but we want to see them with some frequency because the ones we saw already are easy to be forgotten and we want to be refreshed. To know truly that God loves us because no doubt anyone else would have lost patience.

Thank you God for your great love and mercy!

I’m Just Talking As A Friend

What does a kind word mean? Not only is only this an outstanding way to soothe, it is also important for those who want to build a bridge through which it is possible to share experiences, interests, feelings, projects…

Thus, under the principle of friendship and community we are about to manifest itself through mutual understanding. Its fundamental purpose is to create communicative bridges, thus this can be verbal or through the written word, since both it and the oral word that we use every day, have the virtue of creating a fundamental strategy of permanent harmony. The same can be said when you hear a hurtful word. This same work can be torn down just as easily as it is built up.

That is one of the reasons I write on my blog.

Writing is the best way to adjust life with continuity and it is almost like a cultural sponge. Through it, a variety of possibilities to see and be in the world are created and communicated. Therefore, within its context there are no good or bad ways of writing; only words in action and use; that is, words whose meaning is built on acts of communication.

Up to this point, you may have been a reader but now I invite you to disseminate it and make it your own, sending me your comments, doubts or suggestions related to the topics of the post that appear on the site.

Reading the articles that I share should be like talking to a friend. In this way, with its diverse and focused sections I attempt to offer a discourse that is meant to keep your interest alive, through a friendly word, the affection I have for my topics are my way of making the subjects lively and engaging.

That is to say that I am trying to write in such a way that I would feel welcome and engaged. When this also works for you then we have been able to successful connect.

Torsion Calculation a Calculation of Turns

What is torsion and how do you calculate it? The general study of torsion is complicated because under this type of request the cross section of a part in general is characterized by two phenomena:

  1. Tangential stresses appear parallel to the cross-section. If these are redecorated by a vector field their flow lines "circulate" around the section.
  2. When the above stresses are not properly distributed, which always happens unless the section has circular symmetry, sectional wings appear that cause the deformed cross sections.

As any dedicated spinner would know and those who have started to study the manufacture of yarns intended for the construction of textiles, they know in advance that in order to be able to spin a certain amount of fibers with a certain length, it is necessary to apply a necessary number of twists for the fibers to come together, with inner fiber cohesion (fibers have to bind to others with mechanical help); this cohesion is built upon in each of the different existing fibers and helps the fibers to join with each other throughout the finished thread. This means that before looking for an effect by twisting a thread on a garment it is essential to apply twists to the short fibers for the construction of the threads, otherwise it would make it difficult or nearly impossible to manufacture them.

The main object of applying twists to the wicks and threads during spinning is to provide them with the necessary resistance for handling and that these can be used in different applications.

It is understood as torsion, the action that binds a set of fibers, by providing them with a certain amount of turns in the direction of their longitudinal axis, and as a consequence the portion of fibers acquires a cohesion and consistency thus causing greater resistances and overall thread strength, the degree will depend on the angle of inclination that forms the coil that binds to the fibers, but you have to be careful because an excess application of torque and you will have broken fibers and all of its resistance would be lost.

Resistance and Breakage

Thread thickness is the diameter of surgical suture material.

In addition to the knot, thread strength is decisive for the durability of a surgical seam. It depends on the material used and the thickness of the thread. As a general rule, the suture material must ensure a sufficient tear resistance and is chosen as thinly as possible in order to keep the tissue damage to a minimum. In the case of absorbable suture material, the thickness also has an influence on the dissolution process to be provided by the body or its duration.

The thread thickness printed on a packaging is always the minimum thickness. In most cases, the actual thread thickness is slightly higher, but below the upper range limit. Two different measuring systems are used to indicate the thread thickness,

The American system and the metric European system which measures in tenths of a millimeter.

Weight Gunze Count Common Use
Light 60 wt #60/3 bobbin or appliqué
Thin 50 wt #50/3 bobbin or appliqué
Regular 40 wt #40/3 Quilting
Upholstery 30 wt #30/3 Decorative
Heavy 20 wt #20/3 Decorative

Reverse Systems

They express how much a certain thread weight measures when compared to other threads across the scale. They are called inverse just because the larger the number, the thinner the thread which seems illogical at first but is in fact simpler once you understand more of the finer points of spinning.

Also known as reverse or direct systems, it applies to fibers of limited length such as cotton, wool, etc.

The number is both higher and smaller is the diameter, in this weight system is fixed and the length is variable.

The formula is:

  • N'K L/ P
    • No. Number
    • Constant Ko
    • L. Length
    • P. Weight

Now we will look at how this is applied to actual measurements. Numberings or thread title for this system is as follows for both the English numbering system and the metric:

Metric

First we will look at the metric system to see how it is defined, many students of spinning prefer this system over the English as it is easier to work the numbers mentally. But in the end it is due to personal preference.

  • The metric number expresses the thousands of meters per kilo of each cape, followed by the number of capes.
  • The metric system is the most common of all the systems described.
  • For example, a thread consisting of 2 ends of 60,000 m/kg each is expressed as Nm 60/2.
  • To know the footage that has a kilogram of thread, simply divide the footage of a cape by the number of ends that form it.
  • For example, a 60/2 would have 30 thousand m/kg and a 60/3 would have 20 thousand m/kg.

English Number

And now the English numbering system with the metric measurements included for comparison.

  • The definition is the number of 840-yard skeins (768.08 m) weighing 1 lb (English pound 451.59 g)
  • It is enough to know that you have to multiply by 1.7 to go from the English system to the metric.
  • This numbering has always been the usual for cotton.
  • For example the cotton yarn Ne 30/1, which is an Nm 50/1

My son, Absalom

With this passage we will culminate the series about David's life. In retrospect, I see his life as divided into two parts. The first is ascending, from Goliath's death until David consolidates himself into the throne ending the civil war. People are at peace and the whole country is starting to thrive. God has promised to ensure that David's descendants had a continued reign. What more could David ask for? That's where he's careless. The second part is descending and begins the day he did not go to war and walks through his palace and sees Bathsheba and sends her to search. To cover up adultery, he commits murder and everything becomes such a dirty affair that even David admits it when the prophet Nathan confronts him. David regrets it, but the consequences of what he did would follow for the rest of his life.

The sin that began with David, continues as a cancer with his family when his firstborn Amnon, with the same weakness for women, brought his half-sister Tamar to his room and there he raped her. David was very angry, but he did nothing to help Amnon suffer the consequences of what he had done. Perhaps he expected it to be forgotten, but in rare cases sin has no further consequences. His third son, Absalon, waits two years to avenge his sister Tamar but at the end of the day kills Amnon and flees. David again laments but takes no action. Five years pass and he finally reconciles with his son without judgment or punishment for offense and sin committed.

It seems that it was finally over but only happened that the cancer went to remission but it was still there because for the next four years, Absalon was undermining the people's confidence in David until he rebels against his father. So what began with a look at a beautiful woman who was bathing culminates in another civil war affecting the whole town. First David, then his family, and then the nation.

For David the King, the victory over Absalon was an absolute and decisive one that ended the risk of losing the throne. But for David the father, it was a tragedy of greater proportions. The worst thing that can happen to a parent is losing their son or daughter. In David's case, he was the third son he lost, the first son of Bathsheba, Amnon and now Absalon. That is why David cries, "My son, Absalom! My son, my son, Absalom! If only I could have died in your place! Absalom, my son, my son!"

David arranged his accounts with God when he asked forgiveness for what he did with Bathsheba. But what he did marked him for the rest of his life. This should teach us the importance of keeping a clean life before God. Like cancer, sin must be attacked firmly and aggressively in our lives before it takes root and affects my family and those around me. And when I fail, because I will fail, I must immediately come running at your feet repentant to reconcile me and ask you to cover me with your grace and mercy.

A Child’s Bedtime Prayer

John Henry Johnstone

Now I lay me down to sleep.
I pray the Lord my soul to keep.
If I should die before I wake,
I pray to God my soul to take.
If I should live for other days,
I pray the Lord to guide my ways.

Father, unto thee I pray,
Thou hast guarded me all day;
Safe I am while in thy sight,
Safely let me sleep tonight.
Bless my friends, the whole world bless;
Help me to learn helpfulness;
Keep me every in thy sight;
So to all I say good night.

Basic Spinning

Many people feel that while, interesting, spinning is a space intensive hobby. And while that is true to some extent, it is not a requirement. While you will have better quality thread at a much faster rate it is possible to spin simply with your fingers, but to do so more accurately and quickly you use a spindle.

The hand spindle is a stick with a small disc at its end. These discs can be made of wood, stone, clay, or metal and have a hole in the center for the spindle. The tool is called a drop spindle because it is lowered or "dropped" during spinning. The thread is tied to the spindle and twisted as the wheel rotates. The spinner adds more fibers to the yarn, taking them from a flake that holds with the hand or has been rolled onto a stick called the wheel.

However, the spinster often stops and winds the thread produced in the spindle. The spinners have made yarns like this all over the world until the mechanical spinning lathe was invented.

Machining Quality Material

The high production in the spinning process to save time leads to the reduction in yarn quality. The technological changes that have occurred today are remarkable. Modern machines reach the production rate of 60 – 100 kilograms/hour which is remarkable when compared to only 5 – 10 kilograms/hour which was possible until 1970. Great advantages have brought us new machinery, as they reduce production time and less physical effort.

Today spinning equipment is fed by rolls directly, the operator, according to the type of machines will be in charge of a section and that section will be constituted from four to eight teams. The fundamental operations applied by the card are stretching and continuous cleaning for the case of natural fibers.

The cotton card differs from the bar in that the latter is larger because of the physical characteristics of the wool, another type of card is the one used for the production of non-wovens that serves to manufacture disposable cleaning materials, mouth covers, layers of diapers etc.

In the conventional spinning processes there is the tendency to omit the flap due to the accommodation or adaptation of continuous production processes, by direct feeding mainly in medium to higher quality fibers, groups of feeders, loaders are used and mixers coupled and in sequence with the card. Although the flap is also still applied in lower quality fibers, for thick articles, for cleaning materials and in opening of short, artificial and synthetic fibers.

Washing Your Crochet Garments

To wash the fabrics we produce when we crochet it is preferable to always do it by hand, which is easier on them and better than by machine. The continuous rubbing of the clothes in the washing machine deteriorates the yarn much faster than if washing by hand, so we do it the traditional way.

For this we will use warm water. If the water is too hot you can deform the fibers and cause it to become unsightly.

It is ideal to use a mild detergent. It will serve to use any of those that are on the market and that are indicated for wool and delicate garments.

We will mix the detergent with the water before inserting the clothes and not after.

We will wash the garment carefully, without twisting the fabric or tightening it.

Finally we will rinse it very well with abundant water, also warm.

Once washed, we'll let it lose excess water. For this it is best to lay the crochet work horizontally.

Depending on the garment in question, we can dry it between two towels, which will trap the excess moisture of our fabric.

If we hang a piece of crochet too wet, it will deform by the weight of the water. When this happens it is hard to make it regain its original size and shape.

When we want to wash a lace that we have just finished making (I dreaded this the first time), we will follow the same washing guidelines and let it dry between towels.

To finish drying and prevent it from losing its shape, we will finish the drying by gently hanging it on a line or rack, you can use clothes pins.

The drying process will always be done in the shade if you hang it outside, to prevent the sun from yellowing or altering the color of our garments.

If, despite the possible deterioration, we want to machine-wash the fabrics, we will first have checked that the original material (I keep a record of what I used when producing a garment) allowed this type of cleaning and under what conditions. The ball gives us this data when you buy them so save your packaging (or at least the care instructions). If we have doubts, we'll first wash the piece we did as a sample.

We will use a washing bag or net when placing it in a washing machine, this reduces stress during washing. It needs to be closed tightly, because if the bag does not close well, our fabric will come out in the spinning process.

It is also important that the bag fits the size of what we want to wash. If the bag is too large, it will be the same as not using it at all. If this is the case, we must adjust the bag in such a way that it adapts to the volume of the garment it contains. Otherwise the item can still deform.

When the washing process is complete there should be minimal damage to the item.