Handmade Boxer Shorts
I have been seeing this boxer short trend all over Pinterest and TikTok. It started with women buying men’s boxer shorts to wear in the summer as lightweight clothing but has transitioned into other brands selling their versions. The design is so simple that I thought that I could make them myself (with my mom’s help). I ordered a pattern, got a yard of fabric from Walmart, and my mom sewed them. Walmart also sells cheap but good-quality sewing machines, which is where I purchased mine. These shorts have become my go-to shorts for the summer. My mom tailored them to fit my exact measurements and I picked the fabrics to use. The pattern even comes with the option to make them into pants. If you are looking for a craft to do this summer that takes about an hour to do, then try making these shorts. The pattern is easy to follow and great for beginner sewists.
Link to the Etsy pattern: Pomona Pants and Shorts PDF Sewing Pattern Sizes 00-22 - Etsy
A Good Father
In honor of Father’s Day, I wanted to highlight a story many people know about a father and his son. Many people know the story of the Prodigal Son, but the whole chapter tells the same three stories. Luke 15 tells the stories of the Lost Sheep, the Lost Coin, and the Prodigal Son. The lesson of all these stories is the same and tells of the Father’s character and compassion for us. Jesus is saying these parables to a group of tax collectors, sinners, and some Pharisees, angry that he eats with sinners. In the parable The Lost Sheep, a shepherd leaves his other ninety-nine sheep to find one lost sheep. When the lost sheep is found, he brings it back on his shoulders and gathers his neighbors to rejoice in the return of his sheep. In the parable of the Lost Coin, a woman loses one of her ten coins. She searches the whole house for one coin, and when she finds it (you can guess what happens) she calls together her friends and neighbors to rejoice that she found her lost coin. Lastly, in the parable of the Prodigal Son, the younger brother takes his inheritance early from his father and wastes it. He regrets his decisions and goes back home in shame. He begs his father to welcome him home as a servant not deserving as a son, but the father throws a huge party for his son’s return, welcoming him as a son. However, the older brother gets jealous, saying he has always obeyed him (his father) and never got to celebrate with his friends. The father responds by saying that he is always with him and everything he has is his. But his younger brother was dead and now is alive. He was lost and now is found, and this is a reason to celebrate.
You can see the same theme at the end of every parable. God has compassion for those who are lost and come back to him. Not only is there no shame in repenting, but a celebration of your return. Jesus shared these parables for the sinners and tax collectors to hear but also for the Pharisees. Even the older brother in the Prodigal Son parable was shown compassion. He thought that he was the perfect son but never celebrated others. He also never fully appreciated his standing with his father and never asked for what he needed. The brother always had access to the calf for a celebration and should have joined in the celebration of his brother’s return. Are you like the tax collectors needing a reminder to repent without shame and return to the Father who loves and celebrates you? Or are you the Pharisee who needs reminding to celebrate the return of a brother or sister and to pray for things you want because you are a daughter or son of the King with unlimited resources? Our Father is good and cares for his children.
“There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death.” Romans 8:1-2
