Dear Bloggers,

Today is my Birthday! Yay! You have waited patiently for the great big announcement. Here it is.

Announcing a new weblog! As a gift for my second Sweet Sixteen Birthday my husband has given me the gift that I requested: a domain! You may now find me at…

www.angiewashington.com

Isn’t that awesome! I do so hope that you will come and visit me at my new place. Same me, just a new address. There are some features that you might be interested in.

- Sign-up to get posts in your inbox

- Interactive F.A.Q. page labeled ‘Bolivia’

- Your name added to my list of links to friends on the page labeled ‘Rides’

I hope to see you over there!

Much Love,

Angie

P.S. Please make the necessary changes to your feed readers, bookmarks and link lists. Thanks so much!

Revolving Door

A person’s first encounter with a revolving door can be a humorous event. First they just stand there and watch in wonder as a few people go through unharmed. Then they try a few false starts. Soon they get in, but it seems that they can’t quite figure out how to get out, especially if they are maneuvering a bag. They get up the guts to step out and they are right back where they started from. Sometimes a kind soul will try to coach and give pointers. Eventually the stressful experience is over and the person has made it through the crazy door.

My life feels like a revolving door. I am constantly saying good-bye or hello to somebody. Some people I am coaxing along and happy to see they make it through to the other side, proud of their growth and accomplishments. Others I want to hold on to and say just watch with me here for a bit more; but I know that they need to move on. Others I welcome in from the other side. At times their presence is surprisingly refreshing. At times I am challenged and grow because they are with me. Some people that I have waved good-bye to have later come back through the door and my heart is warmed. Others come through the door back into my life after years of silent absence, and I am enriched. Some come rushing through and leave so quickly, yet I am changed because they were with me even for that short time. The emotions attached with these arrivals and departures are most usually strong and have an enormous range of variety.

I am full aware that I am also, at times, the one leaving and arriving. It is overwhelming to consider how my comings and goings affect other people. Some times I long to go through the door and be with people I love; yet I am compelled to stay. I would like to say that I have embraced this aspect of my life. But I must say that I am still trying to figure it out. Maybe I am the one stuck in the door.

What kind of door would you use to describe your life and why?

Magnetic Attraction

It is fun to play with magnets. Seeing a long chain of metal objects stick together is fascinating. Have you ever tried to push strong magnets together with the non-attractive ends only to feel an invisible force prohibiting your efforts? These two forces (attraction and repulsion) are at work in relationships as much as they are in magnets.

In the same way that a simple switch in the direction of the magnets can reverse repulsion and create an attraction in relationships some simple changes in mindset can help bring people together instead of constantly being pushed apart. You can make adjustments in your thinking and the way you relate to others to create a connection.

Romans 12:5 & 10 “so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves.”

Switches:*

1. Switch, “This relationship exists to serve me,” to, “This relationship is so I may serve.” It is attractive to think about the other person

2. Switch, “I will look better if I belittle the other,” to, “If I lift the other up us both go up.”

3. Switch, “Trusting another means I will be taken advantage of,” to, “If I trust others I will be considered trustworthy.” Pushing someone down when in a panic and drowning will probably cause you to drown as well. Striving to pull the other up you will both be saved. A person who is suspicious of others will be thought to be a suspicious suspect.

4. Switch, “I have to be right,” to, “I have to have peace.” Which is more important to you: peace or to be right? In issues of blatant sin then you must hold your ground. But most arguments are not in regards to an issue of sin rather a difference of opinion. Better to let the other person be right and save the relationship.

5. Switch, “Vulnerability means I will be hurt,” to, “Vulnerability means I will be healed.” Take for example a hurt tooth: The dentist will have to inject and inspect and you will be painfully vulnerable to him, but in the end that vulnerability will lead to healing. Without the dentist help you will have greater pain and maybe even lose the tooth. In a relationship if you do not open up to the other person then the sores will fester and you may lose the relationship; just as you would eventually lose a tooth if left unattended. Opening up will lead to healing.

6. Switch, “Transparency means they will see my weaknesses,” to, “Transparency means they will see Jesus more clearly through my life.” In our weakness He is strong.

7. Switch, “Just a little lie won’t hurt,” to, “Lies of any size diminish my credibility.” Being a person of integrity and honesty – even when it is reference to mistakes – will gain you credibility in the eyes of others. You don’t always have to take the brutally honest route; there are ways to be kind and honest.

8. Switch, “Criticism makes me look bad,” to, “Criticism helps me become better.” The attitude with which you receive criticism reveals your true motives in a relationship.

9. Switch, “To get what I want I have to take it,” to “To get what I want I have to sow a seed.” Reaping a sowing is a continual theme throughout the word of God.

10. Switch, “People are things to help me reach my goal,” to, “People are the goal.” I know that when some people look at me my head is replaced by a big dollar sign; I want people to want to have a relationship with me not based on what I can offer them, rather based on who I am.

11. Switch, “These are the conditions so one may earn my love,” to, “I choose to love unconditionally.” Love is a choice, not an emotional feeling.

12. Switch, “This person will never change,” to, “Hope that God is still working is the only hope I have for a relationship.” They say that a relationship is dead when one loses hope that the other can change. This is not to say you must remain close to an abusive person. The bible gives clear instruction about not becoming closely tied to people that display certain characteristics. But if there is no abuse, and only annoying behavior, you can hope that God is working on both of you to grow and change.

* These are examples given in a relationship where both are equals (marriage, siblings, friendships etc.). Things may look slightly different when a leader / follower relationship is being discussed (i.e. parent / child, boss / employee, teacher / student).

Fashion Statement

Arriving fashionably late is the Bolivian lady’s permanent accessory draped haphazardly across heaving shoulders as she enters rushed, appearing as though it was simply unavoidable. The charming smile and friendly kiss on the cheek is penance enough to pardon any tardiness. Be it a tea, a party or a wedding, unimportant is the nature of the event, inevitably there are some that will show up late. Punctuality is simply defined as presence. Though they dwindle in upon commencement you can be assured that the departure is a corporate event. Not five minutes will separate the moment when the first woman rises to take her leave until you have kissed the final fair maiden farewell.

High Apple Pie in the Sky Hopes

My dear friends here in the blogosphere, you have made me feel loved! I truly hope that you are not gravely disappointed on Thursday. The scale of the surprise may be a few notches below your original expectations. But to know that you hope for such grandiose things for me and my family has touched my heart and made me smile more than once these last few days.

So far the guesses have equivocally been:
- pregnancy (that is why I cleared it up from the get go)
- adopting a child
- stateside adoptions approved for our orphanage here in Bolivia
- moving to a new house
- anniversary celebration trip without the kids
- getting a vehicle
- leaving Bolivia to go to a new mission station
- going home for a holiday
- bringing the whole family up to the States for a two week visit
- getting a pay raise

Wow, your high hopes for my life have bolstered my confidence and given me a revived sense of purpose. Thanks for dreaming big for me folks!

While we are on the subject, if you feel comfortable sharing, what is the biggest dream that you have for your life?

Mixing Birds

Mixing began. Pockets of people pulled together with the common interest of a new baby on the way. Pleasantries were exchanged as friendly facts were given and requested. Though unannounced there came a moment when all knew that everyone had arrived. At this precise moment the segregation began. The hosts floated between these groups defined by previous acquaintances. Eventually the spaces widened and it was clear that new relationships were not the top priority for many of those as the party. The church group huddled together over by one table. The missionaries had their spot. The non-missionaries-foreigners group chatted by the couch. The children were even split with the younger ones in the yard by the fountain and the older ones loitering on the basketball court. It is difficult for a group of twenty-some people to all enjoy the same conversation, thus the breaking off.

What are your thoughts about the phenomenon of ‘birds of a feather flock together’?

How do you respond when placed in a social situation with people you don’t know?

One Week

So I have been working you up for this announcement. (No I am not pregnant.) I am not quite ready to announce it yet. This post is just to whet your appetite. One week from now the announcement will be made. It is a happy thing, for a happy time.

WW on the WWW

On hump-day every week a friend of mine hosts a game on her blog called Whatever Wednesday. It's simple and fun. You read the question in the previous comment, then answer the question and leave a new one. And the game goes on like that till she closes comments. Anyone can play as much as they want. Usually there are upwards of 100 questions asked and answered each week.

So last week I got the final question which became the starting question for this week. I thought it would be interesting to know what my readers would respond to the question I left.

Oh, and if you wan to go play WW then head on over and visit Mandy after you leave your answer to my question here, of course. :-)

Here is my question:

When confronted by unavoidable and imposed change how do you respond?

Funny Fruit - Kaqui

On the corner near our house was a small stand under a colorful umbrella. Grabbing the plastic woven bag that my house help usually used to do the market shopping I took a deep breath and announced my departure. Not quite ready to leave my baby with the help I maneuvered the stroller over the pavement that was losing a futile battle with the roots of the ancient trees. The whole bumpy ride my baby gooed and gaaed while I rehearsed the few Spanish words I knew to prepare for my first produce purchases.

The people running the stand were taken by the baby, leaving me time to take in just what they had for sale. Vivid colors mixed with the fresh fruity fragrance wafting from the oversized baskets lent to a euphoric confidence bolstered by the giggles shared by my child and the venders. Over-pointing abounded but was quickly forgiven when I attempted speaking to them with my limited vocabulary being sure to smile real big. I purchased bananas, kiwis, apples, papaya, watermelon and tomatoes. That was all that would fit into the carrier under the stroller. The papaya was the only exotic thing I bought, or so I thought.

I made the proper leaving remarks and trotted home that cloudy morning. I was so proud of myself for this accomplishment. We began washing the fruit and my help made a comment about how much she loved this fruit as she indicated the tomatoes. The argument if the tomato was a fruit or vegetable was not new to me so I thought that I would practice some Spanish and present the opposing view. A comical discussion ensued that my help won only after she took a knife and cut the ‘tomato’ in half. Huh?! It was not a tomato! It was, indeed, my very first funny fruit encounter.

It is called a ‘Kaqui’. It, obviously, looks like a tomato. The taste is sweet with an extremely subtle hint of a cinnamon flavor. It is juicy yet firm. The flat pale seeds are edible while the tough skin is not. We are in kaqui season now. It is fun to eat it and remember my first market shopping experience about six years ago now. Oh, in English kaqui is translated persimmon.

Culture Collection

It was way back in March that I posted my first Culture Collection.

So now I am digging around in my pocket and feeling the well worn stones once again. Ah ha, I found it. Just by feeling it in my hands I know that this is the one I want to display. I pull it out and rub it a little with my thumb. It is a possession of mine. It reminds me of the possessions I want to talk about.

When you are graced with an invitation to a party here in Bolivia you can be sure that your attendance to such a momentous event will be acknowledged by a party favor. In Spanish they are called ‘recuerdos’ which can also be translated ‘memories’. For an adult party your gift will usually be given to you upon your arrival. Last night a group of ladies helped me organize the celebration of our first year of women’s ministry at church. Sure enough one of the gals had commissioned the creation of a tiny pin for each of the attendees that had a flower and a little ribbon printed with the name of our group, the date and the event. Such a nice detail! At a child’s party the favor is much more elaborate in the form of a goodie bag the size of the child’s head replete with candy, sweet breads, games, toys and all kinds of fun stuff. These bags are given to the children towards the end of the party so that there is an explosion of opening and immediate trading of the goods.

A special visit is also acknowledged with a gift. In the image you can see a very small sampling of some of the items that have been lovingly selected and presented to us during our visits around Latin America. Usually the gift is traditional of the country or includes the name of the country somewhere printed on the item. It is expected that the gift be displayed in your home and bears the name of ‘adorno’ or ‘decoration’.

Over the years this custom has become very endearing for me. When a carefully prepared gift is placed in my hands I receive it with gratitude knowing that I was remembered and that the giver is hoping that this token would create a warm memory of friendship in my heart.

200

That chart post was my 200th post. Cool!

Here is a question for you (since I am celebrating a bit of a milestone you can indulge me a bit) -

Ok, if you are one of the handful of people that read my blog could you name for me the top three things that keep bringing you back?

You can use the comment section for your answers (if there are any).

Chart of Servers

Here’s an interesting little thing. Below is a chart of the percentages of the blog servers of the people I read.

1. Blogger – 38%

2. Xanga – 28%

3. Personal domain – 17%

4. Wordpress – 15%

5. Typepad – 2%

Melodious Memory Lane

Spurred by a conversation with a friend last night I was taken on a reverie of my childhood cinema favorites. For fun I started making a list of some movies I would really like to have in my library. It would be fun to watch them with my kids and all that nostalgia and what not.

So I got done with the list and 20 of the 27 were musicals! Wow!

Since I know that you just have to know… here is my top 10 list of the greatest musicals ever (that I have seen).

10. Seven Brides for Seven Brothers
9. Beauty and the Beast
8. The King and I
7. Fiddler on the Roof
6. Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory
5. Sound of Music
4. The Wiz
3. Wizard of Oz
2. Mary Poppins
1. Music Man

What is your favorite movie genre?

Pray for Our Troops

Though my life is lived out on Bolivian soil my heart is still American. I love the fact that God permitted me to be born in the United States. For that reason I wanted to take the opportunity to ask you to pray for our troops. No matter your political views. Our sons, husbands, fathers, friends and brothers are laying down their life for the freedom that we enjoy. Pray that God would be with them.

Nix the Ignorance

God will not be ignored. You’re familiar with the phrase that comes from the bible ‘God will not be mocked’? Here is how it reads in the Message version (Galatians 6:7-8).

Don't be misled: No one makes a fool of God. What a person plants, he will harvest. The person who plants selfishness, ignoring the needs of others—ignoring God!—harvests a crop of weeds. All he'll have to show for his life is weeds! But the one who plants in response to God, letting God's Spirit do the growth work in him, harvests a crop of real life, eternal life.

The implication here is that when we ignore the needs of others we are in fact ignoring God. This passage was doubly illustrated in my life recently.

The first encounter came when I was complaining to God (gasp!) about some of the difficulties I was having with some of the members of our church. I did one of those rhetorical prayers. You know; the type you don’t really want God to answer. I furrowed my brow and said, “See, God, this is why I didn’t want to be a pastor.” No quicker had the words left my mouth then I felt in my heart, “And it’s exactly why I wanted you to be a pastor.” Recognizing that we had a dialog going I wanted to talk out what was boiling in my soul. I started in with the reasoning, “Inadequacy spurs depression, disillusionment, disgust…” I wanted to continue with my clever alliterations but was cut short by this word, “…dependence.” There it was. In my weakness he is strong. It’s ok to feel inadequate just as long as I am not forgetting nor ignoring his complete adequacy.

The second incident of a call to personal action based on my trust in his enabling was that same night. Is two AM considered night or morning? My sleep was interrupted by the squawking of my toddler in the other room. Again relying on my futile cleverness I thought that maybe there was a way that this could be easily managed without me having to get out of bed. God hears our prayers, right? Well this one was not rhetorical, but it was lazy. “God, please give him peace.” I waited, hoping against all hope for the crying to subside. Over the increasing din in the adjacent room I sensed an answer to my prayer that my child might be given the gift of fairy-dust peace, “I gave him you.” The cuddling that ensued was greatly appreciated by my son who fell quickly back to sleep.

I thank God that he is teaching me how to not ignore him by not ignoring the needs of those who he has graciously allowed to be placed in my life.

In what areas of your life have you been nixing the ignorance?

Talent Show

Last Friday night we participated in a church wide talent show. Timothy recited Psalm 133. Gabrielle sang a song in Spanish. Raimy did one in English. They all did a fine job. After the whole show was done the Washington’s got up and did a few songs together as the grand finale. We did all the actions and had a great time. Tyler stayed at home. But in the next few days he tried out some talents. We are sure that cooking is not one of them. Pepper in the sugar? No thanks. Maybe he should just stick to the technical lean like his father. After all he is not even two yet and he knows how to run the DVD player.

Enjoy the slide show!

Mother Month

This has been a mother of a month for me! Many mother issues have literally bombarded me. Here are the mothering things happening:

1. U.S. Mother’s Day celebrated
2. Bolivian Mother’s day coming up
3. Women’s meetings where I speak as a mother cheering her kiddos on
4. Spoke at church about strong families, including the part of a mother
5. Helped a woman in the church work through a second miscarriage – she wants so desperately to be a mother
6. The irony of that precious mother-to-be is that she mothers the orphans in the orphanage as the director
7. Had a couple of heart-to-heart get-togethers over coffee with our group of missionary mothers
8. Said farewell to three of my mother friends going home on furlough
9. Saw a great mother video on the blog of a fellow missionary mother in Indonesia
10. Found the blog of an encouraging author who is also a home schooling mother
11. Reading a book by that same author called The Ministry of Motherhood
12. The book was lent to me by another mother who is a dear friend of mine
13. Have worked through allowing a gal help me home school my kids
14. Have managed my household, learning to have a content heart as I waited for house help
15. Answered the door yesterday and a mother who is a member of our church said she has a relative that just came into town and is looking for work
16. That girl is here at the house now helping me out
17. Let the truth that motherhood is a calling for which God equips you settle in my heart
18. Learned that I cannot mother everybody – there are specific people that need me to play that important role in their lives and others who absolutely do not
19. Discovered a term that I will be exploring more closely in the days, weeks, and years to come: Grace Based Parenting
20. Mothered my children

So these are some things that hit me in my heart today as I sat relishing the beautiful company of my friends on a super comfy couch inhaling the rich aroma of good coffee.

Botanical Buddies

You know that feeling of self-discovery when you realize something about yourself that has always been there but never been formulated into words and uttered? Epiphany and light-bulb-moment are terms for this occurrence. Last week one happened to me. Do you want to know what it is? Of course you do, that is why you are reading. (smile!) Drum roll please: I am an outdoorsy gal. There you have it! Stuff like skiing, hiking, swimming, camping and beach fun all float my boat. In any inclement weather I prefer to be out of doors. When given the choice I want to be communing with nature. And I drag people along with me. (another smile!)

Here is a group of pictures taken on our last Fun Friday. We picked up the kids of a fellow home school family and headed to the botanical gardens. Before unloading the truck I assigned Botanical Buddies so that they could roam and explore; yet still be safe. It was a blast!

Because I said so

“Because I said so,” was actually something I never heard my mother say. She and my father had an agreement that if they could reply with a ‘yes’ then they would do so. They would explain their decisions as clearly and thoroughly as they could. As the oldest of five children we grew up knowing that our parents believed that we could achieve anything that we set our hearts to. I am a grateful product of such faith and encouragement.

This Mother’s Day I would like to honor my mom by listing some of her frequent sayings. She is often the voice in my head and the voice that my children hear as well.

“Be wise and be safe.” Was said each time we left the house, usually too rapidly, into the big world.

“That would be a great question for daddy tonight.” Whenever we had a question about the way the world worked she would take the opportunity to help us connect with Daddy. Before he prayed over us we would have our inquietudes calmed and usually our imaginations fueled by our daddy the master engineer.

“I am happy if you are having a fun time.” So many times I thought my mom had such a boring job taking care of the foster babies that came to stay with us. Over the years more than 100 children’s lives were touched by her loving hands. I would beg her to come ride the roller coaster, swim in the pool or play Nintendo. It wasn’t until I was grown that I found out she suffered from severe motion sickness. So it really was more fun for her to know we were having a good time and she was part of facilitating that.

Mom you were and continue to be a wonderful mom. I love you!

Momentous Mothers

Listed below are the wonderful mothers I know who have impacted my own formation as a mother. I wanted to pay tribute to them. They are a treasure that I hold in my heart. The characteristics following their names (demonstrated in the interaction with their children) are the ones that shine out above all the many that I could have listed. The list could be much longer if I were to include the women throughout history that I know only through study and literature that have also aided me as a mother. To the women here in this list I say thank you so much for being who you are and making a profound mark on my life. May God bless you.

Organized in alphabetical order:

1. Amy R. – Valuing the journey
2. Beth W. – Care and nurture
3. Carolina M. – Encouraging individuality
4. Charlesene M. (my mother in law) – Strength
5. Claudia B. – Placing importance on heritage
6. Danielle H. – Being fun
7. Daryl C. – Learning
8. Denise H. – Unending and unconditional love
9. Emily H. (my sister) – Purposeful connection
10. Heather H. – Hope
11. Jill H. (my mom) – Serving and putting others first
12. Joy G. – Belief in others
13. Joyce L. (my aunt) – Prayer
14. Julie M. – Sacrifice
15. Kristy L. (my aunt) – Instilment of character and faith
16. Laura B. – Thoughtfulness
17. Laura K. (my grandmother) – Industrious
18. Linda K. (my aunt) – Making kids feel important
19. Lisa B. – Patience
20. Mary S. – Tenacity against all odds
21. Phyllis H. (my grandmother) – Being herself
22. Peri Z. – Giving value
23. Rebecca G. – Trust and friendship
24. Shawn S. (my sister) – Doting adoration
25. Tracy C. – Including her kids in the process

In the years to come I expect this list will grow as I come to know new mothers. I am grateful to my Lord for filling my life with the voices of these ladies.

Happy Birthday DaRonn!

My wonderful husband is 33 years old today. To honor him here is a list of 33 of the multiplied many things that I think are just great about my man.

1. He loves God
2. He is passionate
3. He is not afraid of being who he is
4. He strives for excellence
5. He is a good bowler
6. He makes funny jokes
7. He plays with our kids
8. He is always trying to become better
9. He is man of integrity
10. He tells the truth
11. He is a man of action
12. He is a hard worker
13. He is a visionary
14. He is good at starting stuff
15. He hopes for the best
16. He prays
17. He studies the word of God
18. He seeks advice
19. He makes good decisions
20. He is a good judge of character
21. He abhors mediocrity
22. He is a picky eater
23. He has his sights set on the world
24. He enables others to reach their full potential
25. He is a considerate and loving husband
26. He reads lots of books
27. He is good at technical stuff
28. He travels
29. He is a friend
30. He helps people
31. He is kind to children
32. He loves his sons and daughters
33. He loves me

Day on the Countryside at Parque Pairumani

Day on the Countryside at "Parque Pairumani"

This lovely national park sets on the side of a mountain just about a 45 minute drive outside of the city. We piled up in the truck and spent Saturday morning as a family enjoying the fresh air and sunshine. We wrapped up the excursion with ice-cream from the "Aragatza" ice-cream truck (best ice-cream in town is sold from the side a truck).

The guys
DaRonn, Timothy (8) and Tyler (20 months)
DaRonn is not a outdoorsy kind of guy. But he had fun leading us up the side of the mountain on a half an hour hike. We hung out looking at a small river and the beautiful mountain tops.

The girls
Me, Gabrielle (6) and Raimy (10)
It was good to be together as a family doing stuff. The day was brisk yet sunshiny. We had a picnic when we got down from the top. Gabrielle said it was the best lunch of her life.

Plurality of Scripture

And the LORD God said, It is not good that the man should be alone (Genesis 2:18)

Let's take this into the context of the born again Christian who has been breathed upon by God and now lives as a new creation:
And the LORD God said, It is not good that the Christian should be alone

We were created for a shared existence.

We share our existence with God. He permits this.

We share our existence with humans. He designed this.

Why people DON’T get together:
Millions of reasons: unforgiveness, past hurts, selfishness, laziness, low self esteem, prejudice, pride, self pity, poor influences, bad company, corrupted morals.

C.S. Lewis love quote:
Love anything and your heart will be wrung and possibly broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact you must give it to no one, not even an animal. Wrap it carefully round with hobbies and little luxuries; avoid all entanglements. Lock it up safe in the casket or coffin of your selfishness. But in that casket--safe, dark, motionless, airless--it will change. It will not be broken; it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable. To love is to be vulnerable.

Why people DO get together:
One reason: love

The primary purpose of God is his family.

1. Adam - created to share his existence with Eve

2. Noah - saved to share his existence with his family

3. Abraham - blessed to share his existence with his son

4. Israel - the Old Testament written about the shared existence of a group of people

5. Jesus - God incarnate to share existence as a human, called the Son of God

6. Early church - the New Testament addresses the shared existence of a group of people

7. Revelations – addressed the actions of the shared existence of the churches

It has not been until recent years that “personal savior” has worked its way into our vocabulary. God sees us as a whole, as a generation, as generations.

How would you evaluate your spiritual condition?
Us = standards, checklist, example: club membership
God = relationship, intimacy, example: marriage relationship

When you think about the condition of your spirit what do you evaluate?

Usually it is the observance or practices or disciplines that we use to evaluate ourselves.

I Challenge you to evaluate your spiritual condition based on two things:

Love the Lord you God with all your heart, mind, soul and strength

Love your neighbor as yourself

Comparison: When you evaluate the condition of your marriage you don’t think first in the practices that you maintain. You consider the strength of the bond you have with your spouse. The practices are important – but not the main thing.

Have you ever noticed that much of the bible is written in plural?

We have the mind of Christ (1 Corinthians 2:16)

We are more than conquerors (Romans 8:37)

Our Father which art in Heaven (Matthew 6:9)

You are chosen generation, a holy nation, (1 Peter 2:9)

In Him we live and move a have our being (Acts 17:28)

Lists that require interaction with other people:

Hebrews 11:39 - 40 “Faith heroes”

Galatians 5:22 - 23 “Fruit of the Spirit”

1 Corinthians 12 “Purpose of the gifts of the Spirit”

1 Corinthians 13:4-8 “Love check list”

2 Peter 1:4-8 “Great and precious promises for us”

Romans 12 “Christian living with a renewed mind”

It is vital that we are purposefully sharing our existence with other believers in the context of a body in a church.

Memoirs

Have you ever wanted to write your memoirs? The thought has crossed my mind once or twice. What would be the title of the book by you about how you spent your days? That is the idea presented by Tiffani on her blog. She asked me to write a six word title of my memoirs. Sounded like fun.

Here goes:

“The Vapors of Her Shared Existence”

If you want to you can do it too.

May Day

Today in Bolivia we are observing Labor Day. This term seems to be an oxymoron seeing as it is observed by everyone taking the day off from work (except for the market workers, they are so industrious). Yet we are glad to give our team a day off. They work very hard and we are appreciative of them. Of course, my husband, the team leader, is glad to have the office all to him self to work. I must commend him, though, for sleeping in until 7:30 today. This is something he hasn’t done in a long while. I was actually up before him which is a rare occurrence indeed.

My day will include work as well. Aside from the usual laundry, dishes, cooking, cleaning, baby care, and food sanitization of groceries bought right before closing time at the store last night I have some fun things going on. An extra home school class taught by one of our friends: Spanish. As well as art this afternoon with our missionary / neighbor / church member / fellow home school family. After art the kids have a birthday party to go to at the bowling alley. Then we have church tonight. I enjoyed teaching while DaRonn (my husband the pastor) was gone, but I am so glad that he is back to share this evening.

The art project for today is shrinky-dinks. I tossed around the idea of making May baskets. I have some great childhood memories of May Day sneaking up to the neighbors’ houses, ringing the door bell and then running away to hide behind a bush to watch them discover their surprise treat. But, since that is not a tradition here and I have been saving styrofoam trays for weeks the anticipation has got the better of me. Here are the instructions for the project on line if you are interested: http://kidscrafts.suite101.com/article.cfm/make_your_own_shrinky_dinks

What childhood memories does this season invoke for you?

Saved by the Tag

Friends are the greatest! I have been avoiding a real live post due to just some really hard things I am going through so my friends keep on saving me with great posts to recommend and games to play. My old standby for avoidance is also to blog about my kids. So now the secret is out. But sometimes when you are going through stuff (or growing through stuff) it is hard to put in words the whole of it until you have completed the majority if the process. And it is just so all consuming that it is all you talk about when you really talk. If that was too mysterious for you I do apologize. I hope you still like me and continue to read my blog. :-) I will get a real post up eventually.

My friend Becky tagged me. She goes by Rebecca now. We met in high school at which time we all called her Becky. Now she is a published author (no joke folks, I know a famous person) and so she goes by the illustrious name of Rebecca J. Gomez. She and her husband Jake - oops, um Jacob :-) - have three wonderful children. I was SOOOO happy to be able to spend some time with them last year on our furlough trip. We went to a pond in a park to feed the ducks and there was a huge water rat swimming around stealing all the pieces of bread we threw to the ducks. Oh yeah, and there were turtles too! Aside from the wildlife it was so great to just spend the day with my friend. That would be really great right now. I miss her very very much. Ok - tears in the eyes not good for typing - I will get on with the game. I love you Becky!

The rules:

1. Pick up the nearest book.
2. Open to page 123.
3. Find the fifth sentence.
4. Post the next three sentences.
5. Tag five(ish) people and post a comment to the blogger who tagged you.

"The Divine Conspiracy"

They find themselves beyond the limits of human acceptability. This is a fact about them, regardless of how silly it may seem. To say, "How silly of you!" is not exactly to bring Jesus' good news of the kingdom to them

I tag all people who want to play or who need to avoid real post. :-)

Recommendation

One of my friends that I have gratefully reconnected with after more than a decade thanks to the wonderful world of blogging posted something that I think everyone should read.

I met Amy in Botswana (that is in southern Africa) in 1996. She and I were “the engaged girls” on the Teen Mania summer mission trip. We lost touch until last year. Now she is married, has a boy named Silas and has a little girl on the way due very soon. Their family is a testimony of the faithfulness of God. They will be moving to South Africa this summer. You can read her past posts to know more about this sweet family.

Here is the link:

http://expectantandbeyond.wordpress.com/2008/04/20/making-me-matter/

You will not be disappointed.

Doing What They Do

My ten year old trying her hand at oils for the first time. She is an artist. Her preferred style of expression is pencil drawing. But anything pertaining to creative arts is her outlet. She loves dance, music, painting, crafts, clay, sewing, drama, making books and whatever else she can do to create.


My eight year old doing a word find. These or sudukos are his choice these days. Anything that is building or constructing he enjoys as well. I am amazed at what he can do with his legos and other building sets. He is a thinker.


My six year old doing her lessons in school. She is a worker. She says to me, "Mama, I want to work hard in school today." Her undaunted approach to tackling problems is inspiring. I am wondering what God is going to do with her life. It will be amazing to see, I am sure.


My eighteen month old licking a book. So far he has tasted: deodorant, hand lotion, crayons, bubbles, all the furniture in the house, door handles, books, and seat belts. I can't complain because this flows over into his eating of actual food too. He will eat anything!

This was a glimpse at what my kids like doing. What did you do today that was YOU?

Oil

So while a sweet gal from the church watches my kids and cleans the bathrooms for me this afternoon I head out to get the oil changed on the truck. Little errands like these are fun for me. Mainly because I get out of the house and see new things.

As I am driving up to the car place I see a paint store. “Perfect,” I think to myself, “Raimy needs to have some of that stuff that you rinse your brush out with when you use oil paints for an art project she wants to do.” I tell the guys at the shop everything he needs to know about the truck and head out the door. It is a beautiful day and the little walk is very nice. I passed: a couple fruit stands, a bread shop, some other oil change places, some corner markets, some car parts shops, some bicycle repair shops and a place that sells lawn sculptures. Then I come to the paint store.

The guy is helping another customer at the counter. I go up and explain to him that I need the stuff you use to wash out brushes when you are using oil based paint. This is not an art supply store, just lots of big paint buckets and big brushes around. So he gives me the normal response, “We don’t have any of that.” Knowing that was not true I explained once again. This time he said, “We don’t have that. But we do have…” And now I am going to phonetically write what he said: TEE nair.

One strategy I have developed in understanding Spanish is that sometimes the brand names and the newer technical terms keep their English spelling and are just pronounced in Spanish. So I listen to the way they say the word, picture how that would be spelled in Spanish and then read that word in my head in English. So this would be the Spanish spelling for the word he pronounced: Tiner. The letter ‘h’ is silent in Spanish. So I make the connection and understand he is referring to: thinner! He has paint thinner! Perfect for my little daughter in her first attempts at an oil painting.

So I ask how they sell it. They come in half liter or one liter. How much is the half liter? Six Bolivianos, the equivalent of about 90 cents. I’ll take it. He walks over to some large plastic jugs with screw tops down behind me. He crouches down and begins filling a personal size empty Sprite Zero bottle with thinner. He screws the lid on and hands me the bottle. I give him the money and chuckle as I walk away. I am carrying paint thinner in a half liter Sprite Zero bottle! That is just funny to me.

Excerpt "Breathe Easy"

This is the first chapter in my book Breathe Easy. I wrote it with the mind to connect Latin women with their Heavenly Father in a relationship that provides freedom from vice, addiction and sin.

CHAPTER ONE

The Woman

Intrepid she quietly made her way into the room. Many years of intimate interaction with human baseness had given her an austere and detached demeanor. Yet the group in the lofty hall noted a contrasting contentment on her face that did not coincide with her seductive stride. Unannounced a less observant participant may have easily mistaken her for one of the servants serving the meal. Yet all eyes were quickly drawn to the woman as she fearlessly approached the guest of honor.

But why would anyone have feared the great teacher? Surely he commanded attention by the authoritative way he spoke. Even children were drawn to the attractive way that he looked into the eyes of those he spoke to. In the past this woman did have reason to fear. Her former profession had gained for her the well known reputation of a popular but despised member of society. Her ungodliness had separated her from his deity. But those were things of the past; a not so distant past that seemed like ages ago. Things were going to be different now. She approached the teacher with her head drooping down causing her long hair to cover her face. She ducked away from his line of sight and positioned herself just behind the reclining figure. Now her gaze met his and she saw the same captivating eyes that were calling her from captivity; those eyes that poured forth such a mix of justice and welcome.

As she bowed low the clank and chatter of the meal slowed and finally stopped. Everyone watched in a solemn hush what this woman did to Jesus. The only sound to be heard were repressed sobs emitted from deep within the woman’s soul. She wept at his feet. The soul could not contain the emotion and it came spilling out in the form of warm salty tears. Her inclined posture causing the flow to run down on the master’s feet. If her eyes had not been clouded over by her tears she would have noticed that his feet were uncommonly dirty from waking around the dusty city. Little did she know that it was her own soul that was being cleansed as the filth dripped away from his feet to the plush cushions on which they rested. The crying subsided as this worshipful woman knelt. Not yet lifting her head she realized that she had wetted his feet and thus began to wipe them with her dark locks that hung down. As if to apologize and show her submitted heart she repeatedly kissed the now clean feet. Drawing from the folds of her robe the object of her intent in coming to this private gathering she began to pour precious ointment on the wearied feet.

She had known that he would be there. The gossip had traveled fast. Jesus would be dining with Simon the Pharisee. Her heart skipped to know that he would be in her town. She had heard of him, of the great miracles and wonderful teaching he brought. She had even heard his message personally. She had heard the words he spoke and they were like cool rain after a long dry summer. And now he was so close to her! Could it be her opportunity? Could this be the chance she had longed for? So long she had suffered under the weight of her affliction. So long had she heard the jeering and hissing as she walked through the market. She was known for her sin. There was no denying it. But now there might be just that small glimmer of hope to put that past behind her. Maybe this man brought the answer that would calm the torment that raged within her, maybe, just maybe. She had to act fast. Seeking out the most valuable thing she could she enclosed it in her robes and headed for the prominent home of the Pharisee. Possibly the precious ointment had been given to her by one of the wealthy dinner guests as payment for an intimate encounter. Nonetheless it was the best she had to give.

Her hands trembled slightly as she took the top from the box of alabaster. The ointment inside now seemed trite next to the magnificence of the man. But she had to express some kind of sacrifice of honor and respect. As the glistening liquid poured forth from the box and began to cover his feet the woman felt a deep sensation of release from her soul. Yes, this was the right thing to do, the only thing she could do; and more than that the best thing she could do.

The silence was broken when Jesus opened his mouth to speak. She had heard him before and now listened intently. Yet his words were not directed to her but to their host, Simon. Simon had been surveying the scene with mixed emotions. He had been so proud to have a renowned prophet grace his presence by accepting the invitation to dine with him. And now he was embarrassed and indignant that such a renowned sinner had also chosen to intrude. But then his pharisaical mind began to fixate on the validity of his guest. Was he really a prophet? If he really was who he said he was then he would know that this woman was a sinner. Why would he continue to allow her to touch him so? If he knew the truth then he would never allow it. This logical reasoning racing through his head was stopped abruptly by the calm yet commanding voice of the prophet on trial in his mind. Leadingly Jesus said, “Simon I have something to say to you.” Simon might have thought that Jesus was going to ask him to have the woman removed. He did not know that Jesus had been weighing the matters of the heart of the woman and the heart of his host. In his intellectual yet simple way Jesus presents a sort of riddle or enigma.

“Two men were in debt to a banker. One owed five hundred silver pieces, the other fifty. Neither of them could pay up, and so the banker canceled both debts. Which of the two would be more grateful?” Jesus asked.

Simon answered, “I suppose the one who was forgiven the most.”

“That’s right,” said Jesus. Then turning to the woman, but speaking to Simon, he said, “Do you see this woman? I came to your home; you provided no water for my feet, but she rained tears on my feet and dried them with her hair. You gave me no greeting, but from the time I arrived she hasn’t quit kissing my feet. You provided nothing for freshening up, but she has soothed my feet with perfume. Impressive isn’t it? She was forgiven many, many sins, and so she is very, very grateful. If the forgiveness is minimal, the gratitude is minimal.”

Then he spoke to her: “I forgive your sins.”

That set the dinner guests talking behind his back: “Who does he think he is, forgiving sins!”

He ignored them and said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you. Go in peace.”[1]

Thrilled her heart began to sing. The shame dropped away, just as a heavy cloak slides off the shoulders when the constricting tie is loosened from the neck. She was forgiven! Everything was wiped clean. Jesus himself had spoken directly to her telling her that her sins were forgiven. Then, what a compliment he gave her, this honored teacher; he commended her faith! Her faith, seemingly insignificant, was expressed in her solemn act of reverence. Yes, this is what she had hoped for. And it had been granted: salvation. Saved from the sin. Saved from the guilt. Saved from the heavy load. Saved, really, from herself. She could finally breathe easy.

First forgiveness, then salvation and finally peace were bestowed upon a once despised life. Go indeed. Yes, she would go and be in peace. Her whole existence submerged in that peace.

~

This story is true. It was true for the precious woman that had come to the end of her own self and found her only hope in Jesus. And it continues to be true for anyone who would choose to believe that Jesus can set them free from any and all oppression. Freedom is extended to the hopeful heart. Whatever it is that is pressing down upon you can be removed and forgiven. Jesus can forgive you. Faith in Jesus can save you. Jesus can give you peace.

“A woman in the city brought an alabaster box of ointment, and stood at his feet behind him weeping, and began to wash his feet with tears, and did wipe them with the hairs of her head, and kissed his feet and anointed them with the ointment.”

“Her sins, which are many, are forgiven; for she loved much.”

---

[1] Portions of this story were taken from The Message by Eugene Peterson.

Tagged by Jackie

This is a tag prompted by Jackie.

I usually don't do tags. But Jackie is a new friend - so in the spirit of good sportsmanship I decided to play along. :-)

How to play:
1. Go to http://www.photobucket.com/
2. Type your answers to the questions in the “search” box.
3. Use only the first page.
4. Insert the pictures into your Blog.

1. What is your current relationship stat? (Married)

2. What is your current mood? (blasé)

3. What is your favorite band/singer? (none - meaning I don't have one)

4. What is your favorite movie? (Far and Away)

5. Where do you live? (Cochabamba, Bolivia)

6. Where do you work? (At home, mostly)

7. What do you drive? (Our friend’s truck – yeah!)

8. What do you look like? (smiley)

9. What is your favorite TV channel? (I don’t watch T.V. much)

10. Describe yourself. (wife, mama, missionary)

11. What are you doing today? (Church, lunch, rest, church)

12. What did you do last night? (watch a movie)

13. What is your name? (Angie Washington)



You can play if you want.

Killing Taste Buds

A theory that I have been testing was proven last night by my eight-year-old son when he said, “Mom, it’s just that the food is too tasty,” as an explanation as to why he was unable to eat his dinner.

Here is my theory: one of the purposes of parenthood is to successfully kill as many taste buds as possible.

This task should be completed before the child reaches the age that he or she can completely embarrass the parents in the presence of guests or hosts with a rude squishing up of the nose, the disgusted shudder, the eyes widened by terror and the phrase of doom, “Ew! What is that? I don’t like it!” Followed by a reddened face, a nervous giggle and the strained smile on the part of the parent as he or she says to the child with a flash of a death threat and then back to the clenched, forced grin, “How do you know you don’t like it if you haven’t even tried it?” The sing-songy fakey tone that the parent has employed confuses the child at first and then they quickly realize that no command has been given and the game has begun. This is nothing more than a fun test of wits like in checkers or battleship. A retort is given; unchecked. Child 2, parent 0. The counterattack is a sharp squeeze to the thigh of the child from the parent under the table as a plea for silence. Usually the issue is dropped at this point and another person at the table excuses the child and changes the subject. The parent tries to regain composure and wonders where they went wrong.

All disciplinary discussions aside the problem lies in the fact that these parents did not kill enough of their child’s taste buds when they had the chance. It is a scientific fact that a newborn baby has taste buds covering the whole inside of their mouth: the tongue, the roof, and the sides; everywhere. As the child grows little by little the buds slough off. It is also a fact that our taste buds can die and lose the ability to sense a taste. Once that bud dies there is no regeneration. That is why when you burn your mouth on a cup of hot drink it takes the whole day, if not two days to get complete feeling back to your tongue. They are sensitive little buds. (These facts also lead me to believe the reason Starbucks is so successful is that they are strategically killing their client’s taste buds so there is no diminishing return factor to deal with, but that is another post.)

So as parents we must bombard our children’s tongues with as many different flavors and varieties of foods as we possibly can. Don’t be so fanatical in this venture that you damage the child’s mouth. But do put forth the energy to make your children eat their food. Do not settle for a graham cracker and cheerio diet. No! You have some taste buds to kill!

New Email

Gmail was the overwhelming choice. I made the switch today and feel great about it. Still getting to know Outlook. Thank you for all your input. :-)

Email Server Advice

For years I have been using Juno email. It is time for a change. Little by little I have been making the change to use my Yahoo account. But before I make the big ‘announcement’ of a change of address I wanted to do some shopping.

Here are my three questions for you to answer

1. What Email server do you use?

2. Pros and cons to your server?

3. What server would you recommend for my needs (listed below)?

What I am looking for:

a. Free or very economical price

b. Compatible with Mozilla Firefox browser (Juno is not)

c. Composition options: message from sender in reply, attachment capabilities, etc.

d. Storage for sent and received messages

e. Address book with filing and grouping capabilities

I haven’t started using Outlook. My husband does and he likes it. My average email load is about 20 a day received and about 10 written. So it is pretty easy to manage. In the future this will increase and I may need to use Outlook, so I would like the email server to be compatible with that too (maybe they all are and I just don’t know because I haven’t researched it).

I think it is so cool when people have their name or the name of their organization in their email address. (fake ex: angie@christnationministries.org) Is that something that you can do with any server? Or are there certain servers that provide that option? How do they do that? Any advice you have in that area would be great too.

Thanks for your input!

Ingrained

A fall is not when you contradict your knowledge
A fall is when you topple off the ledge of professed omniscience
Is what you know all there is to know?

Goodness is… propitiatory
Happiness is… secondary
Love is… primary

Questions are… revelatory
Children are… celebratory
Rules are… regulatory

To be doubted… my premonitions
To be trusted… love’s intentions
To be dismissed… my hasty conclusions

Self-perception… under construction
Self-ambition… eternal satisfaction
Self-indulgence… vehicle acceleration

Music moves… my feet
Art moves… my heart
Beauty moves… my soul

To change is to survive
To grow is my pursuit
To learn is to live alive

The AM

Yesterday this:
Hope deferred maketh the heart sick… (Proverbs 13:12)

Today this:
… but joy cometh in the morning. (Psalm 30:5)

This:
My voice shalt thou hear in the morning, O LORD; in the morning will I direct my prayer unto thee, and will look up. (Psalm 5:3)

And this:
Cause me to hear thy lovingkindness in the morning; for in thee do I trust: cause me to know the way wherein I should walk; for I lift up my soul unto thee. (Psalm 143:8)

The long and short of it is that the prospective house help came to the house on Monday, I showed her around, explained the job, we talked about hours and pay and together we decided that she would start Tuesday at two. Two o’clock rolled around, 2:15, 2:35, 3:00 and still a no show. I call the number she gave me and talk with her sister, who is clueless. Then the work I had been saving (so I could train her how to do it) I had to do. It wasn’t the work that upset me. What upset me is that this is not the first time this has happened and it causes me to over analyze everything.

So what am I going to do if she decided to show up today? Good question. I will know when and if the moment presents itself.

Things look brighter now. Thanks to all who sympathized with me, I really appreciate it.

While we are on the topic of the morning… some of my morning sounds:
Cars in the busy street we live on
Airplanes over head
Husband moving about
My kids playing
Venders opening the market
Children rushing to the school in front of our property
Our pets asking for breakfast
Birds
Staff watching DVD bible school courses
Kids in the orphanage praying as I hang my clothes on the line

What is the best part about your morning?