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?