winds of change

"Blowing toward the south, then turning toward the north, the wind continues swirling along, and on its ciruclar courses the wind returns." Ecc. 1:6

This morning it seems my scripture reading truely coincides with this day. The wind seems to bring with it a marked change, a stirring outside of seasons and inside my heart as well. I'm realizing that yet another birthday's approach means I am further into this adventure, yet I long to be "further up and further in" pressing on toward the mark of the high calling. (perhaps it's sacrilege to quote Lewis and scripture in the same sentence.) So much of my task is still incomplete. I long to do things and yet like Paul I don't. Often I am aware of my own lack of wisdom-you would think after this many years and children I would have gained SOMETHING yet like Solomon I could say..."in much wisdom there is much grief and increasing knowledge results in increasing pain." 1:18 This dust I am made of is quite frail (just brushing my teeth last night caused a chip in one). And wisdom makes me more aware of how often I fall short. So today is a good day to begin to make gratefulness a habit. Choosing to dwell in praise rather than pity. My goal will be to join those who are listing 1,000 just a few each day. Try it. I believe it will change us, one praise at a time. The button is in my side column.
#1 seasons of life
#2 He continues to work despite my frailties
#3 He preserves and protects...Josiah's head injury
#4 quiet mornings for meditation
#5 wind dried laundry
#6 work appointed by the master..dishes, sweeping, cooking
#7 children's faces reflecting His love
#8 a school community gathered in prayer
#9 one who cares to know my daily struggle
#10 head and hands to record

Honduras is going to the World Cup!

Now my boys have played soccer. Harold has coached. I've hauled kids to practice and sat through umpteen games, but you've not seen excitement over a soccer game until you're in Latin America. When Honduras won their game against El Salvador, and then shortly after the US tied Costa Rica there were fireworks, car horns, screaming people....people celebrated all evening long in the streets downtown, cruising the streets cheering and displaying the flag. It's the first time in 27 years that Honduras has won a seat. That fact called for a national holiday declared by the president. We're so happy for them and glad the US could do something right, even if by default. Watch the video link and listen to the Honduran announcers-it's great!

“Earth's crammed with heaven, And every common bush afire with God; But only he who sees, takes off his shoes - The rest sit round it and pluck blackberries.” Elizabeth Barrett Browning

As a Mom my days are very full. Things just NEED to get done in order for life to continue as normal. There must be clean dishes and laundry, meals on the table, a fairly orderly place to find pencils and homework. Children must be readied for school, make it to and from sports practice.... Even here in a foreign country, without a car, life can be very full. Yet I am learning how to slow down. Perhaps it's the realization that comes with age, or the fact that we don't have a TV. I can't possibly keep up. I will never have the time to read every book, learn every hobby, do every family activity, teach every bit of wisdom I want them to know.... I am finite. And yet life is not meant to be lived in a frenzied rush. There are times when we can't prevent the hectic nature of life, but unless we intentionally calm the pace the quiet never comes.

I read a story recently of a test pychologists did. They put a concert violinist in a busy Metro station, playing his Stradivarious violin in bluejeans and a ballcap. Out of over 1,000 people who passed, only 7 stopped to listen. And EVERY child tried to stop, but EVERY parent pulled them along past. What am I missing with my kids?

Maybe I'm just realizing that I will soon reach the 20 year mark in being a Mom. With my older boys my time of daily involvement is almost over. Have I spent this time so caught up in the activities of life that I forgot to be still, to hear the music all around me? Makes the monastic life somewhat appealing (of course then there wouldn't be any children...) But I want to stop picking blackberries (for some folks maybe texting on one?) and see the fire of God.

"Be still and know that I am God."

trash or treasure

You know you are getting more relaxed as a parent when you don't absolutely fall apart that your toddler is playing in the trash. Since returning to Honduras Tikvah seems to have a fascination with our kitchen trash can. It has a rolling lid and is right at eye-level. When she passes by she likes to inspect what's in there-or throw something in. Her siblings taught her the throwing in part, taking advantage of her curiousity they hand her their trash and she obediently runs to the can and comes back like a puppy looking for something else to toss. Of course, this can lead to silverware, toys and missing school papers that disappear into that gray oblivion...and usually they ask Mom to dive in and recover the missing item. Sometimes as I take the trash out, I'll notice a suspicious rattle and have to seek out it's source. I've recovered forks, plastic plates, dollhouse pieces...

Of course yesterday you would have thought I hadn't fed the child because as I cleaned the kitchen I had to keep taking away her munchies. First it was an ancient PB&J from someone's lunchbox, then the crust of cinnamon toast from breakfast, the remnants of a bag of chips, and apple core....it's when she comes chewing gum that it's really gross (she's not allowed any gum because she doesn't seem to spit it out, it just disappears). "Now just where, exactly, did you get that?" She's all smiles but no indication of said gum's origin.

My kids teach me so much about myself. I am quite similar to my toddler. Often I am quite content to scour the garbage when God's got the good stuff freely available. Somehow that garbage can look so attractive and easy to aquire. Or I throw out the useful life lessons in a rush to move on to more important things. I remember in college there were a group of guys who liked to go "dumpster diving." In Chicago, you could find all sorts of useful things that people could no longer be bothered with. They enjoyed finding good sources and scouring them on a regular basis. (This did cause a problem when one girl discovered that her boyfriend's beautiful boquets where flower-shop rejects, not hard earned paid-for-with- cash posies.) Sometimes it's just a matter of adjusting your perspective on things. When I look at my life with eternity's eyes am I focusing on the trash or the treasure?

all we like sheep

Tonight we went to our first "flock meeting"-I guess they would call it a community group in the states. And as I stumbled over the Spanish songs and looked in my dual language Bible I have a new appreciation for all those ESL folks in the states. I suppose here I am an SSL person. Some days I understand a good deal of what is said in the service, and other days it's a real struggle that makes my head hurt. But it's amazing that fellowship can still occur on some level and that people really do make every effort to include this foreigner in their midst. Choosing to attend a Spanish church was not the easiest thing-especially for the kids-but in the long run I believe God will use this to benefit our family.

We talked to a man who is the first in five generations to be raising a complete family-one with a father in the home. He and his brothers attended a christian school in Guatemala and his whole family became Christians as a result. His testimony was an encouragement to us. And we ate beans and rice with queso among a group of people from all economic levels-many of them new christians. This month there will be a mass wedding at the church-15 couples. Some of them have never been married and want to make things right before the Lord. Others were married in a civil ceremony but want to make their marriage an official covenant before God.

This week at school, we will start a full-day schedule again. Tikvah and I will be sad to have the house to ourselves for a much longer time during the day. Things in Honduras are quieter for now and we continue to pray for a resolution to this situation, which is not an easy one. Harold is reworking yet another schedule of spiritual life events which, Lord willing, will occur as planned.

Over the past few weeks we have been able to have many conversations with teachers, students, pastors....and we are just beginning to connect some of the dots in understanding culture, relationships, and such. True, we've lived in another culture before, but whether that's a benefit in the learning curve or not I'm still not sure. It's hard not to compare the two. As a Mom, I feel for my kids as they often struggle being odd man out. It's not always easy to demonstrate grace in these situations. Thanks so much for your prayers for our family.