It is Fun to FLASHBACK: Turbanned Twosome

A repost from the archives...

due to injury recived during clulinary pursuits, typing is a painfully more difficult than usual...

Hope you enjoy this glimpse from a few years back!

Who could that masked man be??

 

...Just in case you ever wondered what Tim looked like in a turban...

Like father, like daughter

Any guesses who this "little Tuareg" might be?

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.

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Yep! It's Tori!

Tim &Tori, our turbanned twosome!

Thanks to Grandpa Stewart for taking these pictures when he and Grandma were out to visit,

way back in January, 2007!

Multitude Monday - 1000 Gifts

~ breathless ~

~ blown away ~

~ bowled over ~

~ a bit bewildered ~

 

And that is only the tip of the iceberg of trying to describe how I'm feeling. My guy left late Friday night to spend some time with his family as his mom has been quite sick the past few months. It is hard to be apart. It is hard to try and keep up with these kids without his help. It is hard when little ones miss their daddy and don't understand why he suddenly can't snuggle them. But, hard does not have to equal bad... for hard is where I'm presently seeing God's presence, the evidence of His hand, everywhere my eyes land...

 

#560 frequent flyer miles... business class... for the best guy ever

 

#561 kids who pitch in and clean, cheerfully, like there is no tomorrow - and the resulting spic and span feel throughout the house

 

#562 pray-ers, care-ers, heart share-ers... we are blessed with so many of those in our lives, scattered all over the world

 

#563 big surprise for Grandma

 

#564 heartfelt wishes in homemade cards made with love and through tears

 

#565 getting hurt... therefore recognizing a danger I hadn't considered in my brain so scattered these days and thus removing it... so my precious ones don't also get hurt

 

#566 skype, yahoo messenger, computer to phone texting... such a myriad of ways we can communicate in this day and age

 

#567 the most consistent, reliable internet we've had in weeks

 

#568 hamburgers for breakfast from the bakery down the road

 

#569 beautiful testimony from a beautiful, inside and out, gal... and her well-timed reminder that teachers don't need to be afraid of hard or even unanswerable questions... and then my continuing from there thoughts upon that as followers of Jesus, we don't need to be afraid of hard times ~ when life reaches one of those hard places

 

Thankful God Always Knows What He is Doing

Sometime today, Tim should be touching down in Detroit. He's gone back to the States for a few weeks to spend some time with his parents... His mom's health has been very up and down since we returned to Niger, so after consulting with family and medical professionals, he felt now would be a good time to go... spend Thanksgiving with them, and hopefully encourage them.



Mary Michelle with her grandma at a 2009 Tiger's game.



We all need...  appreciate...  and feel the power... of your prayers.

~ so my friends stop buggin' me ~

friends

whose names remain unmentioned

are insisting

 "include a photo of you!"

"soon!"

much easier said than done

 when you are the one usually taking the photos,

when you aren't "in" to self-photography,

you know the kind

where you stick the camera

at arm's length

in front of your face

*snap*

and then

immediately

 looking expectantly to see whatever

~amusing~

~out of focus~ 

~ ridiculous ~

~or humiliating~

image you haphazardly

may have captured

tim snagged this photo last week when he was taking photos

of one of the mission properties that we hope to sell

he was in the process of making a flier

to distribute

to let people know about the property

I'm not sure why

?????

but since he took this photo

to please a few friends

voilà!

a photo of me

(and my colleague diane)

surrounded by a bunch of

silly

stream-of-consciousness

sorts

of words

because tonight

 i'm too tired to come up with something more creative

~ Something from Psalms ~

The LORD is King! He is ruling with authority.

The LORD is ruling with great power.

Also, the world will not change.

Nobody will move it any more.

You LORD have been king for a very long time.

You were alive before the world started.

The rivers rose up, LORD,

the rivers rose up and made a loud noise.

The rivers rose up as a great storm.

But the LORD rules over everyone!

He is greater than all the noise of the waters,

stronger than the sea itself.

LORD, the rules that you make will remain.

Your house will always be beautiful because you are so good.

 

As I was preparing for Ladies' Bible Study last week, I came across a great on-line tool. I love my KJV bible - and it is my favorite text to memorize because the language is so beautiful. When I study, I prefer my NASB, probably because that was the bible I grew up using and it is as familiar to me as my own reflection in the mirror. But sometimes I struggle finding simple but accurate words to use when I know I'm teaching a study that will be translated into two, maybe three other languages. Last week, I stumbled into the EasyEnglish Translation (© 2001-2002, Wycliffe Associates, UK) with a vocabulary of about 1200 words, and it was a wonderful tool to use.

 

I've been enjoying reading through portions of this translation because with the more limited word choice, I'm finding that certain ideas just leap off the page, truths that I have missed in the past because I can easily become entranced by beautiful language or my familiarity with the passage results in skimming instead of careful reading. Studying Psalm 93 a bit the past week has been one of those "aha" moments.

 

In the on-line notes that went along with this psalm, I found the following treasure: 

In the Hebrew Bible, "The LORD is ruling" is "The LORD is wearing." He wears his authority and His power as clothes. Everyone can see them. The word "great" in Hebrew is really "belt." Nobody can take this power and authority away from God. This is because He has fastened the belt and nobody can undo it!

A few years back, the ladies and I worked through Colossians 3:12-14... talking about how God wants us to get dressed and one of the first things the ladies mentioned was that someone's clothing is often the first thing you notice about them. If that is the case, the first thing I need to notice or remember about my God is His authority over all and His belt of dynamic, unmatched power. Recognizing my absolute weakness compared to Him is the first step to entering a right relationship with Him and to maintaining a right relationship with Him. That shouldn't be hard to remember, but self-confidence and self-sufficiency - so prized in Western culture - are only a sliver away, if even that, from arrogance and pride and setting self on the throne... and somehow I think that when I try and do that, I look infinitely more ridiculously silly as little kids dressed up in their parents' clothes because I'm messing around with clothes that are custom made for Him alone.

Wordless Wednesday ~ “We all have our time machines. Some take us back, they're called memories. Some take us forward, they're called dreams.”

(quote in title by Jeremy Irons)

Which looks like the coziest reading corner to you?

I don't know about you, but I always like a cozy little nook...
                                                                                  or chair...
                                                                                           or corner...
                                                                                                  or something...

in my house where I can curl up with my Bible...
                                                           or Bible study...
                                                                    or prayer journal... 
                                                                            or little Dr. Seuss reader...
                                                                                      or just a fun-for-me book...

~ I loved looking here at all the ideas of different ways to set up that desired reading nook ~

Which one is your favorite?

Here's mine ~



~ but either of these could be a close second ~

Do you have a place that is conducive for you to read, study, pray, have a quiet time?

What makes your place special for you?

-----------------------------------------------------------------

All photos from Freshome - "35 Cozy Reading Corners Making it Easy to Enjoy Every Book to the Fullest"

Multitude Monday ~ 1000 Gifts: Annual Marathon

Annual:

1.  Recurring, done, or performed every year; yearly

2.  Of, relating to, or determined by a year

3.  Living or growing for only one year or season (botany)

Marathon:

1.  A cross-country footrace of 26 miles, 385 yards (42.195 kilometers)

2.  A long-distance race other than a footrace

3.  A contest of endurance: a dance marathon

4.  An event or activity that requires prolonged effort or endurance

According to the dictionary - that is how those two words are defined. Most of us have heard the story of Phidippides, who ran from Marathon to Athens (26.2 miles) to announce the Greek victory after the Geeks defeated the Persians in battle. There's also this little tidbit of information: according to tradition, after completing his footrace, Phidippides apparently succumbed to extreme exhaustion, collapsed and died.

Most people say extreme exhaustion is how they feel at the end of a marathon... like keeling over and dying... at least figuratively. And that is pretty much how I feel about this time of the year... it is exciting, enticing, exhilirating... but is also exhausting, expensive, and emptying.

Yesterday was Brendan's birthday... kicking off my annual marathon. I'm still emotionally reeling from the fact that our oldest is now 15. I'm not really ready for Monday today... and, well, I'm looking forward to these next several weeks with both thrill in my heart, and a marked measure of trepidation.

First, this is the beginning of the end of Autumn which is, as far as I'm concerned, simply the most delightful season of the year. Her official end doesn't come until Thanksgiving... but that is just around the corner. When home in the States, most of the leaves have already tumbled leaving trees bare, a bunch of work is required to remove all those leaves, brown lawns are now exposed by all that effort, and the lovely fall freshness of cooler weather begins its mutation into the bitter, penetrating cold of a Michigan winter. When home in Niger, the weather cools... first only at night, the air dries out and hung laundry dries in literally a manner of minutes, the Sahara sands begin to below leaving an everpresent fog of dust in the air and mini sand dunes to navigate on the roads, all the extra "insulation" in the air causes the call to prayer to reverberate more noticeably and loudly throughout our neighborhood five times daily, my thoughts turn towards nostalgia and family we won't see this year over the holidays, and we start trying to recreate - just a tiny bit - the feeling of American life in our celebrations.

What events are a part of this year's marathon? Brendan's birthday, of course... IBBS/Tri-M classes... pig roast out by the river... Sahel Academy's Field Day (where we pull our middlers out of their French school for the day so they can participate - which means make-up work)... Thanksgiving... Mary Michelle turns two... three days later, Anna turns ten and ten is a big birthday party year... our 16th anniversary and Jonathan's 6th birthday collide on December 17th... big Christmas celebrations over three days at our church... Christmas... reintegrating everyone back into school after the holidays... Nadia's birthday - can't believe she'll be 12!... Tori's birthday... Tim's birthday... Valentine's Day, a significant anniversary for me for a few reasons... whew... and that's just the stuff that we know about ahead of time and doesn't include extended/adopted family birthdays or special events!

I find that during these marathon, multi-tasking months, it is easy for me to shut down spiritually. I'm so bent on surviving, I neglect the One who is necessary for that survival. Time is at such a premium that I relegate sleep to a luxury I can't afford, take on tasks because I feel the weight of other's expectations and try to carry burdens that were often never meant for me to carry. I'm hoping that this year, while busy as always, won't feel so overwhelming as I choose to focus on all for which I'm grateful, I continue to deliberately count how God's amazing grace overflows, filling  my life, when I consciously choose to remember that He redeems every moment, even the hard or exhausting ones... and I give Him all praise and glory for the GREAT things He has done... is doing... will do throughout eternity!

This week's gratitude list ~

#541 singing in Zarma, for the first time yesterday, "To God be the Glory," and hearing it again like for the first time because I actually understood bits and pieces

#542 an amazing 15 year old boy who truly is one of my heroes because he so readily demonstrates the gentleness that God continues to meld into my life

#543 watching my two oldest try to work together as they prepare a Sunday School lesson

#544 opening God's word and studying it with the sweet ladies from our church

#545 reading the Parable of the Prodigal Son aloud, in Zarma, for the first time

#546 beginning Zarma language classes again

#547 care packages from home with delights we can only dream of here

#548 raspberry/blueberry pie, whipped cream, vanilla spiced coffee, family and some of the neatest friends ever

#549 friends who ask how you are doing... and persist until you really tell... the truth...

#550 watching one exuberantly alive with the excitement of idealism and hoping she never looses that innocence

#551 the feeling of clean tile floors

#552 realizing anew, as I was reading Luke 15 in Zarma, that for many of those kids with whom I work at Sahel, young people who are learning multiple languages or who have reading challenges, reading with comprehension is a time consuming, exhausting and challenging task... not something to take for granted... I hope I'm always grateful for the oppotunity to walk at least a few steps in another's shoes

#553 the sound of Nadia chopping vegetables as she delights in helping prepare our meals

#554 the smell of warm, fresh baked bread

#555 needing to pull the covers up at night due to the coolness of the air

#556 the challenge contained in the book, Thin Places, by Mary DeMuth

#557 truly seeing myself as the Prodigal Son... recognizing the horror of my insult each time I demand of my Lord to give me what I think I deserve... or to take away what I think I don't deserve)... and refuse to accept and embrace the grace He longs to lavish upon me... because it isn't what I want, or because I haven't earned it...

#558 the opportunity to testify of this new-found understanding to a sweet group of ladies who were transparent enough to share that they, too, fight that same battle within themselves

#559 seeing undeniable confirmation of God's leading and direction when walking through difficult situations... knowing that each agonizing and/or challenging step has been ordained by Him, is His will, is evidence of His abundant and overwhelming grace

I blinked one day...

...and found him FIFTEEN!

“You don't raise heroes, you raise sons. And if you treat them like sons, they'll turn out to be heroes....”

~ Walter M. Schirra, Sr.



Excitement!!!

This afternoon, I'll be teaching Ladies' Bible study at our church for the first time since we left on home assignment... it has been almost a year and 1/2. I'm a little bit nervous to teach in French with a bit of Zarma thrown in for the first time in a long time... but I also can't wait.

We are looking at the Parable of the Prodigal Son (Luke 15)~

and I thought I'd ask you the same question I'm going to ask them:

Is this the story of a son who sins... a father who forgives... or a brother who boasts?

Hopefully, I'll be able to tell you all about what they thought... and give you my answer to that same question sometime next week!

Appreciate you prayers for this afternoon!

Doesn't THIS look like fun?

What a fun way to say ~

"This bike belongs to me!"

from Freshhome Interior Design and Architecture

Highlights from a Memorable Sunday

...just in case you wondered what's been going on, ministry-wise!

 

Pretty exciting, don't you think?

Wordless Wednesday ~ Celebrating Communion

The Well and the Water ~ an allegory by Kevin Bauder

Food for thought ~ Read this on the "Live Eternally" blog.

Once upon a time, a band of vigorous tribesmen occupied a high and arid plain. They were surrounded by snow-covered peaks, and what little water they had trickled down from the glaciers and snowfields above. Water was precious to them, for their lives depended upon it. They took care not to waste a drop.

One day, a mighty man rose up among them and asked, “Why do we wait for such water as the mountains are willing to share? Why do we not dig a well?” So he began to dig. But there were in that land certain men who had been given authority to distribute the water. These men knew that if people could drink at will, then their power would end. And so these Authorities sought to defeat the welldigger. When the welldigger died, they stopped up his well and resumed their authority.

In spite of the Authorities, however, water continued to seep from the welldigger’s well. Eventually, other mighty welldiggers arose. The Authorities killed some of these. They stopped up the wells of others. But with each new well, the Authorities grew weaker. Soon, many wells dotted the plain. People were at last able to drink freely, to water their herds and flocks, and to grow their crops. The Authorities lapsed into oblivion, for water was free to all.

After these things, a new king began to reign. He hired the best welldiggers to dig a deep well. “This well,” he proclaimed, “is the Authorized Well. Let all drink freely from it!”

Soon, it became prestigious to be seen drinking from the King’s Well. People flocked to the Authorized Well, and the older wells began to languish. Without caretakers, they were soon overgrown. Some were completely lost. That seemed unimportant, however, for the Authorized Well offered abundant water to all the inhabitants of the plain. Indeed, drinking from the King’s well became almost a mark of a true plainsman.

The people of the plain, who were now the people of the Well, became so prosperous that they began to leave the plain for new lands. They found other plains to settle. Here they faced a problem, for these other plains were distant from the Authorized Well. Transporting water from the King’s Well was not difficult while the colonists remained few and close at hand, but when they began to multiply and to travel further, they required more and more water. Because few could journey to the Authorized Well, certain individuals were given the task of transporting its water to the masses. Soon, these haulers of water thought of themselves as Authorities—but theirs was a false authority.

Again mighty men arose. Remembering the work of the first welldigger, they asked, “Why do we transport water from the distant Authorized Well? Why do we not dig wells in our own plains?” And so they did. New wells were dug across the landscape, all of which drew from the same rich aquifers deeply sourced within the earth. Water became abundant throughout the land. Each man could find water in his own plain, and none was required to seek the Pseudo-Authorities in order to quench his thirst.

The Pseudo-Authorities, however, were mightily displeased. Their prestige depended upon the exclusive use of the Authorized Well. More than that, they had convinced themselves that the newer wells all mixed poison into the water. They went to great lengths to persuade people that they must abandon the new wells and drink only from the Authorized Well.

“Look,” they proclaimed, “the water in these new wells flows down from the snows of different mountain peaks than the water in the King’s Well. It dissolves many poisonous minerals. It will not quench your thirst as will the pure water from the Authorized Well.”

“Beware!” they cried. “Many of the new welldiggers are men who drink milk, coffee, and tea. They do not know what makes good water. Their wells cannot be trusted!”

“Take heed!” they implored. “The digging of many wells creates confusion. With so many wells in the land, people will become unable to recognize real water when they drink it.”

“Calamity!” they lamented. “Many diggers of the new wells have been paid for their digging. Their wells were dug only for money. Such scoundrels can never provide pure water.”

“And alas,” they wailed, “their welldigging arts were not taught by our artisans nor their wells dug with our tools!”

The more the Authorities clamored, however, the more foolish they seemed to those who drank from the wells. The plainsmen drank, and their thirst was quenched. Their herds and their crops flourished. None was poisoned. Eventually, people simply stopped listening to the Pseudo-Authorities.

For their part, the Pseudo-Authorities gathered around the Authorized Well. They spent most of their time contemning the water from other wells and congratulating themselves upon possessing the only true and pure well. Oddly, however, they rarely drank, even from the Authorized Well. They shouted at each other about the virtues of their water, and sweated, and grew red in the face—but only occasionally would they sip the water. They never, ever took deep draughts.

Because they were dissatisfied with being ignored, they began to steal into neighboring countries, where they would try to poison the waters. They began to whisper false and unflattering tales about the new diggers and the new wells. If one of the newer welldiggers happened to be near the Authorized Well, they would cast him out into the desert, driving him into the arid waste without so much as a trickle of mercy.

Every lover of water was grateful for the Authorized Well, and many continued to enjoy its waters. But true lovers of water were also grateful for every well from which water flowed. They rejoiced in the abundance of water. But they grew exceedingly weary of the Pseudo-Authorities. Only, they could not decide what to do about them.

The problem was not whether water from the Authorized Well would slake thirst, for it was cool and refreshing to those who could get it.

The problem was not whether water from the other wells was quenching, for many people drank from these wells with great satisfaction.

The problem was not the existence of many wells or the presence of many welldiggers.

The problem was the Pseudo-Authorities, who wished to be acknowledged as the Great Guardians of Water, and yet who despised the water from other wells. Should they be revered? Should they be placated—and if so, how? Should they be tolerated? Or should they be rebuked and set down from their false authority?

What would a true lover of water do?

I'm curious to know ~ Please share your thoughts? 

Multitude Monday - 1000 Gifts ~ Thankful for MY daddy

Tomorrow is my dad's birthday - and he's NOT old! My kids refer to him as "the Gampster," and the littles love that he throws them up in the air which makes their tummies tickle. I am thankful for so many things about my dad... and in honor of his birthday, I thought I'd share just a few of them:

 

#521 he married my mama

#522 he still lets me hold his hand when I go for a walk with him

 

#523 he's big and tall and strong

 

#524 I see him helping Mom in the kitchen so often

 

#525 he tries to come to all the grandkids' special events, games, concerts, etc., just as he always tried to make my special events when I was growing up

 

#526 he tells the corniest jokes ever and isn't afraid to be silly

#527 he gives... and gives... and gives... and gives...

#528 he takes the best ever photographs

#529 he is gentle

#530 he is often a good example to me of choosing when not to speak

#531 so many neat memories of riding and talking with him, when he'd take me to college or pick me up for break

#532 he lets me see how much he cares when he doesn't hide tears

#533 he hiked to the lake and back... nearly twice... to encourage and to make sure everyone was OK

#534 he throws munchkins high into the air, which tickles their tummies and gets them to giggling, and then catches them safely as they beg for him to do it again

#535 he gives horseback rides all over the living room floor

#536 he told Tim when he asked permission to marry me that it was for keeps... he wasn't taking any returns

#537 he helps take care of Nana and Pop-pop

#538 his eyes twinkle when he's in a jolly mood

#539 his old green and black checked flannel shirt that he let me steal and then I wore as pjs for nearly 20 years (it finally fell into pieces - or I'd still be wearing it) because it reminded me so much of him

#540 the fact that he came to Africa to visit us, even after he said he never would... and then decided it was an okay place

 

Happy birthday, Daddy! I love you and miss you... We love you and miss you! You are the best daddy a girl could've ever dreamed of... and this list could easily keep on going!