Chicken Soup for My Soul…

14Dec09

As you know, I recently returned from a trip to Indonesia. Part of our trip entailed my daughter and me spending time in an orphanage…even spending two nights there. As such, we ate quite a few meals there.

I had made up my mind to experience everything that I could possibly experience about Indonesian culture. I had also determined to attempt to eat everything put in front of me. And that wasn’t too hard actually. I love spicy food so almost everything we had to eat was really very good. Eating with my right hand, as is the Indonesian way, was kind of fun as well.

There were only two things the whole time we were there that I couldn’t eat. Both of these were at the orphanage.

The first thing was whole fish. I’m a really snobby, picky fish eater. I like crab and lobster but not catfish. You get the idea. One day at dinner we were served fish. It was good fish from their own pond but they cook it whole. They also eat it whole. I just couldn’t eat a fish still sporting a head and tail. I just knew I couldn’t do it.

Thankfully, I had a way out that wouldn’t insult our hosts. They had prepared the fish with A LOT of red pepper on it. All I had to do was tell them about my upset stomach and rice and veggies it was. No one’s feelings were hurt and I was spared the fish staring at me while I tried to eat it. That also got me out of eating the leftovers of the fish for breakfast and lunch the following day.

The second thing was really hard because I didn’t see it coming. The girls who cooked had told us they were preparing chicken soup for supper one night. I knew we had some leftover chicken and rice (of course) so I was excited about what Indonesian chicken soup would be like. I actually was looking forward to it all day.

When they brought it out I was so excited. They filled my bowl with soup and rice and it looked and smelled wonderful. I tasted it and it was wonderful. Then one of the girls said something to me in Indonesian. Our translator told me she was telling me that they saved the “special, best part of the chicken for me since I was the elder in the group.” I’m thinking, “Yummy…chicken breast!” However, you guessed it, no chicken breast…it was the chicken neck!

OK, I admit it…I’m a really snobby chicken eater too…really a snobby meat eater in general. I could almost be a vegetarian because I’m so picky with the meat. I have never even seen a chicken neck, much less ate one. I didn’t know what to do because I knew there was no way I could get that to go down. But I also knew there was no way I wanted to offend any of these sweet, dear Indonesian girls who worked so hard in cooking this meal.

So I did what every spoiled American child would do. I kept hiding it under my rice. I ate the soup and rice and just kept moving that chicken neck around. I don’t think anyone could tell I didn’t eat it. Then when it came time to take our plates to the washing room, I jumped up and pre-empted them and grabbed up all the bowls. I insisted on taking theirs instead of letting them take mine like usual.

Once in the washing room, I did the other thing every spoiled American child would do…I picked out the chicken neck and chucked it out the door to the dog sitting there. No one saw so no one ever knew. Of course, I’m sure everyone there wondered why the dog that was skittish around me before was now following me around for the rest of the visit! I’ll never tell.

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Tags: missions, Indonesia

The Clampetts Come to Town…

10Dec09

In 1992, back when Bella was 5 and Joey was 2, our family moved to Fargo, North Dakota. We were like fish out of water when we arrived. Let me explain…

First of all, I was born in Colorado, but we moved when I was four years old. After that, I grew up in Southern California and Alabama (back and forth pretty much). Two nice, warm states. I remembered the cold and snow from Colorado, but vaguely. My husband was born and raised in Montgomery, Alabama, as were our children. So they knew nothing about snow.

The trip driving up to Fargo was an experience in itself. We discovered somewhere around Tennessee that Bella got extremely car sick on long trips. Who knew? Let me tell you, it is NOT fun to clean vomit out of the backseat of a car, out of a basket of toys, and off of a little brother’s shoe on the side of an interstate with cars whizzing by and your husband dry heaving beside you. Just saying is all…

On Day 3 we finally pull into North Dakota. It was cold and blowing snow. Did I mention it was the first of November? Everyone else pretty much had either snow tires or chains. Also, they had nice warm parkas but not us. We had little measly thin Alabama coats and we were FREEZING.

So as we pull into to town, we go to Wal-Mart. I’m sure we looked hilarious running through the blizzard, with no snow gear on, in our tennis shoes, into Wal-Mart. An hour and a couple of hundred dollars later, we are fully outfitted with parkas, boots, scarves, gloves, hats, and snowsuits for the kids. Ahhhhh…we are finally warm.

Next, it’s on to the grocery store to get some provisions. Another hour and another hundred dollars later, we are fully loaded with groceries and ready to see our new apartment. After running by the real estate office, we are finally ready to get to “Home, Sweet Home.” Sounds easy doesn’t it? Well, it wasn’t.

Here you had an Alabama boy driving the car…one who had learned to drive in the snow during the last day. And not very well, I might add. We turned onto our street and slid right on by the driveway. OK…let’s try this again. We drive around the block and promptly slide right by the driveway again. It took either three or four tries before we finally got into the driveway.

Our apartment was on the second floor so we decided not to carry all those groceries up the stairs but rather throw them up to the balcony. I bet you can guess whose brilliant idea that was. The kids and I go ahead up to the apartment and Bud unloads the car, throwing each tied bag up to me. It all went fairly well until he threw the milk. For some reason, I saw it coming and ducked. It promptly exploded as it hit the sliding glass door. I never did get all the milk off the door until the spring thaw…

Finally we were done with the groceries and the kids and I watched out of the part of the sliding glass door that wasn’t covered in ice milk as Bud parked the car and attempted to come on up to join us. I say attempted because he was walking across the parking lot and the next thing we saw was feet in the air and Bud on his back in the snow. Hilarious!

All I can say is the Clampetts came to Fargo that day!

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Tags: children, family, life

I’m Cured…

09Dec09

Recently, I had a troubling experience with an infection. Through a strange set of circumstances, I ended up finding out that I had brought something more than souvenirs back with me on my trip to Indonesia. The worst part of the whole experience was the fear that I had infected my husband and children as well.

It ended up that I was the only one infected (due to a shot that didn’t quite “take”). Of course, I was very thankful for that. But it did get me to thinking…

I am completely and totally infected with sin. You are too. In fact, we all are. Yet we never think about how this sin infection is affecting and infecting our family, our friends, and even complete strangers.

Every day we walk around spreading this infection around through our actions. Everything we do, even with the best of motives, is sin-filled and dirty in the eyes of our Holy God.

We are called to be light to those around us. How can we be the light that points others to God when we are full of dark, dirty sin? The bad news is – we can’t. The good news is – Jesus can. And He does it through us when we trust in Him and ask Him to be our Lord and Savior.

And in this dirty, dark world, Jesus is a bright light. Like a lighthouse in the ocean that keeps ships from crashing into shore, Jesus shows us the way with His light. We are drawn to this light like a moth to a porch light.

So, with Jesus within me, I am now a lighthouse to the lost and searching people around me. I reflect this light to everyone around me…even fellow believers! I am no longer a person infected with sin dragging down people; I’m a light showing people the way.

I’m cured!

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Tags: Christ, faith, God, grace, justification, salvation

Amazing Love…

10Nov09

I have been thinking about some things that I was taught this weekend and mulling them over in my head.  There was much that I learned from this conference but one thing has been bouncing around in my head for hours and hours and is now ready to come out.

The gist of the teaching was that most things in the church tend to be “Me” centered.  This is talking about and dwelling on solely what God did for me.  Jesus died for me, Jesus thought about me while on the cross.  And both of those things are true.  However, that isn’t the whole picture.   The other side of the equation is that Jesus died to bring glory to God.  I guess what has really made me think is the idea that one is more important than the other.

Before we were saved, we were shaking our fist and telling God to “Leave me alone.”  I literally was doing that.  And let me be clear here, so were you.  You may not have been physically shaking your fist or audibly saying the words but emotionally, intellectually, and in your heart, you were saying the same thing.

Jesus and the cross changed all that.  He drew me to Him and He saved me.  The Bible tells us that we love God because He first loved us.  And that love saved us.

So, where is the glory of God in there?  The Glory of God is in Jesus’ obedience to the Father in going to the cross; it is in the death of death, and the final defeat of sin.  But it is also in our salvation and sanctification.

While I agree that you can’t look at the cross and think about ONLY your salvation, you can’t forget it either.

I think part of the difficulty is in how you think about God and your salvation.  If you are more free will in your belief, your salvation originates with you.  You alone make the choice to accept Jesus.  It is your decision.  Because of this I think some need to get to where the glory of God is revealed and that is why there is this dichotomy between the glory of God and our salvation in regards to the cross.

If you are more reformed in your belief, your salvation originates totally with God.  He calls you and then you respond.    The drawing of the sinner to God, the call, and the salvation all bring glory to God because they are all about God glorifying Himself by saving us.

Therefore, I think in our worship we need to sing songs about both the glory of God and Jesus’ dying on the cross for us.  I don’t think you can divorce one from the other without losing God’s greatest glory.

And that’s why I can sing one of my favorite hymns and know it is not about me, it never was.  It’s about Him!

And can it be that I should gain
An interest in the Savior’s blood?
Died He for me, who caused His pain—
For me, who Him to death pursued?
Amazing love! How can it be,
That Thou, my God, shouldst die for me?

He left His Father’s throne above
So free, so infinite His grace—
Emptied Himself of all but love,
And bled for Adam’s helpless race:
’Tis mercy all, immense and free,
For O my God, it found out me!
Amazing love! How can it be,
That Thou, my God, shouldst die for me?

Long my imprisoned spirit lay,
Fast bound in sin and nature’s night;
Thine eye diffused a quickening ray—
I woke, the dungeon flamed with light;
My chains fell off, my heart was free,
I rose, went forth, and followed Thee.
Amazing love! How can it be,
That Thou, my God, shouldst die for me?

No condemnation now I dread;
Jesus, and all in Him, is mine;
Alive in Him, my living Head,
And clothed in righteousness divine,
Bold I approach the eternal throne,
And claim the crown, through Christ my own.
Amazing love! How can it be,
That Thou, my God, shouldst die for me?

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Tags: Christ, God, grace, justification, salvation, sanctification, the cross

I’m Back…

03Nov09

Yes, I am back and in one piece.  Not much the worse for 2+ days of flights both way.  Our trip was amazing and God showed me much through my time in Indonesia.

I am currently working on finishing up my journal and then I will write a nice, long blog post (or two) about the trip.

Until then, the trip in pictures!

 

View from the plane!

Bella & I on the 14 hour flight to Tokyo

Indonesia Street Market

Yummy!

The Orphanage

Bella loved the chickens!

Here Comes the Rain

Bella and the kids (Dito & Deno)

 

Helping to Prepare Dinner

The Kids enjoying the new toys

Bubbles!!!

B.I.N.G.O.

Checking out the Jungle

The Human Knot

Bella & Juni (our translator)

The Whole Gang!

View from the Hotel Room we stayed in on our last night

At the Airport...the long trek home

Singapore

Jordan & Bella sleeping (as usual) on another long layover

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Tags: children, Indonesia, missions

I Know…I Know…

05Oct09

I know I haven’t blogged in awhile. And yes, I do have an excuse! I have been getting ready to travel to Southeast Asia. As most of you know, we are leaving this Saturday (10/10/09)!

I am currently doing last minute things for the trip, plus trying to get Bud and Joey taken care of for the 11 days that we will be gone. I will, however, have a lot of stuff to blog about once I get back.

I did want to go ahead and put a few thoughts down about my trip to Washington, DC for the 9/12 Rally.

Bud and I had a wonderful time at the Rally. We even had a good time together riding there and back on the Patriot Bus!

I have never seen so many people in my life as I did at that rally. There was just a sea of people as far as I could see any way I looked.

We met tons of really nice, friendly, like-minded people. We met a bunch of Christians. It was amazing how courteous and genuinely friendly everyone there was. Of course, with the exception of most of the DC residents I met. They were pretty much all rude. There was one woman on the Metro who wanted to know why the heck we were there but then told us to have a good time and enjoy the city.

Probably the best memory of the whole trip was walking down Constitution surrounded by a mass of people and everyone singing “God Bless America”. It just gave me chills.

The signs were also great! You can check my facebook to see a whole album of GREAT signs.

Anyway…please pray for us while we are gone on our trip (10/10-10/21/09). I’ll see everyone soon!

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Tags: family

The Sovereignty of God…

24Aug09

Job is one of my favorite books of the Bible; mostly because it speaks a lot to the sovereignty of God. For example just read one passage where God Himself is speaking:
“Then the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind and said,
‘Who is this that darkens counsel by words without knowledge?
Now gird up your loins like a man, and I will ask you, and you instruct Me!
Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth?
Tell Me, if you have understanding, Who sets its measurements? Since you know.
Or who stretched the line on it? On what were its bases sunk?
Or who laid its cornerstone, when the morning stars sang together and all the songs of God shouted for joy?
Or who enclosed the sea with doors when, bursting forth, it went out from the womb;
When I made a cloud its garment and thick darkness its swaddling hand,
And I placed boundaries on it and set a bolt and doors,
And I said, Thus far you shall come, but no farther; and here shall your proud waves stop?’”

This is but one chapter…and Job has a lot more chapters just like it. There are not many places in the Bible that so clearly show the absolutely sovereignty of our Creator God.

When I read words such as these, I realize how very small I am. It makes me feel like the worm that I am. It also reminds me of how very trivial all these problems of life that I worry about actually are and how small and insignificant we really are. “For He Himself knows our frame; He is mindful that we are but dust. As for man, his days are like grass: As a flower of the field, so he flourishes. When the wind has passed over it, it is no more, and its place acknowledges it no longer.” Psalm 103:14-16

In his book Future Grace, John Piper says, “The confidence that a sovereign God governs for your good all the pain and all the pleasure that you will every experience is an incomparable refuge and security and hope in power in your life.” Psalm 103:19 also says that “The Lord has established His throne in the heavens, And His sovereignty rules over all.”

I agree with John Piper: What a comfort God’s sovereignty should be. And I realize that when I worry and have anxiety about the things of this world, no matter what they are, I am forgetting just who it is that I serve. This is the time that I need to go back and look at God’s own words in Job. I need to remember that God created the earth and all that is in it. How can anything I go through or any problems I have surprise Him? Or catch Him off guard? Or be too hard for Him to walk me through?

I was recently talking with a good friend and we were surprised to realize that our lives have had some very similar trials in them. One thing we both agreed on was that during these trials – trials that the world would say it was understandable to be anxious and worried about – we felt closer to God than we ever had before. He was right there…and we both knew He was caring for us during those difficult times.

This was so true that I can honestly say, when the situation was getting better, some part of me truly regretted that it was because I didn’t want to lose the closeness that I felt when I clung to God during those tough times. What that tells me is that I should cling to God during all times – the good and the bad. Again I go to Job who said, “…Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I shall return there. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord.” Job 1:21

If I believe that the indeed the Lord gives and takes away (and I do), then anything I’m going through is no surprise to our sovereign God. It all comes from His hand. And if the trials are allowed by God, then the rescue will come from God as well.

And in the end I know that I will see the ultimate sovereignty of God as I stand with Job and all the other believers through the ages and say, “As for me, I know that my Redeemer lives, and at the last He will take His stand on the earth. Even after my skin is destroyed, yet from my flesh I shall see God; Whom I myself shall behold, And whom my eyes will see and not another. My heart faints within me!” Job 19:25-27

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Tags: Christ, faith, God, hope, trials

The Things of This World…

21Aug09

I know we are called to live in the world but not be of the world. And I really try to keep my mind on spiritual things rather than temporal things. But, due to the recent downturn in the economy, that seems to be getting harder and harder.

I know it shouldn’t be, especially at this time. I need to be clinging to Christ closer then ever. But oh how my flesh struggles. I think about things such as paychecks, groceries, and house payments rather than prayer, grace, and mercy.

Do others struggle this way? It seems like we all put on the happy face and act like everything is alright when we in reality we are all facing the same fears and struggles inside. Why don’t we lean on one another, share our fears and doubts, and strengthen our brothers and sisters in Christ?

I’ve decided to be the first to say it: we are struggling. Money is tight and things are tough right now. I’m sure our family is not alone in this.

I’m clinging to the fact that when we are struggling and facing trials, God is close to us. He is watching us and guiding us every step of the way. In Job 12:15, Job declares, “Though He slay me, yet will I trust in Him.” I am declaring the same thing: Though He [insert current problem], yet will I trust Him. An example: Though He lets us struggle financially, yet will I trust Him. And honestly, I do feel better once I declare this.

I think the struggle between flesh and spirit we face is summed up well in the following excerpt that I read in Pilgrim’s Progress recently: “Yet present things are so close to our fleshly appetites, and eternal things so far from our souls; we are apt to yield to our carnal desires rather than wait for the satisfaction of the eternal.”

I don’t know about you, but this puts it in perspective for me. And I’m going to remember this, cling to Christ, and “wait for the satisfaction of the eternal.”

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Tags: anxiety, Christ, faith, life, trials

The Big Poop…

10Aug09

Sometimes our family likes to play practical jokes. Not too often or the obnoxious type that no one likes and someone gets mad about, but the really funny ones where you really “get” someone else.

Way back in the day when Bella and Joey were in elementary school, our beagle Buster was around two years old. Buster was a really hard headed dog and he was going through the dog equivalent of the “terrible twos.” Every dog we have had has gone through a period like this. I really think it is like their adolescence. They have been trained but the willfully disregard it. They get mad sometimes and act out.

Well, Buster was all about acting out. He would get so mad at us when he got into trouble. He especially would get really mad at Bud. Every time Bud would really get onto him, Buster would sneak into our bedroom and pee or poop on Bud’s side of the bed. Every single time. This understandably, made Bud furious.

One day while Bud was at work, me and the children decided to go to the mall. We ended up looking around at Spencer’s and found the best joke prop ever…a really realistic looking poop. It was great – the perfect look, shape, and size to really play a prank on Bud. So we bought the poop. That in itself was pretty crazy to think about. We actually paid money for a plastic piece of poop. But it was going to be well worth the money.

We got home and we placed the poop right smack dab in the middle of Bud’s brand-spanking-new La-Z-Boy recliner and waited…

Finally Bud got home from work. It had been long enough we all had pretty much forgotten about the fake poop in the chair. We were all sitting around watching something on TV when Bud came home.

Bud went straight for his chair; saw the poop, and starting yelling: “I know I’m not seeing what I think I’m seeing.” Of course, we all started laughing hysterically. However, Bud was furious. And yelling about “killing a dog.”

There I am laughing so hard I’m almost crying and at the same time trying to grab Bud and explain that it’s a fake poop before he kills Buster! And anyone who knows me knows once I start laughing it is really hard for me to stop. So he is getting more and more frustrated with me because he can’t understand what I’m saying and I won’t let go of him so he can kill the dog. (Just so you don’t think badly of Bud, he really wouldn’t have killed him…at least I don’t think he would have.)

We had more fun with that fake poop. We ended up using it on my in-laws and eventually on both kids. But nothing was as much fun as Bud and the fake poop!

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Tags: family, life

Fresh Cut Grass…

07Aug09

Whenever I take one of those quizzes that seem to get passed around via email or Facebook, there always seems to be a question asking what your favorite smell is. Invariably, I always have the same answer – Fresh Cut Grass. A lot of people seem perplexed by this answer and want to know the reason behind it. So here it is…

One of the earliest memories I have is of my daddy. I was around 3 years old, no older than four. I know this because we still lived in Colorado, where I was born and lived until I was four. I was in the backyard and I was swinging on the swing set. My daddy was cutting the grass in the backyard. He had told me that the only way I could be in the backyard while he was mowing was to stay on the swing.

So that’s what I did…I swung and swung and swung the whole time my daddy was cutting the grass. It was spring or summer at the time. I remember the sun shining but it wasn’t too hot or too cool. The sky was a most beautiful blue color. The breeze was blowing by as I went back and forth. The only sound was the sound of the lawnmower.

And the smell…it was wonderful: this fresh, sharp smell of the grass. It smelled clean and, I can’t describe it any other way but green. This smell is all wrapped around in my mind with memories of my daddy. If I smell fresh cut grass he is all I think about. I don’t think that there is really a way to separate the two. It’s all about the emotions of those particular moments of time.

That memory is one of the few memories I have where I can remember exactly how I felt right then. I remember the happiness of being outside with my daddy. I remember how free I felt. I had none of the weight of responsibilities, worries. I knew that there was nothing to worry about or to fear because my daddy was there and I was safe. I just was in the moment and enjoying the moment.

This is such a blessing to have this memory. I think that when my daddy is no longer here on this earth, this will be what I remember more than anything else.

I try to remember this when I think about my Heavenly Father too. I have the same innocence and sense of complete protection from God. I have no weight of responsibilities and worries because I have nothing to worry about or fear because my Father is here and I am safe. I am just in the moment and enjoying the moment. And I thank my Heavenly Father for my earthly father who first made me see these things.

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Tags: family, God, love, parents