16 March 2008
"Now I know"
Saturday March 22, 2008 Filed in: Life as we know
it
Today
was a fun day full of firsts!
For the first time I got to witness the slaughter and preparation of a goat. It was pretty amazing the speed at which these guys were able to dismantle all the parts. Our supervisor took the meat and will be grilling it for Easter Lunch tomorrow. The rest of the animal is a different story! The cooked it all! Yes all the insides and I even saw an eyeball. Think I'll be skipping on that. To my amazement my friend told me she doesn't like to eat all that either.
Then, my friend, Aajaan Nuey and I boiled and colored eggs. I read on the internet how we could use vegetables and other natural stuff to color eggs so I was very excited to try this. I mentioned it to Aajaan Nuey the night before and she was even more excited. She showed up at the church with all kinds of stuff including flowers and weird looking roots. So we boiled and simmered and experimented. Some colors worked better than others, but mostly our brown eggs turned several different shades of reddish orange. I thought it was a bust and wouldn't do it again, but she thought they were beautiful : ) maybe she was just being nice.
So during all this, Aleah was running around with Manna (Nuey's daughter) except Aleah was going a little crazy. It was getting close to nap time and she was in to everything. When she came into the kitchen I tried my best to keep my eyes on her and when she went out the door, I'd yell to Blake "tag, you're it!" She was having fun, but as usual she wouldn't settle down to eat anything and started getting upset if you touched her for any reason. So, Blake volunteered to take her home so I could continue helping in the kitchen. Then an amazing thing happened. Aajaan Nuey said "Now I know why you don't bring Aleah to everything." For me, this was huge. I could have cried and given her a big hug, but I just smiled and said "Thank you so much for telling me that." So, for the first time, a national friend actually understood that it was ok for Aleah to take naps and stay at home with one parent while the other one represented the family at events. This is huge! I'm so thankful that God would give me such a good friend and mother to be around.
For the first time I got to witness the slaughter and preparation of a goat. It was pretty amazing the speed at which these guys were able to dismantle all the parts. Our supervisor took the meat and will be grilling it for Easter Lunch tomorrow. The rest of the animal is a different story! The cooked it all! Yes all the insides and I even saw an eyeball. Think I'll be skipping on that. To my amazement my friend told me she doesn't like to eat all that either.
Then, my friend, Aajaan Nuey and I boiled and colored eggs. I read on the internet how we could use vegetables and other natural stuff to color eggs so I was very excited to try this. I mentioned it to Aajaan Nuey the night before and she was even more excited. She showed up at the church with all kinds of stuff including flowers and weird looking roots. So we boiled and simmered and experimented. Some colors worked better than others, but mostly our brown eggs turned several different shades of reddish orange. I thought it was a bust and wouldn't do it again, but she thought they were beautiful : ) maybe she was just being nice.
So during all this, Aleah was running around with Manna (Nuey's daughter) except Aleah was going a little crazy. It was getting close to nap time and she was in to everything. When she came into the kitchen I tried my best to keep my eyes on her and when she went out the door, I'd yell to Blake "tag, you're it!" She was having fun, but as usual she wouldn't settle down to eat anything and started getting upset if you touched her for any reason. So, Blake volunteered to take her home so I could continue helping in the kitchen. Then an amazing thing happened. Aajaan Nuey said "Now I know why you don't bring Aleah to everything." For me, this was huge. I could have cried and given her a big hug, but I just smiled and said "Thank you so much for telling me that." So, for the first time, a national friend actually understood that it was ok for Aleah to take naps and stay at home with one parent while the other one represented the family at events. This is huge! I'm so thankful that God would give me such a good friend and mother to be around.
Personal Retreat
Thursday March 20, 2008 Filed in: Fathers'
Voice
Today
was a special day as everyone on the team woke up
this morning in great expectation to meet with the
Lord. We spent the whole morning not talking to
anyone but the Lord. For the singles on the team,
this was a little easier, but with some work, us
married folks were able to do it too. Blake and I
went back to the waterfall we visited a few weeks ago
and wondered around for hours without even seeing
each other. Then we met back up and hiked a ways up
the river and yes all the time without talking : )
This was such a special morning for me because moms don't get much alone time and sometime when I wake up in the morning I'm just not awake enough to really go into a deep Bible study nor do I have that much time. So today I was ready for this!!
I was doing a 12 week Bible study that kind of got extended into 7 months, but today I was going to finish the last lesson. And having what seemed to me to be unlimited time before me (all morning alone) I had great expectations!
God was so gracious and encouraging. He filled my soul and spoke to me from Psalms 63 in a very personal way. First we got sin out of the way. I've wanted to have times like this (once a month) every since we moved here, but I got caught up in life and forgot about this very important commitment I had made. So, I won't be forgetting that again!
Here's a quick overview of my time with the Lord and the lessons He taught me. Everyday can be a victorious day!
Verse 1 - Seek God first thing in the morning. A prayer acknowledging His as Lord in my life. Choosing this day to serve Him! Because when I don't choose Him, my will automatically takes over.
Verse 2 - Ask that my spiritual eyes will be open so that I will see His strength and glory throughout the day, even in the small things.
Verse 3 - 4 - Use my lips to praise Him. But how? Then it came to me that I don't listen to music as often as I used to and I don't even hear worship music (that I understand) on Sundays. So I need to be more proactive in making sure there is Christian music playing around me as much as possible. I miss the presence of music in my life and it has had an affect on my thoughts and praise level.
Verse 5 - Be satisfied!! Simple to say yet difficult to put into practice and I need to reminded a lot!!
Verse 6 - End my day by remembering all God has done for me throughout the day. Journal and Thank Him! I know some days I just fall exhausted into bed and don't even offer up a short prayer of thanks or acknowledge what good things He has done for me.
Verses 7 - 11 - Live a life without fear or worry. God will take care of any wrong that is done against me. He is my help! His right hand holds on to me. LIve a life of peace and rest: I can rejoice in the shadow of your wings!
This was such a special morning for me because moms don't get much alone time and sometime when I wake up in the morning I'm just not awake enough to really go into a deep Bible study nor do I have that much time. So today I was ready for this!!
I was doing a 12 week Bible study that kind of got extended into 7 months, but today I was going to finish the last lesson. And having what seemed to me to be unlimited time before me (all morning alone) I had great expectations!
God was so gracious and encouraging. He filled my soul and spoke to me from Psalms 63 in a very personal way. First we got sin out of the way. I've wanted to have times like this (once a month) every since we moved here, but I got caught up in life and forgot about this very important commitment I had made. So, I won't be forgetting that again!
Here's a quick overview of my time with the Lord and the lessons He taught me. Everyday can be a victorious day!
Verse 1 - Seek God first thing in the morning. A prayer acknowledging His as Lord in my life. Choosing this day to serve Him! Because when I don't choose Him, my will automatically takes over.
Verse 2 - Ask that my spiritual eyes will be open so that I will see His strength and glory throughout the day, even in the small things.
Verse 3 - 4 - Use my lips to praise Him. But how? Then it came to me that I don't listen to music as often as I used to and I don't even hear worship music (that I understand) on Sundays. So I need to be more proactive in making sure there is Christian music playing around me as much as possible. I miss the presence of music in my life and it has had an affect on my thoughts and praise level.
Verse 5 - Be satisfied!! Simple to say yet difficult to put into practice and I need to reminded a lot!!
Verse 6 - End my day by remembering all God has done for me throughout the day. Journal and Thank Him! I know some days I just fall exhausted into bed and don't even offer up a short prayer of thanks or acknowledge what good things He has done for me.
Verses 7 - 11 - Live a life without fear or worry. God will take care of any wrong that is done against me. He is my help! His right hand holds on to me. LIve a life of peace and rest: I can rejoice in the shadow of your wings!
Surprise!
Sunday March 16, 2008 Filed in: Life as we know
it
Blake was surprised this morning to find this waiting
for him at the back porch!!
Aleah spends her days lounging in the coolest spots she can find:
Almost every day is a new adventure in the kitchen as Shawna learns new things about food . . today involved sqeezing honeycomb for some fresh honey:
There's was even a morning this month when Blake and I were abel to get away and enjoy a date at this waterfall very near to our home:
Aleah spends her days lounging in the coolest spots she can find:
Almost every day is a new adventure in the kitchen as Shawna learns new things about food . . today involved sqeezing honeycomb for some fresh honey:
There's was even a morning this month when Blake and I were abel to get away and enjoy a date at this waterfall very near to our home: