In the middle of this processing operation we have going on here with the change in direction our lives are taking, there has been an event, which like a microscope, brings fuzzy things into focus in a breathtaking manner.
A death in the family.
My grandma, known as Gramma Great, died suddenly on Wednesday.
It was so random.
While I'm sitting here completely shocked, sad and more than slightly peeved over the circumstances, I see a thread that runs through stronger and brighter than any other. Which, come to think of it, is entirely appropriate as it was her spiritual gift.
Mercy.
I can't communicate or fully comprehend that thread myself so I won't bother to do that here, but as we wake up each day and realize the way our life has changed, I am ever grateful for the time we had with her and the things she loved.
She loved Jesus.
She loved her family.
She loved Jesus.
She loved children.
She loved Jesus.
She loved her neighbors.
She loved Jesus.
She loved purses.
She loved Jesus.
She loved shoes.
She loved Jesus.
She loved the color RED.
She loved Jesus.
She loved small things.
She loved Jesus.
She loved square plates.
She loved Jesus.
She loved fashion.
She loved Jesus.
She loved movies.
She loved Jesus.
She loved flowers.
She loved Jesus.
She loved traveling.
She loved Jesus.
She loved visiting.
She loved Jesus.
She loved.
Dear Gramma,
For the 'loves' I've inherited through exposure or gene pool, I thank you. May my legacy and the balance thereof be as beautiful and loving as yours is for us.
Enjoy the sweet face to face fellowship with the One you loved most.
Faith
Friday, July 30, 2010
Friday, July 23, 2010
I know I need to do a blog update....
...but that would entail my mind wrapping itself around a thought and following that through to completion.
I'm having a hard time with that now.
Thus far, I'm having the following run through my head as possible titles for future posts.
"How to Recover Yourself from Making a MAJOR Cultural Faux Paux, IN YOUR OWN COUNTRY no less, and the Identity Crisis That Follows It."
"Grocery Shopping in the US 101" or could be titled "Oh, The Things I've Forgotten How to Do."
"On working with your son that he doesn't think the United States is really named the country 'No, you can't do that here.'"
"Driving Rules Revisited"
"Where are the Beans and Rice?"
"THIS is Mexican food In Your Book?"
"Why Church Starts at 9:30 When They Say It Will Start at 9:30"
"Polar Fleece in July"
"Redefining Perfection"
"Lots of Talking"
"Now What?"
"Mommy - Where is Home?" - sneak peek at my new answer: HOME is where the underwear is, dear one.
"When Mom Says We'll Be Here a Few More Minutes, She Really Means Another Hour."
My brain resembles a pinball machine at the moment. I'll leave it at that and come back with something witty and entertaining later.
Faith
I'm having a hard time with that now.
Thus far, I'm having the following run through my head as possible titles for future posts.
"How to Recover Yourself from Making a MAJOR Cultural Faux Paux, IN YOUR OWN COUNTRY no less, and the Identity Crisis That Follows It."
"Grocery Shopping in the US 101" or could be titled "Oh, The Things I've Forgotten How to Do."
"On working with your son that he doesn't think the United States is really named the country 'No, you can't do that here.'"
"Driving Rules Revisited"
"Where are the Beans and Rice?"
"THIS is Mexican food In Your Book?"
"Why Church Starts at 9:30 When They Say It Will Start at 9:30"
"Polar Fleece in July"
"Redefining Perfection"
"Lots of Talking"
"Now What?"
"Mommy - Where is Home?" - sneak peek at my new answer: HOME is where the underwear is, dear one.
"When Mom Says We'll Be Here a Few More Minutes, She Really Means Another Hour."
My brain resembles a pinball machine at the moment. I'll leave it at that and come back with something witty and entertaining later.
Faith
Thursday, July 15, 2010
Closed doors and "Now WHERE is that window?????"
You all know that saying....'When God closes a door, somewhere He opens a window.'? Well....our new updates on how our time is going in the US has quite the tangent to it which has us looking for windows.
It seems that the doors are now closed for us to return to Mexico in a full time capacity. After months of prayer and walking the path one step at a time, we are seeing that God is bringing us back to the United States. We are being 'repositioned'. For five years, we have been allowed to live out our faith in Mexico; and while I KNOW that that is precisely our calling no matter what soil our feet touch down on in daily practice, I had not expected it to be here...yet.
We have big decisions ahead and big changes for our family that we don't take lightly. As we transition, we will still be in need of various levels of support. Financial, yes. Prayer - especially. If you feel led to continue to support us in one or both ways as we do 're-entry', we would be grateful.
Here are a few key prayer needs and some stories to let you know that even in the chaos, we are finding humorous ways to deal with it. Or so we think...
One - This shift will entail another trip to Oaxaca for us to clear out our things and make the house we were living in available for others. (This part is not so funny....)
Two - a new plan. A job specifically and a place in which to live w/ said job.
Three - adjustment.
The mental imagery I have with that word is: 'chiropractic' and OUCH. There will be some pulling, tugging, twisting, and easing our bodies and minds back into a new framework verses the one we've been functioning in for the last five years. My prayer is that we don't break something in the process. Alan and I are adults and will try and be as mature as possible through this but I'm thinking more of our children at this point and how we work with them in adjusting. When we shared this final notice with our children, we got two stoic faces and a more dramatic response from our Natalie. With HUGE eyes and mouth agape she screeched, "HOW can we LIVE HERE!!!??? I've spent more of my life OUTSIDE the US than IN IT!! I don't know how to live HERE!"
Someday I hope she thanks us in her Academy Award winning speech, but she does have a valid point. You can see why we are praying daily for them.
Four - Oh that we could/would purpose to retain the lessons we've learned. I remember listening to a missionary speaker wwwaaaayyyy back and she said, "Everything can be preparation for something.....if we let it.", and I'm coming to realize the wisdom behind that statement in ways I never would have grasped before. That we would continue to be prepared.....for something.
Now here's where I get to do some 'praisin'.....in the scheme of things it may seem small, but for ME - it is ginormous.
You cannot imagine my terror at one point in the game where I realized - "OH MY GOODNESS - not only does it seem that the doors are closing (OH WAIT - No! No! No! and I'll just shove my fingers in that gap and maybe I can pry the door open a bit...) but that:
One - we seem to have done things backwards. (THIS is very hard for my personality who loves to see efficiency at work.)
Two - we are going to be homeless.
Nice.
Well - God is much bigger than I allow Him to be some days and wouldn't you know it, housing was provided. And provided with no strings and GORGEOUS yellow couches. I. am. not. kidding.. I almost passed out right there on the spot.
Transition is not a fun address right now YET God is showing me that He does sometimes have the cake coming out of the oven at just the right time in spite of the fact that I originally picked a different flavor.... and there is even frosting.
With much love,
Faith for the entire zoo.....
It seems that the doors are now closed for us to return to Mexico in a full time capacity. After months of prayer and walking the path one step at a time, we are seeing that God is bringing us back to the United States. We are being 'repositioned'. For five years, we have been allowed to live out our faith in Mexico; and while I KNOW that that is precisely our calling no matter what soil our feet touch down on in daily practice, I had not expected it to be here...yet.
We have big decisions ahead and big changes for our family that we don't take lightly. As we transition, we will still be in need of various levels of support. Financial, yes. Prayer - especially. If you feel led to continue to support us in one or both ways as we do 're-entry', we would be grateful.
Here are a few key prayer needs and some stories to let you know that even in the chaos, we are finding humorous ways to deal with it. Or so we think...
One - This shift will entail another trip to Oaxaca for us to clear out our things and make the house we were living in available for others. (This part is not so funny....)
Two - a new plan. A job specifically and a place in which to live w/ said job.
Three - adjustment.
The mental imagery I have with that word is: 'chiropractic' and OUCH. There will be some pulling, tugging, twisting, and easing our bodies and minds back into a new framework verses the one we've been functioning in for the last five years. My prayer is that we don't break something in the process. Alan and I are adults and will try and be as mature as possible through this but I'm thinking more of our children at this point and how we work with them in adjusting. When we shared this final notice with our children, we got two stoic faces and a more dramatic response from our Natalie. With HUGE eyes and mouth agape she screeched, "HOW can we LIVE HERE!!!??? I've spent more of my life OUTSIDE the US than IN IT!! I don't know how to live HERE!"
Someday I hope she thanks us in her Academy Award winning speech, but she does have a valid point. You can see why we are praying daily for them.
Four - Oh that we could/would purpose to retain the lessons we've learned. I remember listening to a missionary speaker wwwaaaayyyy back and she said, "Everything can be preparation for something.....if we let it.", and I'm coming to realize the wisdom behind that statement in ways I never would have grasped before. That we would continue to be prepared.....for something.
Now here's where I get to do some 'praisin'.....in the scheme of things it may seem small, but for ME - it is ginormous.
You cannot imagine my terror at one point in the game where I realized - "OH MY GOODNESS - not only does it seem that the doors are closing (OH WAIT - No! No! No! and I'll just shove my fingers in that gap and maybe I can pry the door open a bit...) but that:
One - we seem to have done things backwards. (THIS is very hard for my personality who loves to see efficiency at work.)
Two - we are going to be homeless.
Nice.
Well - God is much bigger than I allow Him to be some days and wouldn't you know it, housing was provided. And provided with no strings and GORGEOUS yellow couches. I. am. not. kidding.. I almost passed out right there on the spot.
Transition is not a fun address right now YET God is showing me that He does sometimes have the cake coming out of the oven at just the right time in spite of the fact that I originally picked a different flavor.... and there is even frosting.
With much love,
Faith for the entire zoo.....
Monday, July 5, 2010
All Quiet On the Western Front
Just checking in to let you know that we're still alive. :)
We're even kicking a bit.
We are in Washington for the time being. We've been able to talk at our sending church, HCC, and share with friends and family what's been going on with us and in Oaxaca. It's been awesome to see everyone again and reconnect. I missed a meet up in the Seattle area due to catching a nasty cold (????? - in JULY?????) but we're all on the mend and we took a raincheck....no pun intended.
I'll tell you - we're not used to the race pace anymore. Or the time it takes to get from one place to another. Oooops - and driving? Well - let's just say we're having some conversations w/ our kids about why we're actually coming to a complete stop, not going around people who have a blinker on, why we're NOT tailgating, and why we don't hear any horns. Apparently you learn to drive by watching and riding as well as actually operating the car. Good thing we have a few years before Riley will be going into that department.
We're also getting ready to move into the parsonage later this week. Our church has a house that is available for us to use the rest of the summer and that will be fun.
God is providing....in lots of ways. More to come on that in a future post.
Faith
We're even kicking a bit.
We are in Washington for the time being. We've been able to talk at our sending church, HCC, and share with friends and family what's been going on with us and in Oaxaca. It's been awesome to see everyone again and reconnect. I missed a meet up in the Seattle area due to catching a nasty cold (????? - in JULY?????) but we're all on the mend and we took a raincheck....no pun intended.
I'll tell you - we're not used to the race pace anymore. Or the time it takes to get from one place to another. Oooops - and driving? Well - let's just say we're having some conversations w/ our kids about why we're actually coming to a complete stop, not going around people who have a blinker on, why we're NOT tailgating, and why we don't hear any horns. Apparently you learn to drive by watching and riding as well as actually operating the car. Good thing we have a few years before Riley will be going into that department.
We're also getting ready to move into the parsonage later this week. Our church has a house that is available for us to use the rest of the summer and that will be fun.
God is providing....in lots of ways. More to come on that in a future post.
Faith
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