Another One Bites The Dust - I'm 31!

Out to birthday lunch today with my favorite people in the world.

There's nothing like time. It is so pregnant with potential and then, so trivial and fleeting all in the same moment. One minute we realize that we can change someone's life with one action, one sentence, one non-verbal gesture, or one mistake. In the next, we realize that although we can put a lot of thought and energy into the details of our lives, that they are very easily forgotten or overlooked by the frenzy of the rest of the busy world that is always moving around us. It is tempting to get caught up in an Ecclesiastes-everything-is-meaningless fit, but I won't. 

Because, today is my birthday. And today, I actually couldn't be happier that all those little moments, big or small, have totaled up to make me a ripe 31. Last year, I was literally shaking and nervous and dreading the big 3-0. That day felt like such a shift in my mind and in my emotions; a realization that although I am super special and important to some people, I am still going to live and die like so many millions before me. I have chosen to live for something bigger than myself.

Bigger than myself.

I suppose for a Western-thinking person, this is a big mental hump to get over. I don't mean to stereotype a lot of people...but...well...I guess I still am! In my limited experience, I grew up believing in the power of one individual. One life. One incredibly influential person. And in my Western-thinking, I was always trying to be convinced that the One person to be focusing on in order to better the world was going to have to be Me.

Don't get me wrong. I definitely don't feel anywhere NEAR qualified to be the girl that has all the goods, all the smarts, all the right words and moves and relationships. What I am trying to express is just the matter of the center of my focus...the One person that was truly going to make an impact on a world that is just a little (a lot!) messed up.

I have resigned myself to finally give someone else the glory. I am giving it to Him. I am giving it to Jesus. 

It was His before, really, and always has been. But, like a selfish toddler who yanks somebody else's toy away screaming, "Miiiiiiiiiiiiinnnnne!"...I have to eventually forfeit what is rightfully belonging to someone else. The glory is His. My life is His. My heart is His. Any accolade I ever earn, any praise, any thanks, any gratitude, anything at all...is His again.

It is for His glory that I turn 31. It is for His glory that I raise my four crazies and attempt to serve my amazing husband. It is for His glory that I still have friends. The breath in my lungs. The food on my table.

Thank you, Lord, for these 31 years. I am ready to glorify You with them today!

Blessings,
Alina

Tying Strings With Tickle Fights

Kyla, my smiling beauty, mid-tickle-fight.

Lately, I have been trying to perfect my ability to tickle-fight.

If you have kids, or just even an annoying or immature co-worker, then you understand that sometimes leading people can wreck your good attitude.

Even though I have four little blessings, sometimes amid whining and making lunch and messes and dirty diapers and noise, I sometimes forget that they are in fact little blessings instead of little terrors.  Can't relate? I know I am not alone.

So, in an attempt to war against the bad attitude (mine) that is just waiting to creep out from under my peaceful exterior, I have tried to make my kids' smiles come out instead.

I read once in To Train Up a Child about "Tying Strings (click for a short video)."  The basic idea is to tie "strings" of fellowship, joy, smiles, laughter, great memories and great love, with your kids (or anyone else, really).  You can do this by creating experiences and emotions that draw your heart and your child's heart together; as if they were tied to each other.  Because we all know that there are times when the strings we tie are then cut apart.  

Strings are cut with angry words, a roll of the eyes, too many "no's", sarcasm, and not enough time to look them in the eyes and engage with them.

I can list all of the above so easily not because I just see it in others, but because I see it in myself.  So, I can choose to re-tie the strings I have cut with smiles, loving touches, turning off my iPad and making eye-contact, listening to the rambling stories and about a million things more.  I am sure you can think of a few to add to the list.

And, every day, I have committed to tie more strings than I cut.  To keep them close.  To keep their heart connected with mine.  When they grow up, what is going to keep them from breaking free just as soon as they're able? ...The strings that I tie today.
  
So, bring on the tickle fights.  They are an instant attitude-breaker and a joy-bringer.  Try it!  Or, tie some different strings of your own (and share some of your ideas in the comments below).

Blessings,
Alina

Five Minute Friday: Truth

Truth

No more hiding.

Ever since I chose to walk in truth instead of keep everyone in the dark, everything under wraps…I have no more reason to hide.

Sure, I might disappoint someone, but at least I am walking without chains.

Because, you see, keeping lies and fibs and half-truths creates chains that seem unable to be broken. Another un-truth leads to another which leads to another. I was tired of the cycle.

Whenever I found out that He will continue to love me, continue to be faithful, continue to not turn away His gaze…I could finally get real with Him, myself and with everyone else. Instead of walking in darkness, I chose the brighter path, though narrow.

Yes, there are consequences. I don’t have to seem to be as shiny and as orderly and as perfect as I wanted everyone else to see me as. I am just me. Broken. Needy. Ignorant. Desperate. Dumb, even, sometimes. I need someone to show me the way instead of me thinking that I already knew it.

He lead me into all Truth. Jesus. And now, you can, too.

STOP

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

I didn't even want to post this because it isn't perfect. There are incomplete thoughts and so much more that I could have written. But, when I considered the whole nature of trying to walk in the truth of my imperfection and the whole vision behind Five Minute Fridays, I had to post it anyways.  

This year, I have committed to myself to be more genuine whenever I write here at Ordinary Life in the Wild.  Thanks for giving me a chance to get real.

Blessings,

Alina

Five Minute Friday: Present

I stumbled across an opportunity that has captured the attention of hundreds of other bloggers every Friday.  It is called Five Minute Friday.  Basically, it is a chance to write for just five minutes, with a certain writing prompt in mind.  It is a chance to just create and think without paying too much attention to making it look pretty (i.e.: no editing, back-tracking or second-guessing allowed!).  Sometimes all I have is five minutes to write, anyway, so the idea seems to be right up my alley.  Want to read more about how it all got started?  Click here to go to lisajobaker.com to get the skinny.

And, if you want to join in, you still have time left (it'll be Friday in the States for at least another 19 hours or so!)  Click here for the writing prompt...

Present...

GO

I would like to say that I am always here.

Always engaged.

Always ready; with divine wisdom and discernment poised in the arsenal of my mind.

But, sometimes...I'm not.

Sometimes, like you, I blip out.  I zone out.  I day-dream out...of my situation...of the conversation.

I wonder what it was really like to be the Savior.  Can you imagine what his inner dialogue was?  Did HE ever daydream?  Did he ever zone out of the conversation and star off into space.  I can't imagine so...

His dialogue with the Father was ever-so consistent, ready "in season and out."  Oh, how I long to have that kind of focus.  I have never seen myself as ADD, but sometimes feel that way. God has brought me down a long road of learning how to be engaged...to stop preparing my next statement, question, or rebuttal (while the person I am supposed to be communicating with is just trying to get their own thoughts across their mouths, out of their heads and into the air).  Can you imagine?  To not always be thinking of how to answer...but being there just...listening?

Listening to Him.

Listening for His reply.  Only His.

That is what present is.

STOP

Finding a Lost Treasure by Hearing His Voice (Part Two)

Found.

(This post is part two of a story.  Part one can be read here.)

...One day, several weeks ago, while ruthlessly attacking the mountain of dishes in my sink, I was listening to a sermon. I frequently do this to pass the time.  I had downloaded Bethel's free sermon of the week and was listening to the beginning.  They sometimes have a short testimony time at the beginning of some of the teachings, and this testimony time was about to rock my world.  I just didn't know it yet.

Bill Johnson was sharing about some amazing miracles that were happening in their midst and to some people whom they knew from other fellowships.  People were praying for God to bring back lost treasures, and He was doing it! 

One of the testimonies was of a person who lost their wedding ring in the sea.  They were praying for it to come back to them somehow, when they looked up from their prayer time and saw it lying on a pillow on their bed. 

I started weeping while hearing testimony after testimony of lost treasures being found.  I held up my soapy hands and pleaded with God to somehow bring my necklace back to me.  It isn't worth a ton of money, or is the most beautiful necklace in the world, but it is precious to me.  My Father cares about the things that mean a lot to me; that mean a lot to all of us.

The God of the Bible is the God of the now. He has done miracles then in the stories that we read, and He has no trouble doing them now; multiplying food, healing from chronic illness and even raising people from the dead is happening in the here and now. We just need faith, partnered with God's power, before we see it happen.

I finished my prayer, returned my soapy hands to the sink and my heart was filled with faith.  Even if I never received my necklace back, I was reminded again of a big God who is more mysterious, powerful and more wonderful than I really know.

Jump ahead in my story to a few weeks after that...

The purse I had been toting around for about a year looked like it had seen too many days, and if I carried it any further, it would surely have fallen right off my shoulders and dragged itself to a trash can. 

So, I decided to buy another one before we went on a trip to see some old friends (thus eliminating my chances of looking somewhat like a hobo...nothing against hobos...I digress...)  I went to the store that equals the Thai version of a Super Walmart and bought myself a 6-dollar purse that will hopefully last for a little while.  Thus, I had to dig through the abyss of my old, dying purse to fill my new, perkier one with all of those things that women have to carry around.

While sifting through Hot Wheel cars, gum wrappers, age-old receipts and lonely crayons that had taken up residence in my purse, I began to finally see the bottom of it.  I began thinking about what I would do with it once I was done.  I pictured myself throwing it in the trash and finally being rid of my sorry-looking bag. 

But, before I did, a Voice stopped me, suddenly. 

He said, "Before you throw it away, make sure to look under the lining of your purse.  There might be something precious there that you would regret to overlook."

Within seconds of hearing His sweet Voice, I had a picture in my mind of my necklace hidden below the cloth lining of my purse, just waiting to be found.

Without hesitation, I poured over the dark lining of my purse and happened upon a very small tear in the cloth.  I had never noticed it before.  This wasn't my first time to empty out my bag to find lost car keys or that USB drive that always seems to find it's way to the bottom.  I had poured over this bag before.  But, I had never seen that tear.

Instantly, I ripped open the tear and feasted my eyes upon a beautiful sight: my pearl necklace, with it's silver flashing in the light like it was laughing at me with joy.

I rushed downstairs with tears in my eyes and recounted my testimony to Treavor and a curious Jeshurun who was resting on the couch nearby.  Jeshurun thought I was weeping with sadness, but I assured him that it was with joy that I was so overcome.
 
"He is so good!  He is so sweet to me!  He is so merciful! Can you believe it?" I shouted, through watery eyes.

The Holy Spirit didn't use an audible voice with me that day, though it isn't unheard of.  But, because I am His sheep, I can hear His voice when He speaks to my heart.  I might as well "baaaaa" for you because I felt more like one of His sheep that day than I had felt in a long time:

“Very truly I tell you Pharisees, anyone who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a robber. The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger’s voice.” Jesus used this figure of speech, but the Pharisees did not understand what he was telling them.

Therefore Jesus said again, “Very truly I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. All who have come before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep have not listened to them. I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. They will come in and go out, and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.

 “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. The hired hand is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it. The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep.

 

“I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me— just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep.

John 10:1-15

This week, right after Easter, think upon the good Shepherd, who laid His life down for His sheep.  Is He calling to you right now to become a sheep like me?  Or, is He calling you to return to following His voice again?  More than that, is there something that you are needing more faith for, and want to hear the Shepherd's Voice building you up again?

Get quiet and listen, and be ready to see Him work some miracles in your heart and in your life. 

Blessings,
Alina

Finding a Lost Treasure by Hearing His Voice (Part One)

If I were ultra-organized and/or crafty...I think my scatty brain could benefit from this. (Photo Credit)

Last summer, I lost a precious pearl. 

Actually, make that my third pearl lost.  I really need to eat some more ginkgo biloba supplements or something for my forgetfulness. 

When we were married almost 9 years ago, Treavor bought me a stunning pair of Japanese pearl earrings.  One time, during a move to a different house across town, I left them (brilliant idea, I know), in a dresser drawer. During the chaos of the move I thought they'd be safe there.  After we unpacked and inspected every part of that dresser, the earrings were nowhere to be found.  I cried some bitter tears that night.

Then, my friend, Summer, graciously gave Treavor a new pair of pearl earrings for him to give to me for our wedding anniversary.  They were equally stunning and I was so humbled.  I still have that pair, praise God.

But, two years ago on my birthday, Treavor bought me a solitary pearl necklace while we were vacationing in a beachfront town here in Thailand.  I loved it!  It was a mainstay in my wardrobe, but I still hadn't learned my lesson just yet.  During our trip to the States last summer, I took off my necklace and placed it "somewhere."  We were two weeks out from leaving to fly back to Thailand and I swore I would find it when we went through our stuff to repack. 

Nope.

The necklace was nowhere to be found.

The bitter tears flowed again as I kicked myself and repented to Treavor.  How in the world could I be so careless again and give up something that I treasured?  I vainly hoped that it would "turn up" somewhere in our stuff once we unpacked again and that my shame would be forgotten. 

Nope. 

It had been about eight months since the bags were put away and all of my hopes for finding my necklace were packed away with them...

...until a few weeks ago, when a Voice told me where to find my lost treasure.

(to be continued tomorrow...check back to hear this incredibly faith-building story!)

Read Part Two Here!

How Running Brings Me Closer To Jesus

The streets I run each week.  I.e.: my "wilderness."

How does running bring me closer to Jesus?  I could have a ton of predictable (yet, quite real and valid) answers to that question...

...when I run, I bring my iPod along and exercise along to the beat of great worship music...

...yes...but that's not quite my answer.

...when I run, I observe all the beautiful things in nature around me and praise God!...

...kind of (sometimes I do, I guess)...but, no cigar.

...when I run, I am alone and can think and pray with extreme focus...

...sort of in the ballpark of my answer, but not in the super-purposeful-holy-man kind of way.

 

 ...when I run, it goes something more like this...

 

Round #1 around the neighborhood: "Look at me!  Look at me! I am running!  I bet I look like some Nike-advertisement goddess with a beautiful glow and a smile because I am so in shape and so very awesome-looking as I round each corner."

 

Round #2 around the neighborhood: "Wow!  This is getting a little tough.  Oh, no sweat.  I was born for this.  I was made for this.  I can DO this.  I am still awesome!"

 

Round #3 around the neighborhood: "(Panting and coughing) I. Can't. Breathe!  Who ever convinced me to run anyway?  What was I THINKING?  Who cares about having muscles and being able to run longer than 10 minutes anyway?  If I ever make it home, I am quitting running for good.  What a loser.  Oh, God, have a care and help this poor woman to make it!"

 

Round #4 around the neighborhood (i.e.: the final hour, the moment of truth, the nitty-gritty): "Oh, good, sweet, Heavenly Father!  (not a swear, I promise...but pleas for help!)  Have mercy on me!  I am so full of pride in myself!  I think I'm all that and clearly I am not!  Look at me!  I look like a blubberer who can't even make it 30 minutes running (ok, jogging...OK, dragging my lame feet) around the neighborhood!  I need YOU!  I obviously CAN'T do this without You!  HELP ME!  If I make it home, I will never complain again and never get prideful about my own abilities every again!  Only YOU are good, Father!  Clearly, not me!"

 

That's more like it.

 

THAT'S how running brings me closer to Jesus.

 

"...he himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else... ‘For in him we live and move and have our being.’"

Acts 17:25, 28 NIV

 

 

Every Sunday...

Meeting together today in our new place...

Every Sunday...
...the S-clan, our clan, and several Thais meet together for teaching, worship, prayer and fellowship. 
...we come dressed a little spiffier than normal. 
...lots of people come early.
...and I almost always come a little late.

Every Sunday...
...someone is needing breakthrough. 
...some kid is crying and another is bouncing off the walls (sometimes literally). 
...my new friend, Meg, is giving up an hour of her morning to serve our children through teaching them the Bible and leading them in prayer and scripture memory. 
...someone is looking a bit down, and someone else is lifting them up in prayer and encouragement.

Every Sunday...
...the technology and sound elements aren't exactly perfect.
...and the people aren't perfect either.

But, every Sunday...
...God is still with us.  He is leading us.  We are attempting our best to follow Him.  He will be glorified and lifted up...

...every Sunday! And, every DAY!

"And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near."

Hebrews 10:24-25 (NLT)

Profiles: Mrs. P and Her Beautiful Feet



Mrs. P's beautiful feet, bringing the best news of all...


"How will they hear, Alina?"

"How will they hear if I do not go and tell them myself?"

"I have to share!"

Mrs. P and I share this one-sided conversation in the kitchen of my home.  It is one-sided because I am in awe and have no need to add to her words.

I am in awe at how my dear friend, a new believer of only about 6 months, has the Truth and the love of God burning within her at a degree that makes even me uncomfortable, but still excited all at the same time.  I am in full agreement, and also in full conviction.  She is quoting Romans 10:14 almost unintentionally:

"How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them?"

I listen, and all I can think of is how beautiful her feet are.  Sure, they have the same tell-tale flip flop tan line that most Thais have.  They are darkened by the sun, bear a scar here and there and they are, generally, seemingly-ordinary feet.

But, they are beautiful feet.  I know.  And, it comes on good authority:

"How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!"

Romans 10:15

I tell her that she has beautiful feet.  She laughs and brushes me off!

"Me?"

"My feet are nothing special, and definitely not beautiful!"

But, God's word is true. 

Today, she shared about how the love of God is so full within her that it propels her to do everything.  People around her question her and, sometimes, make fun of and malign her life that has changed for good...but she still proclaims the love of God over the love of a "free" life without Him.  She told me today of how she shares because how can she not?  How can she not let others know of the same Love she possesses? 

God has called our family here to love Him wildly and to pass it around.  Some days, we feel like we are just spinning our wheels, and that the Gospel is not advancing...but then I remember Mrs. P and her beautiful feet.  I remember about how, years ago, we were sent out with beautiful feet.  We were sent to share with those who had never heard, like Paul spoke about in Romans, and now we are training our new friends to beautify their own feet. 

Will you pray for us, for Mrs. P and for others here to keep walking, and not to stumble from fatigue or bumps in the road?  Thank you!

Building Men

 



Every moment of every day is a chance for me to build my little boys into little men.  I don't aspire for them to be passable...just fine...ordinary...self-aware (but selfish)...positively affirmed but not internally confident...male adults but not...men. 

I aspire for them to be bridge-builders...mountain climbers...inventors of new technology...bold...confident...reaching for goals and not-being-content-with-just-O.K. kind of men.  They can be this kind of man whether they are mopping a floor, leading a field expedition through uncharted jungle territory or being just an extraordinary, present father to their someday-kids.

Right now, I am on a journey of trying to raise two little men the way I feel like God is leading me to.  One of mine doesn't have a considerate bone in his natural body...but we're working on it.  We've started talking about what it means to be a gentleman.  He can stand by while another child is bawling his or her eyes out and he is completely unaware.  It takes us alerting him to the situation and leading him to hug, talk to, pray for and encourage his hurt friends or siblings.  He would rather climb a tree than worry about how he's going to get hurt if he falls.  He is loud, confident (ahem...very confident) and thinks David the Goliath killer is his long-lost brother.

The other little man is more soft-spoken, loves playing his kitchen set and always looks before he leaps.  He listens well but is constantly telling me that he can't do things because he is too small to succeed.  On some days, that looks like humility and other days it looks like insecurity.  They aren't exactly on opposite ends of the extreme-spectrum, but they're close to it.  God is stretching them each in ways that the other is lacking in or needing encouragement in.  I love how He built that kind of "opportunity for refinement" right into our family by pairing these two together.  But, hey, I don't love it so much when they clash or disagree to the point of declaring that "I'll never play with you again if you don't do what I want to do!"  I could do without that drama.

Along with their interactions with each other every day, Treavor and I have a great opportunity to encourage them in the areas they are strong in, while bring up the weaker points of their character or bad habits in order to pour into their future selves as men.

Like a building's physical foundation, we are inspecting the "foundations" of their actions and heart attitudes now so that we can prevent cracks and distortions in them later.  If you have ever had a bad or faulty foundation in your house, you can feel the regret of "why didn't I or someone else get this inspected more carefully before the house was built?"  Praise God for His help with faulty foundations...he is a great Adjuster!  I have had to have complete adjustments made in my own life's foundational thoughts and habits.  Actually, I need an adjustment just about every day!

Obviously, people are not house foundations.  There is no perfect method for how to make sure that major problems won't pop up later...or that the earth won't just quake from underneath them.  But, God's word says this about a man who sets himself up on solid ground:

"As for everyone who comes to me and hears my words and puts them into practice, I will show you what they are like. They are like a man building a house, who dug down deep and laid the foundation on rock. When a flood came, the torrent struck that house but could not shake it, because it was well built. But the one who hears my words and does not put them into practice is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. The moment the torrent struck that house, it collapsed and its destruction was complete.”  Luke 6:47-49

I am not the perfect builder of men, but I know a Man who is!  If my boys will let Jesus and His Word be their life's foundation, then I know that they won't fall!  That makes me motivated to pray like nothing else.

Do you have any suggestions on how to build my little men?  In your own life, where have you seen cracks in the foundation that could have been attended to before?  I would love to hear your thoughts!  Feel free to comment below: 



Redeeming Our Imaginations

Today is my "personal day".

Don't have one?

You should get one!

Treavor is graciously watching the three little nuggets today as I get extra sleep, extra time with Jesus, extra en-visioned and extraordinarily enjoyable time to myself.  Wow.  For an extreme extrovert (love the "ex-" words?  sheesh...) like me, I never KNEW that I'd need more time alone during the day.  You more secure introverts are shrugging your shoulders right now.  What's the big deal?  Right?

With the addition of children over the years, and the emotional pressures of living in a foreign country, I am finding that sometimes I just need just 5 minutes to myself every now and then.  Just to walk.  Just to read.  Just to dream.  Alone.  By myself.  With no noise.  And no one to have to be "responsible for" for just a few precious moments. 

Throughout my days, I am finding it more and more difficult to remember my first Love, too.  Jesus.  He is with me.  He is my ever-present Help.  He is my Father.  He is my Teacher.  He is my Strength!  These are truths - but they are easily forgotten when my mind is over-run, over-spent with other thoughts.

And, for me, with running a house, homeschooling, learning, cleaning, LIVING, it is too easy for me to lose sight of Him.

This morning as I prayed to be re-fueled yet again, He led me to remember a fun activity to waken up my senses to His presence in my every-day... 

A fun, sweet and very wise gal, Dorothy, once taught a group of women about it: using our imaginations to enter into the Presence of God...and to ultimately be ushered into the reality that He is Emmanuel (God WITH us!). 

How to Awaken your Imagination to the Presence of God: (the Cliff's notes, according to Alina's memory version)

1.  Get in a quiet, undisturbed place.
2.  Pray that God would free up your cluttered mind to hear His Voice only.  Pray that the enemies of our minds; the flesh, the world and the devil - would be silenced.
3.  Close your eyes.
4.  Picture yourself in a free, beautiful, undisturbed place.  (A field ripe with flowers, a mountain-top, an ocean, even a beautifully decorated mansion - whatever you like!)
5.  Now, imagine yourself in that place.  With Jesus. 
6.  Then, let the Holy Spirit lead you through a day, or hour, etc. with Him.  Keep your eyes closed and fix your mind's eye on what He looks like, what He sounds like, what you would do together.  Some people dance!   Some people just want to sit and cry.  Some people will talk and dream together.  Some will sit still and quiet.  It is YOUR own time with Him.

Today, I actually imagined Him with me in a "typical" day at the house.  Kids, husband and all.  Cooking.  Cleaning.  Diaper changing!  He held my hand as we walked down the stairs to start the coffee pot.  He led me through a sweet time of worshipping the Father.  He helped me to bend down and get eye-to-eye with my kids.  He walked with me and the family as we went to order our lunch - teaching me how to share His love with the waitresses and neighbors on my street.  He was with me as I chose to be diligent with my hands and do yet-unfinished projects in my home. 

He was with me.  He was smiling. 

After finishing my sweet time of prayer...He reminded me that this doesn't have to be just a daydream. 
If I truly believe that He is never far, that He hears my every thought and plea for help, that He says that He is "enough," then my dreams can be redeemed and they can fuel my reality.  This isn't a "think it and it will be" sort of idea.  It is a renewing of our minds that His Spirit is literally with us and is HELPING us - wanting to talk with us - never wanting us to feel ALONE in life! 

That was God's original intent: to walk with us, as He did with the first man and woman.  They forsook this intimacy for their own gain, and they lost it all.

I want it back!  Do you?

Try it out today.  Get in a quiet place.  Quiet your mind.  Awaken your heart to His Presence!

{{{ this is a repost...hope you enjoyed it for the first time or read it to be encouraged again }}}

10 Things I Like Today

Our view today on our way out to get dinner.  We saw God's promises splashed all over the sky!

1. Promises written in the sky...over my neighborhood...over my adopted country...over my life!

2. Brand spankin' new crayons.

How I love thee, Crayola, let me count the ways...

3. We broke out #2 because the kids and I have returned back to home school.  These past few weeks have been awesome.  I am finally feeling like I am in a groove with three.  Now if I can just get Kyla to keep still...

4. Potty-training Kyla.  It has actually been a joy.  Seeing her wear Hello Kitty undies, wash her hands by herself, and eat Starbursts (her treat for a dry diaper at nap time) has been fun.  It is Day Three.  Ask me on Day Ten if it is still a joy.  ;)

Bird of Paradise plant in the front yard.  I love these!

5. My garden blooming even after not being around to tend to it for four months.  Bird of paradise flowers, purple, white and yellow orchids, and twenty plus papayas.  Wow.  God is awesome.  Oh yeah, and my Christmas grass didn't die.  Treavor bought me grass last Christmas and and it made it through the hot season without me.  Oh, the joy!

6. Breaking out the bread machine for the first time since being back.  If being addicted to carbs is wrong, I don't wanna be right. 

7. Movie Night tonight; Finding Nemo for the billionth time (it's still good!).  To-go Thai dinner.  Freshly baked cinnamon raisin bread (see #6) for dessert.  

8. Earlier today I finally talked with my neighbor and gave him the souvenir from the States that I bought for him and his wife.  How lame is it that we've been here three weeks and I'm just now doing this?  Lame.  But, now I have finally broken the ice (again) with them (the first time was a year ago when we moved in!).  Maybe they'll finally talk to us now that we brought them sweets!  :)

9. Treavor's at a meeting tonight.  I don't like being away from him in the evening, but the reason he's gone is why I'm loving it; there is a group of new leaders that have come to know Jesus and are wanting to know how to disciple others in His love.  What a great reason for me to fly solo tonight!  We have the best job in the world.

If we were still in the States, would we get family photo ops like this?  Maybe if we were snake handlers...or in the circus?  

10.  When I am lonely, bored, confused, at a loss of what to do next, or when the silence in the house feels stifling rather than refreshing...I am so thankful to have the comfort of the Holy Spirit near to me.  In fact, He never leaves me.  My needs can be met and I am more content when He's the one that fills them, rather than a Facebook fix or even a phone call with a close friend.  It is in the silence that I can quiet my heart to hear Him better and better.

What's on your "like" list today?  I'd love to hear it!  Share in the comments below:

The iPod (i.e.: The Way I Gladly Cheat To Help My Son Love Quiet Time)

One thing I have learned through my journey of parenting is that I have to be willing to give in, yield, succumb, to change, evolve. Evolve sounds more palatable than other things, I guess.  I guess it is a way to save face.  Wow, I have been in Thailand for some time now.  Saving face is a huge value here.  

I posted once about leading Jeshurun in how to have a quiet time.  Since he became a new believer earlier this year, one of our chief parenting goals has been to help him learn more about who Jesus really is and that we can have a real relationship with Him.  I don't want my kids to know the Bible backwards and forwards, to pray eloquent prayers, or to play the guitar like a worship-leading rock star if they don't learn to really love Jesus first.  Check out 1st Corinthians 13 for more on that subject.

seriously awesome Bible for wiggly boys...some wiggly boys, at least!

So, when we bought a "real" Bible for Jeshurun while we were in the States, instead of relying on him reading bible story books for the rest of his life...we knew this journey wasn't going to be as easy as before when he needed a picture to go with everything he read. The Jesus Storybook Bible and all the other beautifully illustrated and highly paraphrased bible books are awesome!  I have cried through reading them myself and greatly value them for all my youngsters. But, they still don't hold a candle to the real, authoritative word of God.  We want our kiddos to learn to love The Word at a young age.

Fast forward to the last few months...

Jeshurun read through Genesis with no major reading problems (BTW: thanks, God, for that incredibly awkward story about Lot and his two daughters in the cave...I was so short on teaching points about sexual immorality).  *shudder*

But, as he started working though Exodus, I began noticing a reluctance every time we reminded him about spending time in the Word every morning.

"But it is hard!"

"I'm bored."

"Can't I just do something else instead?"

"I can't focus!"

And so on...

I started thinking that maybe we were missing something and that soon he was going to start dreading his quiet time rather than looking forward to it like he was before.  Enter...

...the iPod.

Ricky, Treavor's brother, graciously gave us his iPod because it was collecting dust in his house.  Treavor and I have been using this app from YouVersion...a free bible application that gives an almost endless option for translations.  Oh yeah, and a few of them have an audio bible option.  Perfect!

In observing that Jeshurun is more in love with audio books than I am in love with sitting for (extra) hours reading to him...Treavor had the genius idea to show Jeshurun how to use the audio bible on the iPod.  One catch, though...he has to listen to it two or three times in order to make sure he's actually catching the material rather than zoning out.  He's prone to zoning out.  He gets it from me.

What was I talking about?

Oh yeah...so, after "reading" through his chapter a day, Run spends time in prayer and worship (music already conveniently located on the iPod) and then finds me when he is all finished.  We go over what he is reading, ask him questions about it, answer his own inquiries, and then check up on what he senses God is speaking to him about each morning.  

We have seen a complete turn-around in his attitude and have actually noticed that he is "getting" more out of the Bible than he was before.

Thank you, YouVersion creators

Thank you, Steve Jobs.

Thank you, Treavor...for your great idea.  

Even at reading one chapter a day (if he sticks with it) Jeshurun will have read through the bible at the ripe old age of 9.  This isn't a comparison issue.  This isn't a competition.  It is just a really awesome opportunity for him to work through, daily, what he believes.  It is a chance to, daily, feast on the words of Life.  

What else helps you to focus in your time alone with God?  Got any tips for this distractable mom (and son)?  Leave your advice below in the comments...