Reflections on this Season

I adore the season of Advent. It has become my favorite time of year.

There are many traditions and doings that make this season wonderful: exchanging gifts, cutting out paper snowflakes, singing Christmas carols, visiting with friends and family. And while those things are special to me, that is not why I love Advent.

Advent has become a time to worship the God who became tiny for me. It is a marvelous, miraculous movement on God's part that I never deserved or earned, yet he still came.

My heart is always full of emotion this time of year. I marvel the courage of a young girl who accepts without question God's call to bear His Son. I remember holding my own babies, noting their weakness and dependence on me and marvel that my Saviour was also so weak. I think more about that girl and how carrying this baby must have changed her, forever. May I be changed by the Spirit's indwelling too.

I worship with shepherds and wise men who saw the baby but knew He was King. They immediately fell on their faces to worship Him. I should do the same.

I think on Joseph who was asked to do the most sacrificial thing in loving Mary and Jesus, who was not his son.

I think of the stable animals and the physical world. Did they know their Creator had come? I believe they did and the animals worshiped. And the angels who couldn't understand why God would send his son to this dirty, broken world to save people who can't even contemplate the true depth of His love for us or His majesty or His glory. But they proclaimed him with voices full of joy and honor and glory.

I am humbled, awed, inspired, and changed as I think up on our great, big, glorious Creator God, the one who knit me together, who threw the stars into the sky, who sent the rhythms of the season to spin, gave up his most precious gift, his son, for dirty, broken, sinful me (and you).

Christ has come!
Emmanuel, God with us.
Rejoice and be changed.

Saying Goodbye

I have been dreading this moment for months. Officially for 7 months, unofficially, for just about a year.

This afternoon, our family said goodbye to our dearest friends. I said goodbye to my dear friend of many years, Anita and her husband Bryan and their three beautiful kids Elijah, Faith, and Mercy. They're not dying or mortally ill, instead they have been faithful in following the call God has put on their heart to run an orphanage for HIV/AIDS orphans in Maseru, Lesotho, Africa.



The Geurink kids with my kids. From right: Eli [7] Josh [6], Faith & Katie [5], and OG & Mercy [3]. 



And while the calling is great, the emotions of it suck. Anyone who has ever said goodbye to someone for a long time understands what I am saying.

Thankfully, our final time together (their whole family spent the night at our house last night) was not filled with sorrow and the bitter gnashing of teeth--no, it was filled with sickness, two lost teeth, stitches, and lots of laughter. I really love these friends--that even on this day, it was just life as usual with kids and messes and food and discipline and stories and needs and lots of humor. In fact, as we were saying goodbye, my youngest daughter (also the one who received stitches earlier that day) almost pulled my pants down to my ankles.

But still I am filled with many mixed emotions.
1) I am so proud of my friends. Bryan and Anita, you two have displayed extraordinary courage and grace in the midst of a difficult time of transition and planning. You have always been confident of knowing this was God's will and stood firm behind that. There have been a few nay-sayers (and in the early days, I was probably even one of them), but you have accepted this call knowing full well that God is in charge of your life.

2) I am sad--I will miss these friends dearly. Why these friends more than others? Well, all my friends are precious. But Anita and I met many moons ago across a table at Knollcrest dining hall. We were roommates in college, she a bridesmaid in my wedding, neighbors for four years, I was present for the birth of two of her babies, she present for the birth of two of mine. We have shared family histories, stories, many laughs, and many tears. She is the one who dropped everything and rushed to my side when we had to take OG to the hospital after she fell and hit her head. I was a blubbery mess when I called her and she called her husband home from work and drove from 30 minutes to sit with me in the ER. And both of us acknowledge that is exactly what friends do.

3) I am excited for the adventure this young family gets to go on. Come on, they're moving to Africa. is there anything cooler? More life-changing?

4) I am jealous. God has called them to sell everything and follow him, which they have done faithfully. He hasn't called me to anything like that yet. This time of saying good-bye has also made me come to terms with God's calling in my own life, and being content with whatever it is. Even if I am simply a home-schooling mom in a city.

5) I am concerned with the reality of life in a 3rd world country. They aren't prepared well for such a thing. I pray that God gives them strength for the many bumpy days ahead.

Luckily, regardless, I have great hope. We are united in Christ. Whatever happens I will see her again--whether in a few years as is our family's plan to visit, a few more years when they plan to return stateside, or in heaven as might be God's plan.

As is my prayer for them:

³ I thank my God every time I remember you. ⁴ In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy ⁵ because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, ⁶ being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus (Philippians 1:3-6).

Have safe travels, my friends. You are deeply loved.

 P.S. To the rest of you, check out their blog Our Beautiful Mission. If you want to read about what has brought them to this place, click here. 

Question of the Hour

So, here it is, the question of the hour (or week).

Our family is flying to my parents house next weekend. The kids are totally looking forward to the trip.

I have but one worry: the body scanner. Not the invasiveness or even the radiation of it.

But the fact that I wear an underwire bra-and it will set the scanner off which will then make me subject to a "more thorough" pat-down. And I know that they have these scanners at the airport in Salt Lake (not yet here in our medium-sized town airport).

As I see it there are a few ways of handling this:
1) Bra-less (which as a woman who has nursed three children--well, I wouldn't recommend it).
2) Suck it up and spend some cash (which we don't really have right now and that I would wear but 1 time) on a new bra to make the whole security process (with three kids and tons of stuff) bearable.
3) Wear my normal bra and pray I don't get patted down (because that scanner should obviously show that the metal is a thin strip at mid-chest level--oh listening to it that way makes it sound rather suspicious.)

Of all the many parts of travelling with small children and connections and checked luggage, the part that makes me the most anxious is the security check. I guess it's time to get ready.

Thankful

Today is Thanksgiving and my heart is so full. I am so blessed. So I thought that tonight I would share a simple 10 things I am thankful for.  And these aren't in any order.

1) My health. I ate a fantastic dinner tonight. And it was good and healing for me.
2) My sweet husband. He works so hard for our family. He loves me in spite of me. I am thankful God gave me Eric.
3) My three beautiful, creative, energetic, talkative, curious, and intelligent children.
4) I have a warm bed to sleep in, a home to live in, clothes to wear, and food to eat. These things alone are an incredible blessing.
5) My friends. I spent tonight with dear friends whom I treasure. And there are many more who surround me with their love and support.
6) My family--both by blood and by marriage. I love them all.
7) That I have the privilege to homeschool my kids. It is fun to spend this time with them.
8) Eric's job. Yeah, it's sometimes horribly inconvenient and difficult. But it is a blessing to have reliable work that provides for our family. And he's really good at it.
9) The gifts God has given me to be creative: writing, preparing fantastic food, sewing, creating. It is fun to use my brain and create things.
10) My God: He loves me so much he sent his precious Son to die for my sins. Wow! I am amazed. And he shows me his deep love in the world he created, the gifts he has given me, and how he grows me.

Ewwww, Gross

So, we've lived in our house for 4 years. And ever since the first day we lived here our main floor half bathroom has looked like this:

See that spot on the floor? That stain has been there since we moved in. And our bathroom smelled a little bit funny.

Yeah, it was a bit gross.

So we decided it was time to do something about it. Rip out the toilet and sink and put in a new tile floor.

Simple, Easy, right?

Well, it really wasn't that tough--it was just grosser than we expected. Because this is what we found underneath the toilet.



Super gross! Beyond Disgusting, especially condsidering that we have never had ANY problems with this toilet. But obviously, the people before us did.

So we did a little demolishing. Removed the old sink and the wall behind it to make room for the new plumbing for the new sink. And everyone got in on the act.

 So, as of tonight, all the demolition is done and the bathroom shell is clean. There is a spot where the subfloor was so rotted that Eric stepped through it. But the plumber is coming Tuesday and we can start laying tile already later this week.

Stop by next weekend to see how the progress goes!

A Health & Food Update

Tonight as I was browsing the cookbooks at Schulers, I realized that earlier in the summer I posted a great deal about how I was struggling with my adjusted food choices, but have never really explained what has happened since or how I have faired since then.

I must say, I feel great! Eliminating Gluten from my diet has eliminated every single problem that I went to the doctor for. The constant tiredness, inability to handle stress, constant bloatedness, inability to focus or think, monthly moodiness and anxiety--all of it, gone! And that is really great. And since I cut dairy, my skin has improved, as have my digestive function and occasional sinus issues. Really, except for the fact that I need to make myself go on a run, I haven't felt this good in a really long time (or at least since I can remember).

I had a bit of a set back when for a couple weeks in early fall I ate a bit too much dairy (almost every day ACK!). But I recognized it for what it was, remedied it, and have moved on.

Other than the physical healing, there have been both blessings and struggles. Struggles: Well, it's hard to eat out and so I bear a lot of the burden of creating food that is healthful and nourishing, but on the flip side, we have discovered some great local restaurants that offer GF options. I miss dairy--specifically cheese and creamy things. This new lifestyle is a bit expensive (GF/CF bread is $5 a loaf--Yikes!) Learning a new method of looking at, planning, and preparing food is time consuming and out of my comfort zone. I don't like failing in the kitchen. However these struggles are not nearly as big as the blessings.

God has shown me, beyond measure, that he has good things planned for me, my health, my family, and my life. Food is a gift and He has allowed it to be used to heal my body. Eric has also made some changes and experienced better bodily health too. I have been provided for. I have been incredibly blessed by my family and friends. I have been surrounded by encouragement and gifts of love, food, ideas, and recipes. Most of those gifts came at my low points when I was struggling. I am so grateful.

This new lifestyle has given me a number of opportunities to have conversations about health with people that otherwise I wouldn't. I wish I had more time to plan for and use new recipes and menus, but such is life.

I am blessed beyond measure. I guess I wanted you to know that.

A Quarter out the Window!

What have we been up to? Well, we just finished our first unit (or quarter) of our homeschool year! Yipee! It has been 9 weeks of school that has covered Ancient Egypt, Creation, The Patriarchs and Israelites in the Wilderness. It has included science experiments, field trips to Art Prize, lots of great books. Oh, and don't forget that we are brought to you by the letters A to Z , the numbers 1-10, and addition and subtraction. It has been a busy few weeks--because we also threw in simultaneous trips to Salt Lake and Chicago, the bulk of canning & preserving season, and TaeKwonDo, ballet, PE, and preschool. Don't forget church and friends and reading and writing too!


Whew.


And now we get a week off! (yep, that's the advantage of starting school in mid-August. I planned in a full week break, for all of us!) Okay--so we're going to read some good books and hopefully do a fun art project or two and maybe watch some educational tv or computer games. Education is not all out the window--we are going pumpkin picking tomorrow!


I know that you are more curious, however, about the things that I learned during these first nine weeks. So I will share a couple things.
1) Planning ahead for the whole quarter made school enjoyable and profitable for all of us. (Another reason for the week off--I have to plan next quarter, and clean the house).
2) K is in need of a more rigorous plan and J needs me to add in some spelling. Check.
3) God is an amazing God--he set up everything the Israelites needed to know to live as a set-apart culture in his Law, yet they ignored and whined at him every chance they got. Reading the first five books of the Bible has been enlightening (I love Leviticus!).
4) My kids make pretty good Challah. And Eric can play the shofar. Who knew?
5) I really like this home school stuff.


And now, for your viewing pleasure: Our first quarter in pictures!
Blessings.

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