Oh for the life of me....

Why is it that we in our Christian Circles make some occupations more holy then others ? WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY...do we make it seem that those who are in full time Christian work are somehow following Jesus closer. THIS IS NOT TRUE>>>THIS IS NOT THE CASE>>>WE ARE ALL FOLLOWING JESUS WHEREVER WE ARE>>>>WHEREVER WE ARE>>>>so please missionaries and pastors and full time christian workers...we make it happen so that you can do what you love...please don't make us then feel that what you do is that much better, holier or closer to following Jesus. JUST STOP IT !

I'm done now...thank you for your kind attention.

The death of another good man...

Death makes no sense to any of our senses. The most significant arrow to an eternal life is that our minds can't fathom otherwise. I remember thinking after Curtiss died how could it be that he no longer breathed air or took up space in this world. How could it be that one day he is living and breathing and taking up his corner of space and in a moment he isn't. How could a being of so much worth no longer be worth the skin that covered him. This is why heaven has to be real, it makes our living significant. Otherwise every death of every good man, woman, child would be fatal to us who continue to breath. There would be no point...

Paul, a pilot in Papua, died this week in a plane crash. He loved and was loved well. If there was no eternal continuation of who we are here...this would be one more death to all of us who live, and slowly but most certainly we would all live less well.

glimpses of glory

My son plays football for the JV team here at LC. It has been painful to watch these past few games because the score has been so very lopsided and not in our favor. I talk big when it comes to winning and loosing but in reality, I really hate to loose at anything. So we are at another game...and the score is 29 to 7. I am cringing in my seat at every play, praying hoping and praying again. I have no idea if other mothers were praying in the stands that night but I was so wanting some good news to come from the field of play. So instead of burying my head in my hands I starting really looking at the game and there in the setting sun I began to see glimpses of glory and hope. A good run, a fantastic pass that was caught, a good tackle...here and there sprinkled in the midst were these moments of pure joy. We did not win the game but really I was so impressed with their fight that in the end it really did not matter, really.
You know where this is going...don't quit fighting that good fight even though at times it really seems that the odds are stacked against. Look for them...those glimpses of glory and unlike this football game, the battle is already won.

Just a few

There are a few minutes from the end of this class to the start of the next. I am bone tired and I wish I had something to show for the flurry of activity. I could not sleep last night or maybe I did sleep but it was so interrupted that it seemed like I didn't. Mijo was up and out early and then there was this and then that and then some more of this. I will not complain, for I truly am grateful for the opportunity I am just plain ole tired. If I keep things in order at school then everything seems to fall apart at home.
I just need a few minutes to get it all in order...home, school and personal. Just a few...

me and my garden

There are some things I wish I would do well all the time. It is the echo of my mother's talent that motivates me every year to plant a garden and to walk in the garden in the cool of the day. There are very few memories as clear as my mother and her gardens. She was amazingly good. So is my Dad and Elfrieda...they are amazingly good at not only preparing the soil, planting but harvesting as well. You would think that harvesting would be a given with gardening, that is the whole reason why you garden in the first place...well, you would think so except in my case. To the left is a beautiful picture of a artichoke which was grown in my garden but as you can see, it was not harvested. It has quite a beautiful crown of purple which I did not even know artichokes grew...but needless to say I think you are supposed to pick it before this happens.
This year I have so many tomatoes coming that I am sure we could participate in a tomato throwing contest and I still would have left overs for BLT's for the rest of the year. I have tomatoes growing where I did not even plant. The mystery of their growing in the other garden still makes me pause. I also grew HUGE sunflower in the same garden that I also did not plant. This gardening thing is becoming a bit of a conundrum.
The sad thing is that I start off with such good intentions. I was going to water...this I did not do too well last year. Our weather took care of most of that this year, though I think I could have helped more. Harvest...that was a fail...but the weeding that wasn't too bad.
Dad and Elfrieda tell me every time I talk to them and I have seen with my very own eyes...they could feed their whole neighborhood with the veges from their garden. I can have a tomato fight...that's about it. Sad...BUT maybe next year...hope springs eternal.

Not so much a hurricane...

Someone gave me such a wonderful compliment yesterday...she said as I was explaining the hub bub of the week," well, you looked very calm". YES YES YES...I want to look calm and that I know exactly what I am doing even if the opposite is true. Saturday morning and all is well...most students have the schedule they want. My Psychology class is off to a great start and ESL will gather momentum . No major problems with any host families or students AND the directorship of the International program is quite confusing but I see the loose ends tying themselves soon enough. I really enjoy being active but this week was just a bit much...but it won't be that forever and I knew that it was going to be just as it was.
Finding joy in the middle of it all was very easy and each of the students at times unaware to each other gave me pieces of pure delight....it is all good. I miss my husband, his company and steady hand would have lightened the load on the home front but the kids stepped up as much as their schedules allowed. The dogs are a bit confused why we aren't home anymore...oh well. There is only so much attention we can spread around.
Coming soon to my 48th birthday...wow, that is realllllly close to 50...I have to work a bit , no a lot harder at keeping healthy and there is a grief at the endless fight for everything that wants to sag, bulge, wrinkle, get grey, tighten, loosen and generally not be what it was. I don't think it's that I want to be young I really just want it all to work as it did. :)
We will all begin to settle into a football, drama, school routine and we will be swept into the stream of schedules, days and small square calendars telling us what to do and when. It is still all good !