Saturday, January 11, 2014

Before We Even Ask

Our sweet baby girl - who is TWO months old! - is suffering from reflux. While it's not considered severe enough for medication, it's troublesome enough to have caused us a few sleepless nights, and several uncomfortable afternoons.
Susanna Jane Brande - two months old
When we packed our container with baby gear, we thought we had all the infant essentials we could need. But with the onset of reflux, I was kicking myself for not having included a recliner or bouncy seat - any sort of place where I might secure her in a more upright position. I can't remember if I ever voiced these longings aloud, but I certainly thought about it.

Just before we classes resumed this week, one of our colleagues called Phil to say he was bringing over some old baby toys for us to use. The domafon rang, and Phil went down to collect our gifts. When he walked in the door, my eyes filled with tears - in his hands was a bouncy seat!

Another reminder that God is providing not only for our needs, but also for the needs of our baby girl, even before we ask.
Susanna Jane enjoying her new bouncy seat.

Relief from reflux at last.

Sunday, January 5, 2014

40 Somethings

I read an article today entitled "40 things I can do at 40 that I couldn't do at 20."  It piqued my interest because I am turning 40 next week.  Some of the things on the list I could relate to and some I couldn't (since it was written by a woman.) So I decided to come up with my own list of 40 somethings.  I thought about using that title; I thought about "40 things God has taught me" or "40 ways I have been blessed" or "40 most influential people in my life." I even thought about a list of 40 lists that I could write.  In the end I decided on this: "40 things I know now that I didn't know or understand when I was 20." These may also be the first of many pieces of wisdom that I leave for my daughter. These are in no particular order, just listed as they came to mind.
So here we go:
1. It really is "a small world after all" and getting smaller.
2. The world is not completely black and white.  There are a lot more grays than I want to admit.
3. The Christian community/culture is far more unforgiving than it claims to be.
4. Coffee is amazing!
5. As much as I may plan, life never goes the way I expect.
6. Teaching is not merely about the content; it is as much about the contacts and the connections.
7. Middle-schoolers are not as scary as they appear.
8. 2nd graders are scarier because they are cuter.
9. Just because someone is a Christian doesn't mean they believe everything exactly as I do.
10. In light of eternity, "Denomination" is irrelevant.
11. Marriage is not as scary as people make it out to be.
12. Fear is never a reason not to do something (except maybe bungee jumping or snake wrangling).
13. Friendships are worth more than any amount of money in the world. Don't let them fall by the wayside.
14. The world we live in is a messed up, screwed up, evil place; and far too often good people get caught in the wake of that evil.
15. We cannot know true love without risk and vulnerability.
16. Trust must be an everyday choice.
17. Beauty doesn't always look the way I expect it to.
18. People won't always understand your humor, but it's still ok to be weird sometimes.
19. There are some dragons worth fighting and some that are not ours to slay.
20. Life is much better when you have someone to laugh with.
21. My body can and will adjust to temperatures below freezing.
22. You know it's cold when your nose hairs freeze.
23. Sometimes it's necessary to curse.
24. Drinking alcohol won't send you to hell.
25. America is not the greatest country in the world.
26. You can never have too many pillows.
27. The ministry that God gives us to do should never become more important than the ministry to our spouse and our children.
28. People are stupid. Love them anyway.
29. It's ok to cry at movies.
30. It's ok to ask for help.
31. Control is an illusion.
32. After the written word, music is the most powerful medium on the planet.
33. There is always something to be thankful for.
34. Grace must be fully accepted to be truly impacting.
35. There is nothing more valuable (and priceless) to God than we are.
36. Our parents made many mistakes, but they did the best job they could with what they were given.
37. The American church is not THE church that the rest of the world should be patterned after.
38. If your life has no adventure, you aren't really living.
39. Changing diapers really isn't that bad.
40. I write because it is the best way to express what is in me, not just because I want to tell a story.

And... 1 to grow on... Life really does imitate art.