Faces of the Children

I miss the kids!

Stuffed with small things

"If you don’t feel strong desires for the manifestation for the glory of God, it is not because you have drunk deeply and are satisfied. It is because you have nibbled so long at the table of the world. Your soul is stuffed with small things, and there is no room for the great" (John Piper, A Hunger for God, p. 23)

Mexico Top Ten

I spent my Thanksgiving in Reynosa Mexico with friends from church. We spent four days in the colonia building houses, doing VBS and women's Bible studies, hosting a BBQ, and playing with the kids. It was an amazing trip. I'm still processing through the trip in my head, so as I complete that processing, here is a short top ten from the trip, not in any particular order:

1. Challenging the guys to serenade us girls on the way down (because of course guys and girls were in separate cars, because of course we must be gender segregated), and having that challenge returned with an amazing poem which they recited in sync via a 3way cell phone call. It was perfect.

2. Buying 15 hot chocolates, 2 coffees, and 3 cappuccinos at the local 711 for the guys building the houses and trying to get them down the very rough road to the colonia without spilling them.

3. The FREEZING cold. We froze. But it was fun.

4. My truck - have I mentioned that I love it? It handled the rough and muddy roads perfectly and provided warm transportation for my fellow travelers.

5. The kids. They were amazing. It was fun to be a jungle gym for four days and be the recipient of their bright smiles and hugs. They are proof that you don't need money to be happy.

6. The new houses. Our team build three houses in four days and it was so cool to watch them go up. I even got to pound a few nails myself, which was surprisingly satisfying. May these new homes be places of refuge and community for their new owners.

7. Jumping on the trampoline for 1.5 hours with Lauren and Jeremy. It was a fabulous way to get warm! Only at the end did we find out that we were jumping illegally, as only one person was allowed on the trampoline at a time. The motto is: act first, ask permission later.

8. The fabulous taco breakfast after the prayer walk on the last morning.

9. The prayer walk. I think we were all a little awkward about it at first, but as we progressed, it was a good way to talk to God about the weekend, what we had experienced, what was on our hearts, and what we were struggling with. We walked around the colonia in small groups and prayed outloud as things came to mind. Prayer is a wonderful thing.

10. The fresh and cool breeze on the way home. We girls enjoyed a beautiful sunset on the way home and decided to open the windows to enjoy it even more. The sunset was accompanied by a big bright moon. It was perfect (this word "perfect" was the theme word for the trip).

And finally, here are my photos from the trip.

Light

After night comes day.
Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good.

from the movie Amazing Grace and Romans 12:9

Encourage one another with these words

For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. Therefore encourage one another with these words.

I Thessalonians 4: 16-18

Friends

Is any pleasure on earth as great as a circle of Christian friends by a good fire? C.S. Lewis

Frogs, stocks, and a quiz

So I was studying down at Mozart's last night for my finance quiz upcoming. It was a gorgeous evening and I had a table near the water. The frogs were croaking softly while the water lapped gently against the deck.

I was deeply engrossed in calculating the cost of equity for Bootstrap Bill's company, when I started hearing: "if you invest in my t-shirts, our stock will go up this much (arm's waving widely) and I can retire early." All this was said with much animation and a really loud voice (and lots of cigarette smoke).

I guess I found the contrast between peaceful nature and man's attempt at money making a bit humorous. And being that I was studying finance, my ears perked up to that conversation a bit more quickly than normal.

The conversation continued, as well as the smoking, and I came to a stopping point in the quiz so I headed home.

What if

we really prayed like this for our friends?

And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so as the walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God.

May you be strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy, giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

Colossians 1: 9-14

Psalm 103

verses 11- 19

For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him;
as far as the east is from the west,
so far does he remove our transgressions from us.
As a father shows compassion to his children,
so the LORD shows compassion to those who fear him.
For he knows our frame;
he remembers that we are dust.

As for man, his days are like grass;
he flourishes like a flower of the field;
for the wind passes over it, and it is gone,
and its place knows it no more.
But the steadfast love of the LORD is from
everlasting to everlasting on those who fear him,
and his righteousness to children's children,
to those who keep his covenant
and remember to do his commandments.
The LORD has established his throne in the heavens,
and his kingdom rules over all.

Twins

My sister and I dressed like identical twins for the halloween party we went to. It was super fun! We even had our twin scotties with us, as you can see from the photo. It's great to be a twin.