Thursday Thanks!

⁴ Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. ⁵ Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; ⁶ do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. ⁷ And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.   -Philippians 4:4-7

There have been COUNTLESS reminders to me over the past few weeks of how desperately important it is to be thankful.  As a believer I desire to have my "reasonableness be made known to everyone."  Indeed the Lord is at hand.  There is no reason to be anxious, but in everything to give thanks.

I decided in my heart to call today THANKSGIVING.  No, I did not eat turkey or pumpkin pie, but I spent the day intentionally seeking times of thankfulness.  Below are a few moments of thanksgiving today I captured on camera...

"Breakfast of Champions."  Cornflakes and dehydrated strawberries, mmmboy!.  Thankful for a mother-in-law who buys and sends us strawberries like this in the mail because they are far too expensive to buy in Haiti.

Math teachers.  My freshman teacher, Mr. White always told me math was  important and I needed it in my life.  After a few hours of planning and re-working problems for food and expenses for our conference center at BHM, I believe him.  Now if only I would have listened a little bit more...

My oh so ridiculously crazy husband.  There are very few "serious" moments in our home.  Thankful for his crazy kisses, undeniable love, and amazing leadership.

 "Fashionista" kitchen gloves.  I stand at the sink A LOT each day.  These fun gloves, the sun shine through the kitchen window, and the oh so clean smell of soapy water make all the scrubbing worth while.

1 Thessalonians 5:18 - Give THANKS in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.



 

E.S.L

Before we left for our time in the U.S. a friend of mine asked me if I would be interested in teaching English one day a week at the kindergarten where she works.  I was beyond excited about the opportunity.  Today, after two Wednesdays of helping out at the kindergarten, I have officially decided Wednesday mornings are my favorite...

Above is a picture of the 4 year old class I worked with this morning.  After reading them a story about Mr. Rabbit we were able to talk about a variety of different animals.  My volunteers in the front row helped me with the animal signs this morning as we learned to say rabbit, pig, and mouse.  These three animals are very well recognized throughout Haiti.

The 5 and 6 year olds above are quite LIVELY and a lot of fun.  They were very excited to show me they remembered "Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes..." from last week.

After class I decided to stay and spend some time with the kids for a little bit.  Monica and her kiddos came and enjoyed some time playing outside as well.

After time playing outside the kids washed up and prepared for lunch.  It was quite a fun morning and I can't wait to see what is in store for next week.   

Lovin' on the Littles

“Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven.”  Matthew 19:14

 

We have a special couple who has been serving with Baptist Haiti Mission over the past several weeks who requested to visit an orphanage before they left.  After much arm twisting, Monica, Kilee, and I decided we could spare some time and head down to God's Littlest Angels for some play time.

We loved our time and are thankful for the precious little ones.  Join us as we pray for speedy adoptions for each of these children.  My heart smiles when I think of the day these special kids will be tucked into their beds and home and kissed by their loving parents.

Winding Down Wednesday

We have had a VERY eventful Wednesday.  We left the mission this morning with hopes of reaching Montrouis (Baptist Haiti Mission camp property) by 10 a.m.  We have a team serving BHM this week by building a church!  This is a great story and will definitely be told soon...

At 12:30, after a variety of set backs and an hour stuck in traffic that we later discovered was the beginning of a "Unity Walk" across the country of Haiti, we accepted the forced change of plans and headed home.  2:45 we were back home, safe and sound, wondering where the day went and trusting it all played out just as the Lord had planned.

Now, 8:45 p.m. Trey and partner in crime Scott Bidwell are sitting in our living room, laptops in tow, working on a variety of details for the mission.

On a night like tonight, after a day like today, nothing hits the spot like some peaceful songs of praise to our Lord and Savior.  Check it out:

 
Psalm 47:6 -Sing praises to God, sing praises! Sing praises to our King, sing praises!  Rest in Him tonight knowing you are his beloved.

 

Target Practice

I love the beginning of a new year.  I even enjoy the beginning of a new day, as long as it does not begin too early.  Due to our relaxed routine in the U.S. I decided to wait until we returned to Haiti to begin 2013.  Hear me out, we celebrated the new year and began to write the year 2013 on checks, but I chose not to begin my 2013 "resolutions" until returning home.  In preparation for the year change I have read a variety of blogs and articles which centered around the topic of new years resolutions.

I am at the top of the list when it comes to setting large goals...and 3 weeks later realizing I am in the same position, and sometimes worse off than when I began.  There is a famous quote that says, "Shoot for the moon, even if you miss it you will land among the stars."  I have loved this quote and always found it quite inspiring...until I stumbled across a blog about a week ago on The Gospel Coalition Blog.

The particular article I was reading was, How Not to Read Your Bible in 2013 

http://thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/tgc/2012/12/30/how-not-to-read-your-bible-in-2013/

One of the primary points of the author was to not overextend your hopes and your reading plan, be practical.  He said, "If you shoot for and miss the 'moon' of six chapters a day, you won't quietly land among the 'stars' of three. You'll just be lost in space."

I could not help but laugh out loud when I read this particular portion of the article.  Not only have I found myself "lost in space" when it comes to Bible reading plans, but I have been lost in space in exercise plans, house cleaning plans, loving my husband plans, being a good daughter and sister plans, and the list continues.

While I hope to bring my "moon shooting" days to a close, this post is not to say that I am bidding farewell to goal setting and seeking to live a disciplined lifestyle.  Throughout Scripture we are told we should not be idle with our time (Proverbs 31:27).  Each day we are given is full of new mercies from our Lord (Lametations 3:22-23).  We see it is wise to plan our days, but allow the Lord to direct our steps (Proverbs 16:9).

 Having goals and pushing towards them is wise and quite profitable.  If you aim at nothing you will hit it every time (Zig Ziglar).  My resolution for this 2013 year is to set goals, and aim to achieve them.  If and when I may fail at reaching my desired target, I will not receive a smack on the hand in reproof.  My identity in Christ will not be shaken.  My current short comings will only be a reminder that He is God and I am not.  I am His child and can put my head on my pillow each and every night knowing I am loved and fully known by my Father.  

Psalm 46:10- Be still (cease striving) and know that I am God.

 

Not "shooting" but "aiming" for 2013:

 *Memorize two verses of Scripture each month. 
Check out Beth Moore's Scripture challenge if this is something that may interest you.

*Blog at least once a week.  
No judging allowed if you see me miss a week :)

*Exercise at least 4 days a week.

*Say NO to Facebook until dishes are washed and quiet time has happened.

*Be intentional in seeking new and unique ways to express my love and respect to my husband.

*Fall more in love with my Savior at the end of 2013 than I was at the beginning.

What about you?  What are you aiming for this year?   

We're Back!!!!

One week ago we said goodbye to the blue jean wearing, chick-fil-a eating, smooth traffic flowing streets of America and bonswa to the skirts and t-shirts, rice and beans, and enter at your own risk traffic of Haiti.  I must say, it is good be to back!

We had a WONDERFUL time visiting friends and family in the U.S.  During our stay we were able to visit several different churches and share about the work of Baptist Haiti Mission.  It was such an encouragement to have the support of those in the U.S. and we are already in the process of planning for several of these churches to send groups to work with us in Haiti.  In the midst of sharing about BHM we of course made time to spend with friends and family we had not seen for quite a while.

There truly is nothing quite like being with family for the holidays and we are incredibly grateful for the time we had.  Thank you holiday food and all the family who helped us stuff our faces.  We are now back to our stomping grounds in the mountains of Haiti and loving every minute of it.  Not to mention we are doing our fair share of walking and avoiding anything that uses the term "cobbler" or "casserole."

It was wonderful to return and be reunited with that crazy canine Creole.  He definitely remembered us and is oh so happy to be back to his "regular" routine.  Thank you Johnny and other missionary staff who took care of him for us during our time away.

Work on the mission property is in full swing.  I was able to post a blog on our BHM website yesterday about what BHM is into right now, check it out:

http://www.bhm.org/2013/01/10/all-hands-on-board-for-2013/

Tuesday and Wednesday we attended the funeral of a precious friend.  When we first moved to Haiti Madam Senatus opened her home to us and began to teach us Creole.  We loved the introduction to Haiti we received from her.  We looked forward to Sunday morning greetings from Madam Senatus and special moments of seeing her throughout the week as she helped us with the jewelry project.  Today Madam Senatus is at home with our Lord.  Although her church and family will miss her greatly, we rest assurred she is now sitting at the feet of her Savior. 

Enjoying time with Madam Senatus when we first moved to Haiti

Stepping back into our life here after 2 months away has allowed us to see how much the Lord is doing in our lives personally, as well as in the lives of those we have come to love here.  Although no water pressure and regularly killing spiders are not two of my favorite things, I would not trade it for anything.