John 10: 10 - 11
The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.
Last weekend I went to Becoming an Outdoors Woman with my good friend of twenty years. BOW is provided by North Dakota Game and Fish. I learned how to use a compass, tie new knots and cook outside in a Dutch Oven. It is good to know how to make something over charcoal besides toasted marshmallows and hot dogs. The weather was lovely and new friendships were made. BOW really has women figured out. They gave us high quality cloth bags and then gave us other freebies to fill it! What freebies, you ask? A compass, a book on knots, cooking utensils, matches, fire starter, silk flowers, and a T-shirt!!!
As I have noted earlier, I am very grateful to God and my hubby for my new hearing. I find myself wondering what I will do to show my gratefulness. Which leads to the question of "What will I do with the rest of my life?" I know this is a common question of people of a "certain age." Ahem.
So, my friend and I mulled over this question into the wee hours of the night, instead of sleeping after a full day of BOW activities. I don't know if she had any "a-hah!" moments. The comforting thought that came to me was this: I don't need to answer that question right now.
Then, wouldn't you know it, the following Tuesday Bible study focused on Martha. You know, the hardworking follower of Jesus, the hostess with the mostest who got frustrated with her sister who didn't help her. It seems to me Jesus told her she didn't need to DO anything.
I guess Jesus did it all.
How's about another blast from 1990? We learned our Habitat for Humanity project would be in Bolivia, South America:
06-20-90 Wednesday
I'd like to be happy. Move onward and upward.
Bolivia sounds downright cold and harsh and citified.
LORD, how did You manage to find the opposite of all I had hoped for? The other choices for projects are hot and isolated and countrified. I had hoped for beauty, moderate climate, flowers, birds and trees.
I feel lost. What do I want now? Are my priorities all screwed up and selfish?
Boliva pro's:
not hot
no malaria
hard working people
politically calm (?)
God's will (?)
near to medical care (?)
good food nearby (?)
new project
house-building materials handy (?)
Bolivia cons:
cold
city
disappointing
barren
water not potable
06-21-90 Thursday
Dear Abba -
Bolivia. Peace. Happiness. Gratefulness. Humbleness. Thank You for Your patience as I slowly let go of "I Want" and "Me." Thank You for the return of the feeling of rightness. Thank You that I can look my children in the eye and know I am not leading them into KNOWN problems like malaria, tropical heat (and all its charms) and isolation. Thank You for Your faithfulness for all Your people.
The project hasn't been approved yet. That is in Your hands. If it is indeed Your will and we get this project, I rejoice in the fact that a woman is wanted there. I am an important part of the package. My husband and me and the kids together. You are so good. I will give You thanks with all my heart. I will tell of Your wonderful deeds. I will rejoice and be glad in Thee. I will sing praise to Your Name, Most High.
Lead me, Abba. Thanks for Your persistence. Let me and mine be Your hands and feet and voice. Amen
Wednesday, August 13, 2014
Monday, August 4, 2014
Colossians 4:2
Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful.
I am thankful for any interest shown in this blog. I want to be watchful in that I am "up front" about what will be shared. Therefore, I will reassess my niche in this world of blogging.
What special something do I have to share?
I was born in 1953 without ear canals or ear drums. At the age of 60, I am the happy owner of bone anchored hearing aids. I am hearing better than I have heard in my life. Every morning is like Christmas morning as I look forward to hearing things I missed before.
I was born in Alexandria Virginia into a family of origin that included the trials and tribulations of a father with bipolar disorder. My father sexually molested me. My mother died at age 38 from cancer. I was sent to live with her parents on a diary farm in Minnesota shortly thereafter. My grandfather died from cancer a few years after my arrival. I had a bit of an Anne of Green Gables upbringing as I competed with milk cows for my hardworking grandmother's attention.
I have generalized anxiety disorder, which is managed by Paxil and prayer. I love to go on "walk abouts" with my camera. I am very interested in geocaching. I am a voracious reader of biographies and autobiographies. I believe in the goodness of God. I have a ragdoll cat that I love with abandon. His name is Beamer because he often "beams in" out of nowhere.
The marriage I share with my husband of few (very few!) words has been a challenge to us both. We have two brilliant children. Our daughter lives far, far away in Germany. We daily learn from our son, who has Asperger's Syndrome.
During our marriage, we have lived in Australia, Guatemala, and Bolivia. We were in Bolivia, South America, working with Habitat for Humanity International. We had the privilege of helping 100 families build 100 homes. We travel annually to Guatemala with a medical missions team.
God willing, I hope to blog my memoirs and day to day treasures. Forthwith, here is some random loveliness encountered on today's urban walk-about, my son and my cat!
Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful.
I am thankful for any interest shown in this blog. I want to be watchful in that I am "up front" about what will be shared. Therefore, I will reassess my niche in this world of blogging.
What special something do I have to share?
I was born in 1953 without ear canals or ear drums. At the age of 60, I am the happy owner of bone anchored hearing aids. I am hearing better than I have heard in my life. Every morning is like Christmas morning as I look forward to hearing things I missed before.
I was born in Alexandria Virginia into a family of origin that included the trials and tribulations of a father with bipolar disorder. My father sexually molested me. My mother died at age 38 from cancer. I was sent to live with her parents on a diary farm in Minnesota shortly thereafter. My grandfather died from cancer a few years after my arrival. I had a bit of an Anne of Green Gables upbringing as I competed with milk cows for my hardworking grandmother's attention.
I have generalized anxiety disorder, which is managed by Paxil and prayer. I love to go on "walk abouts" with my camera. I am very interested in geocaching. I am a voracious reader of biographies and autobiographies. I believe in the goodness of God. I have a ragdoll cat that I love with abandon. His name is Beamer because he often "beams in" out of nowhere.
The marriage I share with my husband of few (very few!) words has been a challenge to us both. We have two brilliant children. Our daughter lives far, far away in Germany. We daily learn from our son, who has Asperger's Syndrome.
During our marriage, we have lived in Australia, Guatemala, and Bolivia. We were in Bolivia, South America, working with Habitat for Humanity International. We had the privilege of helping 100 families build 100 homes. We travel annually to Guatemala with a medical missions team.
God willing, I hope to blog my memoirs and day to day treasures. Forthwith, here is some random loveliness encountered on today's urban walk-about, my son and my cat!
Tuesday, July 29, 2014
Matthew 22:37
Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.
Just returned from a six day visit with my best friend forever in Duluth. Let me say it is ever so easy to love the LORD my God when I am with my friend. We both enjoy talking about how good He is. She is celebrating each day of being cured of Hepatitis C. I am celebrating my new life of hearing with ease.
We rented a quad bike near Lake Superior, with her daughter. The three of us went down gradual slopes and back up, muscling along and doing the work of four. Her darling hubby came home from work the first day bearing wine and beer. Such a sweetie. Later on, we indulged in our ritual of eating smoked fish, cheese, crackers and fruit in her car, facing a fantastic view of the lake called Superior. My friend has a hobby of photography and a snazzy new camera. We committed our memories of Gooseberry Falls to film. Including a sweet pair of newlyweds. She in white and he in uniform. It was classic.
We did devotions. We walked my friend's dogs. We talked. We laughed. We cried. We watched the "Joy Luck Club," "A Beautiful Mind," and "Shadow Recruit." She spoiled me rotten with her cooking and the use of their downstairs apartment. It was a lovely, lovely time. A taste of heaven, I am sure.
God has a way of sending the right book my way. I am presently reading The Map of Enough, One Woman's Search for Place, by Molly Caro May. She is a philosophical young woman who sees herself as a nomad. This mindset began with her family of origin, with whom she frequently transferred from country to country. Her outlook remains the same as she travels through life. The main event her nonfiction book covers is the time she and her fiance built a yurt on her parent's Montana property. There is also a pre-existing cabin on the property with heat, water and electricity. The couple split their time between the yurt at night and the cabin during the day. The author savored the free time, once the yurt was built. But for her fiance, time "would open like a black hole beneath him every few days." I can identify with the fiance. And yet when she writes "I liked not having to respond to anything or anyone." I say "Amen sistah!"
Thank you LORD for this glorious, free summertime! Amen.
Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.
Just returned from a six day visit with my best friend forever in Duluth. Let me say it is ever so easy to love the LORD my God when I am with my friend. We both enjoy talking about how good He is. She is celebrating each day of being cured of Hepatitis C. I am celebrating my new life of hearing with ease.
We rented a quad bike near Lake Superior, with her daughter. The three of us went down gradual slopes and back up, muscling along and doing the work of four. Her darling hubby came home from work the first day bearing wine and beer. Such a sweetie. Later on, we indulged in our ritual of eating smoked fish, cheese, crackers and fruit in her car, facing a fantastic view of the lake called Superior. My friend has a hobby of photography and a snazzy new camera. We committed our memories of Gooseberry Falls to film. Including a sweet pair of newlyweds. She in white and he in uniform. It was classic.
We did devotions. We walked my friend's dogs. We talked. We laughed. We cried. We watched the "Joy Luck Club," "A Beautiful Mind," and "Shadow Recruit." She spoiled me rotten with her cooking and the use of their downstairs apartment. It was a lovely, lovely time. A taste of heaven, I am sure.
God has a way of sending the right book my way. I am presently reading The Map of Enough, One Woman's Search for Place, by Molly Caro May. She is a philosophical young woman who sees herself as a nomad. This mindset began with her family of origin, with whom she frequently transferred from country to country. Her outlook remains the same as she travels through life. The main event her nonfiction book covers is the time she and her fiance built a yurt on her parent's Montana property. There is also a pre-existing cabin on the property with heat, water and electricity. The couple split their time between the yurt at night and the cabin during the day. The author savored the free time, once the yurt was built. But for her fiance, time "would open like a black hole beneath him every few days." I can identify with the fiance. And yet when she writes "I liked not having to respond to anything or anyone." I say "Amen sistah!"
Thank you LORD for this glorious, free summertime! Amen.
Monday, July 21, 2014
Isaiah 30:15
"In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength"
The devotional book Jesus Calling by Sarah Young continues to surprise and amaze me. I am a week and a half into the "O LORD, now what" funk that usually falls upon me after Guatemala. How I love speaking Spanish and connecting people. During the trip I had the anticipation of perhaps coming to the rescue part time, with a hospice social work job in Williston, upon my return. How I love coming to the rescue! Turns out, they found someone who will work full time. Therefore, a double dose of, "O LORD!"
Add to that a healthy dose of Midwestern work ethic and I do feel a bit sheepish lolly gagging about the house until school starts on September 2nd. So I'm told in today's devotion, "Chill, my dear." I also had a heart to heart talk with God yesterday. I poured out my longing to do what I love to do, and acknowledged that I must appear quite the ungrateful brat for all I already have. I seemed to hear Him say He heard me, He loves me and He does not judge me. Thank you God!
So let's have a blast from the past from my journal of 1990 as we learn where we may go with Habitat for Humanity:
06-18-90
Good Morning Abba! Good, leisurely, orderly, loverly start today. Muggy. Cool. Birds singin'.
Talked to my grandma El and by best friend. It's good to know they are still there! In the Other Land. This Land will end. Oh, so quickly.
I hope the birds sing where we go.
God has been so faithful to us. We are healthy and happy. We love our temporary Habitat home. It would be fun to show some family/friends around.
Mark likes s-l-o-w starts in the morning. Bethany is heigh-ho let's go!
Today we talked about sin during training. Cross cultural sin. Read an interesting blurb. The "yardstick" is "love one another and love God."
The heat and mugginess is draining. The kids keep playing and laughing and smiling, though! Maybe the air is cooler down there!
06-19-14
Well. Yesterday Reality Struck. Right between the eyes. Our Habitat for Humanity project proposal says "Bolivia." OK. That's cool. Literally. Usual highs in the low sixties. Lows usually below freezing. No malaria. I looked further at the proposal. No sewage. No latrines. SQUATTER SETTLEMENT!!!
I thought once again about sacrificial living. Making a sacrifice for God. Loving His people in need. We would indeed build relationships by living in a squatter settlement, if nothing else. Is that what You want O LORD?
Hey, it sounded holy, but we've got two little kids for crying out loud!!!
I raved. I ranted. I was mad. At God. Like, get with the program LORD!
It's OK to be mad at God. He can take it.
We called our Pastor back in Minnesota, just returned from Guatemala. We shared. They commiserated. We have their prayers.
Our prayers.
I let go. I feel better.
Dear Abba,
Your will be done. I lay the "where will we go" in Your lap. Where I should have left it in the first place. I trust You to place us carefully, healthfully, happyfully, safefully, purposefully. Amen.
"In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength"
The devotional book Jesus Calling by Sarah Young continues to surprise and amaze me. I am a week and a half into the "O LORD, now what" funk that usually falls upon me after Guatemala. How I love speaking Spanish and connecting people. During the trip I had the anticipation of perhaps coming to the rescue part time, with a hospice social work job in Williston, upon my return. How I love coming to the rescue! Turns out, they found someone who will work full time. Therefore, a double dose of, "O LORD!"
Add to that a healthy dose of Midwestern work ethic and I do feel a bit sheepish lolly gagging about the house until school starts on September 2nd. So I'm told in today's devotion, "Chill, my dear." I also had a heart to heart talk with God yesterday. I poured out my longing to do what I love to do, and acknowledged that I must appear quite the ungrateful brat for all I already have. I seemed to hear Him say He heard me, He loves me and He does not judge me. Thank you God!
So let's have a blast from the past from my journal of 1990 as we learn where we may go with Habitat for Humanity:
06-18-90
Good Morning Abba! Good, leisurely, orderly, loverly start today. Muggy. Cool. Birds singin'.
Talked to my grandma El and by best friend. It's good to know they are still there! In the Other Land. This Land will end. Oh, so quickly.
I hope the birds sing where we go.
God has been so faithful to us. We are healthy and happy. We love our temporary Habitat home. It would be fun to show some family/friends around.
Mark likes s-l-o-w starts in the morning. Bethany is heigh-ho let's go!
Today we talked about sin during training. Cross cultural sin. Read an interesting blurb. The "yardstick" is "love one another and love God."
The heat and mugginess is draining. The kids keep playing and laughing and smiling, though! Maybe the air is cooler down there!
06-19-14
Well. Yesterday Reality Struck. Right between the eyes. Our Habitat for Humanity project proposal says "Bolivia." OK. That's cool. Literally. Usual highs in the low sixties. Lows usually below freezing. No malaria. I looked further at the proposal. No sewage. No latrines. SQUATTER SETTLEMENT!!!
I thought once again about sacrificial living. Making a sacrifice for God. Loving His people in need. We would indeed build relationships by living in a squatter settlement, if nothing else. Is that what You want O LORD?
Hey, it sounded holy, but we've got two little kids for crying out loud!!!
I raved. I ranted. I was mad. At God. Like, get with the program LORD!
It's OK to be mad at God. He can take it.
We called our Pastor back in Minnesota, just returned from Guatemala. We shared. They commiserated. We have their prayers.
Our prayers.
I let go. I feel better.
Dear Abba,
Your will be done. I lay the "where will we go" in Your lap. Where I should have left it in the first place. I trust You to place us carefully, healthfully, happyfully, safefully, purposefully. Amen.
Monday, July 14, 2014
Psalm 25:5 Guide me in Your truth and teach me, for You are God my Savior, and my hope is in You all day long
Psalm 25:5
“Guide me in Your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in You all day long.”
Okay LORD. Now what?
I’ve just
returned from a medical mission trip to Guatemala. My husband and I have been going yearly for
the last seven years. The team includes
medical providers, a pharmacy, a dental team, nurses, van drivers, and
interpreters. The medical team, with all
the supplies, fits into four vans. We
stay at a church hostel in the city of Quetzaltenango and drive to five outlying
villages during the week of our mission.
The villages we visit
have been selected by a pastor/doctor in Quetzaltenango who is in contact with
our mission director. When we arrive at
the village, we often times set up our mobile clinic in an available school. In Guatemala, the schoolrooms are usually
arranged around an open courtyard.
During the
clinics, the people we serve go to various classrooms where they will
find: the Registration Station, the
Intake Station, Medical Providers, the Pharmacy, Nursing and then Dental. It can be challenging to channel hundreds of
local people to their needed stations and difficult for the stations to
coordinate services.
If there are
people with medical issues that cannot be aided by our team, they are referred
to a specialist. The pastor/doctor from
Quetzaltenango sets up the appointment with the specialist and arranges any
transportation needed by the patient.
This is all free of charge.
I am an
interpreter. I love speaking Spanish,
interacting with the local people and helping the team and the patients to
connect. I have worked with the nurses,
with the medical providers and even in crowd control.
This year, in
each of the five villages we visited, we did not need to set up the clinic in separate
classrooms. In each case, we were given
the use of a large auditorium-like room.
There was much less confusion for the people we served because they
could see their next station, be it Medical Providers, Nurses or Pharmacy. It was much easier for the stations to
communicate with each other, also.
While surveying
the action in the busy auditoriums, it struck me how the team was working
together as one. We weren’t puzzled,
exasperated, uninformed stations struggling on our own. Nursing or Pharmacy. Medical Provider or Registration. We were one.
It was a short mental leap for me to go on. Patient or Doctor. Guatemalan or North American. Old or young.
“Happy my blood sugar level is good” or “I need a referral for the lump
in my breast.” We are all one. All dependent on the Holy Spirit, the Lord,
the giver of Life. And I could clearly
see God is good.
I am one of the bloggers for the Joy International blog! That blog site can be found at http://www.joyintl.org/web/columnid/6412/articles.asp
Wednesday, June 25, 2014
Psalm 118:24
This is the day the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad!
I haven't heard back recently from the folks who interviewed me for the social work job in Williston. They did contact me once to say they had received my online application. One of my references told me they had called. What he told them will be tough to "make so." He said I walk on water!!! Hoo Ha the kind people in my life! I know I trust the LORD for what comes of the interview. I also know I don't wait very well. Dear LORD give me patience. Right now.
I indulged in my passion for geocaching the other day. I found the two caches I sought in the wilds near the Missouri River. Who a thought there would be so many burrs along a river??? My brand new tankini will never be the same. I suppose I can work those pulled threads back in, if I really try. Finding the caches was a blast. The treasure of that day was being nearby when a pair of Canadian geese and their two half-grown babies slipped into the river. That's living!
Today I broke down and began washing clothes in preparation for our annual trip to Guatemala with the medical team sponsored by the Episcopal Church from Fargo. This will be my hubby's seventh trip and my fourth. I was a no-show one year when I fell with my motorcycle and broke my back. That's another story. Then a couple of times I stayed home because I did not feel needed.
The team this year consists of 22 people acting in the roles of medical providers, nurses, pharmacology students, dental students and interpreters. We are a clinic on wheels; namely two vans. We are based in Xela, Guatemala and travel to five surrounding villages to provide medical care, medicine, vitamins, physical therapy, dental care and fluoride treatments. In past years we have served approximately 2000 people with medical needs.
This will be my final post until I get back. I will keep a diary and share what develops. I will be acting as an interpreter and may help with crowd control. Whoop whoop!
Let's return to Habitat for Humanity training, 06-13-90
Oh I like strolling to devotions, chatting and drinking coffee! I love it!
C.S. is so supportive and interesting and full of life. She says the Honduras have 30 Habitat for Humanity projects. It appears that Bolivia is beautiful and pristine, the people work hard, and it is not urban like we think of urban.
I'm attracted to Bolivia having no malaria. Really. We could cope with the cold. 60 - 30 degrees F. Really.
I'm intrigued.
I love the people in my class.
06-15-90
Totally aggravated. Despite my early morning mothering efforts, the kids were not merry and gay when I left for devotions.
They just don't like to see me go? They are sick of the whole routine? I'm making it worse than it is?
I'm looking forward to being truly settled Somewhere. Our little family with people coming and going and getting to know the locals and maybe even building a house. Or two.
I could be wrong, but other people in the class look a little peeved too.
This is the day the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad!
I haven't heard back recently from the folks who interviewed me for the social work job in Williston. They did contact me once to say they had received my online application. One of my references told me they had called. What he told them will be tough to "make so." He said I walk on water!!! Hoo Ha the kind people in my life! I know I trust the LORD for what comes of the interview. I also know I don't wait very well. Dear LORD give me patience. Right now.
I indulged in my passion for geocaching the other day. I found the two caches I sought in the wilds near the Missouri River. Who a thought there would be so many burrs along a river??? My brand new tankini will never be the same. I suppose I can work those pulled threads back in, if I really try. Finding the caches was a blast. The treasure of that day was being nearby when a pair of Canadian geese and their two half-grown babies slipped into the river. That's living!
Today I broke down and began washing clothes in preparation for our annual trip to Guatemala with the medical team sponsored by the Episcopal Church from Fargo. This will be my hubby's seventh trip and my fourth. I was a no-show one year when I fell with my motorcycle and broke my back. That's another story. Then a couple of times I stayed home because I did not feel needed.
The team this year consists of 22 people acting in the roles of medical providers, nurses, pharmacology students, dental students and interpreters. We are a clinic on wheels; namely two vans. We are based in Xela, Guatemala and travel to five surrounding villages to provide medical care, medicine, vitamins, physical therapy, dental care and fluoride treatments. In past years we have served approximately 2000 people with medical needs.
This will be my final post until I get back. I will keep a diary and share what develops. I will be acting as an interpreter and may help with crowd control. Whoop whoop!
Let's return to Habitat for Humanity training, 06-13-90
Oh I like strolling to devotions, chatting and drinking coffee! I love it!
C.S. is so supportive and interesting and full of life. She says the Honduras have 30 Habitat for Humanity projects. It appears that Bolivia is beautiful and pristine, the people work hard, and it is not urban like we think of urban.
I'm attracted to Bolivia having no malaria. Really. We could cope with the cold. 60 - 30 degrees F. Really.
I'm intrigued.
I love the people in my class.
06-15-90
Totally aggravated. Despite my early morning mothering efforts, the kids were not merry and gay when I left for devotions.
They just don't like to see me go? They are sick of the whole routine? I'm making it worse than it is?
I'm looking forward to being truly settled Somewhere. Our little family with people coming and going and getting to know the locals and maybe even building a house. Or two.
I could be wrong, but other people in the class look a little peeved too.
Tuesday, June 17, 2014
A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a downcast spirit dries up the bones.
Thank you to everyone for your encouragement with this blog! It is a labor of love with over-long acrylic nails, let me tell you! I will get them shortened shortly!
Since dipping my toes in the waters of blog-land, I have decided to add to this blog once a week. Or more. Depending upon this wonderful luxury called "a summer off." Goodness gracious, the last time I was a teacher's aide with the summer off, I had young'uns at home! Now I have an independent author-in-the-works at home and a hubby that knows he may have to reheat something from the 'fridge for supper. I can do whatever I want!!
So far I have wanted to travel, apply for a job using my social work degree, go for walks, play Spider Solitaire (I need to earn that third and final star, dangit), and clean up my backyard. I have amazed myself with how my yard went from a weedy, shaggy, nobody-with-sense-lives-here wilderness to a place of joy. A little bit of weed pulling here, a little making friendly with the trimmers there and VOILA!
I have discovered something that is totally not rocket science. Prepare yourself. It takes time to take time. White knuckle stuff, ain't it? For many, many years now I have grabbed a little time to clean house, or to wash dishes, or to shop, or to spoil myself rotten (and feel mighty daring!) and then get back to business with paid employment. This summer I have enough time for and, and, and instead of or, or, or. Man o man, this is living!
Today's treasures are the wildflowers I saw on my walk today and the ridiculously gorgeous flowers in my yard. Let's see, how to attach photos...
Let's round off today with a blast from the past at Habitat for Humanity in Georgia, 06-10-90:
Abba,
Thank you for sending Your Son so that I might have life and have it more abundantly!
I have had the most wonderful affirmations and made such great self discoveries these past few days.
I took out a nail with no head on it. I clawed it out sideways with the hammer. I wouldn't have known I could do it if I hadn't tried!
We did some group things already. Tower Building. I can be an organizer. An artist. The labels are a bigger obstacle to overcome than the doing!
I tried and so I did! I've found out skills I have because I tried doing. My skills? I'm good with a hammer. I can organize. I can draw. I can encourage. Thank you LORD! Amen.
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