blessing my man

The Girl Talk Blog- which two dear friends pointed out to me (Thanks CV and DC!) recently posted 5 days full of ideas of ways to bless your husband. (When you click on this link, only day 5 will come up, then click on the link to day 4 at that top of that page).

I really enjoyed reading the contributions there and am really excited to have these creative ideas ready to go, to bless my man. Ladies, I think it's well worth a look of your own at this page, (especially since the top way to bless your man, which we all know, but is cutely shared, is better mentioned there than on this family blog!. Still, I'll sum up my other favorites and a few of my own thoughts here:

1- Drop the kids off at the end of the afternoon at a friends house so Matt comes home to a refreshing surprise. I got to do this for him last week (Thanks DC!!) it was a fantastic treat for both of us.
2- tell the kids often how blessed they are to have him for a dad, encourage and help them to express this to him with hugs and notes and gifts
3- tell his parents how well he blesses me, speak confidently of him to others
4- be gracious with his faults and weaknesses and quick to forgive
5- At the end of a long day, prepare a snack plate and a drink for him in our room so he can come home and rest a minute before he has to be “on” for me and the kids.
6- email him, text him encouraging notes
7- encourage him and provide dinner for him to have a guys night at our place
8- spend money wisely, honor the constraints of the budget he has set
9- be self controlled in emotion and expression when communicating with him- try to calmly, clearly communicate.
10- Clear time for him to “cave”, to work on his own things and not have to always be on call to answer questions or help in some way
11- PRAY FOR HIM. journal it.
12- Encourage dates for him with the kids and special dates with me.


And... while I'm at it, I'll share the top things that Matt does to bless me. (I'm just listing five things- but they are more broad categories of blessing he gives me :) )
1- Lead. I feel so provided for and cared for when Matt is aware of our family situations and makes decisions for us, sets goals and a plan for reaching them (ie. training our kids about the Lord, or determining priorities for a week's schedule). Especially as a mom of young kids, sometimes making a decision about something is just more than I can add to a day that's been filled to the brim with craziness already. He blesses when he leads confidently in Christ, sensitively and lovingingly towards me, and joyously in his role as the head of our home.
2- "Connecting Night." We started doing this earlier this year- once a week, put the kids down and then the two of us snuggle up and chat on the couch, like an in-house date night. It's far more doable for us than finding a babysitter and spending money going out every week. Spending one evening a week to catch up with each other and grow together in marriage, parenting, or just pursuing the Lord together, is a great encouragement to me! (I'm also realizing that some special times out of the house are probably well- worth the investment too!)
3- Bless our kids. I love to see how Matt loves our kids. I love watching him enjoy them, and make them laugh. Both our kids delight in their father's love, delight in the fun he is with them, and they both are blessed by instruction and discipline from him. And I have to say, my man is growing in his role as a father.... he seems to be getting better and better at this job!
4- Be diligent at his work. I love to see him work excellently to the Lord's glory in the many different responsibilities he has. It makes me admire and respect him all the more.
5- My man is wise in his relationships with others, often challenging me, and regularly meeting with other guys for accountability and mentoring. He also blesses me tremendously with his maturity in relationship with other ladies, being careful to not leave room for misunderstanding or even the "appearance of evil."

preschool sports meet

Isaiah was a little weirded out to have us join him at school. He really didn't know how to handle it, but in the end, he managed to really enjoy the bunny-jump dance/exercise and elephant tromp together with his all little friends. We loved the whole morning and were beaming with pride to take home our little gold medalist at the end of the morning. (Ok, everyone was a gold medalist, but that didn't change a thing!)

our hope

Some boast in chariots and some in horses, But we will boast in the name of the LORD, our God. Psalm 20:7

Some trust in presidents and some in political parties, but we remind ourselves, "turn your eyes and hearts only to the LORD, our God!" He is mighty to save and His kingdom and His Word endure forever, (regardless of popular polls and votes.)

And for all we write about loving where we're at.... we also love our homeland and are praying for that country and for the church and you friends there as well.

more raw Christian poetry

A while ago I posted a link to a poem "Gain" on a great blog called Raw Christianity. I LOVE the poems and general posts at this site. I could try to use the same words I often use to describe really great music or books, but I'll skip it and just tell you that my eyes were flowing glad and grateful rivers as I read "Ripple" and then again as I read "Rise Up". I hope you will enjoy and be inspired by these poems too!

weekend in the countryside

Last weekend we had a great time on a retreat, staying at a tiny hotel about an hour outside of the city. We went with some close friends of ours here and were really grateful for the fresh air, open sky and plain ole' time to enjoy good friendship. The place where we stayed had only a few rooms that surrounded a courtyard where the veggies we ate were grown, and where bunnies and chickens were raised (yea, let's not talk about it.) We had a great time! Our hearts were really refreshed and renewedly inspired for the Lord's glory in this sweet, short time away.

Matt got some really fun play time with his girl. She was absolutely mesmerized by the animals.



Isaiah took deep joy in playing with Mama's drill (hairdryer) in the dirt. The "little engineer" is at it again!

We were so grateful each of these ladies could be with us for the weekend.... especially when it came time to dig in and enjoy this fish- all 38 (approximately) pounds of it-deep fried and drenched in sweet and sour sauce.

"Hot Pot" is a favorite traditional food here and this table was the real way to enjoy a meal of it- complete with the wood oven under the center pot.


We took a quick walk up this tiny mountain/large hill and enjoyed the view. We love this country, and know that our love is just a slim smidgin compared to the love of God... His love compels us.

ABCs.... in which language?

Today at lunch I laid out on the table the new ABC chart that Isaiah and I recently made together. We put stickers near as many letters as we could that matched up- plane near the P, tiger near the T, and fish near the F.

But this was the wrong time to pull it out. Most days our kind helper who watches Marian while I have class has lunch with us so conversation is in the local langauge. Isaiah is usually ready to go for it because he's just returned home from all morning at preschool.

But today this plan messed with our brains too much! We were speaking the local language with our friend and looking at the ABC chart, but suddenly things weren't matching up. P doesn't say "feiji", T doesn't say "laohu", F doesn't say "yu". Better plan ahead to make sure the timing is right for our next ABC lesson!

Here's Isaiah's new trick: he loves to put on these wonderful slipper-boots that were just given to me by some friends from New Zealand. Wearing these boots, Isaiah instantly becomes "Da Ju Ren" A Biiiiiiiig Giant who tackles everyone around. He even told Matt yesterday "When we play, it's bad for you!" Sounds like a pretty confident Big Giant if you ask me!

missing things

I've been missing strange things recently... the sound of our car door closing, echoing on our carport in FL; looking out the window and seeing trees and feeling like you and your family have a little space, a little land to yourselves; being able to drive a few blocks to Walgreens and pick up any medicine I might need for our family; passing by a newstand and learning a few tidbits of what's happening (I still can't read most newspaper headings); feeling like we blend in in our environment (I know we are supposed to be here and we love the people here, but we still stick out so bad!); and of course, Baja Fresh or Panera- be grateful, Americans!

Still, we are so very glad to be here!

Thanks for keeping Marian in your prayers. She's still fighting this awful head cold/ sinus infection. It's been a rough one for her... and for me!

Here are a few photos from a sports meet on the campus where Matt studies language. Another American student there, who has become a close friend for Matt, was running in the 5k and since track meets are much more relaxed for rules here, Isaiah and Matt got to run along side of him to cheer him on! Also, Matt took 2nd place in shot put!

starfish

I just got home from a gathering where one friend shared about an excellent organization called Starfish. What a good work is being done there! Migrant women move into the big city, trying to help their families, but often end up in really hard circumstances. This group offers them a good job making earrings and provides employees with business and English training too.

And... you can buy the earrings! Please check their site to read more about their work and to browse their catalog.

www.starfish-project.com

understanding

I have a friend who is an English teacher in a far away land, where the cultural and political climate is far from what most Americans would describe as "open." Before we moved overseas I had no clue what it would be like to be her, or to be one of the citizens of such a country... but the picture is becoming a bit less hazy for me these days.

My dear friend, SB, is very limited on what she can post on facebook because her country has tight reigns on it. People in other countries, who voice opinions too loudly or clearly, get their blogs shut down. Other people might be misunderstood for what hear-sayers report about them, or for misrepresented details posted about them online, and get in trouble.

I remember dreaming as a high school and college student of having my own home one day. I would want all the things that I most deeply value to be evident in my home: Christ-centered, decently clean, hopefully beautiful, welcoming, and some how displaying that material things are not my ultimate treasure. When Matt and I were married we even had a little hand signal for it- it meant "let me nest a little and make us a home!"

Well, because of situations like SB's, not all blogs, just like not all homes- for one reason or another, get to so clearly display all there is in the heart of the blogger. There are probably excellent links and resources SB would share if she could... This morning I read in Matthew 10 where Jesus told his disciples "Be wise as serpents and gentle as doves." I think in our given day, under given circumstances, we all need to be wise blog readers.