Honduras...

I was sitting in our Honduran hammock today and it made me think of swinging with these precious ones, and that made me miss them. I wish I could will myself back there, swinging on the porch with one or two in my arms, watching the rest of the kids playing in the front yard. It was exhausting spending two weeks at Destino, and frustrating because of the language barrier, but our hearts were full. Our hearts were full of love for these kids and joy at seeing God's provision for them. You can read more about the ministry at www.destinodelreino.org

Step by Step

This week was a good one. Teaching went well this week as I veered away from the curriculum and focused on functional English in my speech class--it was sooo much fun! We discussed and practiced language used at a restaurant and then on Friday, I brought menus and an apron and turned the classroom into "Jenny's Texas Diner".I put on the apron and became the waitress while they practiced their ordering skills and , though there was a lot of giggling from everyone involved, I think a lot of learning took place. It was one of those days that made me love being an ESL instructor:)

In other news, the growth area I'm focusing on in my life right now is discipline. Spiritual and physical discipline. "Step by step" is the phrase I keep coming back to. I can't change every bad habit in my life at once,but I can make good choices step by step. I'm talking baby steps. I probably won't turn into Martha Stewart over night, but I did cook a casserole this week for us to take for lunches. I probably won't start running marathons in the near future, but I did take a few more trips to the grocery store on foot this week.I am far from having the insight of Oswald Chambers, but I did seek the Lord more often during my days.
The thing I try to keep in mind, though, during these surges of wanting to grow through my own effort...is that the most important is thing is drawing close to the Lord, and "all these things shall be added unto me". Elizabeth Prentiss, one of my favorite authors of all time, wrote this...

More love to thee, O Christ,
More Love to Thee!
Hear thou the prayer I make
On bended knee;
This is my earnest plea,
More love, O Christ, to thee,
More love to thee!

Once earthly joy I craved
Sought peace and rest
Now thee alone I seek
Give what is best;
This all my prayer shall be,
More love O Christ, to thee,
More love to thee...

When I focus on loving Him and asking him for guidance, it takes the pressure off, and the guilt away. He is happy to take our ashes and turn them into beauty.
Hope you all are doing well. Much love to you sweet friends and family, Jen

Refreshment...

Lately my spiritual life has felt like chapped lips feel...dry, thirsting, a bit cracked, and needing some serious attention. The root of both chapped lips and a dry spiritual life come from lack of discipline to care for them. Neglecting to put on chap stick, neglecting to spend time with the One who gives Living Water...well, you get the analogy. So it was with a bit of a heavy heart that I trodded to church this morning...weighed down by worries, disappointments, etc. that have not been given over to the Lord.
So, what great relief it was to fellowship with believers again, to sing of God's great character and love, to confess to Him and to receive forgiveness,to hear His word taught. It was a soothing balm to this so often foolish soul. Thanks be to God for His faithfulness. Hope you all felt great refreshment today as well. Jen

p.s. One of the hymns that we sang today is called "Jesus With Thy Church Abide" and I just love it. It reminds me of what our role as the Church is and why it is so important to indeed "beseech" Him daily. Here are some of the verses to the hymn...

Jesus, with Thy church abide;
Be her savior, Lord, and Guide,
While on earth her faith is tried:
We beseech Thee, hear us,
We beseech Thee, hear us.

Keep her life and doctrine pure;
Grant her patience to endure,
Trusting in Thy promise sure:
We beseech Thee, hear us,
We beseech Thee, hear us.

May she guide the poor and blind,
Seek the lost until she find
And the brokenhearted bind:
We beseech Thee, hear us,
We beseech Thee, hear us.

City noises and a thankful heart...

So, it's about 11pm and I'm sitting in bed propped up by pillows listening to the wind and the rain outside. The windows are always open at night and usually I hear noises such as these: our neighbors coming home on scooters or in big jeeps or a big rumbling truck. Our neighbors to the right and over the fence taking there dog out into their back yard making the leaves rustle and twigs break. The sounds of sirens are frequently heard as we live just down the block from a fire station and for some reason the sound is oddly comforting to me. Cars whizzing by on the busy street, even late into the night. A circle of friends sitting in the yard of the duplex in front of us, laughing and talking and making Misty the dog bark. It's the sound of the city, and so far I like it. Tonight, though, tops it all. The wind and the rain are more comforting than even laughter right now. Joel is sleeping peacefully, getting some much needed rest and it all just makes me feel thankful. This week has been a bit discouraging...just a little sad I guess. Wanting things that just aren't right now, like more time with my love and to have a baby in my arms. God is so faithful to remind me, though, of all of the richness and depth and love that is my life and tonight I feel that strongly. So, here are some of the things that bless my soul and remind me of all the wonderfulness he has given me and all that is to come...












The list could go on and on and on and on. I think I'll have to do a part two tomorrow at the very least:) The rain has stopped now as it took a long time to download these pictures correctly...the sounds of the city are back. Cars buzzing and out comes the neighbor over the fence with his dog. I can hear the tinkling of the dogs id tags as he walks...i forgot about that sound. Oh, how funny. It's as if he can tell I am thinking about him because he just let out a big WOOF! Well, I guess that's all for tonight. I'm tutoring a sweet South Korean tomorrow at the library and need to prepare. I have so many things to tell you about the cultures of and interactions with my students...soon. Jen

"Thank God for the Earth" Day

For the beauty of the earth,
For the glory of the skies.
For the fields which from our birth,
Over and around us lie.
Lord of all to the we raise
This our hymn of grateful praise.

This is one of my favorite hymns of all times—so simple and pure. It was in my head all day yesterday as we celebrated “Earth day”. By celebrate, I mean that we joined in the festivities going on at Liberty Park and the library for Earth Day 2006. At the park we watched some Brazilian martial arts that was pretty fascinating, we mingled with the local hippies and looked at their artwork and jewelry and listened to them sing and read their literature on alternative schools and bio fuel and we even signed up to pay for some wind generated electricity each month. We then rode our bikes to the library and watched a recycled clothing fashion show, watched a pretty funny band, and returned some movies.

Such a cute puppy!


A capri-sun recycled skirt


Joelie loved this guys hair and took lotsa pictures of it:)

It was a warm, clear day and as we rode around and walked through the throngs of earthy people with their activism booths and veggie burgers, my eyes kept averting to the mountains and the hymn would again play itself in my mind.

We do, as Christians, need to be so much more mindful of the earth God has placed us on. We need to cherish and appreciate it and be good stewards of it to the best of our ability. And yet, beyond the importance of conservation, earth day reminded me that God’s incredible creation is supposed to be, most of all, a reflection of the Creator. And as I looked up at those incredible mountains, my heart was glad and humbled and truly thankful for the opportunity to live in this manifestation of His creativity. And so on “Thank God for the earth day”, and every day, I hope to lift a hymn of grateful praise for all that He is and for those little glimpses into His character we get when we spend time in His creation.