Good Books

I mentioned to Steph a long time ago that I was reading some really good books. She asked what they were, and since I just came to that email in my inbox, it looks as though I never answered! I would recommend these books to anyone, so I thought I would blog it. All available at Amazon.

All That You Can't Leave Behind: a rookie missionary's life in Africa by Ryan Murphy Through personal stories, cultural insights, and perspectives on the mission movement in Africa, Ryan Murphy shares what the missionary like looks like in the 21st century. The author's first book offers an entertaining bridge into the unknown lands of missions work and challenges you to make a difference in your world for God's glory.

This book is really an outflow of Ryan blogging his first year on the mission field. Here's his blog: http://www.strangersinkenya.blogspot.com/

TrueFaced: trust God and others with who you really are by Bill Thrall John Lynch and Bruce McNicol In a sincere, but misguided attempt to please God, many of us strive to "fix our sin". We soon discover that it doesn't "fix" very well or for very long. And so we try to hide it and pretend like it isn't there. But it only leads to more pretending, hiding, and despair-and nothing ever changes. We fear that God is almost never pleased. TrueFaced draws a clear distinction between two very different underlying motives: our determination to please God OR to trust him. The resulting difference from these two starting points could not be more profound. One results in a striving that never feels it has done enough to please him. The other results in a trust that experiences his full pleasure. Our motives as followers of Christ will either keep us in unresolved sin and immaturity or free us into God's astonishing dream for our lives.

What's so Amazing About Grace? by Philip Yancey If grace is God's love for the undeserving, then what does it look like in action? And if Christians are its sole dispensers, then how are we doing at lavishing grace on a world that knows far more of cruelty and unforgiveness than it does of mercy? Grace does not excuse sin, says Yancey, but it treasures the sinner. True grace is shocking-scandalous. It shakes our conventions with its insistence on getting close to sinners and touching them with mercy and hope. It forgives the unfaithful spouse, racist, the child abuser. It loves today's AIDS-ridden addict as much as the tax collector of Jesus' day. Yancey offers compelling, true portraits of grace's life-changing power. And he challenges us to become living answers to a world that desperately wants to know, What's so Amazing about Grace?

What's so Amazing About Grace was the best book I've read in a long time. It is historical, political (relevant in this election year), biographical, and love-filled all in one!!! I can't say enough good things about it.

Okay, posting the little pictures of the books was really hard for me as an extremely new blogger! This was exhausting to finish, but these books were worth the effort. If you've read any of these already or happen to in the future, please post your thoughts!

Blogging Pays Off!

My husband randomly checks my blog, and he wrote me this email earlier today after reading my Mother's Day Ideas entry:

Honey, I would like to know if you think you could get all dressed up the day before mother's day for pictures of you and the kids and then on Sunday afternoon, I take them out (or late afternoon if Sam needs her nap). What do you think?

I said yes!! AND, my fellow mom and dear friend, Christi, is going to be in town that weekend so we get to celebrate together! Show your husbands the blog of your crazy friend-it could pay off!

FREE $100 Giveaway!!!

My friend, Stephanie knows all the cool stuff! If you go to Biblical Womanhood, you can enter to win $100 to spend at The Vision Forum (a great website with unique Christian products). It's very easy to enter, so hop on over!

Slow Motion is Always Scary!

Samantha and I were upstairs earlier doing some things. On the way downstairs, Samantha tripped on the top stair and rolled all the way down. She was in front of me, and there was nothing I could do to stop her. She fell down the entire staircase and landed on the ceramic tile floor at the bottom. Those few seconds lasted forever.

She landed face down. Of course she had been crying all the way down and still was. I quickly picked her up and started comforting her. She cried into my shoulder for a while and then pulled back. That's when I saw some blood around her face, but since she had just rolled down 15 stairs I was shocked it wasn't gushing. She touched her upper lip, and when I asked her if it hurt, she gave a tearful, "yes". She then buried her head again into my shoulder and after about 2 seconds said, "Better now" and walked off to play! ("Better now" is what she always says the second after we kiss any boo boo.)

A couple of hours after that happened, the lip had puffed up some, turned slightly purple, and you could see exactly where it was "popped", but that didn't stop her from eating corn on the cob for dinner. Don't get in between this girl and her food!

Mother's Day Ideas

The managers of the housing we live in are very good about planning events at different holidays. This question about a Mother's Day event is on their website right now: Mother’s day 2008 is just around the corner and we would like your input on what kind of event you would like to see. Do you want an event for just mothers while your children are in child care? Do you want a shopping day with or without your children? How about mothers, sons, and daughters together? Are there any places or attractions that you haven’t been to that you are dying to go? Any idea is a good idea!

I wondered what moms would think is a good Mother's Day event, as well as what they personally would want for Mother's Day, so I emailed several moms I know (mostly non-bloggers) for ideas. They came up with some great ones, and I put them all together in one email which I thought I would share...

Ideas that mom's had which included being with their kids:

1. Professional pictures made with just mom & the kids. I don't think most moms would splurge on themselves and go out and get photos of just themselves & the kids. And in my home I'm the "camera girl", so even most amateur shots don't include me.
2. Pajama brunch with a bunch of your other moms and have the kids/husbands do all the cooking while the group of moms just gather and chat, trade stories, kids tips etc.

Ideas that mom's had which involved being away from their kids:

1. Shopping (one mom asked, "will they chip in the money, too?)
2. Conference
3. Spa day (massage, manicure, pedicure)
4. "Mother's Day In"-that's my term, but basically getting a day at home w/o the kids-cleaning the house, putting pictures away in photo albums, or listening to whatever music we want, watch OUR tv shows, and stay in pjs, all in the comfort of our own home
5. Getting to eat yummy snacks that you don't usually eat in front of your kids (because they can't or too time consuming to fix).

I really liked all these ideas. I thought these moms were creative and practical! I always think Mother's Day is this weird conflict of feeling the desire to be recognized for what we do, but wanting a break from it all at the same time! I think I would love a big party where only moms are invited, and childcare is provided. We get to play, eat, & talk about anything we want (even the freedom to talk about our children if that's what comes up). Oh, to have an uninterrupted adult conversation with another mom! Without our children there, we may actually accomplish that!

So what do you think? Does an idea on this list strike your fancy or do you have another idea? Please tell us about it!

Quiet Day

On Sunday Timothy whined and complained about every single thing that happened. That is, thankfully, not the norm these days, but I let the day get to me nonetheless. We have been pretty healthy for a while, but yesterday morning Timothy woke up with a nasty cough and hot to the touch. Oh, THAT'S why he was so crabby on Sunday! His cough has been come and go, but his fever has stayed pretty consistent around 103.3. He got up a couple of times to try to play computer games with dad yesterday, but he intiated going back to the couch to lay down. He took a nap yesterday and one this morning (he hasn't taken naps for way over a year). Samantha, who copies everything her brother does, has laid on pillows today just like Bubba. It's really cute. Of course I'm keeping him on one side of the room and her on the other because if we can get through this without her catching it, we'll be doing great! As for me, I've had a pretty relaxing day, to be completely honest.

YembiYembi People

Dan and I are attending Clairemont Emmanuel Baptist Church here in San Diego, and this church has such a beautiful heart for international missions. The church financially supports about 30 missionary families that have come out directly from our church, so it is really the heartbeat of everything they do. The associate pastor is called the missions pastor, and his role is leading our church in missions of every sort. Once a month on Sunday nights is a "Missions Update", and since we started coming in September, 3 of those months there has been a missionary on furlough to tell us what's going on. Prayer requests for all our missionaries are shared, and after the missionary is done speaking (or from the beginning if no missionary is there), the church just prays. It is powerful to me, and really gets my global world view back on track. Life becomes so ego-centric, so easily!

Tonight after Missions Update, our church has started a 24-hr prayer chain for the YembiYembi people of Papua New Guinea. Some New Tribes missionaries will be presenting the gospel to these people for the first time through a series of teachings this week. I signed up for a 30-minute time slot to pray, and I have to be honest that at first I was wondering how I was going to pray that long. Once upon a time, I could easily pray that long, but I am out of practice. I feel like I need to confess that my prayers are short and the subject is often me. I'm very thankful that my church loves people here and around the world and is leading me to focus on others.

If you have a few minutes check out this stuff about the YembiYembi people, and pick one of the people in a picture to pray for:

http://bringingthesecrettalk.blogspot.com/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/yembiyembi/

Samantha and Elmo

As multiple pictures attest to, Samantha loves Elmo. We don't even watch Sesame Street here, so whoever the pr guy is for Elmo wins the prize! When I got Samantha up this morning, she was holding Elmo's hand and said, "Sam carry Elmo". I asked her if Elmo and Sam were friends. She beamed and said, "Yes!" After I got her out of her crib, she took Elmo over to a chair and said, "Sit right there", and then she picked up these beads of hers that are in a tupperware container. The container is too hard to open, and she usually says, "Mommy, open please." I let her work on it a while, and then I asked her if she needed help. She calmly said, "No, Sam open toy for Elmo." After all, that's what friends are for right? Now, if I could only get her to like children as much as she likes Elmo!!!

Grandma Pearl Update

My grandmother has been medically approved to receive 100 days of rehabilitation at a rehab center. She will be transferred by ambulance from the hospital to the rehab center this afternoon. Her rehab times have been positive so far (she enjoys the social interaction), and she is good spirits about moving there.

On a personal note, after several days of questionable health, I am very glad that medical staff will be near her 24 hours a day for the next 3 months.

My roomie came to visit!!!

My friend, Gindi, came to San Diego on business, and yesterday she took the whole day off so we could be together. We had SO much fun, and here is what our day entailed:

8:45-started our day and headed to LaJolla
10:00-breakfast @ "The Cottage" in LaJolla. It was great-delicious food and totally empty. The reason it took so long to get there is 1) traffic, 2) as soon as we exited LaJolla Pkwy, Timothy threw up all over himself. He never gets car sick, so this was really odd. Thankfully (and shockingly) I had a change of clothes with me. We got him changed and cleaned up, and after some sprite and saltines he was like a new child. They give the kids "wiki sticks" which are these pliable sticks that children can mold shapes into. They're neat, and Timothy loved them! Samantha thought they were edible. Just fyi: I ordered the oatmeal pancakes and Gindi ordered the french toast, and they were both delicious. The kids loved Gindi. Oh, and my original plan was for us to walk around after breakfast and go see the sea lions. Time just didn't allow for that, so I drove past the park so Gindi could at least SEE the cove and sea lions, albeit from the car.
11:45-Dropped Sam off at Jolina's, my precious friend who offered to watch Samantha so we could have this fun girl day.
12:15-Dropped Timothy off at his school bus.
1:00-Caught the ferry over to Coronado
1:15-Lunch at Peohe's. Yes, if you know me, you know this is a must stop for me (Thai Chicken Spring Rolls)! I wanted to catch the 2:30 ferry back over and go to Point Loma Lighthouse for sunset, but our waiter made a mistake. Peohe's has a famous dessert, and their menu says "give 30 minutes notice". I've learned to tell my waiter when I order the food, and that's what I did. After our meals, he brought the check over, and we were like, "the cake?" He said, "Oh, I'll get that for you right now." We thought that meant he could whip it up quickly, but he went and submitted the 30 minute order right then. This gave us good talking time, and then something kind of cool happened. A cruiser past by us in the bay headed to 32nd street, and I said, "That's the same type of ship Dan is on." Then I looked and saw 54, and I realized it was Dan's ACTUAL ship. It was really fun.
3:30-Caught the ferry back over to Broadway Pier. Not long into the trip, they came over the loud speaker and said, "we'll be making a regularly scheduled stop at North Island to pick up Navy personnel. When we cross the security barrier, no cameras will be allowed and security will confiscate them if they see them". It was SO cool because we got to go into North Island waters, and we were docked about 40 feet away from an aircraft carrier! We were also in the water when another cruiser was coming back in, so Gindi definitely got her fill of military life!
4:00-We really had to give up the Lighthouse idea because I had to be closer to San Diego central in case Dan didn't get off in time to get Timothy. Sure enough, he didn't.
5:00-Picked up Timothy and took him to Dan on base.
5:30-Parked by the hotel Del, and walked down to the beach at twilight. Within no time it was really dark. It was BEAUTIFUL! I've never been on the beach at night, and the Coronado lights were awesome. The sand was freezing, but worth it. We noticed some fire pits up by the hotel and decided to find out if that was only for guests. It wasn't! So they have multiple pits with nice patio furniture around each one and they have a full bar and appetizers. All I cared about was getting warm, and they brought me a delicious hot chocolate. So we got to warm ourselves by the fire, watch the waves break, and relax.
7:00-Ate dinner at Marie Calendars. I had never eaten there, so we were just winging it. I wasn't that hungry and only ordered the cheesy potato soup, but it was not good at all.
8:45-Dropped Gindi off at her hotel (Loews Coronado) and came home to my hubby that I haven't seen since Sunday (except passing Timothy off to him earlier in the day).

Even with the "hiccups" and changes of plans, it was a great day. We just stayed flexible and made eachother (not the plans) top priority!

Smilebox

My friend, Sheila, sent one of these out, and it was so cute I couldn't resist:

Make a scrapbook - it's easy!

Grandma Pearl

My friend, Monica, recognized her grandmothers on her blog a couple of months ago, and I thought that was a fantastic idea! My maternal mother is my only living, blood grandparent. She is 94, and this morning had a TIA, or mini-stroke. She was admitted to the hospital this morning for further tests, including an MRI, and she has had a rough day. She had another TIA, or possibly a series of them again this evening. She is very precious to me, and since all I can think about today is her I thought maybe it would be cathartic to write about her.

She was a unique woman for her generation. She didn't marry until her early 30s, and had my mom (her 1st born) at age 36. During her single days, she attended Moody Bible Institute. After graduating, she came back to Texas and reunited with her high school sweetheart. They married, and she became a nurse and a Pastor's wife.

When I was a little girl, I went to their house in Abilene, TX, a couple of weeks every summer. My family always tried to coordinate my visit with my cousin, Chad, who is 3 years younger than me. Those were joyous times, full of scrabble, dominoes, jigsaw puzzles, and tennis. Grandma always cooked yummy Bisquick chicken 'n dumplings, made me eat canned peaches, and had the cookie jar full when I got there. We always had to put newspaper down on the coffee table in order to eat there.

When I was 8, I went to a Vacation Bible School at my grandparents' church. My grandmother taught me the verse Revelation 3:20, which says, "Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me." A week later at a G.A. camp that verse pricked my heart during an invitation time, and I accepted Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior.

When I was 11, my cousin Chad & I took a train trip with our grandparents to visit the rest of our family in California. On that trip, my grandfather's Alzheimer's became evident. He lived 11 years after that, and my grandmother was a faithful and loving nursemaid to him. Last year I was going through a painful time, and she opened up to me like she never had. She said at the height of Grandpa's illness, she was very lonely. No one was helping, and she was doing all the work by herself. She said, "Alicia, I wouldn't change that time of my life because I grew closer to the Lord than I had ever before."

If my math is right, it's been 12 years since my grandfather died, and she has had to carve out a new life for herself. I would go visit her at her retirement home and see her at age 87 telling someone about Christ. I confidently label my grandmother an evangelist.

And then the most recent videos that keep playing in my mind are the times she and Samantha had together while we were living in Dallas. We would go to visit, and Samantha walked straight to Grandma's room to see the "birds". Grandma had ceramic birds, and she would bring every one down and tell Samantha what kind of bird it was (red bird, blue jay, etc). Samantha would repeat each thing Grandma said and study her every word. The other routine they had was curlers. Grandma would put those old fashioned curlers in Samantha's hair, and she would sit so still while Grandma did it. Then Sam would walk around like her hair was SO pretty and look at herself in the mirror.

My mother is fantastic at scrabble, I'll work a jigsaw puzzle any day, and Samantha still points out every bird she sees. It's cool to see these "pieces" of my grandmother carried on in us. But what's awesome is to look over the course of her life and know that she ran the race, and she didn't stop running when it would have been easy or socially acceptable. "Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God." Hebrews 12:2

Dallas Cowboys

I'm a fan no matter what, but right now I have to admit I am sad. It's so disappointing. At least the Chargers won today. Go Bolts!