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| Soaked in Cloro ... Sparkling white! |
Little boys soccer jerseys. Whomever chose white for said jerseys must certainly NOT have their own mighty young men to wear them. Why, why, why would anyone choose a partially white jersey for young warriors whose favorite habitat, without question, is dirt? I don't claim expertise in this area but having raised four of my own, I can attest to the following ... Testosterone clad humanity love and live to bulldoze through dirt, roll in grass, would rather wipe their hands on said white shirt than wash them and valiantly sacrifice their bright white through the death defying feat of diving to save a goal from being scored. And thus my dilemma ... Getting the whites, white again. I've felt like an incapable mom as these jerseys have continued to emerge from the washer, stained and almost as dirty as they went in. I've asked Tica advice, "you have to use this soap ... you have to scrub, soak, scrub, then wash ... this special soap is the only one I use ..." I've heard it all, done it all and nothing seemed to be working. I resigned myself to the fact that our mighty young soccer players were doomed to a life of dirty white soccer jerseys. Last Saturday I was coveting Santi's crisp white jersey and after lunch I found joy in Mati's spaghetti stained jersey! ... What are these other two Mama's who live behind the big black gate with me using as their secret weapon? I decided to swallow my pride one more time and ask Nellie. With a twinkle in her eye, like she was sharing some ancient family secret she said ... "I soak them in a bit of ... (that dastardly solution) ... Cloro before I wash them." I was shocked and couldn't understand how the 'blue' didn't make it's exit with said stains I battle weekly! However, with determination, I gathered my resolve and walked boldly into battle to join forces with this ancient enemy ... Next week, my Mighty Men would join ranks with their Latin compatriots graced with the whitest jerseys this side of the mountain!
Ya'll know where I'm going with this ... I didn't just spend the last hour agonizing over white jerseys. This thought provoking battle emerged from a life giving word from The Word ... Mark 9:3 (And there He was transfigured before them) His clothes became dazzling white, whiter than anyone in the world could bleach them. With the quickening in my spirit, I began to ponder the physical battle I've taken upon myself and what Father wanted to teach me through this 'in the world' example ... What stains is He wanting to bleach out of my soul (rejection, fear of man, pride, worry, my plans for tomorrow ... )? Can I willingly dive into this bleach solution without fear that He would remove more than the stain (stability, comfort, security, routine ...)? As I tentatively shook off that heavy lead apron and invited His bleaching, I felt the warmth of His spirit and found myself wanting to run unabashed through waterfalls of this Holy Bleach I once reckoned as an atrocity. Care to join me as we splash through the bleach?
New Mercies ... His cleansing blood ... Soul sparkling white
Life on the Mountain
Two day Staff retreat to regroup together and be challenged to persevere through the challenges ... Two parent meetings at school, two nights in a row is two too many! ... Sharing communion and serving each other by washing feet. I don't desire this process until I find myself weeping as I wash and realize why Father instructed us to do this ... Tossing and turning all night, standing and waiting ALL day (7:50-2:45) in the lines at immigration ... Rejoicing in Father's Favor as our paperwork for residency is submitted AND we don't have to leave the country every three months anymore!!! ... The younger two got a ride to school in Fernando's cool truck because we left early for immigration ... Games with The Millers ... Saturday family outing to a movie and pizza ... Sunday morning connecting our hearts with our Pastor couple who know us, love us and understand the challenges life can bring. And, smelling/feeling the cleansing warmth of His holy bleach ...
Praises
-Fernando, our landlord/lawyer/friend/confidant and Alexandra his dear wife/paralegal/friend/confidant who worked until 10:00 pm the night before, getting everything in order for our residency process! We have been blessed more than anyone will ever know by their dedicated work, wisdom, patience and endless answering of our questions. God knew who we needed to walk us through this process!
-Joseph adjusting to his broken arm and no pain this week
-Christian Teachers who love our boys and persevere through long meetings with griping parents
-Friends who live close and can carpool to co-op
Prayers
-Ears that listen and hear what Father asks us to do, change and let go of
-Ears that listen and hear what our boys are saying even when they don't use words
-Another trip to immigration to submit the few small things we need to complete, this line is shorter
-Healing for Declan, he broke his collar bone : (
-Nelson and Shar, serving with Vida Global in Honduras, his mother is dying without a miracle, Shar is 39 weeks pregnant with their first little girl.
-Vida220 Honduras starting TODAY!! God is SO good, we have 12 participants starting at this second ministry base.
-To love as Jesus asks us to love and not based on our feelings
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| Adam shared books with Declan ... Declan shared a dino mask with Adam! |
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| No, Adam did NOT hurt his arm, he was trying to show Declan how to wear his sling! |
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| Yup, big boy, that's how you wear it! |
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| Family seating for 45 please ... Connecting after we "Retreated" |
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| How beautiful are the feet of them that bring good news ... The gift of sharing communion and serving each other by washing each others feet |
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| Water marks or tear stains ... each a gift to give and receive! |
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| It was time ... |
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| 8 inches later ... Micah can now add cutting hair to his repertoire of "qualities in a good husband" ... He cut off the pony tail and evened out the bottom ... I layered the rest ... These mighty men do almost anything for their Mama! |
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| The night before immigration ... |
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| The lines at immigration ... easily 200+ people! |
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| Occupying our time while waiting at immigration ... |
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| Relaxing after a day at immigration ... She's a winner at "Makin' Bacon" |
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| He is to be called an oak of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of HIS splendor! Looking for letters ... Soaking in the word by Holy Spirit osmosis! |
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