Being a Christian is like being a pumpkin

God lifts you up, takes you in, and washes all the dirt off of you.  He opens you up, touches you deep inside and scoops out all the yucky stuff - including the seeds of doubt, hate, greed, etc.  Then He carves you a new smiling face and puts His light inside you to shine for all the world to see.

This was passed on to me from another pumpkin.  :)

Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.  Matthew 5:16

Try thinking on your feet

I expressed some frustration to a friend over how often when I sit down to update my blog, I suddenly find my mind an absolute blank.  Her response?  "Then stand up and type."  She was joking (I think), but that might have been the best advice she could have given me.  Even at thirty-something I'm still learning how my brain processes things, but the "discoveries" I've made in the past year or so have been tremendously helpful.

"What?  You mean I'm not stupid?"  Happy thought indeed!

One thing I've learned is that my brain usually works best when I'm in motion.  When I'm walking, doing dishes, taking a shower, doing something crafty with my hands...  (And by "brain works best" I mean if I'm attempting to produce something - an essay, letter, Awana lesson - or problem solve.  Anything that requires output.)  Now that I think about it, I can remember times at work when I would pace up and down the office trying to figure out how to fix the bookkeeping mess a client brought in.

Or there was the time at the missionary training center...

The setting was our wee little apartment.  My roommate and I were individually doing a write up on the data we had obtained from our culture and language acquisition practicum.  For weeks we had been investigating a particular culture event with our language helper, and the data collected was, up to that point, in scribbly notebook form.  (Or at least mine was.)  Now came the task of doing a write up.  Lindsey sat at her desk and wrote and wrote and wrote and wrote.  I hardly remember her coming out of her room once.  (Well, maybe once.)  I, on the other hand, looked like a jack-in-the-box.  Thankfully by this time I had made the glorious brain-processing discovery about myself, otherwise the write up could have been frustrating to the extreme.  I would write, write, write.....and then find my brain locking up.  No big deal.  Don't fight it.  I would walk away from my desk and do something crafty with my hands or walk down to the end of the sidewalk in front of the apartment, all the while half thinking about how best to put into words what I needed/wanted to convey.  Often it would only take a few minutes or so for - Ah-ha!  Inspiration!  And back I would go to my computer.  Sometimes I was only able to write for twenty minutes before I had to take a break from it, but that's just the way it goes.  For me.  :)

I'm still trying to figure out how best to use this reality in how God has wired my brain, but at least I'm not getting frustrated with myself as much as I used to.  Perhaps my next desk should be a tall one so I can stand up while I work...  Not a bad idea, really.

Oh, look!  A new post.  :)

This picture really has nothing to do with the post.
They're just my happy little plants.

The joys of children

 

This little fellow (who wasn't entirely certain about the frosting on the bite of cake I offered him) represents one of the best parts of my months at home since completing the cross-cultural ministry training with New Tribes Mission in May.  It has been an absolute joy babysitting him and his wee sister twice a week while their parents are at work.  It has also been a tremendous responsibility and opportunity to teach him the truths of God's word.  Although not yet three, he is a sponge and takes in absolutely everything I say and do.  "Monkey see, monkey do?"  That's him. 

Along similar lines, I've also had the privilege of teaching the story/lesson to the Sparks in our Awana program.  At ages K-2nd they are little sponges as well, and I love watching them grasp the concepts about God we've been talking about the last month or so.

 Hiding God's word in their hearts.

"Who can tell me what a rubber band reminds us about God?"

Off to game time.

 It was Crazy Hair Night.  Just in case you couldn't tell.  :) 

Garage sale findings

Pictures as promised!  (Or at least as promised to one particular person.)



Group shot.  This is roughly three week's worth.  (The old wash tub leaning against the fence and the terracotta pots are not included.)



Note the bag of corks.  I don't know what I'm going to do with them yet, but they were too good to pass up.  There are some pretty neat designs on some of them.  The heart shaped item is a stand for a recipe book.



One of two trays.  (Love the green!)



I'm a big fan of baskets, especially square/rectangular sizes.  This will hold a 9x13 casserole.






Again, the corks.  :)



There are four candle holders in this particular set.  Two of each kind.  The little wooden box is just plain fun.



A room divider!  The third panel is unattached at this point, but can easily be fixed.






The picture is too dark to see the frame, but it's quite nice.

There you have it, my dear.  :)