Why is a Vacation so MUCH Work?

We are planning on leaving town tomorrow - Mike is speaking at a teen camp in a little place called, Likely, BC.  We are heading into a week of retreat - there are no phones, no internet connections, literally NO way to get a hold of anybody on the outside world except through radio phone.  It's lovely.  Caleb comes with us each year (for three years now) as well as our good friends Becky and Travis and their daughter Tehillah.  We have great times playing cards, enjoying the beach, being quiet, watching the odd movie, night game or event.  We don't have to cook or clean, it really is wonderful.

From there we head into Williams Lake so that Mike can preach at Caribou Bethel before we head out to the Shuswap for a family, extended family vacation.  All Mike's fam is coming out for camping trip.  They're coming from Baltimore, Quebec and Williams Lake so we can hang out (hopefully) around a campfire, beautiful beaches and, again, play games and enjoy good food and conversations.

But in order to go away for two weeks, one must plan and pack and pack some more.  We leave tomorrow and I have yet to pack my bags, Caleb's bags, the trailer, the food - in fact the only thing I've really done is pack for the girls, made a craft bag, and clean the trailer.  The amount of stuff still to be done is a little overwhelming which is why I am taking a moment to sit down and reflect....and get a little overwhelmed again!

Not only am I not packed, but I won't get packed because Mike has a huge Youth/Young Adults parking lot party tonight!  We know how to plan them.  There is always something going on here! 

I guess I just need to remember that once all this work is done, it will be all worth it.  We will be away, we will have time to relax, reflect, do crafts, play games, have quality time with our family and friends and retreat...as much as a mother can who has three children aged 4-6 years old. 

So I guess I should get that butt of mine back in gear and get packing, so I can start my vacation!

Birthday Blog

Abigail and Sadie turned four today!  My precious little babies are now little girls.  We had a tough time trying to decide what kind of birthday party to have.  With the weather being very difficult to count on, we decided to scrap the waterpark birthday (very thankful that we did seeing how it poured all day!) and have a tea party instead.  I told the girls that they could invite some of their friends and dress up in pretty dresses.  They loved the idea and we got to work!  The first thing we did was pick out crafts: butterfly clips and shell necklaces... 

     

After crafts came games...

I learned from Caleb's party that having only one gift to win as a prize at the end is not much fun or very 'fair' to the kids and so with each unwrapping, the kids got a candy necklace.  Everyone had lots of fun unwrapping the paper and finding their treat....and everyone got something!

Then it was teatime and cake time.

We served little triangle peanut butter and jam sandwiches as well as cream cheese and cucumber sandwiches which were a hit.  Then there were watermelon kabobs and, of course, tea - iced tea or water was their 'tea' choices for the day.  Everyone had a great time drinking tea from their dainty cups provided my Mike's grandma Anne.  They were the perfect sized cup for the little ones.

We decided to make cupcakes that looked like tea cups complete with whipping cream and sprinkles on top as per the girls' request.  Mom and I worked all morning yesterday to create and decorate our works of art.

The best part was their faces.  Look how excited Abbi is.  They each got a personalized tea pot with a chocolate inital on top.

Sadie's tea pot.

And so I sit here, totally exhausted but definitely gratified.  The girls are happy, their friends are happy and so am I.  We celebrate their life and all that represents today.  Michael is four years free of cancer, we continue to walk in the amazement of God's faithfulness in our lives - whether that be through housing, children, jobs, or an assortment or other circumstances.  He has brought us Joy through Sadie Joy and brought us life and the promises that He has plans to prosper us and not hurt us through Abigail Promise.  Happy Birthday to my beautiful girls, my princesses.  

Changing the World

So I have decided that I want to change the world.  I don't exactly know how I'm going to do this yet, but I do know that I want to do it.  As a teenager, Delirious had a song that was really popular, you might remember it too...'I wanna be a historymaker in this world, I wanna be a speaker of truth to all mankind, I wanna stand, I wanna run, into your arms again, into your arms again.'  Conferences were made about that song.  I felt at the time that being a historymaker was just something that was unattainable for me.  How in the world was I gonna change anything?  I was just a kid.

And yet, after the last few weeks' interaction with the world, I realized that I wanted it more than ever.  How can I not make a change for the better in this world when there are children being sold into the sex trade, abused and their innocence stolen.  Why was it that my children were born into privilege and not into a brothel?  Or poverty? Why were we chosen to have a life of freedom and peace and not the children living in the red light district in Calcutta?  They didn't choose that life.

And so how can I sit here on my comfortable couch in a large house where I do not share a room with anyone except my husband, where I enjoy running water, electricity, a fridge, washing machine and dishwasher, not to mention a husband who loves me deeply and works hard so that I don't have to?  How is it that I can have all these things and simply be grateful?  I can't simply be grateful, I need give gratefully.

There is a wrestle in my heart.  Where do I go from here?  Who knows really, but I know that Jesus does.  He has put this wrestle in my heart.

I recently went to a dance production by a friend of mine, Heather Clark, called Love 146.  It's a true story about a girl with no name, a girl with only a number, who was sold into the sex trade in Asia.  There has been an orginzation formed in her honor, the girl who still had fight in her eyes...go to www.love146.org to get the details of the amazing work these men and women are doing.  The production my friend is doing raises finances to directly support this organization and I jumped at the chance to give to it.

So for those who have support my Haiti Baking, I hope you are alright with a portion of those sales going to that organization. It is all for the kingdom anyway and when there is a need, we need to rise up and fill it in whatever way we can.

So after watching that show, a few days later a documentary called 'Born into Brothels' was on TV.  Go to www.kidswithcameras.com to get more info on this powerful story.  It follows the lives of children born into brothels in Calcutta and a woman photographer who lives with them for a few years teaching the children about photography.  She also spends that time agonizingly trying to get these children a better life by getting them into a boarding school.  Most schools would not take them as their parents are criminals - prostitutes, drug dealers, etc.  Through no fault of their own, these children were despised and yet you grow to love and admire them, their abilities, and pray for hope and for a future for them.

This documentary is actually about ten years old so I was thrilled to find the story didn't end there and that some of the children have grown to be excellent students and will continue to study in University and not repeat the lifetsyle given to them by their parents.  It is amazing what Zana Briski did - she changed their world with something as simple as a camera.

All this to say, I am not settling for the norm.  Again, I have no idea what this looks like, but I want more.   I want more for myself, more for my kids, I want to give more, love more, live more.

So who knows what God wants to do.  What do you want me to dream Jesus?

Lamb and Chocolate - two things that can put a smile on this girl's face

I have seen my naturopath and have improved again in a lot of areas and got two things back - Lamb and Chocolate!!  I was hoping to get some sort of meat back in my diet so am thrilled to have something to change it up with the turkey and fish.  Had some for lunch today and even made my own goat yogurt tzatziki.  May sound gross but it was fantastic.  Goat yogurt is very similar to cow's milk yogurt; it just has a slight aftertaste, but when you add in cucumber, garlic, lemon, dill and salt, you don't taste that aftertaste at all!  I've got my new favourite dip for veggies!

Chocolate, oh how I love thee!  Of course, it's not milk chocolate, because I'm still off dairy but I am free to have cocoa powder, unsweetened chocolate (and then sweeten it myself) and the day I found that out, it definitely put a smile on my face.  I went straight to my local healthfood store and bought coconut ice crema fudgsicles and chocolate almond covered coconut ice cream.  I've been enjoying those almost daily...it's time to slow down on those!

I have another three months to go until I am going to get most of my foods back but with the end in sight I do feel like I can do it.  It's been hard the last two months with lots of cheats but I just need to hang on for a few more months and then my body should be back to an almost normal state.  Yay!