Counting My Blessings...

I decided to get rid of my "I am thankful..." counting my blessings blog and just merge it here with this regular blog. This will give me a bit more stuff to post about here:-) Plus there is no need for a separate blog when I can label all my "counting my blessings" posts. I put a link to all those posts in the left hand column under "Highlights."

This fall I truly want to practice gratitude on a daily basis. I have felt challenged to make this part of the very fabric of my life, of my attitude, of my heart. This summer I noticed how easily negativity and fear and anxiety could creep into my heart. I found it shocking how little I trusted God. I always thought I did trust Him...but this summer I realized I have not been trusting Him and have been focusing on seeing life through a human lens (make that a worry wart human lens!).

Anyways, that being said, I want to have an attitude of constant prayer, supplication and thanksgiving, all simultaneously happening at once!

So, today, things that I am thankful for....

Good health once again.

I am very thankful for this, just having recovered from a cold. Feels good to be on the mend.

Wonderful family.

We had a nice reunion with my parents and brother and his family a couple days after we returned from Mexico. It was nice to be together again.

My eldest daughter celebrated her 10th birthday.

Time is flying! A whole decade has passed! That's crazy! She is growing up so beautifully. I am thankful for her.

A great guinea pig movie:-)

Okay, we're partial to guinea pigs given they are our pets. They are making a comeback! Woohoo! Just kidding. We went to the movie for my daughter's bday treat...and it was a lot of fun watching the 3D movie.

Church family.

We have a wonderful church family. I'm thankful for the many friends, make that brothers and sisters, we have at our church. It's good to be back.

Accountability Tool

It's time to press the re-start button once again! So I started another accountability blog, separate from this blog, since it will contain more of the nitty gritty "mundane" details and ramblings of each and every thing I eat:-) I am hoping this public form of accountability will once again be the motivation I need to be consistent once again. I know it was a helpful tool at the beginning of my TW journey.

So, without more ado, here is my first post that is already posted on my new blog, Fresh Start....

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It's time to jump in all the way! I'm going to aim to be brutally honest from here on in... I have to admit I am filled with a lot of trepidation, but I know that I need to dive in. And I also know my tendency to hide and slip and slide generally decreases when I am serious about being transparent and an open book.

This is only one small part of my life...yet I long to experience the transforming touch of Jesus in this area. More and more I am seeing my similarities to the prodigal son, doing things my own way, gluttonous and really just ruining my own life when I follow my own flesh desires and turn away from Father.

But I know that Papa has His arms open wide. Actually He runs to me. He wants me to stay with Him. He wants me to enjoy all the blessings and provisions that He can offer. Because He loves me.

So I run to Him. I don't want to hide. I don't want to run away. I want to stay right here in Papa's presence, eating at His table, and enjoying all the best that He desires for me.

Will it be easy? I know this is going to be tough because my gluttonous lazy fleshly desires are in overdrive right now!!! But I'm pressing the restart button and starting afresh, in Papa's loving embrace.

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To check out my new accountability blog, click here.

Home again!

I'm officially home! Woohoo! Feels great! I got the suitcases unpacked and most of the laundry is pretty much done going through the washer and dryer. I'm very thankful for God's many provisions over the past month. I learned a lot about myself and my relationship with my family and more importantly with God. One thing I definitely am feeling called to further examine and bring before the Lord for renewal is my predisposition to worry and not trust the Lord. It really and truly comes down to a trust issue. It scares me how I can see it rubbing off on the kids. They get anxious about things so easily as well. I'm glad that God brought it to my attention though.

So we headed off in a huge storm on our drive to Minneapolis back a month ago...probably the worst storm we've ever driven through which prompted A LOT of prayer and choosing to trust God. And then today, on our way back home, we once again drove through a huge storm cell about an hour from home! Go figure! Actually a tornado watch was in effect (unknown to us) which didn't take an expert to figure out as we eyed the clouds. So, once again, we prayed our way through that storm cell. Those two storms have got to be the worst ones we've ever driven through! Once again I know the Lord is teaching me. He is God alone and He is on His throne. As I have been telling my kids lately, us worrying doesn't do any help at all...in fact it can often do harm instead. Giving it to God in prayer and then choosing to see the things to be grateful for and thanking Him for it....now THAT changes things for good!

I'm SOOOOOO ready to be back and at it with consistent conscious eating and with exercise. I am missing routines! And I'm sure I gained a ton of weight! AAHHH. Anyways, I don't even want to step near the scale. I'll just assume I gained and be really careful with my eating.

I'm not sure how much I'll be blogging in the next while...but I just wanted to make sure I finished off our trip to Mexico properly by announcing I arrived home safe and sound, praise God!

Homeward Bound

Well, today is the day we leave Mexico and fly back home. We're all really looking forward to home.

The kids both got symptoms of swimmer ear going on. My youngest was in a lot of pain, so we decided to visit a doctor last night. I couldn't believe how easy it was! God definitely provided in that moment. An english speaking doctor in a 24 hour clinic just a short two block walk down the road! Amazing! We felt better having the kids checked and following doctor's advice.

Sooooo..... I've been up since 5am and can't sleep and am ready to get going:-) Actually I'm having trouble sleeping because I'm hungry for breakfast as well...which is a good thing of course:-)

One last thing, here are some pictures from our past week sent in Playa del Carmen.

Well, adios Mexico! Here we come Canada:-)

Thanks Lord for being with us each step of the way and for all Your gracious and bountiful provisions. Amen.

Mexico - a few pictures

Here are a few highlight pictures I'd like to share. We're not yet home, so there may be a few more favorites:-) I wish we'd taken more pictures with the kids at the Fletcher's home, but we opted to live in the moment rather than capture each moment in photos... Tulum cabana.
My handsome husband:-)

Fun in the waves at Tulum.

My monkey daughter:-)

Playdough fun at the Fletcher's.

A special family we shared a hamper with.

The dear old lady who kept knocking at her Heavenly Father's door in prayer, whom we delivered a hamper to.

Teaching sunday school with Marta at a village church.

Steve Fletcher showing off the limes the kids picked one afternoon. In the background is the orphanage property.

A real tortilla making lesson! It was awesome!

My eldest daughter enjoying a little monkey moment:-)

Mexico Trip - part 3

Looking back I can see that God had His hand in each moment of our time in Dzan.

That last week of our time in Dzan we delivered another four hampers. This was by far one of our highlights. These families had clear needs and were in relationship with the Fletchers, so it was very special to be part of this love offering.

They all stood out in my mind...but one that I'd like to capture for you, is when we visitted an elderly lady. She had been close friends with Marta's mom for many years, prior to Marta's mom passing away. She was clearly a godly woman, yet had been unable to attend church for some time. We entered her home and she was so moved. She immediately started to say, with such emotion, that she had just been praying to God "Who (and when) are you going to send somebody to visit and encourage me in my faith?" She was clearly feeling "low" and needed some encouragement and had been persistently bringing it to the Lord in prayer. So when we walked in the door she joyfully recognized us as the answer to her prayers. We talked and prayed together. She shared how she had been experiencing many fears lately, that she knew were from the devil. She shared how she was praying through her ailments and fears as she knew God had always faithfully answered her prayers through the years. In fact she said that God was always the only One who could cure her... The doctor's efforts never worked. Prayer to her Father did. I was so touched and wept as I listened to this beautiful old lady share from her heart in the mayan tongue.

We also visitted a village on Sunday night, teaching sunday school to 23 children. It was a different experience with the language barrier clearly felt. A bit frustrating in many ways. The miraculous "God-thing" about this was that on our way back home, Steve told us what he had preached about in the service - Philippians 4:6 "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God." The VERY thing our sunday school lesson had been on! I was touched that God had yet again showed Himself so real. Praise God.

Another God-thing, was that Jon got sick on Friday, and God graciously lifted the fever that very night, within hours of him getting the fever. (Continued prayers for my eldest who has had stomach troubles since Sunday and also for Jon who has a fever again today, Thursday, would be greatly appreciated.)

As I look back I have these little snapshots of the the dear people we spent so much time with...

The 5 year old child of the oldest orphan girl (18 years old), following my youngest daughter around, quite enamoured with her. I also have this vision of him laughing and laughing and so joyful.

The youngest girl, 7 years old, giggling and laughing and being such a goof ball the whole time we were with them! God has certainly healed her wounds from the past. The psychologist says she is just like any other child, "normal" in every sense, not scarred by her experiences from birth to three years old. Praise God!

The 10 year old orphan boy saying, "Chrrristina, uno?" How could I resist?! He sure loved playing the UNO card game!!! It was touching to be asked:-)

12 year old girl, D., with such a sweet spirit, helping around the house every chance she got, with such a beautiful gentle presence. Praise God for sparing her a heart hardened by the pain.

14 year old girl, M., hugging and playing with my youngest daughter, relishing the moment. And then at the end of our visit she was the one who handed my youngest daughter a stuffed animal as a good bye gift, as she did last year.

The oldest 15 year old brother coming downstairs when we were leaving on Tuesday and offering me a hug and handing me a letter. As I got Steve to translate the letter for us on the drive to the bus station, he got midway through the letter and said, "This is from E.?!" He couldn't believe it. He said this was the first letter E. had ever written to another person! What a privilege and blessing and joy. I was very moved. I could see those moments spent side by side with him at the kitchen sink day after day, washing and drying the dishes in quiet companionship had taken root in his heart.

The eldest girl, 18 years old, so beautiful inside and out, grown up into a truly godly and beautiful and responsible and gifted young woman. It was a joy to watch her perform a song at a church service on Monday night, her first performance ever. God has certainly redeemed her from the pit!

Then there were the Fletcher's children who touched our hearts as well...

The eldest 12 year old daughter has such a servant heart. She has grown up so much over the past year, graciously accepting her ministry role in the family. It was a joy teaching her some baking skills as she was so eager to learn! One day I came home to see that she had taken on the job of making sugar cookies all by herself, no help from me! I was so impressed:-)

The middle 10 year old son, was such a help to us as well, translating for us so often and showing a maturity well beyond his years. He clearly has also graciously accepted his ministry role in this large family.

And then the youngest, a 7 year old, had such a sense of humour and was always laughing. I have this picture of him playing UNO with such a competitive spirit and playing with so much gusto!!

Then there are the snapshots of our time with Steve and Marta. Steve was always smiling and laughing and bringing joy to the family. And it was an incredible privilege to spend time with Marta - shopping together, cooking and cleaning together, baking together, talking and praying together. It was such a privilege watching and learning from her. She is a beautiful lady inside and out.

It was a high privilege to LIVE life with them. I feel WE benefitted far more than we benefitted them. The cross cultural experience we gained for ourselves and for the kids was priceless. And the experiences we were able to be part of - visitting villages, handing out hampers, praying with people, playing with the kids, being part of God moving in such tangible ways, were such a blessing to us in turn, memories that will be cherished forever.

It was a tearful goodbye. We formed very special bonds with each person in the family. Our prayers are with them as God unfolds the next phase of this vision for the orphanage and home for the elderly. They are so close to being ready to open. The main need right now is staffing for the orphanage. God prepares them one step at a time, though it may seem slow to us, God's timing is perfect. This was clear to us. The building is near completion, with just a few things left to do prior to welcoming children into the orphanage. We are excited for them as God begins to work out these details.

To see photos from our time in Dzan, click here.

Mexico Trip - part 2

Back for another update. Whew! What a week that has flown by! It's hard for me to remember all that has happened. Here are a few photos from our time so far, though the photos really don't fully capture all our experiences as sometimes we just have to live the experience not photograph it! I know there have been lots and lots and lots of games of the card game UNO and "Go Fish" played. The kids down here get exceptionally competitive with UNO, more than anyone I've ever seen! They are constantly requesting to play UNO:-) I'm glad we packed that game in the suitcase with us! Also, we brought along a game of pictionary and printed out spanish/english words so we could all play. I've been pleasantly surprised to see that has also been a huge hit. We've played lots of games of that as
well.

I packed a suitcase full of crafts/games relating to bible stories for just about every day and also lots of little things that can be a little something
special for the day. Games, jumping ropes, bubbles, stickers, tattoos, water balloons, stampers etc. The kids are enjoying these extra activities. We've
had some wonderful bonding times with the kids. Our relationship with these kids has deepened greatly this year. Last year we were more acquaintances,
though by the end of our stay we were friends. But this year, they know that we really are investing in them and they are drawing closer yet, so that is
really special to us.

One other thing I've been doing lots of is baking...which of course hasn't been helping me much in regards to conscious eating. I've been trying out a bunch
of baking recipes for Marta at her request, and trying to teach her and her oldest daughter a bit about baking. They love to try new things. They are on the look out for things they can make at the orphanage or even sell. So we've tried pizza, buns, tuna casserole, chocolate cake, chocolate chip cookies, sugar
cookies, biscuits...and there are more we will be trying this upcoming week. Everything I bake is such an experiment so it is always a little bit nail
biting as baking just doesn't work the same way here as it does at home. I think the flour is very different here and the oven only has heat coming from the
base not above.

The most stressful baking experience was definitely yesterday. It was the oldest "orphan" girls birthday and she was turning 18 years old. The whole extended family was going to be coming, making us a group of at least 30 people. Last year I'd made a cake for this girl's birthday since we were here at the same time, and I didn't feel they really liked the cake I made (banana spice cake with cream cheese icing). So this year I felt nervous about them not liking it again... Anyways, they wanted me to try out my chocolate cake recipe, so I went for it. Of course something went wrong, as it always does when I bake/cook for other people (:-)...the oven rack was just too near the heat and so the cake burned. I managed to salvage the cakes and once it was iced no one would have been the wiser. I realized this morning, that I forgot to put vanilla in the icing as well!!! I knew the icing didn't quite taste right last night! Anyways, the cake looked pretty, and tasted okay (though not the same as home once again). The other thing that I did yesterday for the big party was make the copycat "Red Lobster" biscuit recipe. Marta had told me last year they were some of her favorite biscuits, so I brought the right ingredients from Canada this time round, and made about 120 biscuits for the party last night! Whew! I was exhausted after that endeavor! But they were a hit! Yay!

On Sunday we attended church in a nearby village, both in the morning and the evening. The church is being planted by a korean church from the States. They
are currently without a pastor, so a korean american man from the church in the States has moved down to this village to fill in as pastor for the next six
months until they find a new pastor. The amazing thing is that he doesn't even speak much spanish! He will be working through a translator. I was so blown
away by this man's (and his wife) obedience, passion and surrender to the Lord. Their little 6 year old boy will be attending school in the village...with no
spanish yet known. Whew! Anyways, there was a mission team from the korean church that had come down to work for the past two weeks, so our visit coincided with their time.

God certainly had His hand in this meeting. From the very start when the visit to this small church was arranged (don't have the space to describe all that, except to say it was much more than coincidence how it all came to be) to the very topic of the message on Sunday (about the kingdom of God, the very thing on our heart's and which we have been studying in depth the past month). I sat listening to the message (what a blessing it was that the pastor spoke in english, translated into spanish of course!) and it was like God was saying "See I'm working here too, speaking the same words." They asked us to share in the service and so both Jon and I shared impromptu which once again was God inspired as Jon closed with the Lord's prayer emphasizing "Your kingdom come, your will be done." The pastor began to expound on this and showed how that prayer was incribed on the necklace around his neck! I was just so blown away by how God confirmed His message, His words, to us and to them again and again.

After the service, we delivered some food/hygience/school supply hampers that we had purchased on behalf of some friends from our home church. It was moving and touching to meet and pray with four different families, with various struggles and illnesses and difficulties. We pray this gesture of God's love will be a seed planted in their hearts and will draw them closer to God and encourage them.

Jon has been working on the land at the orphanage site a fair amount. I've been cleaning, playing games, running errands with Marta, etc. Our kids have been playing, playing, playing, playing, playing with countless kids that come in and out of the doors of this home! It's been a joy.

We are thankful for God's hand of protection with health and safety. We certainly don't take it for granted. I felt the beginnings of a chest cold setting in the beginning of our time here and Marta and the kids prayed over me and it lifted that very day, praise God. My youngest daughter had troubles with her ear as I think she got water in it from some extreme water play that was happening here:-) Anyways, she couldn't hear out of it for a day or so and then it moved to hurting...but once again, praise God, she is feeling better. We were driving back to the village church on Sunday evening (on a pitch rural road) and the lights started to go out, raising concerns of problems with the alternator or the electrical etc. We prayed our way to the church that evening...and praise God we arrived safe and sound and returned back to the Fletcher's home safe and sound.

As I said previously I'm still struggling with 0-5 eating. It's hard with such different schedules and with all the potential "tourist nibbling" opportunities I have here! Plus all the baking is not helping any! I'm sure I've gained some weight... My goal for this upcoming week is to cut out juice as much as possible and just drink water. I'll also make it my continued aim to be hungry for breakfast as that is the most relaxed, eat-when-you-want, meal. And I'm going to try really hard to cut back on portion sizes at lunch and supper. I'm really struggling though.

Well, that's my novel for today. I know I've been pretty long winded, but God has been good and I'm thankful for God's provisions, power and equipping once again, as each day I've been falling at His feet in such need of Him.