udto udto

A few years ago, while cleaning our house in the Philippines, I found a little snake in the living room behind our couch.  It was about 6 inches long, and very skinny.  I was pretty sure that it was harmless, but we captured it in a jar, and Michael carried it up to the office to ask the Filipino staff what kind of snake it was.   

 “Udto udto,” they told him; 

"it’s so poisonous, if it bites you, you won’t last 'til lunch."  

We learned later that they said the same thing about every snake anyone ever encountered there.  They were lovingly encouraging us to not take any chances with any snake.   

Let's encourage each other to not take any chances with any sinful thoughts, no matter how harmless they seem.  Thoughts of discontent, fear, ungratefulness or bitterness can become equally poisonous to our faith, and they must be taken captive, replaced with thoughts and words of thanksgiving, praise and trust!

  …we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ

 2 Cor 10:5

 

in our new nest

Do you remember the little bird

who built her nest outside our kitchen window in May,

just as we were vacating our home and preparing to move back to the US?

The day before we returned our house keys to the landlord,

I peeked inside her nest, and this is what I saw:

She had found a place to stay.

And now we, after what seems like a very long time,

also have a place to stay,

a home for this year; 

a place composed of bits and pieces lovingly gathered together

by dear friends and church family members who prepared this 'nest' 

as a warm welcome for our family.

We were overwhelmed and blessed by their care for us,

and reminded all over again of our Heavenly Father's provision

of exactly what we need to make a home.

Just like He provided the twigs and feathers, grass and vines for the olive-backed sunbird,

 so He has, through His people and their kindness,

supplied just about all we need for this new nest.

Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, 

and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. 

Are you not of more value than they?

Matthew 6:26 

We hope you'll stop by for a visit!

Amy and Elise Skype with 3 friends at once in their new room

 Now that we're back, we'd love to spend some time with you.

You've heard all about us5 through our newsletters and blog,

now we'd love to hear about you, 

and how God has demonstrated His goodness in your lives!

 

declaring His praise

"Behold, I am doing a new thing;

now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?

I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.

The wild beasts will honor Me,

the jackals 

and the ostriches,
 

for I give water in the wilderness, rivers in the desert,

to give drink to my chosen people,

the people whom I formed for Myself

that they might declare my praise."
Isaiah 43:19-21 

Declaring His praise as we see the wonders of His hand across our nation,
and as we wait to see the new things He will do...

All photos above from Joshua Tree State Park, CA, and the Desert Museum of Tucson, AZ

(btw: yes, I do realize that those are NOT jackals and ostriches!  but they're close enough!)

crocodinner

By presidential decree,

as of last Thursday,

today has been declared a non-working holiday in Davao.

It's in celebration of Araw ng Davao,

the commemoration of the birth of this city on March 16th, 76 years ago.

Here's one unique way to celebrate...

barbequed croc on a stick anyone?

Incidentally, the city shares this birthday with my brother...

Happy Birthday, Steve!  Hope you celebrate with something more appetizing.

i'll get a blessin wi' the lave

I see the movement in my peripheral view.  It’s in the middle of the sermon on the ninth plague of darkness, and I am only just quick enough to see the deep black of his eye down near my feet before he is gone. A mouse.

Caught him in action!

An hour later, as we meet in the kitchen for the women’s Sunday School class, it isn’t a movement but a noise that draws my attention.  I can’t keep my eyes on Lil as she recites the Bible verses she memorized this week; the quiet rustling somewhere under the sink draws my gaze.  I'm quickly rewarded.  First one, then another mouse darts out from a hole in the floor and over to the corner of the room.  More rustling, and they eagerly circle the ring of the trash can, intelligent creatures that they are, diving down in for an irresistible haul.

Church mice.  I’d only read of them in books; quaint little things.  And now, here they are, in real life.  I can’t help but think of Robert Burn’s response as he surprised a mouse in a different place and a different time:

-          From To a Mouse by Robert Burns (one verse and its translation from the Scots)

They may steal, but it's waste after all, and a bit of left over food isn't much to ask; we’ll be blessed with what is left, and never miss it.

I can't help but think of other shareable food in the church.  Lavish feasts of the Word of God, nutritious teaching, healthy doses of wise counsel. So many fellow-Christians in developing lands - believers with no access to God’s Word in their own language, pastors with no seminary training, teachers who have no teaching – are hungry to know more of the Word, more of Christ, more of the truth.  

Have we in the church of the West any left overs to share?  Some of you have shared excellent books, others Sunday School materials, and others gifts to make His Word known. Still others have shared in ways that only God knows about.  Thank you for sharing.   

May we ever be open-handed with the spiritual riches entrusted to us as a nation.  I think we’ll be blessed with all that’s left, and never miss what we’ve shared of our great wealth of spiritual resources.   

Yet what we share might mean all the difference in the world to hearts hungry for God’s Word.

...they received the Word with all eagerness, 

examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so.

Acts 17:11b

lizard on a leash

 On the day that Michael climbed a volcano,

as he and his group headed back down the dusty trail,

they crossed paths with this big lizard,

photos by Michael

 presumably someone's pet, since it was tied by a rope (just in front of the back legs)

to a piece of wood on the side of the trail.

He viewed us, as we passed him by,
With calm and yet with questioning eye,
But moveless still, as though the stone
Were portion of his being's own.
- Edward Robeson Taylor

groggy mornings and geckos

Somehow at our house, early groggy mornings

and fat pink geckos seem to go together.

This one startled me out of my sleepy-eyed state

and simultaneously convicted me about leaving dishes in the sink overnight...

even if they are soaking in hot soapy water.

He was not in the best of health,

and really didn't budge much at all when I reached into the sink to start washing the knife.

That's when I drew the line,

and decided to wait for my knight in shining armor (aka Mark)

who valiantly drove the beast from our home.

(Thank you, Sir Mark!!)

Once again, this gecko reminds me to choose to give thanks;

1. thanks that it wasn't a bigger or hairier something
2. thanks that we have an indoor sink with running water for geckos to hang out in
3. thanks that I have a brave and kind husband, willing to rescue me from unpleasantness

4. thanks that this isn't a regular occurrence in our home

What are you giving thanks for today?

you guessed it

Yep, you guessed it.

A mouse.

He was just as startled as we were

when we caught him sneaking around behind the

drainboard after dinner.

Our cat was no help,

asleep on the windowsill outside.

But my hero Mark set a trap,

and that's the end of the story.

morning song

Rich tenor notes filled the otherwise silent morning darkness with a haunting lilt, the voice of a neighbor singing his pre-dawn M-prayer.  As I unlocked our gate to see Mark off on a trip out of town, I paused to listen.  The tune was beautiful yet desolate, a cadence chanted to God without any hope in His great salvation...

He has delivered us from the domain of darkness 

and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son,

in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

Colossians 1:13-14

Then suddenly, out of the darkness rose another song, loud and strong and sweet, and in surprising contrast, full of merriment.  It was the jubilant song of a small bird, perched on a power line high above the street, singing praise to his Creator.

For by Him all things were created,
in heaven and on earth...
Colossians 1:16a

a different bird I caught praising his Creator in Kirkland, WA

Let everything that has breath praise the LORD! 

Praise the LORD!

Psalm 150:6

antics

 The ant is knowing and wise,

but he doesn't know enough to take a vacation.

-Clarence Day

ants disappearing by the dozens into a hole in the floor - the hole is sealed now...thanks Mark!

Since our return to our home in Davao,

the ants have been relentless.

First they attacked the kitchen;

their appetites for our unopened, unguarded 

penne noodles and corn flakes was totally understandable.

I mean, it's a free lunch, guys!

But when I secured all the food carefully away in plastic bins,

the ants persisted, starting in on even more delicious entres,

like our paper napkins,

our rolling pin (maybe there were some vestiges of bread dough on it?)

and our ziploc bags.

Those bags are precious.  

And those crazy ants ate holes in the bottoms of them, 

so that when I popped them open to fill with leftovers,

the food fell out the other side.

Then the ants started eating Michael.

Or maybe more accurately, they infested his bed (again),

biting him in the middle of the night.

The whale is endangered,

while the ant continues to do just fine.

-Bill Vaughan 

ants gulping down Terro...the most effective ant poison we've found

 We did many a battle, with chemicals

and perfume (they hate it!) and rubbing alcohol on the walls,

 while sealing more holes

and using elaborate ant traps to keep food out of their reach.

this ant trap is keeping bread dough off limits...

So now, though we see an occasional scout,

life is fairly bug-free.

Except for our bulletin board.

They've been feasting on it for over two weeks now.

They eat into the background paper,
dusting the stairs below with white paper dust.

They bore into the cork, maybe to get at the glue behind it.

And though we've fed them dose after dose of Terro poison,

these ants just keep returning, with no sign of slowing.

They consume the poison, and then go back to the paper.

"It is not enough to be busy,

so are the ants. 

The question is: what are we busy about?"

 --Henry David Thoreau

My mind is boggled by their insistence in consuming my bulletin board.

(At least they aren't eating the photos of our friends posted there!)

I mean, if they have to eat something,

I'm happy for them to eat the bulletin board paper 

rather than our ziploc bags, or our food, 

or our children.

The ants remain unceasingly busy.

But is this obsession of theirs really worth all their work?

Watching them makes me wonder,

What am I busy about?

I'm not a huge Thoreau fan,

but he's got it right in the quote above.

What am I busy about?

Am I busy with what everyone else is currently obsessed, and investing time in?

 Am I consumed with the demands that seem so urgent, that scream for my attention?

Or am I being intentional with my busyness, 

focused on things of eternal worth,

things that will nourish and bless others and myself?

Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us, and establish the work of our hands upon us; 

yes, establish the work of our hands!

Psalm 90:17