no bones about it

It was a hot day, and as usual a few degrees hotter in the kitchen as I began preparations for dinner over the gas stove.  I slid a big pot of boiled chicken to the counter, and began to cut it up, food for several meals in coming weeks.  As I stripped the bones clean, I put them in the trash.  At one point our helper, Bebeng, came into the room and noticed what I was doing.  “It’s okay I take the bones?” she asked me with an eager look on her face.

Those bones, and the extra fat I had also discarded, were a treasure to her.  She told me that she would boil them more to make chicken soup, and that the fat is filling.  Can you blame me if I didn’t clean the bones quite so carefully after that?  After all, what’s chicken soup without a little chicken?    

But who would have thought that bones and fat could be so valued?  

 The Psalmist knew their worth:

My soul is satisfied as with marrow and fatness,
And my mouth offers praises with joyful lips.
Psalm 63:5

I wonder, is my soul satisfied with what God has offered for my nourishment today?  Do I joy in the marrow and fatness, or do I only want the choice pieces of meat?  Am I only enthusiastic about some of His Word – the parts that taste good to me?  Or do I also find satisfaction in the parts that I find harder to digest?

Behold, I have refined you, but not as silver;
I have tried you in the furnace of affliction.
Isaiah 48:10

But he knows the way that I take; 
when he has tried me, I shall come out as gold.
Job 23:10

Morsels like these are ones I’d rather skip.  Throw out with the trash.  But what will I be missing out on if I do?  His Word must be taken in whole, or not at all.  I need every last bit.

Jesus answered, "It is written: 'Man does not live on bread alone, 
but on every word that comes from the mouth of God."
Matthew 4:4

The bones may be hard, but they are for my good.

rest in His goodness

The rain has stopped, 

and the sun showed its face today, drying my backed-up laundry, 

and the muddy homes of thousands whose houses flooded this weekend.  

This quote from Joni Eareckson Tada put things in perspective for me today:

“I’m grateful that He only allows to slip through His sovereign fingers 

that which He’s convinced will help our souls and fit us better for eternity.”

What comfort, to rest in His goodness...

water under the bridge

Saturday afternoon here in Davao the rain began to fall.

And it wouldn't stop.  All through the night,

into Sunday morning, rain continued to descend.

 As the tide rose, too,

the Davao River began to swell and flood,

and some of the houses like these below were swept away,
devoured by the surge.

Walls from other homes at the river's edge were ripped away,

leaving a cutaway view inside, 

and for those families, an alarming view of the rushing river below.

Several local neighborhoods were flooded.

Mark captured these photos as we rode home from church yesterday.

 People hauled their belongings out to drier land, 

anxiously wondering how much higher the waters would rise.

Down side streets we glimpsed Filipinos wading through waters up to their chest.

 Over 30,000 Davao residents evacuated their homes this weekend,

often leaving one family member behind to protect their possessions from looters.

 As we crossed over the Davao River yesterday,

crowds lined the bridge, apprehensively watching the rushing river.

We're thankful that the rain finally did stop later on Sunday,

and when Mark ran through some of these same neighborhoods Monday morning, 

he found that the water had receded significantly.

**but in waking during Monday night I again heard the rain falling,
and now, Tuesday morning, it continues to pour.
Join us in praying for the families who have lost their homes, 
and for grace to those around us who are working to practically help them...

Muddy Michael, second from right...

We've had no flooding in our street,

but all that mud sure did make for a colorful bunch of Ultimate Frisbee players on Sunday afternoon!

I didn't forget!

“Why don't you choose a plant to take home?”  We were at the house of our friend, Ate Fely, last January for a special event, when she proudly showed me her collection of potted plants.  Fely loves these plants.  She once shared that she battles a form of idolatry, because her first desire every morning is to go and tend to her beloved plants.  And here she stood offering one of them to me.  

Together with Ate Fely last May

Honored though I was, I knew that our family would soon be leaving the country for several months, and I really didn’t want one of Fely’s plants to go neglected in our absence.  “May I choose one when we return?” I asked, and, understanding, Fely agreed.

Fast forward a whole year. Yesterday morning a car pulls up in front of our house, and Ate Fely hops out. “I didn’t forget!” she calls out with a beaming smile.  She opens her trunk and lifts out a heavy pot, brimming with bougainvillea and philodendron for me. 

Fely's special gift

 Today as I stand admiring my new plants brightening the tiny courtyard outside our kitchen window, I wonder at Fely's memory for kindness.  I'm ashamed, knowing that my own is woefully weak.  Fely's thoughtfulness reminds me of how grateful I am for God's constancy; that though I am all too quick to forget Him, He never forgets His promises to those He loves.

Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, 

for He who promised is faithful.  

 Hebrews 10:23

O to grace how great a debtor
Daily I’m constrained to be!
Let Thy goodness, like a fetter,
Bind my wandering heart to Thee.
Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it,
Prone to leave the God I love;
Here’s my heart, O take and seal it,
Seal it for Thy courts above.

-Robert Robinson, 1758

the end of transition

Life may have remained just as lazy and ordinary for some around here,

Our cat, Tsinelas, was waiting for us upon our return, and this is still her favorite spot.

but not for us!

Our days since arriving back almost two weeks ago

have been packed full with cleaning,

Ate Bebeng helps to scour the kitchen

(we found it hard to believe just how much dirt can accumulate in a few short months!)

Dirt-covered storage boxes packed just before we left.  Yes, these were INSIDE the house in our absence.

 Another friend helped us to clean,

and here she is, delightedly wielding the new shop-vac.

When we went shopping for a small vaccum cleaner,

this is the only option we found.

But it's fabulous!  

I'm giving thanks for what might just be my new favorite appliance.

We've also been working on some minor repairs,

and fighting off ant invasions (what's new?)

We painted Michael's and Amy and Elise's rooms,

and the Legos and the keyboard were unpacked and dusted off.

Michael's room WAS clean...yesterday!

The second semester of school

 started back up again - both classes at the local school

and our home school routine,

but some of us have found some time for fun in the midst of it all.

Lego Rivendell, from Tolkien's books

Mark and I are back to work, 

and it feels good to be back in our routines,

all through, at least for a little while, with transitions!

Laminating an order of bookmarks

“Isn't it funny how day by day nothing changes, 

but when you look back, everything is different...”
- C.S. Lewis

there and back again

We are officially back in the Philippines again,

battling jet lag,
joyful to see 'old' friends,

bunking at a guest house while we
clean up our home before moving back in!

New Year's Eve at Mark's sister's home in the Seattle area

ended with games up to the stroke of midnight

(okay, for some of us...others of us read books!)

 New Year's Day more family joined in the games,

 and we enjoyed a delicious celebratory meal

and scrumptious dessert together!

(Thank you, Mandy and Mom!)

January 2nd we left frosty Seattle,

saying final good byes at the airport,

and beginning our 29-hour journey back to Davao.

The trip was long but smooth,

except for a bit of intestinal trouble.
But now we are here,
healthy,
safe,
and so very thankful for all of your prayers along our way!

goodbye

Saying goodbye is like a mini-death, a loss, a separation.  It can’t really be done well, because, like death, it’s due to our sinful condition.  Separation from those we love on earth brings grief and sadness.  No amount of hugs and “I’ll miss you’s” is adequate to dispel the pain.  We were not created for goodbyes.  In Heaven we’ll know what we long and groan for here – the end of partings.  The ceaseless unity and fellowship of souls specifically designed for such oneness. (John 17)

Just like in death, saying goodbye hurts.  And it hurts because in some way you have blessed our lives.You have demonstrated something of Christ to us.  Thank you. 

 If you had not, it would have been easy to say goodbye.

And then we remember the goodbyes Christ said for us, so that we might know Heaven’s long hello.  

We don’t grieve like those without Christ.  Our hope is grounded in nothing less than the promises of God.  Now we get to go and share that hope.  And your prayers blaze the trail; they avail much – though we don’t understand how or why, we know they do.

So thank you for praying for us.  Please pray that, as a result of our goodbye, there will be richer, sweeter, fuller glory to God for all eternity from His entire kingdom, His perfected bride, His completed body; not one stone of His church missing.  

For He alone is worthy!

2013

Thy goodness will be with me in the year ahead; 

I hoist sail and draw up anchor, 

With Thee as the blessed Pilot 

of my future as of my past.

from The Valley of Vision; Year's End

January Calendar painted by Amy

Happy New Year From our Home to Yours!

-us5 earthen vessels

Thank you for your prayers for us in our upcoming travels!

perfect translation

He glanced down at his dirty feet and dusty clothes, remembering the beautifully clean and tranquil environment he had relinquished to come and work in this foreign land.  He had left a home that was serene and inviting, but there was no serenity here.  The sweaty grittiness of this place was unlike anything he had ever known.

He bit into a fragrant crust of bread, fresh, warm and good.  Yet having come from a lifestyle where he had known no need or want, it was humbling to find himself reduced to a humble daily dependence for every meal.  

He had willingly crossed cultures, moving to a place governed by corrupt leaders, and teeming with masses of people greedy for temporal gain, blind to their greater spiritual need.  He spoke the language fluently and had friends in the community, but none who truly understood his heart.  And as he considered the terrible charge that lay ahead of him, he was intensely distressed.

“And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.” John 1:14

Yes, it was Jesus who forfeited His culture of perfection, the splendor and serenity of the Father’s home, the companionship at His Father’s side.  It was Jesus who entered this foreign earth, taking on human flesh to dirty His feet on our roads, taste our daily bread, speak our language, and lay down His life in ransom for ours.  

It was Jesus who was the perfect translation of God’s expression, as the Word of God wrapped in human likeness.  What He sacrificed that we might know Him!  

This is the heart of Christmas.  Immanuel. God with us.

...Word of the Father,

Now in flesh appearing,

Oh come, let us adore Him,

Oh come, let us adore Him,

Oh come, let us adore Him,

Christ the Lord!

happy, happy Christmas

Michael and Amy weigh a suitcase

Last Monday morning our bags were packed  and weighed,

and we traveled northward to St. Louis to return our rental van.

With a few extra hours to spare before taking our flight to the NW, 

we visited the St. Louis Arch,

the Gateway to the West.
(For us it's more of a gateway to the East...)

We rode to the top of the arch; 630 feet up.

The view from the top was breathtaking,

but not more so than the swaying of the arch

under us...

It was  good to get our feet back on firm ground again.

decorating the tree

Then on to Seattle, where we've been celebrating the season

together with family.

building gingerbread houses

  These are sweet times.

Happy, happy Christmas, 

that can win us back to the delusions of our childhood days, 

recall to the old man the pleasures of his youth, 

and transport the traveler back to his own fireside and quiet home!

~Charles Dickens

wending our way

The house was filled with the cheer of Christmas carols playing this week, but instead of unpacking boxes of ornaments to decorate the house, we packed up boxes of our personal things and squirreled them away in our friend A's attic (many, many thanks, A, for storing our things!) for hibernation during our next term overseas.

Then we swept the rooms, raked the yard, and packed our suitcases, all while saying good byes left and right to people we love here in Savannah.  It seems a strange way to celebrate the season of Christmas.

saying good byes

 

to friends we love...

But in the midst of it all we found time for a few Christmas traditions, 

like a ferry ride across the Savannah River to the Westin 

to see the Gingerbread houses, 

a gingerbread library!  how great is that?!?

to Leopold's for some of Savannah's very best ice cream, 

 

watching The Muppet's Christmas Carol while snuggled under blankets, 

 

and a grand finale of beauty 

in the majestic Lessons and Carols service 

at church on Sunday evening.

Elise and Amy join the youth choir one last time

more good-byes

And now, as you read this, 

we'll be wending our way across the country 

to spend the holidays with our dear families in the Northwest.  

And soon afterward we'll begin our travels back to the Philippines!  

We treasure your prayers for us in all of the transitions.  

Saying good bye is hard. 

It just always will be.  

  

But as Dr. Seuss said, "Don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened."  

So we'll smile and give thanks for all these wonderful memories.
We hope you'll give thanks with us!