Good Gifts

One of the things I enjoy most about Christmas is buying gifts for others, so much so that I often forget that I also will be receiving gifts. 

Once home with the treasures I've chosen, there is the hiding of them that heightens the anticipation of the 25th. I find myself wanting to give immediately and yet knowing I must wait. Then I quietly and secretly find a place for the wrapping extravaganza--it's purpose, of course, is to conceal for a time with beautiful paper, ribbons, bows. I always hope my finished product has a visually appealing look that will contribute to a joyous, peaceful, and festive atmosphere. All of this builds anticipation so that we arrive on Christmas day with much expectation. Culminating weeks of looking forward, Christmas holds promise of gifts no longer concealed, but revealed. Past the outward presentation of the giver's handiwork, once opened, a gift is seen for what it is and with hope that it's enjoyment will exist far beyond the initial discovery. Depending on what the gift is there can be years of enjoyment awaiting the receiver. This is where the smile on my face comes from--hoping I've given something that will be enjoyed for a long time. And then, the realization that I also have gifts to unwrap from those who have taken time and given thought to what to give me. The joy I feel as their anticipation is expressed in sitting forward and watching intently to see the delight on my face as I work through ribbons, bows, and paper to see what they've chosen for me. I also benefit from knowing that I've blessed them when I receive their gift with a smile and thanks.   

Why do we do all this on Christmas?

It all began with the greatest gift ever given--a life sacrificed for ours; it stems from a Father who sent His only Son to live among us (Emmanuel) and bring us life through His painful sacrifice. Now we can live in Him and oh, that we could see the delight on His face when we receive and unwrap with joy His gift of life and light. Matthew 7:11 "If you then who are evil know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him." 

His gift is not concealed or wrapped underneath temporary or limited surface beauty. His gift is illuminated with perfect light. "Every good and perfect gift is from above and comes down from the Father of lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. He chose to give us birth through the word of truth." James 1:17-18

May we live our lives on this earth enjoying the gift of salvation He has provided for us, and in its lifelong enjoyment may we deepen in our experience with Him--anticipating the ultimate, eternal Christmas in which we live with and worship Him forever.

Returning to our thoughts of celebrating Christmas here and now, let us frame our present with the understanding that our good Father is with us and desires us to see that as He is the one who enables us to bless each other with temporary gifts, He hopes we look up to see the forever gift He has held out for us to receive and take with our whole heart. Let us ask Him to open our eyes, minds and hearts to fully see and receive His gift of life in Jesus Christ. 

May this Christmas be one beyond the wonder and delight of prettily wrapped packages and the treasures inside them. May the ultimate gift of Jesus Christ bring true life and light to you!

It's Our Family's Anniversary!!!

 Today is an emotional day for me. 

It marks significant beginnings and endings.

June 5th has carried weight and caused reflection for the past 15 years. 

In 2006 we landed as a family of 5 for the first time in Uganda. Toby, Acacia and Kevin were 4, 3, and 2. Our belongings filled 3 luggage carts. In a driving rainstorm, Geoff pushed one of the carts as we navigated the outside walkways to the waiting vehicle there to receive and retrieve us--THANKS Dave and Raych Clay!!! Silently Geoff wondered what he had gotten his family into. Not silent at all were the cries of a couple of the exhausted children in an unfamiliar environment. 

Our actual first commitment to New Hope Uganda was for 18 months. But, in our hearts we were there for however long God had for us to be a part of the thriving, vibrant, compassionate ministry. Secretly we hoped it would be, at a minimum, at least until all three of our kids were finished with their senior year in high school.

Thirteen years later to the day, June 5, 2019, we were back again at the Entebbe airport saying our goodbyes to Sam, Nabukeera, and the Dangers family. We would never again work full time on the ground in Uganda as servants of God at New Hope Uganda. In fact, to date, the 5 of us have not been together in Uganda again. 

Yesterday, June 4th, was Geoff's last day as Vice President of Ministry Relations for New Hope Uganda Ministries, a position he's held in the U.S. since January 2020. We took a sabbatical from June-December 2019 and as soon as his sabbatical finished he was anxious to start working again for the ministry we love so much. 

But, God has a new season for us. He has made that very clear. It's not been easy shifting our focus, changing where we put our hand, and knowing we won't be an active part of that ministry day-to-day.

It is no coincidence that today, June 5th, is the first day of our new season. 

The future is not totally clear for any of us. I'm reminded of a few sentences in a book called, "James," that became painfully real to us in 2009 when we were involved in a horrendous motor vehicle accident with a lorry laden with charcoal. There we were traveling down the dirt road, returning home from Kampala, the Monday after Easter with many groceries and items for a soon arriving new missionary family, the Biedlers. Around a corner of the freshly grated dirt road came the overloaded, speeding lorry sliding toward us as the driver applied, with futility, the brakes. It clipped the front of our van on the side where I was sitting and pushed us backward into the ditch, and then the charcoal, piled way too high, careened down on us, smashing the van and windshield, cutting Kevin's face, breaking his leg and pinning me in. I'll spare the rest of the details. But, suddenly everything changed. Our plans for how our next month was going to look, for how we were to welcome the Biedlers, for lessons in homeschool, etc. immediately were upended. 

James 4:13-17, "Come now, you who say, 'Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit,' yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. Instead you ought to say, 'If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.' As it is, you boast in your arrogance, All such boasting is evil. So, whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin."

Obviously, the words in this passage soberly framed our outlook and experience that day in March, 2009. And not just on that day, but God brought the last sentence to the forefront again in October 2019 when Geoff and I realized we needed to plant ourselves in Denver to be near his parents. The right thing for us to do is to be present for his parents as life deals unexpected changes and required shifts. We could have said no to God's move on our hearts for Denver and returned to the ministry we love, but that would not have been right because it was not what He asked us to do. 

Geoff's VP position kept us connected to New Hope Uganda and softened the shift to the U.S. away from Uganda.

Now? Yes, we're excited for his new position, but admittedly sorrowful over not being an active part of New Hope Uganda.

Another new beginning. 

Geoff's new chapter is a new chapter for all of us. The kids have never known Geoff to work outside of the ministry; have not known what it is like to not have Dad present and available to them in the middle of their days. We have had the rare experience of not only eating dinner together each day, but also breakfast and most lunches, too. Of course, the kids being at FRCS since august 2019 and Toby going off to JBU last fall has changed the look of our days, but Geoff was still available at a moment's notice. 

In addition, Acacia and Kevin's graduation from high school last week ushered in new seasons for us. in a couple short months Kevin will begin university, along with ROTC, while Acacia explores various aspects of agriculture and other opportunities during her gap year, and Toby will return to JBU in Arkansas. 

But, for now it is summer and Toby is here, hallelujah. So, we are all together again. The kids each have at least one job outside the home for the summer--also something new for us. 

So. Much. Change.

New schedules, new foci, new living situations, new jobs. The old song rings true for us these days, we don't know what the future holds, but we know who holds the future.

And that is the stabilizing support for all the emotion welling up within.

Praise God He never changes. 

Praise God for new seasons.

Praise God He is always with us.

Amen.

                                            The Britton Clan--June 5th, 2021

Belonging

As we prepared to visit Uganda last month many people asked what I was looking forward to experiencing while there. With curiosity some asked which unique-to-Uganda food I hoped to eat. Some wondered if my strongest desire was to be in “my” house again, soaking up the sense of home. Some asked who I was looking forward to visiting. Others wanted to know what I hoped Acacia and Kevin would experience while there.

Before we boarded the airplane I offered each person who asked definitive answers to their questions. But, as I sat in the Easter Sunday church gathering in Uganda a profound sense of why I had looked forward to being at New Hope Uganda washed over me, filling me with warmth and tears. 

As I sat near others whom I loved and lived with for 13 years I realized I belonged. Truly belonged. My friends at New Hope Uganda know me. We’ve walked together through joyful and distressing times! We understand each other’s heart’s desires. The culture in which we lived and moved and “had our being” for the past many years is familiar. The people we served alongside treasure and value a future for children and staff of the ministry and our foci converge in what should be done to bring Jesus Christ to the forefront of lives and ministry. 

Belonging. A sense of being understood, valued, loved, and accepted. We never outgrow these desires though how we understand and process what each one means to us changes over time.

I’m thankful for the belonging I’ve been privileged to experience due to the years we’ve spent living and working with dear friends. It is not my “home culture”, but it is where I feel at home. 

For my family and friends in the U.S. it may be difficult to understand how I can feel at home in a “foreign” place. Even I wonder how to explain it. The sharing of daily life and walking together through both positive and negative aspects of life over the course of many years, forges a deeply felt connection. My sense of belonging there doesn’t negate my love and appreciation for those in my life who are not involved with New hope Uganda.

When I was young my family moved often, and not just to different houses, but to different states and multiple cities within states. I always wondered what it would have been like to have grown up in one place with the same people through many years. 

Some of what we experienced at New Hope Uganda satisfies such a longing. We arrived to work with the ministry when our children were ages 2, 3, and 4. We were young and as we advanced through the stages of life from “toddlerdom” to high school graduates we did so alongside friends who saw our flaws, celebrated our victories, cried with us through loss, and encouraged us in multiple ways. 

Knowing that we are soon entering the next stage of life in which our kids are moving into their own adult transition was highlighted strongly while we were on the ground at New Hope Uganda last month. Many of their friends have also “moved on” or are soon to be off-site, away from their family homes pursuing what God has next for them. In being present with our long-time friends we were thankful to have the opportunity to again feel at home at a time when so much is in flux.

We don’t know what exactly the future holds, but we know that our hearts will forever be intertwined with those of New Hope Uganda with whom we have shared life at different points throughout these past 15 years.

We are grateful to God for the richness of relationship we enjoy. We are grateful for memories of iron sharpening iron, treasured interactions, the value and reward of deep, enduring friendships, and we hold in our hearts the hope of future in-person visits. 

These are but a few of the dear people we had the privilege to see and share smiles with!

Grand babies of the New Hope Uganda family!!

Kevin enjoys his many friends of David Family

Our first neighbors and dear friends

 

A sweet newly married couple who are dear to our hearts

The joy of seeing a young man who lives honorably

A quick impromptu visit on the veranda with a dear young man who is also Toby's best friend

Our sweet Ugandan family

Lunch in the city at my favorite restaurant, with Sam and Nabukeera

A tradition--special visit with the Katabazi clan

With my friend whom I've known for 28 years

Geoff and the young man whose wedding we attended in Oct 2019. He is now a vital leader in the New Hope Uganda community.

The sweet and simple smiles of Kakande!

While we got our Covid test one of the daughters of the ministry, who now works as a nurse in Kampala, happened to see us when she arrived at the clinic on official business. She made sure she greeted us once her tasks were complete.

Our first lunch in Uganda was spent with special friends who traveled across town especially to see us.

While in the grocery store I heard my name called! It was my long time friend whom I had wanted to see, but didn't think I would get to. God makes great things happen!

One of my very favorite people in the whole world!

Tea time with friends who work at Musana Camps. We also didn't think we would get to see them, but God worked it out.

Fun times with the parents of David Family

A young girl from David Family stopped by for 5 minutes on her way by.

Two young men who grew up in David Family. They blessed us by going out of their way to see us.

Acacia's best friend whom we were able to see, even though she is far away in nursing school these days.

Jackfruit is a truly social snack!!!

Another dear staff member who surprised us with a visit one afternoon!

I sought out this dear lady. She is a treasure to me, and a business woman in the community who blesses many with her well-reared chickens!!!

Geoff and Sam!

These two were just walking by our house and we squeezed in a hug!

At David Family there are always new people to love on. We receive a warm welcome, even though these girls had not been a part of the family when we left in 2019.

Our three kids!!!!!

A Perfect Picture

 On my walk through Grant Ranch yesterday morning the Rocky Mountains stunningly rose above the rooftops, speaking volumes of God's creative beauty and power, bringing me to reflect on my interactions of late. 

Throughout my week I speak with pregnant moms who want the very best for their unborn child. In relating with them I am reminded that change happens quickly. When a woman is pregnant, nine months can at times feel overwhelmingly long to her. But, truthfully the changes in pregnancy rapidly shift unknowns to knowns, though still often riddled with uncertainty. 

Pregnant moms have an ever-changing landscape before them, especially the moms who come to me as they are fully exploring all of the options they have for the child they carry. Looking into what-ifs and trying to move in what they feel is the best direction isn't easy. It's not unlike the stage Geoff, the kids and I find ourselves in right now. Options are plentiful, but weighing those options can feel heavy. 

Toby is settled in at JBU, but will find that four years of university flies as a balloon carried up high and swift on the wind. Acacia is still trying to determine what might be next after graduation--so many options, and Kevin has his eyes set on a few possibilities of how he himself can get into the sky as a pilot in the Air Force, but nothing is yet set. 

Women coming to the end of a pregnancy face labor and delivery with the stage called transition being the swiftest moving phase. But, transition for the missionary returning from the field to the home culture is NOT so fast-paced!! 

I've heard fellow returnees say it truly took years for them to feel they'd made it through transition. Just recently a fellow missionary who worked with us at New Hope Uganda stated he felt he was in transition for the greater part of six years! 

I've wondered during my own experience if the stages of transition back to a home culture after years spent adjusting to a host culture is very much like the grief process. Movement isn't so much linear  but circles round repeatedly through stages much like those of the well known Kubler-Ross presentation of grief: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance, albeit from a different perspective with each cycle through. Transition itself is a mountain of emotions presenting any one or multiples of denial ("I'm not hurting about the loss I've just experienced, I'm just really tired"); anger ("Why is it so hard and why am I hurting?"); bargaining ("If I can just get through today, tomorrow, the next week, I'll have progressed and be MUCH closer to finishing transition, right?); depression ("Nope, this is too hard, I'm gonna take another nap") and acceptance ("Thank you God for being with me even when I don't always like where I am or what I'm feeling," and "This is where we are, let's get on with it.") I found a perfect picture on the internet to illustrate what I'm trying to express . . .

As I continue to walk, the mountains ahead of me forcefully speak majesty, power, plan and blessing. Each stage of each day, month, year and decade is filled with promise as we look up and lean into God. Just as the mountains invite me to climb to higher ground, so does my Father God. Leaning into the blessing that He's given in this moment in the current stage is to say with my whole self, "THANK YOU GOD! I recognize Your hand. I recognize what You're doing. I see that You are working on my behalf in Your Kingdom!" To lean in, fully accept, and express thanks every day means that I am fully living as He intended in this moment. Though, it doesn't mean I'm through transitioning yet. 

So, as I walk with pregnant moms through the many stages of their experience I find their exploration and experience reflect mine in many ways. It's the knowing in general what's coming, but not knowing the details; it's the knowing that transition is inevitable, but not knowing exactly how to respond in the process. The one difference? They know they will only spend nine months in pregnancy and a relatively short time in transition. I have no idea how long it might take me to feel I've fully transitioned from our thirteen years we invested in the people and ministry of New Hope Uganda.  And, just like elements of grief that linger throughout life, I will always carry in my heart a place for beautiful Uganda.

It's comforting and peaceful to know that God is in control and HE is fully trustworthy in the many stages of my transition, and yes, through the many stages of grief as I miss my beloved Uganda and her people dear to my heart.

 

Our sweet young people!

My dear friend Grace.

Hindsight is 2020

 For my Ugandan family the above title is already a reality. Here in the U.S. we still have a few hours of 2020 left to enjoy of our weirdest year Ev-Ah. 

I suspect the little phrase I've utilized as my title will quickly become quite cliche, as no doubt I am NOT the only one to think of it.

In March of 2020, who knew that we'd all know what that is? 

So much has already been said about 2020. So much has been experienced this year. So much strain has been upon so many. How will 2021 measure up to the hope that multitudes of earth-dwellers are placing upon its shoulders? 

22 x 8 = 176 

When I think about what 2021 might hold and how it may or may not measure up, the above equation is where I place my true hope.

What does it represent? 

It represents a place to look for truth, instruction, encouragement, strength, wisdom, knowledge, warning, guidance and the reason for ultimate peace. And we all need that!!!

Throughout 2020 I was drawn to a specific focus. Many days I read parts of the 22 x 8 =176. It speaks of a love for words that are ultimate Word. I was reminded that there is right and wrong and One who is the author of Truth. That there is a reason to obey and a reward for commitment. I heard daily that there is a Hand ready to help me. That there is One who watches over me, and He never sleeps. I was reminded that despite my struggles and challenges there is One who preserves my life. If I want light and right, I go to the One who is righteous. 

Psalm 119 is 176 verses long, separated into 22 sections of 8 verses each. The words of this Psalm expound a deep love for God's word. It fosters in me a deep love for God's word. And it brings me hope. Hope beyond what I see before me.

I welcome 2021, but not because I'm placing my hope in it and expecting it to obliterate challenges. I welcome it as I stand on and base my life on God and His Truth as my ultimate hope.

This sign, placed at the entrance to New Hope Uganda's secondary school site, is one I painted many years ago. It is to ensure entrance to only those who are supposed to be on the secondary site. It reminds me that moving forward is a gift. We can't move forward with real hope if we are not following the One who authors hope and invites us to move with Him.  (Acts 17:28, "In Him we live and move and have our being.")

My prayer for you is that you accept His invitation to live in His promise of hope.

I will be glad when 2020 is in the rearview mirror, but mostly because I know that whatever the future holds, He holds my future.

Revelations from Weddings and Potato Peelers

 Potato Peeler Problems

La Paz, Bolivia, 1992

I was just as shocked and surprised as he was proud when he triumphantly handed his gift to the woman. As I watched her receive it with a quizzical look, turn it over in her hand, and offer it to the others sitting with her in the kitchen courtyard, I realized she didn’t know then what to do with it and I doubt it’s been used since that day. What I didn’t understand then was that not only is necessity the mother of invention but is also often subservient to poverty. When poor, one makes do with what they have. And over time, necessary tools wrought from what is available gives strength to, “that’s the way it’s done,” and more pieces of the worldview puzzle are fitted into the design of subtle, understood,  unspoken cultural norms. When there is no money to buy gadgets, there is often no idea that gadgets are actually needed. And, truly, ARE they NEEDED? When potatoes have been successfully peeled with a knife for generations and done so with success, why is there a need for a peeler? My initial shocked response described above was due to realizing the woman had never used a potato peeler. I contemplated, eyes popped and mouth gaping, how someone could NOT know the significant necessity of a potato peeler!

Now? After visiting numerous cultures and living in Uganda steadily for thirteen years, a replay of that scene would have my shocked eyes firmly fixed on the giver of the potato peeler and I would have to fight the critic in me wanting to bust out with, “Why do you think that’s a great gift? Do you realize you’re blind to what is valued here?” 

There is so much more here than potatoes and peelers, knives and gadgets. 

For instance, in considering what is “needed” for efficiency, we must go deeper and ask, “is efficiency even valued in the culture?” What is wrong with taking a long time to peel potatoes? When you peel you talk while you unhurriedly sit with your family and/or your friends. Is there a need to hurry? Hurry indeed produces demand for a tool which provides efficiency. Why does one culture expect that efficiency should be valued and another expects only that the end result be accomplished, regardless of the time taken. Is efficiency of a higher value than simply reaching an end product? Well, that depends on who you ask! Both scenarios contain the common denominator of elusive and underlying stealth expectations. Our default perspective and approach reveal expectations, often even undetectable to ourselves. Under the radar expectations can create chaos in a situation that doesn’t warrant chaotic response. 

Culture shock. It’s that experience where awareness of the differences between a primary and a host culture opens eyes to new understanding, but is also prone to hosting a grain of irritating sand in the organ of vision. Wonder in the newness of surroundings and observed norms can quickly change to irritation with having to incorporate activities and behaviors and ways of doing things that might not line up with the values of an ingrained primary culture, values that one may not even realize are in the bedrock of who they are and how they relate to others around them. This is where the real irritation of culture stress hones character! 

 Wedding Worries, on time or in time?

Kasana, Uganda, 2006

Consider what happens when I arrive to a wedding and after more than an hour of waiting, realize it still won’t start for probably another hour? I begin to fidget because I scheduled another activity for immediately after the wedding, which now will start and end late. Why did I set another appointment for immediately after the wedding? Because I EXPECTED it to start and end on time. But, not every culture values being on time! A Ugandan’s expectation is that it is acceptable for an event to start long after the announced time and for guests to arrive at any point during an event as long as they stay until the end. This is called being “in time”. Hence, when a visitor judges that because he arrived at the stated start time he has earned the right to leave early, he demonstrates his furtive cultural bent in respect to time keeping.  In this situation, I subconsciously inserted my own expectations and when they weren’t met I struggled with impatience. Unmet expectations yield numerous emotions: sadness, frustration, anger, pride, or fill in the blank of what your response might be.

The truth is, when we don’t know of the expectations buried deep within we are vulnerable to stress. Think, for instance, of the last time you felt unappreciated. What was your self-talk around why you justified that you should have been appreciated? What hidden expectation drove your response? Can you dig deep enough to uncover it? 

 And then, consider this, years of performing tasks according to the norms of a new culture can then produce impatience when with those of one’s primary or home culture who don’t get it. Amnesia to our own initial struggle often creates a rub with those who haven’t had years of life in the crucible of cultural adjustment leading to lifestyle transformation. Sometimes this is what I have dealt with in the past year and a half back in the U.S., my primary culture. I don’t want to have to explain things. I get weary of trying to fit in. I give up or get quiet when social situations demand I fit into a societal mold I no longer value. Have I changed? Yes. Is grace still applicable? Yes. Is humility a wise stance? Yes. 

I could go on and on about cultural awareness and the lack thereof. It’s where I live. I spent 13 years learning Ugandan culture and was still learning when we left last June. I’ve now been back in the U.S. for 17 months, but strangely find that so much has changed I can’t get my bearings some days. I need a daily reminder that wherever I find myself I must be a learner, even when I have to learn again how to function in my home culture. But, sometimes I tire of trying to flex and interpret what’s going on around me. 

Does that previous sentence strike a chord in you?

I find myself, with all of you, in crazy, unpredictable 2020. This is a culture that none of us has a handle on. It’s new to everyone, because in our lifetime we have never been dealt a worldwide pandemic. We Americans in particular have never been told that we CAN’T move freely about the country. And we’ve never been subjected to governmental controls as far reaching as they now are. But, though 2020 has dealt us some fairly extensive unexpected changes to how we function in society, the basic stress exerted against each one of us is familiar. The stress of the unknown, of getting our toes stepped on, of having to adjust long-standing behaviors, of worry about our loved ones. But, wait just a minute. Let’s review the “newness” of the situation we’re now in. Didn’t 9/11 take away our freedom to move freely, or at least as we’d been accustomed to, about the country and the world? Weren’t new governmental controls put in place in regard to our travel—what we could and couldn’t pack, for instance? Didn’t we worry about our loved ones as suddenly our seemingly inherent safety in the U.S. was threatened? Different circumstances completely, but definitely a challenge to what we had always known as usual.

I concede that although my cultural experiences in Uganda stretched me significantly, we’ve all had to adjust almost daily here in the U.S. in the past several months with the restrictions and injunctions frequently changing. When we landed from Uganda last June I first focused my hand at navigating cultural subtleties I had largely forgotten. Now, you and I together have witnessed our collective usual taken from us. No one denies the stress of our current situation. You would think that because of the cultural demand I’ve lived under for many years, I’d be able to respond effortlessly to the new Covid culture. Nope. I am daily reminded of my shortcomings in regard to a graceful response. And so, I have more work to do in uncovering what deep-seated expectations lurk under the surface of what I consider to be a “normal” or at the very least, acceptable reaction to the stress of 2020. 

I’m thankful that my Father God never leaves me. He’s patient with me. He reveals to me where change is needed in my heart and mind. And I would do well to respond to Him first, rather than to quickly speak my mind or throw up my hands when presented with what I wasn’t expecting—whether or not I knew my expectations is secondary to the fact that they are there. 

Maybe my rambling has sparked attention to expectations, emotions and behaviors. May we all allow His grace to define us in increasing measure each day. 

Grateful

 I enjoyed reading Psalm 27 this morning while soaking up the light of the aptly placed big ball of fire. (God is so good and wise!) I listened to the bird pair chattering about their breakfast and happily squinted at the glistening reflection of rays on the nearby lake.

                                        The view from the back deck overlooking the lake.

I'm grateful, not just for the obvious beauty around me, but for everything. EVERY good and perfect gift comes down from the Father of Lights in whom there is not shadow of turning.  (James 1:17) It is a truth we bank our lives upon, and one of the first memory verses our kids learned---long before we left for Uganda. And we all still live by it today--here in this sometimes seemingly foreign land of the U.S. 

I am deeply grateful. The people who have invited us to stay in their house have given us a respite I doubt they can come close to understanding. God is active in their lives, having called them out of the country for a season. We needed a change, one that would give us privacy in a place MUCH closer to the kids' school. Is it an arrangement that just happened? No, it is an arrangement made by the Giver of all good and perfect gifts. We couldn't have dreamed up this arrangement--He orchestrated it to perfection.

The kids entering the school. We're so grateful that they are able to attend in person every day!!

I am overwhelmingly grateful. This short distance to the kids' school means we can ferry them back and forth 3-4 times a day and still not spend as much time in the car in that many jaunts as we would traveling just one direction from Aurora to Littleton. The location of this temporary housing means we don't spend between 3 and 6 hours a day in the car anymore!!!! Plus, the kids are able to ride their bikes to school on many days as well.

               Kevin was able to purchase a scooter recently and many days he rides it to school.

The above may seem small, but small steps comprise a journey. Small pebbles cover a stream bed offering habitat and stability to God's creatures. Small gestures build a lifelong friendship. Small thoughts breed dreams resulting in change for good. And small amounts of faith in a BIG God yield transformation. And this small blog is a means for me to get back into writing which I have neglected for awhile.

I am forever grateful. God provides for us a way to look for Him and find Him. He prods us to look, He invites us to look, He encourages us to look and He wants to be seen by us. I have to ask myself, how often am I looking? What am I doing when I'm not looking? And whatever I'm engaged in when I'm not looking--why and how did it garner my attention? Oh, Lord draw me into the awareness of You because You are always with me. Psalm 27:9, 10, 14 all tell me that God has been my help, He will take care of me, and He strengthens my heart. I am grateful for the reminder of these truths.

And so, I am humbly grateful, every day. I'm grateful that He is God, perfect, good, loving, wise, forgiving, powerful, light and life.

This is simply an attempt to regain some of the ability I haven't exercised in awhile of writing what my heart feels toward Him. May this small expression of gratefulness bless you as it's blessed me.