Ah, yes October. I’ve always loved this month. I have a birthday in October and it seems to be a stellar month for a birthday. Mark says he is taking the day off and I shouldn’t plan anything so, yippee! Looks like Mark has something up his sleeve. This month has been much quieter than September. I am finishing up the term letters and Christmas cards written by the kids to their sponsors. That means filling out 900 papers and cards with child and sponsor names, then proof reading them all when finished and having the kids make any corrections necessary. This term we made it a competition… the best class won cookies and sodas… the winning class teacher won 10,000 shillings airtime for their phone. Boy they all worked hard and it was so fun to reward the winning class and teacher. I made over 100 cookies and no one could have enjoyed them more!
On the home front? I’ve decided I should start a book of re-definitions – A Dictionary for Parents. My first entries will be-
Hypocrisy – smiling and saying “mmmm-mmmm” while shoveling peas into your baby’s mouth. Knowing that the thought of taking a bite yourself makes you gag. (Uganda’s peas are particularly nasty.)
Rise and shine – get up in the dead of night with the flashlight or lantern to take care of the baby
“Wet”ness protection program – the system of tightening the baby’s plastic pants over his cloth diaper until he can’t breath. (not advised)
Anyway, as Seth begins teething seriously and moving around more I am finding the fun to outweigh the challenge (just barely!) God is so good and faithful. I continue to see Him give me every circumstance in my life as an opportunity to make right choices, grow, receive His love for me and give that love to others. Sometimes in the grind of home, the routine stuff, I find the love wearing thin. That’s exactly where He wants me to truly love…. Not on the surface or only when the giving makes me feel “big” or “good.” But when it makes me feel kind of well, frankly used sometimes. In my more glorious moments of actually seeing the needs of others more than I see my own I squawk “God use me!” Then when He does, it doesn’t look like I thought it would and I try to quickly scramble out of it, convinced He must have something “bigger” for me. The little stuff… that’s the big stuff!
Enough “journaling” from me. I pray you are all well and God is giving you joy! Until next time!
Sarah
On the home front? I’ve decided I should start a book of re-definitions – A Dictionary for Parents. My first entries will be-
Hypocrisy – smiling and saying “mmmm-mmmm” while shoveling peas into your baby’s mouth. Knowing that the thought of taking a bite yourself makes you gag. (Uganda’s peas are particularly nasty.)
Rise and shine – get up in the dead of night with the flashlight or lantern to take care of the baby
“Wet”ness protection program – the system of tightening the baby’s plastic pants over his cloth diaper until he can’t breath. (not advised)
Anyway, as Seth begins teething seriously and moving around more I am finding the fun to outweigh the challenge (just barely!) God is so good and faithful. I continue to see Him give me every circumstance in my life as an opportunity to make right choices, grow, receive His love for me and give that love to others. Sometimes in the grind of home, the routine stuff, I find the love wearing thin. That’s exactly where He wants me to truly love…. Not on the surface or only when the giving makes me feel “big” or “good.” But when it makes me feel kind of well, frankly used sometimes. In my more glorious moments of actually seeing the needs of others more than I see my own I squawk “God use me!” Then when He does, it doesn’t look like I thought it would and I try to quickly scramble out of it, convinced He must have something “bigger” for me. The little stuff… that’s the big stuff!
Enough “journaling” from me. I pray you are all well and God is giving you joy! Until next time!
Sarah
2 comments:
HAPPY BIRTHDAY!
Sorry its late, wish we could've celebrated with you. so what did you do then?
MissU guys.
Kathy x
Howdy sista in law! Happy Birthday! Sorry I'm late with the B-day greetings but I've...uh..been on a secret mission in the jungles of South America attempting to capature a rare species of flying monkey..OH crap, its not secret anymore! Don't tell anyone...everyone else thinks I'm 'working at Fort Hays and dreaming up schemes for a SmartAlec Tour'. Shhh! Glad to hear you are finding ways to see God through the tough times and lean on him even more. I'm glad that Seth is there to be a part of the challenge as I'm sure he's not the only 'man problem maker' around but I bet they both love the dickens out of ya. I heard a fiest of the goat was a big ordeal. What FUN! If I send you a sponsor letter and spell everything correctly will you send me some cookies too? Nummy. Janelle is visiting this week and Skeet and her are working on baby stuff along with converting our garage into an office. They are bothing working hard and pretty tired. We also have loads of 'carpenter' baby clothes that we are now storing for the next 2 years. Gotta love the hand-me-downs. Keep smiling over there and I'm glad to hear that you are finding the joy in the small things. It's encouraging to be reminded about that and how important the small things are. They really are the big things. Smack your husband for me. (wack!) Thanks Look forward to reading the next adventure! Ken
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