January 22, 2011
I want to share a prayer from Brennan Manning's book "Reflections for Ragamuffins." It speaks to what God has been teaching me.
Poverty is more than just 'lack of money.' Poor people tend to talk about poverty in terms of shame, inferiority, powerlessness, humiliation, fear, hopelessness, depression, voicelessness...in this context, we all are poor. God is using the poverty that Kurt and I see around us on a daily basis to show us more about the relational-ness of Him. He and I will be blogging more about this.
(and if you want to read a great book,read "When Helping Hurts" by Steve Corbett and Brian Fikkert.)
Today, I just want to share this prayer with you.
"Jesus, my Brother and Lord, I pray as I write these words for the grace to be truly poor before you,
to recognize and accept my weakness and humanness,
to forgo the indecent luxury of self-hatred,
to celebrate your mercy and trust in your power when I'm at my weakest,
to rely on your love no matter what I may do,
to seek no escapes from my innate poverty,
to accept loneliness when it comes instead of seeking substitutes,
to live peacefully without clarity or assurance,
to stop grandstanding and trying to get attention,
to do the truth quietly without display,
to let the dishonesties of my life fade away,
to belong no more to myself,
not to desert my post when I give the appearance of staying at it,
to cling to my humanity,
to accept the limitations and full responsibility of being a human being -
really human
and really poor in Christ our Lord."
The Lord is good to those whose hope is in HIM
to the one who seeks him;
it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord.
Lamentations 3:25-26
January 18, 2011
Elisabeth Elliott has been a mentor to me for many years now (through her books). I've never met her personally but to me she is a dear friend,a 'mother', and a mentor/encourager/friend in this journey towards our eternal home!
Here lies the tremendous mystery - that God should be all-powerful, yet refuse to coerce. He summons us to cooperation. We are honoured in being given the opportunity to participate in his good deeds. Remember how He asked for help in performing his miracles : Fill the waterpots, stretch out your hand, distribute the loaves.
I like this quote of hers. It reminds me, as Jesus told us, to be faithful in the little things. And for me these days, those 'little things' are changing diapers, exercising Jerard, playing with James and doing preschool with him, parenting all my kids for His glory, being a good wife, mom and Christian.......(Luke 16:1010 "One who is faithful in a very little is also faithful in much,)
January 18, 2011
"Ipomoea batatas" (purple kamote) is a sweet potato that grows here in the Philippines.
A favourite way to serve this potato is just to boil it and eat it. It makes a great, inexpensive, and healthy snack!
(learn more about Philippine foods at http://www.stuartxchange.org/Kamote.html)
It is really easy here to eat healthy food - the market is resplendent in all its food offerings!!!!
January 16, 2011
Jerard really suffered a major set back in his developmental skills last June when he had his first major siezures. Slowly, since then he has been progressing - little by little.
Today, he 'stood' in his standing table with the help of his leg braces to flatten his feet and shin guards to help keep his knees straight.
He 'stood' for about ten minutes. His brother James played with him for a while, encouraging him to hold his head straight!
Keep Jerard in your prayers. Thanks!
January 12, 2011
What hit me first was the overwhelming smell of....., yep, you guessed it....grass....when I opened the can.......
whew.....
then I tried some straight out of the can.....yep....tastes like grass with bitterness thrown in......
so I made a syrup recommended for grass jelly - 1 cup sugar and 1 cup water; mixed in a can of lychees and a can of fruit cocktail.....chilled it real well.......
and the verdict is...........................................
Kurt really liked it
Mikayla really liked it
James really liked it
Jerard and I really liked it
Jerard eating more of it
Ben tolerated it but since he isn't a fan of fruit cocktail or lychees,
it didn't strike him as something he'd like again.
Kirsten didn't like it at all but not so much because of the taste,
but because of the texture.
The grass jelly, when mixed with the fruit and syrup, had no taste of it's own like it had in the can. I'd buy it again. Next time I'll try the mango, whipped cream and grass jelly mix that is another recommended way to eat grass jelly. (check out http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/368051 if you ever buy a can of grass jelly. In the US you'd probably find it at an Asian food store or in the Asian section at the grocery store.)
