Valentine's Day and remembering Mom

On Valentine’s Day I had the chance to celebrate love along with the memory of my mother. Here’s how I celebrated Mom's life:

• Slept in--Mom loved sleep.
• Read the newspaper--Mom read the paper every day. 
• Read my Bible--Mom had a contagious faith. 
• Called a friend for a long chat--Mom used the telephone as her ministry. She called everyone: shut ins, the sick, and friends that lived both near and far.
• Went to the mall and bought someone else something--Mom always thought of others first. 
• Had Caribou Coffee--Mom and I discovered and fell in love with Caribou Coffee on our first of many visits to Mayo clinic.
• Toasted Mom with a friend while drinking our Caribou coffee--Mom loved drinking coffee, but mostly loved sharing it with friends.
• Hugged my husband--Mom loved her husband (of 52 years).
• Ate a Godiva chocolate-covered strawberry--Mom loved dessert (and fruit). 
• Went to see Carol Burnett at the Kauffman Center--Mom enjoyed Carol Burnett, Saturday nights and laughing.
• Thought a lot about love--Mom loved deeply, unconditionally and wholeheartedly.
• Thanked God for my mom--Mom was the best and I miss her.

Hope your Valentine's Day was both sweet and memorable!

Have a (you choose) day!

The other day, I had the great privilege to celebrate the 50th birthday of one of my dear friends. We had such a grand time. That very same day, another friend emailed to ask for prayers for a newborn baby who was struggling with heart issues.

These two gigantic events got me thinking...isn't is amazing what only one day can bring? One event--a special birthday--involved celebration, happiness and frivolity. The other event--a critically ill baby--involved tears, worry, and sorrow. It was one day with two extremely different circumstances.

We all wake up every day, but none of us can predict exactly what the day will look like. For some, your day may be happy, fun, and fulfilling. For others, your day might be predictable. Yet for others, your day may bring you challenges you have never faced before.

Here's the encouragement that I leave you with: Whatever your day is (you fill in the blank), please know that your Heavenly Father is as close to you as your day. He's not an earshot away. Nor an arm's length distance. He is with you.

So if you are celebrating today, share the joy with Him. If you are struggling with the challenges that life brings, allow Him to carry the burden. If you are having a predictable and ordinary day, ask Him to ignite you.

Have a (God Almighty) day!

Decorations & Preparations

Julie

A few days ago Annika and Julie came by to help get the house Christmas-ready. Annika creates beautiful outdoor pots while Julie works her magic inside. It was a fun day. And the house decorations, both inside and out, look wonderful. 

Now that the decorations for Christmas are complete, it's time to start working on the preparations. And by preparations, I don't mean all the gift purchasing and wrapping nor the Christmas card writing nor the cooking. By preparations, I mean getting ready for Jesus. 

Annika

I think it's odd that it takes us a whole season to get ready for Jesus.  Why aren't we already ready? 

Why does it take stuff like lights, decorations, cards, cookies and presents to get us in the spirit? I'm not trying to sound like a bah-humbug. I really do enjoy the "stuff" of Christmas. But to be perfectly honest, I like Jesus better. 

So I've decided to give Him more than just a month. I've promised (myself) to be better at doing things that prepare me for His presence every day, not just at Christmastime. Decorations bring color and light. Preparations, on the other hand, bring hope and joy. This season, and all year, I hope you'll enjoy both. 

Malawi: A defining moment

For the past ten years, my husband and I have supported a ministry that helps build water wells in third world countries. Even though our feet remain planted in the United States, our hearts and love extend across the seas to people--mostly children--we have never met. 

According to Life Today, 1.8 million children die every year from unclean contaminated water. For my husband and me, this statistic is unacceptable, because providing clean water is a solvable problem. 

A couple of weeks ago, I returned from a trip to Malawi, Africa. The journey over took ten years and two days. Ten years of praying and promoting and giving to the water effort. Two days of international travel that consisted of a sixteen-hour airplane ride to Johannesburg; another 2 1/2 hour plane ride to Lilongwe, Malawi; and a two-hour van ride to Mponela (our home for 6 days). 

Our team was wide-eyed and eager to meet our new friends in Malawi. The first place we visited was, perhaps, the most meaningful experience of my whole trip. 

When we arrived at the United Methodist Church in Madisi, I saw children playing at a water-well. This would be the first, but not the last, time I would see a water well in action. I climbed out of the van and immediately walked over to the well. Several children were congregated there. One boy was washing his clothes. Five young girls were filling their buckets and placing them on their heads for the long walk home. 

Several boys were just hanging around the well, laughing and talking. I'm not sure who was more excited--me, witnessing a water well in action, or them, wishing to have their photo taken with my camera. Whichever the case, we were all laughing and enjoying the moment. 

Job 42:5 makes a statement that became true for me, "My ears had heard of you, but now my eyes have seen you." Up until this very moment, I had only seen pictures of children drinking, washing and playing at wells. But on this day, I actually met the children I had been loving and praying for the past ten years. My eyes had seen them. 

After one day, the long journey to Africa had proven to be more than worth the time and effort that it took to get there.

For me, this journey to Africa brought everything full circle. And although you may not be called to travel halfway around the world to meet children and families in need, you can contribute to the solvable problem of giving children clean water. Visit LIFE TODAY to learn how you can be a part of the clean water solution!

Join me on my journey

Malawi, Africa. Halfway across the world. I'm going. 

On October 17, I am journeying with 11 others to Malawi, Africa. Although you may not be able to go with me on the trip, I'm wondering if you would like to join me on the journey through prayer? I would love having you partner with me as I take this trek across the globe.

Here are a few facts about Malawi:

• It is located in Southern Africa, east of Zambia, west and north of Mozambique.
• The land area is 118,484 sq km, slightly smaller than Pennsylvania.
• The official language is Chichewa.  (57.2% of the population speak it)
• The total population is 16,323,044 (July 2012 est.).
• Life expectancy at birth is 52.31 years.
• The religions are Christian 82.7%, Muslim 13%, other 1.9%, none 2.5% (1998 census)

Why in the world am I going to Africa? The simple answer is, "God extended the invitation and I said yes."

Below is a brief description of what our team will be doing while visiting Malawi (taken from Church of the Resurrection's website):

The October team will fly to Lilongwe, the capital of Malawi, where they will be briefed by a United Methodist missionary before making the two-hour drive to their lodge near Madisi. They will worship with the Madisi UMC congregation in the church built by Church of the Resurrection and share a meal with them, then return to their lodge to begin an economic empowerment training program designed to provide basic business skills to Malawian entrepreneurs.  Following the three-day training, the team will visit the other churches in the Madisi circuit and share a farewell meal with the congregation, and have an opportunity to meet with pastors’ children who are receiving private school scholarships through a partnership between Beyond Kansas City Missions and the Church of the Resurrection Foundation.  They will then visit the Malawi UMC’s farm about two hours east of Lilongwe, spending the day there.

So if you're interested in joining me in this incredible experience, I would covet your prayers. Will you pray for our team as we travel, learn, teach, hug, encourage, preach, and fellowship in Malawi? Feel free to post comments and prayers on this blog. 

Pitani bwino
(go well/good-bye)

A day at the beach

This was the first visit to the beach for Max. Needless to say, he loved it. It was fun watching his excitement as his feet touched the sand for the first time. It was amazing to watch his fearless entry into the ocean. It was satisfying to watch his restful sleep after the long, fun day. 

Reflecting about Max at the beach got me thinking. Every day is a first. There will never be a day again like today. Think about that--tomorrow will never be like today!

So I've decided that tomorrow I want to approach the day like it's my first day ever. I want to live the way that Max experienced the beach: excited, fearless and restful. 

And that's just tomorrow. The day after that will be a whole new day! 

I'm grateful for Max--and his wisdom.

Great memories

Laure and me

I can hardly believe that Laura--this young, beautiful bride--was sitting in my basement just four years ago, doing Bible study with me and a great group of girls. Laura, Cara, Rebecca, Stephanie, Katie and I spent the entire year studying. laughing, and sharing every Monday night. 

Laura, Cara and I had been meeting together for four years. I wasn't planning to lead a study their senior year of high school, but they ask and I reluctantly said yes. My own son had just left for college and I thought this might be the time to break from high-schoolers. 

Looking back, I am not sure how I would have managed the year without these dear gals. Every Monday night they happily showed up and almost always asked me how I was doing. Lots of times, I was sad because I missed my son. But these young friends rallied me every Monday and offered me something I didn't know I needed--girl time.

Laura, Cara & me

Now that they've graduated and moved into the next phase of their lives, I've had the chance to watch them from afar. And I love how God makes things so wonderful. He not only gave me a chance to know these amazing girls, but to also to see them become incredible women.