Investing

 

I've been thinking about that "investing" quote I recently found: 

 

"Investing in God and in people is to invest in happiness, because investing is what God has designed us for and called us to."

 ~Lydia Brownback



It's got me pondering the ways in which I invest my time and energy, and how I'm encouraging my kids to spend their time and energy.  Just before noon yesterday, our whole family drove up to the Graduate Institute of Applied Linguistics to hear Dr. Will McClatchey speak about ethno-botany.



His lecture fascinated us and challenged us to ponder the ways that the Lavukal think and how they label the world around them.  Dr. McClatchey has visited the Solomon Islands and collected  much of his data from a large island west of our village.

 



I was super proud of my kids, too, as they finished up their school work quietly in the floor.



After the lecture, we drove to help friends load up suitcases and boxes in preparation for their departure for the Solomon Islands.  We will certainly miss them, but we plan to see them again in August when we return to Honiara.

Aren't these ladies absolutely lovely?  They are quite the mother/daughter team!



 

After we waved goodbye, we went home to make Easter basket cupcakes.  We only get to make them in the Solomons if somebody sends jellybeans in a care package, so it was an extra treat to make them so easily here.  We also put together packets of jellybeans with copies of "God's Jelly Bean Rainbow" poem inside:

 

God’s Jelly Bean Rainbow

Orange is the twilight night He prayed.

Black is our sin stain for which He paid.

Red is His own shed blood so bright.

Yellow is the Son’s warm, healing light.

Purple is His head crowned with thorns.

Pink is hope risen on Easter morn.

Brown is the ground where He was laid.

Gray is the stone that was rolled away.

White is God’s grace we freely receive.

Green our eternal life when we believe.

All of these colors represent something true:

Jesus Christ, God’s own Son, died for me

and died for you.

 

 

Then we drove over to share supper with some crazy friends.  Crazy because they are moving this week, but they still invited us over to eat with them!  The meal provided a encouraging time of laughing, telling stories, and enjoying good food.  We're so grateful for the opportunities God gives us for investing and for the people that choose to invest in us.