Friday Favorite Five

1) Banana Oatmeal Breakfast Cookies.  Our family made a batch, and put chocolate chips in half and pecans in half, and we vote for the nuts if the cookies are for breakfast.  If we serve them for dessert, then we'll choose the chocolate chips.

2)  The blog "Chatting About Life".  Especially her thoughts concerning expectations.  I think each of us has experienced overturned expectations and at least a wee bit of chaos in 2020.

3)  I can tell I'm having a good week when I am trying lots of new recipes and excited about creating in the kitchen!  We have such beautiful fish here, and I am becoming more and more in favor of eating local.  I've already warned my girls that we won't be buying bananas once we return to Arkansas next year.  We tried a recipe for red snapper with Tomato-Olive compote, and this will become a regular on our table.

4) The National Day Calendar.  Sometimes, we just need a little nudge to have fun.  Some of my favorite upcoming days in August are the 2nd, National Ice Cream Sandwich Day, the 16th, National Tell a Joke Day, and the 25th, National Second Hand Wardrobe Day.

5) EnneaSummer podcast with Annie F. Downs.  Founder of the "That Sounds Fun" Network, Annie hilariously explores each Enneagram type and helps me understand my people better and better.  And you can also buy foam can coolers with each of the nine types on them!

Faithfulness

Faithfulness keeps popping up as a theme this year.  Even at the beginning of the year, before we ever knew about all of the crazy things the world would face in 2020, faithfulness consistently jumps into our conversations and our thoughts.  We observe faithfulness in our marriage, in our colleagues, in our daily routines, and, most importantly, in our God.

"So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness." 

Colossians 2:6-7

Even as we are trying to find a boat for Aaron to ride to the Russells, and even as these boats keep changing their schedules and not going our direction, we continue to be faithful.  Aaron advisor checks the gospel of Mark and serves SITAG on the Advisory Committee, and his cargo for the village stays packed and ready.  The girls and I continue with school and music practice.  We all make time each day to love the Lord with our hearts, souls, minds, and strengths.  We choose to live our lives in Him, following the wise words Paul penned in his letter to the Colossians.

Face Masks

I rarely click on suggested links, but when I saw a post about making face masks from ingredients already in my cabinets, I took the bait.  My girls absolutely love to put on face masks together!

We've tried two so far, with plans for more.  Regardless of if these ingredients benefit our faces, they certainly bring lots of laughter to our house!

"What we see from the big story of the Bible is that God has promised His presence over and over to His people.  In being with His people, God gave them everything they needed.  When they questioned whether He was enough, they turned to worship something else.  When we question whether He is enough, we turn to to worship something else.  Rejecting the truth that God's presence is enough for us will always lead us to idolatry."  

~Glenna Marshall, "The Promise is His Presence"

Once again, we're playing "wait for the ship".  Aaron had hoped to be on a boat on his way to the Russells by now, but during this morning's information finding trip to the wharf, the Kosco crew reported Saturday as their target date.  So Aaron walked around the wharf and found our old friend, Lavucy.  This little wooden copra ship intends to leave tomorrow night, so that is the current plan for Aaron's next solo trip.  In the midst of the uncertainties, we hold on to the truth that God's presence is enough.

Sweet Sabbath

"Knowing your personality and your sensitivities does not excuse you from ministry.  It means you need to prepare for it differently than others might...Hospitality shares what there is; that's all.  It's not entertainment.  It's not supposed to be."  ~Rosaria Butterfield, "The Gospel Comes With a Housekey"

What a sweet celebration of two birthdays and the beginning of a new school year!  We've gathered together in years past, especially because Sarah shares a birthday with this sweet colleague of ours.  These guys are always gracious guests, something is often wonky whenever they come over to share a meal.  This time one of the crockpots had gotten unplugged for a couple of hours.  So we started on one of the containers of macaroni and cheese while the other one continued to cook.  We love watching families be blessed with the addition of children and the joy they bring!

Crockpot Cheese and Macaroni

from "Sonlight Cooks"

1 small box elbow macaroni

3 cups cheddar cheese

1 can evaporated milk

1 1/2 cups homogenized milk

3 eggs

1/2 stick butter

salt and pepper

Cook macaroni according to directions on box.  Grease slow cooker with butter.  Mix all ingredients in slow cooker, cook on high for 30 minutes, then turn on low and cook for 2 hours. (I find that our family likes the edges on the brown side, so we cook it for longer.)

Our girls are plant watering and dog feeding while some of our colleagues are on vacation.  Katherine is the Pied Piper for the dogs, they like to follow her everywhere, even she isn't carrying food.

Aaron talked to the to crew of the Kosco this morning when he went into town to do the market shopping.  The crew said the ship is preparing to go out West, which includes a stop in the Russells.  Maybe Monday evening, or maybe Tuesday, whenever the ship's hold is full.  He plans to be on the boat whenever it sails.

While we were unloading groceries, our friend and village chief, Hensy, dropped by.  I delivered cold water and slices of watermelon while he and Aaron visited on the cool veranda.  After a while, I popped out and asked about my friends and if there were any new babies in Marulaon.  When he left, he told me I was looking fat again, which is the Melanesian way of saying I looked healthy and happy!

Medical Clearance and Visas

The girls took school on the road this morning as we visited the doctor.  To renew our visas, we have to have a clean bill of health.  We've almost finished with all of the paperwork we need to finish our part of the visa renewal!

Yesterday, Aaron checked the wharf for ships that were going to the Russells.  He found our old friend, Lavucy, and was able to get a drum of petrol refilled and delivered to the ship to be picked up by our translation committee chairman, Belza, in Marulaon.  We're hoping that Aaron will be on a ship next week, so he can work some more with the translation team and meet with the translation committee.

The Solomon Islands government has just extended the "State of Public Emergency" until the end of November.  Practically, this means few or no flights coming in and out of the country, which equals no snail mail.  It also means that if a case of COVID-19 is discovered, the government can immediately suspend all travel within the country.  We appreciate your prayers for wisdom as we make plans and seek the best avenues for the translation project and for our family in the coming months.

Memories and Birthdays

My grandmother turned eighty-seven yesterday.  Even though Gran lives in a locked-down nursing home, my mom still found ways to make Gran's birthday special.  It's hard for me to be so far away, particularly on special days.

We video-called and sang happy birthday while my mom stood outside the window and held the phone up for my grandmother to see.  When we finished, Gran wanted to know who we were.  I'm so grateful for the years we've able to be back in Arkansas to celebrate family, especially on their birthdays.  Even though my grandmother is slowly succumbing to dementia, we've built some good memories together.  And my friend Julie shared some tools to help us understand the way the brain changes as a result of this disease, as well as ways that we can help navigate the slide downhill.

National Ice Cream Day

Several of Olivia's friends from the village are now living in Honiara and attending school here.  So, with lots of laughter in the car, we picked them up and enjoyed some ice cream together (and lots of selfies).  Only later did I realize that National Ice Cream Day was July 19.

Anniversary Weekend Wonders

"Marriage is committed to making both you and your spouse more beautiful, more functional, more vibrant people.  And the sooner you accept that you wake up every day next to a mirror exposing all of your personal good, bad, and ugly, the sooner you will begin to take advantage of marriage's beautifying intentions."  ~Tyler Ward, "Marriage Rebranded"

Once again, it's time for us to enter the visa renewal process.  We tackled the police clearance/background check first.  Mug shots, fingerprints, and paperwork.

And since our 23rd anniversary is this weekend, we tagged on a few moments for an iced dirty chai for Aaron and a green smoothie for me.  Sometimes I forget how nice it is to just sit and talk for a few minutes.

This last year has been one of the most challenging in our marriage so far, we're feeling the "beautifying intentions" of sharing life together and being a mirror for each other.

With our personalities, sometimes it's a wacky fun-house mirror!

Moon and Venus

"LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!  You have set your glory in the heavens."  Psalm 8:1

Yesterday morning, when we stepped out for our walk, Aaron and I discovered a beautiful sight.

On my bookshelf...

I'm trying to set aside a few minutes each day to read for pleasure (some days I'm more successful than others).  Like every other area of my life, "slow and steady wins the race" applies to book reading, too!  I just finished soaking up two books:

1) "Stir: My Broken Brain and the Meals That Brought Me Home" by Jessica Fechtor.  A fascinating food memoir with recipes.  I kept sending Sarah quotes like this one:  "Food has powers.  It picks us up from our lonely corners and sits us back down, together.  It pulls us out of ourselves, to the kitchen, to the table, to the diner down the block.  At the same time, it draws us inward.  Food is the keeper of our memories, connecting us with our pasts and with our people."

2)  "Glorious Weakness: Discovering God in All We Lack" by Alia Joy.  Living in the Solomon Islands certainly highlights my weaknesses.  Here is one of my favorite quotes from this book: "So often we've been trained to have all the right answers and be ready with a verse, or a quote, or an uplifting anecdote that we forget that sometimes the ministry of burden bearing goes further than advice we toss out from a distance and instead means some heavy lifting."

Happy Birthday, Olivia!

If you know our Olivia, you realize that she radiates the joy of Christ.  When I think about her, words like charisma, zesty, driven, genuine, competent, and intense flood my mind.  Her ENFJ/Protagonist personality shines:

"Protagonists are natural-born leaders, full of passion and charisma. Forming around two percent of the population, they are oftentimes our politicians, our coaches and our teachers, reaching out and inspiring others to achieve and to do good in the world. With a natural confidence that begets influence, Protagonists take a great deal of pride and joy in guiding others to work together to improve themselves and their community....Protagonists easily see people’s motivations and seemingly disconnected events, and are able to bring these ideas together and communicate them as a common goal with an eloquence that is nothing short of mesmerizing."

Next summer, we'll be celebrating her birthday while getting her ready to go off to college to study nursing.  I love looking back at previous birthday celebrations and observing this personality God wove into Olivia from the day she was conceived.  Sixteen, fifteen, fourteen, thirteen, twelve, eleven, ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five...and that's as far as this blog goes.

Shema

I love watching my husband light up when he gets to do something he loves.  When we recently had extra kiddos around, Aaron pulled out his Hebrew Bible and shared his passion for God's Word from Deuteronomy 6.  A little craft, one of the Bible Project's well done, creative videos on the word Shema, and a table full of us gained a richer understanding of this important word and its history.

A sweet houseful

Last week, we enjoyed two extra families staying at SITAG.  Trips into town to share kilometers for market or second hand clothes shopping and a couple of trips to a hotel pool spiced up our routine.

Both families had tweens and teens, and once again, we had kids coming in and out of the house, playing game after game of basketball, and celebrating Solomon Islands Independence Day.  Our family also kept some extra little ones over the weekend so their parents could celebrate their 10th anniversary, and we soaked up every joyful minute.

The kids often popped in just as something yummy was coming out of the oven, like ginger scones. We haven't had this much activity and laughter and joy in our house in a very long time, and I delighted in hearing all of the happy sounds.

Too soon, we drove down to the wharf to deposit one of the families on a ship, and the other family will be departing this week.  Sharing life with other Third Culture Kids and their families is a real treat!

Marriage Monday

"We like to think outside influences are mostly to blame for our difficulties, but in reality self is the greatest threat to the life and peace we want for ourselves and others, because self asks us to double down when the foundation beneath us begins to crumble....I'd much prefer to rearrange the symptoms than repent of systemic heart issues."  

~Christine Hoover, "With All Your Heart"

Rearrange instead of repent.  Yep, that would be me.  

Fourth of July Celebrations from Across the Pacific

Not many Americans live in the Solomon Islands right now, but that didn't stop our celebrations of American Independence Day!

We decided to splurge and make a trifle to go along with the hamburgers and hot dogs.

While we waited for it to get dark enough for fire-swingers, the kids had a pushup contest.

Watching the 4th of July fire-swingers technique fascinates me.  Some swing with their whole bodies, some hold their core still while only swinging the arm.

However the sparks fly, these third culture kids enjoy the tradition year after year.