Contentment

 

“Sometimes we might think we're doing okay if we aren't experiencing spiritual blowouts, yet the less-discernible slow leaks can lead to the same result. Often Satan's methodology is to slowly wear us down, spiriting away larger and larger parts of our hearts until we eventually look and think like the world and those who deny Christ.”

 

~Sandra Glahn and Crickett Keeth,

“Sumatra with the Seven Churches”

 

 

I ran across this quote a few mornings ago, and I wondered what a “slow leak” would look like in my life. Immediately, I heard “discontent”. Not out loud. But I know that my lack of contentment often pricks a hole in my life and slowly siphons my joy away.  And I don't think I'm alone in this dilemma.  No matter where you or I live (even when it looks like a tropical paradise!), our hearts are easily lured by discontent.  Grab your mug of coffee, pull up a comfy chair, let's camp out on this topic and talk a while...

Things I love: Apples, Books, Recipes

 

This time of year, I get really hungry for the changing of seasons, for friends and family, for familiar tastes and environments.  Who knew that books with familiar handwriting would preserve family stories and bring such comfort?!?

 

So we are reading the same books that we pull out year after year at this time,

 

 

we're remembering sweet times picking apples together with friends, and we're making familiar recipes with apples that conjure up memories of growing up.

 

Just as the handwriting inside the cover of a book combines with the book and memories to bring me joy, the handwriting on a recipe card combines with the food and memories in a special way.  Praline apple bread is the newest apple recipe (pecans are precious here!) to jump into our "making memories" recipe box. 

 

Praline Apple Bread

from Ava

 

1 1/2 cup pecans, divided

8 oz sour cream

1 cup sugar

2 large eggs

1 Tbsp vanilla

2 cups flour

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 1/2 cups finely chopped Granny Smith apples

 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit (180 degrees Celsius).  Bake 1/2 cup pecans in a single layer in shallow pan 6-8 minutes or until toasted and fragrant, stirring after 4 minutes.

 

Beat sour cream, sugar, eggs & vanilla at low speed 2 minutes or until blended.

 

Stir together dry ingredients.  Add to sour cream mixture and beat just until blended.  Stir in apples and toasted 1/2 cup pecans.  Spoon batter into greased and floured 9x5 loaf pan.  Sprinkle with remaining 1 cup chopped pecans.  Lightly press pecans into batter.

 

Bake for 60-65 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean.  Shield with foil after 50 minutes to prevent excessive browning.  Cool in pan 10 minutes; remove from pan to wire rack.

In the midst of the long, all-day speeches yesterday, I caught these two best buddies whispering.

When I called their names, these were the faces that turned to face the camera.

How I love them.

Selwyn College graduation

 

This is the third time we've been able to attend the graduation ceremonies at Selwyn College.  We're so grateful for the opportunity to support the students from Marulaon Village who attend this prestigious school.

 

This year we have four students from our tiny little village who attend Selwyn College - in Forms 1, 3, 5, and 6. 

 

 

Our friend Leonard, who is now the Lavukal translation committee chairman, has the best smile.

 



Thank you

In November of 1978, this guy brought his family to the Solomon Islands and began working in translation for the Cheke Holo language.  Throughout the years, he has served Bible translation around the world in various ways, and this week was his last visit to the Solomon Islands. 

 

 

Sarah somehow found time in her day to make a lovely citrus cake, and this afternoon SITAG gathered around to celebrate, say thank you for the years of service this colleague has offered, and to pray for the road ahead.  I love working with these people!

Flexibility

Yesterday, we anticipated the Lavukal translation team to arrive on the Kosco.  When Aaron called the office, he discovered that the ship was still way out west and hadn't reached Marulaon yet.  The ship's office didn't expect the ship to arrive in Honiara until late Thursday night because the engine was having problems again.

The translation team had only scheduled a few days together to work before the ship returned on Sunday.  But if the ship's engines need time for repair, then most likely the Kosco won't be returning to the Russells on Sunday, and the guys would be stuck in Honiara indefinitely.  So Aaron has made the wise choice to cancel to be a good steward of both time and money.  

Honiara Woman's Daybook

 

Just for today...Monday, October 10

 

On my bookshelf...finally finished "The Inextinguishable Symphony" by Martin Goldsmith.  Yep, that Martin Goldsmith.  If you grew up listening to "Performance Today" like I did, this book will hold a special place in your heart.  Now I want to listen to Mahler symphonies.  Really I want to play them, but since that's not an option, I'll settle for listening.

 

Pondering these words..."In our book, busyness is next to godliness.  We idolize Thomas Edison, who claimed he could live on fifteen-minutes naps.  Somehow we forget to mention Albert Einstein, who averaged eleven hours of sleep a night." 

~Max Lucado

 

From the learning rooms...Olivia is studying powers and exponents in Algebra, Sarah and Benjamin are reading "Selecting a President" (perfect timing!) in government, Katherine will be performing the ubiquitous science experiment with gelatin and fruit whose enzymes won't allow the gelatin to set. 

 

 

A heart of gratefulness...for my kids.  They continue to delight me as they blossom into the people God created them to be.  Hard to believe Sarah is a senior.  Where has the time gone? 

 

Cooking in the kitchen...we got our week started off right with Willow Bird's Maple Double Crumb Coffee Cake.  Then we made seven dozen peanut butter cookies for the Trauma Healing workshop that closes tomorrow.

A few plans for the rest of the week...trying to get the FAFSA finalized for Sarah and anticipating the Lavukal translation team arriving on the Kosco Wednesday night.  The guys will be here through Sunday, so Aaron will be super busy working with them and the rest of us will be busy cooking for them.

Friday Festivities

Tonight, our house filled with laughter as we once again welcomed friends around the table.

We've been hanging out with these ladies since we first came to the Solomon Islands, and they never fail to bring smiles to our faces and joy to our hearts.

They even braved the ships and came to visit us in Marulaon Village in 2010.

Now the spunky small one adds to the life and love, and we're so glad God gave us another opportunity to spend time together.

International M&M challenge

We haven't seen our sweet friend, Joy, in way too long.  In fact, the last time we saw her was when she came to visit us in December 2009.  But God has a way of knitting hearts together across the miles!

 

While Joy and her husband prepare to move to Australia, they included us in the international M&M challenge.  It's a taste test including one package of Belgian M&Ms and one package of American M&Ms.  We've discovered that all kinds of brand name food and drink are made around the world, but one made in Papua New Guinea (Coke, for example) will taste very different from one made in America.

 

Our taste testing team was split right down the middle - half chose the Belgian M&Ms as their favorite and half chose the American chocolate.  And only half of us were able to correctly label the origin of the candy, as well.

I think more research is needed!  You can find the results of the challenge in a few weeks when all of the results from around the world are tallied on Joy's blog.

Around SITAG...

Even though we work in a tiny branch, SITAG always has something going on!  We are only the smallest part of the big picture of how God is working here.

Yesterday, Aaron and the kids picked up some colleagues from the airport and brought them back to SITAG.

 

 Some other colleagues are helping facilitate a Trauma Healing Workshop.

 

We get to help just a little by providing food for morning tea twice. 

 

And tomorrow we get to pick up even more colleagues at the airport.  We sure do love the team God has assembled here in the Solomon Islands, and we're thankful to be one piece of the puzzle.

 

Our brief time in Brisbane is drawing to an end.  We are ready. 

 

 

Ready to return to normal life.  Ready to reunite with the rest of the family.

Strawberries and cooler, drier weather (I just checked...it "feels like" 78 degrees here in Brisbane, but it "feels like" 105 in Honiara right now) pull us to stay,

 

 

but culture shock and the hectic pace push us back to the Solomon Islands.

 

Sarah and Benjamin feel confident about the SAT they took in a beautiful school in East Brisbane.

And we are so grateful for the opportunity for them to take the test.  They have overcome many educational hurdles to get to where they are now.

Our short trip to Brisbane has refilled me a little bit - quietly observing jacaranda blooming profusely over the clothesline, reading my book and drinking coffee while waiting for the kids to test, going to church in English.

This trip has been a gift for all of us.

Off we go!

In just a few minutes, I'll be taking these two into Brisbane (with the help of a friend and her car) to take the SAT.  I'm super proud of how hard Sarah and Benjamin have worked to use their minds well!  Please pray for them as they take the test...

Sweet and Full

The last two days, we've jumped back into the swing of things here at SITAG.  Life has been sweet and FULL!  The kids and I started back to school Monday while Aaron attended an all-day Advisory Committee (AC) meeting.  After lunch, Sarah and Katherine made peanut butter cookies to help break the monotony of Aaron's meeting. 

Stewardship is important to us.  Whether it's our bodies, time, money, energy, or minds, we want to take good care of what God has given to us.  With Sarah and Benjamin in their senior and junior years of high school, we've been pursuing standardized testing and scholarships and doing our best to be good stewards of the good brains God has given them. 

Yesterday afternoon, I was checking with my mom about the anticipated letter in the mail telling us how to proceed through the National Merit Scholarship program since Sarah was named a semifinalist.  My mom has been great about forwarding mail to us and helping us by being our hands and feet back in Arkansas.  After some heart-stopping moments trying to figure out where in the world this letter might be, my mom discovered the letter with our renters.  If the letter had shown up at my parents' home a couple of weeks earlier, it would now be in a box slowly making its way to the Solomon Islands.  But because it was stuck with our renters, my mom was able to send the information so we can meet the October 12th deadline for the scholarship application.  God's timing and provision indeed!

Today, it was my turn to have a meeting.  The CHED committee met for an afternoon of work, then our family hosted a precious SITAG couple for an early birthday supper with apple dumplings substituting for birthday cake.  This couple just celebrated thirty years of service in the Solomon Islands, and we listened to their stories with laughter and a few tears past our bedtime.  We're so grateful for the colleagues with whom we get to share life over here.