Bean Blunders

For the last several weeks, my exercise buddy and I have walked past a fence supporting a vine full of flowers and fruit. We keep saying how nice zucchini would taste, and today we finally got bold during our power walking and hustled inside the fence to ask.

We each bought two huge zucchini, picked them, and hurried home with visions of zucchini bread, sauteed zucchini, and new recipes dancing in our heads. I decided to cook some up for lunch to go along with our Simply Cheesy Bread Pudding. I could hardly get the knife to cut through the zucchini, and this is what it looked like when it finished cooking (we couldn't bring ourselves to eat it):

I decided that the next time I saw a SITAG employee that I would snag her and ask about my newest find. Around 4 o'clock, one of the ladies came down by our house to pick some eggplant. My exercise buddy was also visiting, so the two of us ran down the steps in the rain to catch her. When she saw the veggie I was holding in my hands, she just laughed and laughed! She explained that it was a bean that they left on the vine until it was totally dry, then they used it to scrub themselves clean. We laughed right along with her. God is giving me lots of chances to embrace humility!

Sweet Sabbath

"He who forms the mountains,creates the wind, and reveals his thoughts to man, he who turns dawn to darkness, and treads the high places of the earth -- the Lord God Almighty is his name." Amos 4:13

-watching my kids admire God's amazing creation

-that I serve a God who can form mountains and yet still stoops to reveal His thoughts to me

-a husband who clutivates good relationahips with our children

-staying in a old flat full of character in Brisbane that nourished my soul with octagonal beveled doorknobs, casement windows, stained glass, and soaring ceilings

-friends who unexpectedly drop by when they come through Honiara

-a travel agent who called in a favor to get me on the plane to Brisbane last week (she's getting cookies soon!)

SITAG says thank you...

Bright and early Saturday morning, all of us from SITAG piled in our vehicles and headed toward Bonegi Beach.

We prepared lots of food and got to just sit around and visit with the SITAG employees. They are the real unsung heroes, doing the daily little things to make SITAG run smoothly, and we are SO thankful for them!

Of course, we had plenty of time for fun...

...and the Japanese warship from WWII provided an amazing backdrop for our picnic.

The Cat's Away...

Sarah took pictures for me this week while I was gone, and I discovered how the "mice did play". They are sooo good to eat their fruits and veggies, but maybe I left a few too many for them to eat before they spoiled!

One day, he kids decided to boil some tea and cook some umalau over an open fire.

And for Australia Day, Aaron took the kids out to eat - hamburgers, french fries, soda (their mean mama rarely allows soda!)...

...and lamingtons! This year with no veggemite.

Full tummies and sweet siblings!







A beautiful photographer...







...and the "cat" coming back to Honiara.

Brisbane Woman's Daybook

For today...Monday, January 24

Outside my window...sun coming up and making the Pacific Ocean really shiny

I am thinking...about the upcoming workshops in Honiara and the national translators who will attend them. The Lavukaleve should be choosing our translators this month, and I'm excited to get this translation ball rolling!

I am wearing...my favorite nightgown, faded seafoam green trimmed in eyelet from Aaron's grandmother (I'm not running this morning)

Praying for...the spiritual growth of my children and that their words may be "sweet to the soul and healing to the bones"

I am going...to Brisbane!

From the learning rooms...beginning a biography of David Livingstone, continuing listening and loving George Gershwin (we watched "Funny Face" over the weekend)

I am thankful for...an amazing husband who can keep the house running smoothly while I'm gone

I am remembering...the yummy peanut soup and African chicken curry that Sarah cooked for us yesterday

I am reading..."The Laird's Inheritance" by George McDonald, at least I'm taking it for the plane ride

I am hoping...that a new shipment of apples shows up in Honiara while I'm gone so I can spend next weekend canning apples

On my mind...getting everything ready for my family so they won't even notice when I'm gone

Noticing that...I'm not the only one who makes cultural blunders - grace abounds!

Pondering these words..."How many times do I assume that what I want is what others want? How many times do I fail by running off to do what I think someone needs me to do, instead of asking what exactly it is that they need? Why do I assume they want what I want from my cultural worldview? Where did I ever learn that?" -- Women of the Harvest

I am hearing...the engines throbbing on the boats in the harbor

Around the house...things beginning to pile up in the "village prep" room

One of my favorite things...sitting down to visit with friends who drop by "just because"

A few plans for the rest of the week...get my wisdom tooth pulled, organize lots of school stuff, pick up a printer to replace ours that died, and come back to my loved ones in Honiara, along with a SITAG employee party on Saturday at Bonegi Beach

Here is a picture thought I am sharing with you...can't get the computer to cooperate with the pictures, sorry!

Celebrating Listening on a Sweet Sabbath

"I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Your works are wonderful, I know that full well." Psalm 139:14

We're having so much fun paying special attention to the things we hear and the amazing way God has created our ears!

Sense-Abilities: Fun Ways to Explore the Senses by Michelle O'Brian-Palmer

The Listening Walk by Paul Showers

Night in the Country by Cynthia Rylant

My Five Senses by Aliki

You Can't Smell a Flower with your Ear by Joanna Cole

Too Much Noise by Ann McGovern

The Country Noisy Book by Margaret Wise Brown

Bunny's Noisy Book by Margaret Wise Brown

The perfect Saturday morning...

Listening to Brahm's symphonies plus canning carrots for the village equals the perfect Saturday morning!

Will Power

From "Frog and Toad Together": "Now we have no more cookies to eat," said Toad sadly. "Not even one."

"Yes", said Frog, "but we have lots and lots of will power."

"You may keep it all, Frog," said Toad. "I am going home now to bake a cake."

I was reading "Frog and Toad Together" yesterday with Olivia and laughed out loud when Frog and Toad were trying to muster the will power to not eat the entire box of cookies. Then, this morning, I read my friend's hopeful words about will power:

"It's not that I don't want to change things about myself. I wish I were thinner, more organized, neater, more patient, etc. But wishing and doing are two different things altogether. I want to turn over a new leaf, honestly I do, but my problem is that I still have the same old roots. I don't need a new leaf; I need a new tree....No matter what grand ambitions we start the year with somewhere along the line our want-to rebels and and our will power stages a mutiny....As powerful as the old nature in you is, you have been given a new tree and with it new leaves. Because Christ came and gave His own life in your place, you can have a new heart. This new heart doesn't have to rely on your own will power, you have the power of Christ." - Valarie Fish, "Get Real"

Another reason to love homeschool...

Sprayed well to defend against the bugs, we grabbed a quilt and spread it out. Olivia read some from one of our Africa picture books, and I read from our biography of Mary Slessor. The sun poured through my glass of juice, turning it into a glowing ruby.

Sarah worked on her cross-stitch, Benjamin placed the last pieces of the Artic in place, and Katherine looked for bugs while our brains soaked up another place on the other side of the world and we enjoyed learning together.

"For wisdom will enter your heart, and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul." Proverbs 2:10

Honiara Woman's Daybook

For Today...Monday, January 17 (begun Sunday evening, knowing that Monday would be busy)

Outside my window...an afternoon SITAG kids' basketball game, clothes drying on the line

I am thinking...about memorizing the book of Colossians this year along with hundreds of others. Care to join me?

I am wearing...a long white twirly skirt, a brown and white sleeveless top from my mom, coconut shell clip keeping my hair up, and a rosewood bracelet inlaid with shell that will soon become a blog giveaway

I am praying for...the people affected by the flooding in Australia

I am going...to say "yes" to my children more this week. Yes, you may paint. Yes, you may create a new recipe in the kitchen. Yes, I will read you a book right now.

From the learning rooms...beginning to have fun with the five senses, continuing Africa, Benjamin adding and subtracting fractions, chugging on to finish Sonlight Cores 5 and K in just a few weeks

I am thankful for...God's abundant grace.

I am remembering...Martin Luther King, Jr. and reading this book to the kids

From the kitchen...some new 7-grain mix that has recently shown up in Honiara (we call it birdseed) for breakfast, leftovers for lunch, and tuna bread braid for supper. However, if it continues to be so hot, I'm not turning on the oven, and we'll just have tuna salad!

I am reading..."Mind in the Making" by Ellen Galinsky

I am hoping...that the internet connection will be more consistent this week

I am creating...meal plans from the new recipes Sarah and I are discovering together.

On my mind...John Piper's newest book "Think: The Life of the Mind and the Love of God" and the Rebelution's blog post about "Reading as Thinking"

Noticing that...cutting back to drinking coffee only on the weekends gives me a nasty headache on Monday morning.

Pondering these words..."The people to whom we minister and speak will not recall 99 percent of what we say to them. But they will never forget the kind of persons we are....The quality of our souls will indelibly touch others for good or for ill. So we must never forget that the most important thing happening at any moment, in the midst of our all our ministerial duties, is the kind of person we are becoming. God is greatly concerned with the quality of character we are building. The future he has planned for us will be built on the strength of character we forge by his grace." from "Personal Soul Care" by Dallas Willard

I am hearing...the neighbor's phone ringing, the clock ticking, the ceiling fan on high (oh, how I love the ceiling fans!)

Around the house...paper chains of African animals that the kids cut out, pineapple tops waiting to be planted

One of my favorite things...coming in all hot and sweaty from my morning run and taking a shower with peppermint body wash. What a treat!

A few plans for the rest of the week...making a couple of airport runs for SITAG folks, finalizing orders from the States so they can get here before we leave for Marulaon, a going away party for a WA couple, company Tuesday and Friday, market shopping with a friend on Wednesday

Here is a picture thought I am sharing with you... posting from Aaron's computer because he has the internet connection, so the picture will have to come later.

Sweet Sabbath

"Praise the Lord, O my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name. Praise the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits -- who forgives all your sins...who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagles." from Psalm 103

-fun "customize your own message" cookie cutters from my sister

-great egg containers from my mom to replace the flimsy clear plastic cartons we get here in Honiara

-sweet sisters fixing hair together

-yummy Kansas coffee from faraway friends

-a cozy book nook

-sunshine today (after almost a week of frequent rain) to help the clothes dry quickly and to lift our hearts

-pineapple season (equals an abundance of cheap pineapple)

-beginning our "Five Senses" study with Katherine to remind me to pay attention and really notice the many gifts God has given us and created us to enjoy (like this sweet smelling candle that makes my whole house smell good)

One Last Transportation Update

Sorry for the confusion I may have caused by using our colleagues' intials. It only hit me this weekend that their initials were the same as ours! Here's the fitting ending from J and A with God's perfect timing:

"It looks like everything is set for us to go on Monday. Praise the Lord! It's a fun story to hear how David finally got word to pick up our stuff at the ship, so we thought we would share it. Because Solomon Islanders are used to communicating without the help of technology, they are very good at passing messages. After our many unsuccessful attempts to contact David, Andy's office assistant Ilyn helped by calling the public phone at the clinic in the harbor north of our village. She told the person who answered the phone to find someone from our harbor. (Because people go to the clinic, there is usually someone there from our harbor.) When someone came to the phone, she told them it was urgent for them to pass a message to David. After the message went through several people, David finally got the message 10 minutes before the ship arrived and was able to go meet the ship to retrieve our supplies.

"We are looking forward to going to the village and seeing everyone again. We are planning on doing the consultant check for 2 Timothy, Ephesians, and 1 & 2 Thessalonians while we are in the village. We are so excited to see God bring these books to completion. We are also planning to hold a meeting with Kwaio to finalize spelling of names in the Bible. It has been hard to decide whether to use Kwaio spellings or whether to use English spellings since they are accustomed to seeing the English names in the English Bible. We are hoping that this meeting will give us feedback from many people and that we will be able to finalize the spellings."

Please continue to pray for all of the SITAG teams. We each serve in different kinds of roles and in different village or town situations, but we all covet your prayers.

Weekends are for Tea Parties

Sarah picks the bouquet...

...and friends come to drink lemonade...

...while my small one dances in a dress made by a loved one far away in Florida (thanks, GranMollie)...

...plays the perfect hostess...

...and grows up way too fast. I'm enjoying every minute.