On Saturday Haeyoung brought home the movie "Little Women" to watch with the girls.
I don't know why, but I never read the book when I was young but I decided that I wanted to read it before I watched the movie. So I woke up early on Sunday morning and started reading. I read, and read, and read. I laughed, I cried, I threw a pillow and I drove Carmen and Lisel crazy making predictions.
Finally I finished. I loved it! The book is well written, has dynamic characters, good morals, and experiences that everyone can relate to.
Then came time to watch the movie, I was so excited to see the characters and the plot played out.
And I was so disappointed.
Seriously. I was really disappointed. Actually I think the word I used was deceived. How dare those movie people take such a good book and ruin it! The best parts were taken out, everything was out of order and squished together, some parts were invented, and the characters didn't look anything like they looked in my imagination.
Just another lesson that the book is always better than the movie.
Sigh.
That's how it is in my life too. I read the Bible and I get so encouraged by the people who make up those pages.
Ester: she risked her own life to save her people
Ruth: she left her family behind to follow God
Paul: he faced ship-wrecks, a bite by a poisonous snake, 40-lashes minus one, and imprisonment and yet still wrote one of the most "joyful" books of the Bible (Philippians)
David: he was a man after God's own heart
Daniel: he slept with the lions
Countless men and women who have walked before me and found favor in the Lord's eyes. And then I try and feel like a failure.
The book is better than the movie.
I want to live without fear, full of joy, facing the trials head-on. But sometimes just getting out of bed in the morning is a chore. I want to write and encourage and speak truth into people's lives but first I have to pull the log out of my own eye.
And yet some day I will get there. Maybe I won't be asked to walk in the fire, or to lead an army, or be imprisoned. But I will do something great. I know this because we will all do something great.
God wants us to be great for Him. He wants us to be brave for Him. He wants us to serve Him.
And we will, we will. In His perfect timing.
Someday my movie will be just as good as the book.
Monday, October 31, 2011
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
Hold my Hand
A couple days ago I took the boys into Danli to help me run some errands. I like the company, the boys like the snack I always buy them for being my "assistants".
In search of a place to make photocopies, I led the boys around the city. Running across streets and cutting through alleys, always with the boys on my heels. Until I looked down and there were Josue and Daniel, one with his small hand placed firmly in mine, the other with his arm looped through mine like a perfect gentleman leading a lady.
It's so natural now, to walk surrounded by kids. To walk with my wallet tucked into my armpit so that my hands are free for holding. To change "partners" at each stoplight. It's so natural.
Today I was journaling. I have a bunch of errands to run that will take me all over this city. I will be alone as I pick up my passport from immigration, change money at the Chinese supermarket, cash checks at the bank, buy groceries for the week, and stop at the fruit stand to stock up on produce.
I will be alone
But for now I only think about my journal, and my coffee.
And the words flow. Not from my mind, but from my heart.
I read what I have written: Hold my hand Father. I just want you to hold my hand.
...just hold my hand
There is something so comforting in holding someone's hand. Because all of a sudden instead of one, you are two. There is the knowledge that no matter how dark it is, there is another to help you see. No matter how windy it gets, there is someone to sustain you. No wonder I always seem to have someone slipping their hand into mine!
So often my job is to be the adult. To be the comfort, to be the eyes that see and the one that sustains. I wipe tears and calm fears and make smiles appear. I am the adult.
But sometimes I want to be the little girl. I want to slip my hand into one that is bigger than mine. I want to be led and comforted by another.
Sometimes, admits the chaos of life, it is comforting to have someone take us by the hand and lead us.
My prayer this morning is simple and free of clutter. It is not a prayer that comes from my mouth, but is rather the cries of the heart of a little girl: Hold my hand Abba, just hold my hand.
In search of a place to make photocopies, I led the boys around the city. Running across streets and cutting through alleys, always with the boys on my heels. Until I looked down and there were Josue and Daniel, one with his small hand placed firmly in mine, the other with his arm looped through mine like a perfect gentleman leading a lady.
It's so natural now, to walk surrounded by kids. To walk with my wallet tucked into my armpit so that my hands are free for holding. To change "partners" at each stoplight. It's so natural.
Today I was journaling. I have a bunch of errands to run that will take me all over this city. I will be alone as I pick up my passport from immigration, change money at the Chinese supermarket, cash checks at the bank, buy groceries for the week, and stop at the fruit stand to stock up on produce.
I will be alone
But for now I only think about my journal, and my coffee.
And the words flow. Not from my mind, but from my heart.
I read what I have written: Hold my hand Father. I just want you to hold my hand.
...just hold my hand
There is something so comforting in holding someone's hand. Because all of a sudden instead of one, you are two. There is the knowledge that no matter how dark it is, there is another to help you see. No matter how windy it gets, there is someone to sustain you. No wonder I always seem to have someone slipping their hand into mine!
So often my job is to be the adult. To be the comfort, to be the eyes that see and the one that sustains. I wipe tears and calm fears and make smiles appear. I am the adult.
But sometimes I want to be the little girl. I want to slip my hand into one that is bigger than mine. I want to be led and comforted by another.
Sometimes, admits the chaos of life, it is comforting to have someone take us by the hand and lead us.
My prayer this morning is simple and free of clutter. It is not a prayer that comes from my mouth, but is rather the cries of the heart of a little girl: Hold my hand Abba, just hold my hand.
Monday, October 24, 2011
Cold Front
If you've been keeping up on weather, we've had a not-so-nice tropical storm that caused a lot of havoc in our little country. Due to a ton of wind and flooding, the southern part experienced a lot of damage and basically lost all communication with the rest of the country for a while. It was (and still is a mess).
Thankfully, we at the Villa were not subject to any of these problems except for the cold front.
Cold Front?
Ok, I know that those of you from the northern US and Canada are probably scoffing and about to give up reading right now.
Please hear me out.
When it gets cold in the US we:
turn on the heat, shut the doors, thank God for good insulation, make a fire, put on warm clothes, enjoy our thick carpeting.
In Honduras:
there is no heat (we have no need for it 95% of the year), there is no insulation in the houses, the windows and doors are not caulked to prevent a draft from entering, there is no carpeting. And at the Villa, thanks to our courtyard, every door opens to the outside.
Luckily we do have a fireplace, and a lot of fire wood. The girls are now professional fire-builders and the boys have fine-tuned the skill of cutting a tree trunk into fuel for the fireplace.
I love this "cold front" because it reminds me of fall back home. I like to curl up on the couch with a cup of coffee-or homemade tea, a blanket, and a book. And if I'm lucky, a little "buddy" comes to share my blanket and tuck his cold feet under my legs to warm them up.
Yes, I am a very lucky girl.
Thankfully, we at the Villa were not subject to any of these problems except for the cold front.
Cold Front?
Ok, I know that those of you from the northern US and Canada are probably scoffing and about to give up reading right now.
Please hear me out.
When it gets cold in the US we:
turn on the heat, shut the doors, thank God for good insulation, make a fire, put on warm clothes, enjoy our thick carpeting.
In Honduras:
there is no heat (we have no need for it 95% of the year), there is no insulation in the houses, the windows and doors are not caulked to prevent a draft from entering, there is no carpeting. And at the Villa, thanks to our courtyard, every door opens to the outside.
Luckily we do have a fireplace, and a lot of fire wood. The girls are now professional fire-builders and the boys have fine-tuned the skill of cutting a tree trunk into fuel for the fireplace.
I love this "cold front" because it reminds me of fall back home. I like to curl up on the couch with a cup of coffee-or homemade tea, a blanket, and a book. And if I'm lucky, a little "buddy" comes to share my blanket and tuck his cold feet under my legs to warm them up.
Yes, I am a very lucky girl.
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