Everyone starts by being single. Some people remain single, and at
least half of the married will end by being single again when their
spouses die. This needs to be thought about and prepared for so that
life is full and useful for the single person. How does a Christian
think about and prepare for a full and useful life as a single person?
Click here to read the rest of John Chapman's article on The Single Person in the Family of God.
[HT: Purple Cellar]
Here is an ever-changing list of some of the blogs I keep tabs on in my google reader.
Some of these blogs belong to more than one category--such as I know my college friends and several of the missionary bloggers in Taiwan in real life--but in order to make my life more simple, I just keep each blog in only one folder even though google reader allows you to stick one blog in many folders (something, by the way, I wish windows let me do with my files for school.)
And, one more thing, just because I keep tabs on these blogs and scan them in my g-reader, does not mean I endorse everything they say or do on their blogs. As always, click with caution.
{I didn't mean to post my blogrolls as a post. They were supposed to go on to a "page." This page in fact. Right here.}
I am still here, I know it's been awhile since I posted. I am ok. A bit overwhelmed and feeling a bit lost, but ok. It is always frustrating when my past experiences tell me I should be experiencing the end of a year, that things are coming to a close and refreshment is just around the corner as well as lots of time to spend with family . . . when in reality it is only midterm, I've got tons of things to do and the end as well as all my family are no where in sight.
Yeah, that can be just a little frustrating (you do notice the sarcastic tone in my voice right?).
Another reason for the delay in recent posts. . . well, my computer at home has decided to run at the speed of molasses on a cold day. What used to take me 10 seconds now takes me 10 minutes to do. Can we say frustrating again??
And, yet, another third reason for the lack of posts . . . . I have finally hit bloggers block or I don't know what to call it . . . maybe bloggers dread. I don't lack ideas--I have lots of those from long before. But, I currently lack the desire to compose--maybe that is due to the fact that I have 40 essays awaiting me to be graded and 40 more just around the corner. My brain is like oatmeal and creativity is zapped--I've loaned it to my students when I coached them with their writing.
It's funny really . . . .I used to have days where I could write multiple posts and still have more to write about. I would think, "oh my how on earth do people live without blogging? how on earth could she claim she needs a blogging break?" Well, now that's me. I am there. I totally understand now.
So, for now, I am going to be doing some behind the scenes stuff--like did you notice my sidebar is now white and no longer pink? And, like my blogrolls which were in serious need of upgrading. I might post some here and there, but it will be very sporadic for awhile as I decide what to do with my home computer and overcome my feelings of being overwhelmed and wait for my writing ideas to come back to me.
Thanks for your concern and offers of cherry kool-aide. They are much appreciated.
This summer my cousins and I joined an English summer camp. It was a privilege to be apart of such a neat camp.
The camp was held in TaiMaLi, an aboriginal village on the east coast of Taiwan. It was an English camp for elementary school students but we used bilingual coloring books that story the Gospel as the textbook.
A couple of factors made it so neat:
One is that team leaders wanted to serve Christ as families--so entire families served together. MKs were on the frontlines leading and serving at the camp. It was so neat to watch daughters leading worship right along side their fathers.
From the beginning the Gospel was the focus. Several different tools were used to share the Gospel. And, the neatest part of all was these first time hears of the Gospel were then immediately entrusted with the expectation to go and tell others this Good News they had just heard.
Also, the Gospel was told in culturally relevant ways. One example of this was using a large scale "shadow puppet" play to tell about Christ's death, burial, and resurrection.Another neat factor was that the "foreigners" and "locals" teamed up to
work side-by-side. Not only did we work with the pastor and believers in TaiMaLi, but a church in Taipei sent Taiwanese believers on a mission trip to help out with this camp. It was neat to watch the reality that we are one big family in Christ play out as believers from different countries complemented each other's work.
Over the course of the week, over 70 accepted Christ as Savior. That Friday night we had a celebration party and 17 were baptized in a small inflatable swimming pool!
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Here is a video of one of the boys in my small group being baptized:
This little guy's English name is William. Would you please join me in praying for him and the others that choose to believe in Christ one week this summer at the Joyful Hope English Camp?
Weeks like that make being here, oh, so very worth it!!! :)
Sometimes on Sunday afternoons, my little neighbors (who really aren't that little anymore), Karen and Christine come over to play games. But, this last time, we did something different. We painted faces onto little pumpkins (no, not oranges, pumpkins really--I promise).
This was the first time I've actually seen orange pumpkins here in Taiwan. Usually they are more of a yellow-green and more gourd-like in shape.
When I found these at the store I actually got a little excited. But, I also found it quite humorous since I now know where all the pumpkin rejects from the States go to die . . . Taiwan! :)
They had one kind of pumpkin labeled "large." The "large" pumpkin
could still fit easily into the palm of my hand. It was about the size of a grapefruit--maybe. I think the family across from
me in the grocery store last week got a kick out of watching me get a
kick out of the "large" pumpkins. :)
For more pictures of our pumpkin people, click over to flickr.
| www.flickr.com |
For the past two weeks, there has been only one thought stuck on repeat in my mind about the beauty of kindness:
It's your kindness that leads us to repentance, Oh Lord.
Knowing that you love us no matter what we do,
Makes us want to love you too.
(Part of a song circa 1989 sung by Maranatha! Praise Band, See Romans 2:4)
Please visit Cahleen for more in-depth reflections on the Beauty of Kindness.
This is what I looked like this weekend:
Yes, it only lasted the weekend. It is/was not a permanent change to my natural curls.
I went to get a hair cut on Thursday night, but the lady didn't know how to cut curly hair. So, she first straightened it and then cut it. Of course, I got the hair cut, after a massage and hair washing . . . so the entire process took about three hours, but only cost 14 USD (with no need to tip).
I can't complain.
