Tuesday

Random thoughts running through my mind tonight:

I miss avocados and endemame.

Wondering how it is even possible that my kid has a 700 word rough draft due tomorrow and he is on word #330. It is 8:30 pm. Did I mention that this is the first we have heard of it?? Creative and logical consequences are running around in my head.

I can spend oodles of time looking at recipes online.

My oldest is officially as tall as I am.

I get really excited when my yeast dough rises.

Living in India and the idols I see every day brings a whole new context to the things I read in the Old Testament.

My kids make me laugh.

What Do You Do On Easter?

How did we celebrate Easter this year? I did not see a single Easter bunny, plastic egg, marshmallow peep, or cadbury egg commercial (assuming that they still play them).

Dakota just said, "And football, we didn't see any football this year!" Really??

We did go to a Good Friday service that was wonderful! We worshiped with people who do not look like us or talk like us, but we all sang praises to the same God and it was beautiful.

This morning we put on nice clothes (because that is what you do on Easter) and we went early to church for an International breakfast. What is that you ask? Well, it is when people from literally all over the world bring food to share. For breakfast this morning our family ate kim-pab (Korean food - like california roll), quiche, cinnamon rolls, marbled brownies, watermelon, banana bread, crepes, naan,  mo-mos (fried dumpling), Honeycombs and other unidentifiable foods.

We then went to a great service celebrating our risen Lord. We came home in an auto, our favored mode of transportation, while experiencing all the sights, smells, and sweat (99 F. today) of our city. The chicken (which is more the size of a cornish hen) was already in the crock-pot I found in the market that obviously had been imported from China (the crock pot, not the chicken), as evidenced by the different outlet and chinese writing on the side. I formed the rolls and set them in the pan for the second rising. I finished up the mashed potatoes, green beans and the icing for the carrot cake.

Our neighbors from upstairs came down for lunch. We were very excited that they accepted our invitation to come for lunch. They had been asking some questions about Easter and what it meant. It was a good time. It is a very interesting thing to try and explain why we do what we do on this day. They had questions about the food we eat, the Easter bunny, why we dye Easter eggs, how we prepared all the food, and whether or not we always drink water or tea while we eat, instead of after. All of the sudden, I felt completely incompetent as a good American and myself wondered why I missed seeing all of that plastic green grass that I banned from the house when the kids were little, as I talked about Easter baskets and egg hunts.

A favorite moment was when the eldest man (the owner of our building, around 70) was asked if he wanted a second helping of carrot cake. His answer was that he did not want more cake, but he did want more of the cream on top (cream cheese icing). Thankfully, I had some left over and was able to grant his request.

The best part of all was being able to talk to them about why Jesus died on the cross and what it means to us that He did not stay in the grave. We prayed before we ate lunch and they asked, "Do you always pray like that before a meal?" I wasn't expecting this question and it made me realize how far a Hindu has to come to find the Savior.

We finished the night with our family watching Courageous, laughing together, and being thankful (in the midst of the ever-crazy routine of the children getting more and more wound up the closer it gets to bed time).



Bonus: My $2 top and $1 scarf I found in the market last night! And just the right color for Easter.

You want to worship My daughter?

Yesterday was the end of Vasanti Navratri. This is a Hindu celebration that included several days of fasting and the worship of Lakshmi (a goddess). On the 9th day of the celebration they give gifts to and worship prepubescent girls as "...a virgin girl is the symbol of the pure basic creative force".
When the neighbors asked about worshiping my daughter I was completely thrown off. It was Palm Sunday and I had been pondering the work of our Lord on this day and the coming week that culminates with the Creator God giving Himself as the ultimate sacrifice. Worshiping anyone or anything just doesn't register.
Karley is beautiful and in many ways she is quite innocent. At the same time, she has done many things wrong. She has little power in the world, which people remind her on a regular basis.
So...no you can not worship my daughter. She is not worthy of praise or adoration in the same way as the Most High. Today let us reconsider what we are worshiping, either in word or deed. We may not be so forthright in our worship, blatantly bowing down before our children, but if cater to their every desire and provide them with more than we can afford, maybe we are.

Holy Holi

I wrote this back in March. Today is India's color festival. It is called Holi and its origins were described to me today. It is amazing religious holiday that baffles me. We saw several neighbors wiping color on each other then hugging. Some of our friends saw a huge fight break out between two families, adults and kids alike. It was described as the day many get hammered and then drive around. Someone else called it the national ballon and color fight. One other description was that it is a day for reconciliation.
For us it was memorable day of fun and adventure and another day to realize that we don't live in America. Our language teacher asked is to describe the "color holiday" in America. She was surprised to learn that like many other holidays here, they are based on religious customs that we don't share.
Like many holidays in America that started as Holy days, the contrast of the different expressions of this day reveal culture's influence on religion and religion's influence on culture.
Knowing a holidays origin brings great insight.

I am so saree

I bought a saree today. I have been putting it off and I am not sure why. For some reason, I have been keeping the whole process at a hand's distance away. This may be more of a stream of consciousness, rather than collective thoughts but I am going to try my fingers at some internal processing through the keyboard.


The saree is a very traditional dress for Indian women. It is worn when attending a wedding or formal event (the more glitter and bling the better) and some women wear more casual ones every day. I know that teachers in Indian schools are expected to wear them and also flight attendants with a particular airline.

This picture depicts what I hoped the experience would be like, but reality whispered to me that it would be different. Some of the questions running through my head were.....what do you do with all that material? how many pieces are involved? why is is okay to show your stomach in this culture when wearing a saree?(the blouse part under would be considered a mid-drift top) what do you wear under it? how do you put it on?  how much do they cost? where do I go buy one? am I going to get ridiculously ripped off?(that one is a given most of the time) what is the process? does it involve going to a tailor? and on and on.

Seth and I have been invited to a wedding, so this was the time. After language class yesterday, we went to a market near our house and were going to make it happen. I really had to work myself up to it, which didn't really make sense to me. People do this all the time. It should be fun to go shopping for a nice outfit. Well, when you are comfortable in your surroundings, know the language, and the system of doing things, this would be true. But alas, we live in India. Need I say more??

Back to yesterday. We found a shop that had "saree" in the name and we thought that a good sign. There were a few mannequins outside the store with pretty sarees on them.  We walked down about three steps to enter the store. A gentleman opened the door for us and I took a deep breath. The store was about the size of a smallish bedroom. There were shelves on three walls that went up about 6 feet high. On the shelves were bundles of sarees all in individual plastic wrapping. There must have been thousands of them packed into this small store. There was a man sitting at a desk immediately to the right as we walked in and there was a wooden platform about 2 feet off the ground that ran the length of the store. On the platform was mattresses with white sheets on the them and benches for the customers next to them. There were about 6 salesmen sitting cross-legged (I dare not use the other term :P) on the mattresses. There was not a woman in sight, which is odd but quite common in the shops.  Needless to say, we were the center of attention and the only customers. We told them what we were looking for (our language teachers gave us some useful phrases in class that morning) and they told us to take a seat on a bench. One man asked how much I wanted to spend and then another man started bringing several packages over to where we were. I really wanted to get up myself and look through the stacks (which Seth eventually did and I am pretty sure that was a major cultural feaux pas), but I kept my seat and said yes or no with each one that he brought out. Part of the problem was that I really didn't know what I was wanting. There were a gagillion choices and I am still not convinced that I am the sari type. Although, I am realizing that what I think I am or am not is sometimes completely irrelevant.

I narrowed it down  to a few possibilities and then it was time to try them on. I stood up and another man put a velcro strap around my waist. He began folding the yards and yards of material in a fan-like pattern and tucked and pulled and wrapped until it was all draped around me. Apparently part of the big piece of material is cut off to make the blouse and then a petticoat of some kind goes under everything. It is all very complicated and I never thought I would say this, but I miss the days of wearing a panya in West Africa. But that is another story. 

After I made my choice (which could have potentially taken hours), we paid for the saree and a man walked us over to where the store's tailor was. There I choose the neckline and sleeves on the blouse and he took all sorts of measurements. I will pick it up later this weekend. Then I went further into the market to buy matching bangles, which is a necessity when wearing a saree, or so I am told. This was a much less overwhelming experience and I am all about the bangles. We had a very interesting spiritual conversation with that shopkeeper and look forward to continuing to interact with him. I think that is my new go-to place for bangles (if anyone wants to come visit).

I have been trying to discern why this was such a big deal for me and I am realizing that it is not necessarily about the saree. It is more about what it represents, I think. It represents the culture here. I am putting on part of the culture when I put on a saree. How much of my own known, comfortable, and easy culture do I have to take off in order to put on a saree? I can't be carrying around too much culture because it is quickly getting hot here :)  Seriously, this is a foreign place and it feels foreign in so many ways. I am realizing how much I like the picture of who I am and what I represent back in the States, and now I have thrown a basket of all those things up in the air and they are slowly falling. Some things will make it into the basket and some will not. New things need to be put into the basket and some things that were in there have risen to the top of the basket.  I am continually thankful for a God who knows me, who made me, and who loves me.

I am not a good patient

Well, it hit us this weekend. Seth and I both had a stomach bug of some kind. We have been mostly healthy for the entire 6 months we have lived in India, until this weekend.  It really was not as bad as it could have been and the kids have not gotten it so far, for which we are very thankful.

I am still down with it and cannot seem to shake it. I am not good at being sick. It just doesn't sit right with me. I want to be able to do what I want/need to do and I get frustrated when my body does not cooperate. Oh well, no amount of complaining will change anything...it is what it is.

On the up side, we had a great relaxing weekend and I am so glad the kids are old enough to fend for themselves, so to speak. There was no shortage of movies watched (Step Up 3 was not too bad!) or apple products handled.

We could  not make it to church and so we had a worship time with the family. Seth requested that we all bring a verse and a song that we wanted to share. It was so great! I was amazed at how real the Father was in the simplicity of our time together.

Favorite quote of the weekend from Dakota: "For my funeral, I want to have a dance party and wear purple".

Pain and Disappointment

     The previous post, December 11, 2011 was deleted after I got the worst migraine I have had to this point while in India. I have had the awesome privilege of a very blessed life. I have three amazing children, brought into the world by a beautiful bride that I cherish and would give my life for. Almost every dream I have ever had has been fulfilled.  I am now living a life full of peace and joy.  So, when that migraine hit, just a few days after the PFO closure, I was devastated.  For years I have dreamed of having this closure, with the hope that I would no longer experience the anxiety and pain that many of you know comes with a life of migraine.  Most months I had 10-15 headaches, most of which were hidden from work and friends, but very real for my family and me. So, the previous post was written the night before this migraine.  I have to say that the crisis of faith was overwhelming. I haven't doubted the love and salvation of our all sufficient God at all since I was 16.  The on the 12th of December 2011 my world crashed!
     So, why did I repost the story from the 11th? For two reasons.
     First, my finite understanding of God has grown.  I realize that there is nothing that is going to happen in this life that will change God's all powerful and loving passion for humanity.  I may join the great crowd of witnesses that never saw their vision/dreams become reality.  I may have the privilege of living out a life here that feels less than complete, not quite whole and even disappointing.  As long as I cling to the Him and remain obedient, I will die at peace and pray that I will have lived a life spent for the Kingdom even if it is full of pain and suffering.
     Second, I haven't had a migraine since the 12th of December 2011.  Therefore, I feel it is my responsibility to share my struggle and small vision as well as the amazing victory.  I have learned from Stephen Hammond's example that it is necessary for those around us to see our struggles and successes.  We all share the free will that often gets us in trouble.  So, I now rejoice, not just from being pain free for over a month, but also because I now feel the need to be responsible for the gift of many hours each month that can be redeemed for the King.
    So, it is with great celebration and peace that I am thrilled to give God the glory for the pain, the doubt and relief that I have found.  And now....we fast.   Join Mosaic of Arlington as we embark on this journey together.