Live a Life Worthy

What?

2009-12-29T06:54:00.005+03:00

I sat down here at the computer and thought that I should post something on my blog. Opening up the page I asked myself what I should write. This troubled me... in fact, it still troubles me. What has been going on in my head? Usually I write about whatever I have been contemplating. However, my mind seems rather blank. Not that I haven't been thinking on things. They just aren't things that I feel are complete enough or interesting enough to share. But here's a brief list of what's been going on in my head.

Boggle (I lose and lose and lose...)
Lilias Trotter on the Light of Christ (Jen gave me a neat book!)
Decaffeinated teas (I bought some)
The 3000 piece puzzle in our basement (lots of green bushes)
Hotels and trains in Istanbul (why do I care?)
My next mailing (I'm procrastinating)
The SAT scores of my students (they aren't posted yet!)
Cutting my dog's toenails (it needs done)
Making jewelry (my sister's the one doing this)
Sewing shoulder bags (very fun fabric)
George MacDonald (reading and enjoying)
Writing poetry (my sister insists that it can't be melancholy)

USA

2009-12-21T08:57:00.002+03:00

Still adjusting.
Drinking water from the tap.
No limits on the number of amps available.
Toilet paper in the toilet, not the trash can.
Caroling.

Midterm Exams

2009-12-09T21:16:00.002+03:00

Tomorrow Midterm Exams start. Now most American schools don't give first graders a Midterm Exam, but here we do. There would be no way to convince a parent that their kid is failing unless they fail some major test. And even then, they will argue and beg for their kid's grade to be raised from the failing 36% to a passing 70%. "But really, Miss, my son is sooo clever!" they claim. Parents are never biased about their own children.

But my kids should do well, I think. We've reviewed extensively. I've repeated myself over and over and over. It'll be good.

Death

2009-12-01T22:03:00.004+03:00

I had to try to come up with a title that would fit two entirely unconnected pictures. First we have a prank that we played on one of our friends. The second is a picture of the supposed tomb of the prophet Nahum.

Addressing Your Own Heart

2009-11-30T17:25:00.002+03:00

A sort of quandry has come up recently. Someone has done something that I'm not sure if I should address. I understand the difficulties in their situation, but I'm not sure if they realize the stress and irritation they are causing. I don't know if the frustration in my own spirit is right or if I'm just too easily troubled. I know that I shouldn't bring it to them while I'm riled up about it, so I'll just pray for now. But how do I know if I should carry it to them later? How do I know what should be done for the peace of the group, for the betterment of our work, the growth of our students? How much do I make allowance for human folly? Which situations require grace and even abundant grace? When should one cover over a matter to promote love (Proverbs 17:9)? When would it be better to confront a bear robbed of her cubs? When is it my own foolishness that needs confronting?

This kind of situation seems to be reoccuring for me over the last couple of weeks. Most of the time I wait and pray and God works it out for me. Other times it hangs over my head for a while. I lack wisdom and discernment for telling the difference between the problems with my own attitude and the problems with other people's actions and attitudes. Hopefully I'm growing.

Success?

2009-11-25T16:20:00.002+03:00

Ok. It wasn't a failure at least...

Kurds are very picky about their food and most really hate to try anything new. A group of basketball players that went to the U.S.A. were most traumatized by the food out of all the cultural differences. We like flavors, spices, variety. Kurds like greasy rice and chicken cooked in tomato paste water.

We made baked chicken with egg, salt, basil, oregano, and bread crumbs. (Light on the spices.) We also made spaghetti (which they do occasionally eat here) and that was mostly tomatoes, tomato paste, some onion, garlic, and just a little basil and oregano. We also had bread, a cucumber/tomato salad, tirshiat (a red pickled cabbage and cucumber dish), and some sauteed peppers and zucchini.

It worked. They didn't love the food... but they did eat it. We almost had a tea crisis because I struggle with making Kurdish tea, but they seemed to like it and had seconds. And our pudding with a digestive cracker crust had the 3rd grader coming for seconds.

The best part was after they left and we pulled the dishes (we hadn't been able to wash all of them before the guests arrived) out of the laundry rooom and had a chance to sit down and laugh about all the silly things we'd done to try to pull off this feat. And all in all we felt pretty good about it. We have Dutch company tonight... Thanksgiving at our house tomorrow. Company!

Dinner Time

2009-11-24T18:41:00.002+03:00

We're having a local family over for dinner.

This is a rather stressful event for us foreigners. We want them to actually be willing to eat what we put before them. But if we try Kurdish food, we'll fail miserably and we'll end up spending all night having them tell us how to really make Kurdish food (their way!). So we've got to come up with something that is both semi-Kurdish in flavor and not at all Kurdish in appearance. How about that!

Add into the mix that this guy is a germophobe to the nth degree. And his wife pretends she doesn't speak English around her husband... and their kid goes to our school.

Yeah... it'll be fun and exhausting.

2009-11-21T21:25:00.001+03:00

Psalm 19:7

2009-11-20T17:04:00.003+03:00

"The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul."

"Even on days when every cinder in our soul feels cold, if we crawl to the Word of God and cry out for ears to hear, the cold ashes will be lifted and the tiny spark of life will be fanned. For "the law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul."
~John Piper

The Voiceless

2009-10-30T23:25:00.002+03:00

Today I have been pondering how to teach class without a voice. I barely even squeak today. Feel fine mostly otherwise.

But class... hmm... sign language is out of the question. I'll write on the board. Maybe play classroom telephone with the directions for school. Have kids read aloud. I think it would be kind of interesting to try to go through class without doing anything more than whispering.

Should I make it a rule that if I can't speak above a whisper then they shouldn't?
But then I couldn't hear them from the back of the classroom.

Maybe not the best long term solution... but it could be fun...

Quizzes are funnny!

2009-10-24T13:26:00.002+03:00

Question: Which Barbarian tribe attacked India?
Correct Answer: The Huns

Bawan's Answer: The Hunks
Rozh's Answer: The Hunt

Orange

2009-10-16T08:41:00.001+03:00

As the orange disk of the sun sunk below the mountains, the sky began to fade. When the color was finally gone all that was left before me was the bleak tan haze and the power lines and the dirty buildings and the garbage. When the sky is glorious, you hardly notice these things. It is almost as if they don’t exist because your whole focus is centered on the rainbow beauty before me.

There are many stories like this one. Peter walking on the water isn’t pulled down by the waves while he is looking at Jesus. We in our walk do not become hurt or angry if our focus is on the Lord instead of ourselves. In some ways it is the same in service. If you look at the person in front of you instead of the problem they bring to you, or the heartache they carry, then you love them and the burden is not as heavy. And when you have an amazing conversation with someone about the good news of Jesus Christ and you can hardly remember any of it because the focus wasn’t on you or the other person but on God and all the rest of it kind of disappears.

So I left you hanging...

2009-10-09T18:52:00.003+03:00

The circus was fun. The acrobats were great. The bear was starved. And the lion tried to kill itself. All in all a good experience.

Since then, we've been doing something a bit more exciting. A lot of rappelling and taking our kids out to do it too. It's been a great experience coaxing kids off the cliff! And we've gotten some pretty neat pictures out of the deal too!

Lions and Tigers and Bears!

2009-10-01T18:01:00.002+03:00

So, we're going to the Circus tonight. In Iraq. We'll see how that goes.

My New Favorite Book

2009-09-19T21:25:00.002+03:00

I recently finished reading "A Severe Mercy" by Sheldon Vanuaken.

Wow.

I read some of the book on an Airplane over the Atlantic. The drone of the engines and the monotony of the travel was so distinctly contrasted to the fluid and poetic writing.

I cried for an hour in the little green yard of a church in Eastern Turkey. I wasn't upset or having an emotional breakdown... the book was so beautiful and so sad. It was carthartic in the truest sense. And yet as I continued over the next few pages I'd still get teary.

Finally at home I finished... having taken breaks to think through what he had said. The sadness was good, and the sadness had an ultimate good. The author didn't realize it at first, but later, walking through life he saw the purpose. 'How true' I thought.

The Poem My Sister Sent to Me

2009-09-18T16:13:00.000+03:00

The Rival Poet

Billy Collins

The column of your book titles,

always introducing your latest one,

looms over me like Roman architecture.

It is longer than the name

of an Italian countess, longer

that this poem will probably be.

Etched on the head of a pin,

my own production would leave room for

The Lord's Prayer and many dancing angels.

No matter.

In my revenge daydream I am the one

poised on the marble staircase

high above the crowded ballroom.

A retainer in livery announces me

and the Contessa Maria Teresa Isabella

Veronica Multalire Eleganza de Bella Ferrari.

You are the one below

fidgeting in your rented tux

with some local Cindy hanging all over you.

Today

2009-08-29T19:46:00.002+03:00

The sun is breaking through the rainclouds in that 'wow, how beautiful' sort of way. It's my last weekend with my family. My suitcases are too heavy. And I'd really rather be outside than tidy the living room and re-pack. But the sun is glorious.

Ta Da!

2009-08-24T08:51:00.002+03:00

Finished the power point, now just need some polishing and practice. Hopefully we'll manage short and sweet (for the first time ever!).

Thinking a lot about the Christian and Muslim views of sin lately. In practice, they aren't that different sometimes. But comparing the Bible and the Koran, they are very different. Hmm... still thinking.

To Do:

2009-08-22T22:01:00.001+03:00

1. Prepare slideshow for presentation on Tuesday.
Not feeling inspired.
Slow going.

Walmart and Journals

2009-08-22T04:09:00.006+03:00

A terribly dangerous place... Walmart. It is full of wonderful things this time of year for teachers. And I am especially vulnerable because I have an awful affection for paper, blank books, pens, notebooks, and stickers. It must be a family trait because as we moved my sister into her new apartment, we discovered that she has a shelf almost entirely of journals. Some are full others are empty. I have a small rubbermaid bin of my full journals. I've been writing in journals since I was six. I haven't always been very faithful, but a good large portion of my life is well documented from inside my mixed up mind. It isn't a very balanced perspective, I'm sure, because I tend to write more when I am very frustrate, mad, or upset. And sometimes more when I'm very happy. But all that in between time (which is where I am most often) ends up a little more sparsely covered in the annals of my life. Now I just have to decide which blank book I'm going to take with me to the ME in case I fill up the one I am using now.

Happy Music

2009-06-22T01:01:00.004+03:00

Well, this looks funky and I don't know how to fix it, but I like the music so much I'm going to leave it there... weirdness and all!----Thanks Charmaine for telling me how to fix it!

Accomplishments...

2009-07-31T22:47:00.002+03:00

I have actually been able to finish most things on my list. I don't think the dog will be trained in week though. She's not terribly intelligent. Or maybe she is smart, just stubborn. Perseverance will win out in the end... which ever one of us perseveres, that is.

Now, I'm just trying to figure a hostel or hotel in a central Turkey. It's actually kind of fun wondering how much of it is just advertising and how much is real. I mean, all of these places "sound" great. Haha.

I'm enjoying how much reading I've been able to do this summer. Not that I've read really important things or anything, but I've had time to lounge through books that I enjoy. They are comfortable to me and peaceful. I'm a sucker for peace.

To Do... This Week

2009-07-29T06:53:00.002+03:00

Add to red dress for brother's wedding
Visit with friends
Make frame on oval table for mosaic
Find glue for mosaic
Download more audio books
Cook orange chicken
Trying to get Advair prescription renewed without a doctor visit (DONE!)
Buy medications (DONE!)
Pack to spend a week with Katie!!!!
Find something interesting to write a blog post on...
Train dog to be ok with toe nail clippers (just going for ok...)
Take sister's car to get an oil change
Buy oranges for the orange chicken (I should have put this up higher in the list...huh...)
I think I need ginger too...
I need to write something... dunno what... but I've got a writey bug...
I'm sure there is more, but I'm tired and need to go now.
TTFN!

Friends

2009-07-18T07:43:00.002+03:00

I had some of my team over this week and they saw my Moscow world and met my family. It was really fun to get to know one of them better. It was great to spend time with all of them. The girl I've lived with for the past year is one of my best friends and she makes me laugh so often. But she can be serious too. She loves me while knowing nearly all of my flaws. I am humbled. I am blessed.

Adjusting

2009-07-11T08:30:00.003+03:00

I open the fridge to look for water. We don't keep water in the refrigerator here.
I'm cold even though its 80 degrees outside.
I glare at people as I go through the grocery store. I'm sorry.
I don't know the characters on TV shows that my family has watched for years. I'm not sorry about this one.
I miss my team--like a second family.
I get to drink milk, eat deli turkey sandwiches, and granola.
I miss my kids.
I get to see my family every day.
My brother took me out on a date today. We had Thai food.
I went running yesterday. It felt good.
I went out for coffee. Yay.
I had a good talk with a friend. More yay.
I went to a prayer group with people like me.
America is EASY.
America isn't perfect... it's missing some things.