Our Unexpected Tree

The Beer Story

One day, during a party, someone decided to throw away their empty beer can in the drain pipe of our roof.

Every day I could see this beer can littering our pipe and continually told myself that I would go clean it up. However, it never happened.

Finally one day I was outside watching the kids and remembered the beer can, so I reached up and felt around through a bunch of muck till I struck gold...and I actually did hit gold...well ok beer to be exact, because rather then finding an empty piece of trash there was a beautiful, cold, aged can of beer.

I happily drank that beer with my dinner, and though it is not a super brand, the circumstances made it taste better.

Moral of the story, don't neglect the most menial of tasks, cause you never know what you will find.

Oh, and thanks to whoever decided to stow their can up there. Your act of...well, whatever it was, came back to make someone's day more beer filled.

The hero of the story

God IS Great

Last week we needed a certain amount of funds for some upcoming bills. We got together to pray and thought about seeing if we should go for more teams out, which would take away from other important things we have to do, namely teaching, since we have quite a few kids, and working on brochures and advertising for our project and entertainment company.
Well, that same night, even before we got together, someone who received an unexpected financial return, decided to send us something. It turned out to be almost double of what we needed. God is great!!!

My Latest Literary Efforts

Pretend

We sit and sigh and wonder why,
We look away and try to hide,
All the while we feel inside
something..
...but we just pretend.

Locked away never to rise
Hoping to keep our soul disguised
All the while it's in our eyes,
something..
...but we just pretend.

We can't express the truth we know
For fear we earn a deadly blow
Yet we wish we could just show
something...
...but we just pretend.

So close, so far, a force in place
Gazing searchingly in our face
A clear and unmistakable trace,
of something,
...but we just pretend.

A shadow falls and lights turn out,
A time that was is turned about,
Lost forever in a sea of doubt
All that's left is a saddened shout
...why do we pretend.

Random Kindness

"Practice random kindness and senseless acts of beauty." I have always been the type of person who likes to do things for others. It became a habit to the point that I did not really think about it....which is good in one way, and not in another. It became more like something I did by rote. I read that line the other day and it stuck in my mind and I realized that I have to take time out every day to look for those random acts and make them happen. Once I made that decision and took appropriate action, those senseless acts of beauty made the difficult times and confusions of life make sense, and I am happier for it.

Random Kindness

Virgo Birthday Party '09

Virgo birthday party/house-warming party...dancing, drinks and fun...we work hard and we party hard. That's the way it should be!

How Time Has Passed

I remembered recently that I had a blog. As soon as I got a FB account, by blog got forgotten. (I am sorry blog, I still love you...naughty FB)

Anyways, the past month has been busy, but exciting with our move and getting set up. Lets see...

We set up basically as much as we could in the first week.

I crammed to get the kids school stuff in order sometime in the middle weeks of August.

We got permission to homeschool, Darren and Kenny attend gym and music classes and Liani goes to the gym once a week.

We got our classroom almost completely set up.

The Lord supplied the fixing of our bikes (turned out to be quite a hefty sum) for the kids to use to go to classes...yay!

A family that lives nearby came over to visit at Kenny's birthday party. The mom wants weekly bible studies.

I was 'hired' to teach 4 kids English.

A couple down our road ran over our dog, they came over yesterday and brought their 2 girls with them. We had 11 kids upstairs playing cooking for the little girls, and UNO for the older ones.

We had a van, borrowed from the Sky people, (thanks guys) but they needed it back, so we are car less, but not to worry. Everything is taken care of until our new car arrives. The place who fixed our bikes for us is 5 minutes away as is the company who is donating the printing of 3 A1 size banners/posters for the Expat Expo where we have a table, which was also donated. Shopping is a bike trip away and well, when you have people coming to your door, why go out to look for them?

We set up a entertainment company which did not seem to be doing much, but recently we have had something every weekend. Today is a party, which Leny is going to, and we were told by the father of the kid to bring a lot of cards as he is part of a company that provides entertainment and they would like to add our face painting and ballooning to their packages.

We started school on Monday and everything went as smoothly as possible...was not always possible..heh

OK, a few pics from Kenny's birthday

The Zoo

An odd advertisement...

Pics of Our New House

We are moving in 1 month to our new place. We have a team, a house and a grand project. I think that's a good start. Will keep you posted for updates on how it all goes. Whether we live or die, at least we tried. Of course, we are confident in the good Lord that we will live and not just live, but thrive.

Pics

For those who do not know, below is our project:

Sponsor the Future

The Shack part 2

Parts of the book 'The Shack' that I found particularly intriguing or thought provoking:


from chapter 9

“Mackenzie, you are such a delight! Thank you for all your hard work!” said Papa. (God)

“I didn’t do that much, really,” he apologized. “I mean, look at this mess.” His gaze moved over the garden that surrounded them. “But it really is beautiful, and full of you, Sarayu (Holy Spirit). Even though it seems like lots of work still needs to be done, I feel strangely at home and comfortable here.”

The two looked at each other and grinned.

Sarayu stepped toward him until she had invaded his personal space. “And well you should, Mackenzie, because this garden is your soul. This mess is you! Together, you and I, we have been working with a purpose in your heart. And it is wild and beautiful and perfectly in process. To you it seems like a mess, but to me, I see a perfect pattern emerging and growing and alive—a living fractal.”

The impact of her words almost crumbled all of Mack’s reserve. He looked again at their garden—his garden—and it really was a mess, but incredible and wonderful at the same time. And beyond that, Papa was here and Sarayu loved the mess.


from chapter 10

The beauty was staggering. He could make out the shack, where smoke leisurely rose from the red, brick chimney as it nestled against the greens of the orchard and forest. But dwarfing it all was a massive range of mountains that hovered above and behind, like sentinels standing guard. Mack simply sat, Jesus next to him, and inhaled the visual symphony.

“You do great work!” he said softly.

“Thank you, Mack, and you’ve seen so little. For now most of what exists in the universe will only be seen and enjoyed by me, like special canvasses in the back of an artist’s studio, but one day . . . And can you imagine this scene if the earth was not at war, striving so hard just to survive?”

“And you mean what, exactly?”

“Our earth is like a child who has grown up without parents, having no one to guide and direct her.” As Jesus spoke, his voice intensified in subdued anguish. “Some have attempted to help her but most have simply tried to use her. Humans, who have been given the task to lovingly steer the world, instead plunder her with no consideration, other than their immediate needs. And they give little thought for their own children who will inherit their lack of love. So they use her and abuse her with little consideration and then when she shudders or blows her breath, they are offended and raise their fist at God.”


from chap 11

“So, who is it that I am supposed to judge?”

“God,” she paused, “and the human race.” She said it as if it was of no particular consequence. It simply rolled off her tongue, as if this were a daily occurrence.

Mack was dumbfounded. “You have got to be kidding!” he exclaimed.

“Why not? Surely there are many people in your world you think deserve judgment. There must be at least a few who are to blame for so much of the pain and suffering? What about the greedy who feed off the poor of the world? What about the ones who sacrifice their young children to war? What about the men who beat their wives, Mackenzie? What about the fathers who beat their sons for no reason but to assuage their own suffering? Don’t they deserve judgment, Mackenzie?”

“And what about the man who preys on innocent little girls? What about him, Mackenzie? Is that man guilty? Should he be judged?”

“Yes!” screamed Mack. “Damn him to hell!”

“What about his father, the man who twisted his son into a terror, what about him?”

“Yes, him too!”

“How far do we go back, Mackenzie? This legacy of brokenness goes all the way back to Adam, what about him? But why stop there? What about God? God started this whole thing. Is God to blame?”

Mack was reeling. He didn’t feel like a judge at all, but rather the one on trial.

The woman was unrelenting. “Isn’t this where you are stuck, Mackenzie? Isn’t this what fuels The Great Sadness? That God cannot be trusted? Surely, a father like you can judge the Father!”

Again his anger rose like a towering flame. He wanted to lash out, but she was right and there was no point in denying it.

“Yes! God is to blame!” The accusation hung in the room as the gavel fell in his heart.

“Then,” she said with finality, “if you are able to judge God so easily, then you certainly can judge the world.” Again she spoke without emotion. “You must choose two of your children to spend eternity in God’s new heavens and new earth, but only two.” “And you must choose three of your children to spend eternity in hell.”

Mack couldn’t believe what he was hearing and started to panic.

“Mackenzie.” Her voice now came as calm and wonderful as first he heard it. “I am only asking you to do something that you believe God does. He knows every person ever conceived, and he knows them so much deeper and clearer than you will ever know your own children. He loves each one according to his knowledge of the being of that son or daughter. You believe he will condemn most to an eternity of torment, away from His presence and apart from His love.

“I can’t do this,” he said softly.

“You must,” she replied.

“I can’t do this,” he said louder and more vehemently.

“You must,” she said again, her voice softer.

Finally he looked at her, pleading with his eyes. “Could I go instead? If you need someone to torture for eternity, I’ll go in their place. Would that work? Could I do that?”

He fell at her feet, crying and begging now. “Please let me go for my children, please, I would be happy to . . . Please, I am begging you. Please . . . Please . . .”

Looking at her through blurring tears, he could see that her smile was radiant. “Now you sound like Jesus. You have judged well, Mackenzie. I am so proud of you!”

“But I haven’t judged anything,” Mack offered in confusion.

“Oh, but you have. You have judged them worthy of love, even if it cost you everything. That is how Jesus loves. And now you know Papa’s heart,” she added, “who loves all his children perfectly.”


from chapter 16

Today, we are throwing a big rock into the lake and those ripples will reach places you would not expect. You already know what I want, don’t you?”

“I’m afraid I do,” Mack mumbled, feeling emotions rising as they seeped out of a locked room in his heart.

“Son, you need to speak it, to name it.”

Now there was no holding back as hot tears poured down his face and between sobs Mack began to confess. “Papa,” he cried, “how can I ever forgive that son of a bitch who killed my Missy. If he were here today, I don’t know what I would do. I know it isn’t right, but I want him to hurt like he hurt me . . . if I can’t get justice, I still want revenge.”

“Mack, for you to forgive this man is for you to release him to me and allow me to redeem him.”

“Redeem him?” Again Mack felt the fire of anger and hurt. “I don’t want you to redeem him! I want you to hurt him, to punish him, to put him in hell . . .” His voice trailed off.

Papa waited patiently for the emotions to ease.

“I’m stuck, Papa. I just can’t forget what he did, can I?” Mack implored.

“Forgiveness is not about forgetting, Mack. It is about letting go of another person’s throat.”

“But this man . . .”

“But he too is my son. I want to redeem him.”

The Shack

My thoughts on The Shack:

I found myself identifying with Mack throughout the beginning. As he experienced The Great Sadness, I did too. I thought of something like that happening to me, and all the feelings of utter helplessness, and the hate and revenge was as real to me as it was to him. I was surprised at my reaction, as a Christian who grew up knowing God loves and cares for me and mine, who had Rom 8 28 a part of my daily life lessons since I was a tot, yet here I was telling myself if anyone had done to me what this man experienced, I would have hunted him down and sent him to hell and back a few times.
It's my right, no? Isn't that what some deserve? Apparently not! However right I would feel about doing that, I would be wrong. I know that in theory, but the way this book puts it down changes ones perspective and causes one to question our own capabilities to love, to forgive, to understand, to accept, to trust. Do we really forgive and accept? Or do we 'believe' we do, but in our hearts we still cling to our 'rights'?
As Mack experienced cleansing and renewal, I was given a renewed perception on life and love, on forgiveness, on trusting God and His plan for man kind. Basically principles I 'learned', but never had put down in such plain human fashion.
Altogether an interesting, thought provoking read.

Blank

Every so often I go blank. Nothing passes through my mind, nothing comes out that makes sense. I look and try to find a gem amidst all the rubble and noise, the silence and calm, but all that I get is a sigh. I close my eyes and I find a dream.
This is one of those times.

Dustin is One

On June 5th, Dustin Anthony turned 1. We had a small, simple, pool party and invited one of our neighbors, who has a 3 year old girl, over to join the kids. Dustin enjoyed the pool more then anything else, even his cake.
As always, with each of our kids' 1st birthday, we made him his own little cake and let him do whatever he wanted to with it. Well, he dug in to the whipping cream and had fun.
Happy Birthday little man. Growing so fast and learning new things every day. We love you tons!

Interesting

Miss Indonesia 2009

http://giselabarbosa.blogspot.com/2009/06/miss-indonesia-2009.html

Just Pics

My Brazilian soccer team

Dustin Walks

A Bit of This and That

Recent pics of the kids...


...growing up so fast...


...one has to wonder...


..."Where did all the time go?"


Enjoy them while they are still around.


Liani and Darren celebrated their birthdays together. We had a simple little party with their friends from the area. It was Easter themed. There was a chocolate egg hunt, games (organized by Kay), cake and ice cream, and basket ball for the parents, well the dads. The moms got the clean up. :-)








Trying out the pool for the first time...it's an older pic, I have been neglecting my blog.