Matthew

Writing Matthew’s blog fell to me (see Jan 08 for Becky’s blog about Anna). Why me? Well, partly because I haven’t written much (which might be the reason why you’ve kept reading), partly because I really want to. But also I find myself more and more thinking, “I bet I was like that as a kid.” So there’s some sense of common understanding. This is good, but at times not a little frightening. How would you like to see the oddities of your personality played out in a two year old body with two year old concerns?

I re-read Becky’s blog about Anna to see what she said. It went something like, Anna is doing this, saying that, going here, coming there. Whatever is in her little head comes out, at times loudly. The uniqueness of Matthew, however, is that it is not so much what he does, but what he thinks. But the thing is, we’re not really sure exactly what he thinks. Things just come out from time to time. We’re only seeing the tip of the iceberg.

For instance, at dusk today we were walking down a side street that overlooked the lake, when Matthew blurted out, “all dogs go to sleep,” from the book Go Dogs. Go! We haven’t read that book recently, but the going to sleep seems to have stuck. Anytime anything reminds him of night time, he says recites from the book, followed by pretending to go to sleep and pretending to snore (It’s really cute). We just got past the, blue-car-crashed-but-the-red-car-helped-him stage, which seemed to have lasted for months. At the dinner table while Becky and I were sharing our thoughts for the day, Matthew would blurt out in complete seriousness his plot summary from the movie Cars. He would continue to repeat this summary until we acknowledged his contribution and responded appropriately. So we wonder, how much during the day is he thinking about the red car and the blue car? Apparently a lot, because I’d open the door to his room to get him in the morning to be greeted by the plot of the movie Cars.

But he’s not just absorbing things and then spitting them out. It seems he’s really interacting with his world. Matthew has been sick intermittently since we’ve arrived, most recently with an ear infection. Matthew had fallen asleep on the couch while watching Cars (for the 87^th time), when he was awoken suddenly by a giant fly landing on the side of his face. I suspect that during his nap his ear infection had reached a pain threshold that it really bothered him. He thusly drew the (wrong) conclusion that the fly—which he called a bee—had caused the pain in his ear.

So Matthew was terrified of bees, the sight of bees, or the thought of bees. He would respond by holding his ear and saying, “no bee, no bee.” Becky, who has a lot of wisdom in this area, taught him what has come to be know as the Matthew catechism. It goes like this:

Question 1:

Q: Who made bees?

A: God made bees.

Question 2:

Q: Who takes care of Matthew?

A: God takes care of Matthew.

Amazingly, this really seemed to work. Our language teacher was greeted one day by Matthew running out of the bedroom saying, “No bee, no bee, God made bees.”

Matthew also interacts with his world with a healthy dose of creativity. He rides his plastic tricycle all over the house. One day when we told him it was time for nap, he suggested, “nap on bike.” (I’m probably one of the few fathers who could honestly tell him that I’ve tried taking a nap on a bike and it doesn’t work very well). Matthew loves to play blocks. He’ll make something which he will call an animal (his pronunciation: mamel). When we ask him what animal it is he thinks for a minute and then gives an answer (Zebra, horse, and dog are his favorite). We have a book about Noah and the Ark. I’ve never read it because it is in Spanish (the last thing I need is another langue), but it has a picture of Noah on the front with a white curly beard that hangs off his chin. Matthew knows the whole Noah story. But there are two things that he’s really focused on. First, God told Noah to build a big boat (That’s our cue to add, “And Noah obeyed God.”). Second, apparently Noah has a beard. Out of the blue Matthew will put something on his chin and inform us that he is Noah, “Look, I Noah.”

Speaking of stories, Matthew has a very high capacity for repetition (or at least a good bit higher than Becky’s). He will ask for the same story over and over and over again. We started with the Baby Jesus story, to which we’ve added several others. In light of Easter, we told Him about Jesus’ death and resurrection. Matthew labeled this story the, “Jesus hurt story.” It is interesting when we get to the part about Jesus dying on the cross and that it really hurt Jesus, Matthew identifies something that hurts him.

Add to this a strong emotional intensity (okay, so he’s not entirely like me). Matthew gives big hugs or little hugs, no in-between. The animals are big or small. Even if he knew the world for middle, I doubt he would use it. Lately, Matthew has either laughed hysterically or cried—and maybe even both at the same time.

That’s our Matthew, and we love him.

Easter Sunday

Here are some pics of our first Easter overseas.

I managed to keep the tradition of dying eggs thanks to a friend passing along a dye kit (I totally overlooked liquid food coloring when packing.) Matthew enjoyed watching me dye the eggs while he stuck the stickers that came with the dye all up and down his arms.

We had a special time remembering what Christ did for us through His death and resurrection. Matthew has been learning Bible stories one by one, and now the "Jesus hurt story" is part of his collection. We worshipped together with some friends, and shared a meal together (BBQ, chips, deviled eggs, etc.)

Of course, it wouldn't be Easter without the dress, right? During our photo shoot we learned that Matthew is able to smile on demand....

...when bribed with candy!

Have It Your Way...

We went to Burger King two days a go and I observed an interesting economic phenomenon: the price is a little more expensive than what we would find in the states, but as our kids roam around the tables people give them free french fries. So we pretty much break even.

My new hobby--laundry. Actually, I've really grown to enjoy hanging out our laundry. It's warm and sunny on the back balcony in the morning. The kids love to play out there while I do it, so it is usually a peaceful and content moment (a valuable thing in life with two toddlers). It looks so orderly, especially if I hang the socks in matching pairs. And when it's dry, if I have time, I like to fold it as I take it down, watching all the goings on of the city from the balcony. I wasn't so enthusiastic about the whole process in the fall, though, when cold, wet weather meant it could take days for some things to dry... but now that it's spring, it's wonderful.

Mike's been really focusing on vocabulary recently, and he's reaping good results. One of the words he's picked up is the word for twins, and it seems like now I constantly am asked if my kids are twins. Of course I say that they aren't. But it's gotten me thinking, and I think that for the last several months I've often mistaken the question "are they twins" for "is [child] a girl?" Oops. I thought it seemed odd that so many people thought Matthew might be a girl.

Shopping

We went to a new Pazar today. It reminded me that a few people have asked how shopping is different here. Well, I’d say there are three basic types of shopping I’ve done. The first is in stores that are fairly similar to stores we would find back in Harford County. There are two malls with stores that are a lot like WalMart or Target. Ok, there are a few differences. The Walmart-like store has a full-service fish department (that you can sometimes smell from the front of the store). Its employees wear rollerskates—it’s quite a sight to see them whizzing down the aisle. It’s a busy, crowded place with loud music, kids everywhere, and people very willing to cut in line. There are also smaller grocery stores and convenience stores, and in the mall there are a few department stores, a Toys R Us, and other similar mall stores. All these stores have prices labeled, cash registers, sales—all that stuff that you might expect.
Then there are the local specialty stores. These are large, medium, and small shops that line the streets selling everything from tea sets to furniture to hardware to clothes to curtains to DVDs… There are little stores that specialize in everything school-related, books, paper, pencils, photocopies. There are stores that are just kitchen things, just painting supplies, just dairy products, just plasticware and household stuff. A few of these specialty stores you wouldn’t find in the states. One is the bakkal. That’s a little one room store that sells, well, stuff. The closest thing would be a gas station’s store. They have cigarettes, sodas, beer, candy and snacks, charcoal, newspapers, bread, lottery, and other random things. Another specialty is the firin, or bakery, where you can pick up fresh brick-oven-baked flat breads. You also have the manav, or fruit and vegetable store. For the most part, things at these stores are fixed prices, often labeled, and still not unlike what is familiar to us. One big difference that I’ve noticed is that sales people are omnipresent and helpful (too helpful?). You walk into the store, and someone says, “can I help you?” and then follows you around the whole time you are there, suggesting what you might like, pointing out the many virtues of any product you give a second glance…. Great chance to practice language, but I sometimes find the omnipresent salespeople a little overwhelming.
The last way of shopping is at the bazaar. We have one that sets up Sunday around lunch time a block away from our apartment. The vendors stay until after lunch on Monday. If you go on Sunday afternoon it’s a busy place with all the cars trying to park or drop off shoppers. If you go closer to the end on Monday, it’s a crazy place with every seller trying to out-yell the next guy and point out the virtues of his own good bargains. You can get all sorts of fruits and veggies, cheese and dairy products, fish, eggs, and some clothing and household things. Mostly people shop for veggies there. Frankly, I’m still a little iffy about buying non-refridgerated fish or eggs, but we get the most awesome oranges, sweet and cheap (+- .10$/lb). Theoretically you can bargain, although I usually head for a stall where the prices are written on a sign and pay what’s asked. I don’t see a whole lot of people bargaining anyway—if the price is too high they just go to a different stall. Ladies pull their shopping baskets behind them and stock up on everything for the week. Other guys wander around with trays of bagel-like things for sale on their head or carrying boxes of little sewing notions or gum. All in all it is quite a busy place! Yesterday we also went to a bazaar that is temporarily in the area that had all sorts of clothing, linens, toys, etc, rather than food.

It's been quite awhile since I've posted anything. We were out of town for a week, and then since we've gotten back I've been working on implementing a new language schedule and strategy and Matthew's been sick. But, in case you're looking for something interesting to browse, I've added quite a few photos from our trip to our flickr--including some impressive mountain scenery as seen from the van window. Click on the "Many Adventures..." link for the slideshow.

Valentine's Day

Valentine’s Day is coming up, so I’m hijacking this blog in honor of my husband.

Reasons I Love Mike

He’s smart. Among other things, he can listen to two lectures at the same time and follow both. He can read in three languages (working on a fourth), and has written more pages on apologetics than I can count. He reads Jonathan Edwards for relaxation.

He’s got a good sense of humor. He’s willing to laugh at himself when the occasion requires, and he’s willing to laugh in instead of get mad when I do something stupid. He makes me laugh too, and we both enjoy watching a good comedy together.

He’s romantic. He’s good at finding special places or things to do. He likes to sit and talk, sometimes for hours, over dinner after a long work day. He has good tastes in presents, restaurants, and all that stuff that goes into making a date. And he’s handsome too.

He’s strong and caring. He can open a jar when I can’t, keep me from falling on the ice, carry both our kids in from the car, pull me up the hills when we’re hiking, and he doesn't mind doing all that stuff.

He can cook. When we were first married he made one or two things better than me, but now, everything he tries his hand at he can do better than me. Salmon, steak, chicken, cinnamon pastries, French fries, French toast…

He loves God and he makes me love God more. He gets up before he has to so he can read and pray, he longs for holiness, he teaches our kids about God, and he loves—really loves—shepherding other to love and know and obey God.

I love you!

St.Peter's Church

We had our first real out-of-city daytrip yesterday. We carpooled with some friends (gas is kind of expensive, like the equivalent of about 8$ a gallon) to see some ancient sites. Now, in the US, if you want to see history maybe you head to Philadelphia to see the Liberty Bell (1776) or Colonial Williamsburg, or even Jamestown (1607). Well, we drove two hours to see the church where followers of Jesus were first called Christians. (Acts 11:25). The church is a sort of cave in the side of the hill overlooking Antakya (Antioch), complete with an escape tunnel thought to be used by early persecuted Christians.

Here’s a view of Antakya from in front of the church:

On the way to Antakya we drove past Iskenderun, which tradition states is where the large fish deposited Jonah when he was on his way to Nineveh. After Antakya, we drove about 20 minutes farther to the point the Mediterranean, where Paul and Barnabas were sent off (Acts 13:4 ). There we also did a hike to the “tunnel.” We walked through the hills to a place where a long time ago (sorry, no info plaques to read here) they carved a tunnel through the hills and build an aqueduct. Only Mike climbed down to actually see the tunnel, but here are some shots of the aqueduct. A few minutes farther along we climbed all over first century cave-tombs. Our friends (3 10-12 year old boys) counted 230+ coffin-shaped holes in the caves. Anna just enjoyed being allowed to climb around on her own two feet.

Matthew even enjoyed exploring some, although by the time this last picture was taken, both were ready to head back to the car for a nap.

Check out the slideshow link for lots of pics taken on the way back—mountain scenery and typical southern towns and villages. If you want an even better view, come visit and we'll show you around--mi casa es su casa!

In Daddy's Shoes

I found Anna like this the other day. There's probably some parenting analogy that can be made...

Pushing Anna's truck

On her own, Anna only knows how to go backwards until she crashes and gets stuck. Matthew likes to help her.

Matthew's first computer project

Language

Matthew had one of his first debates today. It was the simple two-year-old kind, and it went something like this:

“Kopek”

“Dog”

“Kopek”

“Dog”

“Kopek, kopek, kopek!”

“Dooooog!”

I’m calling it a debate and not a fight since both side were good-natured. Moreover, it wasn’t Matthew’s goal just to be obstinate; he was really trying to convince our language teacher that the animal in the picture was a “dog.” It was really cute!

Matthew and Anna both love our language tutor. She is a sweet, energetic, college grad who speaks English well. She comes over the house four (soon to be three) afternoons a week for several hours. We are working through a grammar book; we practice with her, and she corrects us and answers questions we’ve come up with in our many adventures. When she first started coming Anna warmed up right away, but as usual, Matthew wasn’t as outgoing. So, our teacher came up with the idea of bringing a sweet or a snack for him each time. At first he was just in love with the snack, but now I can honestly say both kids love her! We love her too, she’s a great teacher, explains and answers questions willingly, and even gives us her cell number in case we need help when we’re out and about.

Right now, we have 8 hours of language class a week. During most of that time the kids sleep, so both Mike and I can participate. The rest of our time we spend in self-directed study. We have several “teach yourself” books/CD’s, internet sites, etc. We watch dubbed movies, listen to the radio, and go for walks to window-shop and talk to the sales clerks. Mike joined a gym, and has some friends at a photo developing shop he can hang out with from time to time to practice-. Altogether I (Becky) am aiming for about 20 hours/week of language study. Mike is aiming for 30-40. What kinds of things can we say??? We can do greetings, weather, and all that polite stuff. Family is a favorite topic of conversation around here, plus that basic introductory stuff like where do you life, what’s your occupation, are these your kids, etc. Grammatically we’ve done quite a bit, but what’s on paper still looks better than what comes out J Really, it can be frustrating and exhilarating. Sometimes I understand exactly what is being said and know exactly how to reply or how to ask what I wonder. Other times someone says something and about all I can tell is “there must have been a verb in there…somewhere…” Actually, verbs generally come at the ends of the sentence. I’ve gotten good at identifying questions so that I don’t smile and nod at the wrong time! When I studied Spanish I found my comprehension depended quite a bit on the speaker, and it seems to be no different here. But as our teacher often encourages us, “Day by day, you will learn, you will see.”

So here are the kids enjoying their lesson-time snacks:

My two lists

(The following lists come from the mundane part of my life. I am, of course, thankful for my salvation, family, friends, etc. and miss family, friends, Pville, etc.)

I've been working on being content. Some of you know how challenging it was preparing and packing to move this far. Well, as we've settled in I've discovered how we really have everything we need here--and so much more! So my struggle to be content is certainly not because of my situation. It is because of my restless heart. God has given me eternal life, an awesome family... so many wonderful blessings! The following list is just a reminder to myself of how much God has blessed me even in "little" ways.

Things I’m Thankful For:

• That I like our furniture
• Our western toilet
• Our friendly, helpful doorman
• A dishwasher (used, but in good condition)
• The mountains on the horizon (“I will lift up my eyes to the hills…”)
• Enough clothes that it doesn’t matter when it takes them 48 hours to dry hanging in my bedroom on a cold, rainy day
• The vehicle that is available to us part-time (haven’t had to take the kids on the bus yet)
• Internet in our home
• Contact with friends and family (email, skype, etc)
• Coke is available here
• We were able to have a Christmas tree for Christmas, with lights and everything
• Our microwave (seems basic, but remember, not everyone in the world has one!)
• Our excellent, friendly, patient, language tutor who the kids love too
• Our English-speaking pharmacist and pediatrician
• Our hot-water heater (a few cold showers when we first arrived made me really thankful!)
• Salmon – when Mike broils it it’s the most wonderful thing… visit and he’ll make you some!
• Rug no-slip liner (for those of us who don’t like the floor to move beneath our feet)
• Our house church—Christian fellowship and encouraging friends
• The doner shop on the corner (think of doner as the local version of a sub)
• Electric blankets
• Awesome, cheap tomatoes and oranges available all winter
  

Things I miss:

• Listerine
• Canned pizza sauce and spaghetti sauce
• Cheap parmesan cheese
• The library
• The smell of clothes fresh out of the dryer
• Forests
• Panera Bread, Ruby T’s, Pizza Hut, Olive Garden
• Wednesday night choir
• Piano
• My Kitchen Aid mixer (although I don’t miss this as much as I thought I would)
• Red Box
• Congregational singing

Anna (aka NaNa)

My little baby is one! Ok, I know that’s old news since her birthday was Christmas Eve. But it continues to amaze me how fast she is growing, and I thought some readers may be interested in an update on life at Anna’s level. She is almost walking. She’ll stand on her own for a few seconds, and her favorite place to be is cruising the cabinets or furniture on standing on the sofa next to mommy. She also likes to find mommy, wrap her arms around mommy’s knees, and look up and say “bup, bup,” lifting one leg as if to climb up. She has been working overtime on getting teeth, I think she about to go from four to eight. The by-product is enough drool to soak several layers of clothing daily.

Her favorite foods are… just about anything. She doesn’t like potatoes or green beans. She eats anything by grabbing a handful and stuffing it in her face. She likes juice, milk and water—she’s weaned now too. Most of her words are food words, juice, cookie, more, some. She also says a sound that means “down” and “da da,” “shoes,” and “night night.” She points to things she wants, and I think she knows who “Matthew” is.

Anna prefers not to hold still. She goes everywhere, in spite of cold tile floors. Although she won’t crawl off the carpet if she’s not dressed, you better get that diaper on quick, cause she’s on her way! She loves people, strangers too. She doesn’t mind her carseat, but only likes her stroller if it’s moving and there are interesting things to watch. She likes to stand on things and “dance,” bouncing up and down. She’s something like 25^th percentile height and weight. She chases Matthew around, and makes him laugh, and he makes her laugh. She especially likes to open drawers and cupboards and find new things to play with. She likes to open the cabinet, find the cookie container, and bring it to me saying “cookie, cookie.” (Of course, her pronunciation is terrible, but you get the idea.)

She’s almost down to one nap… occasionally sleep catches up with her before naptime…

Silly and Stupid things we did in our first two months here

Sometimes being here in a whole new environment is a wonderful adventure. Sometimes is challenges us to trust God more. And sometimes it just drives us to realize how…human…we are. I wrote this list one night as I was in a good mood, laughing at the stuff we’ve done. These are mostly just things that we should have known better...but for some reason when everything around you is new and different, basic stuff can be complicated. (Names have been omitted to protect Mike's reputation).

• Told the door man “I cooked my wife”
• Told the furniture store clerk “My house is not a sofa”
• Boiled our toothbrushes until they warped and the bristles fell out
• Regularly shorted out our apts, electric and taking too long to realize that we shouldn’t be running that many things (not really that many by our standards)
• Ended up with a very high electric bill (twice what it ever was in the States, three times what we expected here) because we heated multiple rooms and left the door open (door between rooms, not door to outside
• Ordered the same wrong thing at Burger King—twice in a row
• Fried our water purifier by plugging it in to 220 outlet (in Mike’s defense, the directions said you could)
• Chewed non-chewable ibuprofen
• Ate lahmacun (a local food) with a fork and knife instead of rolling it up and eating with hands
• Washed our clothes in cold water, no spin cycle, so that after hanging out to dry forever, they were as stiff as boards (couldn’t read the washing machine labels)
• Shorted out our electricy, and then sat in the cold and dark assuming the electric in general was out (one later walked down the lit hallway, used the elevator, and made it to the street before realizing one should come back and flip the breaker)
• Failed to drain the washmachine into the bathtub, and therefore soaking the whole bathroom (we’ve done this several times)
• Left a DVD in the player we returned to the store
• Burnt tea, filled kitchen with funky smelling smoke
• Let the carrots boil over, thereby extinguishing the gas burner (catching it before the kitchen was too full of gas…)
• Poured hot grease down the sink, immediately realizing it would solidify the instant it hit the cold pipes
• Rigged a humidifier for the kids by dipping towels in almost boiling water and hanging them in front of the electric heater fan.
• Thrown away ground beef—twice—before adjusting to the reality that shelf-life here is a lot shorter

Leave a silly/stupid thing you’ve done in the comments!

For Those Hard to Reach Places

For the sacrifice holiday we just couldn't bring ourselves to sacrifice a lamb, so we decided to sacrifice our toothbrushes instead. Well, not exactly. Fearing another bout with amoebas (which thankfully never materialized), Becky thought it wise to boil our toothbrushes.

10 Steps from O.C.

12/15/2007
So here I am, sitting on my comfy sofa, watching the Christmas tree lights slowly fade in and out, and thinking about what all this is about. I have a beautiful house. It is coming together beautifully, with some planning and a lot of providence. God has blessed us here so much. This is the first time I’ve had brand-new furniture. It almost seems too nice.

But then, what’s the point? Why did I come a gazillion miles to make a cozy home here? I know the answer to that question. But what is the reality?

I worked most of the day today. I did laundry, cleaned, changed diapers, fixed meals, cooked a chicken and veggies and made them into pot-pie… I taught Matthew the nativity story, and I gave the kids baths. I checked my email and planned Mike’s Christmas present. All that is maintenance—maintaining my life, my family. I devote so much energy to these things. Do these curtains match? Find that recipe… Fold the clothes and pile them in neat little piles—again.

Finally at the end of the day I sit down to work on my real goal—the first step in the greater goal—language. I looked at the sentence, used the dictionary, conjugated the verb. “Your bag is by the bed.” Wow. I sit there and do another sentence. A page later I’m still not fluent. Really, sitting down to work on language is like standing on the Ocean City boardwalk and deciding to walk to California. Ten steps later you stop and wonder, have I gotten anywhere? Well, yes…and no. But there’s no other option than to take another step. I may never need to say, “your bag is by the bed,” but right now that sentence is my task.

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Our Christmas

We thought our friends and family may wonder what we've been up to the last 48 hours for our first Christmas ever away from home....

Christmas Sunday Evening we had a Christmas celebration--carols, Bible study, Turkey dinner--with the family we worship regularly with. Christmas Eve we had language lessons as usual, and then in the evening we did a Skype video chat with Mike's family. Oh, we got our electric bill too, and our new year's resolutions involve turning appliances off, less heat, and more sweaters :).

Christmas morning the kids slept in the latest they have in awhile, I guess because we stayed up late to do the skype chat. When the kids got up we did the Christmas Story. This was the first time Matthew heard it straight from Luke, although We've been telling it all month using the Nativity or a book. He was very excited to hear Daddy reading the Bible and hear words he recognized: "Mary," "Joseph," "Baby," "No Room," "Shepherds," etc. We did Christmas presents--Matthew gave Daddy a little bottle of real maple syrup, carefully brought from the States in Mommy's suitcase. Matthew and Anna each gave eachother an xylophone, so the "music" you hear is probably coming from our apartment.

We made a big breakfast, and then spent the early afternoon exploring the lake and walking with the kids. The weather here is sunny and in the upper 50's during the day, and even though the lake is shallow and the shores are dry and brown this time of year, it was a beautiful day. The snow-capped mountains in the background are a great reminder that there is Someone bigger than us. We can't wait to see the lake in the summer, when everything is fresh and greener.

Our Christmas was very cozy like Christmas should be. While the kids napped, I made lasagna and Christmas cookies. We had some fellow ex-pats over for dinner, and then in the evening video-chatted with Becky's family. After the kids went to bed there was of course time for hot chocolate and Carpenters' by the lights of the Christmas tree.

Two things that were drastically different--it was just us and it was just us. Usually Christmas is filled with visiting, family, and presents, but this Christmas was much quieter. It was hard being away for the holiday, but there were still alot of good times. I am so thankful for my two kids and for skype!

The other sense in which it was "just us" was that when we went out and about, no one else was celebrating Christmas. A song from a cantata says "all over the world bells are ringing..." Well, this Christmas drove home the fact that in alot of places bells aren't ringing because of the Messiah's birth. But they should be...

So to all our friends and family, Merry Christmas! Rejoice, for the King has come--Immanuel, God with us!

Would it still be Christmas?

Would it still be Christmas? The words of that song have been running through my head all week. I learned it in youth choir, and I only remember parts. (If someone out there knows the song and can give the writer/composer credit, please do!) Its basic point is that all the warmth and joy of Christmas are possible because of the incarnation. But I’ve been seeing the question from a slightly different angle: Would is still be Christmas if all you had was “the baby in the manger”? Really, would it still be Christmas, if no one else had off on Christmas? If most people around you thought Christmas and New Year’s Day were the same holiday? If you went shopping and never heard a Christmas Carol? If none of your neighbors had Christmas lights, or a wreath, or a tree? If you didn’t have a tree? If you didn’t make cookies? If you couldn’t afford a turkey (or just didn’t think it should cost that much)? If there were no cantata, or candlelight service, or Hershey’s kisses? If most of the people around you didn’t have peace and joy or even an extra smile because it’s “that time of year”? If your family was on the other side of the world?

I've been thinking about these things this month, and I think that yes, it is still Christmas. Christmas is about commemorating the incarnation. God became man – Jesus Christ, God with us, fully God and fully man. That is and should be enough to bring that warmth to your heart. “It’s the baby in the manger that makes it truly Christmas.”

Just to be clear, we do have a Christmas tree. I will make cookies (although somehow I forgot to pack cookie cutters, small and light as they are). We’re playing Carpenter’s and old Cantata CD’s in our home. And since New Year is celebrated with trappings much like an American Christmas, the mall’s palm trees are decked out with white lights. I even saw Christmas lights on a tree outside down at the corner last night. I will enjoy every piece of Christmas I find!

First Words & Milestones

I've decided that Anna's first word is "juice." Actually, this new is a little old, since she's been saying it for almost a week. But we were debating whether "juice" was her first word, or "tractor." See, she says this thing that sounds just like tractor when she is playing with her cup (which has tractors on it--life of a little sister). But then she says that sound for other things too, things that don't remotely resemble tractors. So I think it's just a sound. Juice, however, means juice. Today I discovered that she says shoes too, and knows what her shoes are. "Shoes" and "juice," by the way, sound very similar. I also noticed her imitating some other sounds of words I was saying to her, so I'm guessing more words aren't far behind. She understands cookie, no, kiss, down, come, and who knows what else. She gives kisses on demand if she's in an attentive mood. Sometimes she gets a good pucker, other times it's a sloppy blaaahh.

Matthew's phrases are getting longer. He is really hard to understand, since he doesn't use many consonants. But he likes to talk about things like "Cars Movie watch, blue car crash, red car help him, bapple oosh, grandmom's house watch, anna no, no anna no, anna push, big boom, big hug, plane, ammy and bumbpy, icky medicine, cake, bread, pray with daddy, daddy's Bible, can't see God, God's big ..." You get the idea. This week we're working on understanding the Christmas story.

Borek

The food here is great, and I like it when we eat out. Of course, not having been here very long I don't know how to cook any authentic dishes. But here is my variation of a local classic.









I used yufka (kinda like a huge really thin soft flour tortilla) and taco meat to make a version of borek. Roll up some taco meat, chopped tomatoes, and cheese; fry it in a little olive oil--Turkey meets Tex-Mex! The best part was that Matthew ate it without protest and even asked for more.

A view of the mountains a short walk from ourhouse

I Asked the Lord...

“I Asked The Lord…”

We finally got a CD player, which means that we can play any of our CDs with ease. Before that, we had to load the songs onto the MP3 player. It ended up that we listened to the same albums over and over again, one of which was a hymns remix called Beams of Heaven. On that album there’s a song that I’ve listened to several times, but only recently paid close attention to the words. It gave me a perspective that I’ve thought about a lot recently. It’s a hymn called “I asked the Lord,” by John Newton. Here are the words.

I asked the Lord that I might grow in faith and love and every grace, might more of His salvation know, and seek more earnestly his face.

Twas He who taught me thus to pray, and He I trust answered prayer, but it has been in such a way as almost drove me to despair.

I hoped that in some favored hour, at once He’d answer my request, and by his love’s constraining power, subdue my sins and give me rest.

Instead of this he made me feel the hidden evils of my heart, and let the angry powers of Hell assault my soul in every part.

Yea more with His own hand he seemed intent to aggravate my woe, crossed all the fair designs I schemed, cast out my feelings, laid me low.

Lord why is this, I trembling cried, wilt Thou pursue thy worm to death? Tis in this way,” the Lord replied, “I answered prayer for grace and faith.”

“These inward trials I employ from self and pride to set thee free, and break thy schemes of earthly joy, that thou mayest seek thy all in me.”

Our furniture is happening to us.

Well, our furniture is happening to us. Yes, I said it is happening to us. I say it like that because it seems like every step of the way something turns out different than we planned or expected, and it’s totally out of our control. For example, we found a table and chairs from a place downtown, but when they were delivered (about 3 days after they were supposed to come) the chairs had gold tassels (see our blog for a picture). Mike thinks that when he tried to tell the man that we didn’t want the ones with tassels, the man insisted not to worry about it, the tassels were a bonus! Finding a sofa was challenging, since sofas tend to be very firm and the preferred styles are ultra-modern or formal ottoman. We did finally find one we liked for an acceptable price. Most sofas around here have sofa beds, and ours is no exception, except that when it was delivered it was sliding apart too easily—whenever Mike sat on it. We tried to explain the problem to the dealer, and now he’s taken part of it back to fix it. I’m not sure how, we’ll just have to wait and see what happens. And our refrigerator gargles. After opening and closing the freezer it makes a loud burbly sound for several seconds, and while it’s making the sound it takes the strength of ten men to open the refrigerator. I’m thinking about giving it a name…any suggestions?

Let me off. I want to crawl.

Becky's kitchen

Just got new furnature

Matthew and Anna's Room

Matthew riding his truck

Matthew was excited to ride the train.

Our family at the park

Matthew just saw a plane

Matthew and Anna at the park

Big pooh and little pooh

Milestones

This has been an incredible month of milestones for both kids. Anna figured out how to crawl, and boy does she love to crawl! It's beautiful to see her own little personality come out. Some of you will remember that Matthew was very laid back about going anywhere. He was willing to sit, and if he couldn't reach something, that was ok, he didn't need it. When he did decide to crawl he would crawl to a toy he really wanted and then sit and play with it. Well, within days of figuring out how to locamote forward, Anna was off crawling just to see how far she could go. One of her favorites is crawling around under tables and chairs. Now, a few weeks after that initial experiment in crawling, we catch her kneeling by the sofa or a chair looking up or bouncing. I can just see her thinking, "Now, how do I get my feet under me."Matthew had a big day when we went to DC. He rode on two different busses and a train! He took in everything, watching and listening, but by the time we got on the bus to go home, he was exhausted.

Matthew's big excitement has been discovering the world around him. He made a huge jump in his ability to imitate words when you ask him ("Matthew, say..."). He is a specialist in rocks and bees. Yesterday we took him to a park on the river and stood on some really big rocks and threw rocks in the water. This morning we were out walking and he pointed to the sky and said "moon," and you bet, there was the moon. (Granted, the first and sometimes the last letters of a work don't always get pronounced--but I can usually tell what he's saying.) But the one that stole my heart was last night, when he sang "He's got the whole world in His hands." He's sung before, but this was the first recognizable tune, with hints of the right words. He was so proud of himself too.

The Cottage

We were blessed to be able to stay with some friends this summer at a beautiful spot with lots of trees, a big yard, and a pool. Matthew loved getting visits from their two little very social dogs (once he decided he didn't need to be afraid of them). He loved being able to see the trucks going by on the road out back and construction machinery in a nearby field. For mom and dad it was relaxing being in the country, enjoying grilling and seeing the sunset over the fields, and swimming at night after the kids were asleep. Thanks to God and to our generous friends for a great time!

"Resting on God": a Puritan Prayer

I’ve been feeling somewhat overwhelmed by everything that has to happen before we leave. August 6^th is very quickly approaching. We have so much to do in the next few weeks. We also really want to see people while we still have the chance. Anyway, I read this prayer out of Valley of Vision, and it encouraged me:

O God, most high, most glorious, the thought of Thine infinite serenity cheers me, for I am toiling and moiling, troubled and distressed, but Thou art for ever at perfect peace. Thy designs cause thee no fear or care of unfulfilment, they stand fast as the eternal hills. Thy power knows no bond, Thy goodness no stint. Thou bringest order out of confusion, and my defeats are Thy victories: The Lord God omnipotent reigneth.

I come to Thee as a sinner with cares and sorrows, to leave every concern entirely to Thee, every sin calling for Christ’s precious blood; revive deep spirituality in my heart; let me live near to the great Shepherd, hear His voice, know its tones, follow its calls. Keep me from deception by causing me to abide in the truth, from harm by helping me to walk in the power of the Spirit. Give me intenser faith in the eternal verities, burning into me by experience the things I know; Let me never be ashamed of the truth of the gospel, that I may bear its reproach, vindicate it, see Jesus as its essence, know in it the power of the Spirit.

Lord, help me, for I am often lukewarm and chill; unbelief mars my confidence, sin makes me forget Thee. Let the weeds that grow in my soul be cut at their roots; grant me to know that I truly live only when I live to Thee, that all else is trifling. Thy presence alone can make me holy, devout, strong and happy. Abide in me, gracious God.

I especially like the part, “thou art for ever at perfect peace.” The thought that God is not rushed, confused, or experiencing the least bit of anxiety about our move encourages me. How terrible would it be to be an open theist and believe that God is looking at our future with only a greater degree of wisdom and greater degree of foresight, but not really knowing what will happen. The more I think of God’s “infinite serenity” the more it will “cheer me.”

PS. (can you do that in a blog?) I’m pretty much finished the thesis. I’ll give a brief summary of that sometime soon.

I’ve been reading Religious Affections. Edwards has a way of redefining spirituality in such a way that it tastes (that seems like a good word to describe it) radically God-centered. Here’s a quote that I like:

And as it is with the love of the saints, so it is with their joy, and spiritual delight and pleasure: the first foundation of it is not any consideration or conception of their interest in divine things; but it primarily consists in the sweet entertainment their minds have in the view of contemplation of the divine and holy beauty of these things, as they are in themselves. And this is indeed the very main difference between the joy of the hypocrite, and the joy of the true saint. The former rejoices in himself; self is the first foundation of his joy: the latter rejoices in God. The hypocrite has his mind pleased and delighted, in the first place, with his own privilege, and the happiness which he supposes he has attained to, or shall attain to. True saints have their minds, in the first place, inexpressibly pleased and delighted with the sweet ideas of the glorious and amiable nature of the things of God. And this is the spring of all their delights, and the cream of all their pleasures: it is the joy of their joy. This sweet and ravishing entertainment they have in the view of the beautiful and delightful nature of divine things, is the foundation of the joy that they have afterwards, in the consideration of their being theirs. But the dependence of the affections of hypocrites is in a contrary order: they first rejoice and are elevated with it, that they are made so much of by God; and then on that ground he seems, in a sort, lovely to them.

Comments…

I've appreciated this Easter more than previous because in this last year I've come to appreciate the significance of the ressurrection in a much more personal way. I think often times evangelicals use the resurrection as merely proof for the fact that Christ's death really did work. However, if we understand the significance of union with Christ, then we know that we have no new life in Christ, unless, in fact, Christ has new life in His resurrection.

I did the sunrise service for my church. Here's a copy of the very brief message.

Sunrise Service

Something struck me as I thought about going to the sun rise service. Our plan was to get in our cars, more or less follow each other here, get out, huddle together in the cold, and I would do a brief service, and then we would follow each other back. What struck me was the similarity between that and the last time we followed each other in our cars, huddled together in the cold, and I did a brief service. That was for Calude’s grave side service, which, as you know, followed on the heals of Steve’s memorial service. How ironic that the sunrise service on Easter to celebrate the resurrection brought my mind to the grave side service where we committed the body of a loved one to the ground.

I thought about that week in February, and I remember a song that God used to sustain me and communicate the emotions I was feeling. It is called “In the Valley.” The words go like this:

When You lead me to the valley of vision

I can see You in the heights.

And though my humbling wouldn't be my decision

It's here Your glory shines so bright.

So let me learn that the cross precedes the crown

To be low is to be high

That the valley's where You make me more like Christ

Let me find Your grace in the valley
Let me find Your life in my death
Let me find Your joy in my sorrow
Your wealth in my need

The second verse says,

In the daytime there are stars in the heavens
But they only shine at night
And the deeper that I go into darkness
The more I see their radiant light
So let me learn that my losses are my gain
To be broken is to heal
That the valley's where Your power is revealed

If we think about it, a grave side service isn’t a bad way to think about the resurrection. That’s when we need it the most. Or as the song says, “It is there God’s glory shines so bright.” We are here waiting for the sun to come up. And that’s not because we don’t have a perfectly good church building to meet in, or we think shivering will burn the extra calories we plan to eat today. But there something symbolic that we are cold and it’s dark. Then the sun comes up, and the darkness flees, the fog melts, and it begins to get warmer. We are here longing for the sun to come up. And we know for sure it will.

If we think about it, the sun is really an incredible thing. Thousands of miles away, it is this ball of nuclear energy, that doesn’t hurt us, but sustains us, warms us, provides light of us to see. But during the night it appears to leave. Yet then in the morning returns. It is really a tremendous display of power and glory. No wonder the ancients worshiped it. And they even thought of sunset and sunrise in terms of death and resurrection.

But that son isn’t the premier display of power. It only points to something far greater, more powerful than nuclear energy. That is the resurrection of the crucified Lord. And it is such a power because on the cross Christ killed our old nature, our old identity with Adam, and Christ wrought a new nature, resurrected nature. All was dark, all was night. And then boom, Christ arose. Life was breathed into Him. And He created new life, not only for Himself, but all who would follow. A new race of Jew and gentile, slave and free, men and woman—all who will trust Christ and repent of their sin. The resurrection is about the sublime power of God. And this power shines brightest when we are at our darkest.

I remember the message I did that morning between the funerals we looked at why it is that in both 2 Corinthians 4 and Philippians 3, Paul actually says that suffering is the result of the resurrection life. And the answer is quite startling: it is that only when we are weak, when this body is beaten down that resurrection life of Christ shine through. When we are week, then He is strong. During our night, when we long for the resurrect life to come, then we life shines through us.

One day it will come. One day the dead in Christ will rise, and we will have a body like Him. And it is not just about the body, but about the complete removal of our flesh, that our relationship with God will be so much closer than it is now. Until that day, we suffer so that the anticipation of that day will shine through.

Let this Easter not be filled merely with thoughts of Easter bunny, or candy, But Let us this Easter have a sober joy about it. Let the reminder of death draw our minds to consider new life. Consider the new life for those who have passed and the new life for us now, knowing that the resurrection life that God has for us is real and will come, and of such staggering proportions that can not even be imagined.

Today we celebrate that hope. That’s a good thing. But let us remember that one of the ways hope in the resurrection is expressed is in our darkness, as we wait for the Son, the son of God, to come, causing our darkness to flee, and the consummate resurrection life will immediately bring us warmth of new life—far exceeding anything this earthly sun could do.

Walking...

Matthew's new favorite way to locomote is starting off by standing, taking several haphazard steps, and then falling (diving?) into the waiting Mommy or Daddy's arms. Here are some cute pics of the action:

Someone asked, “As you think about moving to a completely new & different place, what are some of the worries (irrational ones would be more interesting :)) that pop into your thoughts and leave you with the funny feeling in the abdomen somewhere?”

Here are some things that came to our mind (Some are more rational than others:)

We are worried …

…how we will handle new foods (never drank yogurt before =).

… about being stuck in the house, not able to go anywhere with the kids (Becky).

…Mike won’t fit in with his co-workers (Becky).

… we’ll get there and we won’t have something that we could only get in the states, but didn’t think to bring (Becky).

…we will offend someone by saying the wrong thing.

…about not knowing how to budget for living in foreign country.

…about what will happen when we have different levels of concern about various trials that come up. It will be much more intense because it is just us.

…about falling into the toilet.

...the kids won’t remember who their relatives are.

…we’ll have more kids too quickly.

…we’re not doing the right thing.

…people won’t understand if we go over there and nothing happens.

…our family won’t grow spiritually (Mike).

Isn't it great we can "Cast our anxiety on Him because He cares for us."

Here's a poem I've appreciated. Enjoy...

The Incomprehensible

By Isaac Watts (1674–1748)

FAR in the Heavens my God retires:
My God, the mark of my desires,
And hides his lovely face;
When he descends within my view,
He charms my reason to pursue,
But leaves it tir’d and fainting in th’ unequal chase.
Or if I reach unusual height
Till near his presence brought,
There floods of glory check my flight,
Cramp the bold pinions of my wit,
And all untune my thought;
Plunged in a sea of light I roll,
Where wisdom, justice, mercy, shines;
Infinite rays in crossing lines
Beat thick confusion on my sight, and overwhelm my soul.…
Great God! behold my reason lies
Adoring: yet my love would rise
On pinions not her own:
Faith shall direct her humble flight,
Through all the trackless seas of light,
To Thee, th’ Eternal Fair, the infinite Unknown.

Prayer and the Computer

(I wrote this a few months ago, but it is just as relevant.)

It could look like computer worship. There I am, head bowed in front of my laptop, occasionally glancing up to scroll down, and then bowing again.

But it is not idolatry. It is my pathetic attempt to regularly pray through the church roster. I have an electric roster in which I type in the prayer requests people give me and the requests I suspect people need even if they don’t tell me. It’s all stored on my hard drive, awaiting retrieval.

But I don’t retrieve it—at least not as often as I should. Today was an anomaly, because things were particularly slow. Usually when I have a free minute to spare, I open Microsoft Outlook and send emails to encourage folks and follow up on prayer requests. Or, I open up a blank Word document and begin working on the next sermon to encourage and challenge us. The prayer requests I’m given are significant. A wayward child to be saved, cancer to be healed, godliness to be developed, and the pursuit of holiness weigh heavy on my mind. I strive to do what I can to see these requests answered.

Why, then, do I so often miss the obvious application of praying for those prayer requests to be answered? Why does regularly start out as once a day, then drop to once a week, and then even less—mirroring my commitment to change the oil in my car (was it every 3,000 or 30,000 miles?)? Why is prayer not the first response in addressing the burdens God has put on my heart and those I care about?

Maybe because computer worship is the case after all. The computer is very predictable, isn’t it? I double-click “prayer roster” and it opens; I click send and receive, and I send email; I—as a curious fool once did years ago—type ”format c:” and I lose all my documents, my dad’s documents, and the entire operating system—whoops. I think I’m searching for the same predictability in prayer that I get with my computer.

I want godliness in my life and the congregation, but prayer finds no “godliness” file that I can open and run. I want to see people in the community trust Christ, but I cannot, through prayer, export “trust Christ express” and send it to them in an email. I want us to grow in our knowledge of God, but I cannot, through prayer, download that knowledge into our minds and hearts. I cannot, through prayer, run a “pride scanner” which will search and destroy the pride that hampers everything I do. Prayer is stuck in antiquity where hoping and waiting were the norm, and it has not been brought into the computer age where we can get instant results with simple commands.

But do you see how disgustingly idolatrous and blasphemous this desire for computerized prayer is. If I want prayer to be an operating system , I want God to be a the computer. I reduce the God of the universe to a Pentium processor that will perform the tasks which I command.

I have missed something absolutely crucial. God is not the means to an end, like a computer that has no inherent value—at least not for me—beyond information it gives me. God is the goal. His character is the most valuable treasure in the universe. Prayer is designed to put me in the position of humble dependence. Waiting and hoping are beneficial means of orienting our lives to depend upon God.

If God is not the goal, I have no choice but to restart, and ask myself, what do I really want. If God is not my goal, (which honestly is often the case for me) my first prayer request must be that he would be, and I must repent of my desire to make other things—even good things—of a higher value than God.