Too hard?

Genesis 18 : 14 Says, "Is anything too hard for the LORD?" Are you praying for anything today, and like me saying "it is too hard!!" Well, that verse sure hit home today. I know in my head nothing is too hard for God, but I think I am afraid that I still hear my parents voices in my head saying that I don't need it, or feeling that God doesn't want me to have it.
Sometimes God gives us desires, and sometimes we just want things, and yet, through it all we are to trust God for them, and see what He will do in our lives. So here I am waiting...
Will the LORD answer? Will He provide? I do know nothing is too hard for him, so I will keep praying. Trusting that the desire in my heart he is fully aware of, and I do know that if He wants it to happen, it will.
Verse three of the same chapter Abraham asks the LORD, "Do not pass me by". I know I can trust in this, no matter what happens, I am blessed, and He will not pass me by.

Trust him today for whatever is on your heart. He is faithful to answer, sometimes it is Yes, sometimes No, and sometimes we are still waiting, but He hears and is faithful. Each day, I learn to trust a little more. And even more, I learn to just rest. He is in control, (ps 115:3 - My God is in heaven and He does whatever He pleases) and I know He loves me.

Reasons to miss Maine

Thanks for the moments like this that I keep in my heart until I am home again

So I had posted on my facebook that I missed Maine, and hadn't even really thought of why. But here are a few of the reasons.
1.) The spring/summer perennial gardens
2.) Friends!!!! Spending lazy summer days together watching our kids play together.
3.) Rain!!! - Yes, I know you are a bit sick of all of the rain, but here we are two months into our 6 months of not a drop of rain season, so enjoy the rain today for me.
4.) Shopping - with friends, by myself, a quick run into a store for a soda, or a long day of shopping, it just isn't the same here.
5. ) Family!! I don't even need to elaborate. Even though most of our family is out of state. When I am in the US, there is just more opportunities to go home or have visitors.
6.) Church. The longer I am in Brazil the more I find myself enjoying Sundays. But this compared to crying every Sunday. There still is nothing like being at home and in our church, with people who you only see there, who pray for us, and the many ways we get to serve each other there.
7.) The smell of the woods on a hot summer day, the fresh pine and spicy ferns.
8.) A day at the ocean. Nothing like those!!! The roses that bloom on the shore, the sand between our toes, sand dollars, etc.
9.) Lobster!!! Even clams and fish, just the simple sea foods that if we do find something resembling them here, the taste leaves so much to be desired.
10.) Long drives through woods, by lakes, quaint towns, big cities.
11.) Hikes up the mountain, usually to pick blueberries.

12.) Kayaking across the pond at sunset (the last day we were home we got to do this it has been a good memory I have held onto all this time)
12.) Just so many ways that summer is a rare treat in Maine, like nowhere else ( and I have lived in almost every part of the US)
Thanks for letting me escape for a minute from my little patch of watered grass in the midst of a drying up landscape.

Summer fun

Okay, not everyone will think this is summer fun, but sure did enjoy it!!! Yesterday I made strawberry jam. Scott brought home 2 flats, and I made 4 batches of jam. It felt so good to fill my jars will the red stuff, and I know we will enjoy it for months to come. I will do this at least one more before they go out of season in August. It helps so much as jam is quite expensive here.

From this

to this

to YUM!!!

I must admit it was hard not to eat a whole package of the fresh ones, but I am glad we resisted, cause now look what we have!!!
The other thing I did this week was scrapbook some of my favorite pictures and put them in frames. I can't believe how much my kids have grown, and I also did one of my parents wedding, that was special.

Emma, and friends

Jonathan, Laney and cousins!!!

The Wall!!

The other thing that Scott did for me yesterday was pick up a new hose for my vacuum, something I have needed for months, and new foam for the top of my bed. The foam that I had had on the bed was almost 8 years old!!! Can you believe we have been here that long!!! And my bed resembled an ocean with all the waves in it!!! I now have a nice flat, and supportive bed again, though my body wasn't as appreciative ( oh how we hate change, even when it is a good one). I am sure tomorrow I will sleep well as usual.

Last week Scott was sick, and pretty much the whole week he was struggling to get through the day, and then high fevers every night. Emma had it this week, and then it developed into a chest cold. Lots of congestion. She hasn't eaten much all week, and looks quite thin. She did eat today, so I am thankful that it looks like we are over it. Jonathan who has fought bad infections in two fingers is finally over that, and his nail is starting to grow in ( it got really nasty, but he never complained so I would forget about it when things got busy) And now Laney is going through her trial. We took her to the dentist a month ago cause a tooth was bothering her. So the dentist set up a cleaning, etc. and then postponed appointments so that when she went in on Thursday, she had an abscess in her tooth, and will need a root canal - it is a baby molar, but we will do it. She is dreading Tuesday!!! pray for her!!!
God has been good, and we have been able to get the things we needed this month. Almost all of our bills will be caught up by next month, which is a good feeling. Thank you, Lord!!!

What keeps me busy

Yes, I can't believe it has been 4 weeks since we ended school!!! I don't know what I have been busy doing, other than cleaning, dusting and watering plants. We have heard more reliable rumors about the road being paved soon, but from what I hear, most people won't believe it until they see it with their own eyes. That will be great, if it does get paved, of course when they start it, it will just be even dustier!!!!!!!!
I am teaching a summer class for a couple of my English students. Their grammar is a bit weak so we are working on the basics. Hopefully they will be ready to go starting in August!!! I am getting excited about next year. I should be busy, but not too busy. I won't do as much as I have in the past, but then maybe I will be able to help out in new areas.
Wycliff missionaries have been pouring in, along with new Portuguese students. I have had one couple over, and hope to have more. It is nice to get to know these people as we learn where they are from and things we have in common. I love hearing peoples stories ( just like I love reading them) and so we have enjoyed this process.
Yesterday we had a garage sale. It is a great way to spend time with your neighbors, and they all come!!! A few will try and hassle a lower price, but most don't. I think the ones who know you well, will as it is their custom, but most are just excited to be able to get nice American things for very little!!! I sold most of the little things, cleared out about 6 suitcases of junk. But I still have one suitcase left; mostly things I didn't want to give away, so the prices were a bit higher.
After the garage sale we went with our friends Andy and Gina to Goiania and spent our hard earned cash ( and believe me it is a lot of work!!!) on groceries at Sam's. It was fun to get away, and go to McDonalds. Walk around in a clean, air conditioned mall, and laugh with friends. All in all, a nice day!!!
Well, I am sure there will be more updates, but mostly they will say the same things, cleaned and dusted today, played with the kids, watered the plants, taught a class or two. Once in a while I will cook a nice meal and invite friends over. Isn't summer grand!!!!! Just miss our pond in Maine, now that would be nice!!! We are praying about getting a way for a few days to a resort area near by. Word of Life has places we can stay at for very little and nice heated pools (remember it is winter) so hopefully we can do that soon.

Thoughts from Philippians

I was reading through Philippians today (one of my most favorite books) and was struck again by how this book so encapsulates - like my big word :o) - many of my feelings toward you. chapter 1 verses 3-5
I thank my God upon every rememberance of you, always in every prayer of mine making request for you all with joy. For your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now.
It goes on, but those words are so true. Your friendships and prayers, the things we have learned together, the ways we have served together, and now many years down the road from then, I know you stand with me, and you are in my prayers.
We had a great month last month as we saw God provide for our needs and many of our friends give sacrificially ( we hear how expensive the gas is there and are in shock) Even those who couldn't give now, expressed their care and concern, and prayers. So many of you, knowing how much I miss home, and how disappointed I was not to be able for us all to return to the states for the summer as we had originally thought we would, sent packages, full of goodies, and yes, things we needed. How do I express my thanks??? How do I share how much this means to me, and how I feel that I am able to be here and serve with a full heart because of your part in our lives and ministry???
Paul says it so well in chapter four, I just have to quote him. Verse 10 stood out to me in a way it never had ( I don't know how many times I have memorized these chapters) He says
But I rejoice in the Lord greatly that now at last your care for me has flourished again; though you surely did care, but you lacked opportunity. He goes on to say that with or without he has learned to be content - this is my prayer!!! And verse 18b is the best part.. He says
the things sent from you, a sweet-smelling aroma, an acceptable sacrifice, well pleasing to God. I can't imagine being in prision like Paul and what it was he missed the most, but that those around him were able to shower him with their love and concern and what that meant to Paul.
So from the bottom of my heart, I say thanks!!! and most importantly
Now to our God and Father be glory forever and ever. Amen (v22)

Back to the Mundane

Yes that is where we are at now. Even Tigey is enjoying life in the slow lane. I try and follow his lead, but it is really hard to go from running to sitting, so we are taking it a day at a time. I hope soon I can sit down for more than a half hour at a time without starting to feel like I should do something. But in the meantime you should see my floors!!!! They are really starting to shine. I have spent hours just scrubbing stains out of the tile, and I am getting a good workout while I am at it. It does make me less likely to want kids hanging out, so I am trying to find a balance.

The other day we took off with all the kids and went to the city. It was nice to get out of town. I think the last time we all went somewhere together was..... I can't even say. We took Emma and Laney to Brasilia when we picked up my sister, and Jonathan and Laney with Charis to a waterpark, but all 5 of us, it has been way to long. We took them to see a movie, Burger King and Walmart, how fun is that?? I forgot how nice it is to just be together as a family.

Emma enjoyed everthing, but the picture taking.

We also spent a day with daddy in Anapolis. While he was working, we visited with friends. It turned out to be a lot longer day then we plan, but everyone seemed to enjoy the day, and my house stayed clean. This is my summer plan, go away as much as possible, so that the house stays clean. Word of Life has a nice retreat center that is very inexpensive for missionaries to stay at. We have to go during the week as they have retreats running most weekends, but that is okay. We will try and get away for a few days in June. The nice thing is it's just 2 hours drive away and the reason we go there?? They have naturally hot water to fill the pools so it is fun to swim. Remember it is acutally winter down here and our summer it is usually too cool to swim, at least swim and enjoy it, as the water gets down right chilly this time of year. The sun can be bright and warm, but even the air is cool. We do love this time of year ( if you ignore the dust - we are already a month into dry season, only 4 or 5 to go and sometimes that means little to no rain the entire time ) the sky is clear blue and the air is nice and cool.

Things I never mentioned about last week

In the midst of craziness a couple very strange things happened. The week before banquet Scott and I had finally gotten to bed. It was later than usual, after 11, he was working on printing the year book. Anyway, we had just fallen asleep when I heard "Call the police" - in Portuguese, being yelled in a paniced voice. The person was running and yelling this, and then we heard "Scott get out here now" - in English. And our brains were still fuzzy - it had been all of 5 seconds since it had begun and we were trying to figure out what was going on. The man who yelled for Scott was our neighbor ( who I am related to in a sister's is married to .... way) so we jump out of bed and Scott is trying to get dressed when we here "Scott get out here, and call Miles - the man resposible for these situations - and tell him to call the police I've got a man here". Scott gets dressed then tells me to call Miles and runs outside. I am shaking like a leaf - we have no clue what is going on outside - and I call our neighbor. "Call the police and tell Miles to come over to our house", I say then hang up.
Well come to find out the next day when we are all awake, was that a man, drunk, had stumpled onto our neighbor's porch, fallen asleep in their hammock, maybe tried to take it with him, and they heard him. Our neighbor jumps out of bed and charges after this guy, pins him down in our backyard, and this is where the story begins.
So that was our first bad night. Then the two nights following the banquet there were big concerts at the plaza downtown and they went on until 3. With the air clear and dry, the sound travels, so we couldn't get into a good sleep until it ended. The second night was worse cause the group couldn't sing, so we sat in bed wanting to cover our ears with our hands. Then at 5 am Monday morning someone walked through town ( it took about an hour ) and threw firecrackers into peoples yards and into the streets. You could hear the booms for a whole hour. GRRRRR Woke up my friends little kids, that started a bad day. Then on Thursday - they day of the graduation. THey did it AGAIN!!!! a whole hour 5 - 6 am with crackles and booms!!!! Incredible. So we were really sleep deprived by the end of the week. What I can't figure out is why no one stops these people, then come to find out it is the town's way of announcing the next up coming event. Fine, but 5 am???!!!!
Let's just say I am glad it is vacation!!!