Signing off for the weekend.

I’m going on a womens retreat with my church, and I expect to be fully rejuvenated by Sunday when I return.

Here’s hoping the house is still standing by then.

Liam’s next MRI is March 19th. Please be in prayer with us that this one would go more smoothly than the last. Wisdom for the anesthesiologist, to know which anesthesia will be best for Liam considering his other medications. And that little Liam’s lungs would be clear, strong, and healthy going in this time.

I’m nervous about this one, seeing as how the last was a disaster. But thankfully, we were able to schedule it on a day that Hubbs will be in town, so again, I won’t have to go it alone.

Well, the Mac is at least. My beloved  Macbook had an unfortunate encounter this morning with a full glass of water. And, surprisingly, my Mac doesn’t like to drink water as much as I do.

But it’s all good. Hubs is a genius and he was able to resurrect my Mac with finesse, and rather quickly too. I’m afraid the Macbook may have a hangover though. Or at least I hope it’s as temporary as a hangover. The I and O buttons don’t work and the mouse button isn’t playing nice with others. I’m using a bluetooth keyboard and USB mouse now, but hoping my Mac will fully recover if I give it enough rest in a dry land…

We put the kids to bed tonight and quietly ducked out of the room after doling out hugs and kisses. Several minutes later I heard Little Man talking about the moon and went to explore what was going on. I fully expected to find him at the window, having pushed the blinds out of the way, staring out at the moon. But I was wrong.

He was lying down in Bean’s bed, and she was sitting up reading him a book. It almost felt wrong to tell him to go back to his bed. But I did. And Bean pouted. And now they’re giggling… I think it’s time to send Little Man back to bed again.

So, moms and dads of the world. What do you do when the kids’ grandparents play favorites with your kids?

Don’t get me wrong - it’s awesome to have them in my kids’ lives. More people to shower love on them. People to teach them a different perspective on life. They have their own culture that they grew up with, and that only enriches our kids’ lives.

But how do you handle the situation? Do you confront the grandparents about it? If so, how? How do you convey love and appreciation for what they do, while pointing out that they manifest their love for one child more adequately than for the other(s)?

… for my wonderful friends who are willing to resort to violence on my behalf

… that Little Man’s cough and wheezing are finally coming to an end and we can reschedule his MRI (joy of joys - or something like that)

… that Bean’s on-again off-again fever hasn’t spiked up to 104 again in the last 36 hours. Maybe by tomorrow it’ll be gone entirely

… that I’m not about to be sued (long story…)

… that someone was wise enough to wrap pomegranate ice cream in a dark chocolate shell and put it on a stick. And Costco carries it. If you’ll excuse me, there’s one calling my name right now.

… When running a business, contracts are in place for a purpose. They aren’t just decorative items to adorn the filing cabinet… They need to actually have signatures on them if they’ll ever help said business…

Running a business is hard work. It’s been a rough day - one in which I’ve learned that not everyone is as trustworthy and nice and honest as I’d expect. Lessons learned.

My dad’s church has had a long term relationship with a mission in Zambia. They take regular trips there, do medical missions, church planting, scholarships for students - they’ve been doing it for years and don’t have an end in sight (in fact, my dad was on one of the trips, and hopes to go back).

To help raise funds for the ongoing work, they brought professional recording equipment with them on their trip a year or two ago. They’ve now produced a CD with music from the churches they work with, and the music is hauntingly beautiful. There are audio clips online, as well as a few pictures. Check it out. It’s great music, supporting an awesome long-term ministry.

A part of the ministry effort is to help them drill for wells to find clean water sources - but it’s more than that. The ministry brought in the drill and taught the locals how to operate it. They’re now supporting micro-enterprise development - training the unemployed in how to use the drills and supporting them in finding water sources to give them a source of employment. It’s cool stuff. They’re really changing lives over there. Even if you don’t plan on buying the CD, at least go listen to a few clips at the link above. It’ll stay with you. And when you listen, think about the fact that these are real people, offering up a sacrifice of praise in the midst of some pretty awful circumstances. Hear the joy in their voices as they worship.

There are some pretty high-profile mommy-bloggers on a missions trip to Uganda right now - like BooMama and Rocks In My Dryer, along with several others in their team. I’ve been reading through their posts about their time on the mission field, and the comments people are leaving on their blogs.

I won’t go into the amazing things God is doing through them - you’ll have to go read about it yourself on their blogs, and I do encourage you to do so.  What struck me though - other than the awesome stories they share - is how many commenters insist on calling these men and women ‘brave’ and ‘courageous’ for what they’re doing (or in other words, for letting God do things through them). You can see Shanon’s take on it here, and then even after she admits that it doesn’t have a lot to do with courage, commenters continue to call her courageous and brave.

So what’s the problem with that? She left everything to go on a brief trip around the world, leave behind everything familiar, and entrust her children to be looked after while she was gone. That sounds courageous, doesn’t it? But let me ask you this. What’s really courageous about it? She’s facing her fears first of all. But that’s about it. And really, that just amounts to choosing to place her faith in Someone she can trust, rather than in worries and changing circumstances.

There’s a misconception that home is synonymous with safe, and Uganda (or Moldova or Bangladesh or anything else foreign) is synonymous with danger. After all, lions and tigers and bears - oh my! We’re afraid of what we don’t know, and that fear translates into an assumption of danger. But the fact is, safety is an illusion. There is nowhere our safety is guaranteed. There is nowhere we can feel sure of our safety. I could just as easily keel over from a brain aneurysm at home in front of my TV or get hit by a drunk driver and never make it home, as anyone else on the mission field could be overtaken by some unexpected tragedy. Safety is actually no more than God giving you one more breath to breathe. One more day to enjoy His creation. And He’s just as likely to provide it at home as He is somewhere else.  He is the same yesterday, today, and forever, and He is the same in the US, Uruguay, and Uganda.  Safety is an illusion we give ourselves in an effort to feel self-sufficient, independent. There’s less need for faith when we believe in an illusion of safety.

As for this team serving in Uganda, what they really have doesn’t have a lot to do with bravery or courage. It’s faith (or at least it seems that way from what they’ve been writing). They have faith that God will protect their families while they’re away. They have faith that God will keep their puddle-jumping airplanes in the air. They have faith that He will give them safety in the midst of vipers, unclean water supplies, and a host of other concerns. They have that faith because they know Him for who He is - the ultimate provider of their safety. The Creator of the heavens and the earth. The all-powerful, ever loving Healer, Sustainer, and Lord of all creation.

It irks me when people comment about the immense ‘courage’ of missionaries.  It’s not about courage. It’s about a conscious decision to place your faith in the One you know will not disappoint. It’s about choosing to have faith in the most Faithful One. And it’s about knowing that in all reality, He is sovereign, regardless of where you are.  After all, is anything too hard for the Lord?

Was unsuccessful.

Yes, they got the IV in on the first stick. It was somewhat traumatic, but it could have been worse. Once they got him sedated and into the MRI he started wheezing and his vitals dropped. They were worried enough about his breathing that they stopped the MRI and woke him up.

We have to wait until his wheezing and cough stop, then reschedule the MRI, and start all over from scratch. Poor kid. He’s a trooper.