Haiti

After listening to the radio and looking at photographs online, the devastation and horror of what happened in Haiti has been on my mind. As I was driving to Morgantown today, I heard an interesting story. A woman from North Carolina called in saying that four or so women from her church had gone to Haiti on a mission trip. They arrived at the airport one hour before the earthquake occurred. Needless to say, their church was very concerned, not having heard from them until later today. When the women got in touch with people at home, they informed them that they immediately began helping victims and had already helped deliver two babies! When I heard the story, I began to imagine what it would be like to sit on an airplane for hours in anticipation of a mission trip I'd been planning for a long time--not knowing what was to come. To think that there were so many different times the plane could have arrived that day, and theirs landed only one hour prior. From my understanding, mission trips are very planned out. Those who serve have an idea of what they will be doing. And while they thought they knew how they would serve God, He had a different plan for them. What an amazing thing--for God to choose those women to serve his hurting people in their time of need and in such a crazy way. If I were one of them, I would feel honored to have been chosen to do a mighty work. And of course, there are so many others there who are giving themselves to reach out to the people of Haiti. I believe God will do great things there.

After the story, a man who is involved in a Christian organization already in Haiti was discussing how Christians can specifically pray for Haiti. He explained the inability for travel, meaning that aid may not arrive in a timely manner. They just can't get into the cities. He also explained that the arrival of groups of people helping may only add to the chaos; for at least a few weeks up until a month, people may not be able to get in. Again, this is what I heard on the radio, so hopefully I'm repeating it accurately. Anyway, I find this information helpful while I pray for the people of Haiti. He asked that people pray for roads to open up so that the proper aid can be administered.

Quite the Cook

I FINALLY made dinner again! I feel like it's been months. I did well at the beginning. But things got crazy and stressful and it just seemed like an overwhelming task. (I'm sure you can tell by my lack of blog posts since the spring.) My problem is that cooking real meals requires me to sit down at the beginning of the week and plan the menu. That way I can buy the proper ingredients. I finally did that and made dinner tonight. I was afraid that after a long, hard day (ha! It was a day of babysitting; having school when roads are bad means there are a billion absences and you can't teach anything.) I would be too tired to stand in the kitchen a cook. However, I found myself enjoying cooking. And after I ate, I even enjoyed cleaning the kitchen, especially because I got to use my new homemade nontoxic cleaner! I liked the feeling of industriousness. After I cleaned, I didn't stop there. I came upstairs to my "quiet place" and wrote in my prayer journal--something I have a difficult time "squeezing in". And then I thought that it would be a great idea to add a post to my long lost blog.

Being productive makes me joyful. I hope I remember this when I start feeling like a bum. This morning I prayed about this evening and asked God to help me be productive. I truly believe that God took a simple evening at home and blessed it beyond measure.

Coming Soon . . .

An album of our photographs throughout the year!

One Year Down . . . 50 to Go!

That's what my mother-in-law wrote in the Happy Anniversary card. I read it and asked, "So what am I supposed to do if I'm 74 and still married to Dave?"

I love lists. I seem to always find a way to make a list; I make at least one a day. I thought about my first wedding anniversary and how it would be nice to have a list of various things about my first year: highlights, lessons learned, and goals. So here is what I came up with:

This year’s highlights:

•Our honeymoon
•Moving in together
•Valentine’s Day celebration with Kody and Rachael
•My learning to cook
•Buying our first car
•Dave’s trip to North Carolina
•Kristin’s trip to Virginia
•Summer trip to Gettysburg and our stay in the haunted house
•The seemingly never-ending house hunting
•Sponsoring Maxwel from Uganda
•Our first Christmas together
•Kristin’s trip to Chicago

What I have learned in the past year:

•Life doesn’t completely change after marriage. Many things stay the same. But life does become about the other person’s needs, which are to be placed above my own.
•Putting my husband’s needs before mine is not as easy as I thought it would be.
•I’m actually a quite selfish individual.
•Communication must be clear. I can’t expect my husband to read my mind. Men do not operate on subtleness, nor do they identify it. Just say what I’m thinking.
•Gentleness with words is necessary, yet it is surprisingly difficult to manage during times of high stress and anxiety. Tone of voice can send a stronger message than words. Gentle words speak love; ungentle the opposite.
•My words should always build my husband up; they should always encourage. Before speaking, I should ask if what I am going say will fulfill this purpose. If not, don’t speak.
•A wise friend told me to never slander my husband. I must not speak poorly of his character to others. I have found that thinking positively about Dave and speaking highly of him to others makes me more satisfied with him and causes my admiration for him to grow.
•Always say thank you. It doesn’t matter if it’s that person’s “job”, like sweeping the floor or taking out the trash. It’s the “thank yous” that keep the person wanting to help out in the future.
•I’m actually not that bad of a cook.
•Cooking a meal means more to him than just something to eat. It means I sacrificed my time to serve him. His gratefulness makes me want to do it again.
•Sex is a selfless act. Selfishness is what makes me “not in the mood”. It is my responsibility as a wife to meet his needs—even in the bedroom. (I was made aware of this concept long before I married. Marriage just made this truth a reality. The enemy really does work just as hard to keep married people apart as he does to bring two unmarried people together. So now when I am meeting those physical needs, I just think, “I’m doing this for the Lord!” Just kidding.)
•The hardest part about marriage is that everything I’m feeling affects my husband. Before, times of sulkiness and melancholy meant that I could lie around the house and have a pity party for myself. I don’t know what the solution to those feelings is yet, other than that I need to be joyful because God has called me to a life of joy.
•My husband cannot meet the needs that were intended for only God to meet. While my husband can build me up, ultimately my confidence and self-esteem come from my relationship with Christ.
•I have a difficult time being satisfied. I want a house, a better job, to travel—anything that brings excitement. I’m always looking forward to the next thing. With this outlook on life, I will lead a very unsatisfying existence. Life is about today. I must count my blessings.
•The fireworks and butterflies are long gone (even before we married). But my admiration for Dave continues to grow. My respect for him deepens. He has become my very best friend.

My goals for this coming year:

•Cook more.
Keep the house clean.
•Do not yell during disagreements.
•Wake up every morning asking myself, “How can I be the best wife possible?” I need to think “I want our marriage to be the best marriage in the history of the world.” (Read “The First 90 Days of Marriage” by Eric & Leslie Ludy.)