Lessons about God from raising a 3 year old

The other day we were sitting at the table and Miss K was asking and asking for something. Honestly, I don't remember what it was and really that is not the important part. She wanted it and she was saying, "please, please". Finally, we gave it to her. She then had a very proud look on her face that she got what she wanted, what she had asked for. Then she looked at us and said, "thank you, bye, see you" and began enjoying whatever it was that she wanted. "Bye, see you" is her way of saying, leave me alone, I don't need you anymore.

Well, we look at each other and both remarked wondering how often we do that with God. We ask and ask for what we want. God gives it to us. We quickly say, "thank you" and then tell him to leave us alone until the next time we need something.

I want to focus more on being thankful and not pushing God aside after receiving his blessing.

Just a lesson we learned from our 3 year old who is soon to be 4 years old.

Quote for the day

"Stockpile Beautiful Memories"

That was what was written on the bookmark that I bought for a friend. In a way it is a funny saying but in another way it is a good reminder. It reminds me to enjoy the beautiful memories. I am realizing how many beautiful memories I do forget and so I need to work to remember them. I used to be very good at journaling but that was before I was married. I think it is time to pull out the journal and again write in it. I will tell you that reading those is fun. There are also parts that I think I was crazy and parts that I don't want anyone to read because they might think I really am crazy.

What beautiful memories have I created this week? A memory of bundling to stay warm as the temperatures dropped to what I think is record lows. Memories of Miss K asking for "school". Memories of laughing with a friend as we created our diaper cake. I have the memory of realizing that even though I have one child and am in the middle of adoption paperwork, infertility still hurts. I am going to work on stockpiling beautiful memories.

Who is on your "god shelf"?

Most homes or businesses will have a "god shelf" a place where they have an idol or maybe an offering to the god. It is common to see these all around the city. Most of the gods are not beautiful rather they are scary. The other day I was walking home from the supermarket and found these two "gods" along the street sitting with incense. Hmm, I actually recognize those gods. I pondered as I walked home and began to wonder if they were the god of materialism and pleasure. I wonder if those are gods on my "god shelf". Am I looking for pleasure and placing that up high as something I worship and desire. I think instead of pleasure I should be willing to make sacrifices so that God's name will be proclaimed. Maybe it is the god of materialism, the long wish list, the things I dream of having. There is nothing wrong with things but am I content with what God has given me.

I have been pondering who is on my "god shelf". I pray that the God that is there is the true and living God, the creator of heaven and earth. My heart's desire is also that those living here will come to know that God and put away the other gods.

Defining Moment

It is interesting to hear how other people define you. I am part of a wonderful forum and recently we were defining each other. So here is how I was defined.

so giving.
a great mama
has a wonderful sense of humor, and is so thoughtful
is so thoughtful!
good sense of humor
understatedly hilarious

I find it funny that humor and hilarious are mentioned. I don't think of myself as that funny but I guess others do.

New Number

I have a new number today. Hmm, should I tell you what that number is? Maybe, I need to think about that.

Today is my birthday. I can't say that I am doing any special to celebrate today. We went to church this morning and then had our ESL class. I did spend some time yesterday with a friend, we went for a foot massage and then lunch. My husband gave me flowers. I have a picture but Blogger is not co-operating.

I do think that each day is a blessing from the Lord and that each year is a milestone of the Lord's faithfulness. I have so many things to be thankful for this year.

I also have a great aunt that is celebrating her 97th birthday today. I am 55 years younger. There you can do the math. My great aunt served many years in Central America. A few years ago she had a stroke and how is in a wheelchair but she spends her days writing letters on the typewriter, praying, and even making a baby dress for a friend's baby. I am her special birthday girl because I was born on her birthday. She has been a wonderful example to me of someone who has lived life in Joy. Happy Birthday to you.

I am looking forward to the Lord's blessings and gifts of this coming year.

Flexibility, bending, adjusting

I was talking with a good friend the other week about the need to be flexible when living overseas. I know flexibility is needed no matter where you live but it is highly necessary for survival when living overseas.

I think of flexibility as the ability to adjust and change plans, meals, without complaining.

I am a planner. My husband has learned that and knew when he married me. I like to get up in the morning and know the plan for the day. I like to know what we will be doing next year. I don't like surprises. I like to plans my meals for the week and follow that plan. That doesn't always work because you go to the store looking for manadrin oranges after all aren't they grown here but nope, not today. I could actually give you a long list of things that I go to the store looking for and they are out but that is not the point of this. The point is learning to be flexible. Sometimes for meals that does require some thinking and even creative cooking.

Plans change, meals change, travel holds people up, stores are out of stock, and a number of other things all give opportunities to practice flexibility.

This is something that I am still working on especially the without complaining part.

A Community

It was not a community that I had planned to join but one that happened. It has been an encouraging, supportive, informative, and great community. It is the parents are relatives of Down Syndrome children. I think back to the many people through these years that have been there.
My friend had a dear friend with a DS son.
Our teammate who became Aunt B has a nephew 10 years younger than she with DS.
My sister-in-law has a nephew with DS.
One of K's first babysitter had an uncle with DS.

Then through the years that has been a connection. Parents that have opened and shared their experiences, what they have learned, listen to your fears and concerns, and understand. The other week Miss K and I met with a family visiting here with a DS son about 10 months younger than K. For those of us living overseas it is a blessing to meet someone who is in the same situation that we are.

I have also had some online community as well. Even before K came home from the hospital, I had joined a Yahoo Homeschooling DS children group. They welcomed me knowing that it would be some time until I would formally start homeschooling. I have learned so much from them. One of those friends even sent me the K4 curriculum that has been developed for special needs children.

It wasn't the community I planned to join but I am very thankful for the support and friendship that I have found in this community.

Offering of Service

Have you ever had tears in your eyes during church? I did the other Sunday. It wasn't the during the singing or even the sermon but rather the announcements. The announcement was not a sad one rather one giving an opportunity to get involved and serve. It was an announcement of needing teachers to help teach ESL class for students studying here. In addition to teaching ESL we will be opening the Bible and sharing with them about God. For many it is probably the first time that they have heard this. That is the reason that we live here. That was on my mind this morning and also the fact that I really need to work on the ESL lessons. K and I walked well, I walked and she rode in the stroller to the grocery store, and I pondered Sunday, the upcoming class and a few other things.

I noticed that today must be something special, a day of offerings to the gods.

Notice the fruit, buns, and incense. Look at what they are giving. Jesus didn't ask for our bread rather he said, "I am the bread of life."
At first I thought it was just some garbage that someone left but I noticed the open water bottle. I think this god might be vegetarian. In the bag were bean sprouts and tofu. Jesus said, "I am the living water."

For me it was another comparison of the living God and the one made with hands. God does ask for us to give him something, our lives. We are to serve him. My husband and I are here so that we can do that tell people about Jesus who is the bread of life and the living water.

This summer I read an excellent book, Faith of Our Fathers God in Ancient China. It was written by a Chinese and actually published first in Chinese and then translated into English. I read the English version. It gave me a basic understanding of Chinese history and a deep understanding of Shang-di and his role in the history of China. It was Shang-di that the ancient Chinese worshipped. So now my prayer is that the people will return to worshiping Shang-di.

Well, I better begin my service and start working on those ESL lessons.

Lessons about God from raising a 3 year old

I have learned so much about God and our relationship to him as I raise my now 3 year old.

This morning as my husband put Miss K in the highchair and she was fighting with him, I heard him say "I am going to win this so you might as well sumbit now." We remarked how God must say that to us sometimes. We want our way, we fight and kick and God says "just submit, obey me."

Today was one of those days that I think I said "no" so many times that I might have worn it out. I wonder if God has days like that with us, we disobey and he says "no", we do it again and he says "no" again.

I get frustrated, and tired but it is wonderful to know that God is loving and long suffering with us.

Made in China

I know that is the buzz right now as so many products in recent weeks have been recalled that were "Made in China" for various safety reasons. My blog is usually just a nice place to share pictures, projects and not political issues but this one is close to my heart in a way. I spent years working in international manufactoring, live on the border, and have visited many factories.

First, I think we need to consider why things are "Made in China". One of the major reasons that things are made in China is because of price. I spent years working in international manufacturing and know that if something was labour intensive we generally had it made in China. Why is price an issue? Because Americans want to buy things at a cheap price. They want to save money. They are greedy. Price really sums up why things are made in China.

The retailers go to the distributors and say that they want to buy it for a lower price. The distributors who used to make it in the USA and most likely now buy it from a China factory go to the factory and say we need to make it cheaper. There might be some easy ways to save money but then factory wants to make money as well so they might look at ways to save money so that they can continue to make their margin.

What is China's reaction? Now this comes from one factory owner in China who I talked with recently. China is beginning to force factories to make more high end products. That is the government but honestly the factories are going to do what they can to continue business and so they will make what they have been making. The government does not want to continue exporting low end products. In that particular area they are have two days a week without power. Well, this owner was getting a generator so that he could continue production. A fraction of what he produces goes to the USA but he has customers in many other countries.

I will say that I think the Chinese factories are to blame because they are not following the specifications that were given to them by the USA companies. Based on my own background I am quite sure that the factories involved in these recalls are going to be paying in many ways. There cost saving idea has backfired.

I think another part of the blame goes to the American greed. We want more and more and want to spend less and less and honestly we don't care about the quality until we hear that it might not be save. Living overseas I have seen in various ways that it appears that Europeans are more demanding of quality then Americans.

I think it is difficult to avoid the "Made in China". I did read of one person who tried to do it and I do applaude her for her efforts. I just spent the past week unpacking and jokingly have said that I brought a number of things back to the motherland.

In my opinion the bottom line issue is greed. Greed on the factory's part in wanting more money. Greed on the distributor's part in wanting more money. Greed on the retailer's side for wanting more money. Greed on the US consumers part that is you and I and our desire for more and more at less and less.

So if we hold some responsibility what are we going to do?

Now back to my nice little blog about things I am making and things we are doing.

My baby turned 3 today

Three years ago she entered our lives at just 6 pounds 1 ounce. We didn't know what all was ahead of us. We just had our first child. Three days later she had her first surgery to correct her stomach. We thought that was all and that she was fine and then learned about her heart. At two weeks she had her heart surgery.

When I filled out the order form for first child, I admit, I didn't check the box marked "Down Syndrome". God gave us what he knew we needed. We needed Miss K with Down Syndrome. We needed to love her, push her, encourage her, laugh with her, praise her, train her, teach her, hug her, tickle her, kiss her and all those other wonderful things you do with babies. We were able to sit and watch how God has shown us that he cares for her and us. It began with the hospital bill, then the PT, the free exam at University of Washington, then the EI center, and the list is more than we can recall.

I have a dear friend whose Chinese name is Kai-lene. I loved the sound and so we began to look for English names and liked what we picked. The English meaning isn't that great boomerang but we had a direct translation into Chinese and we liked that meaning -- victorious and beautiful. The middle name is one that my husband liked. We had two spellings and different meaning based on the spelling. We had planned to spell it one way but then last might sitting in the hosptial room as we were filling out the paper work we looked and realized if we spelled it the other way each name would have a letter that went below the line -- g, y, and another y. Only and engineer would engineer a name.

Today she speaks some words, she is a great eater, she walks, she laughs, she climbs out of her Pack 'N Play. She says "bye" when she doesn't want you around in a very independent way. She loves her baby. She is not delayed in whining or in stubbornness.

She is a joy and a blessing to our family.

This was a few weeks ago but shows her independent spirit.

Worshipping as a Family

We somewhat fell into taking Miss K to the worship service with us as the church we attended when she was born did not have a nursery. I could sit up on the 2nd floor and watch the service on video or train her to sit with us. We began at that time training her to sit with us. I do remember one Sunday that she laughed as she was looking at her Bible story book.

Since that time we have talked about what we want to do in regarding to this. Do we put her in nursery? Do we keep her in church with us? Slowly over the past few years we have come to decide that we want her worshipping with us. I love to see her enjoy singing and praising God with us. She will even raise her hands. Over the past year we have been working to have her learn to just sit. I will have a pencil or maybe a container of Golfish crackers if necessary but I save that until I really need it. I learned that if I get them out early just for her to have them then she wants something else and she doesn't sit as quietly.

Today I felt affirmed in what we are doing. The sermon was on prayer. She had a few pieces of paper and two pencils but a few times I noticed her folding her hands. It was so cute to watch her try to hold those papers up against her chest and at the same time fold her hands. She was listening to the sermon. She heard the pastor say "pray". That encouraged us to continue training and teaching her to worship God with us together as a family.

Home Sweet Home

If only, I knew where that was. Questions regarding home seem to leave expats staring into space and wondering how do I answer that. "Where is home?" Do you want to know where I live in the foreign counry? Are you asking where I lived before this? Maybe they want to know where I grew up. I don't know, "where is home?" That is a question that I ask myself and wonder.

Then you come "home" or to be complete in my terms return to your home country and the question is "Is it good to be home?" "Yes, no, wait, I am not home, well, maybe this is home." What is home? The people here speak my native language, the food is familiar but wait which side of the road do you drive on, do I ask "where is the lift?", no, I need to ask "where is the elevator?" So am I home. I still don't know. I do know that I am enjoying being here.

So if you meet someone who lives overseas and you ask them "where is home?" be prepared for a stare and maybe some fumbling of words as they try to figure out how to answer that question.

Pausing and Pondering

I sat in shock for a bit of time this morning. I am still pausing and thinking. I know my blog is not usually full of deep thoughts but today I am pausing and pondering.

In April we had traveled to visit friends and during the Sunday fellowship I met someone. I had heard her name numerous times but actually met her that day. She greeted me during greeting time telling me that I had a cute daughter. She then told me about her sister who also has Down Syndrome. She told me her name and then we went through the list of people that we knew. She was there in that country helping homeschoolers and working with special needs kids.

This morning I talked to my friend that I had visited and mentioned this gal as a resource for homeschooling and special needs and my friend said, "oh, you didn't hear". She died. Old people die, sick people die not people in there 30's or so. It was about a month after our visit. She had pneumonia and went into respiratory distress.

This was someone that I met once. We talked briefly. In many ways I didn't know her and yet in a little way I knew her. She loved special needs kids, she loved helping people, and she loved Asia. Now she is home with Jesus.

I paused to think about how short life really is, it is a fading flower. So how am I going to spend my days. Do I want someone to remember that I got angry and yelled? Do I want my last words to be complaining?

I want to say "I love you more." I want to smile. I want to laugh. I want to give praise to God for all that he has given me. I want to love. My days may be long or short but Lord help me to fill them with your praise and for your glory.

Preserving Memories

Last week I helped a friend do a scrapbook of her past year here in Asia. She travels quite a bit for work. She will be home visiting friends and family for the summer and so I helped her put together her memories of the past few months. It was fun to help her but also to look at the pictures and remember trips, people, even food.

I also spent some time working on a scrapbook for my father-in-law who turns 80 this year. He sent me an envelope of pictures quite a number of them were from the 1920's or 1930's. I had fun putting them together into a book that he will be able to look at and enjoy.

I also work to keep current on family events and also things happening in K's life. I have recorded our travels this year, visits to various museums, the markets (I love markets), and many other events. I enjoy the creative outlet. Some pages come together and I love the way they look and other pages are just there recording a memory, place or event.

To me it is important to preserve these memories. Living overseas we see and experience so many things that we do want to remember them. In my book from our last city, I have pictures of the "big green store", the "green tablecloth restaurant", my grocery stores, and so many other memories. We can't remember everything. I think one of the funny things that I did there were all the convenience stores. We lived in the city and had a convenience store on every corner and in between. There were different stores 7-11, The Family Mart, the Smiley store (that was what we called), and a few others.

We are preparing to go on a short vacation later this week. I have been doing some reading to understand the history of where we will be going and also getting my cameras ready. Yes, I will take both my digital and my 35mm film. I still have one and love it.

Can't wait to see what memories we will make during this trip.

Money to Burn

My love of paper almost got me in trouble the other day. Miss K and I were walking home from the store and I walked past a store that had such cute paper items. I saw the paper food and thought that would be so cute for scrapbooking. Then I paused and remember, "wait a second, people here don't do scrapbooking." I looked at the store and it was not a scrapbook store rather a store selling money, incense sticks, and paper food, paper cars and other things for worship. I decided that I did not want to buy those paper items. Maybe it is like eating meat offered to idols but I didn't want to do it.

I have lived here in an region where money is burned for some time. There is a special money that they buy to burn so that ancestors have money to spend in the after life. Here in addition to burning money they burn food and cars so you can eat and drive.

I thought about it and was reminded that our God is preparing a feast for us. We are invited to the marriage supper of the lamb. We don't need to take our own food, it isn't a potluck but a feast. He is preparing for us, his children.

My heart is saddened for those around me living in fear and darkness. My heart rejoices to know that there is still time to go and tell them of the feast.

A Beautiful God

Last week a friend and I were wandering an Asia antique market. There amid the dishes, teapots, paintings were various idols. One thing that struck me as I looked at these were how scary they were. Their facial expression was what would be described as scary. Maybe it is done that way to cause people to fear them.

Additionally as I looked at them, none of the idols looked beautiful. As we wander the market, I thought of how beautiful my God, the living creator God is. I was reminded of David's words in Psalm 27:4 "One thing I ask of the LORD, this is what I seek; that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to seek him in his temple." Oh, to gaze upon the LORD and to see his beauty. To me gaze has the idea of looking, pondering, looking again, seeing new details and just looking. That is not what I did in the market that day. I glimpsed and looked the other way.

I am so thankful to know the living God who is a beautiful God.