A Quarter Century, with Rainbow Chip Frosting

Allow me to introduce my precious GEMS girls (minus one of the co-counselors and her daughter, who couldn't make it). I've been wanting to have these girls over for dinner for a while, but we had to postpone for three Fridays in a row. It was just as well, because having it this week meant we could have a little birthday party. (Don't tell me you've forgotten what tomorrow is...consider this a friendly reminder.)

Steve was a great sport as the house filled up with girly giggles. We enjoyed spaghetti (to my surprise, all the girls ate green beans--something I wouldn't touch without a lot of drama when I was their age) and pigged out on birthday cake and ice cream. Then we spent some time crocheting--Elizabeth (the head counselor) started teaching the girls a few weeks ago. I was totally worn out by the end of the night. But fun times were had by all, I hope--at least, by me. And Steve makes a mean birthday cake, even if it does come from a box. He even made the layer kind, not in a 13x9 pan. AND, I found my must-have candy decorations in a princess theme. Awesome. Should have snapped a picture of the cake ablaze with candles--alas.

Response #3: Research Them

(The following is part of a series of "responses to the persecuted church" based on a sermon by Eric Schumacher at An Infant in a Cradle. As a preface to his sermon, Schumacher noted: "It is important that we hear these stories. However, hearing them is not enough. We are called to respond. So, I want to ask this question...: How do we respond to the persecuted church?" I'm breaking down his "ten responses to the persecuted church," listing his suggestions and adding my thoughts.)

3. Research them.

It's taking "remember them" and getting a little more personal. It's going beyond, "Oh yeah, I have brothers and sisters in the faith all over the world who are suffering for what they believe" to seeing real people and knowing about their lives, their trials. It's faces instead of statistics.

Schumacher notes:

The early Christians researched the persecuted church: "And after some days Paul said to Barnabas, "Let us return and visit the brothers in every city where we proclaimed the word of the Lord, and see how they are" (Acts 15:36). [See also: 1 Thessalonians 3:5-7, Ephesians 6:21-22, Philippians 2:19-20.]

If it were your biological brother or sister in being mistreated in prison, you would not only remember them constantly, but you would devote yourself to finding out about their condition. Should we not do as much for our eternal brothers and sisters?It is hard—no, impossible to remember someone if you do not know that they exist. So, we should do all we can to find out about the condition and treatment of our brothers and sisters in Christ around the world. Genuine concern is the natural overflow of love for the family of Christ.

How can you research them? The Voice of the Martyrs makes it easy with their website, blog, and free monthly newsletter. Operation World also provides up-to-date information about people groups and countries all over the world where the gospel is met with hostility.

Previously in this series:
Response #1: Do Not Be Surprised
Response #2: Remember Them

Thankful Thursday, Take 24

Thanking God for...

• being able to feel the baby move!
• the convenience of grocery stores
• a Qdoba date at Centennial Park with my wonderful husband on Monday night
• the great swings at the park with a foot platform for easy pushing
• this wonderful little book, available for free download here
• flip-flops
• the chair some friends gave us for free last year, which I've suddenly discovered I love
• the dishwasher
• my parents
• His love which rescued me from His wrath

Why I Love Living in Tennessee

(HT: Shoot the Moose)

I Totally Need These

Thankful Thursday, Take 23

Thanking God this week for...

• Afternoon walks with sunglasses and no coat
• A husband willing to stop at the grocery on his way home from work and grill up dinner so I don't have to cook
• Precious new babies at our church (five born since last August; three more coming before this August)
• Our adorable and well-behaved dog, even if he does stink and shed like crazy
• Assurance of eternal life with Him
• The fact that I don't have to, and in fact can't, earn that life--it is a gift of His grace
• The glorious hope that living forever with Him brings
• The abundant life He offers here and now
• Girl Scout cookies--specifically, Samoas...ahhhhhh...
• A washer and dryer right here at our house
• Rubber bands
• Sparkly pens
• Grace that sustains me each moment

Go to it...

Excellence in a Cardboard Box

Since I haven't had much to say this week myself, or rather, haven't taken the time to organize my thoughts, I'll keep directing you to others' valuable insights. Laurie has some great reflections up on being an excellent wife--she mined a lot just from Proverbs 31:10. I think (I hope) she's blogging through the entire passage. Check out her post--it's brief, but there's a lot to chew on here!

Pretty or Beautiful?

Kids have so much wisdom sometimes. A woman I know only through blogging posted this remark from her four (I think)-year-old. It really struck me as profound, so I wanted to pass it along...

I asked Joel one time the difference between "pretty" and "beautiful"; this was his astute answer:

Pretty means you look pretty. Beautiful means you make the world beautiful.

Thankful Thursday Sunday, Take 22

(Had this ready to put up Thursday but was thwarted because of my blog's spam review...)

This week, I'm thanking God for...

• last week's trip to Denver
• a husband who wasn't just okay with the trip, but actively encouraged me to go
• a husband who missed me and who I was so glad to come back home to
• my wonderful mentor and her amazing family
• Natalie--her friendship and getting to catch up in person
• Cold Stone's cake batter ice cream
• Cinnabon
• hugs from kids
• people who are God's love with skin on to me
• getting my checked bag the next day without further incident
• Steve's dad coming down to help with the house
• his patience years ago in teaching Steve how to remodel a house
• his taking us out to dinner last Sunday
• all the free resources that Desiring God Ministries so generously provides
• warmth and sunshine, while it lasted
• today's storms turning out to be much less severe than anticipated
• the ways He speaks to me through other people and through His Word
• being pregnant at the same time as my best friend
• His indescribable greatness and majesty
• the beauty of creation, in so many diverse ways
• His personal, intimate knowledge of me
• His patience and mercy toward me
• all of you who have started doing your own Thankful Thursday lists :)

Post yours below, if you're so inclined...

World Record Customer Service: Hold Time

I ended up on hold Monday afternoon for 3 hours and 42 minutes before giving up--I never did reach a real person. (I do not have the patience of Job; I simply have an earpiece that enabled me to do dishes, laundry, surf the web, etc. while waiting. That, and I was afraid of having to start all over again if I hung up and tried again later.) So I sent Sprint an email complaint about my experience. They responded to my email, but I never got anywhere in terms of a) an official complaint filed about the outrageous hold time, or b) my original billing question. So I decided to risk calling again on Thursday.

(Thanks, those of you who recommended GetHuman.com. I actually am familiar with that wonderful database. It wasn't helpful in this case, though, because I didn't have a problem getting out of the automated system and being transferred to a human. The problem was getting out of the hold queue and actually SPEAKING with said human.)

Anyway, I called again and got a real human voice after only about 6-7 minutes. As I was in the middle of explaining what had happened...Sprint dropped the call. Un. Freaking. Believable. All I could do was sit here and laugh. That never happens here at home--but of course it would for this call.

I called back, and again reached a real person in under 10 minutes. As for the wait on Monday, I was promised that my complaint had been forwarded to a supervisor and that our next bill would reflect a $25 credit as an apology. As for the original billing complaint, I didn't get anywhere. They charged us $42 for internet usage...but we NEVER use the phone for internet. And there's no way it could have been someone else messing with the phone, because on the day of all the usage, the phone was either with Steve at work, or in the car as we drove to Ohio. So the saga continues...not my week for customer service, apparently.

Response #2: Remember Them

(The following is part of a series of "responses to the persecuted church" based on a sermon by Eric Schumacher at An Infant in a Cradle. I'm resuming the series after a hiatus as I waited for the green light from Schumacher to continue. As a preface to his sermon, Schumacher noted: "It is important that we hear these stories. However, hearing them is not enough. We are called to respond. So, I want to ask this question...: How do we respond to the persecuted church?" I'm breaking down his "ten responses to the persecuted church," listing his suggestions and adding my thoughts.)

2. Remember them.

Have you ever noticed how we don't think much about specific parts of our body until they hurt? You probably don't think twice about your big toe on an average day, until you have an ingrown toenail--and suddenly it's all you can think about. You don't give a thought to your elbow until you've knocked your crazy bone--and then you can't forget it.

In spite of this, there are parts of our Body that are hurting every moment of the day--and too often we comfortably go on without the reality of their pain and suffering even briefly crossing our minds.

The author of Hebrews commands us to "Remember those in prison as if you were their fellow prisoners, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering" (Hebrews 13:3). If we were in jail, would we be able to forget it for even one moment? How can we forget or ignore our suffering brothers and sisters in the persecuted church worldwide?

Schumacher provides this illustration:

In Colossians 4:18, Paul tells the church, “Remember my chains.” Imagine that today, on their way home from church, your father or mother, brother or sister, son or daughter is stopped by a police officer. Upon seeing their Bible and learning that they are returning from church, he arrests them and throws them in jail where they are left without food, water or clothing and are tortured until they renounce Christ. How often would you think of them? You would think of them constantly, wouldn’t you?

...If you would remember your biological brother or sister, who will only be your sibling for a few short years on earth, how can you neglect to remember the one who is your brother or sister for eternity in the family of God?

These are real men, women and children who suffer real pain. And their faith, courage, and hope in the midst of their suffering is challenging and inspiring. One simple (and free) way to remember them more often is to sign up to receive The Voice of the Martyrs' monthly magazine. Each issue provides stories and photos of Christians around the world who are persecuted for their beliefs. Or consider adding PersecutionBlog.com to your feeds for more frequent updates. Whatever you do, remember them.

See also...
Response #1: Do not be surprised

Very Funny

Okay, which one of you bozos clicked "flag as objectionable" regarding this blog?

Wait, I don't have the NavBar. Never mind. (As I've mentioned before, not on purpose...I'd be happy to put it back in if I knew how.)

No new posts from me since Monday because when I logged in to post, I was greeted by this alarming red and yellow sign:

Nice. I had to fill out a captcha and request for them to review my blog. They "sincerely apologize" for the false positive. Finally I'm back up and running today.

Blogger is not winning any user-friendliness points with anybody these days, it seems...

And for those of you who read via Bloglines, check in every so often. I don't know whose fault it is, but the feed for this blog hasn't been showing up. I've got a few other blogs doing the same thing. I'm posting, even though it's not telling you that I am.

Fed Up, or The World's Worst Customer Service

I am on hold. I am waiting to talk to Sprint about a charge we want to dispute from our last bill.

I have been on hold for three hours and eighteen minutes. I am listening to bad music, and every five minutes or so, a friendly lady reassures me that "All of our representatives are currently assisting other customers. Please hold, and your call will be answered in the order it was received."

Originally I was told the estimated wait time was 15-20 minutes, and I was annoyed. Little did I know I'd still be on the phone over three hours later.

At what point do you give up? I have done just about all the things I can do while on hold, and I have better things to do than to sit here and continue waiting. But if I hang up, what then--call back later and wait another three hours?? Do they think they can just wear you out so they don't have to actually hear your complaint?

Three hours, 22 minutes...still waiting...

While I Was Out

Events at our house this past weekend seemed an awful lot like an episode of TLC's "While You Were Out"! I had the immense blessing of flying to Denver for a few days to visit some dear friends. While I was gone, my generous father-in-law--the man I have to thank for my husband's remodeling skills and knowledge--came down to help Steve work on the house. Their weekend agenda: move/rebuild the stairs, knock out a wall, add a support beam and cut a hole in my dining room.

From the sounds of things, I'm glad I wasn't here.

However, when I arrived home on Saturday night, the house wasn't a total disaster--in fact, it was exciting to come back to a very different dining room/hallway/staircase! It all looks rough right now because they just used the old treads and risers to make "construction" steps. Later they'll be covered with wood treads and white risers, but with lots of work still going on, drywall sheets to be hauled upstairs, etc., there's no sense in tearing up the nice wood. I expect it will look like this for a good long while before we get the finished steps put in, plus handrail, newel post, trim, etc. So in the meantime, here are the "before and now" pictures...

Before: Standing in the dining room and looking into the hallway. The doorway into the kitchen is on the left; the open door you see in the hall is the bathroom. Our bedroom is just to the right of the bathroom door, out of sight in this view. The door to the steps is in the hallway, just around the corner (across from the bathroom).

Now: What a difference! The walls are gone, the support beam is in, and the stairs have been moved about two feet toward the dining room so that the first step is flush with the wall. Obviously a little plaster-patching needs to be done :)

Before: The view from our bedroom. Here you can see how the stairs are closed off by a door; you walk in and turn on a small landing before heading up the steps.

Now: No more door, no more landing, no more wall!

...And Baby Makes Three!

For those of you who missed the last post, or are just a little slow on the uptake: I'm pregnant!

We had the joy of announcing to our parents at Christmas that they were going to be grandparents (this baby will be the first grandchild on both sides, so it goes without saying that he or she will probably be spoiled within an inch of his/her life :) If I've seen you in person since then, I probably told you--but for whatever reason, I decided to wait to announce our big news here until after we heard the heartbeat. I guess I needed some reassurance that it's actually real!

Steve and I went to the midwife on Friday afternoon and heard an incredible sound: a tiny, beating heart. Though even after hearing it, and after having lived with the news that I'm pregnant for over two months now, it all still feels very surreal.

Thanks so much to those of you who offered congratulations and asked how I am feeling. Details for the interested: I am actually feeling great. My energy level has been good, and though I did deal with nausea throughout the first trimester, it was not nearly as bad as it could have been. Now that I'm in the second trimester it has really tapered off. My belly is just starting to become noticeable with clothes on--though it's still at the point where it's debatable if I'm pregnant, or have just put on a few pounds :) I'm going to a certified nurse-midwife instead of an OB-GYN, but I'll deliver at the hospital, not at home. My ultrasound won't be until the end of March, and at this point, we're strongly leaning toward not finding out the gender.

I am 15 weeks along, so, Lord willing, we will be welcoming this little one into our family sometime around the middle of August. (Hence the sudden urgency to finish the upstairs!) We are praising God for this blessing and anticipating His grace for this new journey that has only begun...