this is how it feels to live in Texas

In Texas, it is 100 degrees today. When I ask my 2 yr old where she is going, she says "outside" and points to the garage... where they have been playing this summer with the door closed and the fan on. Yes friends, this is the closest she will get to the outside world, to an outdoor pool, to a normal life. Ohhh, don't get me wrong, we go outside and to the pool, but not until about 6pm. We don't frolick and play in the backyard because the grass which should feel nice under one's feet, has turned to prickly hay. I water it every night, not to make it grow, to keep it from bursting into flames (did I mention there is also a statewide drought?). Ah Texas. I guess in the winter when my friends up North are shoveling snow, I will love thee again.

Not True! Tuesday

In the tradition of Not Me Mondays, which I fondly follow on this blog, I present Not True Tuesday, my attempt to bring to light the less than perfect parts of my day. I had a conversation this morning with a friend who mentioned that as Jesus followers, we don't make a good enough attempt to humble ourselves and admit things are going rough. For example, outwardly it may appear that on Tuesdays my children and I are cheerfully going to a Bible study. In fact, said Bible study is across town, the dvd player (which is only to appear in car on LONG roadtrips) is NOT working, and kids are eating donuts for breakfast (another item banished from car normally). The oldest child has misplaced her THIRD pair of flipflops this summer and so while it may appear like a cute form of dressup, she is actually wearing those pink fuzzy nitetime slippers OUT IN PUBLIC AND TO THE BIBLE STUDY as a punishment. She is 6 and a half and emphatically tells people she DOES NOT play dressup anymore.

I also most certainly DID NOT figure out what was wrong with the dvd player on the way home so that the girls could watch Strawberry Shortcake for a blessed (and quiet) 40 minutes. I DID NOT put the little ones down for a nap earlier than needed because I was upset and wanted to pray for my hubby who was having an MRI across town. I DID NOT fry an egg in the driveway with my 13 yr old niece because it hit 100 today, and later in the day I DID NOT find 2 donut holes in the bottom of my purse and eat them. These are all things that are most certainly Not True! Because Christians do not behave this way. We do not yell at our kids, fry eggs in the driveway, and run off to a back room of the house to eat a sloppy joe and type a post at the end of a long day.

BTW - in aforementioned Bible study a few weeks ago Lois McCall mentioned this verse Micah 6:8 -He has told you, O man, what is good;
and what does the Lord require of you
but to do justice, and to love kindness,
and to walk humbly with your God? and it has really stuck with me. While this post is probably not the best expression of humility, the verse reminds me that HUMILITY is required for an intimate walk with God - admitting that He is perfect and we are NOT. Anyone else have a Not True! Tuesday to share? :)

a shameless plug

Our friend and photographer Jason Drumm, honored us by running around for several hours taking pictures of my brood of children, amidst the perils of streams and ducks and such. Enjoy the photos, and don't hesitate to contact him for your own family photos!

You know you're getting old when...

- your teen niece tells you about her friend's cool ringtones that anyone over the age of 30 can't hear, thus keeping many happy teens in class with their IPhones on.... then you realize YOU are in that category with her teachers who can't hear squat!
- Lee Majors (6 million dollar man fame) who used to be kinda HOT, is now on an infomercial for a hearing aid.
- you get a text with AMBW or AML and need a texting translator (or a teen) to decode it.
- guy classmates you find on Facebook have mostly gone bald.
- while you are typing this post, 5 strands of your OWN hair have fallen out of your head and onto the keyboard.
- you find a picture of your young family, back when there was only 1 kiddo, 1 digit in my pant size, and only 1 month of parenting under my belt....and barely recognize them.

this is what church looks like in Hungary

The church laborers in Hungary truly have a daunting task. First, picture a country with millions of people crammed into a landmass the size of Oregon. These people have been oppressed by the Turks, the Germans during WWII, liberated by the Americans, turned over to the Russians, and only 20 years ago were fully liberated. In fact, 20 years ago this month, the reformers in Hungary’s Communist Party started to tentatively remove the barbed wire on the border separating Hungary from Austria. By doing so, the first crack in the Iron Curtain was made, and by autumn of that year all border restrictions were removed by Hungary. So you can imagine, the people are fearful, distrusting, oppossed to leadership (even good leadership at times) and generally a very hard people group to reach! We did attend a small fellowship of believers the one Sunday we were there. We experienced worship in Hungarian, then Terry preached a short message, with the help of the Hungarian Pastor, who speaks both languages. The church service is held in a Christian Library in downtown Budapest, and is run by an American couple who live and work in the library. They open it as a church on Sundays; the adults in one room, the kids in another. It is like no other church I've ever experienced. At the end, the entire room opens for prayer, and everyone prays. The entire room softly says "amen" after each persons prayer, and it became quickly obvious nobody was leaving without a chance to talk to the living God. I can't figure out how to end this post, only to say "yes" I will be posting lots and lots about Hungary; "no" I do not care if I am boring you to tears; "yes" I am potty training two small children at the moment; "NO" I DO NOT want to say how it's going (I'd rather post about Hungary).

back...

While my heart is still in Hungary, and my baggage is somewhere in London, I am back in the South. The heat is depressing, the kids are elated, and we are exhausted. ** update - our bags are now safe and sound back home.

We now begin the difficult yet exciting time of praying and asking God if He would have us return there soon!

my favorite photo