Holidays 2011...week one

This is our second holiday season away from the USA. Last year we had just moved here and were not used to the Trinidad holidays...so we did our own thing.

But this year...since we are now Trini...we had (are having) a much more Trini Christmas/New Years.

Those of us in the school have 3 weeks off from classes. We had/have much planned for this time...places to go...friends to lime with...and food to eat...and most importantly lots of wonderful Christian fellowship!

Our week began with a few days at home...then our first stop was to learn to make Callaloo, a delicious Trinidadian dish. It is made from pig tail, dasheen bush (a type of greens), a bit of pumpkin, peppers (hot and sweet), the right combination of spies and a bit of okra. Mix it all up and cook it until all done...mash it up good with a callaloo swizzler and eat! It's one of my favorite dishes here in Trinidad...that and salt fish.

We also learned how to make stewed chicken and see some real Trini cooking take place. We had a blast...learned a lot...ate some good food, and enjoyed a good time of fellowship!

Our next stop was actually two. We were invited to spend a day with another family we have grown to love very much. They live out in the country...so in many ways it's like being at our old place in the US. It's quiet, you can see green for a long ways, it's very homey, and the fellowship is always great! We were served a lovely meal, made jam, played cards, laughed, and did not want to leave. We proved that you can play Dutch Blitz...and sing at the same time! It was one of those days that I wish I could relive. But...I can't...so I will just treasure the memories.

Then, the next day, we joined the students at the dorm for another great day with the same family again! This time the father was in for a brief one day stay from his off shore job. We were so blessed to have two days in the country, away from the noise of the city, fellowshipping and enjoying the company of our brethren.

We enjoied more good food.....

and played some of our favorite games...Rummy (Trini style), all fours and a family/student favorite of Dutch Blitz.

It is a very fun game....that includes lots of hands.....

....and lots of colorful cards.....

....and gets very fast and crazy! But it's SO MUCH fun....especially the part where one team yells "BLITZ!!!!" and the rest of the players all yell "NNOOOOOO!!!!"

Yeah...it's fun.

Then, after a day of rest, we made our own special meal. We got a ham (it's cheaper at this time of year...), sweet potatoes, green beans, rolls, broccoli and cauliflower salad, five cup salad, sorrel and tea. Then for desserts we had orange rolls and coconut cream pie...with fresh coconut! It was good...and my favorite part was that I found fresh cranberries...REAL fresh cranberries. And I made my favorite salad...with apples and oranges....it was good!

I am so thankful for all the I have been blessed with...so may good friends and precious family. I have loved the last week...and look forward to the next two!

A long, overdue post.....

Yes, it is now December…and this post is long overdue. In September Anna and Nathan started the local preaching school. Nathan is now out of high school (my sweet little brother all grown up?) and he has always wanted to go through a preaching school. Anna likewise has always wanted to do something like this and so they set off on this journey together. But to add to that, Lydia and I are going as part time students, where we take classes as we want and the topics we are interested in. Needless to say our schedules got really busy…but…that is only the beginning! One the second day of school, Mom left to go the States for a few weeks to be with Wade and Leah for the birth their first child. Isaiah was born the day after Mom left here…but she made it just fine! Her time was spent being with them and then helping them move. She got home the middle of Oct. During that time we spent 5 days a week going to classes and doing homework…and keeping house while Mom was gone. We all are enjoying the classes so much! We have enjoyed getting to know the first year class as well as continuing a good friendship with the second year class. It is so good to be digging into the Bible and finding and applying the truths that are in it. It’s amazing to me that the words of the Bible never change but we don’t always notice every detail when we read it once. This only shows that one must be constant in the word to get the most out of it! We must be like the Bereans (Acts 17:11)!

In November, we marked our one year in Trinidad. So much could be said because so much has been learned. Here are some random things that I have learned while living here:

The joy of sharing my lunch at school

Smiling IS important

Measure your words…they will be remembered by someone

Someone is always watching you

Visiting those sick or in the hospital is worth the time

Attitude makes a day what it is…good or bad

If you are not flexible…you will break

Stress only makes a mess

Learning new games (all-fours is my newest favorite game!)

Having late night limes are worth losing sleep for

Life is short

Making people laugh…will result in a good laugh yourself

Because of our busy schedule, we decided to not have Thanksgiving on Thanksgiving Day. We postponed until the 3^rd of December. It was totally worth the wait…because we were able to have a very like-minded family join us for our traditional thanksgiving. We had our normal spread of turkey, dressing, cranberry salad, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, 5 cup salad, sweet (and unsweet) tea, pumpkin pie, pecan pie, and banana pudding. Our Trini friends had never had an American thanksgiving before and we enjoyed sharing with them. The afternoon was spent working puzzles, playing cards, learning new games, laughing a lot and loving the time with faithful Christians. I love my family….American and Trinidadian. I am so thankful that God saw fit to bless me with this kind of family…that you can find in many places in the world.

And now December…well the rest of it that is. December is a short month in the school with the classes being 2 ½ weeks instead of 4. On the last day of class, which was the last final for this year (yay!) we had a lime by us (a lime is like hanging out) for all the students, the teachers and the dorm mother. We had 47 people here in our house for a meal…including the 9 of us! We had chairs and tables everywhere…and it was lovely to hear our house full of laughter and see the smiles! We cooked, learned how to make sorrel (a drink), ate, laughed, played games, laughed, played music, laughed, played football, laughed, played with the kids, laughed, ate 200 cookies, laughed, played more games, laughed, and went to bed at 1:45 AM! Needless to say, it was a fun filled afternoon…evening…and night of great fellowship…and did I mention we laughed a lot? If laughter is a medicine…we all got a HUGE dose last night!

To wrap this up, I can happily say that the last 3+ months have been great! Yes, busy and stressful at times…but it is part of the growing process. I have learned so much, been given so much to be thankful for that it’s hard to count. But above all, I am thankful for our God, Who has made all this possible through the wonderful blessings that he gives us EVERY day, ones we don’t even stop and thank Him for.

Thank God DAILY, spend TIME with family, don’t take your BLESSINGS for granted and enjoy life DAILY!

Oh…and DON’T forget to SMILE!!!

Happily Ever After?

Almost every story begins with once upon a time.

It does not have to be a fairy tale; it can be a real life story. But then what about the end? Do all stories (real or pretend) end with “and they lived happily ever after?” No, not all do, especially the real ones. Our lives will end in death; we will not live forever…at least not physically.

As a Christian our story begins at baptism. It will have its ups and downs. We will have challenges and times that are very hard. It must have growth, it must have endurance, and it must have a will to continue to the end.

But how will our spiritual lives end?

Will we be dead, to live no more when we die? No, our spiritual life will not die.

How then should our spiritual life end?

I recently heard something said at a funeral that struck me. It was said that our story should end with faithfully ever after. This is indeed how our Christian lives should end….in faithfulness to the end. Then, and only then will we live happily ever after in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ.

How will your story end?

What will be said at your funeral?

Will it be said of you that you died faithful in the Lord?

We can only live happily ever after if we live faithfully ever after.

Life is short

This week there have been two sisters that have died, as well as a distant relative of a friend of mine. There are many that die every day…I am sure someone somewhere has figured up the statistics.

As I have sat through services for two of these people, I began to ponder about life. Not the typical life questions like “why am I here?” Or “what is my purpose in life?”

But the question I want to pose is, are you ready for the end?

Whether it be death or Jesus’ return…are you ready for eternity to begin?

Life is a vapor as we see in James 4:14 “Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.”

Life is short.

It passes fast.

There are so many things that one can do with their life. But what is really important?

Is it money?

Or fame?

Or the best car/house/clothing?

Will those things get you where you want to spend eternity? I dare say no.

But what then is the answer?

It’s actually quite simple. But yet, so many do not want to live this way. This way includes a treasure…a great treasure that is the most important treasure in the whole world.

This treasure is not one we can collect on earth, but in heaven, it is not one we can buy with money, but with obedience.

All people like to have treasures. We all have things we keep, things that mean something special to us. These treasures are not wrong, but we must make sure we are laying up the correct type of treasures.

The most important treasures are those which we lay up spiritually. These are spiritual treasures that cannot be taken away from us.

Matt 6:19-21 says “Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break in and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break in and steal: For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.”

Spiritual blessings are the most important treasures to have, they cannot be taken away, they cannot be destroyed. We are the ones that add them and take them away.

We MUST lay up the correct treasures…and then keep them safe.

Life is short.

Where are your treasures?

Are they helping you get to heaven?

A Tatting Project

I love to craft. I have not run across many that I did not like! But, I do have to limit the amount of projects that I have started at the same time! Otherwise....well, I would be buried under a HUGE pile of yarn, needles and cross-stitch fabric!

One craft that I enjoy it Tatting. It's an old timey lace making art. I learned it many years ago from my mom. I have played around with it on and off since...and mostly off the last few years. But, I decided to pick it back up and make something useful. So after some research for patterns, I came up with this nifty idea.

Living in a tropical island, you get hot easily. And with long hair...well, it's nice to pull it out of your face. But even with that....what about those whispy ends that don't stay put? So I had this idea to make some headbands! I wanted something plain, but also maybe a bit fancy. This is what I made...and I had so much fun!

First, cut headbands out of black fabric.

Then, sew them.....

Then....my favorite part...the tatting! I used four different patterns, all of which I had never done before...but they were simple...and fun!

Once they are all done....

Gather a bit of thread, some scissors, and a needle....and of course the sewn headbands!

With much patience, tack the lace onto the bands...AND....ta-da! The finished project. I love the simplicity of the white on black and at the same time the dressiness and daintiness of the lace!

They are very useful...and I really am glad that I could make them! I think it would be pretty to play around with some other patterns and colors. I think black lace on white would be pretty...as well as some other colors...and variegated! Did you know you can get variegated tatting thread? You can. And I want some....so....maybe one of these days you'll see some of that on here!

That is the end of the tatting project...

But I HAD to share one more picture! This little cutie is my FIRST Nephew. He was born to my older brother....who I think is pretty cool...and his lovely wife, Leah. He was born on September 7, and I can't wait to meet him in person. But until then, I am happy to stare endlessly at his beautiful face...and imagine kissing his velvety soft cheeks!

That is all for now...have a blessed and happy day!

A little bit of sewing!

Have you ever wanted that PREFECT purse? You know, the one that is the prefect size, the prefect color, and most importantly had the RIGHT length of strap? You would think that you could walk into most stores and walk straight to the ladies accessory isle and ta-da! there it is! The RIGHT one!

Well....maybe YOU can. But I never did. Don't get me wrong, there are some really CUTE purses out there. But I never could quite find that RIGHT one. You know the one that is the perfect size, the perfect...oh wait, I already went over that!

Here is how I fixed that problem. WAY before now...in fact before we moved from the US, I found one of those cute FAT quarters at JoAnne Fabrics. It had my name written on it...THIS IS FOR EMILY! Ok, well not the name part. But it was just the COLOR I wanted!

And I packed it along with 200,000 other things to go to Trinidad. And there it sat for a grand total of 6 months! Yes, it sure did me a lot of good that way! haha!

Then Lydia showed me a link that had a TON of options for any bag you wanted! WOW! So now what? How do you choose? So I looked...and then exited the page and life went on. In the mean time...I still did not have that PERFECT purse. So I had to do the inevitable. I had to make a choice. This time I looked through....and found the RIGHT one! YAY!

And then I did NOTHING! Yeah....it's really sad.

But once again....IT HAD TO BE DONE! I downloaded my pattern, figured out what I needed washed my fabric....and began THE purse.

I had fun! It was cool to see how the different colors went together with the WILD lining that I chose. But you known what? Yep, you're right. It was the PERFECT purse! It was the perfect size, the perfect color, AND had the RIGHT length of strap! And I even invented a really COOL zipper pull for the tiny tiny zipper that I used! Yes! It was finally done!

So here it is. I used this pattern for the bag, and this pattern for the pouches that I made to go inside.

(If the links don't work...let me know and I'll fix it!)

THE fabric....with my name on it!

One side of the purse....

and the other side of the purse!

The inside....with the BRIGHT yellow lining.

My invented (and really easy) zipper pull!

The three pouches that I made to match...since I put no pockets inside.

And the other side of the pouches!

AND... DONE! The purse of my dreams...well, for the moment that is! ;)

(until I find another piece(s) of fabric that needs to be made into a purse!)

Clouds

Far clouds of feathery gold,
Shaded with deepest purple, gleam
Like islands on a dark blue sea.
~Percy Bysshe Shelley

I saw two clouds at morning
Tinged by the rising sun,
And in the dawn they floated on
And mingled into one.
~John Gardiner Calkins Brainard

A cloudless plain blue sky is like a flowerless garden. ~Terri Guillemets

The clouds, - the only birds that never sleep. ~Victor Hugo

Look unto the heavens, and see; and behold the clouds which are higher than thou. Job 35:5

Were I a cloud I'd gather
My skirts up in the air,
And fly well know whither,
And rest I well know where.
~Robert Seymour Bridges

Thy mercy, O LORD, is in the heavens; and thy faithfulness reacheth unto the clouds.

Psalm 36:5

St. Lucia

A few weeks ago we were able to travel to St. Lucia for the 41^st Caribbean Lectureship.

This lectureship was begun in Jamaica and has been passed around for the last 41 years among the islands of the Caribbean. We traveled to St. Lucia on Friday. We spent Saturday tromping (we walked approximately 4 miles!) about Rodney Bay area. We located the venue where the Lectureship was to be held and then headed to Pigeon Island.

Pigeon Island is on the North West tip of the island and served as a lookout point.

It was built in 1778 and was used until 1817 when a hurricane destroyed most of it. Part of it was rebuilt in 1824.

We had a grand time there! It was so beautiful!

You could see for miles and miles from the highest peak of the park to which we enjoyed a lovely hike! The water around St. Lucia is that lovely Turquoise color.

The ruins were fascinating and most of all God’s Creation is beautiful!

It was so refreshing to walk around and enjoy the time with family, talking, laughing, taking lots of pictures and sharing a beautiful view with all my best friends!

On Sunday through Wednesday we went to the Lectureship. The sweet Brethren of St. Lucia did a marvelous job of hosting!

They provided transport to and from the airport, from the hotel to the venue twice each day, food and water to weary travelers when we got in on Friday, a lovely lunch on Sunday just to name a few things! The lectureship was in the morning and the evening with a nice break in the afternoon. We spent those days spending time fellowshipping with friends new and old, a fun time with the family at the beach, and a bit of a rest to be able to soak up all the lessons. The lessons were so uplifting and helpful! I sure have a good deal to think about and do more study on in the next few weeks. The most encouraging part of it all was to look out over the crowd and see the 600+ Christians that were there! It was even more encouraging to know that so many islands were represented there! No, we are not all prefect, but we are all working toward the same thing. I met people there that I may never see again this side of heaven. But, because of the promise of heaven, I know that I will see many and hopefully all of them again!

Next year the lectureship will be in the Cayman Island and I hope that I can attend again. It will be wonderful to see my island Family again!

On the way to the airport, we passed thousands of Banana trees! We were told that the blue bags on them were to keep the rats out! It was really cool to see so many Banana tress!

A grain of sand

While I was in St. Lucia a few days ago, we spent a bit of time at the beautiful beach playing in the water. But as all trips to the sandy beach go…you must walk away in sandy shoes! No matter how hard you try, it’s nearly impossible while at the beach to get your feet AND your shoes de-sanded before the time to walk comes!

On this particular day, we had a bit of walking to do from the beach to the place to get a taxi and then more walking from the taxi drop to our hotel. Now, don’t get me wrong, I love to walk! But this day….or that time exactly, I would have preferred not to do quite so much walking!

And here is the reason why.

In my flip-flop strap there was a tiny piece of sand. It rubbed against my foot as I waked. At first it was just there…I mean my whole foot was sandy! But as I kept walking, it did not fall away as did most of the sand.

It stayed there….and rubbed and rubbed and rubbed against my foot.

I tried to shift my foot around as I walked but that did not help. So I just ignored it as best I could and enjoyed the rest of the lovely walk home. When I got home, I got all cleaned up and then noticed something. It was a tiny blister worn on the top of my foot…right where that tiny grain of sand rode home!

And then I got to thinking.

Sin.

It’s like sand.

It’s tiny.

It looks no different than all the other grains of life.

What happens when sin rubs against us? At first it makes a blister and it is avoided at all costs.

Sin is like that.

If we let that grain of sin into our lives and let it stay there, then eventually it becomes a callous, and not a painful blister. We begin to accept it as part of life and think nothing more about it.

But God cannot be happy with that!

Isaiah 59:1-2 states that sin separates us from God. We think we are fine with a callous because that is what Satan wants us to believe. But we need to step back, look at all our callouses and get rid of the bad ones! Just as I washed that tiny grain of sand off my flip-flop, so we must do with our spiritual life.

Do you have a callous that needs a good scrub?

Then open your Bible and spend time in God’s Word. He through the Bible can take that callous away!

Mother's Day Memories

Today we celebrated Mother’s Day for Mom. Yes, it’s a bit late….but better late than never. (This was the first free weekend in the last several weeks!) We have taken Mom on a picnic for the last few years for Mother’s Day and taken some pictures. So this year we did the same. Being in Trinidad provides some beautiful picture settings! So we picked up a snack on the way to the chosen picnic area. We got fried beef pies and some pastries, one kind was cheese and one was raisin. We drove up to the top of San Fernando Hill, a local attraction. This is the first time that our whole family has been up there…and WOW! it is so beautiful! We had our snack and some fresh made Lime-Aid…with fresh off the tree Limes. After we ate and enjoyed a bit of a sit and rest, we headed off to take some pictures. We had a blast! The weather was lovely and we found a very cool playground to take some pictures. After we took pictures, we drove down to the seaside and watched the sun set. Then home by way of some local BBQ (It was de-lish!) and a family movie to finish off the lovely day.

As I was sitting on the Hill, I got to thinking about something. We don’t go all out for Mother’s Day (as in spending a lot of money-not that that is bad) but we had a very fun time…and most importantly Mom had a great day. And what I was thinking was this. If one looks constantly to heaven and does not put all their time and effort on things of the earth, then simple things like a picnic and a beautiful sunset are worth so much more than what money can buy. God made such a beautiful world for us to enjoy! Why spend so much time and effort chasing after things that will pass away at the end of all time? We should learn to enjoy and take pleasure in the world around us and not what money can buy. Spend time with family, take some pictures and make precious memories. You will not be sorry that you did!

“While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.”

2 Corinthians 4:18