Lazy Sunday Afternoon

I have just spent the last hour sprawled out on our couch, surfing the 'net while Taylor is sleeping. I can't remember the last time I did that. I'm coming to the realization that many times this is a profound waste of time. Some days, though (like today), it feels really good to engage in some sort of mindless activity. Nevermind all the other more profitable things I could have done in the last 60 minutes.

Taylor and I took Aaron to the airport this afternoon. As much as I miss not having him around when he's on the road, I have to admit that there is one aspect of life that I always look forward to when he's gone: cooking meals that I like and he doesn't! Aaron's not much of a soup/stew kinda guy, so in a few days, I'm going to whip up some beef stew, and if I'm really feeling ambitious, try my hand at making french bread. Of course, it would be much easier to run up to the store and buy a loaf for $2, but what is easiest is not always best. My childhood memories of my Dad's homemade french bread are inspiring me. Crusty on the outside, soft on the inside.....yum.

Random

Aaron leaves tomorrow for another week in Townsville, Australia. I've gotten so used to having him around for almost 3 weeks in a row, it's weird to think of him being gone again! :-) But I'm sure we'll have a fun week, regardless.

The next big family event that is rapidly approaching is Taylor's birthday, which is just two short weeks away. We spent some time today talking about her party, which is a good reminder to me that it's time to start devoting some serious thought to the matter, so I'm not trying to pull it together at the last-minute. Not that I'm known for that or anything.

I think that I've now offically hit writers block, as I've been staring at this screen for way too long while my mind wanders in 1000 different directions, none worthy of being written here. Hopefully inspiration will strike again tomorrow.

The American Pastime

Baseball season is in full swing. No pun intended. And so also is the time of year that I feel the twinges of homesickness, as I know full well what is going on in those 29 ballparks across America - and therefore know full well what I'm missing out on all the way out here. Baseball is as much a part of the American culture as rugby is in the New Zealand culture. It's just part of being American. And for those of you who knows us well, you will know that Aaron and I were no strangers to Kauffman stadium in our Kansas City days. (Now those were the good 'ole days!). And you will also know that I absolutely love baseball.

So we do the best we can with what we've got all the way out here - between ESPN live games (Red Sox/Yankees series!), and mlb.com, we've got it pretty good. But it still isn't the same as sitting in the stadium, eating a ballpark hot dog, and standing on your feet, screaming loudly when your team is down by three runs, has bases loaded, 2 outs, and the count is full. And screaming even louder when you hear that 'pop' off the bat, knowing that someone has just hit a grand slam. You gotta admit - that's just fun! (Or, speaking of the Yankees/Red Sox series, when your team is down by 3 runs and then hits 4 home runs in a row, to tie a major league record of most home runs hit consecutively. That's gotta be pretty awesome, too).

So, all that to say, I wistfully look forward to the day when maybe someday I'll be back in one of those 29 stadiums (preferably one belonging to a team that I like!), drinking in the sights, sounds, and smells of baseball. And hopefully it will be sooner, rather than later.

Question of the hour

To fold laundry or to blog? My tribe has spoken. Laundry wins.

A full week; a full house.

Who would have known that it would take as many days to recover from camp as we actually spent at camp?! I have been pretty tired these last couple days; fortunately for me, I haven't had any commitments these last 3 days, except going into the prayer room for four hours on Saturday morning. I don't know that I can truthfully say I feel completely rested, but alas, tomorrow begins the start of another week whether I'm ready or not. And a full week it will be! We have a guest speaker coming to teach class for the internship, and after he leaves on Thursday, while other good friends of ours arrive to stay with us for a couple days. On Wednesday, Taylor's friend Kylie and her big sister, Leilani, will be coming over for the day, as their mom and dad are in Australia for the week. That will be fun for Taylor - it's been a long time since she's had playtime with Kylie. As busy as it will be, I am looking forward to the opportunity to welcome friends into our home and enjoy time with them!

And now onto the subject of life, death, and eternity.......no joke, that's been the bedtime topic of conversation the last two nights. It all started when I was reading to Taylor in her children's story Bible from "Revelation" about heaven and hell. And she wanted to know all about it - especially hell. So, we talked about it. Who and what is in hell and why. The fact that heaven and hell are real, no matter what other people may say or believe. Why Jesus had to die on the cross. These have been pretty intense conversations, and have moved me to pray for her long after the goodnights are said and the lights are turned off. The weightiness of eternity has struck me afresh - heaven and hell are not only real, but they are real forever. And the realization that this little child who we love so much is also an eternal being just like the rest of us - who must choose for herself how she will spend eternity. This is what moves a mother and a father to pray. This is no small matter. It is my prayer that these conversations that we have about life after death and Jesus and salvation - even at such a young age - will plant seeds of truth in her spirit that will stand strong in the day of adversity.

And finally, so we don't end on such an intense note, let me share just a couple more pictures of camp. This is how Taylor kept herself occupied while Mommy was speaking, leading worship, in meetings, etc. etc. etc. She's such an amazing little girl!

Purely Girls! Camp

Camp this week was awesome. What a privilege to be part of an event that was so impactful in the lives of over 70 young ladies; an event in which there were countless genuine encounters with God; an event after which many will never be the same. And as a bonus, it was just as much fun as I expected it to be!

My role at camp was to lead worship, speak for one session, and inbetween it all, be a mom and to take time to get to know the girls and other leaders who were there. Needless to say, it was a busy week and I came home pretty tired! Thank the Lord for Nic coming to help look after Taylor; it would have been impossible for me to do what I did without her help. My session was titled "Dare to be beautiful", so I spoke about beauty being the essence of woman from the moment of her creation; something that exists within each woman, because that's how we were created. Then I talked about the longing present within each woman to possess beauty, and how this desire is holy and to be cultivated - in the right way. The only way to say no to the inferior ways of satisfying this longing is to find a superior pleasure to satisfy (i.e. receiving a revelation that the Lord sees us as beautiful, and because He says so, we are). And finally, exterior beauty is simply the manifestation of this inner reality that cannot help but to be expressed in the natural realm. That's the short version!

And what would camp be without a bit of fun staying up late? At least, that's what Taylor thought!

You may remember from an earlier post that there has been quite a significant interest from the media in the camp. One of the local tv stations ran quite a lengthy segment on the camp this evening in their post-news "in-depth" program. If you're interested in watching the video, click here. It runs less than 10 minutes.

Going to camp

In a few minutes, Taylor and I are off to the airport to catch a plane to Wellington - and then onto camp for the next few days. She is so excited to go on the airplane and to be at camp with mom - she can hardly contain herself! I'm going to be speaking on Tuesday night, and leading worship for the week, so please keep us in your prayers! I think it's going to be an awesome week, and I'm looking forward to what God is going to do in the hearts of the girls who will be coming. Pray for them, too - that they they would have genuine, significant encounters with the living God.

Not expecting to have internet access at camp....but when I get home, you'll get the full report on the week!

Easter food and fun

When I was a kid growing up, we always did "Polish" Easter, with lots of yummy Polish food. Since moving away from home, I haven't yet attempted my own hand at the Polish delicacies - but this year, I decided to give it a go. Maybe being so far away from home has made me a bit desperate for the tastes and smells of the holidays of my childhood. Philosophical reasons aside, I had a desire to go for it, so I did. Here's Great-grandma Lukachovski's poppy seed bread. (Grandma, I know I probably spelled your name wrong. I'm sorry! You'll have to help me out on that one. But seriously, I think you would have been proud of my bread attempt!)

...And Easter wouldn't be Easter without Grandma Warren's pirogis! (a 'dumpling' of sorts, filled with a mashed potato/cheese mixture, boiled, and then fried in butter with onions):

I have yet to find Kilbasa in this city, so I had to suffice for a lamb roast instead.

But the other special dish of the night was the honey carrots and green beans - only because the beans were fresh picked from "Taylor's terrific bean plants" moments before being cooked! Too bad the girl doesn't really like green beans.

What she does like, though, is chocolate! Fortunately for us all, she didn't eat too much yesterday, but we did have lots of fun doing an (indoor) Easter egg hunt with the chocolate eggs - which, amazingly enough, were not eaten for the entire duration of the egg hunt. Which was, by the way, quite a lengthy amount of time. After Taylor found all the eggs, she was very disappointed to find out that there were no more hidden anywhere - until Aunt Nicky suggested that we hide them all again. So we probably had an Easter egg hunt about 6 times. And again today. And no doubt we will again tomorrow. At $7 for 15 chocolate eggs, that's the best money I've spent on entertainment in a long time! And the good news is that there are still 14 1/2 eggs left to hide! Here's some pictures of the fun:

We finished the evening by spending a couple hours with some of the interns and staff around a big bonfire a couple houses over from where we live. It was great fun to sit around with everyone with no other agenda besides talking and being together simply for the sake of being together. The only thing I missed was about 10 bags of American marshmallows to roast. Next time there's a bonfire being planned, I'll need to know about a month in advance so I can put in an order from home! :-)

Food from around the world

Today we had the interns and staff over for an Easter 'international pot luck' dinner. Since we have so many different nations represented here, we thought it would be fun to taste some flavors from around the world - not to mention the fact that we felt we were 'past due' for a social event. It's been a while since we've gotten together for no reason other than to be together and have fun. I always enjoy having people over and feel so blessed that we have a house where we can do just that. I was thinking back to last year this time and how far we've come. Last Easter we were still waiting for our container from the States to arrive, and were 'camping at home', making due with the bare minimal household items borrowed from generous people here. I'm so grateful for the Lord's provision and abundant blessing. This past year hasn't always been easy, but He sure has been with us every step of the way.

Auckland

Wow! It has been quite a week. Aaron was in Fiji, and life was full-go back here in New Zealand. In the space of a few days, I had some girls over for dinner, had one of the intern girls over for lunch, planned a worship leader meeting, led a worship leader meeting, went up the mount twice, went to the prayer room every day with Taylor, plus of course all the normal things of life such as laundry and cooking and the sort.

Then, on Thursday, I met back up with Mike and Robbie and Christian and we drove up to Auckland. After a bit of shopping at the mall, we headed uptown and got settled in our hotels, and then found a great Italian restaurant that was just about a 5 minute walk from where we were staying. After a really yummy dinner, I headed back to our hotel to kill some time until I needed to leave to drive to the airport to pick up Aaron. It's so great to have him home again!

Then today we met up with Mike and Robbie again for lunch at the revolving restaurant in the Skytower - the tallest building in the southern hemisphere. We had an awesome time connecting with them one last time before they head home, and enjoying the views of the city at the same time.

All in all, it was a fun day. But I have to admit that it's nice to be home together as a family this evening. Taylor is really glad her daddy is home, too!

The Skytower and downtown Auckland

The view from the top of the Auckland Harbor Bridge

Another view from the top

Looking down to the ground through a clear glass floor

Purely Girls! Camp

I've been invited to speak at a girl's camp later in the month, in which the focus is to encourage teenage girls to value, treasure, and celebrate their purity. Session topics are titled "Dare to dream", "Dare to be beautiful", "Dare to be loved", "Dare to be modest", etc. It's an awesome concept, and I'm really excited that I have the chance to be involved. The woman who is organizing the whole thing is a good friend of ours, and I have to say, she's doing a tremendous job!

Things are really starting to get interesting, though, because the media has caught wind of it, and has already run a couple newspaper articles on the camp - one of which was on the front page of the Sunday paper yesterday. If you're interested in reading, here is a link to the article.

So pray for us. For all who will be speaking and for the girls coming, for those organizing the event, and also for those who are talking to the media - that they would have wisdom, clarity of mind, and discernment of speech if there are any more interviews yet to come.

It is interesting to ponder what the Lord is doing as we watch His purposes unfold. I'll keep you posted on how things go.

A "too-tired-to-come-up-with-a-creative-title" Post

What an incredibly busy day! It felt like one of those days in which every spare moment was filled; or should I say, there were no spare moments at all! The day looked like this: prayer room, meeting after the prayer meeting, home to get Taylor lunch, talk to Dad and Joanie on the phone, put Taylor down for a nap, while Taylor is sleeping - make sushi rolls and hang laundry and wash dishes and tidy house and get ready for mount , wake Taylor up to leave for the mount to meet Nic out there, go up mount (new personal best time of up and down in 25 minutes), come home and shower, get dinner ready, set table......then breathe.

Since Aaron is gone, I decided to have a few girls over tonight. So we had an Asian-themed dinner: Oriental chicken salad, sushi, spring rolls, and a mandarin orange-jello-whipped cream thingy for dessert. It was a great evening - good to spend time together outside the context of the prayer room.

Tomorrow promises to be busy still, but not as intense as today. Usually when Aaron goes away, life slows down a bit. Not this time! But even in the midst of it, I feel a sense of grace to be living at break-neck speed - at least for a few days. The good news is that we have a few days off for Easter - I'm definitely looking forward to having a bit of a rest!

Someone 'round here is a big girl!

Last night, Taylor wore 'big girl undies' all night long for the first time! Truth be told, she has probably been ready for weeks, but last night mom decided that enough was enough with the diapers. It's a great feeling to be done with the diaper stage - but with a twinge of sadness, too. My little baby sure isn't a baby anymore!

Back on board

I know, I know. I am painfully aware of my blog-neglect over the last several days. In case you've been wondering where I've been, let me tell you: deeply enjoying the company of friends from back home. Mike and Robbie and their son have been visiting us this week, and we have had a terrific time clocking in hours with them, as well as introducing them to some of our friends from here to help give them an idea of what we're doing and who we're doing it with. In this process, we've enjoyed entertaining a handful of our friends in our home, some of whom haven't been around to our place for a long time. Nothin' like a good excuse for a dinner party!

I was expecting that this week would be our chance to bless Mike and Robbie and help them have a great vacation here in NZ; but it actually has felt more like they have been the ones pouring into us, simply by being who they are and loving us well. They are an amazing couple. I feel refreshed, encouraged, and believed-in. Needless to say, it's been a fun week.

They've gone this evening to see some more of the country, but we'll meet up with them one last time next Friday in Auckland before they fly back home. What will we be doing in Auckland next Friday (besides seeing them?). Well, because you asked, Aaron leaves to go to Fiji tomorrow. He gets in late Thursday night, so I'll drive up to Auckland to pick him up, and we'll spend the night up there. Busy, busy, busy! We have a few days off over Easter, which I think we're desperately ready for.

Speaking of Easter, I have grandeous ambitions of producing some homemade peirgois and perhaps some other Polish food (traditional Warren family Easter fare) next Sunday, but in the same breath I will also confess that those ambitions could easily remain just that - ambitions with little or no energy to turn them into reality. I have to say, lamb roast, piergois, and poppy seed bread does sound like a pretty yummy Easter dinner......

A different sort of day

It all started at 6:30am when there was an accident on the main road right outside our house. Someone hit the power pole, creating quite a bit of damage to the power lines. As a result, we spent the whole morning and the better part of the afternoon without power today. I'm going to confess that it was actually really nice - having no phone and internet for a few hours wasn't such a bad thing! Aaron occasionally takes Monday mornings off, because we don't have any other morning off during the whole week. So today he stayed home with Taylor while I went up the mount and then ran a bunch of errands around town. The rest of the morning was really quite restful, with no work able to be done.

Tomorrow some good friends from the States come into town to see us! We're really looking forward to having them here and to be able to spend some good time with them. It's going to be quite a busy (but very fun!) week.

Speaking of tomorrow, it will be here sooner than I'm ready, which means it's time for me to be off to bed - something I should have done a while ago!

The internet and my guitar

After experiencing technical difficulties with our internet in the last 24 hours, we are now back online, thanks to the generous help and support from our new friends at Telecom. I'm liking Telecom these days - between their great phone plans and helpful customer service representatives, they've had a good run this week. This is good, especially as I am no big fan of the customer service in New Zealand.

Onto slightly more relevant news for the evening, I picked up my guitar tonight for the first time in a long time. It's something I've been wanting to do for a much too long now, and for some reason I decided tonight that there was nothing else on the priority list that couldn't wait until tomorrow. I thoroughly enjoyed myself, and it felt good to be strumming again. Except for the fact that my fingers don't feel so good right now. But that just goes with the territory; no avoiding that reality. I'd love for that to become more of a regular occurrence in my life -because we all know I really need to be looking for something else to do in all my spare time. But hey, why not?

Lots of sheep and no snakes

Many of you reading this may have already heard this story, but I'd bet there are a good number who haven't, so I thought I'd tell it. Every now and then I remember this story, and feel God 'winking' at me as I recall it. It's one of those that shouts the sovereignty of God to me if I'm ever doubting it, which makes me love Him all the more. I was thinking about this yesterday when I was outside with Taylor, and she was asking me if there were any snakes. It's always my delight to tell her no!

When I was a young child (say, 6 or 7), I had this strange obsession with sheep. For some reason, I loved them. They were my favorite animal. I had sheep calendars, stuffed animal sheep toys, little glass sheep on my dresser, sheep, sheep, sheep. And I hated snakes. Still do. So one day, randomly out of the blue, for some reason I say to my mom, "Mom, there should be a place where there are lots of sheep and no snakes. That would just be perfect!" To my complete surprise, she said, "There is a place. There's a island in the Pacific Ocean called New Zealand. And it has more sheep than people, and no snakes." I couldn't believe it. "Really?!" I asked. I couldn't fathom how there was not one snake hidden under one rock somewhere in the middle of the forest that no one knew was there. I thought for a moment. "Mommy?" I asked. "I want to go there someday." I went to the globe and found New Zealand, and was so disappointed, because it was soooo far away. I thought I'd never be able to go there. And from that time on throughout my childhood, I had this 'thing' for New Zealand. We had to buy kiwifruit - 'cuz they were from New Zealand. If the sticker on the apples said they were from New Zealand - we had to buy them. It wasn't a long or lasting obsession, but enough that I remember it.

Who ever would have known back then I would not only go there someday - but live there, too. Out of the mouth of babes.....and the gift of my own mother prophecying my future without even knowing it. Now that's sovereignty.

Awesome phone plan

So here's a piece of random information for you. Telecom (our phone provider) has just come out with a new long-distance plan that will suit us well. $45 a month now allows us to call anyone, anytime - both domestic and international numbers - for up to 2 hrs. per phonecall, not to exceed 6000 minutes a month (which works out to be 3 hours a day). They told us it would save us about $40/month. Suddenly, picking up the phone and calling overseas now seems as cheap as calling next door. Now that, my friends, is a good deal. Thanks, Telecom.

Fall is here

Fall is definitely starting to set in. This weekend was daylight savings in New Zealand, which means that now it gets dark much earlier than it did before. The evenings are getting chillier, the weather more unpredictable. If only the leaves were changing colors (and falling!) and Thanksgiving was just around the corner........It still seems strange to me to have fall in March. I don't know if that will ever feel normal. I really am a season-oriented person, so having Easter in the fall, Christmas in the summer, and 4th of July in the winter just makes me feel like I live life backwards and turned-around.

One good thing is that chilly evenings means it's hot pools season again! We're headed out there in a few minutes, so I've gotta get ready to leave. That's all for now, folks!

A few remarks before it's time for bed

It's a good night. My hubby is home; Friday night worship with the interns/staff/THOP family was fun tonight. More than just fun; it was refreshing.

And on that note, I head off to bed - early. It's about time that happened! :-)

A cross-cultural experience

I've spent this evening at a local marae (Maori meeting house) to attend a fundraising dessert for an emerging ministry in the city that is focused on reaching Maori (both saved and unsaved). They have a new and innovative approach to disciple Maori in a context that is non-threatening and familiar, modeling to them a way to maintain the beauty and uniqueness of their culture while still living an authentic expression of Christianity in daily life.

The evening definitely was a cross-cultural affair! Being on a marae is a unique expereince in and of itself, as there is nothing quite like it in Western culture. Many of the speaches, prayers, and songs were spoken/sung in Maori (and in English as well); and although I have very little idea what they are saying (except for the occasional word here and there), it's such a beautiful language and I love to listen to it being spoken. For a few moments this evening, I felt like a "real" missionary, as I definitely found myself in the midst of a different culture, language, etc!

It was a really fun night, and I left with excitement in my spirit as we heard what the Lord is doing in our city and how He is raising up the Maori to be a clear voice both here in New Zealand and in the nations of the world. They are a people with a definite calling to express a part of the heart of God that no other culture has the ability to express, and it's a privilege to see the beginnings of that emerging.

Too many balls to juggle. Too many batons to balance.

It's 10pm. It feels like it's midnight. I'm tired.

The last several days have been good, but long. I'm feeling caught in the balancing act of loving Jesus well, loving my husband well, loving our daughter well, and leading a ministry well. It seems like most days, one of the four suffers. I hate that feeling of realization that one of those all-important proverbial "balls" has been dropped. Only to remember that there are 5 other important ones that need to be juggled as well. Sometimes I feel like I'm always bound to let someone down - it's just a matter of who.

Meanwhile, in the midst of trying to juggle it all, I want to learn to do it with a heart at rest - not a heart that is striving or stressed or anxious. For if my heart isn't at rest (that is, living in peace that is a result of communion with the Holy Spirit) the inner rhythm of my spirit will be off, and it will affect all I put my hand to. The result? The balls will drop, the batons will tumble, and I won't be able to do anything well.

Sounds like my aim should be to grow in how I carry my heart, not necessairily to grow in my ability to balance all the aspects of life.

A whole bunch of random thoughts

It's hard to believe the weekend has come....and gone. Some friends of ours from Wellington came up here to Tauranga for the weekend, and stayed with us last night. We had a great time catching up with them and really enjoyed having them here.

It's been great having Aaron home these last several days. Life has still been pretty full-on, but it has been full-on together, which is always more fun than living life full-on apart! This week he goes back to Wellington, and then will be home for a couple of weeks. As much as I miss him when he's gone, I can definitely tell that there is lots of grace for us in this season, for which I am so thankful.

Speaking of being thankful, I was home with Taylor the other morning just going about my day when I started thinking about all that has happened this last year and how the Lord has led us so kindly, and I was just so grateful. I realized that so many of the things that are just "normal life" for us now weren't guaranteed to us when we moved here, and how the Lord has given above and beyond what we ever could have thought. I mean, when we moved here, we knew the Lord had called us, but we didn't know how anything would turn out. We didn't know if we'd make any friends. We didn't know if the internship would be a failure. We didn't know if anyone would show up. We didn't know if I would hate it here and miserable. We didn't know if we would see any growth, or if there would be years of painful 'sowing' before we saw the fruit of our labor. I guess it just struck me that things could have easily turned out so differently than they did, and I am so, so grateful to the Lord that He has been with us and that it hasn't been nearly as hard here as it could have been. That's not to say we haven't had difficult moments, but really - things could have been so much worse than they have actually been.

Now, that's a good realization to have.

Castles in the sand

Every night when we put Taylor to bed, we ask her what her favorite part of the day was. Before she even answers, she turns the question around on us and we have to tell her our favorite part of the day. So, in the spirit of a bedtime "chat", here was my answer to the question today:

Playing in the sand with Taylor on the beach. I have to admit that I really did miss playing in the snow with her in what would have just been our American winter, but I guess I really don't have too many complaining rights. I never would have had today's fun in Kansas City, 1500 miles away from either ocean. (Does Galvaston count as a real beach?). Anyways, Nic and I went up the mount today, and since Aaron is out of town, that means Taylor came, too. But instead of climbing halfway up with us today, she decided to bring her sand toys and play on the beach with us. We made a sand castle (or should I say, I made the sand castle. Despite her desire to build one, when it came right down to it, she wasn't too interested). I guess the other sand toys were more attractive today, for some reason.

Aaron comes home tomorrow - yeah! Can't wait to have him home again.....and someone else is really looking forward to going to the airport to pick up her daddy!

The Nightwatch

I have less than 10 minutes to go before my self-imposed 11pm bedtime....so this will be a short post. :-)

I've just been emailing this evening one of my dear friends who did (and still does) the nightwatch at IHOP-KC. We actually did the nightwatch together waaay back in the day....which seems like a lifetime ago now. As I was emailing her, I remembered a verse that was so real to our small nightwatch community back then: Psalm 143, " Behold, bless the Lord, All you servants of the Lord, Who by night stand in the house of the Lord! Lift up your hands in the sanctuary, And bless the Lord. The Lord who made heaven and earth Bless you from Zion!" Oh, the unique blessing that is promised to those who stand by night in His house!

Thinking of this made me reflect on my own nightwatch days - those months in which so many memories were created; when so much of who I am today was formed on the inside of me. It also reminded me how highly I esteem those who are still laboring in intercession through the night in Kansas City. And it also made me long for the day when the nightwatch is birthed here in New Zealand. Blessed is the city who has worshippers and intercessors crying out before the Throne even through the night. And I'm unashamedly jealous to see that here someday.

So....if there are any nightwatchers out there who are reading this, thank you for your labors. And may the Lord bless you from Zion!

Sunday Night Church

On a whim, I decided to go to church tonight. We don't usually go on Sunday nights, but today I decided to put Taylor to bed early (left her with Nic), and go out for the evening. I have to say, it was perhaps the best church service that I've been in since being in New Zealand. For one reason alone: the worship was awesome. It reminded me a bit of the days of my youth at Gateway, when the worship could have (and often did) go on for hours. Tonight, I just wish they hadn't stopped. I also quickly discovered that Sunday night is primarily a young adult congregation.....so that's where they've been all this time. God is doing some pretty interesting stuff around here. It's a bit too early to see how it all is going to come down, but I'm excited to think of the possibilities. And to be part of it.

Now, if I can just get to bed before 11pm these days, I'll be doing good.....

A few thoughts on prayer and the Holy Spirit

In the middle of my day, I still have the much-appreciated luxury of an hour and a half to two hours of un-interrupted time while Taylor takes a nap. I am already dreading the day when she grows out of naptime, but I will choose to be optimistic and believe that this day is still afar off. So today, I decided to work on some notes for some material that I need to teach soon, and in the midst of doing so, found myself struck by the following verse:

For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my understanding is unfruitful. What is the conclusion then? I will pray with the Spirit, and I will also pray with the understanding. I will sing with the Spirit, and I will also sing with the understanding. (1 Cor. 14:14-15, emphasis added).

This verse spells out something so clearly to me that I have known in my mind for years, but today held revelation in my spirit. It's not just my mind that prays; it is my spirit. So often we think of prayer as words; prayer as being conversation with God. So that in order to pray, I need to be consciously using words to communicate something to God. Which is true. But this verse describes something other than the limited communication that originates in the mind; something surpassing the restraint of weak human words, and hints at a reality so far beyond my own finite definitions and steryotypes of prayer. The reality of my human spirit communing with The Spirit who lives on the inside. This foundational truth of the Christian faith is stunning: the Spirit of the living, eternal, un-created God lives on the inside of me. And not only does He live inside of me, but because He lives on the inside of me, my spirit can relate with Him in a reality that surpasses words, and it is called prayer. I have recently (as in, the last 9 months or so) been fascinated with this subject of fellowshipping with the Holy Spirit. Of walking in the Spirit, living in the Spirit, and being led by the Spirit. Something that goes so far beyong, "What shirt do I wear today?", but actually talking with the Spirit throughout my day. Actually keeping my spirit alert, mindful of, aware of, tenderized to His presence. On the inside. Being deliberate to have an active, living, present-tense relationship with this One who dwells within me. Herein lies the power to win the raging war against the law of sin and death. Herein lies the power to embrace and walk in the fruit of the....what?.....the Spirit. In western Christianity, the "fruit of the Spirit" has become such a watered-down, sunday-school, cute little phrase, when in reality, it is describing the evidence of one who lives a life of present-tense fellowship with the Holy Spirit. I can promise you, this preaches a lot easier than it actually lives, but this is our inheritance as believers of Jesus Christ. This is the essence of the Christian faith. This is what Jesus died for, so that we could live in this reality. And that means that it is available for every single person on the earth who calls on the name of Jesus. Which means, why not me? I am on a quest to discover and to live in this reality; to carry my heart in such a way that my spirit prays; not just my mind. I'm not saying I do it perfectly. In fact, I fall short way more than I succeed. But my heart is hungry. For Him.

How 'bout yours?

Mommy-Taylor bonding time

Once again, Taylor and I have a mommy-daughter weekend. Aaron left this afternoon for Wellington and Auckland, and Nic has gone away for the weekend to visit some family friends. So we get to enjoy a quiet weekend together, holding down the fort here at home. I'd like to make it a special time for her, so I'm thinking about starting off tomorrow morning with a pancake breakfast, just for something a bit different. I usually go into the prayer room on Saturdays, but since I'm a full-time mom this weekend, we get to have a lazy Saturday morning. I can't say I'm disappointed about that one! Hopefully Taylor will decide to have one of her legendary 8am sleepins tomorrow morning - especially since it's now 11:30pm and I really should be getting to bed!

But one more note before I do......I was in the grocery store the other day and saw some piergois in the frozen food section. On a whim, I decided to buy some (although I have yet to find kilbasa to eat them with). So tonight I decided to cook some up for dinner - complete with the onions fried in butter.....and boy, did it bring back some awesome memories of childhood! My dad used to make those (from scratch) every Easter along with lots of other yummy Polish food. One of these days, I'm going to pull out my recipe and make 'em from scratch, too. (Hmmm....Easter is coming up....). If only I could find some kilbasa, we'd be on our way to a good Polish Easter. It might be time to start searching every butcher in the city that I know of and see what we can find.

Meat

(to receive the full impact of this post, you must read the next sentence with a slow, southern drawl...)

Now this here....

....is whatchya git when you live in farm country.

What you're looking at is perhaps the freshest lamb meat you have ever seen.....at a price equivalent to robbery. We know someone who owns one of the most respected sheep farms in the area, so today we went to the farm to pick up our meat order. How awesome is that?

Taylor was looking forward to the trip all day. When she woke up from her nap, she excitedly told me that she had to bring her stuffed animal sheep, so she could "show it to all the other sheep at the farm!" This was the first time Taylor had ever been on a real farm; that became quite obvious when we walked into the shed where the pigs were and she cringed at the smell and didn't want to go in! :-) But once she got over that, she quickly decided that her favorite part of the farm were the 13 little piglets running around. She had a great time!

As for me, I'm excited about the lamb roasts we get to cook (and eat!) once the chilly weather sets in.

I guess I'll be learnin' real quick how to cook 'em good...

All in a day's work

Monday has come and gone, and already items are being added to the "Tasks" list on my Outlook much faster than they're being crossed off. I won't be doing any further damage to that list tonight, though. It's 9:30 already now, and before I can retire for the night, I still need to load the bread machine with all the necessary ingredients that will produce a hot, steaming loaf of bread by about 7:00 tomorrow morning. What a great way to wake up - to the smell of fresh bread! Now is a perfect time to confess that I love our bread machine. In fact, I think it's my favorite kitchen appliance. Sometime this week I plan to give pumpernickel bread a go and see how it turns out. Yummy!

Today was a fun day; thoroughly enjoyed playing with Taylor this morning. We went "shopping" with her baby Emily to buy fruits and veggies, and then returned "home" to Taylor's kitchen, only to discover that it was time to record a "cooking show" for the Food channel, of which Taylor was the hosting chef. What a busy morning! And in between all that, I managed to get laundry done, get the house cleaned up, and find a few minutes for some last-minute prep for class this afternoon. I taught the interns the "Distinctive Characteristics of the Harp and Bowl Prayer Model", which was actually quite fun. After a good walk up the mount and a quiet evening with the family, I'm ready to call it a day.

Auckland

Aaron and I had a great time away in Auckland - it was so good to see him and to have him home again! And if you ever happen to be in the Auckland area, I can highly recommend this hotel to you. Thanks to this website, we scored an incredible deal on the room, which included in the price the best breakfast buffet I've had for a long time. It reminded me very much of an American buffet, mostly because of the exceptional quality and supurb presentation....but mostly because of the bacon. They had real, perfectly-cooked, ever-so-yummy, just-a-bit-crunchy American bacon (aka streaky bacon, if you're a New Zealander). Haven't had bacon that good for over a year. And any Kiwis reading this will appreciate the fact that their all-you-can-drink juice bar contained not just any orange juice, but Charlie's orange juice. What a great way to start the day! Because the deal we scored also included a 1pm check-out, we had time to go down to the pool/health club after breakfast, which meant I got a chance to sit and read a magazine while enjoying the sunshine. After we checked out, we hit a great outlet-store shopping mall for a while, finding a couple great bargains. Our weekend getaway was completed by a stop at this cafe (voted best in New Zealand) on our way home, where we scored a really good late lunch.

After our long week and big weekend, I think we're both ready for a relaxing day off tomorrow. Hopefully Taylor will think so, too, and have a big sleep-in in the morning!

My hubby is coming home!

Aaron comes home from Australia today! Yeah! Tonight I'll drive to Auckland to pick him up, we'll spend the night at a hotel in Auckland, and then come back home tomorrow. Taylor is going to stay home with Nic, so we'll get a nice evening to ourselves. I'm really looking forward to seeing him; a week is long enough for him to be gone!

Almond Butter

Well, this is a really random, pointless post, but oh, well. I know there's at least one person reading this who will appreciate it....so here's to you, Dad!

When I was a kid growing up, my parents had a Champion juicer. You know, the kind that doesn't just juice a carrot and an apple, but also grinds flour, makes sherbet, ice cream, baby foods, and will even wash all its dirty attachments and re-assemble itself after being used. Anyways, one of the other things that it does is make nut butters, and this is the part my Dad liked best. I have many fond memories of him buying truckloads of almonds, roasting them to perfection in the oven, and them grinding them up in the Champion to make almond butter. At the time, I wasn't even a huge fan of the stuff (I've always preferred peanut butter), but it wasn't all that bad, and every now and then I'd have some. That was who-knows-how-many years ago, and truth be told, I've never even once craved it since.

Until a couple days ago. One morning, randomly out of the blue, I started craving almond butter. Don't know why; one moment I was thinking about something else, the next moment I wanted almond butter. Strange, I know. Maybe I was just missing Connecticut and my Dad. Who knows. Anyway, I didn't think anything of it until that evening when Nic came home from the grocery store.....with almond butter in hand. Now, she's lived with us for over a year now, and this is the first time anyone in our house has ever bought almond butter. I was so excited! It tasted as good as I wanted it to....but it smelled even better. Something about that smell takes me right back, however-many-odd-years ago to that kitchen in the home I grew up in, watching Dad make almond butter. Great memories.

Did I mention it's $12 a jar here? Don't think we'll be buying that every week.

She's up the Mount, folks!

When Aaron is out of town, it makes going up the mount a bit more of a challenge, since he's the one who always watches her while I go up. So today, Nic and I decided to bring her with us, and have her join in the fun for part of the way. Nic started going up first, while Taylor and I followed slowly behind her, until we got part of the way up. Taylor and I then waited for Nic to come back down, at which time it was my turn to finish the trek up to the top on my own, while Nic and Taylor went back down. The plan worked great, although Nic was stopped on the way down by a caring stranger who saw Taylor with me on the way up, noticed her with someone different on the way down, and wondered if she (Taylor) was lost! Nic had a bit of explaining to do, but apparently did so to the man's satisfaction, and was then able to continue on to the beach with Taylor to wait for me there.

Taylor did awesome, climbing up a few sets of steps, and then walking up a long path with a gradual uphill slope. She was so proud of herself, rightfully so!

More from the garden club

It's become part of our routine to head out to the greenhouse to water the plants every evening at 7pm, after we're done watching the weather on the news. Taylor loves it, and eagerly looks forward to the short adventure. Here she is in action:

Teaching her how to water....

This time, "All by myself!"

"Look! My beans are growing!"

A closer look...

It's a late one tonight...

It's now 11:15 and I've just finished the notes that I'm planning on teaching tomorrow. One of the fun things about Aaron being gone is that I get to stay up at late as I like. One of the not-so-fun-things about Aaron being gone is that I do stay up as late as I like....and feel it in the morning. I've been a night owl my whole life, and nothing has changed.

Hmmm....before I can head to bed I also need to do a song list for my worship set tomorrow. Maybe I'll do one I've already done before, and save myself the time of coming up with a new one!

Australia Week

Aaron left in the wee hours of the morning for Townsville, Australia, where he'll be spending the remainder of this week teaching a YWAM DTS. Which means that Taylor and I get to have another week of special mommy-daughter time, in the midst of holding down the fort at the House of Prayer. Thankfully, Aaron and I have a strong team around us, so that when he's gone, the leadership doesn't fall completely on my shoulders. In addition to leading my worship sets this week, I'll still try to go into the prayer room once a day with Taylor, even if it is just for an hour or so - but that's about the extent of my involvement while still being a full-time mommy! I will be teaching class tomorrow at our house while Taylor is sleeping, but that should be easy. Andy and Bek will teach the rest of the week.

Our latest news from the greenhouse is that Taylor's beans are just beginning to poke through the soil - she was so excited! I think this will be a fun project for her, if she doesn't lose interest along the way. No signs of that occurring yet.

Speaking of projects, I have officially declared this week to be "Australia Week" for Taylor. She was asking me lots of questions today about where daddy was, where Australia is, what it's like, etc. So I smelled a good learning opportunity, and I will shortly be on a quest through cyber space to find coloring pages, simple crafts, etc. related to Australia and/or the wildlife therein. We'll see what I'm actually able to come up with, but for now at least it stands as a good idea!

Highlights of my day

1. The prayer room this morning. One of the staff led an awesome intercession meeting at 10am. It was refreshing; and I was excited to watch him lead so well.

2. Time to sit back and put my feet up while Taylor was napping, which is becoming more of a rare occurrence these days (time to relax that is; not the nap....).

3. A shopping date with my hubby tonight. We went out to the mall after dinner and picked up a few bits of clothes that we needed. It's always nice to go out and have some time together!

Valentine's Fun

The last few days, Taylor has been eagerly getting ready for Valentine's day, making cute little cards for Daddy and Aunt Nicky. We also cut out little hearts (red for Daddy, pink for Aunt Nicky) on which we wrote reasons why Taylor loves them. It was great - she thought up the reasons all on her own with almost no help from me - and they were really good ones, too! This morning after they left for the prayer room/work, Taylor hid them around the house for them to find. She had so much fun doing it! And of course Daddy and Aunt Nicky loved it, too! This morning we also made some cupcakes for the interns that we'll decorate tonight. She's really getting into it!

I love celebrating holidays with her - not always for the sake of the holiday itself, but because of the opportunity it presents to create special memories and traditions as a family.

Taylor's new pastime

Those of who know me will laugh when I tell you that I'm trying my hand at gardening. Actually, I prefer to think of it as "helping Taylor grow beans for the purpose of an educational opportunity" while at the same time trying my hand at tomatoes and basil. Sounds a bit less intimidating; a bit more like something I'm doing for Taylor's sake rather than doing it to prove to myself (or to anyone else, for that matter) that I can actually grow a plant without killing it.

So how did this all come to be? When Andy and Bek moved in, they brought with them some seedlings that Andy had started growing at their previous house, with the thought in mind that the landlord might let them dig up a little spot of dirt and have a small veggie garden. What he didn't know was that there was a large un-used greenhouse on our property. And that he was welcome to use as much of it as he wanted. I mean, come on...how many people have a greenhouse just sitting in their back yard? So the greenhouse has now been cleaned out and the ground dug up, and Andy's plants are flourishing beautifully. Then Nic started eyeing the progress, and thought she might get in on the action. Meanwhile, Taylor was enjoying walking over (daily) and faithfully checking the progress of the vegetable's growth, and also watering all the plants with her new watering can. We then decided it would be fun for her to have some plants of her own to look after. Then I began thinking how nice it would be to have some homegrown tomatoes......and I guess the rest is history. We went to the garden shop today and bought green bean seeds and tomato plants. I also bought basil seeds, but am thinking about scraping that idea and starting from the little plants. I don't know that I have the patience (or ability) to grow those things from seeds. So, we'll see how long I can keep those tomatoes alive, and whether I can manage to see them through to the fruit-bearing stage. Only time will tell. Meanwhile, here are some pictures for your enjoyment:

Musings from this evening

Once again, I find myself typing this moments before I will head off to bed; many moments past when I should have gone to bed. Some days feel like a race in which I am continually trying to keep up with my life that is running ahead of me just a little faster than I can keep up with. Most days it feels like a race that I'm usually losing. Not everything can be done; something has to give in the end. Today it is sleep and some last-minute study of Psalm 145 before we sing it tomorrow.

In the midst of it all, I am reminded again how much diligence is required to stay alert and alive in my spirit; to be attentive to the voice and the leadings of the Holy Spirit who lives on the inside; to maintain a posture of watchfulness and prayer. It is so easy to be given over to a dullness and a lethargy of spirit, and it's a fight to not be weighed down by the cares of this life. This I know: I want to be deliberate about maintaining a spirit of prayer even in the midst of the mundane, busyness of day-to-day life. Easier said than done, I can promise you.

And now for some random news, today was the first day at THOP that we increased the prayer room hours! We felt that it was time and the community was ready to take the next step. I've gotta say, it's really exciting watching the Lord build His house, and I'm so thankful that I get to be part of it. I love what we do.

Unproductive weekend

I feel like I spent all weekend doing everything except what needed to be done, while still not doing anything I wanted to do. How does that happen, anyway? I suppose I did make a bit of progress on the teaching notes I've been trying to write (for oh, the last 4 days or so).....but nearly not as much progress as I should have made by now. I had hoped for some practice time on the keyboard, a chance to skim through my latest cooking magazine, and the opportunity to divulge myself in that leadership book I'm still reading....all to no avail. Hopefully by tomorrow I'll find myself back on the wagon.

New Look

Out with the old, in with the new! Time for a change. This is how I spent my evening tonight, instead of doing other things that I probably should be doing. Oh, well. Tomorrow's another day.

My new favorite toy

Our new ipod nano has got to be perhaps the best thing we purchased in the last year. Talk about adding a bit of zip to the walk up the mount......folks, it's way more fun when you've got some good music to distract you from the pain of the workout. I have to admit, I was pretty fired up listening to Toby Keith's Courtesy of the Red, White, and Blue while running down the mount. There's nothing like feeling a bit of American pride to bring on the illusion that you're on top of the world and able to conquer anything....including the trek up and down the mount.

Things I learned today

1. Construction paper does not exist in New Zealand, much to my dismay.

2. One should never attempt to give a 2 yr. old sloppy joes for dinner while the child in question is wearing white pants.

3. I really shouldn't worry as much as I do. My work permit/visa came in the mail today, valid until Jan '08.

New Internship

We started the internship yesterday, having the interns and house of prayer staff meet at our house for registration and 'afternoon tea'. It was really fun to meet them and put faces to the names, and think about all that lies ahead for us as a spiritual family for the next 5 months. It was also fun to look back and see how far we've come in just one short year. God truly is with us. As fun and exciting it is, I also feel fear of the Lord and the weight of the calling to do what He has mandated us to do. I feel weak; which therefore means that I have an opportunity to lean into His strength in ways I never before have had to do. Something tells me that's a good place to be.

Bagels, bagels, bagels.

I made some today. Not once....but twice. The first batch (only 6 bagels, mind you) disappeared before I had time to turn around, so I decided that I'd give it a go again. Seeing as how the bread machine does most of the hard work, it wasn't such a hard proposition. I made both plain and cinnamon raisin the first time. For my second go around, I decided it was time to try to reproduce a childhood favorite. For those of you reading this blog who are from my hometown and have lived there for the last several years (that is, if there are any of you....) - you will remember the landmark bakery, Lender's (which, regrettably, no longer exists). I remember going in there as a kid to buy bagels with my dad. There were always so many yummy kinds to choose from, but the best one hands down was their apple 'n spice. Now let me stop for a minute and explain that there is a big difference between the frozen made-in-a-factory Lender's bagels and the fresh made-in-a-bakery Lender's bagels. Big difference. Not even comparable. So if you have the small-frozen-skinny-already-sliced-bagel in mind, let me encourage you to take your imagination about 10 levels higher. Anyways, these were the best bagels imaginable, and I've never been able to find anything close ever since. Not even Einstein's or Panera compares. So, all that to say, I'm on a quest to reproduce (as closely as I can) the highly esteemed apple 'n spice bagel. I'm sure you'll hear about it if (rather, when) I succeed.

Great way to spend the weekend

Miracles do happen. Our house is mostly clean, and by this time tomorrow night, I'm hoping it will be close to spotless. I even cleaned out one of our closets this evening.

As long as we're talking miracles, now would also be a good time to mention that this morning Aaron suggested that we all go to the mall. He needed to go and exchange a pair of shoes, but the fact that this chore was turned into a family event earned him some major brownie points this weekend! :-) We let Taylor go on a few of the little rides which are strategically positioned throughout the mall, and I'm honestly not sure who had more fun - Taylor on the rides, or Mommy and Daddy watching her. There's just something so fun about watching your kid thoroughly enjoy herself.

Activity of choice tomorrow? Making bagels. I was looking at one of my favorite cooking websites and got inspired by an article they had. Seeing as how there are no decent bagels down under, we're going to try to remedy that problem right here in our own kitchen. Don't worry. You will be getting a full report on how they turn out (and pictures, if they're worthy of it!).

Current Events

It's been quite a week. Now, at 11:30 pm on Friday night, I feel like for the first time in a few days, I'm able to put my feet up and relax. Between our regular prayer room schedule, going up the mount, helping to paint Aaron's new office, and preparing for the next internship, the last few days have been quite full. Ah, yes - that's a project I haven't told you about yet. Our amazing landlords have built Aaron a new office just outside our house. It will answer the need for a quiet, out-of-the-way place for meetings and study - something that doesn't exist within the four walls of a dwelling shared by 4 people, one of whom being under the age of 3. Once we finish the painting, the electrician will come and perform the all-important final step of installing lights and plugs, and then we'll be up and running. Yeah!

In other news this evening, the internship has doubled in the last week! It's been quite surprising to watch the Lord add to our numbers at the last-minute; an unexpected (though very welcome) turn of events. We will hit the ground running on Monday, so we are taking the weekend off to enjoy some family time and a bit of extra rest before the week starts. Hopefully that rest will begin tomorrow with a nice big sleep-in. The only trouble with this plan is that it is completely dependent on the smallest member of the family. I also have great ambitions of doing a very thorough house-clean so we can start off the internship with things on the homefront neat and tidy, but I'm not feeling very confident that these aspirations will come to fruition. That might have to wait for my next bit of spare time. Whenever that will be.

That's all for now, folks. Goodnight.

A little background music

This evening we get the privilege of eavesdropping on an outdoor rock concert - the Eagles, Neil Diamond, and the Beeges Tribute bands - courtesy of our next door neighbors. Never know what's going to happen next around here. A few months back, our other neighbors put on quite the fireworks display. Too bad Aaron and I were in Auckland for that night.....but we heard all about it from Taylor when we came home. No doubt you've heard the story from Taylor yourself, if you've spent more than 5 minutes with her in the last few months! :-)

So anyways, it's a beautiful summer evening, the windows are open, there's a cool breeze blowing in, and we're 3 hours into the concert with who knows how much longer to go....but Taylor is now asleep, which is all that matters in my world. I think I might just put my feet up, pull out a book, and enjoy the music. Not a bad way to spend a Sunday night. So what am I reading these days? Glad you asked. This evening's book of choice is The Leadership Challenge, by Kouzed and Posner. If there's one thing I've learned this past year, it's that whether I like it or not, I'm now a leader. And I better do all that I can to learn how to be a good one.

A year's gone by....

After a few weeks of hassels, I've now got my New Zealand driver's license.....a few days shy of when I would no longer be legally driving on my American one. Which means that it's almost a year to the day since we moved here. It's a strange feeling. At risk of repeading the age-old cliche, I can't believe a whole year has gone by already. It has absolutely flown by. Now, a year down the track, we are starting to feel settled into life, routines have been established, and our new life is starting to take shape. Looking back, I can say with confidence that it has been a good year - though massively difficult and painful at the same time. I have to say, I'm glad we've made it this far. I'm glad that the "year of firsts" is over. And I'm glad that I didn't give up.

Singing the Word

I've been reminded again recently how much fun it is to sing the Word of God. This past week, I've been working with the prophetic singers in a 'clinic' type setting, developing our skills in singing the Word of God and prophetic singing (which, incidentally, really is the same thing). We've been going through Psalm 145 - first singing it word-for-word, then singing it as a prayer to God, then singing it from God's perspective. I think I could speak for all of us and say it has been so good for our hearts. Nothing awakens the human heart like singing the Word of God. Nothing. There is something so powerful about singing the Word. And they are really getting it; experiencing it. One of the worship leaders said it so well, "The power is in the Word, not in the singer". How true that is.

Sovereign

I've been remembering a story the last couple days that many of you may already know, but many of you may never have heard before. I've been thinking about how the Lord has called us here to NZ and about the sovereign events that have occurred that were signposts to us along the way that we were supposed to move here. One such event still (a year later) makes me sit back and go, "Huh?" and marvel at the kindness of the Lord to send us such a clear sign. (Which, incidentally, makes me marvel at my own weakness in the fact that I needed such a clear sign......but anyways.....)

It was August or September '05. We had been feeling some nudges from the Lord about moving here. Nudges that I wished didn't exist and wanted to go away. The topic of moving to NZ wasn't exactly promoting an atmosphere of love and unity in our marriage (let the reader understand), so Aaron and I agreed that we would no longer speak of the subject until the Lord did. Wise move. That was a Wednesday night.

Incidentally, at this time, one of Aaron's good friends from NZ was visiting KC and staying with us in our home. He wanted to go shopping and get some stuff to bring back for himself and his family, so Thursday morning, he and Aaron head to the mall. Now, for those of you reading this who don't know Aaron, you have to understand that Aaron hates the mall. I mean, hates the mall. I can probably count on one hand (and have fingers left over) the number of times I've seen him go to the mall. But anyways, being the good friend that he is, off they went to the mall.

Now, I wasn't there for this part, but here goes the rest of the story as it was told to me. Aaron is standing in Dillard's while his friend is picking out a pair of jeans. Suddenly he hears a voice (with a Kiwi accent) call out to him, "Aaron Walsh?" Aaron turns and looks. A man approaches him, and this is the gist of the conversation: "My name is so-and-so. I'm from Tauranga, New Zealand. I'm a pharmaceutical salesman, on my way to Paris, France. I'm here in Kansas City for 12 hours, wanted to go to a mall, so I took a bus and a taxi to get here." (Did I mention the mall is about 30 minutes from the airport?). He continues, "I heard you speak at a conference in NZ one time, and it changed my life.....and I was just wondering, isn't it time you returned to the land to build the house of the Lord?" Needless to say, Aaron was a bit dumbfounded; his friend speechless. When I heard the story, I wondered if he was an angel. (He isn't, by the way. We have since figured out who he is). But come on, he might as well have been. I mean, how completely impossible is it that? So Aaron came home and told me the story, and I knew at that point God had spoken. We were moving to New Zealand.

And so this is one of the stories (yes, there are others....) that I hold in my heart and ponder every now and then, just to remind myself that we're really supposed to be here; to be encouraged that this whole thing is so much bigger than us; and to feel how deeply God cares about me that He would arrange such a chance meeting to convince my heart that He was in this thing and to confirm that it really was in fact He who was speaking. What can I do but stand in awe of His sovereignty? And that, my friends, makes me fall in love all over again.

New Neighbors

Tomorrow, Andy and Bek are moving in - right next door. This young Kiwi/Aussie family has been called of the Lord to move here to Tauranga to be part of what He is doing here, and we will be a blessed people to have them in our midst. It is so encouraging to watch the Lord bring people here to be part of this journey with us at just the right time. It builds confidence in my spirit that He is building His house. Speaking of the Lord bringing people, we've just found out that there is another young couple arriving on Monday. He is German, she is Polish (maybe we can produce some killer pierogis together someday).....anyways, they're both singers/musicians, and are moving here from the Chico house of prayer in Chico, California, excited and ready to jump on board with what is going on here. How cool is that?! It's going to be quite a year.....

Back in the prayer room

Yesterday was our first day back in the prayer room. It was good to be back - albeit a bit strange, too. That first time back after being gone for a while always feels a bit 'rusty'. Everyone else was so excited to be there, rested and refreshed after a good break. It is so refreshing to live and work amongst a people so enthusiastic to embrace the place of prayer.

Went up the mount again this afternoon - and I aced it! It was probably the fastest I've ever gone up - even ran (up) part of the way - and didn't feel tired when I was done. It's so strange, because Monday was probably the hardest the mount has ever been, and I felt so tired when I got home. But today was definitely one of those days that keeps me coming back again and again to climb that mount. Unfortunately, I get one of those days only, oh, every three weeks - but each day I go up, I wonder if this might be the day when I feel like gold when I'm done.

It's getting late - time to retire and hit the hay so I don't have to hit the snooze button (too many times) when that alarm goes off oh so early tomorrow morning. Tomorrow's one of my early mornings - gotta be out of the house by 7:45. Eeeek!

My latest take on life is.....

It's been quite a while since I've written something thought-provoking (yea, profound) on this blog. I'm thinking that it's high time for me to whip out my lastest revelation or my newest thoughts on matter xyz.....trouble is, I haven't had too many of either lately. So, you, my readers, will have to be stuck with reading the daily events of life until inspiration strikes again. Maybe this is what 'holiday' does to you......

It's time to get back in the saddle soon, though. The prayer room starts up again at 8am Tuesday morning - which means only one more sleep-in day for Kristi Walsh before then. (If sleeping in really can occur when one is the mother of a two year old, that is.) My flesh is rebelling against the thought of getting back into the routine again (Part of me thinks that I need a couple more weeks off......more 24 please!), but my spirit knows that it's time to stir up my soul and engage my heart again.....in the sort of way that best happens in the regular routine of prayer room time and study time. Enough is enough.

So, moving on to the details of life, my hubby is finally home - yeah! He actually got home Friday night instead of Saturday morning, miracously catching one of the last flights off of the island before the weather turned lousy. If he didn't get out Friday night, he could still be there now, waiting for the weather to clear. (You have to remember that this is New Zealand we're talking about, and the plane he was on only seats 6. It seems that if the weather is slightly worse than light rain, those babies can't fly). Sure glad he made it outta there when he did!

We had a full house this past weekend - our good friends from Wellington came up for a visit, which we both really enjoyed. It's always good catching up with people you haven't seen for 9 months! Taylor had a great time, too - she's turning into quite the little hostess, learning how to share her toys and help in the kitchen, and make sure everyone is taken care of to the highest degree. She makes her mama proud!

Tomorrow I (finally) get to send away my permanent residence application - yeah! There's really no reason I shouldn't get it....hopefully there will be no complications or delays on this one, though. Speaking of which, the driver's license drama is getting sorted, although it will probably take the better part of the month before everything is finalized. Who ever knew that faxing information containing the issue date of my driver's license could be so complicated?!

That's all for now, folks. Time to head off to bed.

Update and etceteras

The last couple of days have been busy and full, but still quite relaxing. Taylor's friend, Kylie, came over yesterday and today, while her mom, Isabel, caught up on some work on our computer (theirs broke and is being fixed). Taylor had so much fun having a friend over - there's nothing like the sound of two little girls giggling and laughing together!

Yesterday I took Taylor to a park right next to the beach, and then stopped for ice cream on the way home for a special treat. I love taking Taylor on mommy-daughter dates!

Meanwhile, the driver's license drama still has yet to be resolved. Pray that all the necessary faxes get through and processed quickly!

Tomorrow our good friends from Wellington come to stay for a couple of nights - it's been quite a while since we've seen them, so it will be fun to have them around. Aaron gets back on Saturday (yeah - can't wait to see him!), so he'll also be able to catch up with them before they leave, too. We're looking forward to spending some good time with them.

It will be good to have my hubby home. He's been gone too long, and I miss him! :o)

My Favorite Kind of Night

A bubble bath. Candles, hot chocolate, a good book, and a comfy couch. Silence and solitude. Did I mention it's raining outside? Even better. Ahhhhhhh.....

This week has been long overdue. And I'm loving every minute of it.

Quote of the Day

Mommy, after we eat lunch, can we please read Revelation?

I kid you not. So this is what "that" generation looks like........

Down-time

Aaron left today for a week of ministry, planning and strategic meetings with key leaders in the land, and some time for personal retreat in the midst of it all. So, with Nic also away, that leaves Taylor and I holding down the fort at home. As much fun as we've had the last couple months with family and friends here with us, I have to admit that a quiet house and lots of down time is good for my soul. I've always been an introvert - one of those people who gets re-energized by having time alone, rather than having time with people. The only trouble is that I'm not yet very good at carving out alone time when I'm in the midst of lots of people. Which means that often I can get burned out when I'm not diligent to maintain that quiet space in my life. Which I haven't been for the last several weeks. Which means that I'm really looking forward to finding my life in God again this week and having lots of solitude (if naptime and after bedtime can be considered "lots").

That is, of course, assuming that I can resist the temptation to begin season 3 of 24. So far, so good. But I'm only one day into this. I really hope that I have the self-control to resist giving in. I have a feeling that indulging in the temptation will only serve to sabotage my own "personal retreat" plans. Now that I've told you, I guess that means I'm accountable.

I'm also really looking forward to having lots of mommy-daughter time, too. Taylor and I had lots of fun today, and if today is any indication of what the rest of the week will be, we're in for a good one.

Driver's License Dramas

I went yesterday to get my New Zealand driver's license - what I thought would only be sitting the written test and walking away with a new license. I aced the test, by the way, but I couldn't have been more wrong about leaving the building with license in hand.

Why, oh why doesn't Missouri print the issue date of the license on the license itself? I now have to jump through numerous hoops to prove to New Zealand that I've had my U.S. license for more than 2 years, so I don't have to sit the practical test. I won't mention the fact that (of course) there are deadlines and other complications I'm facing, which doesn't make this any more fun.

Pray for favor.

Our Little Ballerina

One of Taylor's Christmas presents was a ballerina dress (with the shoes, of course), and also an Angelina Ballerina stuffed animal. Here she is, dancing her little heart away. It was one of those moments that I wish I could have held onto forever - watching my little girl be such a little girl. What more could a mommy want? Isn't she just beautiful?

Clear the dance floor, folks. There's a new star in town!