Being the Bentley's . . . +1?

Well, after a lack of posting for a month and then posting about cereal, I'm due to my loyal readers (Hi mom! Hi Sandra! yep - that covers all of you!) something really spectacular.

This my friends, is what I find to be pretty stinkin' spectacular.

Yep, there you have it! A BABY! And not just any baby, O-U-R baby! Our very own, teensy-tiny human due in our arms August 26th. No, I can't quite believe it yet, although my growing midsection is starting to convince me. I'm calling it "le bulge", because it's not quite cute enough to be a bump yet. I'll keep you posted about once we enter that "cute" phase and am out of the "oh, that's awkward. You're just getting pudgy" phase. Thankfully first trimester nausea is pretty much gone, and I'm feeling great! We are so, so, SO thankful for mine and our Little Guy's health so far. (And no, we don't know the gender and don't plan on finding out! EEK! I know! Who am I?!)

And as a reward for your patience in lack of blogging, here is a video from our last sonogram. Apparently our Little Guy wanted to show off his big noggin, but you'll see a little foot swipe the screen, some little hands in front of the face and then towards then end a pretty great profile shot. And yes, this is OFFICIALLY the world's cutest baby on record. I know it will be hard dealing with the press once this video goes viral on YouTube, but I'm willing to deal with it as part of parenting such greatness. 

Amazing, right? Hope this puts a smile on your face today!

What Blessing Looks Like

Six bags of Kashi (don't worry about counting, one has already disappeared!) + who knows how many boxes of Clif bars = PURE GOLD.

Let's just say I have some really, really great friends who brought me some of my favorite things in the world. Now just to make them last for the next year to two years . . . ; )

ps - Yes, I promise. A post of substance to come soon.

A Starving Soul

Just yesterday we returned from a looong trek out to our friends village to celebrate Chinese New Year. It was a wonderful time with people we love dearly, and we treasure the opportunities like these to step into Hani culture. The travel was challenging for me though as narrow, curvy mountain roads hardly agree with my stomach. I’ve always been prone to carsickness, but hours and hours of tiny roads had my seeing my lunch again on our first day of travel. Neither fun nor attractive. As I knew we would be travelling to different villages to visit our friend’s family I saw myself running to meet yet another mountainside, and decided that eating less would be my best option.

Now, I come from a long line of hearty eaters. I’ve always been one of those who could “forget” to eat about as easily as I could “forget” to breath. It just doesn’t work for me. But after day one of travel and our first few meals cooked in good ole’ mountaintop pig fat, I realized my options were hold back or see it brought back. Last night as I poured my weary bones into bed, nothing seemed right. My arm was sore and Baxter couldn’t rub it right, my back itched in a place I couldn’t reach, and my pillow was uncomfortably taller than I remembered. And then I realized what the problem was. I was hungry. And yet somehow over the previous few days I had learned to overlook this feeling out of fear for being carsick and embarrassing myself or my host. After leaping from bed and downing as many crackers and peanut butter as I possibly could I instantly felt better and returned to bed a lot more happy and a lot less whiney.

But as I laid back down, I realized how quickly my body had adjusted to this sub-par condition of health. Out of necessity I had exchanged what I knew to be right and good for what my situation demanded – eating as little as possible in order to not become sick, and subsequently my view on just about everything was shifted. I was deeply convicted of how this has been the situation of my soul these past few busy weeks. I couldn’t help but think about how I again and again have exchanged what is truly life-giving for what works for the moment.  Rather than stilling my soul in the presence of God and be filled by all that He is, I have absorbed myself in the tasks of the day. Sure, this works to some degree, but in no way is how we are created to live. As I read this morning about Jesus identifying himself as the bread of life, I couldn’t help but think of Mary and Martha. Everyone knows that Jesus scolded Martha for being a busy-body and yet I think there is more to it. It clearly wasn’t just a situation of what they were about, but about the condition of their hearts. Mary chose Life, what Jesus called necessary and lasting. She chose to sit at the feet of the well that would never run dry and just soak in His presence. Martha chose what she perceived as important and set her heart to be about what was perhaps the most obvious and even demanding.

As I think about different frustrations or struggles in the past weeks, I see it not as a symptom of my circumstances, but rather of my starving heart. I praise God for all of His wisdom that created the very depths of our soul to need Him, and that He has led me all these years to walk with him in such a way that I find myself wasting away apart from Him.

Would you pray for me as I seek to set my heart on the giver of life? Would you join me in seeking to nurture my soul in the only one truly who satisfies and sustains? 

Oops.

Well, this is embarrassing. I know I'm not the only one who was swept up in the holiday frenzy, or wonders how it's already mid-January, or how your older brother turned 30 yesterday (just me?). Things have been C to the Razy around here, but I promise to try and start blogging again with some regularity. If it's any consolation, here are some pictures of the darling people and events that have kept us so busy these past few weeks.

Oh, and did I mention my in-laws are visiting? Like, straight from Cullman County, Alabama, USA inlaws? Yeah. AWESOME. And speaking of awesomeness from Alabama, how much did we all love this . . .

 We loved watching the Tide roll even over here in SE Asia! RTR baby!

For the Darker Days of Advent

In my adult life I have come to better understand and appreciate the church calendar. I love the rhythm that it creates and how it allows me to pace my heart to the life of Christ. Advent is a season that I particularly love. I love the idea of preparing my heart for His arrival, the baby in the manger, the symbolism of the advent wreath, and taking time each week to light the advent candles and reflect with my husband.

Each year around this time, I find myself in desperate need of Advent. In need of something to make me to slow down, pause, and set my heart and mind towards the reality that truly matters. Just this morning I was thinking of all of the questions in my own journey, and again marveled at how Advent so perfectly mirrors these questions.

Advent is a season about hope, sure, but I think there is much to be said for the agonizing wait and blind faith of advent. My mind thinks back to centuries of prophecies and promises waiting to be fulfilled. Scores of prophets looking like fools, and decades of desperate hearts wondering when the promised Messiah and redemption would finally come. What we mark in four weeks time was stretched across a dark page of history, when all that filled space and time was the waiting.

I found myself in my own place of waiting and worry this morning, I couldn’t help but think about Mary. If there ever was an unknown path, hers was certainly it. If there was ever a couple to shake their heads in confusion at the work of Almighty God, surely it was those two outcast and weary travelers. And yet in the midst of the badgering questions, their own doubt and even despair – they followed a distant star. They clung to what God had spoken to them, and matched their steps to His voice regardless of how bizarre it might seem. I wonder if Mary’s pregnancy was one that was full of doubt and questions, and it wasn’t until angels filled the sky and shepherds bowed prostrate that the hope of her heart was fully realized.

But just like Mary, I am encouraged to think that regardless of the direction of the path and weight of the doubt, the reality of who Christ is remains unchanged. Despite Mary's and my own limited faith and understanding, the infant Jesus burst forth demanding the worship of all of heaven. This Advent I am confessing that who Christ is is unchanged by how he decides to appear in my life, or whatever dark and wandering road might lead me to His appearing. I don't want my steps to ever profess that I don't believe His promises to be true, and I want to be among the first to worship at His feet, in whatever unlikely place that might find me.

On this Thanksgiving

This is the song in my heart:

The reasons I have to be thankful are truly endless this year, I am thankful to serve and know a God whose goodness is as countless as His blessings!

Picture Dump

So, apparently next week is Thanksgiving, which absolutely blows my mind. I started to sit down and write an "October recap", when I realized we're well into November. So here are a few pictures that might help explain why I have absolutely no idea what day it is:

We spent time in three different village schools giving hygiene trainings to over 1,000 of these precious faces:

Teaching the finer points of why we shouldn't just poop anywhere:

Unrelated to hygiene but a heart melter none the less:

 Attentive pupil eagerly tackling his "How To Brush Your Teeth" coloring book:

First graders proudly showing off their new toothbrush, toothpaste (with fluoride of course!) and gloves:

Not long after this we took off to another village to celebrate the local New Year (don't be confused - this one just celebrates the end of the harvest. The lunar new year is later silly!) No car trip with a car full of local friends is complete without a minimum of two stops for someone to puke. We've found most people here get REALLY carsick, REALLY easily. The little dear you see in the front seat had to stop four times on the trip to "call Roy" as my dad would say. Yikes, right?

We knew that any and all New Year celebrations here included killing a pig, but I wasn't quite mentally prepared for what that would look like when an entire VILLAGE killed a pig at the same time. I'll spare you the details ; ). Baxter, being the manly man (while still tucked in you might notice), decided to get in on the action.

This little man decided to come over and play during the pig cleaning festivities, and then stuck around when he realized I had candy in my purse. Is he a charmer or what?

This past weekend we held court . . . I mean had a picnic with friends at the park:

So there you have it. Five+ weeks of burning up the road and village hoppin' left us pretty worn out. Thankfully, my husband is a doll and realized we needed a break, so last night he whisked us off to a night away at some nearby hot springs. I'd say this view with a private hot spring and dozens of others for soaking out my door wasn't too bad . . .

 

I think that this year with a heart so full, thankful just doesn't quite describe it.