Thoughts over Mac and Cheese

So someone just had to bring up Mac and cheese in our staff meeting this morn. Call me a child, call me stupid you likely have before, call me whatever you want, but I love this stuff. Mac and cheese is soooooo good. Maybe its cause I didn't live of it at college, although I really can't see that being all that bad, but I still at times when I go somewhere and they've made "meal A" for adults and Mac and cheese for kids, wish I could get relegated to the kids table. There are likely many other childish foods I like but I'll save that.
So after staff meeting I walked home for one of the things I enjoy most these days ... lunch with my boy. Elisabeth was waiting to eat so Nate and I enjoyed a good ole box of fake KD cause so often now it actually tastes better. It was at this time, as we sat at the table together both of our heads bearing very little hair, that I remembered 2 comments from the weekend.
2 times on Sunday we had 2 different people who didn't know us make comments about how he didn't need to tell anyone who his parents were cause that was quite obvious who we were. I just love this - I mean how amazing is God that he brought this amazing little guy into our lives that is the perfect match for us in so many ways, and on top of that, gets told all the time how much he looks like his daddy.

So I look forward to the days ahead when we chomp down on some Mac and cheese together, talk about how great God is and what He is doing in both our lives.

Hopefully he will always love it as much as I do .

When Apologies don't work

I'm sure the lady that called our house 5 times last night and once that we know of the night before was feeling alot like this picture.
It seemed at first one of those thing where a person just can't hit the right numbers on the phone. She kept calling back, and unfortunately saying she didn't speak english very well is an understatement. So after Elisabeth had talked to her enough that she didn't want to again I answered the phone. I tried to be nice ... I hope I was, but I just told her that it was the wrong number and please don't call it again. No idea what she said ... I couldn't understand - I just repeated its the wrong number and not to call. We had only got the phone the day before and other than my sister calling me once, this lady was the only call we received.
It all seemed a bit weird so Elisabeth called Rogers. From what I understand somehow we did get this lady's ... husband's (we are thinking she was saying) number. How not sure, luckily we hadn't started giving many our number yet, cause we got a new one.

So I'll likely never talk to that lady again, her calls won't come to us anymore, but to her I say I'm sorry. You may have been telling me you just called the Number on Monday and it worked and wondered how it wasn't now. It's funny for me, but likely it sucked for her.

I am Legend

Rented this movie on Sunday night. I've never read the book, and apparently its a little different from the book, but all in all not a bad movie. I mean I had my sub turned up too loud and so it shook the walls a little. It was a little too scary for Elisabeth at times, but had a couple of parts in it that were pretty neat.

Will Smith thinks he is the last man on earth, trying to find a cure for a disease that was created years earlier as a cure for cancer. It ended up killing off most of the world, and leaving those who hadn't died already in a almost zomby like state. A woman and her son find him, and through some cricumstances suggest that God had sent them there. She says that the world was to noisey but now that its quieter its alot easier to here God. Smith balks at the idea. Near the end of the movie he's realized they have the cure for the disease, but are cornered. He sees a butterfly tattoo on the ladies neck. His daughter always talked about butterflies earlier in the movie. He hands her soem blood with the cure in it, sends her off to take it to others who are alive and goes to die while saving them. She says no, but he looks at her and says "I'm listening".

So neat to me to see a movie talk so loudly about God working amongst us all in day to day things. That there are so many signs and times God wants to talk to us yet we let the "noise" of this world get in the way.

What did you miss today? How is God going to speak to you tomorrow? Will you listen?

Love, true love

So we often talk about loving othersand we can't talk about love without the quote above from Princess Bride. I wear a shirt that if you know me, you've seen me wear it. It says, "Jesus loves you and I'm trying". For the most part its true, I am trying, well in most cases ... most of the time. But here is a challenge about that. We often throw around that saying Jesus loves you, but do we believe it? Here is the challenge

Don't tell them Jesus loves them, unless you are willing to love them

Cutie

Pretty much as cute as they get

The twins

Here they are, if only we could have adopted them

Ethiopia

So it's been a while since the last blog posting. I was in Ethiopia and then recovering, and wanting to take sometime to think about and work through my experience there this time. We had an awesome time. The people there were great as always and the weather was amazing. The food was ... well lets just say we all were so excited to buy bread and cheese and make grilled cheese sandwiches. We spent a lot of time at the orphanage and the twins that stole Elisabeth and I's heart last time were there still and still as lovable, Nardos was there and clinged on, and one other little girl whose name I don't know - all I know is she was adorable, she talked and giggled all the time and that I got more exercise chasing her around than anything else.

But out of all of it good and bad (most of the bad was linked to the flight and Lufthansa being the worst airline I've ever flown with) there were 2 things that stuck out to me. First was my experience at HOPE ministries - a ministry that has a school and adult education facility, but also a feeding program that feeds 1000 people a day! They had already fed 300 kids in the morning, and we drove in around 11 to help with the lunch feeding. 700 people had already gathered, most with some sort of cane, and all with ratty clothes. I have trouble describing it 8 Canadians step out into this crowd and you feel like you are on another planet for a bit. The rest went down and got ready, while I got the chance to tell all 700 about God, they listened intently and when I was done begged for me to take their pictures. It was so weird after, they all just wanted to shake my hand, I've never felt so ... well weird is likely the best word, but valued might be another.
The I just pray that they accept the HOPE that only God can give them.
The second was while at a High school in Ethiopia. We had been in many classes and made our way to a class for the hearing impaired. They asked alot of questions about what kids like them were like in Canada and how they were treated. They gave an opportunity for us to share anything we wanted, and the rest of the team looked like the "deer in the headlights" I took the opportunity to let them know that God loved them and viewed them as equals to everyone else. It was amazing to me to see the look in their eyes a sense of relief a sense of amazement, not in what I had said, but in the love God has for them. IT was short, but it was a seed planted and our amazing God will continue to work on it.
These moments don't stick out to me because of my involvement, it makes sense I remember them because of it, but they stick out because of how God orchestrated it all and touched lives, and the looks in their eyes showed a genuineness in acceptence of what was said that we don't see nearly enough.