My Knees Went Weak

I was on one of my routine visits to Wongs which is my supermercado favorito. I wanted to pick up a few things I needed for the rest of the month. Semola took me down an aisle I usually frequent only when buying rice or the occasional lasagna noodles. Before I made it 10 steps, my eyes were drawn to an unbelievable sight.

There are many things one chooses to go without when they live in an another country. Granted, any of you who have shopped with me, packed with me or had the extreme pleasure of taking me to the airport while my suitcases go to the throne of judgment - the airport scale - you are the people that know I do bring the things I know I will want to use here and simply cannot buy. There are such favorites as: pure maple syrup, red lentils, brown sugar, peanut butter chips, and a variety of spices. But one thing I do not often tote with me from sea to shining sea is Mexican salsa.

Don't get me wrong, when I can, I visit all the Chipotle's, Baja Fresh, and Chevy's possible. I get my fill of chips and salsa; all the while remembering that I gave up those delicious chips as one of the forbidden frituras. When I was in Ecuador, my friends and I did everything possible to track down the Taco Bell that was said to be in Guayaquil. Laura even smuggled Pace Picante Sauce back across the border and served it as a delicacy at Bible Study one night.

But my friends, I must confess...Old El Paso Salsa has made it to Peru!!! And not even just a few dusted covered bottles grace the shelves of the supermarket. There are muchas! It comes in HOT, Medium and mild for the variety of heat tolerance. Sure, I know you know this, but I must remind you of the novelty of bottled salsa.

Hear me now, I don't think I will ever choose to live without my Peruvian food. I wonder if God has me move to yet another country, would I tote the treasures of Peruvian gastronomia across fronteras? I don't last three days in the US without craving my Seco de Carne with arroz and yuca, sprinkled with jugo de limon laced with rocoto. Yo amo la comida peruana.

But...Old El Paso Salsa?!? I confess, the $5 bottle did not sway me. The HOT salsa made a jump for my cart and the smile could not be wiped off my face. And when I thought about sitting with a good movie and a bowl of chips and salsa...my knees went weak.

Lighthouses

One of the most exciting parts of trips for me has been locating and photographing lighthouses. I think I appreciate the majesty and responsibility of lighthouses. But also, I love the shapes and colors they come in. You find them near the water. There seems to be so much power in the little light close to the top.

While out in the Chicago area in 1999, I set out on a hunt for nearby lighthouses. I found and took a roll of pictures of the lighthouse on the Northwestern University campus. Later that night, my friend and I were told of one at the end of Tower Road in a northern suburb. Certainly, I planned to head out there the following morning.

After a train ride, long walk and quite a bit of time spent, we finally arrived at Tower Road. I could see the top portion of the lighthouse from the train station. I was thrilled to photograph another lighthouse!

We walked to the end of Tower Road and out to a vista point. I began to take pictures of this magnificent structure. It was tall and white. The water below had a blue green color. The beach was closed on this particular day; however, there were several people on the dock below. After taking some pictures, I asked if we could go down to the dock area so I photograph the front as well as locate the sign displaying the name of this enormous structure.

We proceeded to walk down a steep hill and made our way onto the dock. I continued snapping pictures although the official lighthouse sign was not nearby and we were beginning to doubt that this structure actually was indeed a lighthouse. My friend went to ask someone looking official. “No, this is a smoke stack,” the gentleman said with a look of half confusion and half ridicule.

I was highly disappointed. It had the shape, location, colors and many other things that you would associate with a lighthouse. Essentially, the only thing lacking was the light source itself.

Do you think ship captains out at sea consider the same things? Do the shape, color and location of these tall, magnificent structures confuse those trying to keep their ship on course? I do not think that the ships get close enough to identify the building itself. Instead they simply use the light itself as a means of guiding their course. The light is evident even while they are a great distance away. A building cannot be a lighthouse simply based upon shape, design, color, or location. A lighthouse is a lighthouse if it has a light.

Do we ever function like this? It is easy to take on the shape, color and location of a Christian. We may look and seem like a Christian to those stopping by to observe and “photograph.” But, do we serve our real purpose? We were designed to be a light of the world (Mt. 5:14), a light to the nations (Is 42:6, 49:6, 60:1-3), to have a path which is like the light of dawn (Prov. 4:18), to have the light of life (Jn. 8:12), light of the gospel (2Cor 4:4), light in the Lord (Eph 5:8), children of light (Eph 5:8), and to wear the armor of light (Rom. 13:12).

If our light is not evident to wayward ships, what purpose are we serving? We must not be content to have only the look & location of Christianity, but we must also allow our true purpose to be fulfilled!

Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works and glorify our Father who is in heaven. (Mt. 5:16)

PS-I have some great pictures of a smoke stack in Winnetka, Illinois!

Love Like Oil

I am always fascinated by the great characters in the Bible. Today, I came across yet another. I was studying this morning about the woman who broke the alabaster jar upon the feet of Jesus. She had spent a great deal of money...money earned turning her nightly tricks...to buy fragrant oil in a delicately carved alabaster flask. Her intent? To pour out this very costly oil upon the feet of Jesus; feet that had been dirtied by the walk to the home of the Pharisee. This unnamed woman stirred my heart, for she took action on her gratitude for Christ. Oh that I would recognize how many things I have to be grateful for and not just consider my gratitude, but that I would act upon it. As I studied, these words came to me...

I pour out my love like oil
All I can give
I lay at Your feet
The flask has been broken
The oil is freely flowing
Show Your face to me

This is sort of how I feel..."show Your face to me." Like those moments when you just want to fall on your face and cry out for God to show Himself. This woman gave all she could, did all she could and when the Pharisee condemned her, Jesus turned His face to her and acknowledged her FAITH. I feel as though I am doing all I can, giving all I can and I just want Him to turn to me and acknowledge my FAITH even though I have not the feelings.

I want to pour out the love I have for Christ as easily as oil pours out from a flask. I want to give all I can

When The Cat is Away, The Mice Will Play!

This is what my video editors do when the creative bug takes them over!

Things You May Not Have Known About Me...

Four Jobs I Have Had in My Life...
1. McDonalds (both cash register and grill)
2. Blue Banner Software (my name is even in one of their software manuals!)
3. Serota Studios (I sold photo packages)
4. California Farm Water Association (for about a month!)

Four Movies I Would Watch Over and Over...
1. Sweet Home Alabama
2. American President
3. Bounce
4. Tortilla Soup

Four Places I Have Lived...
1. England!
2. Sunnyvale, CA
3. Milpitas, CA (on Gross Street nonetheless!)
4. Lima, Peru (and I am still here!)

Four TV Shows I Love to Watch...
1. Amazing Race (I am addicted!!!)
2. Friends (I can watch the same episode several times a day!)
3. Everybody Loves Raymond (it makes me laugh out loud)
4. America's Next Top Model (I love watching the catfights!)

Four Places I Have Been on Vacation...
1. Napa, CA (to taste wine with Chanda)
2. Colombia, South America (to visit Kim)
3. Boston (to visit friends and lighthouses with Joel)
4. Ecuador ("the" roadtrip with Laura and Kyle)

Websites I Visit Almost Daily...
1. mail.yahoo.com
2. www.cnn.com
3. orangette.blogspot.com
4. www.studylight.com

Four of My Favorite Foods...
1. Peruvian Food (cannot live a week without it!)
2. Mexican Food (I miss my burritos and salsas)
3. Indian Food (I make it almost twice a week)
4. Pasta (HA! those of you who know me know...)

Four Places I Would Like To Be Right Now...
1. Apple Hill in Sacramento, CA (I love the fall season and wish I could see it up close and personal)
2. Red Square in Russia (it has been my dream to stand in middle of it since I was seven)
3. Sitting in Starbucks (anywhere in the world) with a few good friends
4. Photographing a lighthouse (something I haven't done in a few years)

What about you? What are a few of your favorite things??

Friends, Feedback and Naps?

You know, you have to recognize when those little things happen that just make you feel good. Especially when days are long, moods are blah and your food doesn't have much flavor - you need to see the good in those days.

Today I have a few things to be thankful for and I do not want to forget them.

1. I am thankful for friends who listen, even when I don't know what to say. As I try to explain what I am thinking and feeling, words cannot really describe what I would say if I could. When someone takes the time to listen even when that which is heard remains incoherent, you know they are a friend. I was privileged today to have such a friend just listen to my ramblings and encourage me in the nonsense.

2. I am thankful for feedback. Almost daily I am teaching about the life of Jesus. Today, I shared about having faith like the centurion. I have always been impressed by his faith, I suppose I was impressed because Jesus himself was impressed. I never want to be caught up in the trap of teaching with the expectation of receiving comments, commendations and kudos. But, when you finished teaching and someone immediately tells you that God used the message to speak to their heart, you cannot help but be encouraged.

3. I am thankful for naps. I don't often take them but relish the moments when I do. I had just gotten off the phone with a friend and really had little energy to attack any of the tasks that lay before me. Instead of trying to motivate myself to start moving, I curled up into a ball, placed my head on a pillow and turned the volume down on the TV. Suddenly, 2 hours had passed by and I couldn't help but smile! There have been seasons in my life that I took naps regularly but letely they have been far and few between. So, when I have the chance I allow the day to pass into dusk while I visit dreamland.

May you find things to be thankfully for today too!

Growing Weary

We must not grow weary in doing good. Paul tells us that in Thessalonians. That for me is an encouragement. I should not grow weary in doing good. Or in other words be encouraged or be strong in doing good. Or in other words do not grow weary in not doing evil or maybe even in taking a stand against evil. Weary...being tired. And Jesus tells us those who are weary must come unto Him and their souls will be refreshed.
What a relief...I am told that I should not grow weary in doing what Jesus has asked of me. But when I do, I already have His provision that if I run to Him, He will refresh me...will refresh my soul. I may not even feel refreshed physically, but my soul will be. Praise God that He does not want me to be weary and has provision for me once I do get to that point.
May the weariness of doing good not overtake me...may my doing good overcome my weariness.

The Ministry of Friendship

Sometimes we wonder in what grandious ways we can minister? We wonder how we can share God's grace and love with others. Sometimes we occupy our time with great events, interesting services and more ways to meet more people. How often do people stop and consider how to minister to those God has already placed in their path?

I am talking about our friends.
Not those people whose paths you cross regularly and you happen to know their name. I am talking about people you have invested in over the years. People you know from way back and have watched them change. People you trust and who trust you - with the good and the difficult.

I am talking about ministering.
Now, I am not necessarily speaking of the times we just kick back and have fun. I am not thinking of how we love when we find new shopping buddies. And I am also not thinking of those we can sit with and sip a rich cup of joe.

I am talking about ministering to our friends.
How many times do we call, not just to chat, but because God gave us a word of encouragement for them? How often do we write down a verse and send it off to someone God placed on our heart? When was the last time we truly tried to minister to even those closest to us?

I suppose I was in need of that today. I needed that person who knew me "back then" and who knows me now. I wanted someone to call and just say, "God placed you on my heart and I wanted to see how you are doing." I wanted to be important to someone today.
Sometimes I feel sad that even some of my closest friends work so hard to minister to so many others and forget about me. Please...this is not a guilt trip! But be encouraged...your friends are your ministry too! Especially those that have chosen to serve God in a faraway location.

Minister to your friends today!