Martha

This is Martha, Jean's favorite house girl. She worked for them until she was too sick and hopes to return now that she is feeling stronger. I was amazed by this woman's character. We drove 45 minutes to get to her homestead. By bus it would take two hours, although there were occasions that she had to walk. And she was never late to work.
Jean explained that she lives with a son and grandchildren at her homestead. Her husband, like many Swazi men, took his cultural liberties and had many mistresses. When he got sick with AIDS he returned home, and Martha nursed him until his death. He is burried in her corn field. I can't imagine the heart and strength it would take to recieve a husband home after that.

Martha takes great pride in her home and her family. As you can see she lives well below any American standard. No heat, no electricity, no running water. Only mud walls and cow manure floors, yet she keeps her home as if it were a palace,- making sure the mud cracks are patched right away.
The day we visited her, she was feeling strong and had been working in her corn field. And the entire time, she just beamed from having her friends visit her. She just kept saying over and over, "Oh madame! I'm so happy to see you. I'm just soooo happy!"
What a lesson in humility and contentment.

New life in the rocky soil...

This is a cool photo I snapped on the way back from Martha's homestead. It was very common to see trees like this on the boulderous mountain side. Did you notice how the tree has actually split the rock in two, and is growing in the middle? Dave likened it to the seed of the Gospel on a rocky heart.
I like that.

Sunrise, Sunrise

As I flew out to Africa I was traveling west against the sun. It was amusing that we were only in the air for a few hours, and the sun began to set. Then it was night for a few hours more and the sun began to rise.
As I noticed the sky getting lighter, I opened my window shade to watch the sun rise. Slowly the sky turned from black, to purple to rose. And as the sun began to crest over the horizon I looked down and saw land for the first time. It was the coast of Africa! It was a beautiful sight to behold, - hours and hours of oceans finally giving way to land.
Suddenly I heard that line from the song My Redeemer Lives, "Who told the ocean, 'You can only come this far'?" It made me realize that all creation, under heaven and on earth will ultimately submit to His authority.
He is all powerful.

The Power of Prayer

It was out of character for Nhlanhla to be late. But when Jean awoke on that Saturday morning, Victor, the night guard was still on duty. Nhlanhla arrived a short time later, eyes red from crying. His four-year old boy was sick. He said it was the flu. Everything in Swaziland is the flu. Flu was the sickness that had taken his 2 year old boy from him just 2 weeks before my arrival.
Jean and Dave describe Nhlanhla as a rare Swazi father,- he loves his sons so much. He cares for them, he provides for them. And one by one he feared he was loosing them.
We all spent the day praying for Nhlanhla's little boy and spread the word to others to pray.
Before he left his shift, he'd heard by radio that his boy was recovering.

That evening we attended a birthday party with a dozen children from local missionary families. A toddler, Lacy, was tugging on her ear and fussing.
The next day, as we prepared for Easter dinner Susan got a call saying Lacy was very very sick. She'd been in and out of the clinic for 12 hours. With a fever of 105, the doctors couldn't figure out what was wrong. They suggested meningitis.
A small panic began to spread. If Lacy indeed had meningitis, then 11 other children has been exposed at the party.
again we began to pray, and befor the dinner dishes were washed and dried Susan recieved another call. A doctor had taken one last look in Lacy's little ears and had found an infection behind her ear drum. She was on the proper medication and would be fine. We all breathed a sigh of relief.
It amazing how these families, in a country where medicine and doctors are a joke, depend so heavily on prayer. For many situations, it's the only option. And God responds with favor when they turn to him. It was powerful to see in action!

home (not so sweet) home

I've been home almost a week now and things are starting to settle into their old routine. My sleep is almost normal, and my work has been caught up. It is pretty much just as it was before I left. But a piece of my heart is back in Swaziland. I'm longing to be back there with the cows on the highway and the boulderous mountains surrounding me. No, it's not a perfect country, -in fact it's quite flawed. But there's something there that I'm drawn to.
The day before I left I was hugging the Rodger children goodbye. Levi (5) asked me, "Are you ever going to come back to Swaziland?"
Touched, I answered, "Yes, I hope so."
"Will you bring me some pop tarts?"
Now who could resist a request like that?
I really need to return. Not just to take him some strawberry pop tarts, but to settle the urge inside of me. I feel this is a calling, so I'm praying and stepping out in faith to return as part of the Children's Cup team.

Beauty fades

We have become a generation obsessed with appearances.
Weight loss programs are a multi-billion dollar
industry. We have tv shows where people get plastic
surgery, and we call it entertainment. Botax is
available at the spa 1/2 mile from my house. Yikes!
Do you know you can actually get plastic surgery on
your vagina now?...Why?
But it's nothing new really. I know you've heard it
all before. A parent says, "I spent $xxx on christmas
presents and after they were opened the kids only
wanted to play with..... ( you know the answer don't
you?) the box!!!

Why would a child care about packaging? Probably
because they don't understand the value of what is
inside.

Okay ladies read that last part again, and let it sink
in. I'll wait.......

We underestimate ourselves as women. We allow our
whole lives to be consumed with being thinner, taller,
blonder, more hair free, and when the sun sets on our
lives what difference will it really make?

I just remember good old Timothy writing, "A woman
should make herself beautiful by the things she does"

Okay just to make a point that beauty fades I built
myself a time machine and went into the future with my
digital camera that mom got me for christmas. I drove
in my flying car to hollywood to snap a few photos of
some well known celebs. Think beauty lasts forever?
Think again.
Now have a good smile and a laugh and then look in the
mirror and love yourself today. Even is you are still
short, chubby or too brunette.

Yes, it's a snake

Yes it's a snake in my classroom, and yes, I'm holding it. Aren't you proud of me?

Praying Rocks

Hey, remember Luke 19 where Jesus says if followers remain quiet even the rocks will praise him? Check out this cool photo. I wish it were real!

say what?...part2

okay, most of you know I have an facination with sayings and customs. I love to get the scoop on where they came from. My dad just sent me these, oh i'm so excited!

In the 1500...

Most people got married in June because they took their yearly bath in May, and still smelled pretty good by June. However, they were starting to smell, so brides carried a bouquet of flowers to hide the body odor. Hence the custom today of "carrying a bouquet when getting married".

Baths consisted of a big tub filled with hot water. The man of the house had the privilege of the nice clean water, then all the other sons and men, then the women and finally the children. Last of all the babies. By then the water was so dirty you could actually lose someone in it. Hence the saying ... "Don't throw the baby out with the bath water".

Houses had thatched roofs-thick straw-piled high, with no wood underneath. There was nothing to stop things from falling into the house.. This posed a real problem in the bedroom where bugs and other droppings could mess up your nice clean bed. Hence, a bed with big posts and a sheet hung over the top afforded some protection. That's how canopy beds came into existence.

The floors were dirt. Only the wealthy had something other than dirt. Hence the saying ... "Dirt poor".

The wealthy had slate floors that would get slippery in the winter when wet, so they spread thresh (straw) on floor to help keep their footing. As the winter wore on, they added more thresh until, when you opened the door, it would all start slipping outside. A piece of wood was placed in the entranceway. Hence the saying ... "A thresh hold".

In those old days, they cooked in the kitchen with a big kettle that always hung over the fire. Every day they lit the fire and added things to the pot. They ate mostly vegetables, and did not get much meat. Sometimes they could obtain pork, which made them feel quite special. When visitors came over, they would hang up their bacon to show off. It was a sign of wealth that a man could "bring home the bacon". They would cut off a little to share with guests and would all sit around and talk. Hence the saying ... "Chew the fat".

Those with money had plates made of pewter. Food with high acid content caused some of the lead to leach into the food causing death due to lead poisoning. This happened most often with tomatoes, so for the next 400 years or so, tomatoes were considered poisonous. Lead cups were used to drink ale or whisky. The combination would sometimes knockout the drinkers for a couple of days. Someone walking along the road would take them for dead and prepare them for burial. They were laid out on the kitchen table for a couple of days and the family would gather around and eat and drink and wait and see if they would wake up. Hence the custom of "holding a wake".

England is old and small and the local folks started running out of places to bury people. So they would dig up coffins and would take the bones to a bone-house, and reuse the grave. When reopening these coffins, 1 out of 25 coffins were found to have scratch marks on the inside and they realized they had been burying people alive. So they would tie a string on the wrist of the corpse, lead it through the coffin and up through the ground and tie it to a bell. Someone would have to sit out in the graveyard all night to listen for the bell; hence, the phrase ... "Graveyard shift". Thus, someone could be either "saved by the bell", or was considered "a dead ringer".

And that's the truth ... now, whoever said History was boring!

Parable of the Wandering Jew

Last fall my mom gave me a plant called a Wandering Jew. She said it was pretty low maintenance. I was excited about that.
But I think I was over zealous about the absence of care I had to give it and actually neglected it. It went for a while without even being watered. Oops, - not that low maintenance.
I didn't remember until I saw some dead leaves and then thought, "Oh crap!" So I did my duty, gave it a drink, then and tried to pull off the dead leaves so my mom wouldn't notice when she came to visit.
I think it worked too because every time she visits, she comments on how nice it looks. Perhaps she doesn't remember how full it had been when she gave it too me. Now it looks kinda spindly, but I hang it up high so it's harder to get a good look at it. I fertilized it and I notice some new shiny leaves on the tips. That's a good sign right?
Today I took it outside to give it some real sunlight. I was disheartened when I took a close look. Lots of the foliage is bright and healthy on the ends. It has beautiful shiny purple and green leaves just like it's supposed to.
It's a façade.
Some of the stems originating at the soil have withered away. Not the roots. Not the leaves. Just the stems.
They're dry.
Brittle.
Atrophied.
And with one gentle tug, the whole thing breaks away, -shiny leaves and all.

Not that low maintenance after all.

Say what?

okay I know you will appreciate this.
In the 16th century, houses were often built with
straw thatched roofs. They retained heat well so it
was not uncommon for a stray animal to climb up to try
and stay warm.
Well in the event of a big rainstorm, the straw would
become slippery and the animals would slide off.
Anyone looking out the window would only see a cat or
dog falling with the rain. Hense the expression...
It's raining cats and dogs.

Which way?

I recently took a trip to Williamsburg, VA with some friends. On the way back from the conference I realized I didn't know how to get back to the house we were staying at.
"Don't worry," my friend, Wes, said. "Just follow me."
And so we started off. Easy plan. But somehow things got all mixed up. As we merged onto the free way I had to give way to two overzealous drivers. With two cars between myself and the leader, I began to feel nervous in the heavy traffic. So I decided to pass in the right lane and catch up. Unfortunately I couldn't squeeze behind Wes' truck in line and an impatient driver forced me to pass Wes end up in the front of the line. That driver also thought it was a good idea to simply ride there in the right lane and so Wes couldn't pas me to take his rightful place as leader. So I was forced to ride along with my guide behind me!
What a mess. I kept thinking, "How are we going to get out of this?" Heidi helped me navigate by watching in the mirrors. "He's put his blinker on. I think he wants us to get off at this exit!"
I feared it would be a while before we could give way and let him back into his rightful place. I suddenly got the giggles.
"Heidi," I laughed. "I think there is a sermon somewhere in this! How many times do you and I take off too quickly and get ahead of God. And then we spend all of our time looking over our shoulders wondering if He's following us,- watching for signs of which direction to go in next?" We both had a good laugh.
It's funny 'cause it's true.

the Awakening

My good friend Adam gave me a CD for Christmas. These simple yet profound words have shown me once again the depth of God's love for me, and have therefore awakened a deeper love for God.

"…Far to long we have listened to the laughter and lies of those voices that have said our dreams are dead. The Son of God Stands at the door of our hearts. He is calling out our names like he called Lazarus forth from the tomb. Can you feel your heart beating again? …The Awakening is the unwrapping of our destiny. It is the emerging of what we were born to be. These songs and sounds are the beating of our hearts as we were awakened to the dream of God's"
-Jonathan Davis Helser

"The Lord says there is nothing you can do that would make Him love you more. There is also nothing you can do to make Him love you less. He loves you because He loves you, because He loves you, because He loves you, because He loves you, because he loves you, because that is what He is like. It is His nature to love, and you will always be the Beloved. 'I love you as you are, so be loved. You are the Beloved. It is your job' says the Lord, 'to be loved outrageously. It is why I chose you. That is why I set my love upon you, that you would live as one who is outrageously loved, that you would receive a radial love, so radical that it will blow all your paradigms of what you think love is. And know this,' says the Lord, 'I will love you outrageously all the days of your life because I don't know how to be any different. This is who I am, and this is who I will always be. This is the I AM I promised you. I am He that loves your outrageously."
-Graham Cooke

What would that experience be like? To fearlessly envision the dreams of God, our creator, our lover? To step into the realm of who God created us to be in his outrageous love?

Missing Child

January 3, 1998 I returned to college after break to find a MISSING posters plastered all over my apartment complex. A student had disappeared on New Year's Eve. Rumors and speculations ran rampant as the authorities launched a search. The story I heard went like this: He'd been drinking at a party and gotten into an argument with some frat boys. He'd left to go to his girlfriend's apartment but had never arrived.
Although the police were doing the best they could, the boy's parents quickly came forward to bring the spotlight to the story for additional support. Posters were blown up to gigantic proportions and put on billboards throughout the city and surrounding areas. I heard they took out a second mortgage on their home to offer rewards for any information, and hire diving teams to search the Grand River out side of our apartments. For months, it seemed you couldn't pick up a newspaper without reading about him, or turn on the news without updates to the story.
I'll never forget seeing the parents on TV one night. His mother was shaking and sobbing uncontrollably. Between sobs she'd plead, "Help me find my son…. PLEASE… help me find my son." On her face I could see the frantic desperation of a mother whose hear was breaking.
It's hard to imagine.
Yet, all throughout scripture I can hear that same desperation in the voice of the Good Shepherd as he searches for his lost. Sobbing, broken hearted, he pleads with each ear who hear his voice, "Help me find my children...PLEASE…help me find my children."

Too much stuff!

From Dec '03 to may '04 I had a time of abundant blessing. The Lord just
"opened the gates of heaven and poured out his blessing with such abundance that I didn't have room to store it"(to paraphrase Mal 3:10). I mean, I'm
talking thousands of dollars rolling in from nowhere,
a free laptop, plane tickets given to me, my house, I
was shown favor in the most unlikely places etc. etc.
I couldn't even believe it,- my head was spinning!
When it first started I thought, "Oh wow God thanks for_____ that's really cool."
Then as it went on I thought, "Wow God is so awesome, He just keeps blessing
me."
But as it went on and on and on ironically, I started to feel a bit uncomfortable. Yeah, who would
have thought? I started to hear about others around the world who had less, or friends who were
struggling, and yet here I was getting more and more from God.
So at one point I was telling God, "Thanks God, but really,- you don't have to do any more.
You've given me enough..." And yet the blessings kept coming.
One day I said, "Okay God, that's enough I really don't deserve all of these new blessing..." And
I just sensed him say to me, "You never really deserved any of it. I give these because I love you."
I guess when it was just one little gift given from God, I'd felt that somehow I'd earned it. Perhaps I'd said
the right thing or helped the right person, or maybe pulled the arm on the heavenly slot
machine,- somehow I had done something that had "earned" God's blessings in my life. It wasn't until
that day that I'd realized that God gives to us because He is good,- not because we are.
Look for God's blessing today and thank him for his
generosity,- even when we don't deserve it.

D'OH

Crap.
I hate that feeling… You're proud of your accomplishments and then get humbled. I thought I had it, - and this morning I'd stood corrected.
Just last night I posted my list of 101 things to accomplish by the time I turn 30. It was a fun making it. I confess a lot of these things I've wanted to do for a while so putting it in writing and publishing it made it more concrete, - like I'd be held accountable for it. And I've checked off some things in the 4 months it took me to compile the list. It's been very satisfying.
My friends all made lists too…it seemed trendy and cool to do. We'd mention an activity and one of us would say, "Oh yeah, I did that …It was on my list." And everyone would nod knowingly. Like some kind of not-so-secret code.
Some numbers are helpful money saving skills that I'll need as a wife, such as #99, learning to cut up a whole chicken. Some are honorable and charitable, such as #30 be a Salvation Army Bell ringer at Christmas time. One is a final act of rebellion against a controlling boyfriend who I broke up with 12 years ago. (#60 if you're wondering. He "forbid" me to get one.)
But leave it to Benji, and the Apostle Paul to point out the obvious to me. Even if I accomplish them all by tomorrow, I'd be missing the most important task of all: Love.
1 Corinthians 14:1 says "Let love be your highest goal."
Doh!!!!!.
Out of 101 things to do in the next 2 years, I neglected the one thing that really makes a difference.
Sure, I put lots of spiritual sounding things on there: memorize scripture, go on a missions trip, step out boldly in faith and give a word to a stranger. But Paul says in 1 Cor. 13:1 that even if I do the greatest things, if I do them without love, then it's worthless. (My paraphrase, not a direct quote.) And it's not that I don't do loving things already, but I guess it just annoys me that out of the 101 things I'm holding myself accountable for doing, none of them are focused on the right thing. Get it?
So I guess I have to add some more things to my list. Send me an email if you have some loving suggestions. If you have a list, add them to yours too. Maybe they should say something like this:

102. Be patient with irritatingly slow people in front of me in line.
103. Go without something I like, to give it to someone who has so much less that me.
104. Go without something I like to give it to someone who has so much MORE than me.
105. Hold my tongue when that jerk cuts me off in traffic.
106. Pray for a generous spirit
107 Create disposable income with the sole purpose of giving it away.
108. Do something for someone in need- even if I'm inconvenienced by it.
109. Walk a granny to her car when it's raining. Hold my umbrella over HER head.
110. Buy a bouquet of flowers to give to a random stranger.
111. Invite a not -Heidi-friend to dinner once a week for a month
112. Go Buy-One-Get-One shopping with the intention of giving away the free item
113. Forgive
114. Admit when I'm wrong
115. Pray for more opportunities to LOVE!!!!

My List

Inspired by my friend Angela's list I've spent 4 months creating a list of 101 things to do before I turn 30. It was tough because most of the things I want to do, I've done, including (much to my mother's dismay): wrestling a bear, getting a tattoo, and dancing in a cage (whoops, I don't think she knew about that one... she does now. ) And some I did while I was still creating the list. But it was there before I did it, so it still counts.
If you see a wish that you can help me accomplish, let me know, I might take you up on it.
101 things to do before I turn 30 on July 28, 2007

1. Try 3 new vegetables
2. Try 3 new fruits (muskadones… )
3. Travel to another country (Canada doesn't count since it's
really just America-lite)
4. Learn to swim
5. Go 5 days without eating sugar (like deserts, not fruit)
6. Memorize 20 new bible verses complete with number and verse
7. Make a cheesecake from scratch
8 Read Paradise Lost
9. See Casey Shuck again
10. Learn to run/jog 3 miles
11. Visit Chimney Rock in NC
12. Learn how to grill steaks and burgers
13 Visit New Orleans, go to Café Dumonde
14. Go to the beach during the off-season and run in the surf barefoot
15. Take a walk by moonlight
16. Have a picnic at Duke Gardens
17. Go to Africa
18 Tell my dad I'm going to Africa
19. Make bread from scratch
20 Pray in-group 5 consecutive times without needless crying
21 Paint my baseboards
22. Clean my bathroom once a week for a month
23. Make my bed every morning for 1 month
24. Learn the words of "come on Eileen" by Dexy's Midnight Runner
25 Study the psalms
26 Get the hard water stains out of my toilet. (It might take that long)
27 Sleep on a waterbed (do they still make them?)
28. Speak in front of a group without getting all nervous
29 Learn to speak 20 phrases in another non/Spanish language
30.Volunteer as a Salvation Army Bell ringer at Christmas time
31. Read C.S. Lewis' The Great Divorce
32. Meet Maya Angelou
33. Go to the Oprah Show
34. Meet Joyce Meyer
35. Visit WWII memorial in D.C
36. Watch an I-max movie
37. Live overseas
38. Complete my BLOG page including pictures, and advertisements
39. Memorize 20 names of God including their Hebrew/Greek meaning
40.Finish writing my children's book
41. Publish my children's book
42. Go camping
43. Take a road trip with an unexpected friend (i.e., not Heidi)
44. Kiss a cute boy!
45. Kiss a cute boy with a British accent!
46. Own a set of silk or satin pajamas
47. Learn to burn cd's
48. Visit Central Park in New York
49 Try a Bloody Mary
50. Meet Sofia Delaney Britton in Person
51. Meet Abigail McPherson Green in person (after her birth of course!)
52. Eat the RDA 25 grams of fiber a day for 1 week. (note to self, ***buy toilet paper)
53. Rent and watch a full season of Seinfeld
54. Preach a sermon to 30+ people
55. Get a pedicure
56. Get a manicure
57. Find and watch the episode of friends when "They were on a break!"
58. Watch Chariots of Fire
60. Get my belly button pierced
61 Get a tummy flat enough to show my belly button ring
62. Go 1 month without shaving my legs
63. Go into public (probably Carrboro) with my hairy legs
64. Be nominated for an award
65. Get an ipod
66. Get a 1-hour professional message
67. Learn to sing
68. Get great thighs (by any means necessary)
69. Learn a style of dancing (no grindy-bump, - real dancing)
70. Add at least 3 new artists to my repertoire of enjoyable music
71. Watch CNN to learn about current events for 1 month
72. Watch a James Dean movie
73. Watch The Graduate
74 Mail a cool picture to Lilly Craighead
75. Share my blog with 10 people
76. Read all of Maya Angelou's autobiography's
78. Grow my own tomatoes
79. Put carpet into my bedrooms
80. Clean out my shed and minor closet
81. Sell wedding dress on eBay or other way
82. Ride in a convertible
83. Pet a snake
84 Watch an outdoor movie
85 Go to a firing range and shoot a gun
86. Go to a movie by myself
87. Read Pascal's Penses (never mind. I threw it out.)
88. Read the Harry Potter series
89. Ride in the sidecar of a motorcycle
90. Remodel my kitchen with new stove, counters, and backsplash
91 Go on a mission trip.
92. Take a class (something that I choose, not for a degree)
93. Step out in faith! Not be afraid to give a word to a stranger!
94. Win a contest with a great prize!
95. Pay off my car and student loans.
96 Break my sugar binging.
97. Go to post-Katrina New Orleans (I've already done #13)
98. Work at a video store
99. Learn to cut up a chicken properly
100. Watch the snow fall from the window of my house.
101. Get married

Optional Alternate: meet a celebrity

Parable of the Azalea

At the edge of my yard, where the lawn meets the woods, grows a pathetic azalea bush. I didn't even know it was there until someone pointed it out. It was actually my friend Adam, who was doing some landscaping for me. He'd brought me two beautiful healthy azaleas to be planted next to my porch. As he dug and planted he said, "Well, you've got one azalea already."
"Where?" I asked
"Right there." He pointed to the edge of the woods. "That bush there, - it's an azalea. It looks like someone threw it there. It was probably half dead so they just dug it up and tossed it aside; -but somehow it took root and has survived.
And that was the only mention of the scraggly puny azalea bush at the edge of my lot. I did notice it a few weeks later when it attempted to bloom a handful of white flower, but I disregarded it.
It paled in comparison to the two beautiful bushes that had burst forth in glorious, bright pink flowers. I was so enamored with my healthy azaleas. I tended to them each week, - watering them and giving them fertilizer to help them grow.
Throughout the seasons, a large oak tree with low hanging branches sprouted its leaves, and weeds on the edge of the lot grew taller. I forgot all about that azalea bush…until yesterday.
My mom and I spent the day landscaping and she noticed it at the edge of the lot. "Oh look, you have an azalea growing there. " She looked it over. "If you pruned it back it would do well." (Mom's always had a heart for the underdog.)
I took her advice. Armed with nothing but a set of hand pliers, I set out to trim that pitiful looking thing.
Getting to the bush was half the battle. First, I had to cut away the branches of the oak and a pine trees that prevented me from reaching it. Then, as I raked away the weeds and fall leaves surrounding the base, I discovered additional limbs that had been buried, and an ominous looking vine that had entwined itself through the branches.
I began cutting away the dead limbs. After the dead limbs, I pulled out the vine. After the vine, I cut away the scrawny twigs that were only producing a few leaves, -plants are more productive when putting all of their energy towards thick healthy branches. Then, I turned to the wild limbs that had spouted out of control. They had to be trimmed to create the shape I wanted. Finally, I added fertilizer for a catalyst of new life within it. I stepped back to give it a once over.
Once it had been abandoned and disregarded. It had sat neglected as others received favor and attention. But the canopy had been lifted, a parasitic element detached, the dead removed, and the life refocused. I saw what my mother had seen all along: Potential to be something great.

Nawh-leens

I was in New Orleans 43 days ago. I had such mixed feeling about the Big Easy. I puzzled the fact that a whole southern economy could be based on nudie bars, alcohol, and t-shirts with the F- word, but not sweet tea. I was overwhelmed that so many older people had service jobs, and many of them looked as though they were homeless. And I was surprised that such a huge portion of its population was black, -that says a lot coming from someone who grew up in Flint, MI
While I was so over the heat, and whole Bourbon Street experience, I fell in love with the food, the history, the music, and most of all the people. Heidi and I met or encountered so many people in New Orleans who captured a tiny piece of my heart:
Doc Lewis, the trombone player, who let me "help" him play when The Saints Go Marching In.
Frankie, the street musician, who tried to serenade us with a Pearl Jam song. I paid him to stop.
Anne, the chef who taught us to cook "gumbo and prah-leens" Her theory in life was "Oil is good…lard is better".

Our tour guide from the cemetery tour.
The nameless man on the bike who I'd assumed was homeless, until I saw his I-pod.
The staff at Mothers, who weren't the best at service, but who made a crab po' boy that I can never forget.
The man who sang gospel music for us at the fountain as we soaked our tired feet, -there's something peacefully humbling about a toothless homeless man singing, "God's Been So Good to Me"
Our trolley driver, who entertained himself by telling new passengers that his trolley was full and they'd have to continue to wait in the hot sun for the next one. He'd start to drive off and then suddenly halt and fling the doors open with a laugh! "C'mon y'all. I's just jokin'"
The waiter who served me turtle soup. He dampened my excitement when he told me it was made with veal.
The Russian puppeteer who made his marionettes come to life outside Jackson square. They sang, they whispered, and they danced to James Brown's "Sex Machine"
The beautiful dancing girl on the street corner who tried to lure people into the bar.
The homeless woman in the bright yellow dress and white stocking.
They are all etched into my memory. And now as I watch the news reports of the devastation left by Hurricane Katrina, I have a burden to pray for these people. For me, the victims are not nameless faces, but real people I have shared experiences with. I wonder if they are there, if they made it out early, or made it out alive at all. I wonder who will take care of them; I wonder if I'll ever have answers to my questions.

The Treasure Box

In my first grade classroom I have a treasure box. On occasion my students get to pick a prize to keep for themselves. I'm always adding to it with trinkets, or toys from Happy Meals, so it's brimming with some neat things. I have a bunch of cool toys that make noise, or blink or require batteries. But those are usually wrapped in plastic wrappers so 6-year-olds can't really get a good idea of what the toy is, or what it does. So they always seem to pick a balloon, or an eraser or something?
In my mind I always think, "That's what you want? I've got all of this cool stuff and you pick that for yourself? No, no, no, let me choose a real treasure for you." If they let me choose, I 'd pick a super cool toy, and they'd never be disappointed. I know them well enough to choose a toy that would be perfect for them. The elephant stamper? Well that would go to Erin, - she loves elephants! The tattoo? Well Darius of course. A dinosaur book? It's got Olivia's name written all over it.
My students often short change themselves because they can't clearly understand all of the options. You and I get like that when we make our own decisions without God's guidance. We often look around a situation, and choose from the options we see presently. But God's got an abundance of blessings in his storehouse, and He wants to give us his best, not just the best of the options we know about.
My friend Lauskya recently vented her frustrations about her job search. "I'm not happy where I'm at. And I keep applying to really great jobs, but I'm not getting them." But she quickly added, "But I know God's got the best in store for me, so I trust Him." She's got the right attitude! She's trusting him, and waiting for Him to provide.
I'm trying to have that attitude.
I've realized God isn't going along with the plan I've concocted for my own life. I thought I had a great plan. Obviously He disagrees. But because He is a loving God, I trust He has the best in store for me. Matthew 7:9 says:
You parents-if your children ask for a loaf of bread, do you give them a stone instead? Or if they ask for a fish, do you give them a snake? Of course not! If you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give good gifts to those who ask him?
Sometimes this verse alone isn't enough to convince me. So I've followed the example of King David, and have been reflecting on the goodness of God. I've been searching my memories for other times when God has proved himself to be my loving, caring provider.
Ironically, today is the 6 year anniversary of my wedding-that -never- was. Had I gotten my way in 1999, I would have been married to my college sweetheart. When the wedding was called off, and the relationship ended, I was devastated! And yet today when my friend Heather asked, "Are you sad [that you didn't get married]?" I laughed to myself and said "No, because I lack nothing." I'm so thankful now that things didn't go the way I'd planned! I see the opportunities I'd have missed, and the friendship I'd have never made. Coming out from the other side, I can look back at such a difficult period in my life and see the fingerprints of God all over it. He really did have something better in store for me.
So now when I'm frustrated that things aren't going my way, I entertain myself by imaging God's treasure box. As I try to convince Him that an eraser really is the coolest prize, he just chuckles and says, "That's what you want? I've got all of this cool stuff and you pick that for yourself? No, no, no, let me choose a real treasure for you!" I know if I trust him to choose, I'll never be disappointed.