2020

Ever wonder what Mexico sounds like? We wake up each morning to the sound of dogs barking. We had no idea before moving to Baja that we would be living right next to the humane society. Add to that the fact that EVERYONE in San Felipe has a dog, and there is rarely a moment of quiet. Around 7 or 8 a.m. the tortilla guy comes by. He drives a gator and broadcasts over a loud speaker "tortillas con arena o maiz": flour or corn tortillas. We have corn tortillas with every meal, and go through a stack of 80 every day or two. (Flour is considered "unhealthy" by the Mexican government, so we get free corn tortillas instead.) Our days are filled with the sounds of children: playing, laughing, crying, singing, praying, whining. All the things that kids do. Sometime between 5 and 7 p.m. the bread guy comes around in his car with a loud speaker on the hood. "El panedero con el pan": the baker with the bread. But he doesn't just have bread. He has do...

What an interesting and busy weekend! On Friday, we took the younger kids down to the Malecon ("seafront") for a festival put on by the cultural center for Americans who either visit or live here during the winter (the flier sent home from school called them "snow birds"). The festival was entirely in English, had free food and beer and door prizes, and featured several different types of music and dance. They kept trying to get Randy and me to sign up for things, and we were grateful to not be tourists. Four of our girls danced in the ballet and one of our boys played guitar. All of our dorm moms came to support the kids and cheer them on. We celebrated their accomplishments with cotton candy. In the evening, Randy and I went to the condo of some friends who are in town visiting. It was a nice little getaway and we were grateful to have a dinner without tortillas. I think it will be very important for us in the future to have this time with friends from ou...

I can't believe how quickly July has flown by! Rand and I knew that we were going to have a busy month, so we decided at the end of June that we were going to be intentional about showing love for one another in the midst of our busy. To help us be intentional we chose Alyssa and Jefferson Bethke's new books: " 31 Creative Ways to Love and Encourage Him " and " 31 Creative Ways to Love and Encourage Her ". (You should follow them on Instagram because not only do they write amazing books -- Jesus > Religion is an all time fav -- but they seriously have the cutest daughter in the entire world. Every time she pops up in my feed I am happy!) The subtitle of the "31 Creative Ways" books is: "One Month to a More Life Giving Relationship." But right away Rand and I knew that there would be days in July that we would barely even see each other, so we didn't want the pressure of feeling like we "had to" be creative in o...

Last year I didn't put up a single decoration for Christmas. This year I thought I might continue the trend. It's just me, after all. I would have to fill my own stocking and eat all the cookies in the jar. (Have you ever seen one lonely stocking hanging above the fireplace?) I would know what was inside every gift under the tree, no surprises. (Where is the magic in that?) There's really no point, is there? And then the snow started to fall. In big, wet flakes. I put on my snow pants and caught flakes on my tongue and made angels with my limbs. And when I was cold and wet I came in, put a little Baileys in my coffee, pushed play on my favorite Christmas album , and lit a maple butter scented candle. Maybe just the nativity , I thought. And as I was unpacking Joseph, Mary holding the baby Jesus, and the little shepherd, I remembered that this is what Christmas is all about. This visual reminder that what is important is not how many stockings are hung by ...

Traditionally, nursery rhymes don't have the most positive messages. Babies fall out of trees, eggs are irreparably cracked, girls get suspended for taking sheep to school, dishes run off with silverware they aren't married to, and don't forget the concussions (Jack and Jill, plus the old man who bumped his head and couldn't get up the next morning). And perhaps my favorite... There was an old woman who lived in a shoe. She had so many children, she didn't know what to do; She gave them some broth without any bread; She whipp'd all their bums, and sent them to bed. Somehow these messed-up messages become the sing-song rhymes of our childhood. We repeat them enough times that 30 years later we are able to teach them to our own children, no songbooks required. And we do. Sometimes without even thinking about the messages. Or the fact that we have the right to retell them. Last night at dinner Kenzi sang us a new song: Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall; ...

Throwback Thursday, Flashback Friday, Memory Lane Monday... it is all about remembering and reminiscing, laughing and celebrating... These are pictures of "my kids". Kids I tutored every week my sophomore year in college. At El Barrio. An after school program for inner city kids whose teachers taught in English but many of whose parents didn't even speak English as a second language. So they couldn't help with homework. These kids taught me how to teach. How to live with compassion. How to tell jokes in Spanish. Pray in Arabic. And how to dance. In turn I taught them how to multiply. English slang. That they could be loved by a stranger. And how to bob for apples. They are in their early twenties by now. And I pray they stuck with reading and multiplying. I hope they are happy and embracing life. Loving and living and laughing. Dressing up for Halloween and perhaps even remembering the silly girl who taught them to bob for apples all those years ago. E...

Of those 17 addresses I've had in the past 15 years , this year has been the first time I've ever really lived alone. And not only lived alone, but enjoyed living alone. In the past, when I've had a place of my own, I've always been quick to fill it with guests. Neighbors, nearby friends, traveling guests, roommates, Bible study groups, clearness committees, dance parties, etc. Or else I've spent so little time at my own place, choosing instead to be out, or at friends homes, or working, that I could hardly call what I was doing "living alone". In other words, I would do anything to fill the lonely spaces. Plus it can be wonderful to be with others and share your space with someone else. I was so glad to have Kim as a roommate the year that the raccoons took to mating up against my bedroom window. I don't know what I would have done if I didn't have her to wake up at 5 a.m. with a "You've got to see this!" I was even more ...

The djs on the radio station I listen to (90.1) were recently talking about a new online dating site for people who are gluten free. (This one promises you'll never feel awkward eating again!) When I Googled it (so I could give you the link, not because I wanted to sign up, so just relax!) I saw that lots of other people were talking about this too. And everyone is asking: is it necessary to have a dating site based on dietary needs/preferences? (Is most of what is online "necessary"?) The biggest argument against it is that "opposites attract" and it is good to be with people who are different than you. (As if two people who are both gluten free will have EVERYTHING else in common too! Really?!) But isn't matching people with commonalities what online dating is all about? (I've never tried it, so I don't actually know what I'm talking about, but I can't imagine saying "I hate sports" on my profile and being matched up with ...

While riding my bike one day this week I noticed that no matter which direction I was traveling, I was always straining  against the wind . I started out traveling north, against the wind . "Two miles," I told myself, "and then I can head east." After two miles I headed east,  against   the wind . "Two miles," I told myself, "and then I can go south." Two miles later I made another right turn and traveled south,  against  the wind . "Three miles," I told myself, "and then I'll head west." After three miles I turned to the west,  against  the strongest wind yet . "Two miles," I told myself, "then I'll be close to home and done with this stupid wind." Two miles later I made my last right turn, once again heading north to ride my last mile,  against  the wind . How was it possible that no matter which direction I turned I had to face the wind? Life is like that sometimes. No matter which...

Wendy, Christina, Me. Women of Faith! On Friday my longtime friend Christina and my new friend Wendy drove down from Mentor, Ohio (northeast of Cleveland), and met me in Columbus, Ohio, for the Women of Faith conference. Once we navigated parking in the city, bounced on our super comfy hotel beds, and had a delicious dinner at the Three Legged Mare , we entered Nationwide Arena and a spirit of worship with thousands of other women (and a few men!). After singing with the amazing Gateway Worship band (their church is just down the street from my office in Texas!), cracking up with the hilarious comedian Mark Lowry  (famous for writing the song "Mary, did you know?"), and being inspired by 21 year-old Jamie Grace  (listen to her music, seriously!), they gave us a short break before CeCe Winans  (Whitney Houston's spiritual momma) gave Christina and I a flashback to 15 years ago when we first met and were the only two white girls to join the college gospel choir....

Pauline's visitation was yesterday. There was a tea cup and saucer sitting near the casket. I asked her son about it. "She loved her tea," he said. "She always said she would switch to coffee when she grew up, but she never got that chance." Pauline would have been 96 next month. I was reminded of a line from a book I read recently, The Weird Sisters by Eleanor Brown. The character Cordelia says: "I keep waiting to feel old, to feel like a grown-up, but I don't yet. Do you think that's the big secret adults keep from you? That you never really feel grown-up?" I agree with Cordelia that I don't feel grown up, but I also agree with Pauline that I don't want or need to if growing up means conforming to a standard of what that means (even though I do enjoy a good cup of coffee!). Pauline was buried wearing all pink. Her daughter-in-law told me that she was even wearing pink house slippers. Because that's what she wanted....

Jackson 5, The Beatles, New Kids on the Block, Backstreet Boys, Jonas Brothers, One Direction. Does anything define the life of a pre-teen girl more than the music she listens to and the corresponding posters on her locker/notebook/bedroom wall? The boys in these bands were our first crushes. They were the total package -- looks, voices, and dance moves. They told us we were beautiful and to never settle for guys who didn't appreciate us. We listened and watched over and over so that 25 years later we still know all the words and choreography to The Right Stuff. We know all 5 steps in Step by Step. We have mastered "name that NKOTB tune" singing only the "ohs" (oh-oh-oh-oh-oh). We still sing the NKOTB version of "Happy Birthday" every year, if not out loud at least in our heads. Fueled by nostalgia, millions of 25-45 year old women will see Boys II Men, 98 Degrees, and NKOTB in concert this summer, as I did earlier this week. The nostalgia...

The last attempt at a Girls Night Out was an epic fail . Tonight we attempt a remix, a do-over, restitution. Please pray that no ambulances, emergency room visits, or viruses plague our evening. And that all the girls who tease their hair with AquaNet do not catch on fire, requiring an evacuation of the boy band adventure we are hoping to embrace. EMBRACE DO OVERS . Tonight 's mantra: Where Do I Go From Here? Take it Step By Step , keep Hangin' Tough , because You Got The Right Stuff . I Like The Remix Baby !

Yesterday I went to Brookville, Indiana, to put in 20 or so miles of hiking. Every time I got lost, which was many many times, I paused to look for a sign. Initially if I couldn't find one, I would press on, hoping to connect with the trail and its markers ahead. Sometimes it worked out. Sometimes it didn't. Later I realized it made more sense, and I found I was more successful, when I back tracked to the last trail marker I had seen. Then I would discover where I had gone wrong. Sometimes the culprit was an overgrown trail. But usually it had more to do with me moving too fast, or not paying attention, or being intrigued by something that looked more interesting on a spur trail (a fire pit, a beach, a tree to climb). When I find I've lost my way in life, I can sometimes push on and, through stumbles and detours, find the path again. Other times the wrong trail will still meet up with the right trail if I keep going forward. And still other times it is best to go b...

Tomato plants We always had a garden growing up. I used to love eating green beans right off the plant. My dad continues to plant a garden every year, and I love it when he plucks a cherry tomato off the vine, ceremoniously dusting it off on his shirt and handing it to me to pop in my mouth. But I've never really been interested in gardening myself. I like the idea of it. Of growing your own food. Of getting dirty. Of being so close to nature. But loving the idea and loving to garden are two very different things. One thing I do love, however, is spending time with my dad. So when he showed up outside my house with a truck load of gardening tools, seeds, and plants on Sunday, I grabbed my tennis shoes and joined him. "Are you going to help?" he asked, curious. "If you tell me what to do," I replied. "I've never planted a garden before." "Your first garden," he said with a touch of awe. He showed me how to use a garden...

Grandma Jan and Grandpa Lowell with all the grandkids: Susie, Katie, Betsy, Timothy, and Matthew. Hubbard, Iowa, 1980s. My grandfather died in Oklahoma 16 years ago. He and my grandma were driving from Texas, where they spent Christmas with my uncle and his family, home to Arkansas. Grandpa's shoulder had been bothering him for a couple of weeks, which turned out not to be signs of too much golf in his newly embraced retirement, but of a massive heart attack which ended his life six hours into the 10 hour drive home. Even in his final moments my grandpa never would have let anything happen to my grandma. He knew enough to pull over. To tell her he loved her. And to do it in a town filled with angels. One of those angels took my grandma home with her. Fed her, comforted her, gave her a place to stay and rest and pray until my uncle could meet up with her and drive the rest of the way to Arkansas with her. Some might call it a stranger's kindness. But my grandma has ne...

Glamming it up with my mom. Summer 1999. When was the last time you spent one-on-one time with your mom? I did yesterday. I drove her to and from a doctor's appointment over an hour away and we talked the entire 2+ hours as if we hadn't seen each other in months (we live half a mile away from each other and had dinner together the night before). That's the beauty of relationships with the people who have been in your life forever. You can go months or years or days or half a day without seeing each other and be able to pick right up where you left off, enjoying one another's company, embracing the relationship and the time and the fact that you just get each other, because you are family. EMBRACE MOTHER-DAUGHTER TIME . If you are lucky enough to have your mom, or a mother figure in your life, cherish all the time you have together. Listening to We Need Each Other by Sanctus Real . 

On Tuesday I picked up a rental car and drove the 231 miles from Corpus Christi to the Houston airport. Though a mere four hour drive, it reminded me how much I love road trips. Road trips are carefree, full of untold adventures. Yet I've found that there are certain "rules" to making the most of the journey. These are my top 10: 1. If you have a final destination point, or a schedule to keep, allow for twice as much time as it would take were you to drive direct from point A to point B. For example, my flight was scheduled to leave at 4 p.m. on Tuesday, so I made sure to leave the house by 8 a.m. 2. Drive with your windows down . Regardless of how hot or cold, windy or rainy, sunny or snowy it is, you can't get the full experience of your surroundings if you aren't breathing in all of it. The only exception to this rule I have ever made was driving through a blizzard in New Mexico. And truth be told, if I had to do it all over again, I probably would have ...

My nieces love to count how many people are around the dinner table, particularly on Sunday nights when we have family dinner night and a dozen of us are gathered around. This usually happens in English and Spanish (thank you Dora the Explorer!), but occasionally the adults will chime in with Japanese, French, and German too. I love when this happens because languages are so beautiful.  Preparing for my trip to Texas... It's also amazing to listen as the kids' vocabulary grows.  Kasen asked last week what "adopted" meant.  Tessa has learned the phrases "I can't believe my eyes" and "Isn't it amazing" and she includes them in all of the stories she weaves.   Kaylee's definition of work means "leaving home." (She told me Grandpa's job was to make pancakes and chocolate milk, presumably because she once went to a Lion's Club breakfast where he was cooking. She has visited him on the farm too and se...

Why is it that we have such a hard time accepting the generosity of others? Why is it that we are suspicious of their "ulterior motives"? Is it possible that they merely want to give a gift in order to be a blessing? Or because the Bible says to freely give what you have been freely given? Or because your friendship has meant so much to them that they want to do something for you in return? I haven't always been good at receiving the generosity of others. I have never forgotten the time my college best friend and I had lunch at the Olive Garden and an older couple offered to pay for our meal, "Because we remember what it was like when we were in college." We were particularly grubby this day, as I recall. I'm sure we were wearing bandanas, gray t-shirts, and holy jeans as was our official college wardrobe. Not because it was all we had but because we wanted to. We refused to let the couple pay for us because, even though we looked it, we weren't y...