November 16, 2012
I have been struggling with some of the very foundations of the Bible, probably for the last few years, but it seems to be much more intense lately. I think that is part of the reason I am having such trouble finding what it is I am supposed to be doing here in Chinle. I tend to get sensory overload and then all systems shut down. For instance, I go into a Joann’s looking for a project or even just something as simple as yarn. I get caught up in looking and looking and comparing prices and quantity and trying to decide what it is I really want to make and 9 times out of 10 I will leave the store making no purchase. If I do make a purchase I then fuss over whether I made the right decision or not.
Then later at home when I pull out the projects there is all likelihood that I will not be able to complete the vision I had in the store and either something else will be made or it will get partially made. Just ask my daughter, it only took me 30 years to complete a quilt hanging for her.
So here I am grappling with questions of universal importance…struggling to act out the truth I know but most of all, to truly believe what I believe. I have come to the conclusion that the reason Christians, myself first and foremost, don’t do half of what they desire to do is because deep down they do not truly believe what God has said. Still ringing in the ears of humanity are the words from the Garden, “Has God truly said?”
Unbelief!!!! But how can that be? I know that I know that I know that God sent His Son into this world to die for sinners, that He is my Lord and Savior, that on the cross He paid for all my sins, that there is nothing I can do to earn or deserve His favor, but He has given it to me freely. I would die for that but I find that living for that is much more difficult. Not that I would deny my Lord, but that I let the everyday little unbeliefs keep me weak. That nagging thought that God cannot use me, or there must be someone more qualified. And sometimes the most deadly thought, God I can handle this one, and then we forget to include Him.
So while I grapple with election, predestination, total sovereignty of God, suffering of the saints, etc, I want you to know that is not my problem. In fact, I am looking forward to an eternity in God’s presence, at the side of Jesus, discovering what those things are and how they have played out in human history. But for the right here and now my prayer for myself and for you is that I would believe God and do what it is He has put me on this earth to do. I would stop the excuses, and just believe Him; that I would live each and every moment knowing that “All things work together for good for the Glory of God”. Not just an overall belief, but a moment by moment one.
So for now, I plan to continue my study of the Word of God and I hope there will be those that join me on that amazing journey, but the most important thing will be to deepen the relationship I have with Jesus each and every day so that I will believe Him completely, knowing that He is the author and finisher of my faith. As my love grows for Jesus, so will my belief. Let’s stop making excuses and join the Lord on this amazing journey He has prepared.
Friday, November 16, 2012
Wednesday, August 22, 2012
Pick your battles...
August 8, 2012
For some of us, El Guapo is our El Guapo!!!
In The Three Amigos, the boys are trying to rally the townspeople to see what they are good at and use that to fight off the soon arriving banditos that are coming to destroy the town. They go on and on with the idea that we all have something that we must fight. For some, fear is our El Guapo, for others poverty may be our El Guapo…etc, etc, etc. But the thought is ended by saying: for us, El Guapo is our El Guapo. I think we need to realize that we do have an enemy of our soul; we try to fight all the other little El Guapos but fail to realize that behind it all, our El Guapo is our very own sin nature. And the sooner we realize it is not the symptoms, the sin, we need to be fighting, but that carnal nature that desires above all else to be god or ruler of our life. This is where the real battle is.
Listening to Jerry Dirmann yesterday, I got some clarification on what is actually going on in our Christian walk of Sanctification. For those of you that wonder what sanctification is, simply, it is the process of becoming more and more like Jesus. We are promised in the letter to the Romans that God is busy at work in each of our lives to make us more and more like His Son.
Many of us live our lives as Christians in failure because we look at Jesus and then we take an honest look at our own lives and we see that there is no resemblance at all. We more identify with Paul in Romans 7 where he talks about doing what he doesn’t want to do and not doing what he knows he should. Why this failure, this disconnect, if we are being changed from glory to glory?
It is because we are our own worse “El Guapo”. We are living in our minds, emotions and body, rather than allowing our spirit, which is now alive in Jesus to be the leader. The more we realize we are no longer the physical part of our person, but we are the ‘born again’ spirit that is alive to God…redeemed…bought for a price so that we can now live in true freedom. We are no longer subject to the bondages, addictions, sins, temptations, accusations, weaknesses, being victims of people and situations….BUT we are free in the spirit to Jesus…the author and finisher of our faith.
When we screw up we can now say…Hey that was my old rotten nature…that is not me now…of course we take responsibility for the actions and ask God to forgive us knowing He will because He has promised us that He will. We no longer have to listen to the devil or people or even our self trying to bring us down for our actions…telling us we are not worthy to be called a Christian. We can agree with them that we are not worthy, but then speak the truth that Jesus paid the price and because of what He has done for us, we have been made worthy. We are now the righteousness of Christ, because He took our place for the punishment of all of our sins.
Now there are some practical things we must do if we expect our body, mind, emotions and will to catch up with our spirit in walking in true freedom. First and foremost we must spend time in the Bible getting to know the Truth. We cannot live our lives in ignorance, expecting that God will just take care of everything for us without our even taking the time to get to know Him. This is a love relationship and just like you would want to know everything you could about a person you are falling in love with…you should take the same attitude with Jesus. And amazingly, the more you get to know Jesus and what He has done for you, the more you will fall in love. The more you fall in love the more you will want to know, and the more you will want to be like Him.
In conclusion, do not let El Guapo intimidate you any longer. It is defeated!!! You have the right and the freedom to live in victory. You no longer have to do what El Guapo wants, but the ability to follow in the footsteps of a living and loving Savior.
For some of us, El Guapo is our El Guapo!!!
In The Three Amigos, the boys are trying to rally the townspeople to see what they are good at and use that to fight off the soon arriving banditos that are coming to destroy the town. They go on and on with the idea that we all have something that we must fight. For some, fear is our El Guapo, for others poverty may be our El Guapo…etc, etc, etc. But the thought is ended by saying: for us, El Guapo is our El Guapo. I think we need to realize that we do have an enemy of our soul; we try to fight all the other little El Guapos but fail to realize that behind it all, our El Guapo is our very own sin nature. And the sooner we realize it is not the symptoms, the sin, we need to be fighting, but that carnal nature that desires above all else to be god or ruler of our life. This is where the real battle is.
Listening to Jerry Dirmann yesterday, I got some clarification on what is actually going on in our Christian walk of Sanctification. For those of you that wonder what sanctification is, simply, it is the process of becoming more and more like Jesus. We are promised in the letter to the Romans that God is busy at work in each of our lives to make us more and more like His Son.
Many of us live our lives as Christians in failure because we look at Jesus and then we take an honest look at our own lives and we see that there is no resemblance at all. We more identify with Paul in Romans 7 where he talks about doing what he doesn’t want to do and not doing what he knows he should. Why this failure, this disconnect, if we are being changed from glory to glory?
It is because we are our own worse “El Guapo”. We are living in our minds, emotions and body, rather than allowing our spirit, which is now alive in Jesus to be the leader. The more we realize we are no longer the physical part of our person, but we are the ‘born again’ spirit that is alive to God…redeemed…bought for a price so that we can now live in true freedom. We are no longer subject to the bondages, addictions, sins, temptations, accusations, weaknesses, being victims of people and situations….BUT we are free in the spirit to Jesus…the author and finisher of our faith.
When we screw up we can now say…Hey that was my old rotten nature…that is not me now…of course we take responsibility for the actions and ask God to forgive us knowing He will because He has promised us that He will. We no longer have to listen to the devil or people or even our self trying to bring us down for our actions…telling us we are not worthy to be called a Christian. We can agree with them that we are not worthy, but then speak the truth that Jesus paid the price and because of what He has done for us, we have been made worthy. We are now the righteousness of Christ, because He took our place for the punishment of all of our sins.
Now there are some practical things we must do if we expect our body, mind, emotions and will to catch up with our spirit in walking in true freedom. First and foremost we must spend time in the Bible getting to know the Truth. We cannot live our lives in ignorance, expecting that God will just take care of everything for us without our even taking the time to get to know Him. This is a love relationship and just like you would want to know everything you could about a person you are falling in love with…you should take the same attitude with Jesus. And amazingly, the more you get to know Jesus and what He has done for you, the more you will fall in love. The more you fall in love the more you will want to know, and the more you will want to be like Him.
In conclusion, do not let El Guapo intimidate you any longer. It is defeated!!! You have the right and the freedom to live in victory. You no longer have to do what El Guapo wants, but the ability to follow in the footsteps of a living and loving Savior.
Thursday, August 16, 2012
Starting on the blog again;-))
August 16, 2012
I feel like a kid waiting for Santa Claus! The internet man is supposed to be here to hook me up. I have been offline for almost 2 weeks. Talk about going through withdrawal…not only am I away from my kids and grandkids, I cannot even keep up with what is going on in their lives on facebook. But in a way it has been nice, no news, no TV, no outside problems, just enjoying some of the books I downloaded onto the computer before I left and lots of music.
Well, 2 weeks ago I was preparing to load up the Uhaul to come up here to Chinle. For those of you that have no idea where Chinle is…I am 1 mile from the visitor center for Canyon de Chelly. So I am in the Northeast corner of the state of Arizona and only 300 miles away from Gilbert. In many ways it feels a lot farther. Even in Costa Rica it was only a 10-15 minute walk to get on the internet.
The land is beautiful and the skies are amazing. The people have been very friendly, but they are a quiet and reserved people and I think it will take a while to make friends. The city seems to mostly be made up of people that either work for the schools, the district, the hospital or some other governmental type agency. We all live in housing that is provided, mostly in the form of apartment communities. There are homes and trailers around that are obviously not parts of the system and for the most part these are very rudimentary. There are even a few hogans around but they do not seem to be their primary residence but either something left over or used for something else. We are most definitely in the minority but it does not seem to be a problem.
The funniest thing is the horses and cattle that roam the streets. You really have to watch out when driving around or you could end up with a hood ornament. We were sitting at A&W last week and I could see across the highway. There was 4 head of cattle grazing on the side of the road. Eventually one of the cows decided she liked the look of our side of the highway better and stood at the edge of the road. She actually looked both ways and waited for a clearing before crossing the street. I started laughing and told David to turn and look. Sure enough she made it across before any other cars came, but her 3 buddies were not so smart, they just saw she had left and started following. By that time there were some cars, which had to stop to let them cross. Oh, I forgot to mention, when we had driven up to A&W there were 2 horses grazing in the dumpster.
We have taken a couple of short drives to the Canyon. First time we went on the north road and stopped at an overlook of where 2 canyons meet. Very beautiful! And last Sunday we took the southern road and stopped at 3 or 4 overlooks. David talked with some of the native artisans and I decided that we needed to get in shape and come back when it is cooler to take the hike down to White House ruins. This is the only trail that goes into the canyon that outsiders can go on without a Navajo guide. It was late when we were there and it says on the sign it takes about 3 hours to do, besides that I was out of breath just walking around on top. But definitely a place we will take visitors…should be really gorgeous in the fall.
I feel like a kid waiting for Santa Claus! The internet man is supposed to be here to hook me up. I have been offline for almost 2 weeks. Talk about going through withdrawal…not only am I away from my kids and grandkids, I cannot even keep up with what is going on in their lives on facebook. But in a way it has been nice, no news, no TV, no outside problems, just enjoying some of the books I downloaded onto the computer before I left and lots of music.
Well, 2 weeks ago I was preparing to load up the Uhaul to come up here to Chinle. For those of you that have no idea where Chinle is…I am 1 mile from the visitor center for Canyon de Chelly. So I am in the Northeast corner of the state of Arizona and only 300 miles away from Gilbert. In many ways it feels a lot farther. Even in Costa Rica it was only a 10-15 minute walk to get on the internet.
The land is beautiful and the skies are amazing. The people have been very friendly, but they are a quiet and reserved people and I think it will take a while to make friends. The city seems to mostly be made up of people that either work for the schools, the district, the hospital or some other governmental type agency. We all live in housing that is provided, mostly in the form of apartment communities. There are homes and trailers around that are obviously not parts of the system and for the most part these are very rudimentary. There are even a few hogans around but they do not seem to be their primary residence but either something left over or used for something else. We are most definitely in the minority but it does not seem to be a problem.
The funniest thing is the horses and cattle that roam the streets. You really have to watch out when driving around or you could end up with a hood ornament. We were sitting at A&W last week and I could see across the highway. There was 4 head of cattle grazing on the side of the road. Eventually one of the cows decided she liked the look of our side of the highway better and stood at the edge of the road. She actually looked both ways and waited for a clearing before crossing the street. I started laughing and told David to turn and look. Sure enough she made it across before any other cars came, but her 3 buddies were not so smart, they just saw she had left and started following. By that time there were some cars, which had to stop to let them cross. Oh, I forgot to mention, when we had driven up to A&W there were 2 horses grazing in the dumpster.
We have taken a couple of short drives to the Canyon. First time we went on the north road and stopped at an overlook of where 2 canyons meet. Very beautiful! And last Sunday we took the southern road and stopped at 3 or 4 overlooks. David talked with some of the native artisans and I decided that we needed to get in shape and come back when it is cooler to take the hike down to White House ruins. This is the only trail that goes into the canyon that outsiders can go on without a Navajo guide. It was late when we were there and it says on the sign it takes about 3 hours to do, besides that I was out of breath just walking around on top. But definitely a place we will take visitors…should be really gorgeous in the fall.
Friday, April 13, 2012
April 11, 2012
April 11, 2012
This morning we went for a walk to the arbolito. It is a tree that is living in the ocean and we were told that there are only 4 like it in the world. It is rooted in some rocks that are under water at high tide and out of the water at low. Actually some around here call it the “Jesus Tree”. Evidently during Semana Santa, people come from all over to see the tree and have made it into an icon. But what mostly happens is people camp around the area and get drunk. When we had been told that I thought, that is exactly what happens with idolatry, it is turned into an orgy and has nothing to do with God.
As I was walking down the path wondering what we would see at the end I thought about how I would view the tree. I knew I was not making a pilgrimage to a holy spot, to come and say some special prayers in hopes that God would answer me because of where I was. I was going to see a tree that was completely out of what would have been its natural environment. This tree was meant to grow at the edge of the ocean, like in a mangrove swamp, not out away from the shore.
It struck me; God is to be glorified here. He can make anything grow anywhere He wants it to. And that does not just apply to trees. He can take you or me and put us into a situation that is completely foreign to us; and in that place He can cause us to thrive. Why? Because He is our source; He is the One that nourishes us and protects us from the elements. It is in Him, that I live and breathe and have my being. As long as I am planted where He wants me, I will continue to grow and mature and glorify His name. The trouble only comes when I decide I do not like where God has planted me; when I am not content with His plan for my life and try to plant myself someplace I think I would like better.
In this way I need to be like arbolito and flourish where I have been planted. What does arbolito do? It does tree things. It sends its roots down, it spreads its branches and it has leaves. It is a tree! It offers a perch for the birds, the insects crawl on it, and weary walkers can take a moment and enjoy its shade. And most importantly it glorifies God by being what He has called it to be, nothing more and certainly nothing less.
Some of us may be called to be planted by ourselves like arbolito, but mostly we are called to be planted in the midst of others. Whichever God has called you to do, make sure that you are where He has planted you and that you are doing those things He has called you to do in that place. True joy can only come when we are fulfilling our true purpose and not trying to live someplace else.
This morning we went for a walk to the arbolito. It is a tree that is living in the ocean and we were told that there are only 4 like it in the world. It is rooted in some rocks that are under water at high tide and out of the water at low. Actually some around here call it the “Jesus Tree”. Evidently during Semana Santa, people come from all over to see the tree and have made it into an icon. But what mostly happens is people camp around the area and get drunk. When we had been told that I thought, that is exactly what happens with idolatry, it is turned into an orgy and has nothing to do with God.
As I was walking down the path wondering what we would see at the end I thought about how I would view the tree. I knew I was not making a pilgrimage to a holy spot, to come and say some special prayers in hopes that God would answer me because of where I was. I was going to see a tree that was completely out of what would have been its natural environment. This tree was meant to grow at the edge of the ocean, like in a mangrove swamp, not out away from the shore.
It struck me; God is to be glorified here. He can make anything grow anywhere He wants it to. And that does not just apply to trees. He can take you or me and put us into a situation that is completely foreign to us; and in that place He can cause us to thrive. Why? Because He is our source; He is the One that nourishes us and protects us from the elements. It is in Him, that I live and breathe and have my being. As long as I am planted where He wants me, I will continue to grow and mature and glorify His name. The trouble only comes when I decide I do not like where God has planted me; when I am not content with His plan for my life and try to plant myself someplace I think I would like better.
In this way I need to be like arbolito and flourish where I have been planted. What does arbolito do? It does tree things. It sends its roots down, it spreads its branches and it has leaves. It is a tree! It offers a perch for the birds, the insects crawl on it, and weary walkers can take a moment and enjoy its shade. And most importantly it glorifies God by being what He has called it to be, nothing more and certainly nothing less.
Some of us may be called to be planted by ourselves like arbolito, but mostly we are called to be planted in the midst of others. Whichever God has called you to do, make sure that you are where He has planted you and that you are doing those things He has called you to do in that place. True joy can only come when we are fulfilling our true purpose and not trying to live someplace else.
Tuesday, April 10, 2012
April 8, 2012
April 8, 2012
For the first time since being here in Costa Rica, I have felt sad to be here. It started yesterday, the 7th, because it was Joshua and Nathan’s birthday. It has always been a joy to be with my boys on their birthday to celebrate and joke around and of course eat some yummy food. Well this year, instead, we had to joke via Skype. And although I thoroughly enjoyed being able to talk to them, it made me realize how much I am missing my family.
And today is Easter, and I am missing seeing the grandkids dressed up and going to church with me. Spending time with family and extended family; enjoying the day while the kids hunt and re-hunt for eggs; and of course, more yummy food.
I had already been feeling excited about the soon return to the U.S., but now the time is almost not going fast enough. I know that by the end of the week I will say, ‘where did that week go?’ So I need to get back in tune to where I am and why I am here, instead of dwelling on what is not yet. I know that God is not finished with what He brought us here to learn.
I am looking forward to next weekend as we spend time in San Jose learning about an outreach that is based from there. We met their founder a few weeks ago at a local church and he invited us to come see what they are doing to reach out to the youth and the sick in this country as well as others. They call themselves Conexion and can be found on the web at www.extreme-service.com
I do know that if we are ever to return here that I am going to have to learn more Spanish. We have met so many wonderful people and it would be such a pleasure to be able to sit down and really carry on a conversation with them. Maybe that will be my next project along with finishing the second Bible Study that I have recently started.
For the first time since being here in Costa Rica, I have felt sad to be here. It started yesterday, the 7th, because it was Joshua and Nathan’s birthday. It has always been a joy to be with my boys on their birthday to celebrate and joke around and of course eat some yummy food. Well this year, instead, we had to joke via Skype. And although I thoroughly enjoyed being able to talk to them, it made me realize how much I am missing my family.
And today is Easter, and I am missing seeing the grandkids dressed up and going to church with me. Spending time with family and extended family; enjoying the day while the kids hunt and re-hunt for eggs; and of course, more yummy food.
I had already been feeling excited about the soon return to the U.S., but now the time is almost not going fast enough. I know that by the end of the week I will say, ‘where did that week go?’ So I need to get back in tune to where I am and why I am here, instead of dwelling on what is not yet. I know that God is not finished with what He brought us here to learn.
I am looking forward to next weekend as we spend time in San Jose learning about an outreach that is based from there. We met their founder a few weeks ago at a local church and he invited us to come see what they are doing to reach out to the youth and the sick in this country as well as others. They call themselves Conexion and can be found on the web at www.extreme-service.com
I do know that if we are ever to return here that I am going to have to learn more Spanish. We have met so many wonderful people and it would be such a pleasure to be able to sit down and really carry on a conversation with them. Maybe that will be my next project along with finishing the second Bible Study that I have recently started.
Saturday, April 7, 2012
April 5, 2012
April 5, 2012
Spiritual insights learned in Costa Rica
• God cleans house starting in His house
• We are to be a living example of God’s word, He is wanting to write His words on our heart
• We can always be stripped of more than we thought possible and still have more of Him
• Repentance is necessary when re-establishing relationships
• Forgiveness must always be part of our walk of freedom
• God can replace lost joy in a relationship
• It’s never too late to re-connect with one another
• The more we love God the more we can love others
• And the more we love God and others the less we think about ourselves
• The simplest things in life can be the most profound and enjoyable
• With a person, even though you can get an immediate read on the emotion, you’re offending them in a past or present action, they can’t cast you into a lake of fire and yet God we will offend and we have no sense of how offensive we are.
• Be careful what you wish for
• You can adapt
• God will use whomever He wishes
Spiritual insights learned in Costa Rica
• God cleans house starting in His house
• We are to be a living example of God’s word, He is wanting to write His words on our heart
• We can always be stripped of more than we thought possible and still have more of Him
• Repentance is necessary when re-establishing relationships
• Forgiveness must always be part of our walk of freedom
• God can replace lost joy in a relationship
• It’s never too late to re-connect with one another
• The more we love God the more we can love others
• And the more we love God and others the less we think about ourselves
• The simplest things in life can be the most profound and enjoyable
• With a person, even though you can get an immediate read on the emotion, you’re offending them in a past or present action, they can’t cast you into a lake of fire and yet God we will offend and we have no sense of how offensive we are.
• Be careful what you wish for
• You can adapt
• God will use whomever He wishes
Saturday, March 31, 2012
March 29, 2012
March 29, 2012
Today we were invited to breakfast by some people that David had originally met on the beach. They are a couple from Switzerland that has lived here in Costa Rica for a year and a half. David had met Claudio on the beach and then Elke and their daughter Mia later when they offered him a ride home from one of his many walks. At that time they said we should come over some time so they could practice their English.
Elke has her own catering business that she is trying to grow, so I thought that eating at their house would be a good idea. Not only does she cook meals, but she bakes breads and makes her own jams, chutneys, sauces and other delicious things.
Since they live in Panica and it is about 3km away, Claudio offered to pick us up. We had a very enjoyable time, eating and telling stories. Sometimes we would say something and then Elke would have to say it in German so that Claudio could understand. Other times I would use some Spanish to explain what was being said….I felt very international.
The highlight of the morning is when Mia found a baby gecko on one of her toys and then both men and Mia get out their cameras and start taking pictures of it sitting on a coffee cup. This went on for awhile until Mia knocked it into the coffee. It was then set free on a bush but I laughed to think of a caffeine crazed baby gecko running madly back and forth on the branches. Later I told David, isn’t it wonderful being in such a laid back place that the highlight of the day is an inch long lizard;-))
David has offered to help Elke with a brochure for her business, so we are planning on seeing them next week. On the way back to the house Claudio asked David if he were a priest or pastor. He said no, we are Christians.
Today we were invited to breakfast by some people that David had originally met on the beach. They are a couple from Switzerland that has lived here in Costa Rica for a year and a half. David had met Claudio on the beach and then Elke and their daughter Mia later when they offered him a ride home from one of his many walks. At that time they said we should come over some time so they could practice their English.
Elke has her own catering business that she is trying to grow, so I thought that eating at their house would be a good idea. Not only does she cook meals, but she bakes breads and makes her own jams, chutneys, sauces and other delicious things.
Since they live in Panica and it is about 3km away, Claudio offered to pick us up. We had a very enjoyable time, eating and telling stories. Sometimes we would say something and then Elke would have to say it in German so that Claudio could understand. Other times I would use some Spanish to explain what was being said….I felt very international.
The highlight of the morning is when Mia found a baby gecko on one of her toys and then both men and Mia get out their cameras and start taking pictures of it sitting on a coffee cup. This went on for awhile until Mia knocked it into the coffee. It was then set free on a bush but I laughed to think of a caffeine crazed baby gecko running madly back and forth on the branches. Later I told David, isn’t it wonderful being in such a laid back place that the highlight of the day is an inch long lizard;-))
David has offered to help Elke with a brochure for her business, so we are planning on seeing them next week. On the way back to the house Claudio asked David if he were a priest or pastor. He said no, we are Christians.
Wednesday, March 28, 2012
March 27, 2012
March 27, 2012
When going to the bathroom meets the Wild Kingdom!!!
I am not sure if I have gone into any detail about our bathroom situation. So here is more information than you probably want to know. As I told you before, the house we are staying in is two stories. The ground floor is unfinished…there are walls separating what would be 2 bedrooms and a bathroom from an open living kitchen floor plan. There is a stone sink in what would be the kitchen area and a sink, toilet and shower in the bathroom. It was absolutely disgusting when we first saw it, but my amazing husband has swept and re-swept and mopped the floors as well as he could without an actual mop. So it is now clear of debris and we can walk in without too much problem. You may wonder why we would even bother as the stairs are on the outside and we do not have to go through this space to get upstairs. The reason is, the upstairs bathroom is usable for #1 only (told you this was TMI) Anything more serious must be done in the downstairs bathroom, which means a daily trip downstairs.
Well this morning my husband comes back upstairs and makes the statement that I should be glad that he was the one to go downstairs to the bathroom first. I just look at him and wonder what else could he have found down there? So far we have about 8 bats that live down there that like to do fly bys when we enter, we have a small frog that has been living under the bathroom sink, of course there is a gecko of two. And a couple of days ago I had been totally freaked out by a huge tarantula sitting in the middle of the living area floor. I kept looking around the corner of the wall while I was busy in the bathroom to make sure it wasn’t coming for me. And finally ran upstairs to tell the husband. Like the good man he is, he went downstairs and killed it and found another smaller one in the bathroom and dispatched it as well. I wish he had not told me about the second one as it had been in the bathroom with me just moments before.
Anyway, back to this morning. David had his light with him and saw something roundish under the bathroom sink. At first he thought it might be a scrunchie but could not imagine where one would have come from. He got the broom and poked at it and it turned out to be a 2 foot long snake. Well not knowing the snakes in these parts, he felt snakecide the better option. So with what he had with him, a broom and dustpan and rake he manfully took on the snake and dispatched it. I am sure pictures will be on his facebook eventually.
We have had critters in the upstairs bathroom as well. There is a big hairy spider that runs like a crab and super fast that David killed, termites that run up and down the walls but not as many as when we first got there, and a big roach was found last night. Something had been eating on it…we are going with the option that one of our many gecko friends had been snacking…do not want to imagine anything else could take it on.
I want to end this section of the Wild Kingdom by thanking my husband for being so great through this whole time. He has killed for me and I have never loved him more.
PS Just found out from a guy who has lived here a couple of years that was not a tarantula. But a spider that can jump about 10 feet is very aggressive and its poison can kill a horse. It doesn’t usually kill people but you hurt like crazy and get very, very sick from its bite. Glad I did not know that then as I was about 10 feet away when I kept looking at it from around the corner and David said it had jumped straight up several feet when he went after it with the broom. This was information that both of us wish we had not learned until after we had left Costa Rica.
When going to the bathroom meets the Wild Kingdom!!!
I am not sure if I have gone into any detail about our bathroom situation. So here is more information than you probably want to know. As I told you before, the house we are staying in is two stories. The ground floor is unfinished…there are walls separating what would be 2 bedrooms and a bathroom from an open living kitchen floor plan. There is a stone sink in what would be the kitchen area and a sink, toilet and shower in the bathroom. It was absolutely disgusting when we first saw it, but my amazing husband has swept and re-swept and mopped the floors as well as he could without an actual mop. So it is now clear of debris and we can walk in without too much problem. You may wonder why we would even bother as the stairs are on the outside and we do not have to go through this space to get upstairs. The reason is, the upstairs bathroom is usable for #1 only (told you this was TMI) Anything more serious must be done in the downstairs bathroom, which means a daily trip downstairs.
Well this morning my husband comes back upstairs and makes the statement that I should be glad that he was the one to go downstairs to the bathroom first. I just look at him and wonder what else could he have found down there? So far we have about 8 bats that live down there that like to do fly bys when we enter, we have a small frog that has been living under the bathroom sink, of course there is a gecko of two. And a couple of days ago I had been totally freaked out by a huge tarantula sitting in the middle of the living area floor. I kept looking around the corner of the wall while I was busy in the bathroom to make sure it wasn’t coming for me. And finally ran upstairs to tell the husband. Like the good man he is, he went downstairs and killed it and found another smaller one in the bathroom and dispatched it as well. I wish he had not told me about the second one as it had been in the bathroom with me just moments before.
Anyway, back to this morning. David had his light with him and saw something roundish under the bathroom sink. At first he thought it might be a scrunchie but could not imagine where one would have come from. He got the broom and poked at it and it turned out to be a 2 foot long snake. Well not knowing the snakes in these parts, he felt snakecide the better option. So with what he had with him, a broom and dustpan and rake he manfully took on the snake and dispatched it. I am sure pictures will be on his facebook eventually.
We have had critters in the upstairs bathroom as well. There is a big hairy spider that runs like a crab and super fast that David killed, termites that run up and down the walls but not as many as when we first got there, and a big roach was found last night. Something had been eating on it…we are going with the option that one of our many gecko friends had been snacking…do not want to imagine anything else could take it on.
I want to end this section of the Wild Kingdom by thanking my husband for being so great through this whole time. He has killed for me and I have never loved him more.
PS Just found out from a guy who has lived here a couple of years that was not a tarantula. But a spider that can jump about 10 feet is very aggressive and its poison can kill a horse. It doesn’t usually kill people but you hurt like crazy and get very, very sick from its bite. Glad I did not know that then as I was about 10 feet away when I kept looking at it from around the corner and David said it had jumped straight up several feet when he went after it with the broom. This was information that both of us wish we had not learned until after we had left Costa Rica.
Sunday, March 25, 2012
Weekend trip...4
Weekend trip ….4
We enjoyed the rest of our Sunday, watched one of the Dvd’s, in Spanish. You haven’t lived until you watched John Carter in Spanish. I told David we would have to watch it over and over until we understood what was being said. Still have not done that…maybe manana.
On Monday we enjoyed our breakfast again in the garden and then we walked over to the Coca Cola bus station to figure out where it was we would need to go. I am glad we did, as the place is very confusing and I would hate to wander around with baggage. It ended up being a row of buses across from an indoor Mercado. The Mercados are crazy, they are a maze of one vendor after another selling everything under the sun. But we noticed that there were several cooked food vendors, so we thought when we came back we could get some food for the road.
We walked back to the hotel, got packed up and then spent some time on the internet before we had to check out. And then we headed off down the road to pass some time before we had to be back at the bus. The first thing I wanted to do was go back to the Batido place and get something refreshing to drink. I opted for the mango, papaya, banana and David got one that was supposed to be good for the heart and included avocado. Both were very good.
We then walked down the promenade for a few blocks and when we came to a fountain we stopped and sat. We were in the sun and at first that was quite comfortable, but soon we felt like we might burn if we sat there too much longer so we moved to the shady side. I ended up sitting next to a fellow that was well dressed but soon became very apparent that he was also quite drunk. He decided he was going to talk to me even though I told him I did not speak Spanish…so instead he started singing to me. I told David it was time to move on.
We went to a McDonald’s and got some French fries to snack on…plus it gave us a place to sit. David asked me what time it was and I told him 12:27. We sat and chatted for quite a while and he asked again what time it was…12:27 I said ….then oh no, my watch has stopped. It was about 1 and our bus was leaving at 2. We decided it was time to move on.
If we thought the streets were busy on the weekend, there was no comparison to the traffic on Monday. It was crazy busy but fortunately most of our walk was down the Central Avenida which is only foot traffic, but there is cross-traffic at each calle, so a traffic light each block. But definitely much better sidewalks than most of the streets have. We finally got to the Mercado and buy a couple of apples and then look for some food we can take on the bus. We get a couple of empanadas, one cheese and one bean and a cheeseburger and a horchata. By now it is about 20-30 minutes before our bus leaves so we walk across the street and sit by our bus.
We had an accident with the horchata aat the bus stop. When I put the straw in, somehow I pierced the bottom and horchata got all over us. So we were sweet and sticky and gritty for our trip back to Tambor.
The bus, although not air-conditioned was fairly new, so the seats were more comfortable than most. We had a good ride to the ferry. This time we only had to get off the bus and walk on the ferry…no taxi…no luggage…it was quite pleasant. While we crossed we were able to watch the sunset. David has put up pics and some are simply gorgeous.
We made it back to Tambor a little after 7. The bus driver did not stop until we were on the far side of Tambor, so we had to walk about 10 minutes or so to get back to the house.
All in all, San Jose was a much needed break. We have come back with a much better attitude than when we left. We cannot believe that now we only have 3 weeks until we go home. The first couple of days we thought we would never last and now it seems so short until we leave.
End of trip
We enjoyed the rest of our Sunday, watched one of the Dvd’s, in Spanish. You haven’t lived until you watched John Carter in Spanish. I told David we would have to watch it over and over until we understood what was being said. Still have not done that…maybe manana.
On Monday we enjoyed our breakfast again in the garden and then we walked over to the Coca Cola bus station to figure out where it was we would need to go. I am glad we did, as the place is very confusing and I would hate to wander around with baggage. It ended up being a row of buses across from an indoor Mercado. The Mercados are crazy, they are a maze of one vendor after another selling everything under the sun. But we noticed that there were several cooked food vendors, so we thought when we came back we could get some food for the road.
We walked back to the hotel, got packed up and then spent some time on the internet before we had to check out. And then we headed off down the road to pass some time before we had to be back at the bus. The first thing I wanted to do was go back to the Batido place and get something refreshing to drink. I opted for the mango, papaya, banana and David got one that was supposed to be good for the heart and included avocado. Both were very good.
We then walked down the promenade for a few blocks and when we came to a fountain we stopped and sat. We were in the sun and at first that was quite comfortable, but soon we felt like we might burn if we sat there too much longer so we moved to the shady side. I ended up sitting next to a fellow that was well dressed but soon became very apparent that he was also quite drunk. He decided he was going to talk to me even though I told him I did not speak Spanish…so instead he started singing to me. I told David it was time to move on.
We went to a McDonald’s and got some French fries to snack on…plus it gave us a place to sit. David asked me what time it was and I told him 12:27. We sat and chatted for quite a while and he asked again what time it was…12:27 I said ….then oh no, my watch has stopped. It was about 1 and our bus was leaving at 2. We decided it was time to move on.
If we thought the streets were busy on the weekend, there was no comparison to the traffic on Monday. It was crazy busy but fortunately most of our walk was down the Central Avenida which is only foot traffic, but there is cross-traffic at each calle, so a traffic light each block. But definitely much better sidewalks than most of the streets have. We finally got to the Mercado and buy a couple of apples and then look for some food we can take on the bus. We get a couple of empanadas, one cheese and one bean and a cheeseburger and a horchata. By now it is about 20-30 minutes before our bus leaves so we walk across the street and sit by our bus.
We had an accident with the horchata aat the bus stop. When I put the straw in, somehow I pierced the bottom and horchata got all over us. So we were sweet and sticky and gritty for our trip back to Tambor.
The bus, although not air-conditioned was fairly new, so the seats were more comfortable than most. We had a good ride to the ferry. This time we only had to get off the bus and walk on the ferry…no taxi…no luggage…it was quite pleasant. While we crossed we were able to watch the sunset. David has put up pics and some are simply gorgeous.
We made it back to Tambor a little after 7. The bus driver did not stop until we were on the far side of Tambor, so we had to walk about 10 minutes or so to get back to the house.
All in all, San Jose was a much needed break. We have come back with a much better attitude than when we left. We cannot believe that now we only have 3 weeks until we go home. The first couple of days we thought we would never last and now it seems so short until we leave.
End of trip
Weekend trip...3
Weekend trip…3
Well we go back to the Cannon store just before they close and find out that it was not the battery but the charger that was not working. So we now have an extra battery and a charger that works.
We do a little walking around and enjoy some of the sights of downtown San Jose. There is a park nearby where they have some vendors set up and I check out the jewelry and find some things for a couple of my girls. Not going to tell you what here because then it won’t be a surprise when we get home. David also takes some pics of a couple of young men practicing their tricks. There are also skateboarders and bicycle tricks being done on a street that has been cordoned off. Just like being back home.
That evening we ask for a place to eat that is within walking distance and are directed to the Don Carlos hotel down the street. We enjoy some dinner and wander around the various garden areas of the hotel before heading back to our room. We then watch Godfather 2 with Spanish subtitles…what a hoot. It’s been years since we had seen this movie and it was funny when they would speak in Italian and then the Spanish subtitle would come up.
We had asked Guillermo if he knew of a church nearby as it was Sunday in the morning. He said he would do some research and let us know in the morning. After a warm shower we went downstairs for our breakfast. The lady that had let us in the day before comes out to us in the garden and strikes up a conversation. She said she had heard we were Christians and that she is also. She speaks slower than most so I am able to actually have a conversation with her. She was very sweet and told me that she would pray for us when we were out walking around that we would be safe.
Guillermo then tells us of a church that is about half a mile away and ends by telling us it is next to the McDonald’s so we won’t miss it. Cracks us up…no address…just what it is near. We do find the church and truly enjoy our visit there. It is an Episcopal church and their first service is in English and then the next one is in Spanish. We did not know what time they would start so we are about an half an hour late, but that did not seem to bother anyone.
We stayed afterwards and enjoyed speaking with several of the parishioners. Reminded me of all the times I had gone to church with my sister over the years. She would have loved this church. The priest was a crack up and had some very interesting facial expressions when some ladies were up giving some of the upcoming events and sharing a letter about sisters.
We then went and walked around the shopping district and got some lunch. We ended up eating at Taco Bell because David thought that would be fun to do. But we also did have a batido while we walked around, so we didn’t completely succumb to American food. Bought some more souvenirs and had fun looking in store windows and people watching. My husband even bought a couple of dvds on the sidewalk.
End of part 3
Well we go back to the Cannon store just before they close and find out that it was not the battery but the charger that was not working. So we now have an extra battery and a charger that works.
We do a little walking around and enjoy some of the sights of downtown San Jose. There is a park nearby where they have some vendors set up and I check out the jewelry and find some things for a couple of my girls. Not going to tell you what here because then it won’t be a surprise when we get home. David also takes some pics of a couple of young men practicing their tricks. There are also skateboarders and bicycle tricks being done on a street that has been cordoned off. Just like being back home.
That evening we ask for a place to eat that is within walking distance and are directed to the Don Carlos hotel down the street. We enjoy some dinner and wander around the various garden areas of the hotel before heading back to our room. We then watch Godfather 2 with Spanish subtitles…what a hoot. It’s been years since we had seen this movie and it was funny when they would speak in Italian and then the Spanish subtitle would come up.
We had asked Guillermo if he knew of a church nearby as it was Sunday in the morning. He said he would do some research and let us know in the morning. After a warm shower we went downstairs for our breakfast. The lady that had let us in the day before comes out to us in the garden and strikes up a conversation. She said she had heard we were Christians and that she is also. She speaks slower than most so I am able to actually have a conversation with her. She was very sweet and told me that she would pray for us when we were out walking around that we would be safe.
Guillermo then tells us of a church that is about half a mile away and ends by telling us it is next to the McDonald’s so we won’t miss it. Cracks us up…no address…just what it is near. We do find the church and truly enjoy our visit there. It is an Episcopal church and their first service is in English and then the next one is in Spanish. We did not know what time they would start so we are about an half an hour late, but that did not seem to bother anyone.
We stayed afterwards and enjoyed speaking with several of the parishioners. Reminded me of all the times I had gone to church with my sister over the years. She would have loved this church. The priest was a crack up and had some very interesting facial expressions when some ladies were up giving some of the upcoming events and sharing a letter about sisters.
We then went and walked around the shopping district and got some lunch. We ended up eating at Taco Bell because David thought that would be fun to do. But we also did have a batido while we walked around, so we didn’t completely succumb to American food. Bought some more souvenirs and had fun looking in store windows and people watching. My husband even bought a couple of dvds on the sidewalk.
End of part 3
Thursday, March 22, 2012
March 20, 2012
March 20, 2012
A very interesting question was posed to me a couple of days ago. We were being told a story about a young lady that had come to Costa Rica with a potential boyfriend. He was serious, but she was not about the relationship. He had brought her down to meet some family and enjoy some time at the beach. During her stay she became enamored with a local Tico beach bum. Eventually she and the young man break up during the stay. After they go back to the states, she drops out of college, gets on a plane and come back to Costa Rica. After a few weeks or months she is back in the U.S. and pregnant. The question was: What makes girls so swept off their feet by the young Tico men? Why would they throw their life away for one?
It made me think of Hosea. Gomer was not too much different from this young lady. She had a man that was serious about her and willing to devote his life to her, but instead she chose to go looking for the party guy that would sweep her off her feet. Unfortunately, he would also leave her in the dust when he was ready to move on. We say we want security and love and a good home but when faced with the temptation to be exciting and excited for a time we will throw it all away. Then we are left with the guilt and shame of what we have done. Now we need the excitement so we will not feel those negative emotions. It becomes such a vicious cycle and we see no way out….at least no way out for us. Others, yes, but never for us. After all, our sin is special…no one can be as bad as we are…on one hand but on the other hand we always justify ourselves by saying…at least we are not as bad as…. We are very schizo at how we look at our sin.
The problem: Our eyes are on ourselves
The solution: Get our eyes on Jesus!!!
Sounds simple, well it is. But living it out daily is the challenge.
A very interesting question was posed to me a couple of days ago. We were being told a story about a young lady that had come to Costa Rica with a potential boyfriend. He was serious, but she was not about the relationship. He had brought her down to meet some family and enjoy some time at the beach. During her stay she became enamored with a local Tico beach bum. Eventually she and the young man break up during the stay. After they go back to the states, she drops out of college, gets on a plane and come back to Costa Rica. After a few weeks or months she is back in the U.S. and pregnant. The question was: What makes girls so swept off their feet by the young Tico men? Why would they throw their life away for one?
It made me think of Hosea. Gomer was not too much different from this young lady. She had a man that was serious about her and willing to devote his life to her, but instead she chose to go looking for the party guy that would sweep her off her feet. Unfortunately, he would also leave her in the dust when he was ready to move on. We say we want security and love and a good home but when faced with the temptation to be exciting and excited for a time we will throw it all away. Then we are left with the guilt and shame of what we have done. Now we need the excitement so we will not feel those negative emotions. It becomes such a vicious cycle and we see no way out….at least no way out for us. Others, yes, but never for us. After all, our sin is special…no one can be as bad as we are…on one hand but on the other hand we always justify ourselves by saying…at least we are not as bad as…. We are very schizo at how we look at our sin.
The problem: Our eyes are on ourselves
The solution: Get our eyes on Jesus!!!
Sounds simple, well it is. But living it out daily is the challenge.
Weekend trip...2
March 22, 2012
Part 2
Well we got to San Jose and spent an hour or so finding our hotel and the Cannon store. San Jose is a very interesting city, it has no addresses, or at least no one uses the addresses they do have. They have a grid system that could make finding places fairly easy, if only they used it. Avenidas run east/west and calles run north/south. And then the evens are on one side of Central and the odds on the other side for both Avenidas and Calles. This means there are 4 zones just like those wonderful quadrants we learned in Algebra oh so many years ago. So our hotel was on Avenida 9 Calle 5y7, which means it is on Ave 9 somewhere between 5 and 7 in the northeast quadrant. The only problem is that there are no street signs. Once in a while a corner may have the name of the street up on a building, but that is very hit and miss. The traffic is crazy and most of the downtown streets are one way, so driving around looking for an address is almost impossible.
We parked in a lot and asked the attendant where we were and how to get to where we wanted to go. He did not even know the names of the corner where he was working. He knew the calle was 2 but was unsure as to the avenida on the other side of the lot. In fact another attendant came over and the two of them proceeded to argue about the number of the avenida. It was hilarious.
We went east out of the lot down the unknown avenida knowing that we at least needed to head in that direction. We finally saw a building with a sign on the corner but it only had the calle sign. We kept walking because we still knew we had not reached 5 yet. Then we came to a couple of policemen and Mike asked for our address from them. They actually knew where we were and gave us directions. We had 2 blocks to go north and 2 east. We got to Avenida 9 and Calle 5 and proceeded down the street to find the hotel. Now this was not what we would consider a hotel. It melted in with the other buildings, in fact I passed the building and then looked back before I was able to see the sign. There was a small gate on the street and then you went up some steps that ran parallel to the street. At the top there was a gate on an open door. We rang the bell and someone came and let us in.
The lady informed us that we were in the right place but the manager had stepped out and would be back in a few minutes. We looked around the downstairs and at the garden area where they served breakfast. The place was very quaint. It looked like it maybe had been a large house at one time and then chopped up into rooms. It had 2 stories and something on street level that we never saw. When Denis came back he got us registered and showed us our room upstairs. The room was small but it had a bed and private bathroom, so I was happy.
We then asked Denis for help to find the Cannon Store. He actually was able to print out a map and showed us how many streets we would have to walk south and west. We then left saying we would be back in awhile with our luggage, but we needed to get to the store before they closed at 1:00.
We only missed the store by one block but were able to remedy that rather quickly. We got to the right street but could not see a sign for the store. But when the traffic and buses moved we realized we were across the street from it. It is funny, from the outside it is very hard to tell one store from another, but once we stepped up and walked through the door it was obvious we were in a camera store.
We got David the new battery and headed back to the parking lot to get our luggage. We now felt like we had the layout of the city figured out and were able to find the truck with very little difficulty. Since Mike had to go in the general direction of the hotel to leave he said he would drive us over and drop us off nearby. We only had taken a rolling backpack and rolling computer bag, so that was no problem.
We go into the hotel and up to our room. David plugs in his new battery to charge and I unpack. David wanted to see if the battery would charge. It was a little before noon by this time. When we went downstairs, Denis offered us some coffee or tea. We both opt for tea and go and sit in the garden area and relax. We both loved the garden, it is on a hill with 3 or 4 tables scattered around. It is walled and has some beautiful plants and flowers and feels a hundred miles away from the big city.
Around 12:30 we go and check the battery and find out that what the recharger says and what the camera says when the battery is in it are two different things. We know that we have to hurry back to the store before it closes. So off we go again to the Cannon store.
End part 2
Part 2
Well we got to San Jose and spent an hour or so finding our hotel and the Cannon store. San Jose is a very interesting city, it has no addresses, or at least no one uses the addresses they do have. They have a grid system that could make finding places fairly easy, if only they used it. Avenidas run east/west and calles run north/south. And then the evens are on one side of Central and the odds on the other side for both Avenidas and Calles. This means there are 4 zones just like those wonderful quadrants we learned in Algebra oh so many years ago. So our hotel was on Avenida 9 Calle 5y7, which means it is on Ave 9 somewhere between 5 and 7 in the northeast quadrant. The only problem is that there are no street signs. Once in a while a corner may have the name of the street up on a building, but that is very hit and miss. The traffic is crazy and most of the downtown streets are one way, so driving around looking for an address is almost impossible.
We parked in a lot and asked the attendant where we were and how to get to where we wanted to go. He did not even know the names of the corner where he was working. He knew the calle was 2 but was unsure as to the avenida on the other side of the lot. In fact another attendant came over and the two of them proceeded to argue about the number of the avenida. It was hilarious.
We went east out of the lot down the unknown avenida knowing that we at least needed to head in that direction. We finally saw a building with a sign on the corner but it only had the calle sign. We kept walking because we still knew we had not reached 5 yet. Then we came to a couple of policemen and Mike asked for our address from them. They actually knew where we were and gave us directions. We had 2 blocks to go north and 2 east. We got to Avenida 9 and Calle 5 and proceeded down the street to find the hotel. Now this was not what we would consider a hotel. It melted in with the other buildings, in fact I passed the building and then looked back before I was able to see the sign. There was a small gate on the street and then you went up some steps that ran parallel to the street. At the top there was a gate on an open door. We rang the bell and someone came and let us in.
The lady informed us that we were in the right place but the manager had stepped out and would be back in a few minutes. We looked around the downstairs and at the garden area where they served breakfast. The place was very quaint. It looked like it maybe had been a large house at one time and then chopped up into rooms. It had 2 stories and something on street level that we never saw. When Denis came back he got us registered and showed us our room upstairs. The room was small but it had a bed and private bathroom, so I was happy.
We then asked Denis for help to find the Cannon Store. He actually was able to print out a map and showed us how many streets we would have to walk south and west. We then left saying we would be back in awhile with our luggage, but we needed to get to the store before they closed at 1:00.
We only missed the store by one block but were able to remedy that rather quickly. We got to the right street but could not see a sign for the store. But when the traffic and buses moved we realized we were across the street from it. It is funny, from the outside it is very hard to tell one store from another, but once we stepped up and walked through the door it was obvious we were in a camera store.
We got David the new battery and headed back to the parking lot to get our luggage. We now felt like we had the layout of the city figured out and were able to find the truck with very little difficulty. Since Mike had to go in the general direction of the hotel to leave he said he would drive us over and drop us off nearby. We only had taken a rolling backpack and rolling computer bag, so that was no problem.
We go into the hotel and up to our room. David plugs in his new battery to charge and I unpack. David wanted to see if the battery would charge. It was a little before noon by this time. When we went downstairs, Denis offered us some coffee or tea. We both opt for tea and go and sit in the garden area and relax. We both loved the garden, it is on a hill with 3 or 4 tables scattered around. It is walled and has some beautiful plants and flowers and feels a hundred miles away from the big city.
Around 12:30 we go and check the battery and find out that what the recharger says and what the camera says when the battery is in it are two different things. We know that we have to hurry back to the store before it closes. So off we go again to the Cannon store.
End part 2
Tuesday, March 20, 2012
Weekend trip...1
We just had an amazing weekend for our halfway point in our trip to Costa Rica. We were hanging out at a little restaurant that has Wifi. We had gone for café con leche for me and a batido for David. While there Mike, who we had gone to Tango Mar with came down for breakfast. We get talking and David had told him previously that his camera battery seemed to be no good and the only place he might find a new one was in San Jose. Well he tells us that he is going to San Jose in the morning, do we want to go with?
Our immediate response is YES that would be fantastic. We then spend the next hour or so looking for a store in San Jose that sells Cannon products. We call and they have the battery. We then find a reasonably priced hotel that is nearby. Finally after the arrangements are made we go home so I can do my laundry.
The next morning we are picked up at 6:30 and are on our way. After we have gone for about an hour, we learn that Mike’s license plates are a number that cannot go into the city on Friday. He then says he can stop on the outskirts of town and then we can take the bus the rest of the way or we can go to Tamarindo, the opposite direction for the night and stay in his penthouse condo overlooking the beach for the night. We tell him we are flexible and will do whatever is best for him, but inside I am yelling…Beach Condo!!!
Well, he had business he wanted to take care of in Tamarindo, so we call our hotel and they graciously change our reservations for a day later arrival. We got to see a lot more of the Nicoya Peninsula and hear some of Mike’s story. The condo’s view was outrageous. He gave us the Master, which was upstairs as he usually stays in one of the bedrooms on the main floor. We were probably one of the highest vantage points in the whole city. We could see for miles. David did try and take a couple of pics but the camera was not responding…hence our trip in the first place.
Mike went and had lunch with his attorney and did business. We played on the internet and watched the ocean and snuck in a little nap. When Mike came back he asked if we wanted to go see some of the beaches farther north and off the beaten path. Of course we did. All I can say is we were on “roads” that only my son Josh would have driven on. My main concern was keeping my head far enough from the side of the truck so I did not bash out my brains. But we saw some absolutely gorgeous beaches. We went to about 5 or 6 and then returned to Tamarindo via a more civilized route.
We watched the sun set over the ocean from our balcony and were able to sleep in an air-conditioned room on a king sized bed. We laughed at the difference between where we had been just the day before. I thought of Paul saying I have learned to be content in whatever state I am in. I sure was content in this state but knew I would be just as happy when we returned to Tambor.
The next morning we left early and made our way to San Jose.
End of part 1
Our immediate response is YES that would be fantastic. We then spend the next hour or so looking for a store in San Jose that sells Cannon products. We call and they have the battery. We then find a reasonably priced hotel that is nearby. Finally after the arrangements are made we go home so I can do my laundry.
The next morning we are picked up at 6:30 and are on our way. After we have gone for about an hour, we learn that Mike’s license plates are a number that cannot go into the city on Friday. He then says he can stop on the outskirts of town and then we can take the bus the rest of the way or we can go to Tamarindo, the opposite direction for the night and stay in his penthouse condo overlooking the beach for the night. We tell him we are flexible and will do whatever is best for him, but inside I am yelling…Beach Condo!!!
Well, he had business he wanted to take care of in Tamarindo, so we call our hotel and they graciously change our reservations for a day later arrival. We got to see a lot more of the Nicoya Peninsula and hear some of Mike’s story. The condo’s view was outrageous. He gave us the Master, which was upstairs as he usually stays in one of the bedrooms on the main floor. We were probably one of the highest vantage points in the whole city. We could see for miles. David did try and take a couple of pics but the camera was not responding…hence our trip in the first place.
Mike went and had lunch with his attorney and did business. We played on the internet and watched the ocean and snuck in a little nap. When Mike came back he asked if we wanted to go see some of the beaches farther north and off the beaten path. Of course we did. All I can say is we were on “roads” that only my son Josh would have driven on. My main concern was keeping my head far enough from the side of the truck so I did not bash out my brains. But we saw some absolutely gorgeous beaches. We went to about 5 or 6 and then returned to Tamarindo via a more civilized route.
We watched the sun set over the ocean from our balcony and were able to sleep in an air-conditioned room on a king sized bed. We laughed at the difference between where we had been just the day before. I thought of Paul saying I have learned to be content in whatever state I am in. I sure was content in this state but knew I would be just as happy when we returned to Tambor.
The next morning we left early and made our way to San Jose.
End of part 1
March 15, 2012
March 15, 2012
In 32 days we leave, we have been here for 30 days. So tomorrow is the official halfway point.
What have I/we learned during our time here?
• I can get used to my environment
• I still have a hard time with prayer...my ADD really shows up when I try and have a conversation with God
• Do not go to bed sweaty…take a shower in the evening
• We can survive in a greatly reduced capacity of amenities and at time enjoy it, like with a really good piece of pineapple or yummy batido
• Manana has become part of our vocabulary
• Do not accompany my husband out in the midday sun
• Big tides come after a full moon
• I am so unaware of what I am wearing that I will be halfway down the street before I realize I have on my thongs, this revelation usually comes when I step on a sharp rock
• Horns on cars are a means of communication…a beep can mean hello, a short burst of beeps can either mean I am passing you or going around a blind curve, a honk means you’ve irritated me and watch out (rare to hear) and a couple of honks means I am not running on Tico time (even rarer) but in the city of San Jose there is just constant beeping..no honking
• Fewer people speak English than we were led to believe…of course we have not exactly been hanging out at the resorts
• There is a reason it takes so long for something to get done…it’s just too hot
• The people are friendly
• The tires on all the bicycles are not properly inflated
• People get up really early here for obvious reasons, but that does not mean stores open early
• David enjoys life more without a phone
• I miss being able to talk to family and friends easily
• Skype does not always work
• The monkeys will respond to David’s imitation of their call as will the geckos
• Parking in the middle of the street is OK….for whatever reason….to visit with a friend…to drop off or pick up something
• Sweeping is full time occupation
• Can live with bats…wish they would eat more
• Construction here is marginal at best…3 year old sidewalk looks 100 years old
• They have the world’s best pineapple
• Their food is ok...not great and not bad either
• I miss snacks or just being able to get a quick bite to eat
• That there are amazing sights to be seen, such as 5 Scarlet Macaws
• You can leave your car running and to into a bank or store or just visit
• Dogs here that run loose are indifferent to passersby…and they do not seem to ever get hit
• You take your life in your own hands anytime you cross a street as cars seem to have the right of way
• A whole family can fit on one scooter
• Very few heavy people here unless they are foreigners
• Getting on a water taxi can be dangerous
• Always show up to the bus stop early but expect you may have to wait for a very long time….the buses are so unpredictable that they can be half an hour early or over an hour late
• You must be careful walking around as things just fall out of trees…coconuts, fruits, limbs, leaves, dirt, critters, fronds
• We get many little blessings from the Lord…buses running late so we do not miss them, getting a ride from someone, no problems from drinking the water, no food poisoning, cuts healed properly
In 32 days we leave, we have been here for 30 days. So tomorrow is the official halfway point.
What have I/we learned during our time here?
• I can get used to my environment
• I still have a hard time with prayer...my ADD really shows up when I try and have a conversation with God
• Do not go to bed sweaty…take a shower in the evening
• We can survive in a greatly reduced capacity of amenities and at time enjoy it, like with a really good piece of pineapple or yummy batido
• Manana has become part of our vocabulary
• Do not accompany my husband out in the midday sun
• Big tides come after a full moon
• I am so unaware of what I am wearing that I will be halfway down the street before I realize I have on my thongs, this revelation usually comes when I step on a sharp rock
• Horns on cars are a means of communication…a beep can mean hello, a short burst of beeps can either mean I am passing you or going around a blind curve, a honk means you’ve irritated me and watch out (rare to hear) and a couple of honks means I am not running on Tico time (even rarer) but in the city of San Jose there is just constant beeping..no honking
• Fewer people speak English than we were led to believe…of course we have not exactly been hanging out at the resorts
• There is a reason it takes so long for something to get done…it’s just too hot
• The people are friendly
• The tires on all the bicycles are not properly inflated
• People get up really early here for obvious reasons, but that does not mean stores open early
• David enjoys life more without a phone
• I miss being able to talk to family and friends easily
• Skype does not always work
• The monkeys will respond to David’s imitation of their call as will the geckos
• Parking in the middle of the street is OK….for whatever reason….to visit with a friend…to drop off or pick up something
• Sweeping is full time occupation
• Can live with bats…wish they would eat more
• Construction here is marginal at best…3 year old sidewalk looks 100 years old
• They have the world’s best pineapple
• Their food is ok...not great and not bad either
• I miss snacks or just being able to get a quick bite to eat
• That there are amazing sights to be seen, such as 5 Scarlet Macaws
• You can leave your car running and to into a bank or store or just visit
• Dogs here that run loose are indifferent to passersby…and they do not seem to ever get hit
• You take your life in your own hands anytime you cross a street as cars seem to have the right of way
• A whole family can fit on one scooter
• Very few heavy people here unless they are foreigners
• Getting on a water taxi can be dangerous
• Always show up to the bus stop early but expect you may have to wait for a very long time….the buses are so unpredictable that they can be half an hour early or over an hour late
• You must be careful walking around as things just fall out of trees…coconuts, fruits, limbs, leaves, dirt, critters, fronds
• We get many little blessings from the Lord…buses running late so we do not miss them, getting a ride from someone, no problems from drinking the water, no food poisoning, cuts healed properly
Thursday, March 15, 2012
March 13, 2012
March 13, 2012
Tell stories!?!
That was my word when I asked what it was I was to do in Costa Rica. So for the next 5 weeks that is what I will be working on. Since my Spanish is so poor, it looks like the pages of my Word docs will be the place that these stories will be told. We will see after that where they will end up.
Since I came here and finished my study on Hosea, I feel it only right that he will be the first story I tell. What an incredible, strong and loving man of God he was. I only hope that I can catch even a glimmer of his personality in my storytelling. What a difficult time and place he lived in, but then that could be said for any of us. We each face our own set of problems and opportunities each and every day.
Now for the latest in the ongoing Marlowe saga. Last night we kept hearing rustling in the leaves along the tree line next to our driveway. Finally I got David’s headlight and tried to see if I could see what was moving around down there. We could see movement but could not see what it was. So we go downstairs and over to the trees to see what it is. Really smart…huh? Anyway, I got to see my first armadillo since we’ve been here. It was the second one for David.
Funny how my attitude has changed in the few weeks we’ve been here. A couple of weeks ago there would have been no way I would have gone down looking to see what was rustling in the bushes. And now here we are out looking for the wildlife. I even do not mind the bats that live downstairs; my only problem with them is they do not eat enough mosquitoes.
The only thing I really want to happen now is to get a really good rainstorm. I would love to see the trees with green leaves instead of dust covered ones. Well we have 5 more weeks so I am pretty sure we should have at least one rain storm before we go…hopefully it won’t be the day we go!
Tell stories!?!
That was my word when I asked what it was I was to do in Costa Rica. So for the next 5 weeks that is what I will be working on. Since my Spanish is so poor, it looks like the pages of my Word docs will be the place that these stories will be told. We will see after that where they will end up.
Since I came here and finished my study on Hosea, I feel it only right that he will be the first story I tell. What an incredible, strong and loving man of God he was. I only hope that I can catch even a glimmer of his personality in my storytelling. What a difficult time and place he lived in, but then that could be said for any of us. We each face our own set of problems and opportunities each and every day.
Now for the latest in the ongoing Marlowe saga. Last night we kept hearing rustling in the leaves along the tree line next to our driveway. Finally I got David’s headlight and tried to see if I could see what was moving around down there. We could see movement but could not see what it was. So we go downstairs and over to the trees to see what it is. Really smart…huh? Anyway, I got to see my first armadillo since we’ve been here. It was the second one for David.
Funny how my attitude has changed in the few weeks we’ve been here. A couple of weeks ago there would have been no way I would have gone down looking to see what was rustling in the bushes. And now here we are out looking for the wildlife. I even do not mind the bats that live downstairs; my only problem with them is they do not eat enough mosquitoes.
The only thing I really want to happen now is to get a really good rainstorm. I would love to see the trees with green leaves instead of dust covered ones. Well we have 5 more weeks so I am pretty sure we should have at least one rain storm before we go…hopefully it won’t be the day we go!
Monday, March 12, 2012
March 12, 2012
March 12, 2012
This morning we did have a very special surprise. We were both on the porch when we saw a Scarlet Macaw fly into the tree across the street. As we were looking in amazement at that, four others came and joined him. They then moved around a couple of trees before flying back the way they had come from. They are absolutely beautiful, remind me of flying rainbows. They are endangered and not seen in these parts very much and we had the honor to see five of them at once.
One month ago was the wedding in California. Happy monthversary Marianne and Joe. In some ways that feels a million years ago. It is amazing how fast you adapt to new environments. I asked David last night what we would do if we lived in a place like this. We could not come up with an answer. I had thought that I would be doing more writing and studying, but truthfully it is just too hot. We have no table so the laptop goes on my lap to write and with the heat it generates that doesn’t last too long. In fact I just took a couple minutes break to let the legs cool down a bit.
Today is extra especially hot. Even sitting in the shade with a slight breeze and a portable fan blowing right on me, I am HOT. We had thought about trying to go back to Montezuma today but I am glad we did not. Hopefully tomorrow will be better and we can enjoy finally getting to see Montezuma itself. We had gone there on Saturday but after David went hiking back to the waterfall the top way and I had sat in a lovely little restaurant that was beside the river with a view of some small falls and the ocean in the other direction sipping my café con leche. We ran into a fellow from Tambor that does tours and he offered us a ride to Playa Carmen where a surf competition was going on. Since he had already been hired to pick some people up there he said he would take us for free. Not to be ones to decline free we jumped in the van and were off to surfers’ paradise. I think David has already posted pictures of this.
Playa Carmen, Mal Pais and Sta.Teresa are three beaches that line up one right after the other. This is where surfing is at it’s finest in Costa Rica. Because of the crowd it attracts the prices are a little higher and the median age is a lot younger than Tambor. Also, there is supposed to be a lot of partying going on at night. It’s not as hippyish as Montezuma but still young. We enjoyed out time there but away from the beach itself, it was nothing special.
This morning we did have a very special surprise. We were both on the porch when we saw a Scarlet Macaw fly into the tree across the street. As we were looking in amazement at that, four others came and joined him. They then moved around a couple of trees before flying back the way they had come from. They are absolutely beautiful, remind me of flying rainbows. They are endangered and not seen in these parts very much and we had the honor to see five of them at once.
One month ago was the wedding in California. Happy monthversary Marianne and Joe. In some ways that feels a million years ago. It is amazing how fast you adapt to new environments. I asked David last night what we would do if we lived in a place like this. We could not come up with an answer. I had thought that I would be doing more writing and studying, but truthfully it is just too hot. We have no table so the laptop goes on my lap to write and with the heat it generates that doesn’t last too long. In fact I just took a couple minutes break to let the legs cool down a bit.
Today is extra especially hot. Even sitting in the shade with a slight breeze and a portable fan blowing right on me, I am HOT. We had thought about trying to go back to Montezuma today but I am glad we did not. Hopefully tomorrow will be better and we can enjoy finally getting to see Montezuma itself. We had gone there on Saturday but after David went hiking back to the waterfall the top way and I had sat in a lovely little restaurant that was beside the river with a view of some small falls and the ocean in the other direction sipping my café con leche. We ran into a fellow from Tambor that does tours and he offered us a ride to Playa Carmen where a surf competition was going on. Since he had already been hired to pick some people up there he said he would take us for free. Not to be ones to decline free we jumped in the van and were off to surfers’ paradise. I think David has already posted pictures of this.
Playa Carmen, Mal Pais and Sta.Teresa are three beaches that line up one right after the other. This is where surfing is at it’s finest in Costa Rica. Because of the crowd it attracts the prices are a little higher and the median age is a lot younger than Tambor. Also, there is supposed to be a lot of partying going on at night. It’s not as hippyish as Montezuma but still young. We enjoyed out time there but away from the beach itself, it was nothing special.
Sunday, March 11, 2012
March 9, 2012
March 9, 2012
Beware the little ants!
Now I know in Scripture the warning is to the little foxes that come by night and eat the grapes, well here in the tropics it is ants. They are so small that without my glasses on I cannot really see them except for their movement. But they love the kitchen and the deck
Outside on the deck, where we eat, we have to sweep a couple times a day because the ants will swarm over the tiniest crumb or drop of water. For the most part that is manageable.
But the kitchen is another matter. Before I start to prepare a meal, I must first check for these ants. Like I said they are tiny, so I don’t always see them at first. There is usually a couple. So I wash them off and proceed to make whatever it is I came to make.
I usually hand David his food and then wash whatever utensils were used in the prep before I take my food and join David on the deck. I have tried to eat first and then wash everything together but that means I will come back to hundreds of the little buggers.
Today I followed my normal routine but had not wiped off the counter completely. I returned to find about a 6 inch square of the counter just crammed full of the ants with a couple of trails of more coming to join the party.
By this time I don’t freak…I just grab the sponge and begin to exterminate and wash them into the sink and t=down the drain. I then finish the dishes.
But it got me to thinking about our “little” sins or bad habits. How we cannot let them fo for even one second. We need to stop whatever we are doing and take care of them right then. Now if I see one of those tiny ants I either hit it with something or just squarsh it with my hand. I refuse to let these little critters rule my life…I will deal with them as they come along.
Now to make the analogy:
When we are first saved we are surprised by the fact we still sin. We somehow think we should be suddenly perfect.
When David first discovered the ants on the deck He did not know what in the world was the little things crawling around. But here he was stomping and smacking and just dancing all over the place. It was so funny looking that I nearly fell out of the hammock laughing. But when I found out how persistent they were the laughter stopped and war began.
We cannot tolerate even a little sin…repentance needs to come right away.
One ant means hundreds are waiting ..must kill the kill the scout. Same with sin!
It is an ongoing war…can never say…this little one won’t matter.
Clean…kill…rinse and repeat!!
Do not indulge in any type of activity that will feed the ants or sin/
Beware the little ants!
Now I know in Scripture the warning is to the little foxes that come by night and eat the grapes, well here in the tropics it is ants. They are so small that without my glasses on I cannot really see them except for their movement. But they love the kitchen and the deck
Outside on the deck, where we eat, we have to sweep a couple times a day because the ants will swarm over the tiniest crumb or drop of water. For the most part that is manageable.
But the kitchen is another matter. Before I start to prepare a meal, I must first check for these ants. Like I said they are tiny, so I don’t always see them at first. There is usually a couple. So I wash them off and proceed to make whatever it is I came to make.
I usually hand David his food and then wash whatever utensils were used in the prep before I take my food and join David on the deck. I have tried to eat first and then wash everything together but that means I will come back to hundreds of the little buggers.
Today I followed my normal routine but had not wiped off the counter completely. I returned to find about a 6 inch square of the counter just crammed full of the ants with a couple of trails of more coming to join the party.
By this time I don’t freak…I just grab the sponge and begin to exterminate and wash them into the sink and t=down the drain. I then finish the dishes.
But it got me to thinking about our “little” sins or bad habits. How we cannot let them fo for even one second. We need to stop whatever we are doing and take care of them right then. Now if I see one of those tiny ants I either hit it with something or just squarsh it with my hand. I refuse to let these little critters rule my life…I will deal with them as they come along.
Now to make the analogy:
When we are first saved we are surprised by the fact we still sin. We somehow think we should be suddenly perfect.
When David first discovered the ants on the deck He did not know what in the world was the little things crawling around. But here he was stomping and smacking and just dancing all over the place. It was so funny looking that I nearly fell out of the hammock laughing. But when I found out how persistent they were the laughter stopped and war began.
We cannot tolerate even a little sin…repentance needs to come right away.
One ant means hundreds are waiting ..must kill the kill the scout. Same with sin!
It is an ongoing war…can never say…this little one won’t matter.
Clean…kill…rinse and repeat!!
Do not indulge in any type of activity that will feed the ants or sin/
March 7, 2012
March 7, 2012
I haven’t taken the time to talk about the people of Costa Rica that we have met so far. They seem to be a happy lot for the most part. Everyone will greet you as you walk by whether they have ever seen you before or not. Buenos dias, hola, or just plain buenas are the typical greeting along with a smile. This is all ages and both genders. How many people in the States will greet you as you walk down the street?
In this small town of Tambor, I have never felt uneasy walking down the street or being alone at the house. Even though according to the internet, petty thievery runs rampant in the country and people are told not to go to the beaches after dark. David and I were just at the beach looking at the full moon shine on the bay and there was no feeling of needing to be careful or wary. I think we are just away from the type of tourist spots that bring in the riff raff.
The people will go out of their way to help you with any questions you might have. The only problem is trying to be understood with a limited amount of Spanish, as for the most part the people we have been meeting do not speak English; unless they are tourists from the US or Canada. The only time people are a little bit rude is getting on or off of public transportation. Queuing properly is not a lesson that they have learned. But one politeness they have learned is young men will get out of their seat and offer it to me on the bus, they may have just crowded in front of me to get on the bus, but hey…it’s the thought that counts. And I can tell you I gladly take a seat as the buses are very rickety and hanging on for dear life gets old after a few stops or hills.
We went to church last Sunday and everyone was just delightful. Being typical we got to church early and I don’t think they quite knew what to do with us. But we were welcomed in and offered a seat. Everyone that was already there praying one by one came by to welcome us, the men with a handshake and the women with a kiss on the cheek, at least for me. And of course the Dios le bendiga (God bless you) from all.
The service was supposed to start at 10 but true to Costa Rican style people started arriving at a few minutes after 10 and kept trickling in for the next 20 minutes or so. As they came in they would greet everyone, including us, and then go and join in the prayer up front.
From the moment we walked in the door I could feel that this was a Holy Spirit filled church. There was much prayer, with many people going and kneeling at the front and also many being slain in the Spirit. Then there was some rousing singing and we actually recognized 2 of the songs. Of course it is difficult to sing in English when you are hearing them sing the song in Spanish. And then there was more personal prayer time up front with more being slain in the Spirit.
And when I thought the Pastor was finally going to preach, he said that the Holy Spirit had worked that morning and there was no need for him to add anything to what had been done. So with David and I looking at each other asking, do you think it is over, we had everyone come by and bless us again with either a handshake or a kiss. Finally after someone else went out the door we decided that indeed the service was over. I was a little surprised that the Pastor did not go ahead and preach anyway but decided it was probably because of the bus schedule. Most people that did not live right in town came by the bus which left at 12:30 and the next one wasn’t until 3 hours later on Sunday.
The one thing that struck me while at the church was that people are the same no matter where you are and these lovely people need Jesus just as much as anyone. The only difference is they seem to be able to fall on their faces before God more easily than we do. The other thing I kept thinking over and over, as most of the ones crying out to God were the women, is I would love to bring our Tiara Ladies message to these women so that they could more fully know the freedom that only the Lord gives.
I haven’t taken the time to talk about the people of Costa Rica that we have met so far. They seem to be a happy lot for the most part. Everyone will greet you as you walk by whether they have ever seen you before or not. Buenos dias, hola, or just plain buenas are the typical greeting along with a smile. This is all ages and both genders. How many people in the States will greet you as you walk down the street?
In this small town of Tambor, I have never felt uneasy walking down the street or being alone at the house. Even though according to the internet, petty thievery runs rampant in the country and people are told not to go to the beaches after dark. David and I were just at the beach looking at the full moon shine on the bay and there was no feeling of needing to be careful or wary. I think we are just away from the type of tourist spots that bring in the riff raff.
The people will go out of their way to help you with any questions you might have. The only problem is trying to be understood with a limited amount of Spanish, as for the most part the people we have been meeting do not speak English; unless they are tourists from the US or Canada. The only time people are a little bit rude is getting on or off of public transportation. Queuing properly is not a lesson that they have learned. But one politeness they have learned is young men will get out of their seat and offer it to me on the bus, they may have just crowded in front of me to get on the bus, but hey…it’s the thought that counts. And I can tell you I gladly take a seat as the buses are very rickety and hanging on for dear life gets old after a few stops or hills.
We went to church last Sunday and everyone was just delightful. Being typical we got to church early and I don’t think they quite knew what to do with us. But we were welcomed in and offered a seat. Everyone that was already there praying one by one came by to welcome us, the men with a handshake and the women with a kiss on the cheek, at least for me. And of course the Dios le bendiga (God bless you) from all.
The service was supposed to start at 10 but true to Costa Rican style people started arriving at a few minutes after 10 and kept trickling in for the next 20 minutes or so. As they came in they would greet everyone, including us, and then go and join in the prayer up front.
From the moment we walked in the door I could feel that this was a Holy Spirit filled church. There was much prayer, with many people going and kneeling at the front and also many being slain in the Spirit. Then there was some rousing singing and we actually recognized 2 of the songs. Of course it is difficult to sing in English when you are hearing them sing the song in Spanish. And then there was more personal prayer time up front with more being slain in the Spirit.
And when I thought the Pastor was finally going to preach, he said that the Holy Spirit had worked that morning and there was no need for him to add anything to what had been done. So with David and I looking at each other asking, do you think it is over, we had everyone come by and bless us again with either a handshake or a kiss. Finally after someone else went out the door we decided that indeed the service was over. I was a little surprised that the Pastor did not go ahead and preach anyway but decided it was probably because of the bus schedule. Most people that did not live right in town came by the bus which left at 12:30 and the next one wasn’t until 3 hours later on Sunday.
The one thing that struck me while at the church was that people are the same no matter where you are and these lovely people need Jesus just as much as anyone. The only difference is they seem to be able to fall on their faces before God more easily than we do. The other thing I kept thinking over and over, as most of the ones crying out to God were the women, is I would love to bring our Tiara Ladies message to these women so that they could more fully know the freedom that only the Lord gives.
Tuesday, March 6, 2012
March 5, 2012
March 5, 2012
I thought I would share with you today the iguana that lives on our roof. Or at least he seems to spend most of his time up there. I can tell you that the first few times I heard him scrambling about up there freaked me out. You have to remember we were without electricity the first couple of days, so it was black at night, plus we have a metal roof like everyone else around here. So early in the morning before the sun would be up we would hear, not the pitter patter of little feet, but thump, thump, thud, slide, scramble, scramble, thump.
The first time I heard it I thought the drainpipe was going to completely fall off the roof. And needless to say I would jump every time I heard the noises up there. Of course it didn’t help to have bats living in the downstairs back room.
Well I have finally gotten used to the noises on the roof and the other day it was particularly loud and kept going on and on. I had realized a day or two before that it was an iguana making all the noise. But this day it was just ridiculous how noisy he was. I had just stepped out onto the porch when WHUMP! The silly lizard had fallen off the roof onto his back in the palm tree next to where I was standing. I started laughing at how ridiculous he looked. I must have hurt his feelings, because he immediately tried to right himself and fell the rest of the way to the ground. Once there he scurried off into the bushes.
I decided then and there that we had the clumsiest lizard around. And when I would hear him up there I would just laugh. Well today we found out why he is so clumsy. It seems that our roof has not one but two iguanas that call it home. I guess they don’t like each other or maybe they like each other too much. And that is why there is so much scurrying going on up there.
They both landed in the tree that hangs over from the neighbor’s yard today. David got some pics of the second one and they will be posted later.
I thought I would share with you today the iguana that lives on our roof. Or at least he seems to spend most of his time up there. I can tell you that the first few times I heard him scrambling about up there freaked me out. You have to remember we were without electricity the first couple of days, so it was black at night, plus we have a metal roof like everyone else around here. So early in the morning before the sun would be up we would hear, not the pitter patter of little feet, but thump, thump, thud, slide, scramble, scramble, thump.
The first time I heard it I thought the drainpipe was going to completely fall off the roof. And needless to say I would jump every time I heard the noises up there. Of course it didn’t help to have bats living in the downstairs back room.
Well I have finally gotten used to the noises on the roof and the other day it was particularly loud and kept going on and on. I had realized a day or two before that it was an iguana making all the noise. But this day it was just ridiculous how noisy he was. I had just stepped out onto the porch when WHUMP! The silly lizard had fallen off the roof onto his back in the palm tree next to where I was standing. I started laughing at how ridiculous he looked. I must have hurt his feelings, because he immediately tried to right himself and fell the rest of the way to the ground. Once there he scurried off into the bushes.
I decided then and there that we had the clumsiest lizard around. And when I would hear him up there I would just laugh. Well today we found out why he is so clumsy. It seems that our roof has not one but two iguanas that call it home. I guess they don’t like each other or maybe they like each other too much. And that is why there is so much scurrying going on up there.
They both landed in the tree that hangs over from the neighbor’s yard today. David got some pics of the second one and they will be posted later.
Saturday, March 3, 2012
March 3, 2012
March 3, 2012
I am beginning to get an idea of why we are here. My friend Cindy had talked about needing some cabin time and I thought ‘we have cabin time!’. Well that is exactly where I am. I have been taken and set apart for a season and if I cannot get quiet here and learn how to talk to my Lord more effectively and without distractions. Then I cannot do it anywhere.
Like I said I have been listening to some of the Beth Moore Breaking Free videos. I do not have them all but I do have several saved to my desktop from when I had the Bible Study at my home. The one I just listened to for the second time (the first time was at night and I fell asleep) was about the necessity of prayer in our personal freedom from bondage. A truth I knew, but one I need to get better at doing for myself.
It isn’t until we become serious can we break free from whatever it is that holds us back. She made some good points about freedom. If we are comfortable enough with our bondage we will not seek freedom. It is not until we hate it and what it has done to us that we will be ready to accept the freedom that God has for us.
So for the next five weeks I will set out on a journey to discover a prayer life that no longer will be subject to distractions; but one that will help me to draw close to the very heart and mind of Jesus.
I am beginning to get an idea of why we are here. My friend Cindy had talked about needing some cabin time and I thought ‘we have cabin time!’. Well that is exactly where I am. I have been taken and set apart for a season and if I cannot get quiet here and learn how to talk to my Lord more effectively and without distractions. Then I cannot do it anywhere.
Like I said I have been listening to some of the Beth Moore Breaking Free videos. I do not have them all but I do have several saved to my desktop from when I had the Bible Study at my home. The one I just listened to for the second time (the first time was at night and I fell asleep) was about the necessity of prayer in our personal freedom from bondage. A truth I knew, but one I need to get better at doing for myself.
It isn’t until we become serious can we break free from whatever it is that holds us back. She made some good points about freedom. If we are comfortable enough with our bondage we will not seek freedom. It is not until we hate it and what it has done to us that we will be ready to accept the freedom that God has for us.
So for the next five weeks I will set out on a journey to discover a prayer life that no longer will be subject to distractions; but one that will help me to draw close to the very heart and mind of Jesus.
March 2, 2012
March 2, 2012
Today was a very long day and it is only 4:30 in the afternoon. It started before sunrise with my husband informing me he was going to walk to Tango Mar, did I want to go. My answer summed up the mixed feelings I was having. I said “yes and no”…yes I want to go there but I don’t know that I really want to walk that far. We figure that it is about 2.5 miles but not much of it is flat; lots of up and down and once we were off the main road, very dusty. I decided I did not want to sit home alone so got up and got dressed. We were on our way at 5:45.
On the other side of Tambor there is a steep incline that seems to go on and on. But the morning was still cool enough and the views are very beautiful. We also got to see some mono chongos (howler monkeys) in one of the trees overhanging the road. David was even able to make their noise well enough that the male responded with a call. But he was even more vocal when a truck went by.
As we were walking I thought that our trek would make a good life illustration story. Let’s see how it sounds.
We have a destination in mind and we know that it is beautiful and peaceful and a place we want to go to. On the way, we calculate how long it may take us to get there and we know that we need to be prepared. We take an apple each and a bottle of water. But even with preparation, there are more hills than we remember and the grade is very, very steep at times. But there are distractions along the way that make the walk worthwhile. There are spectacular views, and interesting wild life and amazing flowers to brighten our day.
Finally after much hard walking we come to a sign that points in the direction we are wanting to go. But we must go off the main road and travel a dirt road that has much less traffic. As far as we can tell we are the only ones walking. Here we walk in the quiet, until a dirt bike or car passes us, kicking up so much dirt that sometimes we have to stop and turn our heads in order to breath. But even here there are beauties to discover. A quaint pastoral scene with cows and horses help us enjoy the peace and quiet. We come to a turn in the road; one way offers refreshments but the other our destination. We continue on and the road gets narrower. The walk is broken up by the discovery of a beautiful orchid. Finally we come to a gate and we pass through, knowing that we are welcome here and the gate is not meant to keep us out. Inside the gate the scene changes with well manicured greens for the golf course and some nicer homes along the way.
Once more we come to a fork in the road. We know our destination is straight ahead, but off to the right is a road that leads to a waterfall. For some reason I have a desire to see if we can get to this waterfall easier than the one in Montezuma. So we take the side road and I say if we don’t find the waterfall in 15 minutes we are coming back. Off we walk, again up and down hills until we come to a trail. At the trail I meet a dog out for a stroll and he generously feels it his duty to show me the way to the waterfall. So following my new friend I head up the path. I do finally make the waterfall…it had taken 20 minutes instead of 15, but was worth the view. Could not really see the fall as I was at the top of it. So I get on my hands and knees and look over the edge as it fell directly into the ocean and I could see the surf and the sand and the land as it curved around to the west. Also, I could see straight out to sea for miles and miles. So I sat on a boulder in the shade and the dog sat in the water and we enjoyed the peace and the noise of the water falling and the surf crashing. As we sat there a couple of water taxis went by but they were far enough out that I could not hear their noise and the people were just dots. I cannot imagine a more tranquil place to be.
Walking back from the waterfall to get back to our road I was thinking how sometimes God gives us time of refreshing along our way. But we need to be careful and learn the difference between a time of refreshing and when we have just gotten off track. Anyway, back on the road we make it to our destination. (End of illustration)
At the resort we take advantage of the restaurant and have a batido de sandia (watermelon drink). Afterwards I sat in a hammock while my husband traipsed all over taking pictures. Unfortunately, he was not happy when he came back as he had lost his little camera to the surf. It had fallen out of his pocket and was sweep away before he knew it.
It is now 11:00 and hot away from the ocean breezes. We struggle to get back to the road, taking lots of breaks whenever we would hit a shady spot. We make it back to the main road by 11:40 and Hallelujah as we turn to walk up the road we hear a bus coming. Actually, we were not sure if it was a bus or a truck as we could only hear it. It is a bus and it is going to Cobano, so we stop it and get on.
We go to a little fast food place we had eaten before and had some cold drinks and their version of nachos. The bus to Tambor passes while we are eating so we know that we have about 2 hours to shop. So we take our time at the restaurant and then head out to shop Costa Rican style.
We go to the panaderias and get something yummy for later. One is stuffed with caramel and the other with cream cheese. Then we go to the hardware store and get a key made. On our way make to the main intersection we notice a church. We stop by and a young woman informs us that it is evangelical and that they have services on Sunday at 10. We are thinking we may try it and see what it is like. Then we go to a little Market and I buy some tonic water…supposed to repel mosquitoes…we will see. Then we went to a produce market and got a couple of things. We then went to the carnecerias and bought two kilos of carne molido. Finally we stopped and bought a bag of oranges and 2 pineapples off the back of a truck for 2 mil colones ($4)
Then we went to the bus stop and waited and waited. We figured he was about a ½ hour late. We finally got back to Tambor. I have showered and put on clean clothes and am listening to some Tenth Avenue North while writing this. But my mind is on those pastries I just mentioned.
Today was a very long day and it is only 4:30 in the afternoon. It started before sunrise with my husband informing me he was going to walk to Tango Mar, did I want to go. My answer summed up the mixed feelings I was having. I said “yes and no”…yes I want to go there but I don’t know that I really want to walk that far. We figure that it is about 2.5 miles but not much of it is flat; lots of up and down and once we were off the main road, very dusty. I decided I did not want to sit home alone so got up and got dressed. We were on our way at 5:45.
On the other side of Tambor there is a steep incline that seems to go on and on. But the morning was still cool enough and the views are very beautiful. We also got to see some mono chongos (howler monkeys) in one of the trees overhanging the road. David was even able to make their noise well enough that the male responded with a call. But he was even more vocal when a truck went by.
As we were walking I thought that our trek would make a good life illustration story. Let’s see how it sounds.
We have a destination in mind and we know that it is beautiful and peaceful and a place we want to go to. On the way, we calculate how long it may take us to get there and we know that we need to be prepared. We take an apple each and a bottle of water. But even with preparation, there are more hills than we remember and the grade is very, very steep at times. But there are distractions along the way that make the walk worthwhile. There are spectacular views, and interesting wild life and amazing flowers to brighten our day.
Finally after much hard walking we come to a sign that points in the direction we are wanting to go. But we must go off the main road and travel a dirt road that has much less traffic. As far as we can tell we are the only ones walking. Here we walk in the quiet, until a dirt bike or car passes us, kicking up so much dirt that sometimes we have to stop and turn our heads in order to breath. But even here there are beauties to discover. A quaint pastoral scene with cows and horses help us enjoy the peace and quiet. We come to a turn in the road; one way offers refreshments but the other our destination. We continue on and the road gets narrower. The walk is broken up by the discovery of a beautiful orchid. Finally we come to a gate and we pass through, knowing that we are welcome here and the gate is not meant to keep us out. Inside the gate the scene changes with well manicured greens for the golf course and some nicer homes along the way.
Once more we come to a fork in the road. We know our destination is straight ahead, but off to the right is a road that leads to a waterfall. For some reason I have a desire to see if we can get to this waterfall easier than the one in Montezuma. So we take the side road and I say if we don’t find the waterfall in 15 minutes we are coming back. Off we walk, again up and down hills until we come to a trail. At the trail I meet a dog out for a stroll and he generously feels it his duty to show me the way to the waterfall. So following my new friend I head up the path. I do finally make the waterfall…it had taken 20 minutes instead of 15, but was worth the view. Could not really see the fall as I was at the top of it. So I get on my hands and knees and look over the edge as it fell directly into the ocean and I could see the surf and the sand and the land as it curved around to the west. Also, I could see straight out to sea for miles and miles. So I sat on a boulder in the shade and the dog sat in the water and we enjoyed the peace and the noise of the water falling and the surf crashing. As we sat there a couple of water taxis went by but they were far enough out that I could not hear their noise and the people were just dots. I cannot imagine a more tranquil place to be.
Walking back from the waterfall to get back to our road I was thinking how sometimes God gives us time of refreshing along our way. But we need to be careful and learn the difference between a time of refreshing and when we have just gotten off track. Anyway, back on the road we make it to our destination. (End of illustration)
At the resort we take advantage of the restaurant and have a batido de sandia (watermelon drink). Afterwards I sat in a hammock while my husband traipsed all over taking pictures. Unfortunately, he was not happy when he came back as he had lost his little camera to the surf. It had fallen out of his pocket and was sweep away before he knew it.
It is now 11:00 and hot away from the ocean breezes. We struggle to get back to the road, taking lots of breaks whenever we would hit a shady spot. We make it back to the main road by 11:40 and Hallelujah as we turn to walk up the road we hear a bus coming. Actually, we were not sure if it was a bus or a truck as we could only hear it. It is a bus and it is going to Cobano, so we stop it and get on.
We go to a little fast food place we had eaten before and had some cold drinks and their version of nachos. The bus to Tambor passes while we are eating so we know that we have about 2 hours to shop. So we take our time at the restaurant and then head out to shop Costa Rican style.
We go to the panaderias and get something yummy for later. One is stuffed with caramel and the other with cream cheese. Then we go to the hardware store and get a key made. On our way make to the main intersection we notice a church. We stop by and a young woman informs us that it is evangelical and that they have services on Sunday at 10. We are thinking we may try it and see what it is like. Then we go to a little Market and I buy some tonic water…supposed to repel mosquitoes…we will see. Then we went to a produce market and got a couple of things. We then went to the carnecerias and bought two kilos of carne molido. Finally we stopped and bought a bag of oranges and 2 pineapples off the back of a truck for 2 mil colones ($4)
Then we went to the bus stop and waited and waited. We figured he was about a ½ hour late. We finally got back to Tambor. I have showered and put on clean clothes and am listening to some Tenth Avenue North while writing this. But my mind is on those pastries I just mentioned.
March 1, 2012
March 1, 2012
I listened to the introductory video of Beth Moore’s Breaking Free this morning. It reminded me again why we had done the study as a precursor to teaching our first Tiara Ladies Retreat. She had a great definition for a stronghold and I may have to listen to the video again so that I can steal it. But basically what it boils down to: anything that preoccupies our mind in such a way that we cannot see God’s power to break through the situation has become a stronghold in our life. Isn’t it true that as Christians we can believe that God is capable of doing anything but He just won’t intervene in our particular lives; at least not in that area that we worry to death about. These are the things that either wake us up or keep us awake in the wee hours of the night. It can be fear, lack of control, oppression by others, insecurities, depression, financial insecurities, emotional, mental, inabilities in areas we feel we should be good at, addictions, and the list goes on and on.
We battle this thing day after day and we live lives of quiet desperation, afraid that someone will find out our truth and think less of us as Christians. We put on the face we want others to see and keep hidden this deep dark secret in hopes that someday it will be better. But as long as we keep it hidden or deny that it even exists it is slowly building stronger and stronger each and every day. Only the power of Christ can tear down these strongholds. Anything we do in our own strength will only put a coat of fresh paint on the façade; much like Jesus’ picture of the Pharisees being white-coated sepulchers.
Sitting here three years after the first retreat I am reminded of my journey since then. I had finished a season selling smoothies at the baseball stadium and we had been planning on opening 2 permanent locations. We no longer have the business, have settled all the debt with the banks, had our house foreclosed. David was part of a reduction in force at his school district, so he is no longer employed; we settled our personal debt with the bank. We have down-sized three times. We went from a house to an apartment with my husband getting a large storage facility for his art stuff. We then went from the apartment to 2 rooms at my daughter’s house. At this time I gave away to the kids most of the keepsakes and mementos that we had plus most of the artwork on the walls as well as most of the furniture. We have just down-sized even more with the expectation that God may be moving us to some kind of ministry. David completely emptied his 10 by 20 storage and now all we have fits in ¼ of a garage. And even so, my first thought when we got to Tambor, I have brought too much stuff. The next time out we will pack much lighter.
I sit here with a feeling of expectancy, wondering what the Lord has in store for us next. I believe we are here for a reason and so my prayer is Lord use me to show your glory.
I would laugh to myself when people would want to come with us to spend two months in Costa Rica. I would think, sure you can come; just get rid of almost everything you have, have no hope of financial success and you can come with us. It will be fun!
What a journey and the thing that is amazing me is this is just the preliminary stuff; we haven’t even begun to do what we are meant to be doing.
I listened to the introductory video of Beth Moore’s Breaking Free this morning. It reminded me again why we had done the study as a precursor to teaching our first Tiara Ladies Retreat. She had a great definition for a stronghold and I may have to listen to the video again so that I can steal it. But basically what it boils down to: anything that preoccupies our mind in such a way that we cannot see God’s power to break through the situation has become a stronghold in our life. Isn’t it true that as Christians we can believe that God is capable of doing anything but He just won’t intervene in our particular lives; at least not in that area that we worry to death about. These are the things that either wake us up or keep us awake in the wee hours of the night. It can be fear, lack of control, oppression by others, insecurities, depression, financial insecurities, emotional, mental, inabilities in areas we feel we should be good at, addictions, and the list goes on and on.
We battle this thing day after day and we live lives of quiet desperation, afraid that someone will find out our truth and think less of us as Christians. We put on the face we want others to see and keep hidden this deep dark secret in hopes that someday it will be better. But as long as we keep it hidden or deny that it even exists it is slowly building stronger and stronger each and every day. Only the power of Christ can tear down these strongholds. Anything we do in our own strength will only put a coat of fresh paint on the façade; much like Jesus’ picture of the Pharisees being white-coated sepulchers.
Sitting here three years after the first retreat I am reminded of my journey since then. I had finished a season selling smoothies at the baseball stadium and we had been planning on opening 2 permanent locations. We no longer have the business, have settled all the debt with the banks, had our house foreclosed. David was part of a reduction in force at his school district, so he is no longer employed; we settled our personal debt with the bank. We have down-sized three times. We went from a house to an apartment with my husband getting a large storage facility for his art stuff. We then went from the apartment to 2 rooms at my daughter’s house. At this time I gave away to the kids most of the keepsakes and mementos that we had plus most of the artwork on the walls as well as most of the furniture. We have just down-sized even more with the expectation that God may be moving us to some kind of ministry. David completely emptied his 10 by 20 storage and now all we have fits in ¼ of a garage. And even so, my first thought when we got to Tambor, I have brought too much stuff. The next time out we will pack much lighter.
I sit here with a feeling of expectancy, wondering what the Lord has in store for us next. I believe we are here for a reason and so my prayer is Lord use me to show your glory.
I would laugh to myself when people would want to come with us to spend two months in Costa Rica. I would think, sure you can come; just get rid of almost everything you have, have no hope of financial success and you can come with us. It will be fun!
What a journey and the thing that is amazing me is this is just the preliminary stuff; we haven’t even begun to do what we are meant to be doing.
Thursday, March 1, 2012
february 29, 2012 part 2
February 29, 2012 part 2
We went to breakfast this morning at H&B. It was actually early and cool enough that I had café con leche. For breakfast I had a gallo, which is rice and beans with fried eggs, it also came with a slice of cheese, toast and fried plantain; a typical breakfast for these parts and very good. I had wanted eggs and this filled the bill. David even took a picture of it after I placed the egg on top of the rice and beans and broke the yolk to share with our friend Craig. (He does not like your food to touch)
During breakfast we started chatting with a gentleman from the states that has lived down here for 10 years. He is building a house near the Tango Mar Resort and offered to show us his property and the beach nearby. He said it was one of the most beautiful beaches around. We gladly accepted the invitation. Even with our busy schedule we not deny a trip to a beautiful beach.
His property is lovely and backs to the golf course at the resort…I know my friend John would love it. And it is a short distance to the beach. We drove through the resort to get to the beach as it is a public road. The resort is beautiful and quite large but seems to be very quiet, at least on a Wednesday it is. He was right; the beach is absolutely gorgeous and pristine. We enjoyed a leisurely stroll along the beach. This is exactly what I had envisioned before we came here. I am sure my husband will post pictures soon and I will then put them on my fb page.
We went to breakfast this morning at H&B. It was actually early and cool enough that I had café con leche. For breakfast I had a gallo, which is rice and beans with fried eggs, it also came with a slice of cheese, toast and fried plantain; a typical breakfast for these parts and very good. I had wanted eggs and this filled the bill. David even took a picture of it after I placed the egg on top of the rice and beans and broke the yolk to share with our friend Craig. (He does not like your food to touch)
During breakfast we started chatting with a gentleman from the states that has lived down here for 10 years. He is building a house near the Tango Mar Resort and offered to show us his property and the beach nearby. He said it was one of the most beautiful beaches around. We gladly accepted the invitation. Even with our busy schedule we not deny a trip to a beautiful beach.
His property is lovely and backs to the golf course at the resort…I know my friend John would love it. And it is a short distance to the beach. We drove through the resort to get to the beach as it is a public road. The resort is beautiful and quite large but seems to be very quiet, at least on a Wednesday it is. He was right; the beach is absolutely gorgeous and pristine. We enjoyed a leisurely stroll along the beach. This is exactly what I had envisioned before we came here. I am sure my husband will post pictures soon and I will then put them on my fb page.
February 29, 2012
February 29, 2012
Some mysteries will remain mysteries!!!
I had always thought that I had the mismatched socks in the wash figured out. I thought that one of the pair would disintegrate into either the wash lint or the dryer lint. And then the socks would not match when it came time to fold and put away the laundry. They would live in that state for how ever long it took. But as soon as you go through your sock drawer and throw away the single socks, the missing matches would magically come together out of the lint and begin to appear in your next several loads of laundry to be folded and put away.
Easy Peasy….but no…here I am in Costa Rica doing my laundry by hand…no washer or dryer for the sock to turn itself into lint and yet I just hung 1 and ½ pairs of socks on the line downstairs.
I wonder if it will reappear in the dryer when I get back home? That would be a magic trick!!!
Some mysteries will remain mysteries!!!
I had always thought that I had the mismatched socks in the wash figured out. I thought that one of the pair would disintegrate into either the wash lint or the dryer lint. And then the socks would not match when it came time to fold and put away the laundry. They would live in that state for how ever long it took. But as soon as you go through your sock drawer and throw away the single socks, the missing matches would magically come together out of the lint and begin to appear in your next several loads of laundry to be folded and put away.
Easy Peasy….but no…here I am in Costa Rica doing my laundry by hand…no washer or dryer for the sock to turn itself into lint and yet I just hung 1 and ½ pairs of socks on the line downstairs.
I wonder if it will reappear in the dryer when I get back home? That would be a magic trick!!!
Sunday, February 26, 2012
February 25, 2012
February 25, 2012
Today was Saturday and since I was busy finishing up my Bible Study yesterday, we decided today would be the day to go to Cobano and do some grocery shopping. David also had some bulbs to exchange at the hardware store that he had bought there yesterday. But that is his whole long convoluted story, so you’ll have to ask him about it.
Since we were going to Cobano and leaving as early as possible to avoid most of the heat, I suggested we stay on the bus and go to Montezuma and check it out. Montezuma is on the ocean to the west of us but you cannot get to it by staying on the beach, unless you are a boat and then you can go that way. Montezuma kind of reminds be of Venice Beach without the body builders. Very young and most of them looked like they did not get the memo that the 60’s are over. Compared to Tambor this is a bustling community with several youth hostels as well. On the way into town we passed several resorts, I thought it odd that the resorts are up on the hill while the hostels are right down on the beach.
After getting off the bus we spotted a map and it was then that I remembered that Montezuma is supposed to have some very beautiful waterfalls nearby. So we decided to take a walk and see if they were close. After less than 10 minutes we crossed a bridge and see a path going upstream. We decide that must be it…and the sign warning us of danger confirmed our suspicions. We continued anyway and came to some lovely little bitty waterfalls over some boulders. We know this cannot be it and proceed to travel upstream. Now I have done this on many streams in Arizona in the mountains with little difficulty. But then I was younger, the way was more pronounced and it was not so humid. So up and over and down and around and clinging to tree roots and branches and jumping from rock to rock and repeat.
After a relatively short time that felt like forever it became a matter of I will see this fall if it kills me and it probably will. We finally rounded a bend and there ahead about 100yards was a quite lovely waterfall maybe 30-40 feet high. I am thinking this is no Yosemite. And I am also thinking I am absolutely too tired to go the last bit. About then 3 girls come back our way from this fall and ask if we know the way to the higher and bigger falls. Are you kidding me!?!
We had passed a trail going straight up about 20 yards back and see it on our way back out of this jungle paradise. Needless to say we did make it back safely, buy just. We are both nursing our wounds as I speak. I got a couple of blisters and exhausted legs from the adventure. Oh did I mention it was hot, even though we had gotten to Montezuma by 8:05am and now it was nearing 9:30 it was hotter than all get out. I don’t know if I have ever hiked in those conditions and doubt I will again. I’ve hiked in the heat but not heat and humidity….it’s killer.
We were too tired to do anything except get a drink and wait for the bus to take us to Cobano. We had lunch and did our shopping and hopped back on the bus 2 hours later. And then I came in the house, peeled off my clothes and took a lovely cold shower. Then I put the food away and had a peaceful nap on the hammock.
Today was Saturday and since I was busy finishing up my Bible Study yesterday, we decided today would be the day to go to Cobano and do some grocery shopping. David also had some bulbs to exchange at the hardware store that he had bought there yesterday. But that is his whole long convoluted story, so you’ll have to ask him about it.
Since we were going to Cobano and leaving as early as possible to avoid most of the heat, I suggested we stay on the bus and go to Montezuma and check it out. Montezuma is on the ocean to the west of us but you cannot get to it by staying on the beach, unless you are a boat and then you can go that way. Montezuma kind of reminds be of Venice Beach without the body builders. Very young and most of them looked like they did not get the memo that the 60’s are over. Compared to Tambor this is a bustling community with several youth hostels as well. On the way into town we passed several resorts, I thought it odd that the resorts are up on the hill while the hostels are right down on the beach.
After getting off the bus we spotted a map and it was then that I remembered that Montezuma is supposed to have some very beautiful waterfalls nearby. So we decided to take a walk and see if they were close. After less than 10 minutes we crossed a bridge and see a path going upstream. We decide that must be it…and the sign warning us of danger confirmed our suspicions. We continued anyway and came to some lovely little bitty waterfalls over some boulders. We know this cannot be it and proceed to travel upstream. Now I have done this on many streams in Arizona in the mountains with little difficulty. But then I was younger, the way was more pronounced and it was not so humid. So up and over and down and around and clinging to tree roots and branches and jumping from rock to rock and repeat.
After a relatively short time that felt like forever it became a matter of I will see this fall if it kills me and it probably will. We finally rounded a bend and there ahead about 100yards was a quite lovely waterfall maybe 30-40 feet high. I am thinking this is no Yosemite. And I am also thinking I am absolutely too tired to go the last bit. About then 3 girls come back our way from this fall and ask if we know the way to the higher and bigger falls. Are you kidding me!?!
We had passed a trail going straight up about 20 yards back and see it on our way back out of this jungle paradise. Needless to say we did make it back safely, buy just. We are both nursing our wounds as I speak. I got a couple of blisters and exhausted legs from the adventure. Oh did I mention it was hot, even though we had gotten to Montezuma by 8:05am and now it was nearing 9:30 it was hotter than all get out. I don’t know if I have ever hiked in those conditions and doubt I will again. I’ve hiked in the heat but not heat and humidity….it’s killer.
We were too tired to do anything except get a drink and wait for the bus to take us to Cobano. We had lunch and did our shopping and hopped back on the bus 2 hours later. And then I came in the house, peeled off my clothes and took a lovely cold shower. Then I put the food away and had a peaceful nap on the hammock.
February 23, 2012
February 23, 2012
Sing to the Lord a love song
Today as I looked at the sun rise over the ocean and listened to the sound of the waves the thought that struck me was how amazing God is in the details. The colors, the sounds, the feel as the sun peaked over the mountains and the glow hit the bay were awe inspiring to say the least. But I thought back to what the Lord had told my husband about this place…It is just dirt…look instead at what I have brought out of the dirt. I looked up the beach and there were 2 people walking along the surf and I realized that all that the Lord has done is for them.
So I stood and faced the sunrise and closed my eyes and just soaked it all in. My Lord, my Ishi, my Savior, my beloved had made this all so that at that moment I could stand there and enjoy His presence.
I came away humming a song from childhood, I am my beloved and he is mine, His banner over me is love. His banner over me is love!
Sing to the Lord a love song
Today as I looked at the sun rise over the ocean and listened to the sound of the waves the thought that struck me was how amazing God is in the details. The colors, the sounds, the feel as the sun peaked over the mountains and the glow hit the bay were awe inspiring to say the least. But I thought back to what the Lord had told my husband about this place…It is just dirt…look instead at what I have brought out of the dirt. I looked up the beach and there were 2 people walking along the surf and I realized that all that the Lord has done is for them.
So I stood and faced the sunrise and closed my eyes and just soaked it all in. My Lord, my Ishi, my Savior, my beloved had made this all so that at that moment I could stand there and enjoy His presence.
I came away humming a song from childhood, I am my beloved and he is mine, His banner over me is love. His banner over me is love!
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
February 21, 2012
February 21, 2012
Three words of blessing = George Forman Grill = Hallelujah
I just finished cooking my second meal on the George Forman and I am sending blessings his way. What a marvelous invention. Yesterday I cooked bacon on it and was so happy to not have raw/burnt bacon again. So with that victory in hand I bought some hamburger when we were in Cobano yesterday. I thought I would like to see how George handles ground Cebu. Well let me tell you, he came out like a champ. The hamburgers were very tasty and all I added was a little pepper. I now am able to cook, albeit only things that can be cooked on the grill…still it is a huge improvement!
Well back to organizing the Bible Study on Hosea. I wish I could print them out and then put them on a huge table and put them in order, stand back and then change the order over and over until I was satisfied, but wait, no printer and for that matter no table, so I will muddle through with opening doc after doc and trying to remember what goes where. I have made three grouping/folders so far and only have to figure out three more. Wish me luck. Better yet, pray for me ;-))
Three words of blessing = George Forman Grill = Hallelujah
I just finished cooking my second meal on the George Forman and I am sending blessings his way. What a marvelous invention. Yesterday I cooked bacon on it and was so happy to not have raw/burnt bacon again. So with that victory in hand I bought some hamburger when we were in Cobano yesterday. I thought I would like to see how George handles ground Cebu. Well let me tell you, he came out like a champ. The hamburgers were very tasty and all I added was a little pepper. I now am able to cook, albeit only things that can be cooked on the grill…still it is a huge improvement!
Well back to organizing the Bible Study on Hosea. I wish I could print them out and then put them on a huge table and put them in order, stand back and then change the order over and over until I was satisfied, but wait, no printer and for that matter no table, so I will muddle through with opening doc after doc and trying to remember what goes where. I have made three grouping/folders so far and only have to figure out three more. Wish me luck. Better yet, pray for me ;-))
February 20, 2012
February 20, 2012
Wow it is past 8:30 and I am still up. I have been putting together the Bible Study I am working on, but I am getting too sleepy to think. It is amazing how draining the heat can be. The night air is still, not a breeze except for the little fan blowing on David. Every night about this time an amazing scent floats on the air. It is quite intoxicating and reminds me of jasmine or carnations or a mixture of the two. The problem is that every car or truck that goes by interrupts that smell. But then after a few moments it is back and it makes me happy.
Today we ventured beyond Tambor and took the bus to Cobano. Cobano is a bustling town up in the mountains that is a crossroads to the more popular beach resorts. It is filled with people and vehicles and noise and heat. We got there about 9:30 and spent a couple of hours checking out the grocery stores, panaderias, carnecerias and the farmacia. There were several of each which is amazing considering the main part of town is only a couple of blocks long by a couple of blocks wide.
We eventually bought a few things and then picked up a couple of watermelon from a street vendor. We could not really buy too much as we had to carry it on the bus. And it is a good thing that we did not buy much as we ended up waiting an hour and half for the bus to appear.
My buy of the day was at the farmacia. A lovely young lady helped me by finding someone that spoke a little English. When I showed here my prescription she came back with a new one for $10. The co-pay back home was $30.
We had a bunch of little kids come by the house this afternoon. I am not sure what they wanted, whether candy or money or just to laugh at us. The lady from next door came and shooed them away, telling them to go home and behave themselves. We watched the whole thing unfold from our balcony.
Oh, one more thing, got to see Ballena Bay from the bus as we came back to Tambor. It was an absolutely beautiful site. Finally I have seen what the appeal is for this area. Not that I haven’t seen beauty here, this was just so much more than the small glimpses I have had. It looked like a picture postcard of sand and surf and trees and mountains with a couple of sailboats anchored in the water.
Tomorrow I continue my work on the study. Maybe it will be a trip to the hardware store so I can buy an adapter to be able to do some lengthy work online or even try to Skype.
Wow it is past 8:30 and I am still up. I have been putting together the Bible Study I am working on, but I am getting too sleepy to think. It is amazing how draining the heat can be. The night air is still, not a breeze except for the little fan blowing on David. Every night about this time an amazing scent floats on the air. It is quite intoxicating and reminds me of jasmine or carnations or a mixture of the two. The problem is that every car or truck that goes by interrupts that smell. But then after a few moments it is back and it makes me happy.
Today we ventured beyond Tambor and took the bus to Cobano. Cobano is a bustling town up in the mountains that is a crossroads to the more popular beach resorts. It is filled with people and vehicles and noise and heat. We got there about 9:30 and spent a couple of hours checking out the grocery stores, panaderias, carnecerias and the farmacia. There were several of each which is amazing considering the main part of town is only a couple of blocks long by a couple of blocks wide.
We eventually bought a few things and then picked up a couple of watermelon from a street vendor. We could not really buy too much as we had to carry it on the bus. And it is a good thing that we did not buy much as we ended up waiting an hour and half for the bus to appear.
My buy of the day was at the farmacia. A lovely young lady helped me by finding someone that spoke a little English. When I showed here my prescription she came back with a new one for $10. The co-pay back home was $30.
We had a bunch of little kids come by the house this afternoon. I am not sure what they wanted, whether candy or money or just to laugh at us. The lady from next door came and shooed them away, telling them to go home and behave themselves. We watched the whole thing unfold from our balcony.
Oh, one more thing, got to see Ballena Bay from the bus as we came back to Tambor. It was an absolutely beautiful site. Finally I have seen what the appeal is for this area. Not that I haven’t seen beauty here, this was just so much more than the small glimpses I have had. It looked like a picture postcard of sand and surf and trees and mountains with a couple of sailboats anchored in the water.
Tomorrow I continue my work on the study. Maybe it will be a trip to the hardware store so I can buy an adapter to be able to do some lengthy work online or even try to Skype.
Sunday, February 19, 2012
February 19, 2012
February 19, 2012
Today is Sunday and it is almost 10:00 in the morning. At around 7 we went for a walk up the road away from Tambor. We really should have started earlier, like around 5, when the dark was just starting to melt away. The sun does not so much come up as there is a gradual lighting that starts and the opposite happens at night as the light gradually fades.
Anyway, we walked as far as the river, which I am sure is not that far, but everything feels far. We passed a couple of restaurants attached to hotels, which was good, because we needed to stop and get a drink on our way back. David has a fresa shake and I had a bottled tropical drink, but first I ordered dos vasos de agua. The water here is drinkable and actually quite good. So far no repercussions from drinking water from the tap.
We took our time with the drinks in the Costa Rican style and David practiced his Spanish on me. He has a handy little pocket guide, which has come in handy for reminding us what some of the terms travelers might need. The restaurant was quite lovely, open air with tables covered in linens and set like you would see in a fancy restaurant. But the feeling is casual. There are a couple of families there enjoying their breakfasts. I crack up when I notice a nice TV up in the rafters that has a dove nesting over it.
After finishing we come back home and I do my laundry. I use the cracked pail in the sink as my washing machine. There is some detergent and I rinse out a few things. While I wash I think to myself these jeans will not be worn again until April, so if they ever dry they will be packed away. It is funny how your perspective on what to wear becomes….how hot is it and how long will it take to dry? I can see why most of the turistas around here live in their bathing suits…even though it is very difficult on the sensibilities. All I have to say to my friends Cindy and Kristyn…Man on bicycle….speedos and large women in two pieces…I may be scarred for life!!! At least the locals are more desciminating…opting for t-shirts or tank tops and shorts.
David just tried cooking again…let’s say the results were no better than mine last night. Not sure what we will end up doing….oh well, maybe we are to give up cooked food for lent, and just live on fruit drinks and sandwiches.
Today is Sunday and it is almost 10:00 in the morning. At around 7 we went for a walk up the road away from Tambor. We really should have started earlier, like around 5, when the dark was just starting to melt away. The sun does not so much come up as there is a gradual lighting that starts and the opposite happens at night as the light gradually fades.
Anyway, we walked as far as the river, which I am sure is not that far, but everything feels far. We passed a couple of restaurants attached to hotels, which was good, because we needed to stop and get a drink on our way back. David has a fresa shake and I had a bottled tropical drink, but first I ordered dos vasos de agua. The water here is drinkable and actually quite good. So far no repercussions from drinking water from the tap.
We took our time with the drinks in the Costa Rican style and David practiced his Spanish on me. He has a handy little pocket guide, which has come in handy for reminding us what some of the terms travelers might need. The restaurant was quite lovely, open air with tables covered in linens and set like you would see in a fancy restaurant. But the feeling is casual. There are a couple of families there enjoying their breakfasts. I crack up when I notice a nice TV up in the rafters that has a dove nesting over it.
After finishing we come back home and I do my laundry. I use the cracked pail in the sink as my washing machine. There is some detergent and I rinse out a few things. While I wash I think to myself these jeans will not be worn again until April, so if they ever dry they will be packed away. It is funny how your perspective on what to wear becomes….how hot is it and how long will it take to dry? I can see why most of the turistas around here live in their bathing suits…even though it is very difficult on the sensibilities. All I have to say to my friends Cindy and Kristyn…Man on bicycle….speedos and large women in two pieces…I may be scarred for life!!! At least the locals are more desciminating…opting for t-shirts or tank tops and shorts.
David just tried cooking again…let’s say the results were no better than mine last night. Not sure what we will end up doing….oh well, maybe we are to give up cooked food for lent, and just live on fruit drinks and sandwiches.
February 18, 2012
February 18, 2012
Well today we have both water and electricity. Actually that happened late yesterday afternoon. David found a valve under some bushes towards the front of the property and gave it a half twist….all of a sudden, water was gushing from the kitchen faucet…my hero.
With both water and electricity we decide it is time to go to the store and see what we can find that is not too expensive. We had looked the day before but with the heat I was afraid anything we bought would spoil. First we go down to the beach, it is dusk and the sky has a kind of light orangish hue tonight. We enjoy the peacefulness and the sound of the lapping waves before heading to the tienda.
The store is actually pretty good sized with three or four aisles, if memory serves me correctly. It has a variety of both Costa Rican and American food stuffs. Anything jarred or canned is very expensive. For example, peanut butter runs between $4 and $8 depending on the brand, for the little jar. We had been warned about this, and so did not find it to be such a shock. What we did get was a couple of loaves of bread that are like sub rolls. I noticed in San Jose that there were sandwich shops everywhere and this is the type of bread they used. I got 15 brown eggs and some bacon. We also picked up an avocado, a limon and a papaya. And my favorite buy, some local cheese, a little bit salty with a little squeak when you chew….yummmm.
Well we made bacon and egg sandwiches with avocado. And even though the hot plate proved to be a challenge, too hot one moment and no heat the next, they were quite yummy if I do say so myself.
I still slept in the hammock last night because it had been too dark to check the mattresses for black widows. For the first time since I have been here I was buzzed by mosquitoes. I kept as covered up as I could to avoid the bites. It was a very noisy night with birds and monkeys and people and traffic and just all kinds of things going on.
David and I went for a walk in the early morning. We saw some White Throated Blue Jays with a cute top knot, a squirrel, a couple of beautiful bright red parrots flew overhead and cebu. For any Veggie Tale fans out there, the cattle here in Costa Rica are cebu, which sends me into song whenever I see any. There were five or six and a calf that looked pretty new, still a little unsure of his footing getting his face washed by his mommy cebu. There was also a white horse, it seems that every horse I have seen in this country has been white, which I find quite interesting.
We end up at the beach and I look for shells. I find several and tell myself that I will pick them up for the grandkids in April. Otherwise, the house will become covered in shells and there just is no room. By 8:00 it is hot and we head back to the house.
Today we have swept and washed dishes and gotten the mattresses out and rearranged our quarters to be a little more comfortable. The bedroom light and fan do not work, so the bed is going in the living space and all our stuff is going into the bedroom. The balcony still has the two hammocks and two rocking chairs. Just have to remember to sweep everyday and shake out the clothes before putting them on.
There is a group in the campgrounds across from the store. I am wondering if it is a church group since the side of one of the buses said Rey de Reyes (King of Kings) will have to see if we can talk to some of them later.
Tomorrow is Sunday,
Well today we have both water and electricity. Actually that happened late yesterday afternoon. David found a valve under some bushes towards the front of the property and gave it a half twist….all of a sudden, water was gushing from the kitchen faucet…my hero.
With both water and electricity we decide it is time to go to the store and see what we can find that is not too expensive. We had looked the day before but with the heat I was afraid anything we bought would spoil. First we go down to the beach, it is dusk and the sky has a kind of light orangish hue tonight. We enjoy the peacefulness and the sound of the lapping waves before heading to the tienda.
The store is actually pretty good sized with three or four aisles, if memory serves me correctly. It has a variety of both Costa Rican and American food stuffs. Anything jarred or canned is very expensive. For example, peanut butter runs between $4 and $8 depending on the brand, for the little jar. We had been warned about this, and so did not find it to be such a shock. What we did get was a couple of loaves of bread that are like sub rolls. I noticed in San Jose that there were sandwich shops everywhere and this is the type of bread they used. I got 15 brown eggs and some bacon. We also picked up an avocado, a limon and a papaya. And my favorite buy, some local cheese, a little bit salty with a little squeak when you chew….yummmm.
Well we made bacon and egg sandwiches with avocado. And even though the hot plate proved to be a challenge, too hot one moment and no heat the next, they were quite yummy if I do say so myself.
I still slept in the hammock last night because it had been too dark to check the mattresses for black widows. For the first time since I have been here I was buzzed by mosquitoes. I kept as covered up as I could to avoid the bites. It was a very noisy night with birds and monkeys and people and traffic and just all kinds of things going on.
David and I went for a walk in the early morning. We saw some White Throated Blue Jays with a cute top knot, a squirrel, a couple of beautiful bright red parrots flew overhead and cebu. For any Veggie Tale fans out there, the cattle here in Costa Rica are cebu, which sends me into song whenever I see any. There were five or six and a calf that looked pretty new, still a little unsure of his footing getting his face washed by his mommy cebu. There was also a white horse, it seems that every horse I have seen in this country has been white, which I find quite interesting.
We end up at the beach and I look for shells. I find several and tell myself that I will pick them up for the grandkids in April. Otherwise, the house will become covered in shells and there just is no room. By 8:00 it is hot and we head back to the house.
Today we have swept and washed dishes and gotten the mattresses out and rearranged our quarters to be a little more comfortable. The bedroom light and fan do not work, so the bed is going in the living space and all our stuff is going into the bedroom. The balcony still has the two hammocks and two rocking chairs. Just have to remember to sweep everyday and shake out the clothes before putting them on.
There is a group in the campgrounds across from the store. I am wondering if it is a church group since the side of one of the buses said Rey de Reyes (King of Kings) will have to see if we can talk to some of them later.
Tomorrow is Sunday,
February 17, 2012
February 17, 2012
I am sitting on our balcony, it is hot, but a breeze is blowing. We finally have electricity after 2 days. I think how spoiled I am…how many are out in the field with no modern conveniences at all. And I am sorry for myself because the water is now not working upstairs. It has come to mind that Pat had someone come to use this house that when they saw it they turned around and left. Well I am here for at least 2 months. I have called this Missions 101 because I feel that the Lord is training us for something, but mercifully He is taking it slowly. He knows who He is dealing with and does not want to overwhelm us all at once.
So I sit here playing Spider and listening to Matthew Casteel on my computer. Fortunately, I have a few albums downloaded on this old laptop as internet access is a 10 minute walk and not one to be taken at this time of day unless absolutely necessary.
For the first time on this quest I snapped at my husband. I will blame the heat but the truth is the toilet downstairs had not filled with water and so would not flush. He was filling a bucket with water to fill the tank and irritated me by not hearing my answer that I had removed the lid. Silly when you think of it, but aren’t most arguments. I did not get upset when he drug me all over San Jose or when he went off and made friends while I sat by the luggage on the ferry or even when he would not kill the black widow that was on the mattress. It wasn’t until he had given me the same directions several times in a row even though I had answered him that I already had done that.
So sitting here and listening to Matthew has put me into a better frame of mind.
Still no water up here but the refrigerator is working and I go downstairs, braving the dirt and the possibility of bats and fill a pitcher with water…looking forward to when I can have some cold water to drink.
Now back to my game and my music…
I am sitting on our balcony, it is hot, but a breeze is blowing. We finally have electricity after 2 days. I think how spoiled I am…how many are out in the field with no modern conveniences at all. And I am sorry for myself because the water is now not working upstairs. It has come to mind that Pat had someone come to use this house that when they saw it they turned around and left. Well I am here for at least 2 months. I have called this Missions 101 because I feel that the Lord is training us for something, but mercifully He is taking it slowly. He knows who He is dealing with and does not want to overwhelm us all at once.
So I sit here playing Spider and listening to Matthew Casteel on my computer. Fortunately, I have a few albums downloaded on this old laptop as internet access is a 10 minute walk and not one to be taken at this time of day unless absolutely necessary.
For the first time on this quest I snapped at my husband. I will blame the heat but the truth is the toilet downstairs had not filled with water and so would not flush. He was filling a bucket with water to fill the tank and irritated me by not hearing my answer that I had removed the lid. Silly when you think of it, but aren’t most arguments. I did not get upset when he drug me all over San Jose or when he went off and made friends while I sat by the luggage on the ferry or even when he would not kill the black widow that was on the mattress. It wasn’t until he had given me the same directions several times in a row even though I had answered him that I already had done that.
So sitting here and listening to Matthew has put me into a better frame of mind.
Still no water up here but the refrigerator is working and I go downstairs, braving the dirt and the possibility of bats and fill a pitcher with water…looking forward to when I can have some cold water to drink.
Now back to my game and my music…
February 2, 2012
February 2, 2012
Wondering about my role in Costa Rica, the Lord spoke to me and said to ‘tell stories’. I smiled at that and thought I am not the storyteller, that was my father not me. But then I remembered the Tea we just had in Glendale with the lovely Sun City Ladies and my retelling the story from The Big Bang when Amy gets her tiara. Afterwards, Bonnie came up to me and said I was a storyteller. What amazing praise from a woman who indeed is a master storyteller. But the more I thought about it the more sense it made. I will be among people that may not have heard the stories of the Bible and it would be easy just to tell them about what I am writing about Hosea. Truthfully, most of the Old Testament reads like a soap opera anyway. And the stories certainly relate to our present lives.
I have been pondering this word for a week or so, and then it hit me. Maybe I should do the study that way too. Make each day more of a story. So now, I will have to start telling stories and then go back and re-write what I have done in that format. Or maybe at the start of each week of study I do a story that will go along with what is being studied that week. And then as the ladies do the homework they can remember back to the story that had been told and maybe it would feel more alive to them.
How to do that:
Skype
YouTube
AnyMeeting
Vimeo
Wondering about my role in Costa Rica, the Lord spoke to me and said to ‘tell stories’. I smiled at that and thought I am not the storyteller, that was my father not me. But then I remembered the Tea we just had in Glendale with the lovely Sun City Ladies and my retelling the story from The Big Bang when Amy gets her tiara. Afterwards, Bonnie came up to me and said I was a storyteller. What amazing praise from a woman who indeed is a master storyteller. But the more I thought about it the more sense it made. I will be among people that may not have heard the stories of the Bible and it would be easy just to tell them about what I am writing about Hosea. Truthfully, most of the Old Testament reads like a soap opera anyway. And the stories certainly relate to our present lives.
I have been pondering this word for a week or so, and then it hit me. Maybe I should do the study that way too. Make each day more of a story. So now, I will have to start telling stories and then go back and re-write what I have done in that format. Or maybe at the start of each week of study I do a story that will go along with what is being studied that week. And then as the ladies do the homework they can remember back to the story that had been told and maybe it would feel more alive to them.
How to do that:
Skype
YouTube
AnyMeeting
Vimeo
January 23, 2012
January 23, 2012
I have always thought what a burden it would be to win the lottery. To instantly have so much money and the care I would have to take to spend any of it. I would feel, if the Lord has allowed me to win this much money, I must be really sure I am in His will with all of my spending.
It has hit me over the last week or so how utterly ridiculous that point of view is. After all, all of the money and resources I have has been given to me by the Lord. I am to be a good steward of everything, not just what I would consider to be a windfall.
If I am a joint heir with Jesus then the wealth of the universe is at my disposal. And whatever it is that I should buy, I will be able to buy. But just like I would feel compelled to pray before using my lottery winnings, I need to be just as careful with all of God’s resources. There will be times when I am not to buy what I think I need and there will be other times when I will be able to extravagantly buy something that I would never think I could.
It’s all God’s and through Jesus, available to His followers, I need to start living like that!!!!
I have always thought what a burden it would be to win the lottery. To instantly have so much money and the care I would have to take to spend any of it. I would feel, if the Lord has allowed me to win this much money, I must be really sure I am in His will with all of my spending.
It has hit me over the last week or so how utterly ridiculous that point of view is. After all, all of the money and resources I have has been given to me by the Lord. I am to be a good steward of everything, not just what I would consider to be a windfall.
If I am a joint heir with Jesus then the wealth of the universe is at my disposal. And whatever it is that I should buy, I will be able to buy. But just like I would feel compelled to pray before using my lottery winnings, I need to be just as careful with all of God’s resources. There will be times when I am not to buy what I think I need and there will be other times when I will be able to extravagantly buy something that I would never think I could.
It’s all God’s and through Jesus, available to His followers, I need to start living like that!!!!
January 21, 2012
January 21, 2012
Lord, I surrender all my hopes and fears to you. I am beginning to realize the reason I am not excited about the opportunity in front of us, is my fear of failure. That instead of doing your will, I would just continue on and it would turn into a vacation. This is not what I want. Even though the main reason this has even been offered to us, is to get us out of the house, I know that cannot be the reason for us to go.
Today, I ask that you would speak to me. That you would give me a vision for what I can do in Costa Rica to bring glory to your name.
Lord, I surrender all my hopes and fears to you. I am beginning to realize the reason I am not excited about the opportunity in front of us, is my fear of failure. That instead of doing your will, I would just continue on and it would turn into a vacation. This is not what I want. Even though the main reason this has even been offered to us, is to get us out of the house, I know that cannot be the reason for us to go.
Today, I ask that you would speak to me. That you would give me a vision for what I can do in Costa Rica to bring glory to your name.
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