dishwasher success

YEAH!!!! Apparently a little fire was all it took. There is officially a new functioning dishwasher in the kitchen. It's pretty:) and it washes dishes! Apparently that's a fairly new concept...the fact that the dishwasher not only sanitizes but also washes!

shukos

I just made shukos for dinner and though they weren't quite the same as the ones off the street they were good and a quick spruce up to hot dogs. Yummy guacamole, cooked shredded cabbage, ketchup,and mustard smothering a plain old boiled hot dog on a toasted bun. Mm. Mm. Good.
There were a lot of great things about Guatemala but I think the best was how it opened my eyes to worlds outside my own...shukos included:)

dishwashers

Did anyone else know that home appliances are simply complicated? My parent's dishwasher has been out of service for quite a while now. They went looking for a new one not to long ago and came home with nothing. So yesterday I decided to do a little online research and then take my mom shopping. I spent upwards of 3 hours trying to learn about dishwashers...the brands and features, which ones people like and don't like, and why. Ugh. This morning we went to a local appliance store and sears. The old dishwasher...is not just old...it's ancient...18!!! Helping mom understand that things have changed a bit since her last purchase was half the battle:) Then trying to decide where the silverware rack should be, where the vent should be, what kind of buttons, big handle or small, is an adjustable rack really necessary? what kind of drying system does it have?...the list goes on but I think, just maybe, she picked one out.
...to be continued when there's a functioning dishwasher in the house...:)

Painting Pictures of Egypt-Sara Groves

Sara Groves is sooooooooo good! I remember the first time I heard this song...my college roomie played it for me. I also remember thinking.."yeah it's good"...and then moved on. But now I understand. And though I will never fully comprehend what the Israelites felt when they were fleeing Egypt, I can relate. It's hard to move foward when you don't know where you're going.

Painting Pictures of Egypt by Sara Groves
I don’t want to leave here I don’t want to stay
It feels like pinching to me either way
The places I long for the most are the places where I’ve been
They are calling after me like a long lost friend
It’s not about losing faith It’s not about trust
It’s all about comfortable when you move so much
The place I was wasn’t perfect but I had found a way to live
It wasn’t milk or honey but then neither is this

I’ve been painting pictures of Egypt leaving out what it lacked
The future seems so hard and I want to go back
But the places that used to fit me cannot hold the things I"ve learned
And those roads closed off to me while my back was turned

The past is so tangible I know it by heart
Familiar things are never easy to discard
I was dying for some freedom But now I hesitate to go
Caught between the promise And the things I know

If it comes too quick I may not recognize it
Is that the reason behind all this time and sand?
If it comes too quick I may not appreciate it
Is that the reason behind all this time and sand?

two years of guate crammed into a five minute video

It's taken a while but I finally finished a fairly decent video giving a taste of my life in Guatemala...especially as a teacher at the Christian Academy. It's about five minutes...I don't know how long it will take to load.

Amazing Grace (My Chains are Gone)

Visiting my aunt's church this morning I "learned" Chris Tomlin's version of Take My Life. After church when watching a football game(or so I thought) I looked around the room and realized everyone else was napping. Since I didn't give two-hoots about the Jets/Cardinals game I decided to find this song before it escaped my mind. One thing I appreciate about Chris Tomlin is that essentially he teaches how he plays various songs on worshiptogether.com...then someone kindly posts all those videos on youtube. I never ended up finding a demo of Take My Life but I did watch his video teaching Amazing Grace(My Chains are Gone). I've heard this song a thousand times and always assumed he'd written that last verse he sings:
The earth shall soon dissolve like snow
The sun forbear to shine
But God, Who called me here below
Will be forever mine...
Will be forever mine...
You are forever mine
Apparently, or at least according to Tomlin's research this was the original last verse and the "when we've been there..." verse was added 100 years after Newton wrote Amazing Grace. Who knew? Certainly not me! I really like this verse! I don't know how to explain why. Maybe it just brings a little affirmation that this whole job hunt/life change thing is gonna be ok. Anywho...

leaky eyes

As I read a couple emails this morning my eyes just started leaking. Not because of a sappy message but because I am so incredibly thankful for my friends whose locations span the US and Guatemala. I've become so stinkin' numb because I feel like my life is simply on hold. Even as I write that I know it's ridiculous. My life's not on hold...there are plenty of people to love and serve every day whether I get paid for it or not. Yesterday a friend was saying that at the end of the day success boils down to two questions. #1 Did I love God today? and #2 Did I love people today? Maybe that's why this morning my eyes started leaking...I was on the receiving end of that love...it sure feels good no matter how great or small the distance between friends.