Sunday Funday February 9
Prayers and Praises
School started! And went surprisingly well for the first week of school! Living Stones Cajueiro Claro began with a wonderful time, and I am loving the Child Evangelism Fellowship materials we have in Portuguese! Such a blessing!
The girls love their teachers and friends: Sofia is 4 and in Kinder 2 (like pre-school), and Jessica is 2 and in nursery.
Prayers for more interns to come teach at the International school! The more teachers the better!
Interweb Reads:
Morning Off: personal promotion? yes. (Five Minutes of Fergie)
Does God Really Want me to be Happy? “No Jesus-follower is excluded. But I’ll just ask this on behalf of those who happen to be married: “Can’t it be just a little bit about being happy?” Few things feel longer than an adult lifetime of unhappily-married no matter how holy you are. Thank goodness, holiness and happiness were never meant to be mutually exclusive terms. I’ve pushed them to the north and south poles, not God. As it turns out, they overlap substantially more than some of us feared but that was more than the brother on Twitter wanted to know. I placed my fingers on the keyboard and typed him back, “I believe it is God’s will for us to be fruitful.” (Beth Moore on Ann Voskamp)
Why am I so Surprised when Crisis Strikes? “And I sit here and I just want it to go away. Kind of irritated, actually, that God doesn’t just let up. Maybe because I’ve bought into the American dream or maybe because I’m just plain selfish, but I have this ingrained expectation that I deserve a little peace and quiet every once in a while. Like, I’ve met my quota for stress, God; you owe me an easy ride from here on out.” (A Life Overseas)
Sex and the Married Missionary: “In other words, a healthy, satisfying sex life contributes, at its maximum, to about 20% of a person’s happiness and well-being. But when things aren’t so great, when a couple is “demoralized and alienated,” McCarthy says that “sexuality has a 50-75 percent role of subverting intimacy and threatening marital stability.” (A Life Overseas)
I have Infertility anxiety and fertility anxiety: “But I’m not ready, not yet. Finding out if I can get pregnant also means finding out if I can’t. And finding out I can’t get pregnant means another death—a loss, something definitive to grieve, another thing to reckon with. There is a finality in having that surgery I’m not ready for. “ (Fathom)
White People: Here is why moving to a good school in a good neighborhood is racist: I enjoyed reading this and then reading (some) of the comments. It is important to be aware of this conversation, even if (I sure don’t) have all the answers. (Chicago Unheard)
Displacement: I don’t think any of us who are not refugees or seeking asylum will ever really understand what it is to be in that situation, but I do think we should try to understand. I also think that missionaries and expats have a unique perspective on immigration, and have a voice to speak to many people who have never migrated for any reason. I love hearing and learning from refugees and those seeking asylum, even though it is hard to hear. I am also grateful for those who understand my USA world and International world and speak from their perspective to shed some light on important issues. (Velvet Ashes)