I got all I need (in KY accent)

First some things about our funny groggies...

This morning Jon and Kolby took our friend and their dog to the Vet (b/c we have a car now and dogs aren't allowed in taxis!). Kolby keeps saying, "Thanks Daddy, for taking me to the doggy doctor!" The other night I was helping Kolby get ready for bed and out of the blue he says, "Mommy, you are too big to ride up top (the term he uses for riding on Jon's shoulders). But I am not b/c my Daddy has no hair." Ha! He's been cracking me up lately! Last Saturday he wanted to play pirate. So Jon made him this pirate get-up and a make-believe pirate ship on his bed. He holds his finger up like in the picture and says something like, "First I need a drink of milk!"



Then there is Gabby :) We made coconut macaroons together the other day. I finally caught her priceless "O" face on camera. She was a big helper...spilling stuff all over and putting her fingers in everything! Today we got to have some more mommy/daughter time while the men took the dog to the vet. She helped me clean the dirt off our slab of marble porch. Then we came inside and danced around the house doing some more cleaning and playing at the same time. Gabby loves to dance. Let's hope she has her Daddy's moves and not her Mom's :)

Lately I have been stressing myself out and I couldn't really figure out why. I tried to put it all into words the other night while I was talking to Jon. It really came down to figuring out who I am here in this place. Thankfully, Jesus provided my friend Veronica and I with some time to take a walk with the kids yesterday (in the heat of the day! what were we thinking?!). After chatting awhile we figured out we were both struggling with some of the same emotions. One being guilt. I remembered something I heard from our friend Phil when he and his wife visited this Spring. He said (well, what I heard him saying anyways!) was in order to truly be authentic you have to keep the gap closed between who you know you are and who people think you are. That is why I started this blog back then...in hopes of keeping this gap closed. I don't want my friends and family back in America to think I am something I am not. And when I feel like I haven't clearly communicated who I really am and what I am doing here then I allow myself to feel guilty...like shouldn't I be able to learn a new language, build relationships with nationals, have good relationships with Americans here, keep a clean house, never have dishes in the sink, stay on top of relationships back in America, grow in the Lord, take care of my husband and my 2 children, exercise & eat right, cook healthy meals, read books about parenting, get out of my house, and get 2 loads of laundry done a day (without a dryer)?? I mean, really, what is wrong with me??!! I guess I finally came to the conclusion I can't get all of these things done perfectly :) Are any of you surprised? :) I didn't think so!

Phil shared Hebrews 3:12-14 with us when he was talking about being authentic and also the importance of encouraging one another. Authenticity and encouragement are what help us choose Him over sin. I had never really put that together when reading these verses before. But now it makes perfect sense to me why I need other people and why I need to allow people to see the real me. It produces unity, harmony, and is praise to the Lord (Romans 15:7). And it helps me put aside my own fleshly desires & reactions (like grabbing the chocolate when the ants start coming in through my cabinets).

Jon used this verse to encourage me the other night. Maybe it can also encourage you today...leave the dishes in the sink, forget about the dirty floor and all the demands that come with raising small people...b/c when we know Jesus, we have everything we need already :)

"His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness." 2 Peter 1:3

I am so thankful that what I need to be doing most of all is just knowing Jesus.