Good Health

Health.


I am so thankful that I have the ability to walk, see, hear, run, be active and be happy. Much too often this is taken for granted. I am blessed to be able to walk to class each day and clear my head along the way. Blessed to see the older generation playing croquet in the bamboo park each morning. Blessed to hear China's national anthem for hours at a time during weekends on campus. (It really could be worse... I could not hear it.) Blessed to be able to pick up a basketball and shoot a few hoops with my students. Blessed to cook, surprise, write, read, share Good News and a million other things just because I do have good health.

Bless Her Heart Moment

Tonight while reading... (My thoughts in Italics)

"For G-d said ,"Let light shine out of darkness," made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ." Man that is a good verse!

"Hey Amy! Check this verse out..." (Beth)

"Yeah. Where is that?" (Amy)

"2 Cor.4:6" oh! I have that tattooed on my back!

Followed by fits of giggles...

Lesson learned: When getting a tattoo remember what it says.

Just thankful that I am still so moved by the verse. :)

Tis The Season

The holiday season is upon us. With Thanksgiving fast approaching, Christmas soon after and then the beginning of the New Year (can't forget the amazing Halloween that has just passed), most people are in the mood for good things. Good food, friends, fun, etc. This is also a time for good Thoughts.

Starting today until Thanksgiving I am going to blog everyday about things I am thankful for. (Yes, I will blog about life and such things too, but really want to try to remember to be in the spirit of gratefulness as well.) Please feel free to leave comments about things you are thankful for as well.

Today I am thankful for parents. This morning I got to see Clark, Eden and new baby Justin and I was just reminded of how wonderful parents are. To watch Eden sit with her Book open and holding Justin in one arm and then seeing her glance down at her son with smile and pride...Wow! What a feeling that must be. His name was picked because it means "upright" and that is what they want for their son. Thank Father there are so many good parents out there. I think of my friends' parents and just the amazing job that they have done to instill in their children good character. A hard job with awesome responsibility, but I am sure great rewards too.

I must say I am blessed to such great parents. I can say my parents taught me the difference between right and wrong. They taught me to be loving and forgiving. They taught me that life should be about service because that is what they have done themselves. So today I sit a world away thankful for my own parents and parents in general. Hopefully one day I will have that responsibility.

Wish List

Because I have already been asked several times, here is this year's Christmas wish list...

Books (anything written in the English language is fine!)
Socks (for some reason now I like fun prints... maybe because they make my students laugh a lot)
Long sleeve shirts (one day I am going to learn to pack better)
Danish Wedding Cookies (Keebler pink box... been craving!)
Oven Mitts (I am a little hard on mine... have gone through 3 pairs..)

The thing I would really love most though is a letter. I don't think people understand how nice it is to read a handwritten note about life in America. It makes you feel connected. Not that I am not grateful for packages, but it is disappointing to not hear about the sender. So if you will, 90 cents is all it takes to make my Christmas or any day for that matter.

Girls Weekend

So still recovering from a great weekend!

Friday night girls traveled in from all over Hubei province and we started the weekend thinking about what it means to be an ideal woman. After catching up with old friends, finding places for 40+ girls to sleep in our homes, and relieved that Lucy walked up (I was already sorting out in my head how to figure out to call her mom and tell her that we have not talked in over a week...) the Yichang women went to bed ready for a new day.

Saturday morning after waking up early to make/invent soup (much to the dismay of Brad who so graciously slept on the couch of our Yichang host headquarters) and deliver bags of muffins and loaves of homemade breads,all the girls got together to discuss what it meant to be a virtuous woman. Scattered throughout the weekend we handed out fab door prizes (thanks Sandra!), had fun singing (yea Amy!) and got caught up in some general silliness (one word...Barbie!) In the afternoon, we had some free time where girls went out to explore the city. We were able to share in our newly expanded foreign foods section of our supermarket. PTL! In the evening we gathered for a banquet and then finished the night talking about a woman of wisdom. This time we crawled into bed after making it through maybe 10 minutes of Maverick.
Sunday morning waking up even earlier, we once again went through bags of muffins and the best pumpkin bread (Brad the Baker strikes again...) We talked about what it means to be a woman who surpasses them all and how great it will be to be able to lay crowns down at the throne one day. We took supper together and felt renewed. The girls packed up, got on buses and trains, and went home thinking Yichang has perfect weather and that we are pulled together.

Looking back, I don't think the retreat could have gone much better. Everyone chipped in from Yichang to make sure all aspects were covered. Cloud seeding might have even been involved. We made some really sweet new friends and were encouraged by the Growth of some since last year. So tired yes, but absolutely happy.

It's Monday

The weekend has come and gone. I am not sure that things could have gone any better at the retreat. I will post later, but today will be spent in class, resting and cleaning. Thanks be to G*d though for such an uplifting time!

You had your before picture, this would be the after one... ;)

Bring It On

In just a few hours, about 50 girls will be filing into Brad's home. (He is either thankful he will not be there, or sad that he can't join such a beautiful crowd!) We will kick off a great girls weekend of fun, food, forming friendships, and thinking about how to be a "woman who surpasses them all."

Please be Thinking about the weekend for us. As you can see we are pretty excited!