the downside of rarely blogging is that you fail to capture the ongoing thoughts, ideas, memories that you regularly have. the upside is i read alot of other people's thoughts, ideas, memories :)we are on vacation and it has been really really really ridiculously lazy. (part of that line -- the 'really really really ridiculously' part is from a movie that we quote often for whatever reason i don't know). we have watched way too many movies, ate too much, slept too much, hung on the beach just the right amount, went to church many times, power walked 3 miles almost every day, and i've read alot but it could never be enough. the kids have loved it, but i think they are ready to get back into our normal routine. maybe i'm just kidding myself about being ready for school :) ben has been in school while we've been here so he would argue (even more than normal :) about that.
but back to why i wanted to blog tonight. on vacation, i have the time to really think. reflect. i've spent alot of time reading some 'God' books. i have a really really really ridiculous amount of areas in my faith walk that need serious work. one is the ongoing inner struggle regarding a personal desire to serve in some capacity in missions. most likely, rwanda and/or china. clearly, God has my mission field in monrovia for the time being. :) ...but.... a vision came to me very distinctly. if this is of the Lord, i do not know yet; however, i feel a great peace just thinking that maybe it could be. i'm 52. in 8 years, phoebe will be 15 and abe and sarah will be 17. 60 is a good number, don't you think to begin foreign missions? i know it is probably odd to think this far out, but it makes me excited and helps me to focus on what i need to do well and fully immerse myself in over the next several years
and the other thing that came more into focus was about our kids' futures. greg and i have talked in the past on this and are in agreement that if our kids want to go to college (and we are just planning that they will is our best guess), they will need to do a minimum of three months in full-time mission service somewhere in the world. because of homeschooling, we can get their high school work finished to allow for their final semesters to be done with God as the primary teacher. we feel strongly that an experience like this could change the course of their lives. and what better time then before they start making life's big decisions. our hope is to pay for 2/3 of their college cost each year and if they want that help, this is the parental prerequisite to getting it :)
not that anyone cares about any of this but me, but having gained a clearer vision of what God might want, has been the best part of my summer vacation :) i've never been one to set goals because i'm a combination of lazy as well as a short-term thinker but even more, it felt somewhat presumptuous to predict what God may have planned for tomorrow, let alone for years down the road. with that said, i also believe He doesn't want us to go through life not giving thought as to what great things He may ask us to do.
p.s. abe and lydia continue to transition very well. it is really really really ridiculously loud most of the time. there is the normal amount of arguing and bickering and challenges and blah blah, but that's life and (most of the time :), i'm okay with that.
