My girls!

Just thought I'd share some photos of the girls. To the left is R in January at Flag Hill. Behind her are Tibetan Prayer Flags.

The photo to the right is M on Valentine's Day. It was amazing that we got no real snow until then. Then it snowed for two days straight. The girls had so much fun throwing snow balls and trying to build a snow fort.





It's fun that A and P still love to strike a pose for the camera. While we traveled they both generally enjoyed posing for tourists who wanted a picture of them. For P, a camera phone that she can look at after the photo is taken is very enticing. So here are the two little ones in the snow. They spent the whole day outside, after breakfast, after lunch, after dinner...

One week later, no snow, the sun is trying to warm up up. My mom and dad were asking about the temperature...and I had no idea. However, a friend of mine was saying that their indoor temperature last week hovered between 5 and 10 degrees Celcius in the unheated rooms.

It's been snowing!!!

I love the way it looks when it snows. Everything gets a fresh coat of sparkling white that glistens in the sunlight...



What I don't love is the lack of central heating... After two days of snow we are running low on the wood we bought that we thought would see us through the rest of the winter. However, since I am home with the girls in the daytime we have used much more than expected. And it's not even toasty warm...yesterday, I spent the day in a fleece to keep the chill off.


I just got a photo from my friend Shikha of our house...or our compound, since what you see looks like a big building, and houses five families. She must have taken this shot from her front door...it gives you an idea of the elevation differences on campus.




So the big building to the upper left is our house. The road in the lower right is the main road going anywhere from here. And the railing in the forefront is Shikha's yard. And if you look off into the distance on the upper right side you can just see the roofs of the residence buildings.


The snow is a welcome relief for the area, in years where we don't get substantial snowfall we suffer with forest fires in the late spring before monsoons. But for me there is nothing like the esthetically pleasing beautiful of freshly fallen snow...reminds me of home!

I'll post more snow pics in the next day or two...now I am off to tackle the hill...M, P and I are headed to visit a friend at the top of the hill.

Parents as Slaves?

So I was having this discussion with another parent today. As sometimes happens this particular parent was feeling discouraged with their children's attitude...and the statement that struck me was, '...parents are just slaves to their children.'

The more I ponder this statement the more I think it is a true statement...or maybe it is a true metaphor for what it is to be a parent. The illustration that came to mind was one of a man, who had been given his freedom and then chose to relinquish it for the sake of love. In Exodus chapter 21, there is an option for a Hebrew, who after completing his six years of service and had freedom in the seventh year to continue as a slave in the household of his Master. The man was taken to the door post and had his ear pierced and he was then a slave for life.

I wonder if it is fair to say that in some sense once we have children, each child has pierced our ear and we belong to him or her for life for the sake of our love for them. I know that there are many metaphors when it comes to parenting...teacher, mentor, guide, but they tend to flatter the parent. If we consider ourselves as a slave...would it change how we felt about meeting their needs and even their demands?

I am sure that we have all seen parents who were little more than a slave to their child. In fact, I met one mom who regularly made alternate meals for one of her children, and another who made a buffet for breakfast every morning in hopes that her son would eat something before school. But if we step back and look at the longterm good of the child, one day will the child actually be thankful for that kind of parenting?

I actually think that in some ways we are slaves, who have more knowledge than those we serve. So our goals need to revolve around more than meeting immediate desires. Our goal needs to be to cultivate good character at every point so that the child will grow in understanding. But on those days when we are tired or in the middle of the night when we are asleep and children call if we take the mindset of a slave would in be easier?

I am not sure if I know the answer, but I was just thinking of this from Luke 17:
"Suppose one of you had a servant plowing or looking after the sheep. Would he say to the servant when he comes in from the field, 'Come along now and sit down to eat'? Would he not rather say, 'Prepare my supper, get yourself ready and wait on me while I eat and drink; after that you may eat and drink'? Would he thank the servant because he did what he was told to do?

So you also, when you have done everything you were told to do, should say, 'We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty.' "

One of the most challenging things about parenting is the constant call. There is no rest, once you are a parent, you are a parent, no vacation or holiday removes the responsibility of the role. If we can say that we are only doing our duty maybe we won't miss the gratitude that normally comes when we serve. Isn't that the one of the principles of service? It's about serving without expectation, serving because it's what we are called to do.

To disagree or not to disagree, that is the question?

I just want to say that I am very appreciative for the comments on my previous posts...even Paula who tells me that I am a bit confusing.

I have learned to welcome points of disagreement. It causes me to sit back and reconsider my statements, which can come across as rather absolute. For me growth comes through discussion and disagreement, to sit and have an exchange with another human being, who has thought through some of the same issues can be very enriching.

Two examples come to mind...one I did not appreciate...and another I did. The first was when I was disagreeing with a friend on a point of doctrine...I thought that I had made an acceptable point, but my friend disagreed and simply said, "You are using unscriptural language." That was the only answer to me...for my friend that closed the discussion, if my language wasn't scriptural than ther was no need for answer...I had the sudden realization that my position was not welcome...so I excused myself for a cup of tea and joined the children in the other room.

The other example was during a study I was hosting in my house. We were looking at Lot's daughters and discussing both the circumstances and their response to finding themselves without husbands, with no hope of husbands. A friend simply said, " I think that they knew what they wanted and were showing initiative." A startling statement...it sent us all back through the story and the previous chapters to find out what commands had been given and what might have affirmed and opposed their choice. In case you aren't sure what choice I am referring to, it was the choice to get their father, Lot, drunk and sleep with him in order to have a baby. In the end, we came to the conclusion that the daughters did not trust that God would give them what they needed and so they tried to satisfy their legitimate desires in an illegitimate manner.

Healthy disagreement helps us to re-examine what we have held as true. And if what we hold as true is truth, than it will always be confirmed in the light of a new perspective and new evidence.

One of the things I have missed in increasing measure is having people, who disagree with me, take the time to dicuss our differences of perspective. It is important to be able to revisit ideas and positions that I formed long ago and see if they hold true in light of life and maturity. More than anything I want to have my world view formed by the teachings of the Bible... knowing that I still have room to grow in my knowledge of the bible, I want to be taught and where I am in opposition to the scriptures then I know I am wrong and need to change my mind. But that can only happen when my mind comes up against an opposing mind...

So please tell me I am mistaken, confusing, offer correction, direction...

As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another. - Proverbs 27:17

Freedom to...?

I was just thinking about my previous post...hope that I didn't offend anyone. But I have been thinking more about the freedom we have in Christ.

In the last few days I have had several conversations about judgement and forgiveness. I know that I tend towards a hardline, black and white. But living outside of my home culture has helped me to desire to shed whatever external criteria I have had to judge by. You see, while I live here I live with the knowledge that I am judged by the colour of my skin. No matter what other external ways that I conform in, I cannot change the colour of my skin and eyes. And the colour that my skin is speaks to the people around me, I am always working back from the assumptions that it leads people to make.

People, generally, use externals to judge, desiring conformity and uniformity as indicators of unity. Often the result of this is that deeper issues and uncomfortable topics are sidestepped in favour of trying to making everyone look the same. A good example of this is the French government's attempt to enforce conformity by restricting the wearing of symbols perceived to be religious. So it is illegal to display your religious affliation...external conformity is legislated in an attempt to produce national unity.

As Christians I think that we shouldn't be subject to the fear that has led to this kind of legislation. In fact the Bible is limited in it's instructions on outer appearance, instead the writers show a preference for teaching principles rather than directives regarding things like clothing and hair. This results in guidelines that are broad enough to make it hard to comment on a person's spiritual condition by looking at their appearance. Then there are other 'questionable practices'...watching TV/movies, schooling choices, household decoration, spending styles...nevermind the hot topics of alcohol and cigarettes, decisions for all these things need to be guided by biblical principles rather than a set of dos and don'ts.

About a year ago I came across this quoteby C.S. Lewis: How monotonously alike all the great tyrants and conquerors have been: how gloriously different are the saints.

In context of the things I have been thinking about, I think that we have lost this very thing that C.S. Lewis is describing. Maybe we are even afraid of it, and so the church has resorted to judging by external criteria. The result has been that we don't want to dig deep, we satsfy ourselves with an external conformity and never look beneath the veneer to see if there is life.

Of course, life is far more complicated if we refuse to endorse external conformity...but maybe then the church would be filled with saints, who are gloriously different. And then we would truly be a welcoming place that drew people in by the love that was present. Like Jesus said, we will be known by the love we have for each other.

As B and I watched BARAKA the other night with our friend John, we were all delighting in the wonder of creation; and also the wonder of the diversity of beauty, not only in the Natural World, but also in humanity...can you imagine the scene in heaven at the end of time...every nationality of person you have ever seen, whether in a photo or on television or walking down the street...they will be represented!!!

I am convinced that when the people are gathered from every tongue and tribe and nation the atmosphere with be more like a conglomerate of episodes from National Geographic than anything else we currently experience. We will stand in the midst of the throng of humanity and know that C.S. Lewis was right when he observed the glorious differences in the saints.

So despite what might have come across in my previous post, I want you to know that I expect there to be distinct revelations of Christ in each of us. The end test is that: we all stand on Christ, the life that we live is in Christ and the character we long for is His character revealed in us.