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Grateful in Quarantine

As I sit here at my desk on day 13 of our quarantine, listening to the rain hitting the roof and the birds singing outside my window, I have an overwhelming feeling of gratefulness. Now, don’t get me wrong, these past two weeks have been challenging – to say the least. Endless streams of media constantly bombarding me with all the latest “news”, and the emails that have been pouring in from every business to whom I have ever given my email address. And, there have been a few days where I have given in to that need for more information, and the latest counts – just hoping to get one nugget of something that I can use to help me wrap my brain around everything that’s happening in our world.

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How to Find Joy Through the Rain

How to Find Joy Through the Rain

I first started writing about finding joy through the rain a few weeks ago. As I was struggling with this, it took a bit longer to finish! So, now it is June. It’s another rainy day, so I thought it was still fitting…

The past couple of weeks, it has been a little difficult to find joy around here. The weather has been very gloomy. A lot of rain has fallen, and it almost feels like fall.

Although the calendar says May, sometimes it’s hard to believe that someone didn’t just rip off a few pages in wishful thinking.

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In Reality
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Waking Up to the Land of Enough – In Reality…

Perception is not Reality?

In a previous post, I shared that our church began a series to help us better understand the differences between how our brothers and sisters in Africa live compared to how we live in the United States.  The more I read, the more I have really been struck about the difference in our perception of what it means to be ‘poor’.  According to American standards, most Africans wouldn’t even make it onto the chart to be considered, ‘poor’. So, what is their reality?

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Waking Up in The Land of Enough - Missions 1 & 2
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Waking Up to The Land of Enough – Missions 1 & 2

Recently, our church started a program, Passport to the Land of Enough, to help us better understand the daily lives of our brothers and sisters around the world.  We started by learning more about Africa and then focused in on Nigeria.  It was very eye-opening to learn about all the differences between our two worlds and see that, regardless of how little I have ever thought I had, it has always been way more than others have around the world. And, it has always been enough.

As part of our program, we were provided with different Missions we could complete throughout the upcoming weeks in an attempt to learn more about what daily life looks like for those living in Lagos, Nigeria, and elsewhere in Africa.  I thought it would be neat to write about some of them as we complete them.  I would love to hear your experiences with the Missions as well – should you choose to accept them…

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Gratitude – Normal or Not…

A few days ago, I went grocery shopping.  Not seemingly a monumental occasion.  But for someone who hasn’t been able to go for months, it was a pretty big deal!

After I came home, I shared with Brad how awesome it was just to be in a store.  Just to wander through the aisles and browse through all the choices…  I wanted to buy everything I saw and stock up our pantry.

Thankfully, I maintained some self-control and didn’t drain the bank account – but I sure could have…

That small trip to the grocery store was something that resembled my life before my back problems.  It was a life in which I accomplished tasks and felt productive.  A life that felt easy and comfortable.  It has been so long since I have had those feelings – so long since I have been able to do the normal things I used to take for granted.

My goal is to never do that again.

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