Our 1st Ladies' Meeting

{Here in the village, anyways.}

I know many of you have been anxiously waiting to hear how everything went and I'm so sorry that it has taken me an entire week to update you.

The Lord blessed and we had (I think) 12 ladies come, not including the girls and I!  How exciting is that?!  Our theme was "Have You Seen Yourself In God's Mirror?"

While I was waiting for Eric to bring the ladies, I thought I would take a few pictures for you, but, AHHH!  I had forgotten to charge my camera batteries!  I still managed a few quick shots before it completely died.  Eric was running all over the place that morning and still lovingly ran home to get my old camera.

We started by playing the game "What's in the bag?"  The ladies stuck their hands inside of the bag and had to guess what beauty items were in the bag.

 (Olya is the lady with the cream sweater and red phone hung around her neck.)

The second game we played was Design a Dress using only toilet paper.  Our models were Anna and Lydia.

After a delicious meal, made mostly by Lina and her mom, Lina and I put on a skit for the ladies.  It was of a lady who did not feel so beautiful and in an attempt to attain beauty, followed tips she heard would make her beautiful - refusing a mirror. 

I used this as a starting point for the devotional in which I compared that to us striving to be righteous but refusing to see ourselves through the mirror of God.  I did not actually see myself until the end of the devotional.  In closing I read James 1:22-25, and demonstrated the passage by walking up to a mirror looking at myself and shockingly exclaiming, "WOW!  I look pretty awful!"  I then walked and talked about how crazy it would be for me to see myself like that, then go to the store like all was in order and to a party, giving someone makeup advice while I was there.

Most of the ladies who attended are not saved and my desire is that they will not only look God's mirror and see themselves in need of a Savior, but also to repent and ask Jesus to save them.  I would like to ask you to specifically pray for a lady named Olya who is almost done with her salvation Bible lessons, that God would open her eyes and she would be saved.  Also, continue to pray for our neighbor, Sveta and her daughters (Nastia, Masha and Katya).  They were not able to come that day but she has let the older two girls come to Sunday school the past few weeks.  Anna is so excited as this is an answer to prayer for her.  She prays for them daily.

GIRL or BOY?

21 Weeks

Flourless/Sugarless Chocolate Cake

Today was my love's birthday and even though he doesn't feel like his birthdays should be celebrated anymore, I couldn't let the day pass without making some type of cake...diet or no diet.  I was planning on trying a doughnut recipe with some coconut flour I had made.  When he headed to the city to go to the bank, I decided to quickly look online first to see if there were any other options and I came across  Healthier Flourless Chocolate Cake.  The kids and I made some cards and wrote what we love about daddy, then we started making this super, easy cake.  I must admit I was a little skeptical...until the house started filling with the smell of chocolate.  After that, I practically danced throughout the house, barely able to contain myself.  I felt like when we were first dating when I would wait for his visits.  I kept glancing out the window waiting for him.  The kids were just as anxious as I was.  We couldn't wait to surprise him!  I'm excited to say that it was not disappointing.  We will be adding this fudgy, brownie tasting cake to our permanent recipe "box".

Anna said that daddy would put her card in his office and keep it to remember their times together after she got married. ;)

Even though it is his birthday, he has been working so hard to help me prepare for the ladies' banquet we have coming up (a big reason why I have been absent from the blog).  He has been cutting paper flowers for me to put together and anything else I've needed help with.  Don't know what I'd do without him, or Sister Lina and her mom.  They cut out all of these roses for me.  What a blessing!  I didn't have to do any of the work and just had the fun job of putting them together.

Would appreciate your prayers for our ladies' meeting.  It is on March 9th in celebration of the big holiday, Women's Day -March 8th.  I am unsure how many will come, but we have invited over 20 women - most of them unsaved.

YET I will Rejoice in the Lord

The past few weeks have been interesting.  The electricity has been turned off so much that I think it has been off more than on.  As time went on and this continued, I found myself quickly loosing my patience.  Joy?  That was definitely something I have been struggling with and it is something that Eric and I have been talking about over the weekend.  Then this morning in my devotions God again convicted me of how easily I have let something so small rob me of a joyful spirit.  In Acts 20:24 Paul says,

"But none of these things move me, neither count I my life dear unto myself, so that I might finish my course with joy, and the ministry which I have received of the Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of the grace of God."

I started to think, when do I start to lose my joy?  Yes, when I am controlled by what is going on around me, when I allow them to "move me".  But that wasn't what caught my attention.  It was "neither count I my life dear unto myself."  It is when I start counting my life dear to me, when I start thinking of taking care of me and what I need, that is when I will lose my joy.  

Later in the passage Paul says,

"I have shewed you all things, how that so labouring ye ought to support the weak, and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, It is more blessed to give than to receive."  Acts 20:35

What does that have to do with it?  Well, on almost a daily basis we are surrounded by needs.  The phone rings early in the morning and late into the night.  I have started 'hearing' the phone even when it is not ringing - cringing, thinking, "what do they want now?."  Neighbors come and ask for large, unreasonable amounts of money, even when they have no interest whatsoever in listening to the Bible.  I feel like, ENOUGH!  Again, this verse reminded me of why I was losing my joy.  I felt I was being pushed to "my" giving limits.  Once I start thinking of 'myself' and 'mine' (whether it's things, money or even my husband's time) THAT is when I lose my joy.

Over the weekend Eric shared these verses with me, but this is how he read it...

Although the electricity won't work, neither shall there be any water; the laundry shall pile up, and there shall be no clean dishes in the cabinets, though the phone rings off the hook...

YET I will rejoice in the Lord.

{"Although the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines; the labour of the olive shall fail, and the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls:  Yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation." Habakkuk 3:17,18}

That is my prayer for the week...to rejoice in the Lord and have joy in the God who saved me; also, to learn to give joyfully, for it's really not mine anyways.

Piano Lessons and More

I think I've mentioned it before, but I love Mondays!  Usually Mondays are my organizing/cleaning days, but not today.  We are completely off-schedule.  I have had such a hard time getting motivated today!  First, we didn't wake the kids up (usually not necessary) and I don't think they woke up until 7:30!  I just enjoyed the quiet of the morning and tried to get caught up on some email.  I couldn't reply to any of you as my email account is not allowing me to send replies right now.  I can read emails, just not reply to them.  Hopefully that will be fixed soon.

Handsome Boy!

Anna did finish her school today.  Sammy went with Eric to the city to run some errands and go grocery shopping.  Lydia and I did some school too.  I cannot believe how fast she is picking up on things!  She loves it!  I put off writing for a while with her because I was unsure how we were going to start - the normal manuscript way or jump right in to cursive.  Since I was leaning towards cursive, we decided just to jump right in to cursive.  Living in another country has really opened me up to that idea.  The schools here in Ukraine (or at least in our area) teach the kids to write in cursive.  After reading more about cursive in America, I was even more convinced that was what I wanted to do.  Lydia is doing well - and very excited at her accomplishments.

I love little boys in suits!  Daniel is getting too chubby for his though. :(

 Besides Abeka, I have used some of the information from the Spell to Write and Read program.  Though I feel like Abeka has an excellent phonics program, I think this enhances it even more.  I am using parts of this program to teach the English class too.  In the evenings we are doing piano lessons...somewhat irregular right now, but I am surprised at how much Anna is grasping.  Being a piano teacher before God called us to the mission field, I was familiar with many of the popular teaching courses (Alfred's, Thompson's, Faber...) but was introduced to a course on deputation that looked excellent.  When we were Stateside for furlough I ordered the Madonna Woods Piano Course for Christians Preparatory level set.  I love their approach!  Most of the other books start children out on the black keys, playing by finger number - slowly moving them to letters then to the staff.  This program starts them on the staff from the start - no letters written on the notes.  I cannot express how much I have enjoyed this course!  When we returned home I discovered that this wasn't the course I WANTED to order.  The course I meant to order was the Mary Jo Moore Piano Course.  I have recently just ordered the first book from that course as well and am anxious to see what it is like.  For me, I ordered The Concert Hymn Book.  I can't wait to play it!  Since I don't have time to play classical music anymore, I feel I have become more rusty.  This would help me brush up on classical skills and also see them in relation to the hymns I am playing.  While we were in the States I also ordered the first book of Draw Write Now.  We haven't gotten started with it again, but drew one picture when on furlough.  The kids LOVED it!  It really could almost be a complete curriculum.  Example:  We drew a hen the first lesson.  They talked a little about hens and gave recommendations for books on hens so you can learn more about hens, eggs, etc.  Love, Love LOVE it!  I wish we had a library near so we could do the book list too, but since we don't, my plan is to find videos and information online for us to read as we go.  It is an art, writing, history, science, etc. class all in one!  We will be starting with that again this week.

The girls and I brought home chocolate muffins the day we went out.

Daniel liked those MUCH better than his birthday cake. :

 Well, my time is up and I went a completely different direction with this post then I intended.  I think I was going to share a recipe or some of the blessings of modern conveniences (like skype). ;)

16 Weeks

 

I noticed the photo in the background later.  It says, "Blessings come in all shapes and sizes."  The only one missing is Daniel.  He's going to have the middle child syndrome. ;)