You know you live in Thailand when

you realize it's ok to take a nap in public whenever, and more importantly, wherever you want.

you're inclined to carry an umbrella to shield you from the sun.

sparkly-pink isn't offensive to you anymore, and you actually develop an affinity for it.

you feel like you haven't eaten all day if you've lacked rice in any three of your (main) meals.

you're reminded of just how much you used to love Hello Kitty - and see who really reigns supreme (move over Buddha).

you want to snack constantly. Note: a snack's worthiness is constituted based on whether it's fried or sweet or bonus - both.

And This Much I Know: On Hearing from God

God is good. I'll begin with that.

I am desperately listening for God's voice and direction in my life. Sometimes, it's hard to distinguish whether my doubts are halting a situation I thought was a certainty (grad school), or if it's God closing a door or saying a "not now" to the process. Sometimes, it's hard to distinguish if it's my own excitement spurring me on in a direction (a year long mission trip around the world), or if it's God giving a green light.

Some things God has been teaching me this week via friends and family speaking into my life, words of wisdom from my prayer group, and the voice of the Lord:

Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord. Psalm 27:14

Wait passionately for God, don't leave the path. He'll give you your place in the sun while you watch the wicked lose it. Psalm 37:34


God goes before us to make a path. Follow Jesus, and you'll find your direction. Take a step of faith at some point - it's easier for God to steer a moving ship. He weighs the motives of our heart. He's not a God of confusion; he leads us well - he's the Good Shepherd. He'll find a way to get us in his plan. God always wants to communicate with us unceasingly. Wait expectantly. Command the lies to leave. Don't doubt in the dark what God has told you in the light. God works out everything for his glory.

Trust God from the bottom of your heart; don't try to figure everything out on your own. Listen for God's voice in everything you do, everywhere you go; he's the one who will keep you on track. Don't assume that you know it all. Run to God! Proverbs 3:5-7

We can be so sure that every detail in our lives of love for God is worked into something good. Romans 8:28

You hem me in - behind and before; you have laid your hand upon me. Psalm 139:5

Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you your heart's desires. Commit everything you do to the Lord. Trust him, and he will help you. He will make your innocence radiate like the dawn, and the justice of your cause will shine like the noonday sun. Be still in the presence of the Lord, and wait patiently for him to act.  Psalm 37:4-7

Please pray for me as I'm learning to discern the voice of God and make some pretty long-term decisions.

and then God said to me

My sheep recognize my voice. I know them, and they follow me.


John 10:27

Cambodia

I loved this place with all my heart. The food was fantastic, the countryside and temples stunning, and the people unbelievably friendly although quite pushy in selling their wares. The poverty is more in your face than it is in Thailand. There are less motorbikes and more bicycles than in Thailand which made the place feel like it was revolving at a slower pace. 

sunrise over Angkor Wat

Devatas - the Hindu version of guardian spirits

had a cup of coffee and took a bazillion pictures of the sun rising - they all looked exactly the same.

card game anyone?

nature and our walks with her

Ben makes a leaf flag

Ruth: "Look how fat he is."

Abby doesn't want to leave the great outdoors.

Becky's bigger-than-her leaf. Also looks like she found a snack along the way. 

Nathan lasso-ing a tree. 

Ruthie found a "tie dye" leaf to match her shirt. 

"Darts in its execution and direction is dependent on the time in which it lives, and artists are creatures of their epoch. The highest art will be that which in its conscious content presents the thousandfold problems of the day, the art which has been visibly shattered by the explosions of last week ... The best and most extraordinary artists will be those who every hour snatch the tatters of their bodies out of the frenzied cataract of life, who, with bleeding hands and hearts, hold fast to the intelligence of their time."

- Richard Huelsenbeck  "First German Dada Manifesto" 1918

Mushrooms

Overnight, very

Whitely, discreetly,

Very quietly

Our toes, our noses

Take hold on the loam,

Acquire the air.

Nobody sees us,

Stops us, betrays us;

The small grains make room.

Soft fists insist on

Heaving the needles,

The leafy bedding,

Even the paving.

Our hammers, our rams,

Earless and eyeless,

Perfectly voiceless, 

widen the crannies,

Shoulder through holes. We

Diet on water,

On crumbs of shadow,

Bland-mannered, asking

Little or nothing.

So many of us!

So many of us!

We are shelves, we are

Tables, we are meek,

We are edible,

Nudgers and shovers

In spite of ourselves.

Our kind multiplies:

We shall by morning

Inherit the earth.

Our foot's in the door. 

(haven't been able to get this out of my head since i've read it.)