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December 21, 2006
movie suggestions?
Tomorrow is my 29th birthday. Matt and I are going out to dinner and a movie, but we don't have a clue what's good. The two contenders so far are The Nativity movie and The Pursuit of Happiness. Any ideas? Eragon looked interesting too, but I don't know much about it.
Posted by Karen at 08:24 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
December 20, 2006
Christmas quote
He was created of a mother whom he created. He was carried by hands that he formed. He cried in the manger in wordless infancy, he, the Word, without whom all human eloquence is mute.
Augustine of Hippo
Posted by Karen at 10:28 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
quote of the day
"Mommy, my feet are nervous!"
Posted by Karen at 10:26 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
December 14, 2006
Happy Birthday Clara!
Yesterday, Clara turned 1. I can't say time has flown, because there have been some long slow passages. I do feel like I haven't treasured enough of her first year though. It's easy to dwell on her difficult points, like the fact that she's just now starting to sleep at night, most of the time anyway. The whole story is that she's a delightful baby, with some exhausting sleeping habits. In her honor, I've decided to take a break from the stories of Clara's less lovely points. With out further ado, here are 10 things I love about Clara.
1. She's mine.
2. She loves me (even when I need a shower and I have morning breath).
3. She makes our whole family laugh on purpose, with very little effort.
4. She's got great coordination (definitely a Monahan trait).
5. She loves people.
-->The other night our church had a Christmas dinner and we sat with a very poor family that our church has been reaching out to. They had bad teeth, smoky clothes, etc. What was cool, was that Clara happily sat with the mom while I got food for myself and the kids. Her love of people really helped bridge the gap between our family and theirs.
6. She loves to snuggle with me.
7. She's a problem solver. She tries over and over again until she figures out the problem she's confronted with.
8. She plays well by herself.
9. This is going to sound very weird, but I love to smooch her squishy hemangeoma.
10. She's beautiful.
Posted by Karen at 09:42 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
December 12, 2006
take a guess
Anyone have a guess as to who this person is? or who he looks like? My family has a distinct advantage on this one, but he does bear an uncanny resemblance to someone in particular.
Posted by Karen at 10:39 AM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
December 07, 2006
ministry on it's head
This may be a little jumbled, so I'm sorry in advance. I'm trying to be brief, which may or may not be possible. We'll see.
For the last 4 years we have had a Mexican family next door to us. The parents speak very little English, but the girls are bilingual. The girls are the most social and welcoming little girls I have ever met. Anyone who has ever come to our house during daylight hours has probably been greeted by them, especially the yougest one. She literally says "Hi" until you look up, wave, and say "Hi" back. They love my children. If we go outside to play, we instantly have two more older playmates. I wish I could say that I was welcoming and that I saw this as a ministry opportunity, but I haven't been that godly about it. If the girls misbehaved and upset my kids, there was nothing I could do about it. I can't really communicate with their mom, although she and I have tried to talk many times. In short, for the last 4 years, I have seen them as a nuisance, which I'm sure they noticed from time to time. I'm embarrassed to say that, but it's true.
Matt, on the other hand, has been welcoming and conversant. He speaks pretty good Spanish and has spent some time talking with the parents and the girls. (I apologize for saying "the parents" and not names. It sounds impersonal, but I think it's better not to name names this time.) On top of my feelings, God has used Matt to push me into seeing the family next door as a possibility for ministry and friendship. So... over the past few years I have come to be pretty torn by the conflict between my feelings and my calling to be salt and light. Sometimes God used me despite my feelings, but always my heart was resentful and self-righteous.
Then... about a month ago, I came home from having coffee with some friends and I heard wailing on their porch. I saw the girls and their mom on the porch and their mom was wailing as if someone was dead. I walked up and asked the oldest if everything was okay. She said that the little 2-year-old boy they watched during the day was dead and she looked scared. I ran up to the porch and there he was, lying limp on her mom's lap. Her mom was on the phone with 911 and the lady on the phone couldn't understand her. I got on the phone and examined the little boy. He was breathing and there was an ambulance on the way. I sent the oldest girl to go get Matt, who translated for everyone involved. We prayed with her until the ambulance arrived, which didn't take long. The paramedics were incredibly rude, rough, and unprofessional and the whole experience was very upsetting. What we figured out later was that the little boy had had a febrile convulsion, due to his fever. There's a lot more to the story, but this is already a book, so ask me later if you want more details.
After the little boy went to the hospital and we said goodbye to the family, I was really shaken up. Throughout the entire episode, the mom kept saying "O Karen, Karen! Thank you!" and Matt thinks she said something like this (in Spanish), "You walk with God... I'm such a terrible person and that's why this is happening to me!" I didn't understand her, but I just hugged her and cried with her. To my shame, for the first time ever, she seemed like a real person to me. Here was a real, suffering, lost person right next door to me. Jesus' words to "Love your neighbor as yourself" began to really ring home. God was clearly bringing ministry to me, despite my bitter heart.
So... Matt and I prayed that we would find some way to reach out to them, even if it meant reprioritizing. We haven't seen them a whole lot since then, but the day before yesterday the girls and their mom came to my door and asked a favor. The mom had gotten a new job and she wanted to know if I could get her girls on the bus the next morning for her. They would show up at 6:30 and be on the bus by 6:55. Thinking it was a one-time thing, I agreed to it. She wanted to pay us, but we talked her out of it, thanks to Matt's Spanish. Yesterday was the day and it was a little bit of a disaster. I ended up driving them to school, because we missed the bus. Then, this morning I heard a knock at the door at 6:30. Evidently, the language barrier is bigger than we thought. We're committed for the long haul, not just yesterday. At first, I was a little upset. It's not exactly convenient and I don't get much sleep, but I would be blind not to see God's hand in this. Here is my chance to minister, even though it isn't what I usually consider ministry. God really does work in mysterious ways. He put our family in this place and at this time to accomplish His purposes, in spite of me and my weaknesses. Praise God.
Posted by Karen at 08:25 AM | Comments (6) | TrackBack