An Excerpt from David Crowder's Book

Right after camps this summer I read Praise Habit: Finding God in Sunsets and Sushi by David Crowder and this week He has really been pressing on me about loving being something I do moment by moment and I was reminded of something Crowder shared in the beginning of his book and I wanted to share it with you…

 

“Praise is fundamentally a responding to the initiations and intimations of God.  The way of living praise sets out to find God’s revelation, to carry out God’s intentions for His creation into our everyday comings and goings.  And this way of life should be so compelling and mysterious and other-than that people see us coming from a long way off and it stops them in their tracks and they wait and watch just to see our exchanges and wonder at this life that has been chosen and how to put it on and what is this deeper, truer way of living anyway?

           

A nun does not get up each morning and go to the closet and think to herself, Hmmmm. I wonder what to wear today.  The habit is what she wears.  It is what covers her.  It is what identifies her.  Our condition is the same.  Our habit is the Christ.  He is what covers us.  He is what identifies us.  We wear Him into every moment, and when we live with this awareness, we PRAISE CHRIST.”

 

Good stuff.

 

Hey guys,

            Last week was a good week.  A lot of changes, but Dennis says change is good.  Sometimes I agree; most of the time I agree but wish it weren’t true. I don’t like change. I don’t deal with it all that well.  This coming from the girl whose life choices have led her to places she never thought she’d go and CHANGED everything—country, culture, language, living arrangements, eating habits, weather, transportation, job…(the list could go on).  I said I don’t like it, I didn’t say I don’t do it :o) But, this week, change has caused me to spend more time talking to One who is in control of it all.  I guess when I feel helpless, I have no choice but to say “hey, look, I can’t see my hand in front of my face and I have no idea where I’m going or what will happen as a result of all that’s going on around me, so PLEASE will You take my hand and lead me in the right direction—one step at a time.”  I wish it wouldn’t take my own disorientation to cause me to beg for God to lead me.  Sometimes it doesn’t…but far too often, it does.  I talk to God a lot, just most of the time I try to rely on myself.  Not a good idea, I know…I’m learning…I want so bad to look like my Savior and yet I can’t seem to figure out what that even means, forget accomplishing it.  It sure is good to be able to remember that He does love me where I am and at the same time loves me enough to help me to change so that I CAN look more like Him.  I feel like I am talking (or typing) in circles right now, but that’s basically where I am…I can’t see where I’m going and have no idea what I’m doing outside of running around in circles, but the thing that is unchanging is what helps me to keep it all together.  My God is with me.  He is close and huge and ready to love though me so long as I am ready to let Him…and THAT I am quite excited about! 

 

That’s all I’ve got for today,

 

Peace Out.

So, yesterday was full of paradoxes. I learned a lot though.

Before leaving the house I was in a bad mood. Nothing seemed to go right--well, the way I wanted it to go; Last night God renewed the passion He had given me for Ukraine when He first told me to stay, again when I first lived here not at camp...I have that feeling again and I just keep thinking about how blessed I am.

I was born in America, that's where my family is; I never can't imagine living anywhere but in Ukraine, it's where my heart is.

God--the Creator, the Lord of everything. His sheer name causes me to fall on my face in awe and surrender; He also longs for me to curl up in His lap and call Him 'Daddy.'

So there was a lot going on in my head. It was good though. I can't wait to see what God has planned for today....

Ode to king Pasha

King Pasha is the BEST.  And yesterday was his birthday. 

 

We didn’t know what to do for him…I mean, what do you give royalty on their birthday?  So, we ended up making him a video all about Pasha and we used the Beatles “Act Naturally.”  It turned out great.  My roommate is a good video editor—and a girl (this is not an oxymoron as our dear friend Syoma would have you to believe…)  I hope he liked it :o) 

 

We also wrote him a poem about how he became king Pasha.  We had a lot of fun. 

 

But it was crazy how many things went wrong in the process of making his present.  We had no ideas.  We get an idea and look for a song (originally we were going to use a music only version of ‘ode to joy’ and title it ‘ode to Pasha’) but we couldn’t find on we liked so we start going through all the music we have and we come across ‘Act Naturally’ and we’re like…that’s the one.  It’s perfect.  But, we couldn’t figure out how to get it from the i-pod to the video editing program, so we look for the cd with it on it and it’s a bootleg Beatles mp3 from Petrovka and we can’t figure out how to make the editing program read that either…so I have it on the Remember the Titans soundtrack, but that’s in the office, so we SMS Vitalik who let’s us in the office to get it, but when I got home with it Amberly had figured out how to make it read the i-pod…though we probably couldn’t do it again if we tried.  Then, we realized that we needed a blank DVD and that it was going to take us over 45 min. to even get to a place to buy one and then we would have to come home to copy it and we would be late to meet Pasha.  So I decide to SMS Daniel and ask if he has any blank DVDs…and accidentally send the SMS to Pasha—ooops.  Well, Daniel did have blank DVD’s that he let us borrow.  We asked for two.  Don’t really know why.  But, it’s a good thing we did because the first one copied without sound.  The second one copied right and turned out fine, but it was a mess getting everything done on time.  But, Pasha is well worth it and we hope he had a VERY happy birthday!

 

 

Act Naturally:

They’re gonna put me in the movies. 

They’re gonna make a big star out of me.

We’ll make a film about a man that’s sad and lonely

and all I gotta do is act naturally.

 

Well, I bet you I’m gonna be a big star.

Might win an oscar- you can never tell.

The movie’s gonna make me a big star.

Cause I can play the part so well.

 

Well, I hope you’ll come and see me in the movies.

Then I’ll know that you will plainly see

The biggest fool that ever hit the big time

And all I gotta do is act naturally.

 

We’ll make the scene about a man that’s sad and lonely

And beggin down upon his bended knee

I’ll play the part but I won’t need rehearsing

All I have to do is act naturally.

 

Well, I bet you I’m gonna be a big star.

Might win an oscar- you can never tell.

The movie’s gonna make me a big star.

Cause I can play the part so well.

 

Well, I hope you’ll come and see me in the movies.

Then I’ll know that you will plainly see

The biggest fool that ever hit the big time

And all I gotta do is act naturally.

 

 

 

A Birthday Poem.

One day to girls Pasha came.

Since then things have not been the same.

As girls were down upon their knees,

Pasha entered and became their king.

Girls were saving cheese it’s from their doom

When the words “get up, it’s only me” entered the room.

The girls laughed hard at such a sight.

King Pasha broke their kitchen light.

Though their light, he will not mend,

Girls are glad to call King ‘friend.’

 

Fun with washing machines...

Ok, so like two days ago they delivered our washing machine…yeeesssss…THANK YOU to Amberly’s grandparents church for providing us with the money to get one!!!!  Clean clothes are a good thing, and we haven’t seen any in quite some time I’m afraid.  So, tonight we get home from being out at like 9:00, we talked to Marsha on the phone for a little while and then Amberly takes a shower and I am online talking to Syoma.  Let me give you a script of our evening

 

Amberly (after taking a shower): I really need to do my homework.  Let’s play with the washing machine. (as if this is all one thought)

Me: (laughing at her and relaying the comment to Syoma who is on ICQ) (to Syoma: I think by ‘play with’ she means try to hook up.)

Amberly (in the bathroom messing with the washing machine): It just occurred to me…you have to hook this up to the water somehow.

Me: yeah…

Amberly: How?

Me: (silent, yeah right I know how…)

Syoma: it’s because you’re girls…

Me: NO, sir, do not even go there!

Syoma: isn’t there and instruction manual?

Me: IN RUSSIAN. Freak.

Syoma: it has to be in eng too.

Me: I am holding the instruction manual.  It’s not.

Syoma: where is it from, the USSR? lol.

Me:  I don’t know, it’s from Metro. 

Amberly (to Me, not typed to Syoma): tell him if he’s such a big man to come over here and set it up!

Me (to Syoma): Amberly says you should come set it up for us.

Syoma: no thx

 

So, there you have it, an account of the night we didn’t hook up our washing machine.  But, NOT, I tell you, because we are girls, but because we can’t read Russian and we don’t want to break our precious washing machine before we even get to use it :o) 

 

Soon.  Soon we will have clean clothes. :o)

Sometimes By Step...(that's how life is going right now...one step at a time...)

Sometimes the night was beautiful
Sometimes the sky was so far away
Sometimes it seemed to stoop so close
You could touch it but your heart would break
Sometimes the morning came too soon
Sometimes the day could be so hot
There was so much work left to do
But so much You'd already done

Oh God, You are my God
And I will ever praise You
Oh God, You are my God
And I will ever praise You
I will seek You in the morning
And I will learn to walk in Your ways
And step by step You'll lead me
And I will follow You all of my days

Sometimes I think of Abraham
How one star he saw had been lit for me
He was a stranger in this land
And I am that, no less than he
And on this road to righteousness
Sometimes the climb can be so steep
I may falter in my steps
But never beyond Your reach

Oh God, You are my God
And I will ever praise You
Oh God, You are my God
And I will ever praise You
I will seek You in the morning
And I will learn to walk in Your ways
And step by step You'll lead me
And I will follow You all of my days

PRAYER REQUEST!

Hey, I have a prayer request for you guys.  The building that the Radooga office is in just changed ownership from a church to the local government.  With this change we have been told that we have 15 days to be out of our office.  Please commit these next 15 days to prayer for us.  We are going to talk to an official who is over our district of Kiev and see if there is anyway that we can stay.  If we have to move, I don’t know where we will find to store all of our equipment, desks, costumes, English class materials, stage stuff, etc.  Also, right now there are 3 people who live in the downstairs part of our office who will no longer have a place to stay as well as a music studio created about a year and a half ago for Sergey, our worship leader, and his Studio 33 productions.  All this is happening right in the middle of our preparation for conferences which begin in one month.  I honestly don’t know what to think or how to react.  I know that God is bigger than all of this, but right now, in the middle of it, it’s scary; and I don’t know what to do but pray and ask you to join me.

Happy February everyone!

This is that month that, though shorter than the rest, often seems to drag on for far too long.  And I’m sure will seem even longer to me this year as I anxiously await my mother’s arrival in March.

 

 Halmark took over St. Valentine’s Day and decided that it would be a great time to get something special for the special someone, but today I was wondering what is this Valentine’s Day thing really all about.  Who was St. Valentine and why does he get a ‘day’ named after him anyway?  I guess that when I was in elementary school they probably told me, but I don’t remember and since my mom reads this, I’m sure she’s quite disappointed in me at the moment.  (Sorry, Mam.)

 

 Did you guys make mailboxes in elementary school and you had to give everyone in your class a Valentine?  I hated doing that.  I mean, what if I didn’t want to give Suzie a Valentine.  What if she’s not my friend—just have to pretend on V-day.  They even give you a list of all your classmates so you can’t ‘accidentally’ forget.  They would never make me do that in Ukraine.  No pretenses here.  If we’re not friends you don’t think that I will give you a Valentine ‘just to be nice.’

 

 Anyway, Marsha sent us Hello Kitty Valentines to give out this year.  How cool is that!?! I will get to deliver Valentines in Kiev.  Yeeeessss.  Dennis can have the ‘princess kitty’ one.  (shh, don’t tell him, he’s in America right now and we wouldn’t want him to know). 

 

Another thing about valentine’s day is how do you know what to get someone?  Not that I’ve ever had anyone to get anything for…but, I mean, will just chocolate suffice or should you go more along the route of diamonds?  In the past my mom has gotten things as strange as flower pot with palm trees on it, to as romantic (?) as a Camero convertible (I think maybe that was to make up for the disaster of the flower pot :o) 

 

Something else that I think about when I think about Valentine’s Day is that I always get a card from my Grandma and Grandpa in the mail—even though they live in Tallahassee and could just give it to me.  My Grandma likes to give cards so I get them for Valentine’s day and St. Patrick’s Day and Easter and Christmas and Thanksgiving and all sorts of holidays.  And I always know they’re from Grandma ‘cause she has this really cool calligraphy handwriting. 

 

I know that I’m a little early to be talking about Valentine’s Day, but I was thinking about it because we were writing on our white board calendar yesterday and that’s pretty much February’s theme.  So, again, I wish everyone a very joy filled February. 

 

Peace Out!

 

Happy February everyone!

This is that month that, though shorter than the rest, often seems to drag on for far too long.  And I’m sure will seem even longer to me this year as I anxiously await my mother’s arrival in March.

 

 Halmark took over St. Valentine’s Day and decided that it would be a great time to get something special for the special someone, but today I was wondering what is this Valentine’s Day thing really all about.  Who was St. Valentine and why does he get a ‘day’ named after him anyway?  I guess that when I was in elementary school they probably told me, but I don’t remember and since my mom reads this, I’m sure she’s quite disappointed in me at the moment.  (Sorry, Mam.)

 

 Did you guys make mailboxes in elementary school and you had to give everyone in your class a Valentine?  I hated doing that.  I mean, what if I didn’t want to give Suzie a Valentine.  What if she’s not my friend—just have to pretend on V-day.  They even give you a list of all your classmates so you can’t ‘accidentally’ forget.  They would never make me do that in Ukraine.  No pretenses here.  If we’re not friends you don’t think that I will give you a Valentine ‘just to be nice.’

 

 Anyway, Marsha sent us Hello Kitty Valentines to give out this year.  How cool is that!?! I will get to deliver Valentines in Kiev.  Yeeeessss.  Dennis can have the ‘princess kitty’ one.  (shh, don’t tell him, he’s in America right now and we wouldn’t want him to know). 

 

Another thing about valentine’s day is how do you know what to get someone?  Not that I’ve ever had anyone to get anything for…but, I mean, will just chocolate suffice or should you go more along the route of diamonds?  In the past my mom has gotten things as strange as flower pot with palm trees on it, to as romantic (?) as a Camero convertible (I think maybe that was to make up for the disaster of the flower pot :o) 

 

Something else that I think about when I think about Valentine’s Day is that I always get a card from my Grandma and Grandpa in the mail—even though they live in Tallahassee and could just give it to me.  My Grandma likes to give cards so I get them for Valentine’s day and St. Patrick’s Day and Easter and Christmas and Thanksgiving and all sorts of holidays.  And I always know they’re from Grandma ‘cause she has this really cool calligraphy handwriting. 

 

I know that I’m a little early to be talking about Valentine’s Day, but I was thinking about it because we were writing on our white board calendar yesterday and that’s pretty much February’s theme.  So, again, I wish everyone a very joy filled February. 

 

Peace Out!