Category Archives: Day in the Life Last night, I got together with Christy Elphick and Debbie Hall {two of the trip members} to plan our retreat for the widows and orphans. For those of you who have been praying for direction for us as we lead a time of teaching, reflection and rest on trusting God in all things…and give the […]  It was so nice to take a break from the Georgia heat and join Rico Suave last week on a business trip. He had the hotel booked, rental car booked…and with summer here–why not use his SkyMiles to take the whole family on the business trip. Now, it was QUITE the week…it even felt sord […] Well that isnt really Lake Michigan! It’s grand traverse bay…Lake Michigan is MUCH larger and far grander, but they are connected obviously! Lake Michigan is MUCH different than the bay! That bay feels more like a tiny pond with its seaweed and stuff washed up on the shore…Lake Michigan has soft powdery sand, and its clear and clean! I also laughed because 80 degrees feels HOT to us! I laughed out loud when you said it felt great!! Oh of course Tara!!! But the bay is really beautiful–and it was actually quite clear and clean in comparison to the South’s lakes which seem brown and snakey! 80 degrees is DREAM weather. Laney insisted on wearing a long sleeve shirt and was begging for blankets though;) She’s a Georgia peach for sure! That place looks like fun! I bet you were one tired momma!!! I know exactly what you mean about the kids swimming! A friend was meeting me at the pool this week and ran 30min late which left me 1 on 6. I was totally wishing I had lifejackets! Joanna likes the pictures- she pointed and said dabba dabba dah…pretty sure that means we need to go play with them 🙂 Glad you had fun….minus the flight…. 🙂 SUPER IMPRESSED. I’ve done three of mine in the pool alone but not my fourth too. I think four in the pool is one of the signs of the Apocalypse.:) Holy cow girlfriend! You got skilz. Mad skilz. Crazy skilz. And the flight? With kids? I am breaking out in a cold sweat. Did the fourth horseman just appear? OH heavens I think I am hyperventilating. I may or may not be the mom who would be banging my head against the overhead luggage compartment in an attempt to knock myself out at that point. Kids, fend for yourselves…  We just flew in from a week shadowing Rico Suave on his business trip…seeing exactly what this man of mine does when he travels to Traverse City. I’ll be posting some pictures from our fun and crazy week I’m sure this weekend–but as for tonight…I’m sitting here stumped. We got in tonight after 10pm–after 2 […] Praying for your mission, Andrea. I pray that you have a steady heart for His will and calling of you while you are in Ndola. Grace and peace will surround you – I have no doubt. Thinking of you as you prepare … no words right now… just lots of PRAYERS!!! I admit I find it like a drop of water in a bucket when people come on missions to Africa and talk about purity. What they need is HIV education, condoms, schooling, medication. Not some white women telling them to ‘save’ themselves for marriage. As if a married man doesn’t cheat. As if a married women can’t be raped. As if people have the same values we have in our countries. PRAYING! And thanks for your quote about messy. Dr. Moore talked at Summit about how too many Christians don’t adopt or care for orphans because they have a faulty sense of control in their lives. They believe they can serve Jesus but also at the same time, control what enters into their lives, and they believe orphan care is too big a risk. It has stuck with me since as that is the kind of Christianity I am normally around. Thankful for people like you who “get it” and challenge me and so many others to live differently for His glory. Mary–I agree that many times ministry always looks like a drop in the bucket. However–I think everyone needs the gospel MORE than HIV education, condoms, schooling, medication. He is more–and we need Him more. We do the HIV education, schooling, medication…but the most important thing I believe that we do is share the gospel. I still believe He is asking us to go teach them about purity in Christ…it will just look quite different than how we would deliver it here. Trust me–this is one topic I would choose to skip and not deliver…but I feel I must be obedient to His calling no matter what it is. I normally just read and don’t comment but the purity topic is something I really wish the U.S. would start talking more about also. I completely agree Andrea, it’s not just a topic to skip over. It’s NEVER too late to make that commitment, no matter what your circumstances are. It doesn’t matter if it’s a white woman teaching Africans in Zambia, we are all ONE in Christ. We all need to hear the same message. The Law and the Gospel applies to each and every one of us. It’s just a matter of finding out what is the best way to share that message with them. Constantly telling them that they are LOVED by Jesus is priceless. Visiting them often to remind them is priceless. We will be praying for your mission. The purity message here in the US is something that needs to be preached more often also. Too often we hear about how we as parents should educate our kids on condoms, STD’s, etc and then now this HPV vaccine. WHAT??? What about purity? yessss… thank you for not shying away from this because of your fragile audience. Jesus will speak His heart for them through you, I have full confidence. I lived at an orphanage in Kenya and many (most) of our girls had experience sexual abuse and I can’t tell you the heartbreak when they would come home from school in tears after being told (indirectly) by the Christian speakers how DIRTY they are for being involved in any of this before they are married…. how AIDS is a punishment for their sin and how God detests their sexual immorality. If you have not watched Matt Chandler’s “Jesus wants the rose”, please do before you go! My prayers are with you… these women and children are precious to Him and oh that they know He does not call them a whore, a disappointment, a disgrace, or unworthy of His love–He calls them His child and His beloved and His delight above all. Sorry for rambling… 🙂 Don’t know you–just found your blog–but know I am praying for you and believing that HE is enough. So excited for your trip Andrea. You are simply refreshing as you share what God has placed on your heart. A big task for a big God, to be sure. But I love that He chooses willing servants like you! Zambia will be a better place because of your love next week. Praying for you! I frequently visit your blog because I enjoy what you share about your day to day family life and how you are so transparent with what the Lord is teaching and acomplishing in and through your family. I also find myself personally encouraged and spurned on to respond in obedience to the promptings of the Spirit to that Edge of the Cliff living out of faith and obedience that you so clearly have counted the cost of and embarked on the journey anyway. I just wanted to share some thoughts on your post above if I may, more unanswered meditative types of questions, than comment or opinion. What innocent in-experienced girl child – say age 10 – 16 years, living in a country with little or no sensationalized media to inundate them with provocative content, in a cultural setting that remains highly conservative in terms of relationships between men and women and that retains many taboos about even openly discussing people as sexual beings, in a culture that denies them autonomy over their own persons much less bodies, in a culture that teaches its men that they are dominant in every way over their women-folk, in which culture it is an affront to the prevailing historic image of manhood to suggest that a girl or woman might have such important value as a fellow human being that he is not at liberty to subsume her person in any way to his manhood, that she too has every right to excercise fully her right indeed responsibilty to choose the good and reject the wrong, … how does one even begin to talk about sexual purity with such a dear sister unless one first introduces her to the idea that, contrary to every indication around her, she has an absolute, worth, and belovedness before God; to the fact that she too has a feminine sexuality that is a gift to her from her heavenly father that finds its blessed expression and fulfillment in marriage, and that contrarily she was never created by God to be an object for anyone’s expression of manhood in any way. But even more importantly how can one say these things to her unless one first starts talking to their men-folk, old and young, about the absolute value, worth, and belovedness of their women-folk before God, contrary to every indication around them, and everything they have assumed and been taught. In which case, who are the men on one’s team who will love the widows and orphans by first loving and reaching out to the men? … this is getting really long. Please let me know if it would be ok to post some additional thoughts and prayers for you and your team. I know, its coming from a complete stranger, and one who is commenting here on your blog for the first time and all. God Bless. Such wonderful insight Stacy–and please add the boys and male teachers and widows who will ALSO be attending this time with us to your prayers!!! When we started planning–we immediately thought to include the male teachers, male widows and boys ages 10+ in this special day. Please pray that God will make these men a VOICE to the men in the village…that THEY will become the LEADERS in the village…that they will be respected and honored and ultimately–their actions and character followed as they choose to follow Jesus in this way!!! Praying daily for your upcoming trip! Love you!  SO…Rico Suave (aka: the husband) often has to travel for his line of work. He works with energy, oil and gas companies–so his clients are all over…basically–they are every where BUT where we actually live:). BUT his office is there–so that is where we are:). Rico Suave warned me about an upcoming business trip to […] So fun! Looks like ya’ll had a great business trip! 🙂 Would love a t-shirt if you do end up with extras! 🙂 Let me know! is frank eating SUPERMAN?!?! that is my fav ice cream flavor…pretty sure only found in MI…jeallin!!  ***Disclaimer:). This is how WE have been led–and what WE are learning. EVERYONE is led differently–so this is just our story and works for our family. We will all be led in different ways as we seek and trust and follow Him. So…that’s my disclaimer for what it’s worth. I get emails asking how we […] i like this. thanks for sharing. great perspective! Andrea, I am a single college student who is NO WHERE near to being a parent, but I have always felt a sincere calling to be a mother. Whether I am a mother to kids from different countries, kids from down the road, or kids that come straight from me, I KNOW that the lord will bless my parenting endeavors. It is encouraging to hear about the way you and your husband parent your children. I have been learning so much lately about the Lord and his way of life and I have been wrestling with the idea of how to parent my future children. All I can do is read the bible and pray to our God to direct my steps. The beauty of this blog world is that without ever meeting someone you can have an impact on their lives. You have truly impacted mine over the past year or so that I have been reading about your family. Praise be to the Lord our father that he has directed your steps and grown your family in HIS way. Your life is a light in the darkness and all glory be to God for that! Thanks for sharing! Andrea this is wonderful. As the years go by I am more and more excited by what I call Parenting in the Spirit. Such freedom and excitement to partner with the Holy Spirit in walking with each child through each stage according to God’s heart! He has so much to say about these lives in our care–so much wisdom we can access for the little and the big things in their lives and our life as a family. Thank you so much for this. As someone who nursed on demand,let their child wean when they were ready, and who has always shared our bed, this just confirmed what felt right in my soul. As he ages I am struggling with the discipline and I appreciate what you have shared. Thank you. This is exactly what I needed to read today after answering a million questions about cocooning, cosleeping, ect. Thank you thank you thank you for always being an encouragement to other moms and for always pointing us to Jesus! You are a light, Andrea! This really spoke to my heart today. I have such an eclectic style of parenting that I don’t rely belong to any sort of philosophy. Also, our kids need different style of parenting at different ages, but they are always loved and respected. Now that we wait for our two adopted kids to join us, I look to the Father for guidance for their needs. Thanks for your openness and honesty. Love. I was so scheduled with my first child, too. With my second, I just can’t put her down long enough to schedule her. I still wear her and she’s almost two! I was so worried with my oldest about him becoming independent and not too needy. How selfish of me! Now I’m more concerned with how to keep them little just a bit longer. Andrea, I LOVE this post, and I really feel that it is where God has been leading us during the two years that we’ve been parenting our little guy. Thanks for sharing your heart – you always encourage and challenge me at the same time! Thank you so much for posting this, Andrea. We adopted our sweet twin daughters a year ago (our first children), and I’ve been pulled here and there by books and other families and I feel like my head is spinning. Your words made me feel some freedom to just follow God and my mommy heart. So much of cultural parenting strategies go completely against that intuition. So appreciate your heart! oops, I put the wrong website before! haha, did it again. I think mommy brain is taking over! 😛 I appreciate this post so much. As we are preparing for our home study visit we have been reading and studying on different parenting techniques. This really touched our hearts and helped us realize that the books aren’t the only way! Thank you! So refreshing for me to read, Andrea! I have been on a similar journey, and so thankful for every day that God teaches me something new…parenting has led me to the cross more than anything! Thank you for sharing what God has taught you, and in such a real, loving, and non-judgemental way! I LOVE this post and couldn’t agree more! 🙂 Andrea, I have read your blog after I saw your link on Wes and Nina Mullin’s blog and I just never commented before. (Sorry about that! haha) I am a mom of one sweet 5 year old girl and I love this post. I get so tired of seeing the influence of culture and how when we contradict it, many people really bristle and become defensive. My prayers lately have been that I go to the Word for our family’s decisions and to not allow society or even our friends to affect them because ultimately it is MY responsibility to seek God’s will for our lives and His will for us is not going to be the same for everyone! Thanks for this timely post that has blessed my heart this morning! 🙂 Love! I was once a by the book parent…or thought I was going to be…and then the Lord gave me my Kate. When you have a child that is autistic and has seizures…you can’t parent how “you thought” you were going to parent. I have to go to the Lord. While my husband and I were teaching the book “Created to Connect” we realized that we had strayed from how we felt led to parent. It’s amazing how much you can discuss with an 18 month old. My days are so much sweeter not constantly putting a little one in time-out or fussing at her. Many of the things parents get on to their children…are quite beautiful to watch in children. They are only little once–savor each and every moment! 🙂 Really grateful to have your words…I look forward to your posts in the morning with my cup of coffee! 🙂 Thank you for sharing!! Well stated, perfectly written, couldn’t agree more, Andrea! Thinking of you as you prep for Zambia!!! Can’t wait for your updates and photos. =) Thank you for sharing, that is beautiful. I needed to read this today. Today I was tired, exhausted, hubbie has been gone for awhile on business and my patience was low…I had my mess ups today in being short. I appreciate the reminder and I strive to act and speak slowly at all times. Today I did not seek God when I woke up and I did not ask Him for help today…I am sure all would have gone differently if I did. Now to refocus and go to God before I go to bed. Love your post! 🙂 Thanks for sharing your thoughts and perspective. which is why spanking is SO much better than time-out, usually! It’s quick, it allows for quick repentance & reconciliation, and it’s done. It’s Biblical. It’s very God-like, though His spankings are way worse than mine ever are (think Miriam-leprous for 7 days, Moses- kept out of the Promised Land, the Corinthians abusing the Lord’s Supper-fatally ill). Check out this wonderful sermon: http://defendingcontending.com/2009/02/11/sermon-of-the-week-child-training-by-voddie-baucham/ PS- much of the world “attachment parents” by necessity, not design. Doesn’t make it right or better, just how it is. […] I sit on the couch blog surfing I read this one tonight. I do not think it was by chance I chose this blog to catchup on and this entry to read all […] |
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by admin
Praying – and keeping you close to my heart and my thoughts as you travel to do His work. Saying a prayer you see my sweet girl, that you can deliver a hug and sweet whisper in her ear how very much she is part of our love, His Love, and how much I pray for her to follow and trust in Him daily. =)
A dear friend sang “How Great is Our God” at my wedding ceremony. It was truly a sacred moment.
Praying for a safe journey and that the Holy Spirit moves you to levels that you never imagined! Blessings!!!
P.S. Cute shirt, just had to order one!! 😉
BLESSINGS as you go…for GOD!!!! PRAYING for all of you. For the message to be clear. For them to know HOW GREAT OUR GOD IS- LOVE THIS SONG!!!!
Praying for what you are doing for HIM 🙂
Wow! I can’t believe the week is here. Praying for you, Christy and team! Much love.
May you go in the power of that truth–He is indeed Always Enough! There is a book by Heidi and Roland Baker called “Always Enough: God’s Miraculous Provision Among the Poorest Children On Earth”. If you haven’t read it I think you should! They have a ministry in Mozambique to the orphans and the testimonies are just mind-blowing. I pray that you and your team see God do miracles as you touch these lives! Go in peace Andrea– I will be praying for your precious ones at home!
I will be praying for you as you go…I know exactly how you feel…leaving the little ones is NOT easy…I am going back to Uganda in September and while I am so excited and anxious to get back and to serve, I am dreading saying goodbye and getting on that plane! But He is in control and has a plan and I will be praying that you will have peace about flying and the trip in general. Can’t wait to get my shirt so that I can wear it and think of you guys while you are there!
Hi Andrea, a good friend turned me onto your blog awhile back and I would love to help support you in your trip to minister to the widows and orphans. I’d like to order a shirt in the Ladies Fit- large to be on the safe side, please. 🙂
I bought a Ladies fitted medium… praying and praying and so joy-filled to the point of tears imagining the love that so many are going to experience during your trip…the hearts that are going to be touched and the lives changed. I am praising Him!!!
I would like to get a medium in the ladies fit but want to make sure it isn’t too tight. I would wear a medium in a store like the Loft. I know some ladies cut can run very small so just want to double check. Thanks for the guidance on the right size!
I will be praying for the team and all that God is doing in Zambia. Also praying for your family while you’re away.
Just ordered my tee and plan on wearing it with my long, flowing white skirt as well. Just let me know when you are wearing yours….we’ll look ssooooo cute together!!!! Praying for your trip! I have to admit – I’m a bit jealous that you get to set foot on that red African soil!! Big hugs!
I will be praying for you and your team while you are in Africa. I know God will use you in a mighty way! Thank you for your dedication and your Christian walk that shines through your blog. Blessings to you and your family while you are away.