Good Friday

The church bells chime painstakingly slow today ... each one ringing in my heart a reminder of the cost Jesus paid the day he died. Throughout the day the sounds make their way from the village church to my heart. Their echo hurts when the bitter taste of my sins is too fresh.

It may not be my Good Friday but quickly it becomes mine as the clangs come amid the ordinary...

...as I take down and fold my laundry, I remember that He was bruised for my transgressions.

...as Gabriel laughs and plays with a stray dog, I think about those who didn't know the significance of the day The God Man died.

...as Charis (Grace) notices the bells, I explain that today some people are remembering Jesus' suffering and death.

...while I snuggle my freshly bathed baby, I am grateful.

...while I sit at the computer, I must stop to pray.

I am compelled to pause each time the bells begin. At times tears swell. Every time gratitude overwhelms my soul...

In Christ alone, who took on flesh

Fullness of God in helpless babe

This gift of love and righteousness

Scorned by the ones He came to save

'Til on that cross as Jesus died

The wrath of God was satisfied

For every sin on Him was laid

Here in the death of Christ I live

Through the eyes of a child

I don't think Easter will ever be the same for me... since Charis recently accepted Jesus in her heart, her passion for Christ and the Easter story comes out throughout our day.

She has us read her the new storybook about the Easter story from a sweet family friend over and over. She carries the book around pointing to different parts of the story.

"This is the sad part..." Jesus' death.

"This is the happy part..." Jesus' resurrection

She tells me she is angry with those that killed Jesus. We talk about Jesus teaching us to forgive even on the cross.

Coming down the steps one morning she tells us... "I love Jesus. I was praying to him in my bed."

Finding a weed at the park she runs to me ... "Mama, mama, I found a palm. LOOK!"

She waves it. I see her mind churning like she is imagining Jesus entering Jerusalem "yaaay, Jesus"

Looking at me intently she explains it with such passion that I am reminded of an important truth "He is a KING!"

The Tower of Babel

We have made International Christian Fellowship our church body here. It is church in downtown Limassol that is lead in English. The church truly lives up to its name "International" as it has people from all over the world. English is not the first language of most of the people that attend. A few Sundays ago, I was asked to teach in our church's Creche (Nursery & 2-3 year olds due to our churches small facilities). So while the youngest children play, the Creche leader gives a lesson and craft.

The lesson I was to lead was on the Tower of Babel. Making it more interesting the children are so young that most haven't learned English yet. As I began preparing for the lesson, I found suggestions online to tell the children "imagine not being able to understand what is being said" or "think of not being able to talk to the other children so they understand." I chuckled. These children don't have to imagine. They are living it. Sure enough that Sunday there were 4 different languages represented in the sweet faces looking up at me. I smiled. I think God had me experiencing the lesson of the Tower of Babel.

Even deeper I was struck with the bigger issue at the Tower of Babel than pride in the heart of man to build a tower to reach heaven which is the focus of most children's Bible stories was disobedience to God's command after the flood in Gen. 9 - to be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth.

Isn't that like our human hearts to disobey a direct command?

And even take pride in our "better" plan?

How grateful I am that God didn't leave me there!!!

"But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." Romans 6:22-23

Praise God with us, AGAIN!!

Gabriel is a bundle of energy! He is extremely curious which kind of ends in him getting into everything. This contributed to my starting to think that maybe two was enough for me. It was strange for me to find myself in this position since we had begged God for children, and Joshua and I always pictured ourselves with more than two. Around Christmas, God began to grow my heart again for more children...down the road though, I thought.

...several weeks later I kept thinking I was getting sick like everyone else. I felt. so. tired. It took me longer than usual to began wondering ...was I expecting? In the US, if I thought I might be pregnant, I jumped in the car to the nearest store. Here it was a different story. I didn't know where to buy one except possibly at a pharmacy, and they aren't the 24 hour kind. I double checked our closest grocery store and sure enough there were none. The closest pharmacy I knew of was 1/2 hour away. Because of the cost of gas, we don't typically jump in the car for one thing so I quickly found a few other excuses and drove into Limassol during the children's nap. It was a LONG drive there and back. ...you can guess how this ends, yes, a positive pregnancy test!

Joshua and I were thrilled! While it was sooner than I expected or "planned", I found myself smiling from ear to ear. Besides, hadn't I learned that when children come in this world wasn't really up to my plans?! I thought it was special that God had began preparing my heart to welcome this news with such joy. I even found myself strangely surprised at how excited I was...I didn't know that with my third child I would be overjoyed again! The road of bareness and miscarrages will always be very real to me and I feel like Leah - "Happy am I! For women will call me happy."

Oh Spring! How I have waited for you!

It has been a long winter for us. We have been told by numerous Cypriots and Ex-Pats alike that it is the coldest winter in a long time. To complicate things, when we originally packed to leave the US, we were told we were going to need to go back for a quick trip for our visas. We thought this "quick trip" would be before winter. It became unclear at the last minute if we would have go back after all! We threw in and exchanged out some items out of our 8 precious bags of luggage - all that would go with us from our lives. To top it all off, we came to a place that wasn't suppose to be "that cold" to what some have said is the coldest winter in a hundred years. If it weren't for Dad and Mom Fleming's packages with some extra warm jackets and clothing, it might have felt like an even longer winter. One more thing to give perspective...in the US, when we talk about cold weather or hot weather we are referring to the weather outside. The weather we experience as we walk from the door to the car. Also in the US, we have the idea that all of Europe must be like US, I mean it is the motherland. Well, it isn't in regards to central heating and air. So in the hot summer or the cold winter when people in Cyprus and Spain talk about being cold or hot most are talking about being that in their homes. The best thing we have been able to come up with to explain to people in the US about this reality that somehow we missed in any briefings from others living in Europe, is that it is like camping. There are fireplaces in some homes or some people might choose to heat a room where everyone piles in (in Cyprus this can be costly due to high electricity and gas costs - to give perspective to this our electric bill was over $600 without running a heater). So as we have a steady increasing warmth, migrating spring birds and flowers bursting forth, it is like we trying to un-thaw. We have eaten outside for lunch every day this week and have taken more walks this week than last month combined. I can hardly coax the children inside during the day or for naps. If Spring could be hugged, our family would be first in line.

Charis' Heart

It hadn't been an easy week. Joshua was traveling, and it felt like sometimes my children were testing to see what I could handle. We were in the car having a sweet moment together singing "Jesus loves the little children." Even Gabriel gets into it now, clapping and adding his happy yells. As we sang the verse "Jesus died for all the children", I was preoccupied thinking through the theological issues with that verse not imagining that this phrase would change my child's life forever.

"Why did Jesus die for all the children?" Charis interrupted my thoughts.

I realized we have explained to her why He died, but it has been relation to her and us, not in relation to others. I explained again that it was because of sin.

"The children's sins?!" she replied, seeming surprised that others sin.

We talked a little longer and since I thought we would be on to the next subject (we have had a lot of these conversations lately) I added, "Charis whenever you want to, you can pray to Jesus and ask Him to forgive your sins..."

She didn't let me finish!

"I am going to do it right now."

I stopped the car. Her eyes were pressed tightly together. My heart was beating fast. Is this really happening?

"Dear Lord Jesus, thank you for this day. I am sorry for my BAD sins." ...She started out praying fast but got slow and very emphatic at the end.

"You can ask Jesus into your heart if you want." I added.

She started praying again "Jesus please come into my heart. I am sorry for my BAD sins."

I teared up and explained to her how excited I was and how important what she did was. We talked about my "happy tears", and I suggested she tell others what she did. When we walked into my dad and mom's house, it was the first thing she told them.

When I helped her in her pjs that night, she asked excitedly "Jesus is in my heart!?"

Winter Pictures