fruit from the yard

One of the stalks on the plantain tree in our front yard fell over.  We were told that it needed to be cut off so that the tree would continue to grow and bear fruit.  So when Tom went outside with the saw and a machete I ran to get my camera and followed along!

plantains fresh from the tree

Trimming the tree

There are a few more stalks about to fall over with fruit.

When the fruit falls off the tree it is not completely ripe.  Many people go ahead and eat them then.  They are used as a starch like a potato. It takes another 3-4 weeks for them to completely ripen and be soft enough to eat like a banana.  So we have not tasted them yet.  I am planning to make jam when they are ready.

Dinosaurs can be so rude...

Ever have a day when you felt like your best was not good enough to please someone else?  I wonder if that's how this poor dinosaur feels.  If he could open his arms any wider I think he would.  But, he can't...so he doesn't...and the best he could do was rejected by someone he loves.

When I saw this graphic I laughed.  Then I started wondering how many of us are guilty of this behavior.  It may not be something said with words but maybe it's in the way we look at someone or how we react to them that communicates the message that their best wasn't good enough.

Not long ago I wrote a guest blog post for my friend Cyndi.  I blogged about being afraid to speak and thinking before speaking.  When I was working on it I thought long and hard about the power of words.  I thought about saying things the right way and having the courage to express myself.  I wrote and then rewrote several different variations before I hit the send button on that post.  But when we speak we don't get to delete or retract the words.  Once they escape our lips they are gone. And we have to deal with the consequences of of those words.

I pray that I will continue to be cautious with my words...whether in print or in real life.  And that my words will bless and encourage others instead of making someone feel as if their best is not good enough.

Thought for Today

It's the rainy season here in Belize...sometimes it rains a lot and sometimes just a little.  

This photo was taken on a not so rainy day in our front yard.  

After the months of heat and fires because it was so dry, we are grateful for the rain!

Connecting with Word Filled Wednesday at Internet Cafe Devotions

and 

Scripture and a Snapshot at Katie Lloyd Photography

                                                                

Tasty Tuesday

I just started reading The Help.  And so far so good.  One thing I enjoy is noticing what kind of food they talk about in whatever book I am reading or movie I watch.  My first cooking experience based on a movie was making beignets inspired by The Princess and the Frog.  They are pretty yummy!!

Now I am ready to tackle caramel cake.  It was mentioned in the first chapter of The Help.  I have never tasted a caramel cake but since caramel is one of my favorite flavors I am willing to give it go...and I am sure that Tom won't mind helping me eat it.

The author, Kathryn Stockett, provides a recipe for the frosting click here and I found that a few bloggers like Jen & Company and Alpaca Farm Girl have already posted recipes for the cake.  Even Paula Deen has a recipe but I don't think I have enough butter in the house to make hers!

There are even some cupcakes inspired by the book made by Cupcake Project.  And 20/20 did a story on the book and sampled Caramel Cake  This is a tough decision as to which recipe to try.  I may have to break down and try more than one of them.

A strong contender is this one from allrecipes.com  It looks simple and simple works for me.

I think it might be time for slice right now!

Why did the land crab cross the road?

photo belongs to Travellingtans

Tom and I would sure like an answer to this question.  Seriously.  

After a fun day in Belize City enjoying the final Harry Potter film at the Princess Hotel & Casino, eating dinner at Tropicolada (which by the way has the BEST shrimp quesadillas in Belize) and stopping off at a supermarket to pick up some things we can't get in Belmopan, we started the hour long drive back home.  And just as we got to the cemetery on the road out of the city we hit our first crab.  Literally. 

After that Tom was dodging them as they scampered across the highway.  At one point though they were so numerous we just rolled up the windows so we couldn't hear the crunch.  EEEW!  We laughed and joked about the whole experience.  But, honestly, I was freaked out by the sheer numbers of them.  We saw at least 50 of them during the first 15 minutes of our drive home.  

It was one of the most surreal experiences we have had since arriving here.  And not one I hope to repeat anytime soon!  

Have you ever heard of such a thing?

Weekend Update

We are headed to Belize City for a day of doing nothing!  We plan to eat lunch, catch a movie and just chill.

Peace, everyone and have a great weekend!

Take Time to be Holy

I am not a preacher and I don't even play one on TV.  So it feels weird for me when I get asked to speak at church.  At the last leadership meeting we decided on a three week rotation.  Tom, Ritchel and I will take turns doing the Sunday message.  Ritchel spoke this past Sunday.  Tom is speaking this coming Sunday which makes next Sunday my turn.  So I have been praying and reading and trying to discern what to talk about.  I read over my notes from the last time I spoke and decided that part of the message might be an interesting blog post so here goes:

As a child growing up in church we sang a hymn called "Take Time to Be Holy". It was written by William Longstaff in 1882 and he was inspired by a sermon that he had heard based on 1 Peter 1:16.  Let's look at the lyrics:

Take Time to Be Holy
Take time to be holy, speak oft with thy Lord;
Abide in Him always, and feed on His Word.
Make friends of God’s children, help those who are weak,
Forgetting in nothing His blessing to seek.

Take time to be holy, the world rushes on;
Spend much time in secret, with Jesus alone.
By looking to Jesus, like Him thou shalt be;
 Thy friends in thy conduct His likeness shall see.

Take time to be holy, let Him be thy Guide;
 And run not before Him, whatever betide.
In joy or in sorrow, still follow the Lord,
 And, looking to Jesus, still trust in His Word.

Take time to be holy, be calm in thy soul,
 Each thought and each motive beneath His control.
Thus led by His Spirit to fountains of love,
 Thou soon shalt be fitted for service above.

Look at the first line of each of the verses:

1. Take time to be holy, speak of with thy Lord.
2. Take time to be holy, the world rushes on.
3. Take time to be holy, let Him be thy guide.
4. Take time to be holy, be calm in thy soul.

The author was inspired to repeat the phrase "Take time to be holy" in each and every verse.
I like that repetition.  It reminds me that we cannot put our faith in a microwave and expect it to be ready in a few minutes. It takes time to develop a deep relationship with God.  Just as it takes time to develop deep relationships with other people.

In Hannah Whitall Smith's book "The Christian's Secret of a Happy Life" when speaking of spiritual maturity  she says "we cannot hope to reach this maturity in any other way than by yielding ourselves up utterly and willingly to His mighty working."  And Ann Voskamp says “moving too fast creates a spiritually slow heart. Slow the mind down. Focus. And the spiritual heart will race with joy and thanksgiving".

How I long to have a spiritual heart that joyfully races with gratitude.  I need to slow down. I need to yield myself to His fine tuning.  We all need to slow down and tune in to Him.

I keep thinking about our spiritual lives being a marathon and not a sprint.  It's not about how fast we can go it's about enduring through the entire course.  These words of another childhood hymn come to mind "the race is not given to the swift, the race is not given to the strong, but it's given to the one who keeps pressing on".  Let us all press on toward spiritual maturity and trade our desire to have it all right now for the tenacity to endure the process of growth.  All it takes is slowing down and allowing transformation to happen one day at a time.

Thought for Today

This photo was taken in Russia in the forest a few hours outside of Krasnodar.

One of the joys of a Russian church picnic is the entertainment.  Slavic had us all in stitches when he fed the cows as they wandered through our area looking for food.  The joy on his face is priceless.  

May your days be filled with love, joy and laughter!

Tasty Tuesday

I keep hearing good things about The Pioneer Woman.  And I had a friend give me this recipe to try of hers... looks mighty tasty, I know .  You can find her recipe here>> Best Chocolate Sheet Cake Ever

Whenever I think of chocolate cake it always make me think of Bill Cosby and his classic joke about eating chocolate cake for breakfast.  

I love this...and I think I want some chocolate cake and a cup of tea with cream for breakfast!

CDF in Benque

This weekend we were down in Benque to do a presentation for the Child Development Foundation.  The conference began on Friday night and ended Saturday afternoon.  Tom and I both spoke on Saturday along with several other speakers.

I made the mistake of forgetting my camera on Saturday so I don't have many shots from the day.  There are a few that I took Friday night.

Church of the Nazarene

Called to Holiness

Evangelical Temple

Church of the Nazarene

Jadine translating  into Spanish as Diana speaks on Gomer and Hosea 

Break the Silence Poster

We had 20 people the first night and 25 the next day.  I have a lot of admiration for the people who attended the weekend.  This is not an easy subject and not one that most people would want to give up so much of their free time for.  It felt like a good weekend for us.  And for CDF.

I hope you had a good weekend...  I would love to hear about it!

Man at Work

Tom enjoying his studio time and the benefits of his labor!

Sell Tacos! Not Children!

The Child Development Foundation (CDF) is sponsoring a talent contest here in Belize.  And the motto for the contest is Sell Tacos!  Not Children!  It will be interesting to see what the kids come up with.  The contest is open to youth 13-18.  If you are here in Belize you can call 822-0101 for more information or send an email to cdfbelize@ymail.com.

This weekend Tom and I will be going to down to the village of Benque to speak at a CDF conference to help bring awareness to pastors and community leaders.  We are only two of the speakers on the schedule and since we are going to a Spanish speaking community we will have translators working with us.

I will be speaking on the Spiritual Affects on Survivors of Commercial Sexual Exploitation and Abuse.  And Tom is speaking on How Effective Christian Counseling Helps.  We are excited about this opportunity and hope to have a good turn out in the area.

Thought for Today

May His word be like a quilt that protects, warms and comforts you.

Tasty Tuesday

Smoked Turkey is very tasty, right? The other day we were out shopping and saw this in the deli section.  I had to grab this photo with Tom's cell phone because I was experiencing sticker shock!

Can you imagine paying $70.15 USD for 9 pounds of turkey? 

We couldn't either...so it is still sitting there at the store!

The joy of transformation

The big wall at New Life Ministries used to look like this:

Then the men came together and got to work on it

And now the youth are taking their turn!

And one child's thoughts stood out for me...

A year ago we were getting off a plane from Moscow.  We landed in Dallas and spent a few months in the states before moving here to Belize.  We are amazed at what we have seen here over the past ten months.  And the transformation that we see in this building is just a small reflection of the growth we are seeing in the people.

Tom spoke yesterday at New Life on "How People Grow".  One of his points was "Change is good, but growth is better".  He told us that change may simply be superficial or may be poorly motivated.  But that growth is a process designed by God to restore us to His image.

Meditate on that for a moment.  What comes to mind for you?  

For me I can see that growth trumps change.  I can see that there is a difference between making a change in my behavior and truly learning a new principle which leads me to maturity.

close encounters with a frog...

We saw this frog in the driveway last night... I didn't have my camera with me so this was taken with Tom's cell phone. It was not easy for me to get close. I kept thinking any minute he was gonna hop on me and torture me somehow.  I know I outweigh him but he had a look about him that said he could take me!

What a difference a day makes...

Yesterday was a pain filled day for me.  Part of the joy of fibromyalgia.

I have good days and bad. After getting a full night of sleep today was a fairly good day.

Anyway, we spent the day working in the counseling office, we had a prayer meeting at the Child Development Foundation to pray over all of the upcoming events and tonight I am speaking at church.  So you could say it was a full day.  Usually these long days are stressful and stress is a trigger for pain.  But today I didn't really feel stressed.  And that is a good thing.  A blessing actually.

I had some time at work to put a handout together for my teaching tonight.  I thought it might be helpful for some of the new believers that we have in our meeting.   We will look at knowing who we are in God.  You will notice this is  not a comprehensive list of all of who we are...but it is a start.   Some of the people are new to studying the Bible so I tried to follow the principle of keeping it simple.

  Know Who You Are!

John 1:12- You are His child

John 5: 24 -You have eternal life

2 Corinthians 5:17 -You are made new

1 John 1:9 -You are forgiven

Romans 8:1-You are set free from condemnation

Ephesians 2:13 -You are brought close to Him

Philippians 4:19 -You will be taken care of

1 Peter 2:9 -You are chosen

Romans 5:8 -You are loved

1 Corinthians 15:57 -You are victorious

You were made for more than to just live the same type of life that everyone around you is living...

You have an identity in Christ. 

Remember who you are.

I am grateful for this opportunity to teach tonight and really looking forward to our day off tomorrow!  

Thought for Today

May His beauty and splendor lead us to worship.

Tasty Tuesday

I have not done any canning since we left Russia...I am looking forward to making a batch of apple butter once we have a free weekend. This is a repost of the recipe I use to make it. Enjoy!

Crock Pot Apple Butter

12 cups of apples, peeled and cut into small pieces
4 cups sugar
1/3 cup apple juice
½ tsp cinnamon
¼ tsp each, ground ginger, nutmeg, cloves
Mix spices in with the sugar and then place apples, sugar mixture and juice into crock pot and turn it on low and let it cook all night.

In the morning, there will be some liquid that came out of the apples as it cooked. Dip the fruit & liquid out by the cupfuls and place in a blender. Blend until the mixture is smooth and creamy. Be careful not to put too large a batch in the blender at one time and, because the mix is very hot, do not place the lid completely on the blender, but allow space for steam to escape. After blending a couple of cups from the crock pot, place it in another large bowl. After blending all the contents of the crock pot, return mixture to crock pot.

Cook on high with the lid off until the apple butter is as thick as you want it to be. Place in clean, hot canning jars and place lid on immediately. Tighten jar lid. Place the jars upside down until they are completely cool to help them seal better with all the heat against the seal.

what's in the news where you live?

Here is one of the stories in the news here in Belize.  After a little research on Google I found more info on the clinic they worked at and where the doctors are from.  I added those links into the article.

Belize Cataracts "Difficult to Remove"
June 22,2011

Cataracts are among the leading causes of blindness in Belize and a visiting eye specialist from the United states says the cataracts he's seen in Belize are the toughest and most difficult to remove he's ever encountered.

We found Dr. George Pronesti and Dr. Don Sivick in action at the BCVI clinic today where they were taking out cataracts - with great difficulty. Here's the story.


Jules Vasquez Reporting:
Dr. George Pronesti from Philadelphia does about 15 surgeries a day for his four days in Belize. He says the cataracts he encounters here are nothing like the ones back home.


Dr. George Pronesti - Ophthalmologist
"The cataracts here are generally worse than the ones that we in the United States because we take them out earlier, and when you take them out earlier, they're a bit softer - they're a bit easier to do. Here they're in for a long time; people don't have the same access to the care, so by the time we get them, they're very hard. And a harder lense is much more difficult to remove. Cataracts take a long time to get the the stage that we're seeing them. They go through stages from 1 to 4, and many of these are 4+; they're beyond 4. And it takes years to get to 4."




Carla Musa - Public relations, BCVI
"I think a lot of people just brush it off, and you still somewhat see, or you're afraid to access the treatment. You're afraid of surgery, and people don't come in and get the treatment. They don't realize how easy it actually is."








So easy that the procedure is wrapped up in a few minutes:
Dr. George Pronesti - Ophthalmologist
"Surgery in our facility takes about 4 minutes. I think my kids timed me one time when we were in there. The best I've done is 3 minutes and 9 seconds. So it's a very quick procedure. Here, It's averaging 15 to 20 minutes."
And those longer, more difficult surgeries are benefitting this doctor.
Dr. George Pronesti - Ophthalmologist
"Seeing 15 in a row is going to make me better doing surgery, but the anology I use is like a baseball batter. I'm swinging like 8 bats before I get up to the plates; by the time a get to the plate, the bat seems very light to me. So when I get home, I'm going to be swinging a light bat, no problem."
And while he gets practice in extreme cases, for patients, the reward is, vision:
Carla Musa - Public relations, BCVI
"In most cases, we can definitely see an improvement in the patient's vision the day after the surgery. I will not be 100%, but as we had with a case yesterday with a husband and wife, the lady had not seen her daughter in 2 years, and had her patch removed, had her glasses removed, and she saw her daughter for the first time. So it's as immediate as that. There are occasions where there is some swelling, and some blurriness to the vison, but it's generally the day after, you can notice the results."
But with early detection, most can avoid losing sight completely; so here's what to look for:
Dr. George Pronesti - Ophthalmologist
"Blurry vision, difficulty seeing at night, halos and starbursts around lights, lights bothering your eyes, just lights shining in your eyes making it more difficult to see. Those are the kind of things you look for. If it's blurry at all, come and see someone. It's much better to get seen earlier than to wait until you're blind. If you wait until you're blind, it's a very difficult complicated surgery to do. If you do it earlier, it's actually very simple."
Carla Musa - Public relations, BCVI
"There are thousands of Belizeans who can definitely benefit from these treatments. And it's not just cataracts; that's one of the leading causes of blindness, but we also have glaucoma; we have diabetic retinopathy. And I think the main concern from a BCVI perspective is prevention; the earlier you come in, the earlier you get your eyes tested, the earlier you're diagnosed, the easier it is to treat."
The medical team got supplies donated for all the procedures. They wrap up on Thursday.

Weekend Update

 New Jerusalem Mission in Roaring Creek is a church that was started by a young pastor and his wife about a year and a half ago.  We attended their services on Sunday night and were blown away by the worship team.  The drummer was probably seven years old, the keyboard player was maybe ten and the rest of team; 3 singers and a guitarist were all young teens.  They were absolutely incredible.  I was reduced to tears by their talent and their passion.

Tom and I were asked by the pastor if we would be willing to help out now and then and we agreed to step in when we can.  So, today I am putting the finishing touches on a message that I am giving on Saturday at a Women's event they are having. Their theme is "A Time of Refreshing" and I am speaking on Being Encouraged in Heart and United in Love.

Tom is preparing a message for Sunday at New Life Ministries...and he is also attending the event with me on Saturday.  We have been sitting diligently in front of our computers with our Bibles...studying and writing. 

It is also time for us to get our visitor's permits renewed so we will be going over to the Immigration office today as well.  We thought we would be slowing down now that the baptisms, wedding and baby dedication are over at New Life..but apparently we are just getting started.

What plans do you have for the weekend?  Do you get to rest or will it be a busy one for you too?!

our Belizean garage...