I know this isn't the best quality, but I love the look on Hannah's face. When she and Larissa are together, there is a lot of laughter.
Our little leprechaun on her birthday. If you're wondering, that is both a leprechaun hat and a tiara on her head. We didn't name her "beautiful princess" for nothing.
The birthday girl and her requested breakfast--Momma's cinnamon rolls. You get what you want on your birthday!Spring seems to have finally sprung here in Plzen, Czech Republic, and I could not be happier about that. Those of you in Texas who still have snow on the ground--I feel your pain. Ours is finally gone, and though I really do like snow, I'm ready for a new season to arrive. I was here last spring, and so I know that there is no more beautiful place on earth in the spring than the Czech Republic. I am looking forward to flowers and colors and blue skies for a while.
I've been thinking lately about Facebook, about status updates and what they mean and what they tell us about people. I have friends from all walks of life, and so I really have an interesting read when I get up each morning. Some are very political, some are very deep and meaningful, some are very spiritual, and mine...I basically tell you what we had for dinner. I am not working toward deep and meaningful on the old Facebook status--but I have been told that it's fun for our friends on the other side of the world to know a little about our lives here. It's also nice for my parents and aunt and sisters...they can keep up with what's happening with us, with the kids, etc. And, to be honest, I enjoy reading about what's going on in everyone else's life, offering a joke when I can (because I AM funny, Marc and Sarah Beth) or some encouragement when it's needed. I'm not saying that Facebook is my main ministry or anything, but I think it can be a tool to help people.
So what I've been thinking about is what would my status be if I had to boil it down to the most basic thing I want you to know? What if Facebook WERE my only ministry? What would I say on my status? Here's what I've come up with (and it's not original in any sense): Jesus loves you. It's the most important thing you can know, not about me, but about yourself. He loves you. The Lord of everything, the Creator, the Son of God...He loves you. Crazy about you. Died for you. Rose again for you. And I'm not saying for mankind in general. I'm saying for YOU.
When we moved to Moscow, one of the things that made me uncomfortable was beggars. These aren't (generally) like homeless people in America, who often seemed to be middle aged or younger. Most of the beggars in Moscow are older people, generally women. And they sit on their knees and put their noses as close to the ground as possible. And it kills me. It still bothers me when I see it. They are someone's babushka (grandmother in Russian). I truly adore old folks. So to see them begging...it hurts me. So we often gave our change. (It's a thin line to walk...how to approach this subject.) But I didn't want to just give them ten rubles, walk away, and feel good about myself. I wanted to say something meaningful to them in those few seconds. So one of the first things I learned to say in Russian--Jesus loves you. And when we would give them our small change, I would whisper it to them. Jesus loves you. Jesus loves you. Jesus loves you.
Because I have worked in public schools for most of my career, I have many, many friends who are not believers. They would consider themselves Christian in the sense that they are not Jewish or Muslim, but not in the sense of a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. If you are one of those people, here's what I want you to know. Jesus loves you. No matter what you've done, haven't done, no matter how "bad" you've been or haven't been. He doesn't care about you cleaning up to come to Him. He doesn't care if you've been "good," either. He doesn't care if you're a Democrat or a Republican. (Don't get me started on the Facebookers who put "I vote how Jesus would vote" on their information....drives me NUTS.) He doesn't care if you come to a Baptist church or a Methodist church or an Episcopal church. He loves you, and He died for you, and He rose again for you, and He is desperate to have a relationship with you. And all the other stuff that you see in the news--Christians fighting amongst themselves about stupid things that don't matter--ignore it. That is NOT Jesus. That's us. And we are often stupid.
And if you are a believer, how about we make a deal. How about we stop fighting. How about we stop distracting and detracting from the good news of Jesus Christ. How about we all realize along with Paul that the world is full of sinners, of whom I am the worst and just get over ourselves, our pet projects, our pet issues. How about we cut each other a break. What if we gave that a try for a while?
Well, I'm off to Prague for the day, so I'd better run. Wherever you are in the world, I pray that you know that Jesus loves you so much, and that your husband is fixing supper tonight, too. Blessings to you and yours!
His,
Kellye
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