Kitchen Update #2

Just a few more pictures of the updated kitchen! All I lack at this point is countertops and backsplash. Then it's just a few aesthetic things such as trim work, plith, etc. and it'll be through! The bulk of the work is done though. Whew! My house is starting to look like a home again! And by the way...after about 4 weeks of hand washing all dishes, I can confidently say I HEART DISHWASHERS!!!!

Every drawer has dampers, so no slamming here!
Deep drawers provide storage for pots and pans!
A pullout drawer conceals the trash, and features an additional
drawer up top for trash bags, aluminum foil, Zip-Locs, etc.
A high corner wall cabinet provides lots of food storage!
Over cabinet lighting on dimmers provides a lovely ambiance!
(There are also under-cabinet lights, but difficult to photograph).
This is what we're thinking for the backsplash...it's stone tiles, neutral and sleek.
The completed cabinets, ready for countertop and sink!

Vulnerable

What is that feeling, the one you get inside when you find yourself uncomfortable, embarassed, uneasy? I think it's vulnerability. When I looked it up in the dictionary (okay, so I'm a word nerd), I found the following definitions for vulnerable:

1. Capable of or susceptible to being wounded or hurt.
2. Open to moral attack, criticism, temptation.

In thinking about this, I think in the past few months I have felt this in a huge way.

I confessed to my roommate a little while back that I think God is dealing with me on the issue of pride. This all came to light after a particularly moving message at church one Sunday, the same day that my world was in essence shattered with a recent discovery that a Christian friend is struggling with being gay. It was as if God was shining this light on my heart and reminding me that I too was imperfect, and that I needed to own up to that. Still, in my heart I knew that a relationship with Jesus is something that is available to all of us, regardless of our past or present circumstances. He endured nails for the sins I committed today as well as the lifestyle that my friend is living apart from Him. This realization brought me to a new place.

So back to the vulnerability. As most of you know, I have been undergoing a kitchen renovation for, let's be honest, a couple of months now. This means that my appliances are all over the place (though I'm trying to sell them), my cabinets are still not yet all installed, and basically, my whole downstairs resembles a department in Home Depot rather than the Pottery Barn showroom effect that I am comfortable with. Because I grew up in an impeccably clean household, this mess initially made me feel a sense of failure...failure to maintain the perfectly clean house that has always been expected of me. I was afraid of that criticism, of not keeping up appearances. One night, my roommate Kelli said to me, "You are growing." What she meant was, she was surprised that I could relax enough to be in this mess for so long, and I guess she was surprised that I was coping with it at all!

But somewhere in the past few weeks, I have just come to realize that it's just not that big of a deal in the long run. As I look ahead to how awesome the kitchen will eventually be, and the fellowship that can take place in there as a result of the makeover, I am recognizing that in the scope of eternity, my temporary state of living is just not that big of an issue. If it had been done any sooner, I might not have been able to fully embrace this lesson. Plus, I have the added bonus of all the amazing hours spent with good friends working on this project, which in the end has saved me thousands of dollars.

Vulnerability is something I think we all experience on some level on a regular basis. Tomorrow is Valentine's Day....a day that can lead to elation or disappointment. There is a great amount of risk surrounding that day. Of course, we ladies wish that men would make themselves more vulnerable than they seem to...take a leap of faith, or whatever.

Maybe I'm just being a girl, but today I felt that first definition of vulnerable pretty strongly. And I felt it sitting in a salon where Kathy's daughter was getting her hair cut. It's funny how I can go along in my life being so confident in who I am for weeks at a time, only to be susceptible once again to feeling inadequate. I don't think this is from God; on the contrary, I think it is the enemy telling me that I'm not good enough, not worthy of good things. This is when I have to remind myself what Scripture says, and ironically, what our church's text for the day is today:

Philippians 4: 6-7 (The Message) Don't fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God's wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It's wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life.

God is so amazing. Working in us, loving us despite our pride, selfishness, or anxiety. Why should I spent time worrying about what others make of me, what the world says I am? The Creator of the universe took time to create me. I think in the end, it is He who wishes me to open my heart and be the most vulnerable of all simply with Him.

The Kitchen Update!

Just a few photos of the latest with my new kitchen. Very exciting!!!

Thursday night...ripped out the rest of the base cabinets...
Recessed lighting installed perfectly with dimmer...love that!My new kitchen in boxes all over my living room!
Wall cabinets installed...
Cabinets are gorgeous!! New microwave/vent hood lovely too!
Cabinets up close...birch finish, cool stainless handles!

Snow!

How excited were we with the snow on Thursday night? What a neat surprise! It was so beautiful, Kelli and I had to run outside for about five minutes to take pictures and chase each other with snowballs. I just loved this picture of my house...it's first snow!!!

Justice & Mercy

I was reflecting on Night for Africa which happened months ago at Northpoint, and was thinking about all that is going on even now in Kenya. These verses came up on BibleGateway.com and I just loved them. It's good to meditate on God's word, as Jeff Henderson pointed out this moring. Please keep praying for Kenya...

PSALM 68:5&6a (The Message)
Father of orphans,
champion of widows,
is God in his holy house.
God makes homes for the homeless.

ISAIAH 1:17 (The Message)
Say no to wrong.
Learn to do good.
Work for justice.
Help the down-and-out.
Stand up for the homeless.
Go to bat for the defenseless.

MICAH 6:8 (The Message)
But he's already made it plain how to live, what to do,
what God is looking for in men and women.
It's quite simple: Do what is fair and just to your neighbor,
be compassionate and loyal in your love,
And don't take yourself too seriously—
take God seriously.

We've No Idea

Please be in prayer over the violence that is occurring as a result of the elections in Kenya. This is an e-mail sent to my mortgage broker (who spent some time there and met this guy, Maurice, who is in ministry). I think that in America, we have no idea what it is really like in Africa. If you watch films like Blood Diamond or Hotel Rwanda you might get a glimpse, but really, it's all too easy to think, "Wow, that's rough. So...where do y'all want to eat for dinner tonight?" We are so isolated from much of the world, with the grand privilege of selecting what we choose to think about and not. Maurice and his family are thinking about things like where their next meal will come from, if he can get it back to their house safely without being robbed or attacked, and whether his wife will get the treatment she needs for malaria. Please think of them this week, and in coming weeks and pay attention to the news.

Hallo,

First I want to thank you for praying for us and our nation. It has been a very hard time for me and my family here in kenya as result to election violence. I happen to be in kisumu which is one of the areas hard hit by the violence of elections. But we thank the Lord that our lives are protected in the Lord.
Kisumu town is worst and many properties are destroyed and looted.

Many buildings and properties are burned down including motor vehicles and many lives are lost and i want you all to know that many people have died and the figure is higher than what you hear on the news.. In Muhoroni the area MP called for police to go and collect many bodies killed and laid by the roadsides and also here in the rural some bodies are found killed and some burned.

There are no means of transport up to today and infact I used a bicycle to go to Kisumun town today a bout 40 km away and back because Its only in the town center where one can find some foodstuffs to purchase and again the foodstuffs are very expenisve like more than 3 times than before.

We have gone without food for two days and its terrible and people seen with bags of maize flour are robbed of that by force because people are hungry.

Many old people are starving and they need urgent help as they cannot travel to the town to look for food. in the rural there is no food. as result of lack of food i guess

My son Donex is sick and dehydrating and Peggy too is having serious malaria and we cannot take them to hospital because all nearest hospitals are closed down so there are only few private hospitals in the town center and transport is a problem and cost of treatment has gone up.

Please we need your continuous prayers as you have done in the past because things seems to be getting back to normal as you can see I made it to town and pray that I will get back with some packets of maize flour for my family without any one attacking me on the road.

We also need help, besides what we need to use at this time as a family also help for the affected people we know around.

In my closest area we are having funeral of about 5 people who were killed as result to the violence.

As for our ministry, Our Kisumu rural office was attacked by rioting youths and the broke in and looted our 153 plastic chairs we have been using as income generating project and also a television and DVD machines we have been using to show our ISOB Discipleship clasess other small small things were also stolen but they left us the books in our library.

We want to go back to Nairobi soon but we are advised that if we cant wait then we will have to use air means of traveling to Nairobi as tribal clashes continues on the road to Nairobi , people of my tribe (Railas tribe are forced out of buses and slaughtered)

I have to go as its very expensive to use internet today and i have no money.

Maurice and Benter

Amber & Heather

Most of us think of heather as a plant that grows on the hillside in Scotland, amongst other places. And amber? Amber is that stuff that they found the mosquito in which they extracted DNA from in the film Jurassic Park, right?

Wrong. People everywhere are redefining these words. They are, in fact, becoming substitutes for my actual NAME.

Yes, that's right. I have been called Amber on more occasions than I can count, and most recently, I became "Heather."

Other popular substitutions for my name include August and my favorite...April.

I just want to know why it is that people cannot remember my name. If I can remember the very ethnic names of most of my students, and pronounce them correctly, then why can American adults not seem to remember my name, a synonym for the season fall? It's not that difficult, people.

AUTUMN. A six letter word. Memorize it. Embrace it. I'd do the same for you!!!