A BLOG NEGLECTED

I have no real excuses. Just not feelin’ it lately. Sorry. Hopefully it - whatever IT is - will return.

#1

She has mad texting skills…

just look at that concentration and balance!

She’s quite possibly the BEST big sister EVER…

well, almost always.

And she has a **H U G E** heart overflowing with love…

that never seems to run out.

Today she’s *gasp*… 17.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY #1!!!!!

P.S. Remember, next year you can be tried as an adult. =)

because I have nothing better to blog about

I mentioned in the previous post that I really like to eat. Well, today we threw some ribs on the grill and they were WONDERFUL!! But afterwards a few bits were trying to hang out stuck between my teeth. So I grabbed some floss and went to work freeing the few stubborn morsels. It was going great right up until the floss decided to break and lodge itself between my teeth.

How do you remove from between your teeth what you were using to remove the other stuff stuck between your teeth? I find that a rusty pair of needle nose pliers really fits the bill!!!

I should know better than to use the free floss that they give away at the dentist office.

Fasting - what I learned

There probably should have been some deep spiritual lesson, and maybe there was. But what struck me the most during that day was how absolutely unimportant the clock was to me. Apparently my whole life is scheduled around my next meal or recovering from the over indulgence of the previous one. Without that, it just didn’t matter to me what time it was. I knew that I really… I mean REALLY… enjoy a good meal, but that’s just ridiculous. I’m considering changing the blog title to “Ingestion Slave“!

40 Day Fast - awiperu.org

This is my entry for the 40 Day Fast. Don’t forget to read my partner for the day, Melissa’s, post. I’ve provided links to AWI’s site, but it’s in Spanish. If, like me, you don’t speak Spanish but would like to know more about the organization or how to support them, let me know in the comments and I’ll get back to you with the info.

I’d like to introduce you to Asociación Alli Willaqui. Yeah, I can’t pronounce it either, but the English translation is The Good News Association. It’s called AWI for short.

Over 40 years ago Wycliffe Bible Translators went into the Cordillera Blanca (White Mountains) region of Peru and began the process of translating the Bible into the language of the native people, Quechua. It was a long, difficult process littered with delays and setbacks, but at its completion during the summer of 2007, something much larger than a translation had taken place.

AWI is a fledgling organization that has formed to continue the process begun by Wycliffe. It is made up of several of the local men that assisted with the translation, along with a frequently growing list of new members, and its purpose is to promote the newly translated New Testament and minister to the Quechua people. AWI’s resourcefulness is inspiring. Their methods go from no-tech multi-day hikes to reach remote villages to a hi-tech radio program simulcast over the internet to reach greater distances.

The weekly radio program plays a significant role in their ministry. Evangelical in nature, but providing very practical information on relationships (husband/wife; parent/child), basic hygiene and many other aspects of every-day-life for the Quechua people.

Like so often happens to people not living within the “normal” acceptable culture of the area, the Quechua people are often looked down upon by others and are under constant pressure to embrace modern culture. With the scriptures translated into Quechua and the radio program broadcast entirely in Quechua, these outcasts are being empowered by simply acknowledging their culture and language.

AWI is being the hands… the feet… the heart of Jesus for these beautiful mountain people. Showing them love without conditions. That really does make them Asociación Alli Willaqui, The Good News Association!!

left to right: Andres, Yepo, Pushpi, Timoteo, Ade

no new words

I have a lot that I’d like to say about things, but I feel like I’ve said it all before. I don’t have anything new to say.

Same frustrations.

Same joys.

Same life.

No new thoughts.

No new words.

Since I got nothing, I’ll share someone else’s words:

In fact, I had to come to a place of cynically doubting much of what I had been told about Jesus through all these sources so that when I began to read the Bible again, I could see a little more of what I now believe was really there all along.

-Brian D. McLaren, The Secret Message of Jesus

Cynical doubt, I’ve been practicing that long enough… pretty well mastered it. Maybe its time for me to start reading the Bible again - frankly, its been a while - if I want something new to say.

There are no new words in there, but maybe I’ve been torn down enough to hear what they have to say.

Two of a kind

In case you didn’t already know, I went to Las Vegas for my Sousin’s (sister/cousin - its a long story. Maybe another day.) wedding. Everyone asks with a mischievous grin, “So, how was Vegas?”

Unique buildings, each one individually theme, screaming, “Come see me. You can have the most fun over here!”

And they’re all so very impressive with their bright lights and grand scale: pyramids, castles, Venetian canals, Roman architecture, New York City skyline, roller coasters and the list goes on and on.

But it doesn’t take long to realize its all fake. Every thing’s artificial. Concrete, plastic and paint arranged to hide the truth. They’re not the real thing outside, and inside they’re all the same.

Sure, some are nicer than others. Some are even breathtaking! But ultimately you’ll find the same thing in each one: half-truths  and false promises.

Behind the facade, the public presentation - sometimes hiding in the corners, sometimes right out front for everyone to see - lives every ancient sin. They’re all there.

“So, how was Vegas?” you ask.

I didn’t like it much. It reminded me too much of me!

June in the Rearview

Whew! It was a full month. After #1 and I spent the first 2 wks. in Peru, the whole family (Wife, #1, #2 and me) made a trip to Fabulous Las Vegas for a wedding the last week of the month. The distance between these 2 places can’t be measured merely with miles. A chasm much greater than the Grand Canyon that the family visited. Comprehension of how both worlds can exist is harder to reach than the peak of Huascaran that regally loomed as #1 and I trekked through the Andes.

A world built on extravagance and wants vs. one focused on survival with only the most basic of needs. A mindf**k for sure!!

With all that time on planes and buses, I was able to read 2 books: The Shack and Three Cups of Tea. I loved both of them. The Shack helped remove another cloudy layer from my elementary understanding of God’s character and the Trinity, especially the Holy Spirit. Three Cups of Tea may be my new favorite. The true story of one man literally stumbling into his life’s work after and because of what seemed to be his greatest failure. GREAT STORY!!

I hope to be able to update a little more often now that all of our travel is done.

Check out the list of 40 Day Fast bloggers over in the right column. Read them daily. I think you’ll be inspired. Notice the guy on July 26th. One of his absolute favorite pastimes is eating. He can’t on that day. Start praying now for a shrunken stomach and small appetite!!

See ya soon.

Pool-side

You never know what friends you might make out by the pool.

And who doesn’t enjoy a good read while lounging in the sun?

(click on pics to enlarge)

40 Day Fast

It starts today. Click here to learn about it. Click here to see a roster of the bloggers. Click here to read the first entry, “Where God Lives”.