Randy's Thoughts Today

Tori is such a people person…makes friends easily.  It doesn’t matter if they are Aja or American.  It is sweet to see.  She’s had a bad sore throat this week and yet she plays as hard as ever whenever there are friends around.  She is having a blast with the Bailey girls!

Timothy’s favorite phrase is “I’m gonna give your bottom a whoopin” (learned that from the Little House on the Prairie DVDs we watch).  Also he loves to say, “I don’t wanna take a nap. My tummy hurts.”  Every day.  Every day that tummy hurts at the exact same time.  He also is having a great time with the Bailey girls here, although sometimes feeling a little left out as well. He is a tough guy though and he is hanging in there!

Jonathan has the cutest countenance when he wakes up from his nap.  His first real phrase in his life that I understand is “n gbogbo”  (it’s an Aja phrase….just guess on the pronunciation…starts with “un” and the double “gbo” sounds like bow as in bowtie).  It means “I’m coming”.  He’s learned it when he cries out to Laurance who works in our home and is often the one who gets him up out of his crib after his nap (whenever Kelly is still in school with Tori and I’m working).  That’s what she keeps saying to him until she has a free hand and can pick him up.  

Lael is almost ready to take her first step.  She is so tranquil!  You can walk into the kitchen where she is in her highchair and yes, bad Dad I am, walk right past her without even noticing her.  She is just sitting there with a sweet smile on her face.  The adoption process is a slow go here in Benin…requires much patience!  It’s hard to do the “be still and know” thing….seems like we should be out there doing more to “make things happen”!  But in all reality, our most peace comes when we just relax and remind ourselves of how God clearly set her in our home almost one year ago. The adoption is just the formality on this earth.  It’s already sealed in heaven. We get to celebrate her 1st Birthday at the beach next Tuesday (July 18th).  

It’s good to debrief painful and stressful experiences with friends about 5 years after such experiences happened.  It’s healing and so much more productive than when you are operating in self-preservation mode and not acting like the good friends you know you are.  

Last week, I wasn’t even thinking that I might have eaten too much and might have gained some weight.  Wasn’t even thinking about it…ooops, then  I checked the scales and wow I gained 4 pounds in a matter of days.  Then this week, I was certain of the amount of my consumption exceeded my exercise (none) and was feeling that feeling of having eaten too much…so I checked and I, in fact, had lost 3 pounds.  Interesting. Proposed Theory = think a lot about your weight and then eat a lot and you’ll lose weight. ?  Maybe I’ll go back to the lab to test that theory before I write my new book on weight loss.

A few years ago, I was trying to get a phone line brought to our house (we live out in the bush about 2 miles from town).  This same man I would hound over and over at the local phone company…every month he would shake his head in regret when I walked in.  Then one day it was different.  I pulled up and he ran outside to greet me.  He was so excited that the phone was ready!  In his exurberance, and in a traditional greeting inspired by those very non-American-European types, he kisses me on alternating cheeks then plants one on my lips!  Yikes!  Well, today, I was in the same town for other business and guess who I see?  I wanted to run the other direction.  I quickly shook his hand (very American like) and he pulled me close and started that European kissing thing…but I held firm and made sure of no lip contact.  Done that once.  Enough.  Thanks.

The Lord is good to bring peace to my heart when it is racing inside because of stress, frustration and fatigue.  This morning I was feeling all of that and my flesh was wanting its way.  I was crying out to our Mighty God and even telling him what my flesh was wanting.  Just trying to be honest with my Father (do you do that?)  I feels funny to be that honest with God…telling him what I’m tempted to do.  Sparing no details.  But I feel like it’s part of the spiritual warfare…talking to God about it in the context of Light rather than playing with fire in the secrecy of darkness.  We are always encouraged to share these things with accountability partners…so why not with God, too!  It works, too.  When we confess our sins, and I believe as well our temptations, God is faithful to forgive and faithful to rescue our spiraling thoughts and lift them up to bring Him glory.  Hope you can do that today when the enemy comes with his flaming arrows.

Just some random thoughts…

-Randy