Back to Joy

OK, I promised I would continue these thoughts...
(Just as a reminder--
Reflection #1: Joy comes from God
Reflection #2: Joy comes from rich fellowship
Now moving forward...

A striking trend is seen in the OT references to “joy” and “rejoice”. Here you see John Piper is right, and many who have gone before him. Yet when you read these verses for yourself, it hits you fresh:

Reflection #3: Joy is commanded

Lev. 23:40: “You shall rejoice before the Lord…”

Dt. 12:7, 12 18: “Rejoice in ALL your undertakings…”

Dt. 14:26: “As you eat in the presence of the Lord, rejoice.”

Dt. 26:11: “You shall rejoice in all the good the Lord has given you.”

*Dt. 28:47: Israel is cursed because they did not serve the Lord with joy.

The first question this leads me to is: What does this reflect of our God, who mandates that we be joyful?

The second is: Knowing the obvious struggles and despondencies of our hearts in this life, how can we possibly consistently obey this command?

So I'm taking a survey and I'm looking for your insights :) -- How would YOU answer these 2 questions?

Potty Training Round 2

Only to redeem the picture of my most-unclothed child in the last post, (You thought that once we moved away from a tropical climate, we would begin properly clothing our children, didn't you?) I'll share our latest potty escapades.

It's Ellie's turn! I now feel enough on the other side of transition that I could being entertaining the idea of potty training again. Kathryn and I began singing her a chant--


"You can do it!
Ellie can do it!
Ellie can use the potty, YEAH!"

No tee-tee, but a lot of rah-rah excitement and cheering.
Does she look ready to conquer the world, or what?

Life Up and Running

Through our many transitions, the way I have come to mark the settling-in phase of the transition is this: When your kitchen is sufficiently stocked to make chocolate chip cookies, you are well on your way. So it has become important to make cookies as soon as possible-- a sort of sign of the possible impending return of sanity. Interestingly, the ingredient I was lacking was not the baking soda or the chocolate chips. (Yes, I did bring a 72 oz. bag of Nestle's chips before we left.) It was the OVEN! Chinese people do almost all their cooking on the stove, so ovens are tough to find. I kick myself now for not shipping my oven from Singapore-- It was on its last leg, but it was bigger than anything I have found here! So I found one, and cookies were baking by that evening. You want to know what it looks like, don't you? It's kind of like a big toaster oven, and it comfortably fits a 9x13 pan.













As a bonus insight into our lives here, next to the oven you see our "water tong". You can't drink the tap water here, so all drinking water is bottled. 11 years ago, I brought with me a very pricey bottled filtering system to clean our water; Now these dispensers are standard. A few weeks back we heard some news reports that about half of the bottled water in our city was "jia de"-- FAKE. Not sure what this means-- tap water? people bottling water without a license? Hard to say. But our water delivery man swears up and down that our water is the very best quality-- how can we doubt?

OK, back to the cookies. A friend made a great suggestion. In the US, I used to love buying those Nestle Toll House break and bake cookies because you can cook just a few at a time. (Because assuredly, as many as you make will get eaten!) So my friend Julia showed me how she makes a batch of dough, shapes them into balls, and then freezes the balls so you can pop in as many as you want. This is perfect for my style-- After the first few days of a new batch, they start to get boring and dried out. But an occasional fresh-out-of-the-oven chocolate chip cookie is NEVER boring. So here is the first batch from our new oven:

Do you think they were a hit?

What Happened to Joy?

I imagine you have given up on me. But I haven't forgotten-- I got side-tracked for several weeks on another project, but let me promise I will resume posting "reflections on joy"... I need it!

Quote for the Day

"Before I got married, I had six theories about bringing up children; now I have six children, and no theories." -Lord Rochester

No need for commentary; This quote speaks for itself!

Thanks for Praying

Just had our first overnight stay in a Chinese hospital, as Ellie was diagnosed with pneumonia! We are home now and she is much better. If I had in the least anticipated this diagnosis, I would have tried to ask more of you to pray for us. We have had so many "adventures" lately-- I hope the rest of the week is boring!

10 Things I Forgot About China...and surely more to come

It has occurred to me in the last few weeks...I suppose almost 4 now...that our return to China has resurfaced many forgotten memories, and I have even learned a few things I never knew! It has been almost 7 years since we lived here, and then we were newlyweds without children. (Aren't we still newlyweds, honey?) So the memory grows rusty over time, and I have had some fun and not-so-fun awakenings.

10. I forgot about the air quality. Before we left, we bought the new Lonely Planet China guide, updated May 2007. One comment says "the air quality in major cities is like smoking 70 cigarettes a day." I read this before we came and I thought "surely, they are joking." No, they were not. Today as we were walking outside, Kathryn asked me, "Mommy, what is that ball in the sky?" "That's the sun, honey." The haze had so obscured the rays that you couldn't even tell it was the sun. Which leads me to...

9. I forgot about cloud-seeding. I used to think this is a myth. Then I believed it but I was critical. Now I'm just so grateful that some farmer out in the nearby countryside shoots who-knows-what kind of chemicals up into the clouds to make it rain and clear the air for a day or two!

8. So I also forgot about the joy of seeing a sunset in this place. The simple pleasure of a pinkish-purply sky as the sun goes down goes a long way.

7. I didn't know that IKEA isn't standard in all countries. Can I buy some stock in this store? This business does gang-busters in every Asian location I have ever seen. But IKEA in China doesn't carry the same stuff as the IKEA in Singapore or Dallas. That has advantages and disadvantages. You can get a nice sofa for $200 US, but you might not find much if you are trying to match what you bought in Singapore! (But if you bought something to hang on the wall and pay for them to install it, then be sure you don't forget to buy your nails too, because they won't have any when the arrive)!

6. I forgot about washing fruits and veggies. My roommate and I several years ago used a purple solution of potassium permanganate (KMNO3, if I remember right) to wash our fruits and veggies. I never knew what it did exactly, but it seems most here use a little bleach or just soapy water. Why the need for this? Broccoli friends. A week ago I cooked spaghetti and broccoli, and I was adamant about eating the broccoli because it had been days without produce. K & I ate a healthy helping, and Ellie, as usual, sat with her pouty face staring at the task before her. As I was helping her put a piece on her fork, I looked closer and noticed a tiny little worm. Then I looked down at the rest of her helping, and I saw all of his buddies. Then I looked in the pot, and there was his entire extended family and their friends too. Ellie got a "get out of jail free" card, I wisked the broccoli away, and served ice cream instead!

5. Drop your to-do list: I forgot how long it takes to accomplish things here. You may think "Go buy groceries, run over to the phone place to connect the internet, call the fix-it man to install the light fixtures...maybe fit in a trip to the meat market after naptime..." Scratch that, write it again. "Buy groceries." That is enough for one day. Slowing down isn't always such a bad thing.

4. I didn't know that although VISA boasts 200,000 user-friendly locations world-wide, almost all of our local stores aren't among them. You can get cash from a decent amount of ATM's, though, but be sure you alert VISA before you travel, or they may consider your transaction of "suspicious activity"and shut down your account. Better not have this happen on a Saturday or it will be Mon am US time before you can get more money!

3. I forgot that logic is geographically defined. Two examples. #1: I bought a new bathtub for our bathroom. It was to be delivered the next day. The delivery guy calls from downstairs and says "Your tub is here." "Great, bring it up", I say. "No, we don't deliver to your door. Just to your building. If you want it to be delivered to your door, that will be another fee." Did you know that the fee to send it up the elevator is the same fee you pay to bring it all the way from the store to your building?? Baffling. #2: At the bakery, my friend asked the lady, "Is this coconut bread?" "Yes, it is." She bought a loaf and we all began sampling it. It was sweet, but... no coconut. My friend walked back in and said "You said this is coconut bread, but there's no coconut in it...?" The lady responded, "But it's so cheap!"

2. I forgot what it was like to care for children here. Wait-- this is my first time! No wonder I'm so tired! Living in China single, and then married without kids, was much, much different. But sometimes their reminders are exactly what I need...

1. I sometimes even forget that God lives in China. Well, I suppose I just never thought of it quite like that. Kathryn came up to me relating a conversation she'd had with a new friend Alathia. She said "Mommy, God lives in China, doesn't he? I know He lives in Singapore, because he was with us there. And now that we moved to China, he lives here too, doesn't He?" A pretty significant 4-year-old application of "I will be with you wherever you go", don't you think? Out of the mouths of babes.

On late night snacks and settling in again

I'm sitting here at my computer eating a bag of potato chips, which is something I would scold my husband for doing. I needed something crunchy-salty. You know how at night you either crave crunchy salty snacks, or sweet and smooth ones? I do. I was delighted to find an avacado at the market and was going to make guacamole (my favorite homey snack of the past few years) but it was rock hard. (By the way, my mom's guacamole is the best-- add lemon juice, garlic salt, onion salt and tabasco sauce to taste.) So anyhow, I'll have to wait another day or so.

But we were talking about China, weren't we?

We moved into our home a week ago, and I think we're doing pretty well all things considered. We have electricity, phones, internet, food in our kitchen... All the basic necessities. Oh, and a washer and dryer. I discovered when I went to do our first load of laundry that the washer has no water temperature selection. That's right--every load is cold. I just assumed (that was my problem right there) that when I bought the thing, that one of those buttons with Chinese characters was for water temp. I don't know how clean our clothes will be getting, but no need for sorting!

Jim left this past Sunday, and he will return the 26th. Yikes. I have had those moments when I'm pushing the double stroller up the ramp of a major highway overpass, and I say to myself "Did I really just move to another foreign country, and have we really just been in our home one week, and did my husband really leave 4 days later, and why am I crossing this highway anyhow??"

Language re-acquisition is painful. I just had a 30 minute conversation on the phone with a lady in Chinese. Before you are impressed, know that the only reason it took 30 minutes was because I had to keep saying "qing shuo man yi dian" (please speak slower) and "qing shuo jian dan yi dian" (please speak more simply).

I did take a few pics out our window on a clear day. So far there have been 2 of them (clear days, that is). This may give you a feel for our community:

Not bad, huh? This little "play area" downstairs is full of adult exercise equipment. It's standing room only from about 4-6am when all the grandmas and grandpas are out getting their morning exercise! (The sun rises at 4:30; WHY?? Because China is one big time zone. The same geographic width spans 5 time zones in the US. We are the furthest east, so we get up first!)

OK; I better go. Maybe my avacado is ripe now.

Reflections on Joy, #2

Here's my 2nd observation about NT verses related to JOY:
Joy comes from rich fellowship.

Joy is often not me by myself. Our individualistic society whispers to us that the most spiritual thing we can do is spend time alone with God reading my Bible. Of course there is nothing wrong with reading my Bible. But these verses suggest that sometimes spirituality can be seeking out a spiritual friend, a mentor, or a co-struggler--those walking the journey of faith with you-- and sharpening one another. Follow the trail of these few verses if you like:

(2 Co. 7:4) When God saw that Paul needed some encouragment, He didn't tell Him "I am all you need." Rather, God sent Titus to comfort him.

(Phil 4:1, 1 Th. 2:19-20; 3:9) Joy comes from seeing others who are participating in the work of the gopsel and the life of faith with you.

Searching for Joy

I've been thinking about joy. It's something we all want, yet in our travels across Texas visiting with friends about life, it seems elusive to many at times. Me included. Yesterday, our 3rd apartment fell through when our prospective landlord decided he wanted to change the conditions of our contract. We are 10,000 miles away and we can't do anything about it. All our earthly posessions are somewhere in the middle of the Pacific on a boat right now. When they arrive, there will be no home to put them in. Furthermore, when we arrive, we will have no home. This is the latest in a string of unexpected, unpredictable, nothing-we-can-do events. I'm sure you can write you own list! These frustrations might in certain weak moments, be impetus for despair.

So, I'm fighting back. I'm searching for joy. I love looking at broad themes across the Bible and seeing a big picture. Here are my discoveries as I log them for myself; Please join me if you like!

Thought on Joy #1
Here seems the most basic, fundamental thing we can say about joy: Godly joy as defined by the Word of God comes from God. It is a fruit of the Spirit (Ga 5:22). Obvious, right? But it might help me to start by acknowledging my inability to produce it. I can certainly do things to hinder the flow, or things to put me on the path towards finding it. But most foundationally, I can't make it happen. So Paul says to the Thessalonians, "In spite of severe suffering, you welcomed the message with the joy given by the Holy Spirit. More to come...

Change of Plans

The alert readers among you will take note of the date on this entry and say "Hmmm. I thought you were supposed to be on a plane today." (Actually this blog is posting Singapore time, so really it's 8:30 pm on the 15th.) Yes, right you are. 3 days before our departure Jim and I looked at each other and agreed there was NO way we would be able to get on the plane in 3 days without major distress. That, combined with the fact that we heard our belongings STILL have not shipped from Singapore, means that we are staying a couple more weeks. Our new departure date is June 28th.

Honestly, I'm SO relieved. I had been moving at such a furious pace with all the details that when we finally made that decision I felt completely incapacitated for a day. But now we are both breathing easier with plenty of time to work on getting ready AND getting a bit of rest.

Most of the fun pics from our past month are below, but here are a couple more from the Bradford side to share:


We spent one more day with my sister in Arlington, on their 12th anniversary! They graciously agreed to share their special day with us instead of going out by themselves for dinner.















Ballet lessons for K, E and cousin Elise. This picture was taken only moments before Ellie decorated her entire tutu with modelling paint. The tutu is no more.















It will never happen again in the history of photography that any four given children will all be looking and smiling at a camera, all at one time. The four Bradford cousins: K, E, Elise and Ethan.















Here are the girls with my brother Aaron, Aunt Kristen, and dog extravaganza, Duncan (so named after Tim Duncan of the 2007 NBA Champion SA Spurs!)

More Highlights from Athens (East Texas)

Here are a few more great pics from our stay with Jim's parents. Wish it could have been longer!















Ellie would make a great fireman, as she LOVED sliding down the pole. Once she got the hang of it, she was scary--coming down whether mommy was there or not!
















This was a great 5 tricycle ride-- never seen anything like it! They had such fun!















Best sister pic in awhile. They are almost both smiling, both looking at the camera. This is a statistical impossibility. We were at the Arboretum in Athens, in front of a life-size doll house. It was such a great play area!

And this reminds me of another story I'll touch on briefly-- The day before this trip with the girls, my mother-in-law and I got lost on a sophisticated, all-uphill hiking trail for HOURS, in the pitch-black of night, while it was POURING down rain...a deluge...we were almost swept away! There are only a few words in the last sentence that could be considered slight exaggerations. When we were driving home looking like drowned rats, GG asked me if I thought Jim might be wondering what became of us by that point. He hadn't even begun to miss us. Probably the most memorable (definitley the most adventurous) few hours of our whole trip.
















Action shot! I love the flying hair! The girls with cousins Emma and Alli (Jim's sister's girls.)
















This poor turtle wandered into the wrong yard. He was a GREAT science project for the morning though. After mild torture he made a run for it and got away.















Here's all the girls with Aunt Becca, Jim's brother's wife.















Simple pleasures-- the pool at the hotel. Ellie loved to be thrown in the pool! Pictured here with "Uncle Dingo", Jim's brother.















Here's the whole Bishop fam-- Jim's sister, husband Jeff, Emma and Alli.

Texas State Fishery

OK, I'm catching up on the backlog of pics from our US time.
One trip of great interest was with GG and Da (Jim's parents) to the Texas State Fishery. Since you've never heard of this place, it is in Athens, TX. Yes, I know this is another place most of you have never heard of--It's in East Texas. We had a great time at the Fishery! One random detail-- While we were at the fishing pond, I got a call on my cell phone from a friend in China. I thought, "Is this real, that I am having a crystal clear conversation on my cell phone with my friend in China from East Texas??" I couldn't believe the great reception. OK, now back to the fishery.

First tank of note: HUGE, HUNGRY catfish. Don't they just look like they would gobble my little Ellie up??















Then we made our way to the fishing pond. This was GREAT for kids-- A big pond stocked full of small catfish. Every cast landed a whopper! Kathryn really got into it and thought it was grand fun.















Ellie wasn't sure she wanted to touch the slimy things, but before long she was fishin with the best of em.






























There was even a fun educational program for kids where a diver talks to you from inside the tank about the various fish. Kathryn wanted to know if she could go swimming with the fish too. I highly recommend this place-- next time you are in Athens, TX.

Thoughts on Treasure Hunting

It's been awhile since I've written anything--Travel and transition doesn't make for a reflective life. Yet we have had the joys of reunion with family and friends, as reconnecting relationships after two years away are the heart behind this trip! Wish we had time for more.

Here is my meditative thought for the day. "Bring me to Jesus"-- this phrase captures my heart, and brought forth this blog. You may think that this is easy for me. Let me put to rest any false 'super-spirituality' misconceptions. It's hard.

Two thoughts about this.
1) Noise reduction. Jim and I were able to get away for a few days last week, compliments of my parents, and these were the thoughts that hit me. Certain seasons of life make for lots of 'noise', and this season feels particularly busy with activity. Yet, I make certain choices that can dim the quiet rest of heart. For me, this is being wise about when I check email, television choices, and other media that clutters my mind. Going to bed late means, surprise, I don't want to get up early. These are not wrong in of themselves. Maybe you are less distracted than me. But at least me for me, I assume that I can make these choices and engage my mind in these things, and then quickly jump out and be at rest. I can't. So learning to say no to some things means you are free to say yes to the best things. Here's to a season of better choices about putting myself on the path of a peaceful heart.

2) Treasure hunting. Noise reduction can only take you so far. Buddhists do this quite well. Skilled treasure hunting means more than just heading down a path with any old map. It's keeping your eye on the prize. I have been reading Colossians this week, and I love the TLB version of this verses:
"Col 2:2-3 I pray...that you will have the rich experience of knowing Christ with real certainty and clear understanding. For God's secret plan, now at last made known, is Christ himself. In him lie hidden all the mighty, untapped treasures of wisdom and knowledge. "

What hit me, is the word hidden. Treasures are hidden. Now we see Him through dark glass. This is why it takes great effort-- because treasures are hidden. Am I willing to put forth the effort? Does my heart carry the daily sense of excitement that this is no ordinary treasure hunt? Do I believe this hunt has the greatest prize imaginable, worth every bump and rock on the road? I admit that I set off on the hunt and become distracted, forgetting what I was looking for and seeking after lesser pleasures. I forget that the treasure is Jesus. You too?

Let's pray that He will make us hungry, bold, and single-minded treasure hunters.

A Travel Song

Tomorrow morning at 7:15am, the girls and I take off for the US. (Please do pray for our trip!) This is our last day in Singapore, perhaps ever! Yesterday I was reading Philippians 4, (which I've found it very difficult to try to be quiet and reflective in the midst of major transition) and God 'gave' me this song for our trip. Thank you, Lord! Because one or a couple of us may tend towards anxiety or negative thoughts, these are the perfect lyrics--for 2 & 3 year olds (and 30+ year olds). Literally within 60 seconds, the tune was crystal clear and the words were down on paper. So I went to the girls room after rest time and taught it to them, and they added hand motions! Wish I could get them to sing it for you, but here are the words:

If there's anything of which you're afraid
Tell it to God, and tell it with thanks
And then you will find His peace is right there
To comfort your heart in Jesus

And rejoice, rejoice, for our Lord is near
Rejoice, rejoice, He'll keep your heart from fear

Whatever is true, whatever is right
Whatever is good, whatever is pure
If anything's great or worthy of praise
Tell your heart "Think on these things"!