Summer's End; New Beginnings...

Here it is the end of my summer break, which of course isn't summer in Nigeria but rainy season! Anyway, I have two more days of my break, then the weekend and then I report with the other teachers on Monday.

I hardly went out of town during the break. It was hard on the kids, but at least they had soccer camp to attend and some friends were around. As for me, I enjoyed my usual "favorites": baking, reading, watching NCSI shows, Food Channel, and Travel Channel. I also spent some time doing a little organizing around the house.

Even though nothing grand happened, I do feel refreshed. It was good to have time to tickle Daniel, share some late-night chats with Annette, and drive Nat to soccer practice across town. I find it is during the summer breaks that I feel I have more time to do "Mom" types of things. The kids are at that age where I don't want them to depend as much on me, but it's good to have time to be there for them and allow them time to develop their own levels of independence.

Becoming independent is never easy and I think letting go is even harder. I remember being excited to travel alone for the first times, get a job, and go off to college...but now to anticipate some of those opportunities for my kids is even harder. Now I know what's out there and its hard to let them stretch their wings; with all the security and health issues going on today it is especially hard.

Nonetheless, I continue to rely on the same God for guidance, protection, and trust that whatever happens, he is still in control. Watching a TV show with my daughter the other night reminded me that since my kids are black (or brown as they say), they will face challenges and attitudes that I may not understand so trusting God in those areas is like trusting someone leading me with my eyes blindfolded.

That element of trust is nothing new since I've always enjoyed change and accepting new challenges I've learned how to trust God. Granted, that doesn't mean it's easy or doesn't involve additional prayer because it does! It just means that I feel safe knowing God is in control. There's a hymn we sing here that includes the line, "...in the hollow of your hand..." I like knowing that God holds me in the hollow of his had, but I don't see him squeezing tight. He holds me loosely, knowing that I will want to stretch my wings and flutter here and there. I guess that's what I try to do with my kids too.

With a new school year starting there are new beginnings; I like new beginnings too...you never know what new challenges and opportunities are just around the corner!

Not Righteous, but Redeemed: A Sermon

Our women at church celebrated Women's Day today and I was the preacher. I always get nervous, but this time I felt calmer than usual and it was well received.

Not Righteous, but Redeemed

Romans 3:10

There is no one righteous, not even one.

 

This chosen verse for Women’s Day is a short one, but it carries a punch. I don’t know about you, but I never like it when someone points out my flaws. I know as a child, I never liked getting in trouble or getting caught doing something wrong.

As the youngest of six, I realized at an early age that if I watched what my sisters and brother did to get in trouble and worked hard not to do the same things then I could become the “good child” and didn’t get into trouble much. Thinking back, I must have been at least nine years old when I thought I was doing a pretty good job of being good, and though I hadn’t planned it, I also began to judge others.

I remember one day after getting home from Children’s Choir, I was telling my mom and one sister about how disrespectful the other kids had been. At some point I said something like, “I wish they could be more like me!” I still remember vividly the look of shock and amusement they gave me. Finally my sister asked, “Do you think you’re so perfect?” Now by that age I knew of course that I wasn’t perfect, but somehow I thought I was doing a pretty good job of being a good little girl and hoped my parents loved me a little more because of my efforts.

In the first chapters of Romans Paul spent a fair amount of time talking to the Jews, trying to convince them that their special relationship with God their Father should not bring them to believe that they had a special privilege with God who had chosen them, but instead that their special position should be a special responsibility.

The Jews didn’t have a good reputation among other Romans, mostly because the Roman government gave them some privileges, such as not having to serve in the army. For that reason, and the fact that the Jews were often arrogant and rude the Gentiles didn’t like them very much. Paul tried to advise the Jews that they should see their relationship with God as a special responsibility to bring honor and glory to God, but instead their reputation gave God a bad name.

The Jews didn’t think a verse like our theme “no one is righteous, not even one” was talking about them. They thought it was referring to the Gentiles and were probably not very happy when Paul accused them of taking advantage of God’s kindness, patience, and willingness to forgive. They didn’t want to consider the fact that they too were sinners.

We may not be exactly like the Jews, at least I hope none of us take God’s love for granted, but I think sometimes we might take his forgiveness for granted.

I remember when I was a junior secondary student and one my teachers accused me of cheating on a test. I was so embarrassed that I lied and said I hadn’t cheated. But later, I went back to him and apologized and confessed that I he had been right. I was so surprised when he didn’t seem to grant me forgiveness. Sure, he heard my confession, but even though that was my first time, he still saw my guilt. I guess I expected him to say, “ok, just don’t do it again!” but that wasn’t the case. I still had to accept my punishment. Unlike God, he wasn’t willing to forgive easily.

When I compare how patient, kind and forgiving God is towards us, it’s quite amazing! Under the Old Testament law people had to make different sin offerings[A1]  to God; animals or grains to be burnt, but the offerings had to be repeated year in and year out. Yet when Jesus died for us he was the last sin offering made. Now, God -- through Jesus -- sees us as pure and our offerings are no longer because of our sin, but offerings of love, thankfulness, and praise.

Our verse says “no one is righteous”. Chapter three goes on to say that we can understand our sin because the law explains what we should and should not do. We can try to follow the law-much like I tried to do as a child- If my sister got in trouble for talking too long on the phone, then I didn’t do that. If my brother got yelled at for tracking dirt in the house with his muddy shoes, then I made sure my shoes were clean before entering the house. If my mom got mad when someone didn’t come quickly when she called them, then I made sure I went quickly when she called my name. Like me, the serious Jews could learn how to follow the laws, but as the Bible points out elsewhere, no one could keep all the Jewish laws, they were just too many.

That is why God, after staying silent for four hundred years, finally decided to break the silence in the most loving way he possibly could. He sent his own son Jesus to be that last sin offering.

In the last paragraphs of chapter three Paul explains that since we all fall short of being completely good, we can only be redeemed by the grace of Jesus Christ. In the Living Bible, verse 24 reads, “God in his gracious kindness declares us not guilty.” This is not the world’s justice, that only condemns the guilty sinner, like my teacher condemned me, but Jesus’ justice looks at us just through His love and sees not our guilt, like a child who keeps making mistakes, but He sees just us, his perfect child. By ourselves we can never be righteous enough to deserve God’s love, but through the cross we become like the unblemished sacrifice that the Jews made, but now we only have to turn to God and accept his love and forgiveness. It’s not what we do, but that we believe Jesus has already done it for us.

When I was younger and did something foolish or stupid I would often dwell on my mistakes and it was like I heard voices in my head that said, “How could you do something like that?” Or “What did you just say???” Finally I realized that those voices were Satan trying to shame me into feeling bad or stupid. Now, when I do something foolish or wrong I look to God and ask how I can make the situation right or how he can help me figure out what step I should take next so that I don’t just stay annoyed or frustrated, but with God’s help I can move on. That’s not to say that we shouldn’t keep trying to do good by carrying out God’s will, but it’s still not easy and it’s not what will save us.

Today I don’t have to worry so much about making myself look righteous or good, I just have to look for God’s loving and encouraging guidance because I want to honor Him with my life. Now I can rest assured and have faith that His redeeming love is all I need. It’s all any of us needs because left to our own efforts our actions will never be enough to earn our way to heaven, it is only through His redeeming love that we find the room he has prepared for us.

As Paul put it, we are justified by grace and redeemed through faith. Grace and faith, those are two words all Lutherans should be familiar with because it is this passage in the end of chapter three that made the distinction for Luther and shows us our good works will never be enough, but rather it is our faith in Christ’s sacrificial love that redeems each of us. In the end, it is not our own actions that make us right with God, rather it is the willingness to put Him before all else in our lives. With God first in our lives, redemption is a sure thing.

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 [A1]

Living a Western Life with an African Twist: Laundry

After noticing how little I have blogged this year, I decided to have a theme for my blogs this summer to share different aspects of my life here in Nigeria. I hope you enjoy reading!

Doing laundry is something I don't take for granted. For most of my years in Nigeria, I have not had a washing machine in my house. Then, when I finally got one a little over a year ago, I still had to time it right because there wasn't always adequate electricity to finish a load at one time.(Occasionally I would have to rewash a load if it sat for more than a day waiting for electricity.)

These past months, my challenge has been water. There is serious road construction going on in my neighborhood so a few months ago we stopped getting water pumped through the city pipes. Now it that happened in the US I would probably just call the city water management service desk and my complaint would be heard and corrected within hours. In Nigeria it's a little different. There probably is a place to file a complaint, but it's a whole lot easier to just get the phone number for the local water tanker guy and then keep his name and number on speed dial so a delivery can be made by the next morning. (Not long ago I though we were going to have a neighborhood battle when two men on the compound called the same water tanker guy and the driver had to confirm whose call he'd gotten first and who should get the first load of water.)

With the water challenges, my husband as not wanted me to use the washing machine because it uses too much water. First we were sending wash to the guest house; one of the manager's perks has been laundry services, but that too can be a challenge if the guest house doesn't have adequate light or water. It's also hard when my husband travels and we can't easily get the laundry across town, dirty or clean.

Then it happened that my  brother-in-law came back while his school is between sessions so he started washing our laundry by hand. That worked well until the guest house grass started growing faster during the rainy season and his help was needed to man the lawn mowers each day.

For a time we were back to sending our wash to the guest house, but those last weeks of school, during the height of the rainy season, it was awfully challenging  to keep school uniforms an PE clothes washed and dried before they were needed again. (The dryer at the guest house is rarely used so a sunny day is needed to dry everything, but they are not as frequent if the rains fall often.)

As the school year finished I remembered that I could have access to the washer and dryer for direct hire staff at school. The lone set of machines can be pretty busy when the other teachers are around, but once the first group left after school closed I jumped at the chance to use the machines.

I've developed a system of washing twice a week. I start about 7:00 am, put in the first load go walking/jogging for a few miles and then move it to the dryer and start another load in the washer. Then I go home, shower, get the kids off to soccer camp and maybe eat breakfast before the next load is ready to go in. I don't always stay to dry the last load, if it's a sunny day it can dry on the line at home. Usually I don't have more than three loads.

There can still be hitches, one day I came to find that the storm the night before had burned the plug-in and I had to call the school electrician who was still in staff morning devotions. There is a sign up list for both machines so if someone gets a late start it may  be hard to stick to the schedule. I had another hitch the other day when the electricity supply was cut off for a short time. When that happens, even for a few seconds, the wash cycle has to start over again. (Good thing I was washing a blanket that could use some extra wash time!) Usually it takes me about six hours to wash three big loads, sometimes over eight!

So next time you do your own laundry, appreciate the method you have and give thanks for the light (electricity), water, and your ability to leave the machine to wash without interruption. If you live like I do where you may not have easy access to all three then you can understand why I don't mind spending half my day on laundry when I have the time. I guess time is the other commodity one doesn't always have. For now, I enjoy washing with relative ease and folding warm clothes fresh out of the dryer.

Vacation Time

I can't believe I've only written once this year! Here it is June already and school has been out for over a week. This is going to be a stay at home holiday. It's our year to stay in Nigeria and with all the tensions in Nigeria we don't have any plans at the moment to travel in country either.

This week the kids all start soccer camp so that should keep them busy. Nat will be helping out at the elementary camp too and Daniel will sometimes help at the high school camp.

While I enjoy having a relaxed schedule, I do have to keep some focus or I'll end up feeling depressed. I have different cleaning projects at home on my list, a few things to do in my classroom and some prep for next year. I also enjoy having time to read so I'll read for both pleasure and also some history reading for both pleasure and to help me in school.

I also enjoy having time to bake. So far I've made cinnamon rolls twice and pizza once.

Another thing I try to do every summer, is to exercise more. This summer I won't have the lake in my US home town to walk around, but I'm lucky to have the school compound across the street and try to make good use of it. There's a 3/4 mile path that goes around the school and then the track itself. so I've started doing about two miles or more almost every day.

Well, soccer is almost over and Annette will probably be ready to go home soon. Bye for now.

Seeking God

It's hard to believe it's the end of March already. I actually drafted a posting in January, but internet issues etc. kept me from posting it.

The topic above was, and is, my goal for this year. While I have sought God and His will for many years, I'm trying to seek Him with more focus this year. I feel like I've been in a rut for some months; mostly focusing on school and home with little energy for anything else but I'm hoping to find ways to laugh a little more and take time for people or things that give me joy.

At the moment we are on mid-term break from school. As always, I have a little work, but less than I often do so I'm taking time to read and rest. We had a quick run out of town to renew the kids' passports, it was good to get out of town - even if only for a night.

I rarely know if my thoughts get read by others, but I pray you might also take time to seek God and His will for you. There is so much selfishness and greed in this world that we need to do our part to change our own little enclave and encourage those we meet during our day with words of joy, peace, and comfort. Seeking Him has brought an increase of all three for me these past months.Take care and rest in Him.

It's All About Perspective

In James 1:9-12 we read about the humble and the proud. The humble should have pride, the proud should be humbled. Self-esteem is important in this world, but no enjoys watching an arrogant person and no one enjoys watching someone who has no confidence. It's all about perspective.

In my advanced history class we discuss point of view. Having a clear point of view gives direction and focus and let's people know what is important to us. A healthy dose of self-esteem gives us confidence to confirm our point of view and back it up. Knowing our self-worth is necessary for a strong foundation on which to build our self-esteem.

Recently, I was called "boring" by a teenager and in many ways I have to admit that I am rather boring and in a teenager's eyes, that's terrible! Being bored or, worse yet boring, is like a death sentence to a teenager. At first I was hurt and a little defensive, even I don't want to be boring!

Later though, I thought about the accusation and considered the age of the one accusing and what might make me seem boring. I realized that being focused and self-disciplined is the price I currently have to pay for being organized, prepared, and on task as a teacher--and it's a constant challenge!

As someone who struggles with ADD issues (attention deficit disorder), I constantly struggle with completing tasks like marking papers and planning lessons, I still often have the appearance of being disorganized or messy and if I lose my lack of focus or that small edge I try to maintain, I end up falling behind and look like a chicken running around with her head cut off!

When I set my goals for this year, I knew that I would have to maintain a more consistent focus if I was going to improve my skills this year and become a better teacher. So yes, I am more boring this year, but I'm OK with that...for the moment.

In our text , neither the humble nor the proud were where God wanted them to be. One needed a boost of self confidence and the other needed to be knocked off his pedestal. What of you? Are you where God wants you to be?

Verse twelve promises God's blessing on the man, (and in perspective women too) "who preservers under trial, because when he or she, has stood the test, he or she will receive the crown of life that God promises to those who love him."

The crown of life, that's the prize for working hard to be the best God calls us to be! Whether it means standing up for injustice, having a unique set of priorities or a unique life calling, or just being more self -disciplined so that you have to choose your moments of relaxation and fun very carefully.

As for me, I look forward to school holidays and a break from work....hopefully during this next break I can have some fun; my kind of fun!

Nigeria Turns 53

Today is a public holiday to celebrate Nigeria's Independence Day. Most celebrations are either of a political nature or to pray for the nation. At school yesterday we celebrated with our annual assembly. The assembly is put on by student council and since I am the StuCo advisor, there was much work getting everything put together. After some busy days, it's nice to have a day off.

Our speaker challenged the students to be "their brother's keeper, not a killer", considering Africa is today, it's good advice. We are fortunate in our area that life is fairly peaceful, but one doesn't have to travel far to find tension.

Another celebration that we are preparing for is the centennial celebration for our church, the Lutheran Church of Christ in Nigeria. As such I have been thinking much about Nigeria's past and the people who have been part of it. So many names have been forgotten, but through their efforts, many have had their lives changed. Some have become Christians, others have their lives changed through the people or programs that have been part of the mission.

Today I am part of that mission. I'd like to think I've made a difference in some people's lives, I know my own life has been changed and impacted so much by my time here in Nigeria. I've lived more than half my life here an almost all of my adult life. In spite of the challenges, it has, and is a good experience. May it continue to last many more years and may God continue to use me as I live and teach in Nigeria!