prayers appreciated

Just a quick prayer request: This weekend we are sending out outreach teams- one of which is headed to Thailand. I will be going there next month myself. However, though ordinarily regarded as an easy place to travel, Bangkok is currently experiencing political upheaval that involves mass protests (some peaceful, some violent) throughout the center of the city.
Our team will be staying on the outskirts of the city, which is unaffected. However, they will need to go downtown to get visas at a foreign embassy there. They will be escorted by experienced local residents, but we still want to appeal to God on their behalf. Please pray that the team will be wise, safe, and be able to get their visas as planned.
Also, on my behalf, please pray that the upheaval could settle down by next month (rather than escalate) as my accommodation reservation is downtown, just several streets down from the monument shown in the image (taken from online) below!
In addition, please pray that I would have wisdom as I continue to evaluate the situation and coordinate our teams travels though these locations.
Thank you for lifting up this situation!

Tourists have been continuing to visit the city safely by simply avoiding protests locations. However, the occasional street occupations (as seen above) have affected transport within the city. An inconvenience, but not a serious danger.

set aside

As you have probably noticed, my blog has been largely set aside during this busy time. I have been amply occupied these days- and unfortunately, there has been little time for entries here. The appearance of entries may remain somewhat sporadic in the coming months, as I will be traveling in Asia after the new year, but updates (often with photos) pertaining to where i am and what I am up to will  be posted whenever i can manage.

As much as I love to write and to share, I find myself increasingly occupied with living itself, and find I have rather less time for writing about it. I am busy being present:)

Thanks for continuing to check in on this benched blog from time to time.

ugly gecko tribes

Boris doesn't have the patio to himself: a tribe of ugly, dark colored geckos thrives on the lanai ceiling.  Every night about a dozen of these little reptiles heap themselves around the lone light bulb and eat insects that wander into range. While i am grateful for their labors, I must say, these are unusually unattractive geckos. I think its because they live primarily on a dark colored surface and that their color adapts to that environment. Having geckos around is generally beneficial -and they are typically charming and rather cute. The ones that live indoors at our house are of that typical variety. 

The ugly tribe out on the lanai is an exception. 

So we have Boris by day and the ugly geckos by night. Our patio seems to host the oddest little menagerie.

expanding horizons

I recently sent out a newsletter explaining my plans for the months following this course. I was planning to visit my school's outreach teams in January then return to Maui- my travels keeping me in Asia for only about three weeks- less time than when I lead a team myself. 

However, just after sending that newsletter out, a door opened for me to teach a training course in Asia during the month of February;  I walked through the door, committing to facilitate that class. 

But then further schedule rearrangements expanded the opportunity- allowing for me to stay in Asia serving with our long term ground staff for an additional couple months. God seems to have led me thus far, and there is no reason (with my Spring schedule cleared) to not remain to teach, train and disciple there. So I said yes to that too. 

Needless to say things are getting crazy. I am already busy leading this current course, and will dive straight from this into all of that... meaning I have to be doing a great deal of my prep now. 

The horizons seem to be expanding every day. 

Please pray for continued grace and wise time management as I both serve and prepare to serve. 

Exciting to be in Asia for this coming season following the New Year!

Boris

So our already packed house has yet another resident...well, on the front steps at least. A strongly built, exceedingly well fed, and well cared for cat has appeared in the past week and taken up residence on our front lanai. He is forever lolling about on the steps, only slipping out of sight in the hot afternoons to languish under a cumbersome table on the patio- dead asleep. His tail is like leviathan's- a heavy rope that you can hear thudding on the steps when he is in an excitable state of mind. You would be excused for thinking he was part labrador. 

After protracted consideration, I christened him Boris. 

 Boris really must be the pet of some neighbor, but they probably don't know he has a double life. They assume he is out catching rats and exploring the cane fields... but he instead parks his lard on our front steps from dawn to dusk- with rare and short departures (probably to go eat meals at his home).

He objects to being held or having his soft belly touched much- though his healthy coat may be stroked upon his back or head. He is equally feisty about his abbreviated but hefty tail.

He is rather a ridiculous animal- with entirely too much personality. He rolls around continually on the top step- and often falls asleep on his back with all fours sprawled to the corners of the compass. Some of the girls in the house suspect Boris of being a female, but Boris is hardly a lady. And i am pretty sure Boris is a male. However, in the unfortunate case that the contrary is discovered, a back up feminization of his name has been decided upon in advance: Boris-Marie.

Boris is generally rather pleasing to have about. I don't think its my imagination that he likes me in particular- even though i scold him most (for putting his head through the hole in the screen door and other such antics). The other night, after i was on the patio speaking to him, I closed the door and went to my room. Next minute, Boris had got himself up onto a lean-to roof under my window and was standing looking in at me. He meowed and tried to fit his head through the glass louvered jalousies- which of course looked ridiculous. My roommates thought it was quite entertaining, which only encouraged him, of course. I told him off neatly, and he laid down on the little roof facing me- so that his head was on the same level as my pillow, and just a foot or two apart through the window. It was very sweet, but the gesture has not been repeated. Maybe because i sprayed him with water at 5.30am today when he was indulging in a howling spree while facing off with his evil twin, which i have named Ivan (the Terrible). About once a week they meet in a tense stand off that wakes up about half the neighborhood (if the street's armada of roosters hasn't already beaten them to it).  

Its nice to have a pseudo-pet like Boris- even if he does have his moments. 

Doesn't he just look blissful?

more students to love and serve!

Our first week of the Fall quarter kicked off with a series of events culminating in what we call a Love Feast. We gather our entire base staff and all of the new students from both our Discipleship Training School and our SBFM (all nineteen of my students!)for a lovely meal at a church facility in Maui's refreshingly cool upcountry. 

Besides sharing a meal and celebrating the arrival of these students in our family for this season, we aim to demonstrate our heart to serve them during this time of growth in their lives. We do this by literally washing their feet and having a staff member pray for every one of them individually. It was a remarkable night, as always- blessing and encouraging our students. 

Fifteen years coming- and still wholly unexpected

During this hectic week before our Fall students arrive, the base scheduled one of our ohana dinners- a special family style dinner. I felt that having a special event for the staff in such a swamped week was unwise, but just went along with the decision. 

On the designated evening, I showed up, had a quick work related chat with a friend, then together rushed into the dinner late. 

As we entered, my friend fell back and the room ahead of me erupted with applause- and voices yelling "Surprise!" I thought it was a spur of the moment plot to tease me for being late. I rolled my eyes and shook my head...but they all kept looking at me. Then i realized my friends and coworkers were taking pictures and recording videos on their phones... and became even more embarrassed... and confused. 

They parted like the Red Sea to reveal a table towering with Dr.Pepper cans... and a banner proclaiming "We love you, Liz!" I was terribly confused as to what was afoot.

Finally my friend Josh rushed over, grabbed a can of Dr. Pepper, and popped it open in a Nascar victory type manner and handed it to me quipping "To fifteen years!" amid more cheering from the crowded room. Then it finally dawned on me: the ohana dinner was a cover for a party, celebrating my 15 year anniversary of serving with YWAM in Maui!

I had made jokes earlier in the year about throwing myself an anniversary bash, but had completely forgot about my Maui anniversary in the crush of the coming semester. Some close ohana, however, had not forgotten- and brought the entire base onboard for an evening in my honor. I was presented with leis from our leadership team members, given handfuls of notes, and ushered to a seat at the head of a long table of friends.

On a screen in the corner, photos of me and my outreach teams alternated with photos of squirrels, couches and lamps were cozied in the corners, framed photos of the various schools i staffed, led, or administrated were set around the room, and dinner was served. The menu? Sausage McMuffins and hash browns. (Some of you may know of my obsession with this fast food breakfast combination- i tend to rave about it:) Haha. So here were dozens of friends and colleagues, all dressed up, having Dr.Pepper and Sausage McMuffins for dinner, and taking turns standing to share about how God has used me to impact their lives, the nations, and the ministry of the base here. 

It was amazing, ridiculous, precious, hilarious, an enormous encouragement, and a wholly unexpected blessing.

As per base tradition, I was sat down in the middle of the group who then gathered around to pray for me. It was a special time of thanksgiving, blessing, and support. Afterwards, I took photos with members of my last couple SBFM outreach teams- precious young men and women that I have had the privilege of investing in- that have come back to serve as staff. 

Mike and Emmy (who are from my China teams), and Aimee (from my London Olympic outreach) will all be working with me in the SBFM this Fall

Suzy, Margrethe, and Kate (all from my Nepal team) are all serving as staff now and will be supporting the base Discipleship Training School this Fall through Administration, Hospitality coordination, and outreach leading! Its such an honor to have mentored these young men and women and to see their lives and service distinguishing them as fervent disciples and servant hearted leaders.

Altogether, this party honoring a decade and a half of my service here was an overwhelming blessing and tremendous encouragement to my heart. I am so grateful to everyone who participated in making it such a special evening- and so thankful to the Lord for placing me in this outstanding ohana. Its such a privilege to serve Him here with these precious brothers and sisters.

Its getting crazy

With RefGen over, and our two week break gone like a flash, its back onboard the crazy train for us as a staff. Our current discipleship training school team that was away on outreach came home, gave a great report of how God worked through them in the nations, and this afternoon they graduated. Now we are flinging ourselves into two and a half weeks of preparatory hyperdrive in anticipation of our Fall students. There is A LOT to do. I feel like i am making new lists fast as I get things done! 

I'm serious when I say its getting crazy- energy is running high and sometimes everyone gets just outright goofy- its a good stress reliever- and of course, we just love to have fun as a staff family:)

RefGen 2013 in a nutshell

Made this video for possible use on our website, just to give a glimpse into what a nonstop month of RefGen looks like here in Maui:) 

Because of the upload size, the quality isn't great, but as long as you view it small, you'll at least get the gist of it:)

summer moments

Over the past week and a half as the base has been on break, I have been really grateful to enjoy some summer moments... some opportunities to sleep in, relax, and enjoy the quiet of an iced coffee on a sunny afternoon at home.

This coming week kicks off the Fall semester- our SBFM opening night is just a month away already! But before all that full time prep work gets underway, there is still a couple last days of our break... which means a couple more chances to enjoy restful moments of summer:)

wrapping it up

We are now in the last couple days of RefGen and we are focussing a lot on coaching the participants through processing what God has done in this past month and preparing for re-entry (into their lives and situations back home). For many of them, this has been a remarkable time of transformation; its our desire that when these young men and women return home, they continue to cultivate what God has planted in them.
While the program officially finishes in less than two days, we're not out of the woods yet. Personally, I  still have one more teaching session, some further logistical work (planning airport drop offs, facility clean up, video editing, etc), and then a bunch of administrative wrap up of leadership responsibilities (reports, accounting, etc). And of course this will all be saturated in personal interaction, supporting and praying for participants, mini-counseling sessions, and so on:)

Please continue over the next few days to pray for me, my co-leader, our staff, and the program participants as we wrap up our summer together. Thank you for your prayers and support this summer- its been outstanding seeing these young men and women coming alive from the inside out!

Coming up next: a week of summer break! We have a two week summer break, but I will have to spend about half of it wrapping up  RefGen and setting up the Fall SBFM I am leading in September. I will still have a full week to catch up with friends, sleep in (praise the Lord!) and rest!

from the classroom to the ridge line

Its hard to believe we are passing the halfway point of the RefGen program- the weeks are flying! Our first week featured the basics of the Faith; this past week built on that foundation by addressing how that faith in Christ works itself out in the life of a Christian. We taught about what a worldview is, what the Biblical narrative dictates about God, and how those truths form the Christian's view of everything in life. (Coming up this next week we will be engaging with opposing world views, to understand both the way they influence us, and how to reach out to people caught in these systems! Our final week will focus on Apologetics, being Revived and Reformed by God, and making an impact on our world.)

But too much time in the classroom would make everyone stir crazy- we're in Maui! So this weekend's outing was to the Waihe'e Ridge along the north west coast of the island. 

 Roughly two miles up and two miles back down, the Waihe'e Ridge line hike requires a bit of exertion- but its worthwhile. Effort is rewarded with beautiful views of the lush valleys creasing down from the tropical West Maui mountains.

A few in the group had to be bribed along with gumdrops, but in the end all was well. We managed to get out with just some blisters, a few scratches, and a respectable amount of sweat.

As much as I don't consider myself much of a hiker (i enjoy trekking in Nepal, but thats different) I do like occasional trips up the Ridge line trail. Its not too long, its challenging enough without being too advanced, the trail is easy to follow, and the views are lovely. 

It was a good start to the weekend- besides that I had piles of laundry waiting when I got home. Sigh- there went the rest of my Saturday!

loving the summer

We are a week and a half into the Reformation Generation program- and I'm loving it. Its exciting as I daily see the Lord touching the lives of our seminar participants; we are seeing lives deeply impacted through relationships, teaching of the Word, open discussions, and times of worship. Each person has a story of how the Lord brought them here, and how He has been priming their heart for this time- and now those stories are being marked with a life changing interaction with God and His truth. 

Its sweet to be involved in facilitating this opportunity for these fifteen young people to heal, dream, celebrate, love, learn, reach out, be challenged, grow, lay foundations, and commit more deeply to living all of life with the Almighty God. 

We're also making sure that we have plenty of fun- after all, its summer in Maui! We have bonfires, pool time, hikes, volleyball, beach outings, snorkeling... they were drinking from coconuts in the yard the other day, for goodness sake! Basically, they are loving this summer, too. 

Reformation Generation 2013 has begun!

They have finally arrived! Fifteen young men and women from all across North America have converged here in Maui for our Reformation Generation summer seminar- a one month experience geared to build foundations for faith that will last a lifetime, even in the face of pressures and challenges. 

Tonight we kicked off our summer together with an island barbecue and some base introductions- we are having a great time already and its exciting for me knowing that this is just the frost on the tip of the iceberg of whats coming! (Which, incidentally, seems like a singularly ridiculous analogy for something going on in Hawaii....)

As a leader for the program (everything from theory, curriculum,  and Admin to event planning, lecture teaching, and mentoring) I am relieved that everyone is now collected from the airport, settled in, and that our Opening Night has come off successfully. Please be holding this program and these fifteen participants in your prayers this week- I am confident that God has called each one here to accomplish His purposes in their lives. Pray that my staff and myself would be full of the wisdom and grace of God as we come alongside these young men and women to serve them and invest in their lives.

Its going to be an outstanding month- Reformation Generation 2013 is officially underway!!

fruit that remains

I just wanted to take a moment to say that i am so blessed to have students from several of my outreach teams on staff here in Maui... pictured is Jennifer from my China team a few years back, and Kate & Suzy from my recent Nepal team- not pictured is Aimee from my Olympic outreach team, Mike from my China team (with whom I have co-led additional trips/programs) and Emmy, also from that China team. I am so proud of each one of them as they have grown and responded to the Lord, becoming capable and Godly leaders in their own right. They are training others, teaching in our programs, mentoring students as well as other staff... even leading schools and programs! 

Its a true blessing and reward to see that those I have invested in maturing and investing in others. Its the multiplication of disciples; its the spread of the Kingdom to the glory of our Father; its my joy.

Thank you to each of you that pray, support and otherwise invest in my ministry here- this is a portrait of your investment... its not just in how I serve, train and impact people and nations with the good news of the Kingdom- but in how each one of these young leaders serves, trains and impacts the Kingdom...and so on down the line of all those they are training and raising up. Thank you for upholding me and partnering with me to raise up leaders, faithful and diligent young men and women to declare the truth of God in the nations. 

Its going to be awhile

With preparations for the summer afoot, I am afraid my blog has fallen to the wayside. For those hoping for entries to begin once more to appear with some semblance of regularity, well... its going to be awhile.

Thank you for your readership and your patience. I will probably announce by email when my blog has updates or starts to get more active again.  Until then, thank you for your continued prayers and involvement.

thoughts on Christian identity versus popular culture's Self Actualization

There is often a confusion in the Christian mind between the biblical concepts of God's call and our identity in Christ and the secular concept of self actualization. There is  biblical exhortation to know our identity as children of God, to know we as individuals are known and designed with purpose, and to seek to walk out in spiritual gifts and callings for the edification of the church and the glory of God. Often, however, we read our secular ideas of self actualization into Scripture, or smuggle its concepts into our understanding of these things. 

Christian culture can mistakenly focus on self actualization disguised in the language of Christianity, the language of Scripture- spending a great deal of time on our calling, our giftings, our identity, our dream, our vision, our individual design.... and so on. While all of these do have validity, they are continually in the context of Christ, the glorification of Christ, service to Christ, surrender to Christ, imitation of Christ and conformity to Christ. Jesus is at the center of the story. This is not a story about us. Its a story of God's glory- He has graciously swept us up in the most epic tale of all time... chosen to make us objects of His love...but its still about Him. Its by Him and through Him and FOR Him that we have our being. 
Self actualization is, in addition, opposed to the Christian realities of the fallenness of man, the virtue of sacrifice and the need for degrees of self mortification. It is a very different concept than the identity and calling which are under consideration in redeemed Christian sanctification and calling. 

In the Christian doctrines and pursuits, the essential pursuit is not self but CHRIST. Individuality is a matter primarily of variety of expressions of the same Christ; Giftings given for the edification of the church vary in effect but are by the same Spirit; We are not trying to become more independent and more ourselves- we are becoming more conformed and more like Christ. Certainly the more we do so, the more we will become truly ourselves as we were designed to be. But this is fundamentally a byproduct and not a pursuit. As a pursuit, its a tragic misunderstanding at best; humanistic idolatry at worst. 

Its as if self actualization likens us to varied jewels; but our diversity as Christians is more akin to being facets of the one majestic diamond. We are revealed not for the beauty of ourselves (mere cuts and angles) but for displaying the splendor of God. If our goal is to be fully revealed, in all our glory...we have turned aside from the Christian understanding of identity in Christ to a godless self actualization. (Oh the disappointment of atheistic dreams when it is found that we are mere ruts and gashes when wrested out of the context of God and that the refractions of light once shown were not our own!) 
If our rallying cry rather be “Christ in me, the hope of glory” we will surely not be disappointed; and our selves will certainly be found in Him.

wish you were here

Dear mom, I am writing a note i know you aren't reading. Its a literary form to carry my heart.

Today is a day we are supposed to remember our mothers. But it makes me sad that remembering is all i can do. Has it been eight years? You were the best mother i could ever ask for, you were amazing and such a gift and treasure in my life. But all the past tense verbs required to talk about you weigh on me and bring tears to my eyes; i will have to abbreviate this note. What I wanted to say is that i love you,  i miss you, and i wish you were here. 

Love till the other side,  liz xx

fifteen years ago this month

Exactly fifteen years ago, in the spring of 1998, I threw myself a luau themed graduation party. I was sixteen and already accepted for a Discipleship Training School course in Maui, Hawaii. The centerpieces were glass fishbowls inhabited by three goldfish each; fish bought for the express purpose of being centerpieces and being sent home with the children of hapless attendees. Each fishbowl featured a place card listing the names I had given to the fish in the respective bowl. (i still love naming things.) It was clearly going to be a rager.

I wore a full length pink dress I bought for a few dollars at a garage sale. I had never had any school dances or proms but had always desperately wanted to wear a formal gown. This wasn't exactly a formal gown ( it was home made and secondhand) and even so, I was critically overdressed for a party in the east wing fellowship hall of our church- but it was full length and kinda satiny...and that was something. 

Below is a photo of my precious and supportive family at the time. This photo reminds me how much fifteen years can change. Half of the people in the photo with me are no longer alive; i live nearly four thousand miles from those remaining. Of those, I used to see their faces on a near daily basis; i now see them annually, at best. I am grown up, far away, and across an ocean. They are still loving and supportive- even with the distance between us. A blessing if ever I have known one. But fifteen years can really reshape a family landscape.

Fifteen years ago, I was sixteen and still only dreaming of the place I now call home. I could not have imagined where the next decade and a half would take me, nor the doors the Lord would open before me. So much lay out in the unknown. Its crazy to me now on the other side of all those years. 

Its been a wild journey from those sunny goldfish bowls to this quiet rainy night on my couch in Maui; its wild looking back fifteen years from this month.

few and further between

Unfortunately, my posts have been few and even further between. Its not that i have nothing to say- its more that there is so much on my mind that i can't even get words around it all. Time will distill it all a great deal and i will have something to say. But for now- its just lots sitting on my heart.

There isn't pictures either. Its not that there isn't anything going on, but that the goings on aren't events per se and thus not typical camera toting occasions. So there isn't even a glimpse into life to share.

Planning for the summer Reformation Generation program is coming along well- I am excited for our participants to come out for July and be impacted by the Lord during their stay with us. I am working from home often as our department doesn't have our own office. So i am home a lot:)  This situation is exacerbated by the fact that my car decided to take a rest for the week: the starter rolled over and died last Saturday, leaving my vehicle resting quietly in its stall. A friend is going to try and help me fix it- hopefully this next week. Until then, i probably won't be roaming too far!

Thats all for now- nothing really wild to relay... much afoot but little to say. Relatively mundane administrative days (which have been super hot lately for some reason), few outings due to car issues, and a season steadily mounting toward the highlight of the upcoming RefGen summer.

Hopefully next time i will have more to share. Cross your fingers (though it will probably do little but to  give you arthritis... ;)

what I didn't plant

My recent situation calls to mind Scriptures about God bringing His people into the land He promised them. He said they would eat fruit from trees they didn't plant, harvest things others sowed, and drink wine from vines they have not cultivated. This was a blessing from the Lord. 

As surely as I am called during this season to cultivate, God has also shown favor in giving things whose roots and origins precede me. The analogy stands for natural and spiritual alike. 

I am mostly reminded when I reap the ripe papayas from the trees lining the boundary with our neighbor. We have permission to harvest the fruit that ripens on our side of the tree. Papayas recently became one of my favorite fruits- so this is a special (and seemingly personalized)  joy to me.  In addition, a long established lilikoi (passion fruit) vine is laden with soon-to-ripen fruits on the backyard fence. We are enjoying fruit we did not plant, eating what others sowed- and this is a refreshment and restful gift from the Lord. 

I am reminded that while we cultivate, it is God that makes growth. Fruit and rest are gifts of God and not our works. We are both called to cultivation and called to rest and blessing.

cultivating life

Still no wifi at my new place, so the posts remain rare. Sorry. But here i am! Better some posts than no posts:)

As I have mentioned, there is much about this settled(ish) season back home in Maui that has been on my heart. Defined by such words as cultivate and steward, I have been encouraged by the Lord to engage this season with a patient and faithful heart. 

As a tangible expression and demonstration of my affirmation of that vision of this year, I have been planting and cultivating a little garden of herbs. Its my way of agreeing. A way of tangibly saying that I am committed to being here; intentionally applying myself to steward the opportunities and resources I have been entrusted with. I am encouraging and cultivating life, fruitfulness and goodness. 

I am cultivating life... and the yard.

So its begun: a glowing season of cultivating life, faithfulness, relationships, righteousness, commitment, encouragement... and cilantro:)

 the bench garden- my center of operations 

 The cilantro that i almost gave up on

 the basil that sprouted in mere five days

Still waiting on signs of life from the parsley (far right)... its my latest addition to the garden:) Seems slow coming- but the cilantro taught me not to give up. 

regrouping and preparing for impact

This is an interesting season here at the base. For the last 6+ years, the base has been primarily operating from a property in Haiku- while the program I am with remained in Paia town. While Paia is my home of 15 years, and the base formerly operated entirely from here, most of our current staff have never lived in Paia. They only know the close quarters of the Haiku house. But that all changed this past week. A decision from our leadership team was finalized and set in motion to run our Spring semester almost entirely from the Paia houses! Since the coming DTS school is rather small and we don't have a large staff at the moment either, its possible to fit everyone into the properties we carry down here in Paia. Its a great chance to give the staff some space in their living situations, some room to breathe, and a general change of pace. So far, base dynamics seem to be thriving- despite the logistical upheaval and challenges of getting in a totally new swing right before students begin to arrive!

The other night we had a new staff welcome barbecue in the yard of my house- it was great just to regroup as a staff. I love seeing everyone gathered and caring for one another in a casual and relaxed setting. So healthy and fun. I am loving this season for the base- a great answer to prayer. 

So everyone is finding their feet pretty well- and no time to spare: we are preparing for impact with the Spring students arriving over the last few days and tonight being the official opening night of the Spring DTS. Its exciting to have this handful of young people coming to join us and knowing that God is going to transform their hearts and lives- and touch the nations through their service. 

Have i mentioned that I LOVE being a part of what we do here? I do. The Lord touches people in remarkable ways during their time with us and its such a joy to share in what He is doing!

Ukranian Easter eggs:)

Two years ago, my sister was in Ukraine (adopting the second of my darling nieces) over Easter, and she purchased some beautiful traditional Easter egg wraps from there. I love them! The one with wording on it says the traditional orthodox greeting "Christ is risen indeed!" 

brunch and such ( a rare food post!)

Unlike the more predictableThanksgiving menu, Easter food is somewhat ambiguous. Everyone seems to have different traditions- many involving ham. So when my sister asked me what we should make, I volunteered an easy to prepare brunch menu... which despite being simple to execute made a rather remarkable spread. Well, my dad was impressed, anyway:) 

It was fun to cook with my sister- and, of course, it was fun to eat so many things i enjoy:)

 Eggs Benedict is a personal favorite due to the hollandaise sauce, and it incorporated the traditional ham, to boot! 

Ps. I love asparagus.

And of course, there had to be an egg hunt. But we didn't eat those. We ate things which are infinitely better. Like blueberry muffins. Mmmm.

family is precious

Really blessed to be at my sister's with my family this Easter:) Family is precious. 

 With my Dad

My nieces

My sister & brother in law

traveling and not writing + Odds & Ends

This is probably sufficiently apparent to all reading my blog, but i have been busy traveling these last few weeks and haven't been writing at all. My time with family and friends is short, so I am spending it living rather than writing about living:) Sorry that these proper values make for a general lack of posts. 

 Last week with the girls in Montana was a cherished time of catching up, sharing life, and drining coffee...

... and who could object to the expansive lake and mountain views around Flathead lake? 

Odds & Ends

I cut my hair a few weeks ago... its over a foot shorter! Definitely having fun with that:)

I spent the last week in South Dakota and the midwest- having quality time with my dad and some dear family friends, as well as getting a molar pulled (the one that broke in Nepal). More on that later when i have some downtime. 

As for now, I am in Arizona with my sister and her family... which means i am beset by darling nieces and their My Little Ponies. Fun fun:)