Chocolate Butter & Strawberry Butter

After our picnic on Tuesday, we headed home for dessert.
The majority of my recipes can be found over at the Baptist Missionary Women's Blog, but this one was just so quick, easy, and tasty that I had to share it with everybody.
These two recipes are not only delicious, but can be whipped up in just a few minutes.
Plus, they look and sound fancy!
Perfect for family time, an in-home date, or company!

Chocolate Butter

1/2 c. salted butter, softened
2 Tbsp. cocoa
2 Tbsp. confectioners'/icing sugar
2 squares chocolate, chopped (.5 oz.)
optional, a pinch of salt if butter is unsalted

Mix together in food processor, blender, or with immersion blender.
Serve with your favorite bread.

Strawberry Butter

1/2 c. unsalted butter, softened
1/4 c. strawberries
1 Tbsp. confectioners'/icing sugar

Mix together in food processor, blender, or with immersion blender.
Serve with your favorite bread.

These can be refrigerated for a few days, but they also freeze well, too!
Since we had leftovers, we're going to explore what else we can smear this deliciousness on this week!

Breathing

Though we live in Sub-Saharan Africa, we also live in the middle of a big city.
A very big city.....like 2 million people big.
Where we live can definitely be classified as more concrete jungle than green jungle.
And some days it is nice just to get away.

There really aren't many places we can go to breath a little here.
No parks.
No playgrounds.
No "green spaces".
So we've learned to make the best of what we've got.

We don't live far from the University.
On their property they have a Botanical Garden......
which is really just a big bit of grass and trees that people can't build on.
We often forget it's there, but when we need to breathe a bit, we pack up and go to the Garden.

We packed the wagon with our picnic basket and toys.
We strapped Lili into the stroller she rarely uses.
We walked to the Garden to enjoy the green, and the quiet, and the space.

We ate, and then we wondered a bit.
We collected plenty of pictures and bits of nature to bring home and study.
We watched for birds to identify from our bird book ~ today we saw an African Pied Hornbill!

We played a bit of football (soccer) and a then some keep-away.
By that time the mosquitoes were enjoying the feast so we headed home.
What a lovely way to spend a Tuesday evening.

For The Days When You Don't Feel LIke You've Got Much Left To Give {And a Winner!}

The days have started early and the nights have gone late.
Sick babies
and coughing kiddos
and a growing belly
and school starting up again
have left his mama feeling like she doesn't have much left to give.
 

The happy heights of a new baby being born into the church
have been pushed down by the grief of losing a three-year-old Sunday School boy too quickly.
Sitting with a joyful mama and papa who've walked their own road of grief and can now rejoice in a blessing from Heaven one week,
and then sitting with a mourning mother and father whose only son died in a tragic accident the next week.

Talking with five- and six-year-olds who are afraid to sleep at night lest the ghost of their friend come to haunt them.
Telling them that fear is not of God, but straight from the Father of Lies.
Comforting my own sweet babes who cough and wheeze the whole night through
and have to take the nasty medicine......again....
because it's good for them.

Finishing up the mother's day presents that should have been mailed weeks ago
because we've just run out of time
and energy
and strength.
Facing the constant battle with the flesh when the electricity-cuts-out-one-more-time and wondering how long it will stay off this time?

And I think, is this what I signed up for?
Is this what missions is really supposed to look like?
And then my Father reminds me...

Yes, my child. I've called you not just to give the gospel, but also to live the gospel. You are to live it daily in front of your little ones when they are sick and you are tired. You are to live a life of thankfulness when there seems little to be thankful for. You are to live a life of victory over the flesh and model My grace working in your life. You are to rejoice with those who rejoice and weep with those who weep. You are to comfort the weak and speak Truth. You are to fill up today with whatever it is I've given you to do. You are to give and live and speak and breathe the gospel every moment of every day.....and yet know that I'm the One doing it in you.

If I think about it that way....
then yes, *this*
is what missions looks like....
for me....
for today.

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For those who chose to comment, I thoroughly enjoyed each one of them!
Our winner is Sarah in Costa Rica!
Sarah, if you could just let me know your snail mail address, I'll get this package on its way ASAP!
And for those who didn't comment?
Read through them. There are some beautiful words there!

Raising My Girls to Have a Heart for Missions ~ A Seed & a Giveaway

Just forty days ago, we were surrounded by symbols of new life....
crosses...
eggs...
an empty tomb....
And we've counted and circled and lit our candle to remind us to let our light shine and read and prayed.
And yet it feels like we've gotten no farther.
That we are right back where we started.
But maybe that is how we are supposed to feel on the day Jesus ascended?

That all of this is just the beginning.
That this time Jesus spent with his disciples,
and the time we've taken to read about it and think on it are just a seed.
A tiny little idea that has taken these past 40 days to germinate and send down roots deep into the soil of our hearts.
Roots that will continue to spread and strengthen until they bear the fruit of a tender heart that loves Jesus and His mission.

Having a heart for missions ourselves and raising our kiddos to have the same is not something that happens over night.
It takes work....
conscientious effort....
just like raising those baby seeds to full grown plants.

It takes water.....of the Word.
It takes working.....with people.
It takes effort.....in praying for and getting to know the needs of the world.
It takes habits......of making His job for us our job every day.
It takes trust......in the Master Gardener, knowing that He which has begun a good work in us will finish it!

And so I thank you for joining us on this journey.
Because really?
It is a journey we are all on, each day finding us one step closer {or sadly, a step farther away} to Him!

I hope something in this series has been a help or encouragement to you!
And for all those who've read, and all those who've left a note here or there, thank you!
And now a tangible way to say thank you ~ and maybe encourage you in pursuing a heart for missions?
A little giveaway.....
something I've been wanting to do for a while.......
just a bit of Ghana in a box.....
a few of my favorite things.....
for you!
Would you like a little happy mail, wherever you may be in the world?
Leave a comment and tell one unexpected way someone has encouraged you in the past....
That's all!
See you next week with the name of the winner!

Sixteen Ways to Bless a Missionary, a Guest Post by Mindy Bush

While I'm digging myself a hole, I figured I might as well "do it good!"

To go along with this weeks post for Raising My Girls to Have a Heart for Missions, my old college chum, Mindy Bush agreed to write a guest post.
For all those who've asked and all those who've wondered how they can practically bless their missionaries, Mindy writes....

My husband and I served as missionaries to the country of Argentina for 12 years. This past year the Lord called us into a new ministry, that of working alongside Vision Baptist Missions in Alpharetta, Georgia. Our new ministry entails working closely with our missionary families, encouraging them, helping them, and being part of those who hold the ropes. 

There are those who go and those who send.  Both make a sacrifice, and both are equally important.  As senders, we should be just as involved in their lives as possible, not only while they are on deputation/furlough, but also while they are on the field.  “Out of sight, out of mind” is all too common and we as senders can easily forget that in a far distant land our goers need encouragement. 

Here are a few practical suggestions that you can use to encourage your missionaries:

1. Find out their needs (materially and spiritually) and pray earnestly for them. Continue to ask….all throughout deputation, time on the field and furlough.

2. Stay in touch. Skype, Heytell, Email, Texting, Facebook, Phone calls, Snail Mail.  There are so many ways to keep in touch these days!

3. Be available during the time right before they leave. Realize that it will be a crazy and emotional time.  Buying things for the next few years, packing, saying good-byes, selling belongings, working on paperwork…..the list goes on and on.  You can help by finding out what you can do to help!  

4.  Maybe just offering to babysit their kids for a day so they can get a lot done would help.   

5.  Drop dinner off at their house so they don’t have to cook.

6. Take them to the airport and have a send-off there. 

7. When they come on furlough, be at the airport to welcome them back home.

8. Share what they are doing on their field with your pastor and church.

9. Remember their birthdays, holidays, and other special days.  I’ll never forget a family who called us on Christmas Day, from a
supporting church.  We didn’t even know them, but they called on their busy day to talk to us for a little bit!

10. Send fun "care packages" occasionally to encourage your missionary or to help meet some of their needs.  Ask what kind of things they would like or can’t get in their country. Here is a list of some things that are not usually available in most countries: 

·         Peanut Butter

·         Dry Salad Dressing mixes like Ranch or Italian

·         Powdered Flavored Coffee Creamers

·         Chocolate chips

·         Macaroni and Cheese

·         Kool-aid

·         Pepperoni

·         Tylenol (for children and adults)

·         Maple Flavor Extract

·         Candles

·         Spices: Pumpkin pie spice, Lawry’s, Lemon pepper, Chili powder,  etc

·         Art supplies for kids

·         Bleach pens/ Tide to go pens

·         Marshmallows

·         Children’s books (most countries do not have libraries and also if the language is not English, they will not find books in English)

       

11. Great gift ideas that don’t have to be mailed:

a. Subscription to a magazine like Time or Newsweek so that they can keep up with what is happening in the U.S.

b. Amazon or iTunes gift cards so they can buy kindle editions of books or music.

c. Subscription to a magazine of interest to the wife. Find out if she has any hobbies.  Many magazines can be downloaded to kindle so find out if that is possible for her. 

12. Consider visiting your missionary on the field.

13. After a long deputation trip or when they come on furlough, it is nice to have a few groceries for them in their refrigerator and cupboards so that they don't have to go shopping right away.

14. Give them a special night out or some other special treat.  Babysit their kids so they can have some alone time. This is one of my personal favorites! 

15. When a missionary visits your church, a basket is always nice, but especially if it contains things that help the kids’ time to go faster in the car.  Some ideas would be: coloring/activity books, colored pencils, juice boxes, granola bars, chips, music cd (some favorites are Patch the Pirate, Lamplighters, Jonathan Park, etc)

16. Write a special note of appreciation with a gift card to a clothing store when they come home on furlough.  Go shopping with them for new clothes for their family. Other ideas for a gift card would be for a manicure/pedicure or to a beauty salon.   If you are short on funds, “coupons” for watching their kids whenever they need a date while on furlough is always appreciated!

I really appreciate these ideas, and I hope they are a help to you, too!

Thanks, Mindy, for taking time out of your very busy schedule to share!

Mindy blogs with a great bunch of missionary women over at Women Behind the Scenes.

Go join them some time!

*For those who noticed the number problem, it's all fixed now!

Raising My Girls to Have a Heart for Missions: Getting to Know Missionaries

I must admit that I'm a bit hesitant to write today's post.
Not because it is untrue, mind you, but because it could be misunderstood...
And really, who likes to be misunderstood?
So please, take this as it was meant to be taken and not as a shameless pitch?
Thank you.

One of the best ways I know to raise kiddos with a heart for missions is by letting them get to know missionaries.
Sounds kind of funny coming from a missionary, but it is so very important.
My children see their lives on the mission field as completely normal, and missionaries here in Ghana as normal people.
But what about missionaries in China or Alaska or Morocco or Finland?
Those kind of missionaries are completely different {to them}.
Those missionaries eat strange foods and speak an odd language and wear different clothes {to their way of thinking}.
Those missionaries are doing something totally different {in their minds} than they are.

When we are in the States, I hear the same statements and questions over and over.
....."I couldn't be a missionary!"
....."I could never live there!"
....."Only a special person like you could do that job!"
....."I'm so glad God called you, I'd hate to live so far away!"
....."You have to cook everything from scratch!?!; I couldn't do that!"
....."You have to homeschool!?!; I couldn't do that!"
....."Do you have to eat weird food?"
....."Do you wear weird clothes?"
....."I couldn't learn another language; I'm not smart enough!"
And the list goes on and on.
As a missionary, I learn two things from statements and questions like these....
1) The person asking does not know any missionaries personally.
2) The person's children may easily get the impression that being a missionary is a hard and scary thing that is only for super-Christians.

One of the most important things I can do to raise my girls with a heart for missions is for our family to get to know a missionary personally.
As we get to know missionaries personally, it encourages a natural desire to know about the field where they serve, the people that live there, the interest people in their country have for Christ, their prayers requests, concerns, trials, and victories.
It will make foreign missions come alive to them!

For those who live in their own home country, this is particularly important.
When one never leaves the country of their birth, never sees a different way of life, never experiences a different way of speaking and thinking, it is easy to assume that missions is for "somebody else" to do.
But if you get to know any missionaries, you'll soon find out that they are ordinary people just like yourself who have chosen to obey God's call to do something extra-ordinary. 

Here are a couple of ideas to get you and your family started in getting to know some missionaries:

1) Every time a missionary comes to your church, spend a little time talking to them.
Visit their display table, if they have one. Look at their pictures. Ask them questions.

2) If you meet some missionaries that you seem to "hit it off with", ask for their email address.
Get their postal address. Follow their blog. Friend them on facebook. Find ways to connect with them.

3) Haven't met any missionaries lately? Look through the prayer letters or list of those your church supports. Start by sending an email or a note. You may just find a new friend.
And if you don't "click" with the first missionary you write to, or they don't write back?
Go to the next one on the list. Keep going until you find a missionary family that you can get to know.

4) Try to find a missionary family that is similar to your own. Look for those who are in the same season of life, same number of kids, same age of children. It's easier to get to know somebody that you feel you have something in common with.

5) Find a country or region of the world that you and your family are very interested in. Once you've picked one, start searching for missionaries that are ministering in that area. Learn all you can about that part of the world and those who are reaching those people for Christ.

6) Adopt a missionary family. {This is any idea from one of our supporting churches.} Every year, the people of the church choose a missionary family to adopt. They find out each family members' birth date and send cards. They try to send a Christmas card. They send a note about themselves. They pray for the missionary's prayer requests. Sometimes they send a small gift. Simply, they choose to get to know one missionary family and make them "their own" for the year.

Just a few thoughts, but maybe one of them might spark an idea for you and your family!

I'll be writing about this topic for the next 40 days {we're almost done!}.
I'd love to have you join, and I'd love to hear how you and your family get to know missionaries.

Would you like to read the entire series?
Start here.

Raising My Girls to Have a Heart for Missions: People

 We've talked a lot about teaching missions in our homes over the last few weeks.
And this week we move to practical.

The practical side of missions can be summed up in one word: PEOPLE. 

As I think back to what my own parents did to instill in me a heart for missions, it all comes back to that one thing.
I cannot teach and train my children that life is all about them, and then one day expect them to leave their comfortable self-centered lives behind and go live for somebody else.
Even God.

My parents were not perfect.
They will be the first to tell you that.
I'm not perfect.
If you know me personally, you already know that!
But I knew that my parents loved God, and I saw them regularly reach out to others.
And you know what?
They took us kiddos along.
Helping people was just a part of our family growing up.
I saw with my own eyes that loving God included reaching out as His hands to those around me.

 

And so I do my best to do the same.
Missions starts at home, reaching out to those around me in a regular, consistent, tangible way.
It will look differently for every family, because God has put us in different places.
But you know what?
Reaching out in America or UK or Mexico or Japan is just as important as reaching out in Ghana.

If you haven't found a way yet, sit down and think about what you and your kids together can do this week to reach out to someone. 
{And while reaching out through the internet or writing letters or giving money are good things, it is so important that they learn to reach out to flesh-and-blood humans, too.}
Find a way to love people in the name of Christ.
You'll never be sorry you did, and neither will your children.

I'll be writing about this topic over the next 40 days.
I'd love to have you join, and I'd love to hear what you do with your kiddos to reach out to others.

Would you like to read the entire series?
Start here.