I started another blog today for counting my 1000 gifts.  The address is www.myjoydare.blogspot.com and I dare YOU to take the challenge as well!  It's been amazing to see how when I remember to give thanks it totally changes my perspective on the circumstance.  See you over there at I Dare You!

Carrots, anyone?

Yesterday was an important milestone in the life of Elizabeth.  She has officially begun eating solid foods.  I pureed some carrots for her...and as you can see from her face, she wasn't too keen on the idea. She didn't cry but she certainly wasn't lighting up with the taste, either!

For a few weeks now, Elizabeth has been getting up on her hands and knees and rocking while she's playing on the floor.  I am beginning to worry that she will be the one who does all things early.  Oh boy, here we go!  I've tried to get pictures of her on her hands and knees but so far, it's been to no avail.  Hopefully I can capture it soon!

And yesterday, PJ and I were out running errands and I happened to drive by a thrift store where they had an exer-saucer for sale out in front.  I stopped and got it!  I washed the seat part and cleaned up the plastic and I must say she absolutely LOVES it!  I think children like different perspectives...and this sure gives her one!

Christmas, Post 2

After arriving in north Florida, the kids enjoyed playing with all their cousins.  It's always a very fun time at Grammy and Grampy's because of all the space there to run and play and because of all the kids.  Paul's parents have 17 grandchildren, one on the way and another GREAT grandchild on the way!  So, needless to say, when we get together, even if it's just two families, it's pretty lively!  So, for Christmas this year all of Paul's siblings, save James (who we saw in Baltimore), were there for Christmas.  Adele has two little girl cousins her age.  Vinnie is two months older than Adele and Erin is nine months older. All three of them have been the youngest in their families...and all three of them have at least two older brothers.  SO, it can get pretty interesting when these little girls get together!  They're all girl...but don't mess with them because they can put up a good fight, too!   The boys also have cousins around their ages.  Lest you think it's all fun and games, there are a fair amount of fights and hurt feelings that go along...just like in any family, but I often remind myself as I encourage my kids, that it's good to work these things out and it provides opportunity to grow in grace.

Above, Adele and Erin with their Bitty Babies that Grammy and Grampy gave to them for their birthdays. Vinnie also got one. Unfortunately I didn't get ANY pictures of all the girls together this year. =(

                                                                     Princesses

                    Above, Elizabeth fell asleep on Christmas Eve at the base of the Christmas tree.

 Christmas morning, PJ enjoyed warming by the fire and waiting for his siblings to rise!

                                                 Checking out the gifts waiting for them!

                                                             Waiting to open stockings!

                                                                     LEGOS

                                                                          LEGOS

I re-gifted some of Adele's gifts.  Notice those pink Barbie boxes! They were mine when I was a young girl and yes, I still had the boxes!  So, I wrapped up some Barbie stuff to go along with the Ballerina Barbie we got for Adele.  We set up the kitchen and bed below.

 Elizabeth slept through most of Christmas, so she opened her gifts a little later.  Her she is with some of her plush toys. And, below, she's sporting an outfit my aunt got her.

                                                             Vinnie and Adele..

  And, Lincoln (a cousin) received a kickball for Christmas, so Aunt Becky led Linc, Vinnie and Adele in a game one afternoon.  Here they had just finished.  It was a special Christmas, as it could possibly be our last one here for a couple years.  Thank you to ALL of our family and friends who made it so special.  We love you!

A Post to Catch you up!

                                       A Thai fishing boat in the Andaman Sea, Thailand.
If you are reading this blog, you are probably already aware of our plans for 2012.  I hope all who read already know that we've been Stateside for 2 1/2 years now and Paul is looking forward to his graduation in May with a Master's in Theology from Reformed Theological Seminary here in Orlando. It's amazing to us to see how the Lord has provided for us the past 2 1/2 years and His goodness to us.  It's overwhelming, actually!
 We are so excited to be gearing up to return to Thailand, hopefully the end of October this year!  We've been praying and praying and praying about so many of the details of our return and I'd just like to lay out a few of those details that the Lord seems to have answered and is still answering.
Firstly, in May of 2011, Paul traveled to Thailand to scout out areas of interest to us in serving upon our return.  We had been praying about one certain province and thinking strategically about beginning a new church planting work there and moving our way south.  Paul's trip confirmed our thoughts and it seems the area we were praying about will be a great launching point.  We are hoping to move there and begin learning the customs of this city/area as it is different from where we were in central Thailand, where we lived in Bangkok.
Secondly, another major point of prayer has been for teammates.  No one wants to be the Lone Ranger on the mission field, and we are no exception!  So, we've been praying. The Lord is so gracious to have given us several folks who are seriously considering and praying to join us.  If you are a praying person, please pray for these folks as well.  Pray for clear discernment and leading from the Lord.  In June, Paul will be taking some of them to Thailand to show them the area and give them a glimpse of what life is like there.  The process for becoming a missionary is quite involved with Mission to the World (our agency) which we are also grateful for, but again, pray for wisdom for all who assess and are being assessed.
Thirdly, Paul started 2012 off calling and making contacts with different people and churches for financial support and he is already scheduled to speak at several different events in the coming months.  Again, we stand amazed at the Lord's goodness.  For the past 2 1/2 years we've looked at each other and said, "we don't know where the support is going to come from."  When we returned from Thailand, most of the churches that support us, dropped us due to the fact that we were no longer on the field.  And, we understand that reasoning.  However, we also knew that we wanted to get done with seminary and back on the field as quickly as possible.  When the churches dropped us, many said they would like to support us again when we head back to Thailand.  So, we're hopeful that will happen, but the reality is that that money has probably already been pledged to other missionaries in need of support...which is good also!  So, long story short, we've been looking at each other wondering where the money we need is going to come from.  We've asked everyone we know for support, we've exhausted our contacts...but already, we see the Lord's wisdom and graciousness and goodness as we step out.  We've been put in contact with many just through simple networking and though we don't know that any financial support will come of it, we pray that the Lord will bless and that we will be able to return in October.  We've also has several people increase their support over the past 2 1/2 years which blesses us.  We are aware that so many give sacrificially to their church and to missionaries and it blesses us and humbles us to be on the receiving end of that service.
So, in a not so little nutshell, that is what is going on with us!  We are eager to return and get back to work in Thailand.  No doubt, the road will have it's bumps and potholes. No doubt we will be discouraged, no doubt we will be even more dependent on Christ, no doubt we will struggle but it's all worth it for the sake of the gospel and for the name of Christ to be adored by all peoples.  Please keep us in prayer, for He hears and He answers...just look what He has already done!

                                          A landscape of the Andaman Sea, Thailand

If you are interested in connecting us with your church, small group, or any other contact, please drop us a note in our comments.  If you are interested in supporting us either prayerfully or financially, please let us know by dropping us a note in the comments or in our inbox at paulcrystal.henry (at) gmail.com.  You can learn more about Mission to the World and us at www.mtw.org.

A life of Joy

Long before Ann Voskamp came into my life, I knew this truth. The truth that thanksgiving can change a person's life. In college, I learned from experienced missionaries the truth that Joy is NOT dependent on our circumstances. And, I was strongly encouraged to find Joy in every circumstance. These weathered missionaries who had retired from the field and began their ministries of teaching youngsters like myself often were imparting what they had learned overseas. I often felt like I couldn't get enough out of them. That there was a vast ocean of knowledge that just wasn't able to get through to us, mostly because of our lack of experience and our young age.

You may ask why these two things are so important to the life of a missionary? Why are they important to any life? Why is it that I have clung to these two tidbits of information more than anything else learned in college for the last 11 years or so? In these past several years, I've often forgotten these truths.  Nehemiah 1:8 says "The joy of the Lord is my strength."   My circumstances have certainly changed and I am certainly older!  But, I still feel so awkward at this life, I still feel like that youngster just starting out.  I feel as though, in many ways, I am just learning the love of my Savior and the joy that is found in Him.  This year, as I count my 1000 gifts, I hope to recapture that joy in my own life.  That I would reflect it mostly to my family. As we set out to return to Thailand, this time on our own in  some ways, but perhaps much more dependent on Christ, I hope to remember these truths and to practice this.  MY JOY IS NOT DEPENDENT ON CIRCUMSTANCES.  I hope these seven words will embed themselves into my brain until it becomes the first thing I think of when I am tempted to blame my attitude on what is going on around me.  And I continue counting...
17. Reading Winnie-the-Pooh to Calvin and Adele.
18. Elizabeth not sleeping well at night.
33. "Mommy, I had some bless yous." -Adele talking about sneezing!
35. Giving away my Mom's old sewing machine to Lisa and her girls.
40. Friends confiding in each other.
41. Hearing the life story of two recent widows...
43. Calvin learning to pump his feet on the swing.

I think finding joy is important to any life because it keeps us centered on the One who really matters.  When we look around at the mess we are and the mess that surrounds us we can easily become despairing.  The picture looks horrible, we feel that there is no hope and yet, for the life of the Christian we are not to be despairing.  If we truly believe in the LORD's sovereignty, He is in control, we can trust Him because He is good.  We can trust His promise that there is an eternal home that is perfect, where we will live without sin and live perfectly, worshiping our Lord.  We can trust Him that even in dark, despairing times, He is with us and though happiness is hard to find, there is joy.  Psalm 34:8 "Oh, taste and see the Lord is good!  Blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him!"
v. 17 "When the righteous cry for help, the LORD hears and delivers them out of all their troubles.  The LORD is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit."
He saves...that's the point.  It's all in HIM and apart from Him all we have is the ritual of religion.  So, I'll keep on counting, counting the gifts that He daily gives and slowly, I believe I will see my heart be one full of the joy of my Lord.

                                                    Calvin learning to pump his legs.

14. "Thank you for Jesus, our Savior, who died on the cross for our sins and his momma, Mary." A bit of Adele's prayers tonight...so thankful for these gifts!

Christmas 2011

This Christmas was jam packed full with family, friends and miles and miles of road! We traveled to PA to visit my family a few weeks ago. We were there about a week. I'll tell you a week just goes by too quickly! We enjoyed a nice time though even though we only saw the snow flurr

y a little bit and my Dad was sick with a nasty cold....that he later shared with all of us! We celebrated Christmas with them a week early. Paul surprised me by giving me my Christmas gift then...a new camera! I absolutely was surprised and shocked and I LOVE it. I know I shouldn't love a material possession so much, but I

do. I have been saving for a while now to get a camera myself, but it's kinda hard to save money when you don't have a job that pays. =) So, you can imagine my excitement...all 768 pictures worth of excitement taken in 2 weeks time!

Paul's folks are from New Jersey originally and some of his extended family still live there, including his Nana. We decided that we should take the opportunity to visit her while we were north. She moved from sunny FL back to NJ 1 1/2 years ago. I am SO glad we made the trek to NJ. I will say I am glad I do NOT live in NJ, but I am sure glad we visited Nana, Aunt Cher and Uncle Don. The kids and I met two of Paul's cousins for the first time ever and got acquainted with Aunt Cher and Uncle Don. I must say these two spoiled our children immeasurably and I dare say they will never forget the night they stayed with Uncle Don and Aunt Cher and Nana! We got up the next morning at 5:30 and left for Baltimore at 6:30am. We were on our way now to meet up with Paul's younger brother, James and his wife, Hilary, and son, Peter at the National Baltimore Aquarium. Again, it was wonderful seeing James, Hilary and Peter...and Peter is growing up so quickly. Kids, they do that, yah know. Our children enjoyed the aquarium even though they managed to get left behind somehow (a slight mis-communication between their parents is the culprit, no doubt!). We also enjoyed Baltimore for the couple hours we were there. I had never been there before and for Paul it brought back many good memories of his outings there as a young boy. So, by this time it's now December 22nd around 1 pm and we're on our way back to the Sunshine State...but we are quite exhausted. The traffic in DC doesn't help but we plow forward at an agonizingly slow pace but finally we pick up some speed. At about midnight, we've managed to make it into SC but Paul's feeling quite drowsy...and I am not much better. So, we pull off at the first exit that has hotels...but as is fitting for Christmas time, there were no rooms in the Inns! I look up on the GPS for other nearby "Inns" and we found one...the Sunset Inn...so we call and they have a vacancy. However, before Paul hangs up the guy informs Paul that the police will be showing up because there has been a domestic dispute. So, we scratch that place, get back on the interstate...and get off at the next exit with a hotel and there we found a room. I was praying the Lord's protection over us against bed bugs...yes, it was that bad!

The next day we made it to Paul's parents in North Florida and spent the remainder of our days there (there will be another post on that segment of our travels!). I continue to be amazed at our Lord's goodness to us as we travel. He is so good. He has protected us from ourselves and others while we travel on the highways. Not only that, he has given us four children who, despite being locked up in a car for 18+ hours, travel well. I do not thank Him lightly for these graces...for they are truly things for which to be thankful.

The Joy Dare Challenge

I am taking the Challenge to count 1000 Gifts this year. I have been reading Ann Voscamp's blog, A Holy Experience, since 2005 but never felt like I could find the little things in life to be thankful for...I'm just not that poetic or observant. I thought my 1000 gifts list would look the same after about #30! However, a friend of mine is doing it on her blog and I thought, "why not?" It's hard to look at life with eyes wide open and count all as blessing and all as grace (as Ann would say!) but I am going to take the challenge. I will admit Ann has compiled a helpful list to get me thinking and so I will be using that at least this month...and maybe longer.

1. The evergreen Woodwick Candle burning that Paul gave me 2 years ago for my birthday!

2. 5 yards of fabric in which I will attempt to make a costume for the Midieval Fair!

3. The new sewing machine I got from my mom for Christmas on which I will attempt #2.

4. The joy of Elizabeth...all smiles, rolling all over the place on the floor, grabbing at things, recognition of those who love her!

5. The faithful prayers of my mom and friends.

6. The Presence of Christ, teaching and leading me.

7. The joy of the Lord's Day..."market day for the soul"

8. A spur of the moment camping trip, giving Momma a couple days of quiet with her Lord. Such a gift!

9. repentance

10. The delight of praying for others.

11. waiting on the Lord to answer those prayers.

12. My new camera to take pictures of the gifts God has lavished.

13. The basket of laundry needing ironed is ironed!

RTS Christmas Party

We enjoyed a fun evening in early December at Reformed Theological Seminary. They had a live jazz band playing in the loggio while families and students chatted and drank hot apple cider and munched on hors d'oeuvres. Children bounced in the bounce houses. PJ grabbed a big hunk of what he thought was cheese cake and quickly found out it was a strong tasting cheese. He didn't care too much for it!

We then went inside where we all partook of a Christmas meal complete with turkey, ham and pork loin! We ended the night outside around fire pits singing Christmas carols, roasting marshmallows and reading the Christmas story from Luke 2. It was such a nice evening...the RTS Student Cabinet did a fabulous job and our family truly enjoyed the evening. As an added blessing, Alli Viscomi of Alli Viscomi Photography was there taking pictures....and this is our best shot! If you live in the Orlando area check out her site...

http://viscomiphotography.com/

Adele's 4th Birthday

I can't believe Adele is four. She is now a little girl. She's always singing and dancing about. Her life is like a musical! It's pretty funny to listen to the soundtrack. For instance, last night, she was playing with her dolls. The doll she was playing with is made so that you can pop the head off to get the clothes off and on. Well, she's sitting there singing so sweetly and then we listen, "I'm going to cut your head off...so I can dress you...mhhhhm" Can you tell she has brothers?! Anyway, I realized I haven't blogged about her birthday yet, so here it is. The day before her birthday we went down to the other side of Orlando to visit with my cousin, Denise. She was in town for a conference. We went to Chilis for supper and Denise had the waitress sing to Adele...she was THRILLED...and shocked. None of the kids had ever seen anything like this so all of their eyes were popping out of their heads...and the dessert made Adele especially happy...chocolate brownie with ice cream. She was kind enough to share with her brothers! (see the last picture).

The next morning was Adele's birthday. She woke up to the house decorated and some Princess jelly things on the sliding glass door that our friend Lisa gave her. We gave her one gift at breakfast which were shoes with Princesses on them...and then the rest of the morning she tried to wait patiently for lunch when she would receive the rest of her gifts. Lunch came, homemade pizza with Princess cupcakes I found at WalMart. We got her a Sleeping Beauty dress for her big gift...she LOVED it. It lights up a little and it doubled for her Halloween costume, too. All the kids love dressing up..and so this is a wonderful addition to the dress up bin.

One of her other requests was for the Jasmine and Tiana dolls. I found Tiana, but couldn't find Jasmine. She was happy with the Tiana doll, but then a few days later, God blessed her with the Jasmine doll as well from our pastor's family.

We ended the night with a fire (pictured above) and roasted marshmallows. All in all, it was a good day, full of pretending and make believing and lots of princesses for our Princess. The most important thing I want Adele to know is that she is a child of the King...and that is what makes her a real princess. It's not her looks that make her beautiful but it's what she allows Christ to do through her that makes her beautiful. This is my prayer for her and I trust the Lord will be faithful to complete the work He has begun in her life. I am so thankful for my little girl...and I remember so well being terrified of having her! The Lord certainly has taught me a lot through her and I know I'm not done learning the lessons He has to teach me through her...but I am so very thankful for this child, this strong, independent, persistent child! May the Lord be pleased to use these gifts to bring glory to Himself and to further His kingdom.

(That first picture is of Elizabeth and me during the fire...I though some might thing it was Adele as a baby...but no, it's E!)

The Last few weeks

A cold swept through our family last weekend. All four kiddos sick at the same time. It wasn't too bad but it sure makes you feel badly! Elizabeth had to sleep in her carseat so that she could breath...and I snapped this picture for Grammy...she loves her little dolly you gave her! She's begun grabbing for things and dolly is one of her favorites!

She also enjoys holding her head up and looking around. She has plenty of folks to keep her entertained around here. PJ's favorite thing is to hold her while Calvin enjoys jumping around singing and Adele takes care of her beauty needs by rubbing lotion on her legs! This little one has lots of teachers!

And, we did go trick-or-treating this year. Paul's sister, Grace, knitted this little hat for Elizabeth, so we made her a "WHO" from Dr. Seuss. Doesn't it just remind you of a Who hat??? She was a hit as a Who. The cutest little Who you ever did see...in my humble opinion!!!

Here they are all together. PJ was Captain Rex (clone from STAR WARS) and Calvin was Anakin Skywalker while Adele was Princess Aurora...also known as Sleeping Beauty.

Here's the lineup before heading out. Our friends, who also happen to be neighbors, went out with us. He's dressed as a guy from the 70s and their little boy, Teddy, borrowed a kimono onesie from us and went as a samurai warrior. Paul was someone from South America!

Pumpkin & Coconut Soup from Cookshelf Thai cookbook

2lb. 3 oz. pumpkin (I used butternut)

1 Tbsp. oil

1 tsp. mustard seeds

1 garlic clove, crushed

1 large onion, chopped

1 celery stick (I didn't add this)

1 small red chili, chopped (I didn't add this)

3 3/4 c chicken stock

1 tsp. dried shrimp (I didn't add this either!)

5 Tbsp. coconut cream

salt and pepper

chopped fresh cilantro to garnish

1. Halve pumpkin and remove seeds. Cut away the skin and dice the flesh.

2. Heat oil in a large pan and fry mustard seeds until they begin to pop. Stir in garlic, onion, celery and red chili and stir-fry 1-2 mins.

3. Add the pumpkin with the stock and dried shrimp and bring to a boil. Lower the heat, cover and simmer gently for about 30 mins, until ingredients are very tender.

4. Transfer to food processor or blender and process until smooth. Return to pan and stir in coconut cream. Adjust the seasoning to taste with salt and pepper and serve hot, sprinkled with chopped coriander.

Enjoy!

Rough Days

*I wrote this post last Thursday, pressing on to know Him more.*

It's days like today that I hate. Days when I wake up late because I was up too late with a baby who wouldn't sleep well. And, my other three are all outside playing happily but breakfast hasn't been served yet and home school hasn't begun yet and laundry is piling up (just small heaps) and it's already mid-morning. The prayers I said through the night seem faint...and the pleading with my Savior to carry me through today seem dry and unrealistic. Oh, the optimism 3am brings! So, with harsh words spoken, sighs and groans and a bad temperament I start the day, even with the prayers said before leaving my bed. I grovel for some self-control as I press on through Language Arts. Questioning with impatience why the eldest son got the plural of some pronoun wrong...and the Spirit quickly checking me...with a gentle reminder that he is just learning these rules...go gentle on him and with love. Yes, He softens me and reminds me not to bring on myself a later sorrow that I will regret and to teach him lovingly. So, in obedience I submit. I sacrifice that selfish heart once again though it needs slaying every day, every moment. We are sin. It's not so much acts that we commit or not commit as much as it is WHAT we are. It's ingrained in the fabric of human nature...it comes so naturally, so subtly. My good friend often reminds me, "It's a broken world." Yes, indeed and I am a broken vessel. So, after reading the stories of Esther and Job to the children I find myself irritated again. I find a quiet place while the children are outside playing in the ashes of our fire pit, and I cry like a baby. I cry out to my Savior and He hears me. I know He hears me because I sense the Spirit reminding me of our discussion last night. Several ladies from our church gather together once a month to discuss Sunday's sermon. Last Sunday we heard Matthew 10:16-25. It's all about how Jesus' disciples will suffer. He suffered and we will too. We have the Word to encourage us, we have the presence of the Father, Son and Spirit to encourage us...so press on. Oh...is this my suffering? The daily laying aside of myself to serve my family. Serving meals, doing laundry, cleaning up messes, teaching pronouns, and the alphabet, and history, music and art. It doesn't seem much like suffering, does it? Many women would LOVE to have the opportunity to stay home with their children and count it all joy and here I am seemingly complaining about the "suffering" set before me. But, it is a daily laying down, a daily death, there's no room for me and I feel like I am losing myself. I forget, too soon, this is the goal. This is the fire...this is the refining, this is the metamorphosis, the transformation of the old into the new. To live is Christ. I see so clearly the vain glory I seek (another point we discussed). I want to be praised and the only promise Christ gives me is to press on to share the Gospel and dont' worry about the rest. Acts 1:6 is the clear reminder...the disciples wonder when Christ is going to restore the kingdom....they still didn't get it. And, here I am, wondering when am I going to get the glory. Yeah, I still don't get it either. Lord, help me to remember that this work is about YOU and Your church, of which I am a part. Your beautiful story of redemption through your Son, Jesus Christ. How I want Your grace to be the very essence of our home and life, not having some magic potion but just simply knowing You and bringing You glory. It's so easy to make Jesus the magic potion. To make Him work for us. To fit Him into our boxes. I am so glad He won't let us do that too long until He brings us to our knees. So, at the end of the day, I lie down in bed renewed by His Word to press on for His glory, not my own. To love Jesus for Jesus, not for what I can get from Him, but just simply because He's enough.

John Piper Interviews Greg Livingstone and David Sitton on Desiring God

John Piper Interviews Greg Livingstone and David Sitton on Desiring God

Paul and I had the privilege to meet Greg and Sally Livingstone a few weeks ago. I do count it a privilege because this couple has worked for years with Muslim peoples and have a wealth of wisdom and experience to share. I wish I had an entire week to spend with them! This interview was incredibly encouraging to me as I look forward to the work to which God has called our family. A common theme in this interview is team. Please pray with us for God to raise a team of folks to join us in Thailand. As Greg mentions in this video and he said it when we met him too, we need to work in teams...one person/family can't do it all...and we're weak, we need each other. So, please for all of you who pray, pray to the Lord of the harvest for laborers to join us in S.Thailand. Thank you and if you have the time, watch this video!

Update on Elizabeth

Elizabeth continues to be a joy and blessing to our family. She is well loved and her brothers and sister keep her well entertained! She recently started smiling...which we all LOVE to see. Each of us try our best to get her to smile but Nanny was the best at it!

Aunt Nancy made Elizabeth this adorable hat...she knitted it and added a flower pin. I just LOVE it but Elizabeth isn't too sure about it! Granted, I tried to take a picture when she was ready to sleep. I'll try again another day.

She's pushing herself up like a champ and she even scoots herself on her belly...which I have to be careful when I leave her on my bed because she travels fast! She loves sticking out her tongue and especially likes to mimic others doing it! It's pretty funny.

She's quite the little lady and we are so thankful for her.