Layers for Naked: One year learning contentment and sharing

I've been feeling

inspired.

I'm restless.

Set to break away

and laugh from the belly

and be free and not care about stupid stuff.

I want to be obedient.

Obedient,

when it's radical and unconventional
and when nobody notices,

and I'll be satisfied, affirmed, knowing that he is pleased with me.

I want intimacy with Jesus.

Secrets and moments

nobody else knows about.

I want to be content.

I want joy.

And laughter

and reassurance

to spring up out of a light heart to bless my family and my neighbors.

ha. ha. ha.

so...

this is it folks

...one little thinger that came out of these desires, well, I've decided -- soli deo gloria-- not to buy ANY clothes for the next one year!  That includes any garments, undergarments, coats, socks & shoes, jewelry, accessories (belts, hats, sunglasses, scarves, bags, etc).
9-01-2013 set as the finish line.

ha. ha. HA!

I keep thinking about Luke 3:11,  "the one who has two shirts is to share with him who has none."

Have you ever been wandering along with two shirts on, and run into somebody who owned no shirt at all? I've only experienced that a couple times.

Those instances are few, aren't they? Luke 3:11 really has a broader, all-times application for sharing resources that I want to rule my spending habits. Drew says it often: "The less we spend on ourselves, the more we can spend on others."

If I resist buying clothes for this next one year, it's a savings that can be used to meet needs. It's agreeing with Luke 3:11 all the time, even if I never run into a naked person while I'm wearing layers.



I feel free, and giddy, and exhilarated with a side of trepidation, beginning a year-long exercise in contentment.

Join me?

counting the graces

thank you Father for
You're kind of crazy-wild, do You know that? 

scrumptious carrot muffins that actually did rise
phone call from neighborhood friend
Drew, unswerving lover, best encourager, never settles for less than total unity between us

enormous white-winged bug

Rats suffer casualty as Addingtons advance on disputed territories

We've been fighting the rats ever since they initiated a siege, and until today the enemy was holding out strong with guerilla tactics. If you really wanna know, some nights from my bedroom, I've heard them scampering around our living room, which has instilled serious rodent paranoia in my heart. Sock on floor? Rat!? Toy car? Rat!? I've seen two rats the kitchen and lept lofty enough to qualify for olympic high jump.

Suddenly I feel no sympathy for Templeton (of Charlotte's Web), Jerry (of Tom & Jerry), all of Cinderella's rodent friends, Ratatouille, Despereaux, and even Mickey & Minnie. Suddenly I'm endeared to Tramp (of Lady & The Tramp) for killing that rat which broke into the baby's room. Is anyone following me...

Anyway. This morning Drewboy got one, cowering in the cage, wicked whippy tail and beady eyes wild, like black pearls. In early morning light Mike helped Daddy humanely drown the captive "rap" (Mike's word).

I decided to wear my black pearl earrings today, like a crocodile-tooth necklace, trophy to flaunt the victory.















As a more pleasant aside, this was my pre-nap conversation lying next to Mike this noon:

Titus is at school.
Schoo. Mama.
Mao-mao?
No. Mama.
Zeng Mama? [the name of Titus' teacher]
Uh.  Mama.  Ba-pa.
Backpack?
Uh.  Ba-pa.  Frien.
Titus' friends?
Uh.  Frien.
Who is your friend?
Ting-ting Mai-mai frien. 
Yeah, Ting-ting is a nice friend.
Ting-ting Owie. Cuh.
Ting-ting got a cut?
Uh.  Fau down.
She fell down.
Uh.  Clim. Fau down.

And then he fell asleep with a car in his hand.

counting the graces

thank you Father for

a rat in a cage!

cool, chilly air today

rice & beans with sweet potatoes

smiles smiles Jonathon

littlest boy sound asleep gripping his car

Titus says, "Mom, I like school. But sometimes I don't like it. But sometimes I like it." 

voices, guitar, hand-drum praise 

plenty of wine and laughter and heart-to-heart with husband last night

Grateful for a mountain getaway, and the cornfield was heavenly

Destination: Zhang Jia Jie (张家界) in the northeast corner of our Hunan province. The craggy, tower-like mountains and gorges inspired the landforms of the movie Avatar. 

We took a six-hour train, stayed in a hotel two nights and a local family's guesthouse one night, and did a lot of hiking.

The happiest memories were simple ---

• playing at a preschool yard adjacent to our hotel, the principal brought out free breakfast noodles for all three boys
• parents snuggling in a single bed, three boys tucked in sideways on the other single bed
• a bathtub, just a normal bathtub, in the hotel
• washing clothes in the well with the guesthouse family granny
• playing in the cornfield (...a flood of childhood memories)
• they grew the best sweet corn I have ever eaten in my life
• guesthouse family borrowing clothes to our kids cuz it was unexpectedly chilly
• the unexpected cold in August! brrrrr it felt awesome!
• noodle-legs from hiking forever down into the canyon (Titus also walked the whole time, great job)
• boys wading in the cool clean stream running through the canyon (that was everyone's favorite!)
• Mike scored a 4 year-old girlfriend on the train home by sharing his stickers
• The kindest 8 year-old boy, also on the train home, decided to give his new wooden crossbow souvenir to Titus

We've been a little pressured, a little stressed, pulled in many directions over the summer. We needed to go away before Titus' school starts again (today). While it's impossible for us to escape our weekend responsibilities, we were so, so thankful to leave the city Tuesday through Friday. We know that not everyone can take four days off at a time, so we feel very grateful.

counting the graces

thank you Father for

ALL of the above

Birthplace of Mao Zedong

Mao Zedong.

Single most influential mind in modern Chinese history.

Born December 26, 1893 in the farming community of Shaoshan 50 miles southwest of Changsha.

Our friends and co-workers took us on a half-day trip to Shaoshan last Sunday afternoon. We walked through Mao's home, viewed the room in which his mother bore him, the primary school where he studied classical Confucian thought, and a museum filled with a lifetime of Mao's personal items. Then we drove a bit more and hiked up a gentle mountain to Mao's secret retreat building, complete with bomb and earthquake shelter, and also the site of his grandfather's tomb.

Mao family home

Mao's mother was a devout Buddhist, his father a skeptic and farmer. A few siblings died young, two brothers survived to adulthood but were both killed in the revolution. Mao himself had four wives and an unknown number of children -- more than six.

Mao's primary school

Michael and our friend/co-worker

Do you recognize this infamous moment in world history?
The pronouncement of founding of the People's Republic of China
October 1st 1949 from Tian'anmen Gate

wedding locks

Mao's grandfather's tomb

According to our friend, the Nationalists attempted to desecrate Mao's grandfather's tomb during the Civil War (Nationalists v. Communists). For the traditional Chinese superstitious, desecrating an ancestor's tomb is a type of psychological and spiritual warfare, bringing down misfortune on living descendants. Apparently local peasants concealed and protected the tomb from the Nationalists, and it has since been relocated.

I'm struck by the disparity in histories regarding Mao Zedong. There is a particular thick biography of Mao Zedong, banned in China, claiming the true, unknown story of Mao. I found some of its arguments contrived and unfounded. From within China, I hear and read of a carefully constructed paragon Mao. I observe opposite, slanted histories and ponder how, if possible, to arrive at the truth.

counting the graces

thank you Father for

sleep, in ceiling fan breeze

a big room full of people we love, all in one accord

fat pillows