Summer Reading

Every summer brings much excitement to me by way of book lists. I love to pick up a good story on a rainy day, by the pool, or at the beach, and enjoy the simplicity of literature over the TV. July is almost here, and I am just now on #2 and #3; nevertheless, the list can continue into the fall, so I'll probably end up taking my time and not doing my typical "5 books in a week at the beach" speed-reading. What's on your list?! Here's mine:

1. Out of Africa by Isak Dinesen (I just finished it--this has become one of my favorites!)
2. The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas (a third of the way through...)
3. The Power of the Cross of Christ by Charles Spurgeon (on Chapter 4 in my quiet-times)
4. My Name is Asher Lev by Chaim Potok--author of The Chosen; a national bestseller about a young Jewish boy who is an aspiring artist growing up in post-WWII Brooklyn, NY.
5. Knowledge of the Holy by AW Tozer
6. Spiritual Depression-Its Causes and Cure by D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones
7. A Call to Spiritual Reformation-Priorities from Paul and His Prayers by D.A. Carson
8. Till We Have Faces by C.S. Lewis--a re-read...it's incredible, really.
9. The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini--a New York Times bestseller about two young boys who are friends in Afghanistan...
10. Daughter of Fortune by Isabel Allende--set in the 1850's, a story of an Chilean orphan who encounters the allure of the California gold rush as a young woman.
11. Hiroshima by John Hersey--a short set of stories from the Japanese people compiled by Hersey in an attempt to recount the memories of the August 6, 1945 bombing.
12. Blue Like Jazz by Donald Miller-a fictional story relating to the emerging new church of our day...

And last, but certainly not least (now don't laugh):

13. How to Be A Domestic Goddess-Baking and the Art of Comfort Food by Nigella Lawson. (This will be an interactive form of reading because I am going to use it to cook with on my designated Thursday night!)

Still More Pictures!

More Pictures...

Roto Recall

Well, home at last. Ally, Elise and I were quite happy when we landed and very excited to see our family and friends...although our trip was incredible by way of memories, serving opportunities, and blessings and surprises along the way, we all agreed that home was sounding better than ever by the middle of the second week. For those of you who haven't heard yet, the Week 2 team got some sort of flu bug/Roto virus epidemic that hit our guys, girls, and parents randomly starting on Wednesday morning, June 21. I won't go into unnecessary details, but one thing's certain: it was not a pretty sight! Sending many to the hospital with 104 fevers, and others to the hotel in El Paso to rest and get re-hydrated, our admin. team had to actively think on our feet and trust God for His grace in each moment to do all that needed to be done. To make things worse, one of the girls had 2 very serious asthma attacks between Wednesday and Saturday that were very scary because her lungs were collapsing. Then, by Saturday morning, June 24, both of our pastors--Adam Malcom and Matt Maka--had come down with the Roto bug. We couldn't believe what was happening! Yet, as always, the Spirit of God provided sufficient strength and wisdom.

On a personal note, I learned so much on this trip both through spiritual and physical challenges. The theme verse that I felt became my prayer throughout the trip was Philippians 3:7-11:

"But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ...I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in him...I want to know Christ and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead."

For sure, I felt like I learned how to share in Christ's sufferings...but what is so amazing to me is the fact that these truths became a reality to me--they are no longer solely Paul's words from scripture--they have become my own. I have experienced the reality of gaining Christ through losing myself for the glory of His kingdom. Not having enough time in the day to think about myself was freeing; hitting my pillow late at night, having exhausted myself for the Lord's service, was totally satisfying; and dying to my preferences and desires by putting others above myself brought a new joy to my heart. Praise God for His work!

Other memories:
1. Special Admin Dinner at Cattleman's Steakhouse--a Top 10 steak place in the country, at which I ate the best piece of flank steak I have ever had in my life.
2. The Rainbow Eclipse on Sunday morning June 25--like the promise from God to Noah of His covenant to His people even in the midst of trial...
3. Covenant Life church vs. Juarez church Soccer Game--We won 2-1! Go Sam and Julie!
4. MOW card games till midnight--who will ever forget the caramel on the face as the penalty?
5. Nora and Travis surprising me on Saturday after having driven 6 hours from Queen Creek, AZ to visit with me!
6. Taco Tote--an authentic, simple taco place which people either love or hate: I loved. The picture above is of all the fixings...
7. The adventures of cooking 3 meals a day for 70 people! Thanks to Tim Pyle for grilling bacon on 3 old charcoal grills for 4 hours. =)
8. Hiking up to the "Cross" in the mountains and spending time in prayer at 5:30 in the morning...the picture of the sunrise is the view from the top...
9. Cooking pasta for 2 1/2 hours with Elise and quoting Anne of Green Gables the entire time
10. Making fun of James Maresco for losing more water bottles than anyone the entire trip, and watching all the consequences he had to endure because of it!! (the push-ups)

Vamos a Mexico

Just wanted to let you know that I'm off to Mexico for 2 weeks to serve in the Rancho 3m orphanage as an admin. team member under our CLC youth pastor Dave Brewer. Check out our general Mexico website for updates throughout the trip! It is: http://www.megustatacotote.blogspot.com

The Pure-Bred, The Norwiegan, and The Half-Breeds

Well, it is now June 10, and I have finally had a quiet Saturday morning to figure out how to post pictures onto my blog...so finally, I can introduce you to my family (from left to right): Nora (25) and her husband Travis Shank, my Mom and Dad, Brett (15), Peter (23 in four days!) and me. This is our family beach picture from last August in Bethany Beach, Delaware. My Dad is a Dutch pure-bred...100% all the way. The proof lies in the fact that he loves cheese, cleanliness, California, choir, clipping things (like hedges and bushes), etc. He is a very meticulous person. On the other hand, my Mom is Norwiegen and just about a bit of every European country. Even though she has the white silvery hair that most Norweigens get by the time they are 30 years old, she is still very young at heart. We call her the Pilates Goddess. The rest of us kids are half-breeds: 50% Dutch and generally speaking, a mix of my parents in physical features and personalities. However, unlike my sibs, I proudly own my Oma's middle name: "Jacoba" (pronounced Yaa-ko-ba with the stress on the "a"). It is the female version of Jacob in Holland. Gosh, back to pronunciation! Dutch is a hard one. Oh, and just for the record, when Nora and Travis first started going out, we discovered that his Mom--Janis--had Dutch in her too! So we knew it was fate.