Be Careful What You Say

Today in my language lesson I was learning about what to say when some pays you a compliment.  I wanted to come up with examples so I said to my helper, "Like, what if I said 'I like your jacket'."  She replied, "Then the other person would say, 'Oh, would you like to have it?'" and might try to give it to you.  Wow, cultures are so different.  Can you imagine an American doing something like that?  The way that the compliment can be appropriately given is to say, "It suits you."  And then I guess they won't try to give it to you.  So I need to learn how to say that.  Along with a lot of other things... :)

Sparrows

Today I begin a new year with the Lord at my side.  He has grown me in so many ways over the past year and I know this year I will be changed even more.  This time of language learning, settling in, and building foundations in relationships is difficult.  This morning a million questions were spinning in my mind and I looked out my kitchen window and saw a flock of sparrows perched on a tree.  I opened the screen and as they flew away with a flutter I thought, "God sees each sparrow.  He sees me.  He sees my pain and confusion and sin, and He knows.  He knows what I'm thinking and feeling better than I do.  "So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows." (Matthew 10:31)

Psalm 84
 ¹How lovely is your dwelling place,
   O LORD of hosts!
²My soul longs, yes, faints
   for the courts of the LORD;
my heart and flesh sing for joy
   to the living God.
 ³Even the sparrow finds a home,
   and the swallow a nest for herself,
   where she may lay her young,
at your altars, O LORD of hosts,
    my King and my God.
⁴ Blessed are those who dwell in your house,
   ever singing your praise!
                         Selah
 ⁵Blessed are those whose strength is in you,
    in whose heart are the highways to Zion.
⁶As they go through the Valley of Baca
   they make it a place of springs;
    the early rain also covers it with pools.
⁷They go from strength to strength;
   each one appears before God in Zion.
 ⁸O LORD God of hosts, hear my prayer;
   give ear, O God of Jacob!
                         Selah

⁹ Behold our shield, O God;
   look on the face of your anointed!
 ¹⁰For a day in your courts is better
   than a thousand elsewhere.
I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God
   than dwell in the tents of wickedness.
¹¹For the LORD God is a sun and shield;
   the LORD bestows favor and honor.
 No good thing does he withhold
   from those who walk uprightly.
¹²O LORD of hosts,
    blessed is the one who trusts in you!

Fluffy Food

 

I went to my Turkish family's house for tea and they excitedly presented something they had bought at the fair on a plate.  "Is this food or a small animal?" I thought, but didn't say.  "It's chocolate flavored," I was assured.  All I said was, "I've never seen anything like this before.  I have to take a picture."  They laughed.  I pulled out a few strands with my fork and tasted it.  Much like cotton candy, but more delicious.  

Snow

    The first snow of the year came.  It was was beautiful.  Here's the view from my kitchen window.

    On that day I forgave a friend, and was forgiven by one.  His mercies are new every morning.  The rain is melting the snow away now.  But more will come.




Here's the park I walk through to get to my house.





These reminded me that Christmas is coming!
I'm glad to be here for the holidays.  Things are different but it's good.

Christmas Cookies!

     In the spirit of keeping old traditions from my family alive and creating my own new ones here, my roommate and I invited our friends over to decorate Christmas cookies.  We had the ingredients to make dough and frosting but I have not found a place you can buy food coloring here yet, and I didn't bring any, on purpose actually.  Sprinkles are also hard to find.  I wanted to try to make some on my own so I researched it on the internet and found so recipes for various colors.  I boiled a purple cabbage for hours and ended up with some purple liquid that I mixed with sugar and made some very pretty light purple sprinkles.  Pomegranate juice got us reddish-pink ones.  My home-made food coloring didn't work so well for the frosting so we borrowed some.  I used it to make all the other colors of sprinkles so we're ready for our next cookie decorating party.
     Two of my friends came, and the kids who live downstairs.  Their family cleans our stairwell, takes out our trash, and looks after things in the apartment.  They sat and patiently and creatively decorated for hours and listened to us chat.

     It was especially fun to see my friends interact with one another.  I told about how I met each of them and they had fun chatting together.  My roommate sang some hymns with her guitar and my friend who is not part of the family was surprised to hear another Turk singing along.  She is interested, and I was glad to have a natural place for them to be able to meet each other.

Here is a bit of art that came out of my time with my parents looking at what we began to refer to as "old rocks."  They all start to look the same after a while.  I really don't understand how people can do the tourist thing for months on end.  I much prefer real life.  But I definitely learned a lot about the history of the church in this country.  What struck me was even after all these thousands of years even from the piles of "old rocks" it is clear that followers of Jesus, both professors and those who gave their life because they truly believed, were once the majority here.  So much has changed since then.  All that is left from that time is piles of old rocks.  But what God did in people's lives then and is doing now will remain forever.

Valley of Vision

   Learning a new culture, especially as a part of a family has been an amazing blessing and a huge challenge.  The deeper relationships go, the deeper you can get hurt.  But I have also seen how the Father can work in a deeper way in our hearts through this.
   After moving out from my Turkish family's home we continued to spend time together.  Several times I have made cultural mistakes in the relationship that have resulted in miscommunication and hurt feelings.  Several times it got so difficult we weren't even able to speak to each other.  Each time it was a result of my ignorant mistake.  Each time I feared that perhaps I had done something too big to be forgiven and there was no way to fix it.  But each time, as we came to each other to offer and ask for forgiveness, I experienced the grace of being forgiven without being able to change anything or earn anything.  And I saw the Lord work in us all for His glory.
   Click here to see the words and hear a song that has comforted me through this time.  In the Valley
   In this valley I have seen the Lord in the heights watching over me and using all things for the good of those who love Him.  I wouldn't usually decide to be humbled this much.  It's painful, but it's good for me.  And I'm pretty sure I asked people to pray this would happen.  These struggles in relationships and with my own weaknesses and sin are making me more like my Savior.  "I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me" (Gal. 2:20)  I am learning that love that must be earned is not love from God.  Grace is an amazing and beautiful thing!  If anyone loves or forgives or accepts me it is because of the power of the Lord in their life.
   I have been tested to trust Him to provide what I need.  Is His love really enough for me?  How deep into darkness and uncertainty am I willing to go to know Him more?  Am I willing to keep loving when I don't know how things will turn out?  I want to praise Him for being a God who turns ashes to beauty and brokenness to healing.  I have nothing to fear.  His power is great!