Yes it has been over a year since I have posted anything on our family blog. My hope is to be able to share more of our daily life here in Nicaragua with you, our family and friends. Now, I can't promise that it will be daily but at least 1-2 times a week. I want to be able to share things that you might not read on Facebook or in our newsletters as well as some of the same things that you would read on Facebook and in our newsletters.
So, if you are new to our blog let me introduce our family to you. My name is Laurie and I wanted to begin their blog in order to share about our life as missionaries in Nicaragua. I am married to a wonderful man, Josh, and we have twins, Sydney and Noah, who are 9 1/2. We moved to Managua, Nicaragua on December 31, 2013 in order to begin language school in our country of service. We were the first missionaries with BMDMI (Baptist Medical Dental Mission International) to attend language school in their country of service. We felt this was important to be able to learn the dialect of the people we came to serve. We were in language school for 6 months and let me tell you that it is hard to learn a second language as an adult but we are still a work in progress. Maybe, I should say that I am still a HUGE work in progress when it come to speaking Spanish. Our children attended the same language school for 12 weeks and we decided to enroll them in a private, Spanish speaking school. This helped them tremendously with their Spanish speaking skills. It is the philosophy of amercing them in the culture and the language. They remained at that school for 1 1/2 years. They made some great friends and were able to learn so much while attending NCA-Nejapa. One of the pros to being able to attend language school in your country of service is that you get to begin building relationships immediately with other missionaries as well as the people you came to serve and work alongside. We were able to begin helping with existing BMDMI ministries. But, this can be a con to coming to your country of service. You have a desire to begin working with these ministries and you loose your focus....language school. However, for us this was not a con but a major pro. Josh was able to work alongside some of the men at The Emmanuel Home of Protection, a home for girls who are minors and have been abused, and build relationships while practicing his Spanish. I was able to begin leading a bible study with the girls, since our children were enrolled at NCA-Nejapa. At first this was a terrifying thought, leading a bible study in Spanish, when I have only completed 12 weeks of language school. But the girls were wonderful and so patient with me. They were my biggest cheerleaders. They still are today!
Now, fast forward to 2016. We are still working at the girl's home and helping with their agriculture program. Josh has learned so much in the last 2 year about raising pigs, rabbits, chickens, cattle and tilapia. He puts a lot of time into researching different ways to help this program run more efficiently and economically. He amazes me at what he is able to put into practice. I am now homeschooling our children and growing more and more everyday in my ability and confidence as a homeschool parent. We tried to homeschool the kids when we first arrived in country but moving to a new country, attending language school, transitioning into a new culture and homeschool did not go together. We don't have perfect days but God uses those not so great days to mold us into what He wants us to be.
Join us along this journey and who knows you may learn something new about us, about Nicaragua or about raising fish. Stay Tuned....
Showing posts with label relationships. Show all posts
Showing posts with label relationships. Show all posts
Wednesday, March 30, 2016
Sunday, December 14, 2014
My Prayer
This was my journal entry last night that I wanted to share, in case other mothers out there are struggling with the same thing. Even if you don't have children, you may still struggle with these thoughts with family and friends in your life.
I am struggling tonight~
Struggling with so many thoughts~
Am I a good mommy?
Am I a good wife?
Do I make the right decisions for my family?
What kind of legacy am I leaving?
The discussion I had with my children tonight was probably too deep for this eight year old brains to even grasp. (Sometimes I don't know when to stop and make it simple. Do you struggle with this?) My desire for my children today is - I want them to desire Jesus more than anything in this world! But how do you explain that to them when they are being taught by so many outside influences to want the things in this world. They want the next toy that can entertain them. Or they want the latest fashion. And I am reminded of a question that I really don't want to answer. Why? Because I know the answer. The answer is a swift kick in my booty. So what is the question, you may be asking yourself.
Am I investing time in my children? Of course you say. You are a good mommy. I see you with your children and they love you. But Am I really investing "quality" time in my children? Am I teaching them what it truly means to follow Jesus? Am I teaching them by example? Am I spending time reading God's word with them?
And the raw reality is NO.
That Hurts MY Heart!
Yes, I spend time with my children but I must admit that it is not always quality time. I am just there... I am doing activities with them but sometimes they are not things that are pouring God's word into them or teaching them about the important things in this life.
If I want my children to desire Jesus more than anything in this world,
it is my responsibility to teach them what it means to truly follow Jesus.
It is my responsibility to spend time with them daily reading His word.
Tonight, we talked about hearing Your voice. Noah asked me "how do you know God is talking to you?' I told him that the more time you spend in prayer, reading His word and talking with Him, you will begin to hear God's voice and know it is God speaking to you. I explained that he knows my voice because he spends time with me daily. He has heard mommy's voice from the time he was in my womb, so he knows it is me that is speaking to him. Of course he went on to say "but I don't hear His voice out loud like I do yours." I assured him that he will know when God is speaking to him.
I want the best for my children and my family, and I know that a relationship with Jesus is what is best for them. But I also know that I can't make them have these same desires or have a relationship with Jesus. My prayer Father is that You will use me in my children's life to teach them about you and trust that you will do the rest.
These same thoughts of "am I investing time in my children", I also have for my husband. Am I really investing in our marriage? Am I showing my husband that I honor and respect him? Do we spend time communicating about our day? Do we communicate our needs and desires to one another? These are questions we all should ask ourselves and evaluate our priorities. I can recall a conversation I had with my youth group a little over 10 years ago about priorities. I remember telling them that God should be first in their parent's life, then their spouse and then came the children. They looked at my like I had lost my mind. But if you are to have a healthy biblical centered marriage, this should be your model as well. God should be the most important person in your life. Your spouse should be second and if you have children, they should be third. Anything else like other family members, work, or friends should not be in those first three positions in your life. You may disagree with me and that is okay but God's word shares about this very thing. Evaluate your life this morning and see what is taking priority in your life. Are you investing time in your relationship with Jesus? Are your investing in your marriage? Are you investing in your children?
My prayer this morning is ~
for my children to walk with Jesus daily,
for them to know Him in only a way that an 8 year old can know Him,
that they will be content with where they are and what they have,
that Josh and I will invest quality time with them daily,
that Josh and I will continue to invest in our marriage,
and that I would be content in my own life, so that I can lead by example.
What is your prayer this morning for your life, for your spouse and for your children? I would love to hear from you. Let us all join each other in prayer for our priorities to be refocused on where they should be.
This was my journal entry last night that I wanted to share, in case other mothers out there are struggling with the same thing. Even if you don't have children, you may still struggle with these thoughts with family and friends in your life.
I am struggling tonight~
Struggling with so many thoughts~
Am I a good mommy?
Am I a good wife?
Do I make the right decisions for my family?
What kind of legacy am I leaving?
The discussion I had with my children tonight was probably too deep for this eight year old brains to even grasp. (Sometimes I don't know when to stop and make it simple. Do you struggle with this?) My desire for my children today is - I want them to desire Jesus more than anything in this world! But how do you explain that to them when they are being taught by so many outside influences to want the things in this world. They want the next toy that can entertain them. Or they want the latest fashion. And I am reminded of a question that I really don't want to answer. Why? Because I know the answer. The answer is a swift kick in my booty. So what is the question, you may be asking yourself.
Am I investing time in my children? Of course you say. You are a good mommy. I see you with your children and they love you. But Am I really investing "quality" time in my children? Am I teaching them what it truly means to follow Jesus? Am I teaching them by example? Am I spending time reading God's word with them?
And the raw reality is NO.
That Hurts MY Heart!
Yes, I spend time with my children but I must admit that it is not always quality time. I am just there... I am doing activities with them but sometimes they are not things that are pouring God's word into them or teaching them about the important things in this life.
If I want my children to desire Jesus more than anything in this world,
it is my responsibility to teach them what it means to truly follow Jesus.
It is my responsibility to spend time with them daily reading His word.
Tonight, we talked about hearing Your voice. Noah asked me "how do you know God is talking to you?' I told him that the more time you spend in prayer, reading His word and talking with Him, you will begin to hear God's voice and know it is God speaking to you. I explained that he knows my voice because he spends time with me daily. He has heard mommy's voice from the time he was in my womb, so he knows it is me that is speaking to him. Of course he went on to say "but I don't hear His voice out loud like I do yours." I assured him that he will know when God is speaking to him.
I want the best for my children and my family, and I know that a relationship with Jesus is what is best for them. But I also know that I can't make them have these same desires or have a relationship with Jesus. My prayer Father is that You will use me in my children's life to teach them about you and trust that you will do the rest.
These same thoughts of "am I investing time in my children", I also have for my husband. Am I really investing in our marriage? Am I showing my husband that I honor and respect him? Do we spend time communicating about our day? Do we communicate our needs and desires to one another? These are questions we all should ask ourselves and evaluate our priorities. I can recall a conversation I had with my youth group a little over 10 years ago about priorities. I remember telling them that God should be first in their parent's life, then their spouse and then came the children. They looked at my like I had lost my mind. But if you are to have a healthy biblical centered marriage, this should be your model as well. God should be the most important person in your life. Your spouse should be second and if you have children, they should be third. Anything else like other family members, work, or friends should not be in those first three positions in your life. You may disagree with me and that is okay but God's word shares about this very thing. Evaluate your life this morning and see what is taking priority in your life. Are you investing time in your relationship with Jesus? Are your investing in your marriage? Are you investing in your children?
My prayer this morning is ~
for my children to walk with Jesus daily,
for them to know Him in only a way that an 8 year old can know Him,
that they will be content with where they are and what they have,
that Josh and I will invest quality time with them daily,
that Josh and I will continue to invest in our marriage,
and that I would be content in my own life, so that I can lead by example.
What is your prayer this morning for your life, for your spouse and for your children? I would love to hear from you. Let us all join each other in prayer for our priorities to be refocused on where they should be.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)