Get Lower

    Why don’t these changes work? Why can’t my marriage be stronger? Why can’t I be more joyful? Recently, I’ve been reading One Thousand Gifts by Anne Voskamp. This book, besides changing my life for the better, has taught me so many practical ways to be a more thankful and thereby joyful person day by day.  And I have figured something out. Something profound.

    If I want HIM to increase in my life……I must decrease. Seriously. If I want Jesus to be more evident in everything I do, all the people I talk to, how my marriage works, etc., I must decrease in my pride. Though it’s hard to see in myself, I know I have a lot. He must increase, and I must decrease. That means I get, literally, on my hands and knees each day and put my face to the ground. I thank Him for everything I can think of (small and large)—which will increase my joy—and I praise Him for victories BEFORE they happen—which will increase my trust. Then, I humbly accept (with hands open) whatever He chooses to give me. That’s me decreasing. And that’s Him increasing.

This is the o-n-l-y way this life will work.

   What about during the day? In the in between. Those are the times I get lost. Well, when something is said or done that makes me frustrated, I decrease and He increases. If the kids make me a little unsettled, I decrease and He increases. Get down again. Get on the floor. Give Him my thanks and praise. Don’t say anything.  Don’t get easily angered. Submit your arguments. Submit your ability to be right. Decrease. Decrease. 

And when you finally decrease and release, He—will—lift—you—up. 

Summertime in the Middle East

The Helal Family

       Well, it’s always hot. HOT. In the meantime, however, this makes for great opportunities to visit people in their homes because they are always inside.  I have only met one person who owns an air conditioning system. Most people have fans and that is a blessing in itself. Visiting people in the house also means drinking hot tea and most likely eating a hot meal, so the fans come in handy J.

Diana Helal's cooking is A-M-A-Z-I-N-G

     Summertime is also a time when first-time visitors get a sense of the water situation in the region. Because of unknown circumstances, water is brought through pipes to the communities (city by city) every 2-3 weeks. When the water is “turned on,” meaning, the pipes are flowing with new water, people’s tanks are filled up. Most homes in this area have a large tank on their roofs. This is the time to wash as many loads of laundry as one can. When the water shuts “off” (after about 2-4 days), families are rationing water from their tank until it turns back on. Fortunately, several families have wells dug near their homes where water can also be stored. HOWEVER, in the summer, the water is only turned on every 4+ weeks. This means people run out of their “rationed water” a lot sooner (because it’s summer), and homes are left either buying water from a water truck, or using water bottles as a source of cooking, cleaning, bathing, etc.
Foreigners get angry. Locals are accustomed to the situation and have adapted techniques of rationing and saving water (i.e. washing dishes in a bucket, washing clothes in bulk, etc.).

Waseem and Rasha's Wedding

        The water problem also affects the amount of fun activities available for these people. The only 3 swimming pools available to these people are either in expensive hotels or local sports clubs. There are no “community pools,” lakes, or beaches. There IS the Dead Sea, however. Unfortunately, it’s “dead” because of the infamous amount of salt, which allows nothing to live/grow inside. The Dead Sea can be a boiling pot of oil on a hot summer’s day.

Ghasan and Paul

        Summertime fun activities—or what we Americans would call ‘normal’—are rare. No movie theaters, no outside malls, no theme parks, no zoos or wild animal parks, a few children’s playgrounds (2-3), no place to travel without permission and a visa. What do they do here during the summer? Go to weddings. Watch the Americans play in the annual basketball tournament. Build relationships from sitting and talking.  Unfortunate? Well, considering how often I visit people in their homes to build relationships when I’m in the states, I’d say we’re blessed despite the circumstances. It’s always easy to find things to do (especially in Orange County, CA). But sometimes the biggest rewards sit right underneath the roofs of the people around us. And they are waiting for people to come and visit, even if just to talk and drink tea.