The ladies doughnut eating contest was a sight to behold

Glad to have Sher Pound as a special presenter on family day

We had 19 kids at the office for 3 days while we did staff retreat! A huge Thank You to all those who helped!

Greetings from Thailand!

You may have noticed that these posts follow our own experiences.  One of the biggest mistakes I have made in life (and in faith) was to presume to talk about what I hadn't yet learned from experience.

I am coming to believe the more valuable thing we can offer our neighbor is not so much correct information (i.e. you should think, believe this...)

but personal experience (this happened, then I did this and then....).

Positively, this means our failures can be as valuable, or even more valuable to share than our successes.  

Which means that even our failures, the things we just really screwed up, can have value to benefit others.

Which is pretty amazing if you stop and think about it.
(I am stopping right now, because I am feeling frustrated at all the stuff I have messed up lately).

Sharing Communion together

Learning together

Some pretty wonderful ladies!

Twice in the span of 5 minutes my son Ezra managed to spill smoothie on me.

Normally, this should be mildly amusing and a little sticky.

But today I almost lost it.

Seeing my son's face at this undeserved outburst of anger on my part, brought me back to my senses.

What is wrong with me?

It's just a little bit of passion fruit and mango smoothie.  It took 2 minutes to clean up and actually was kind of funny.

Where did the anger come from?

Hungry?

A new visitor at the land...hopefully not related to the burgers above

There is lots of playing going on these days!

The answer is from the pile of straws I have been carrying around that is breaking my back.

Do you remember the old saying about the straw that broke the camel's back?

The idea is that enough little things can eventually become a big thing, and break us down.  

What are you carrying around with you today?

I am remembering how I dropped the butter dish Audrey brought from the US and it shattered on the floor yesterday.

I am carrying the credit card payment I messed up and had to pay foreign transaction fees.

And the embarrassment I felt after spraying my own pants in the bathroom so it looked liked I wet myself.

And the talk I gave that I didn't feel very good about.

And the guy who cut me off yesterday.

And that situation at work that never seems to get resolved.

And .....

The list goes on and on.

Home of Faith took a trip south!

Kingdom of God Church had a special Easter service

The girls were frying bananas!

So when my son spills smoothie on me, I erupt in anger.

Not because of the smoothie, but because of all the other baggage I am carrying around.

Have you ever been on a hike with a pack that was too heavy?

That is essentially what we are doing when we carry all our failings and disappointments around with us.

I said before in another post that one little stone in your shoe can blind you to the glory all around you.

Carrying around all our disappointments and failings does the same thing, and even worse, it makes us grumpy.

So when we come to a summit (a beautiful place in our lives) all we can do is grumble about how hard the journey was.  

So instead of getting to have a good laugh, and lick smoothie off your face, you yell at your 2 year old son.

So what does the camel do to keep his back from breaking?

He dumps the straws.

A big thank you to everyone who helped purchase air purifiers and fans!

Josiah just graduated from Bible School and helped with our kids activities during staff retreat

We don't need to carry all that around.

Audrey didn't really care about the butter dish, why am I wasting time still thinking about it?

Jesus once said that worrying has no actual power to produce positive change in our lives, so we should just stop.

It is good advice, just not easy to practice.

For me, it takes conscious effort.

I think about the guy who cut me off, or the situation at work, and I take a deep breath:

This too shall pass.

This is not worth carrying around. 

And carrying it around isn't actually helping anyone!

So get those straws off your back.

See the view again, laugh with your kids.

This was another thing Jesus tried to teach people; if you are tired from carrying around all these mistakes, all these burdens, all these not-good-enoughs, Jesus said come to him and he will show you a new way to live.

He says,

My way is easy, and light. 

Because that is just it.

Life gets heavy when we carry all this garbage around with us.

Banana trees are growing!

Shaving cream and cheese balls...

Let each day begin afresh. (Maybe each hour)

It is amazing how good it feels to set that heavy pack down and see the sunset.

And to leave all the work stress at work and play with your kids.

And to realize that messing up is ok.  You are still loved, you are still valuable.

This is the secret to humble people's happiness:

When you don't take yourself too seriously, you don't take your mistakes too seriously either.

And when you don't take your mistakes too seriously, you can be gentle with the mistakes of others.

So don't just take the straws off your own back, stop putting straws on other people's backs.

And help others get rid of all the ones they are carrying around too.

A Quick Update:

Life here has been full.

We just finished our 3-day staff retreat at Faithful Heart and really had a great time with our house parents and staff.

We are preparing to come to Colorado for a few weeks in June.

We took in some rabbits and they are a big hit at the office.

We welcomed a new college student yesterday and we said goodbye to a college student the week before. 

Some of our girls went to a Youth For Christ camp

Pretty much how we all felt after 3 days in 100 degree temperatures

This sweet lady is a huge blessing to Faithful Heart.  We couldn't do it without Pen!

It is good.  (I need to say that).

Nothing bad is happening.  (I need to say that too).

So don't worry.  Don't carry stress around with you.  Rest.

Thank you for your prayers and support.  They reach further than you know.

May your burden be easy and light.  And may you enjoy all the good all around you.

Learning with you,

Matt, Audrey, Ezra, & Sienna