the little graces

My class is such an extraordinary mix of so many fun(and occasionally frustrating) personalities. At the end of the day, sometimes, my mind chooses to dwell on the difficulties of the day, rather than the blessings. 

The other day, we started the class looking at the verse, "Do everything without complaining or arguing." -Phil. 2:14

As much as I thought my kids needed to hear that verse, I needed it just as much. Complaining tends to take our focus away from the small gifts that God has placed in front of us. We walk around like a horse with blinders, not willing to focus and not even wanting to see those little graces that God has placed all around us. 

What do we need to do for our eyes to be opened? How to we stop the downward spiral of discontentment and complaining from overwhelming us? It takes slowing down from the busyness of the day to focus on the good things.

I want to ask for prayer for myself and my class. I daily need wisdom with how to handle the small outbreaks in class.  As sixth graders, they're at such a transitional age where they want to be adults, but still act like little kids. Lately there have been so many petty arguments as well as instances of bullying. I want to ask for prayer for peace in my classroom as well as for Love to be the ruling factor and not hatred.  I also ask for prayer that my response would not be out of frustration or anger towards them. Again, it's the blind eyes that keep me from seeing the good things that happen all throughout the day.

There are so many cultures and religions represented in my class and I get the chance each morning to share the gospel with them. I want them to know that they have a Savior who cares for them so much that, unlike the other religions, they don't have to do  a list of things for God to love them. 

Sometimes I feel as if my words fall on deaf ears, but I know that even in those instances, God's hand is at work.

Isaiah 55:11

It is the same with my word.

    I send it out, and it always produces fruit.
It will accomplish all I want it to,

    and it will prosper everywhere I send it. 

Other times I feel like I have to be the one to change them. That I am responsible for their souls, as if it was up  me. I have to completely lay my heart before God to realize that He is the one who changes hearts and not me. Knowing that, my battle should be done through prayer and not in the classroom. I ask for you to join arms with me in prayer to fight for the lives of my students. 

Blessings,

Liz

"Be joyful always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." -I Thes. 5:16-18

Birthday

Happy Birthday Daddy-O!

Today is my dad's birthday, and because I love him, I sometimes call him Daddy-o. 

To a fabulous dad who's been sick with the flu for the past week, Happy Birthday from your daughter across the sea!

So, because it's his birthday I just want to reminisce about some of my favorite moments with my dad.

To top it all, I think my favorite memory was the time that the two of us went camping together, no brother's just the two of us. 

My dad is  the ultimate do-it yourself man. If there was ever a job that needed to be done, he would go to the library and pick out a stack of books, and somehow figure out how to do it.(Now he mostly looks online) He taught himself car mechanics, gardening and how to build a house, as well as a list of other things.

It's crazy to think about how little we knew about gardening, when we first moved to South Carolina.When I was around six we got some beautiful red flowers and planted them straight into the hard clay, not realizing that there was no way for them to grow in that soil.

Around that same time, I think I gave my dad the same present for a couple of birthdays and Christmases. I would go out into the backyard and find a small sapling from an oak or pine tree. I was so excited to give my dad his very own tree! I thought it was the coolest thing ever and thankfully his enthusiasm matched mine as he opened his homemade present.

I also have to thank my dad for teaching me some mad cooking skills. Some of our favorite times have been working together in the kitchen to make up some fabulous new concoction.

At the airport before heading back to Nigeria. 

Dad, may God bless you in the next year of your life!

Love,

Liz

 "The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you. The Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace."
-Numbers 6:24-26

Fast from Facebook

I feel as if I must give my anti social media Facebook spiel. I never thought I would say this, but it is time that I got off the world of Facebook for a while. Several years ago, when one of my good friends was living in Europe, she deleted her Facebook account. As a friend back home, I was disappointing because that was my way of communicating with her, but I completely understand now.

Facebook has become something that is unhealthy in my life. I apologize if this was your way of keeping in touch with me, but let me just list 5 little reasons why I will be fasting from Facebook for lent, and possibly beyond.

1. Time Zone. When I go onto Facebook in the morning, I'm just seeing what all of my friends did the previous evening. It's like getting yesterday's news a day late. When I go on at night, most people are at work, and the only ones who are on Facebook, are usually posting some silly article or survey to find out "What Disney character are you most like?" or something to that effect. In other words, junk.

2. It makes me feel icky. Just the other day, I was reading the following in my devotion book, Jesus Calling.

 "Stop judging yourself and evaluating yourself, for this is not your role. Above all else, stop comparing yourself to other people. This produces feelings of pride or inferiority; sometimes a mixture of both."

That very afternoon, I got on Facebook, and within seconds I felt crushed and pretty worthless. Seconds. That's all it took for me to go from having a pretty great day to feeling awful. I don't want to judge myself by others, or feel less valued because God has brought me to live somewhere so completely different than anywhere else.

3. Time. I end up wasting so much time that could be spend doing something more productive. If I am spending more time on social media sites, than I am spending in the Word, or in prayer, then I have a problem.

4. Facebook is not the real deal. I realized that I get on Facebook when I'm most missing family and friends back home, and guess what, it only makes me miss people that much more. Which in my case this = Liz is sad, Liz goes on Facebook and gets even more sad. Ahh, thanks for the help.

5. Living in the Moment.  Be all there. I want to be satisfied with where I am, not longing for something else or something yet to come. For years, I've struggled with being able to live and take joy in my present circumstances, without trying to look forward to the future, thinking it's going to be better than what I already have been given.

"Wherever you are, be all there! Live to the hilt every situation you believe to be the will of God." 
 -Jim Elliot 

Did you know that wikiHow actually has an article to help people who are recovery Facebookers?

Now, in no way to do I believe that everyone should leave Facebook immediately because it is the root of all kinds of evils. But I just wanted to let you, my friends, know why I will be taking a break from it.

Thanks for the understanding, and if you ever need to reach me, you can email or text me :)
email: etathtebazile@gmail.com

Blessings,

Liz

French Onion Soup

I got a good hankering for a bowl of warm French Onion Soup, complete with the crusty french baguette and cheese. I wanted a soup that would take me back to that cafe in the Latin Quarter. That kind of food just can't be found around these parts, so I decided to make my own.

Now, my finished result is a far cry from that warm steaming bowl of heaven that I had on that chilly day in Paris, but I do have to say, despite all of the complications, it did hit the spot.

The oven is difficult to regulate, beef broth is unheard of here, and Gruyere is impossible to find, unless it is specially flown in, so all of that in account, this is what I got.

Oh, by the way, I am currently in love with  Peter Reinhardt and his bread recipes.  He has breadmaking down to a science and it is wonderful!

On top of a fabulous dinner, I was so excited to remember this afternoon that today is Mardi Gras! It was night to end the day with a French twist.

Blessings,

Liz

Baby Naming

Today I went to my fist baby naming ceremony. I intended to go to one last semester, but at that point I was new to Nigeria and didn't realize that when an event says that it starts at 5:00 it could be an hour later before it actually begins.

This time, I went with a group of my fellow teachers. Abigail, the aid for 4th-6th grade, had a baby last week. Here, they don't announce the name of their child for a week or two. A lot of effort goes into the naming of the child. Often family members are allowed to give a name. 

When they do choose the names, they have  a big party with a pastor, praying, and singing. In typical Nigerian fashion, every even is accompanied with food as well. Every guest got a pack of food, Jollaf rice, to take home. 

So what is this cute, curly haired little boy's name?

It's: Montunbolade, Michaelangelo, Oluwanifise, Oluwaferanmi, Oriniyin, Oluwafunmibi, Oluwapamilerin, Kendrick, Eden, Jose, Akanbi 

"A good name is to be chosen rather than great riches, and favor is better than silver or gold."

Proverbs 22:1

Lebanese Church

Last night one of my roommates and I went to compound where the Lebanese Maronite church is located. Everyone here just calls it the Lebanese Church. I've been wanting to check out the place for quite a while now.  On the weekends, many of our Lebanese students (whether Muslim or Christian) go to the church for dinner and fellowship. The compound is fairly large with a basketball court, playground, and some grassy areas for the kids to play, while the adults catch up. Occasionally, instead serving dinner in a restaurant style, they will have a barbecue or some other large gathering.

I think I've already mentioned how much I love Lebanese food, but if I haven't, I do love it. Especially their barbecues, which consist of grilled kabobs. The one think I don't know if I'll ever get used to the late night dinners that the Lebanese have. One friend told me that growing up, his family never had dinner before 10:00 pm.

Last night we arrived around 8:00 pm. to a sparsely packed Lebanese Church, but by 9:00 it was fairly packed with adults sitting at the tables and kids running all around the place. Although I couldn't understand half of the conversations being held in Lebanese Arabic, I thoroughly enjoyed people watching. The closest thing to the Lebanese culture that I've experienced would have to be the Greek culture. I think that just about every male over 18 had a cigarette in their mouth the entire evening. On top of that, the hookahs were brought out to every table, so they alternated between a smoke of cigarette and a puff on the hookah. Although I don't recall many women smoking cigarettes, quite a few were smoking the hookah.

Between the hummus, chicken kabobs, za'taar bread, and suya (goat meat), the dinner did not disappoint. Towards the end of the dinner, the DJ started playing a mix of western and Lebanese songs. I joined the dancing for some of the songs, but didn't know the footwork for the Lebanese songs, so I sat back and enjoyed the people watching.

Blessings,

Liz

Jesus Kids

"Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this:to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself polluted by the world. "

     -James 1:27

Since coming back to for this semester, my roommates and I have been visiting Jesus Kids, a home for disabled children. The woman who started the home saw a need, and acted on it. She is the kind of woman who exudes warmth and compassion. She seems to be always smiling, even with dirty diapers, drool and and other messes. She radiates the love that comes from God and had become a mother to the motherless. 

Her "children" range from several months to probably close in age to herself. Those who can talk endearingly call her, "mamma." I've gotten to know the kids a little better each time I go and also learn more about their stories. There's the adorable 2 year old, Abigail, who doesn't have any physical needs, but was sent to the home as a starving infant because her family couldn't take care of here. 

Some of the kids have families and others are completely orphaned. In a place where physical disabilities are a hindrance and looked down on, this woman has opened her home and heart to so many children. In fact, she doesn't view them as her own, but JESUS KIDS. 

This morning she was telling me that she's been trying to raise enough money to be able to rent the small building accross the street so that she can Lord willing, take in more children, but also have a place for the kids the do physical therapy. As it is, she takes around 6 of the kids several times a week for physical therapy, and it's quite expensive. I asked where most of we funding comes from and she sort gave a little laugh, and told me that it comes mostly from individuals, and some churches. 

How can I even explain the joy that this one hour with them brings. It's so little time, I wish I had more, but when we sing praise songs and hear their squeals of joy. Or watch them listening to the bible lesson, I just get teary eyed. They have so little, but I have never seen anyone complain. When we bring toys, their faces light up with the excitement of something new. 

I ask of your prayers for these children. I ask that if possible you prayerfully consider helping to support them. I would love to raise some money to help them out. I'll be heading back to the states in April for one of my best friend's wedding, so if you have anything to share please let me know. 

Blessings,

Liz

"Whoever gives to the poor will lack nothing. But a curse will come upon those who close their eyes to poverty. "

      -Prov. 28:27