Power of Pants

Never underestimate the power of a comfy pair of pants.

Like a good pair of jeans. You know the ones. They might be brand new, or well-worn, but I can assure you that you won't give them up until you're forced to because they absolutely don't fit at all anymore or they are shredding themselves into larger and larger holes. They are the jeans that you put on after a long day in slacks, or when you finally get to peel off the grubby work clothes. Those jeans that make you strut around like the best-looking person in the world even while you slum around on the couch. Those jeans.

They turn a bad day good. A tense body relaxes. The belt marks on the belly go away as you finally get freedom.You let your hair down, be yourself, enjoy yourself. Never underestimate the power of a good pair of jeans.

Or, those crazy hippy pants that have become popular. That material that caresses the skin and looks like pajamas but has somehow become acceptable in public. You can wear them slouchy or skinny. Pulled up under the knees or down by the ankles. Pants that are like a comfy hug. Regardless of how you feel about that style, the material on your legs is fantastic.

Of course, you can also wrap yourself in a cozy blanket. But here in León, Nicaragua, it's too warm for that. So pants it is.

Never underestimate the power of the pants. They can change your world.

P.S. If you were expecting rant about gender, that could work too. But tonight it's just about pants. that are comfortable.

#Thankyoutoday

During this time of Lent, it's easy to focus on giving up things. But what about giving away things? Isn't that really the point of Lent? Pope Francis has urged people to fast from indifference as we turn our hearts toward Christ's passion. Last year I was made aware of a group in the UK called Stewardship, and during Lent they encourage acts of generosity. In fact, I even already blogged about this idea ...here... This year again I'm receiving their daily email challenges to do an act of generosity each day of Lent.

My prayer for this forty days is: "teach me to live with open hands." This has been my prayer longer than this Lent period, but it is still relevant. When I think of living with open hands, I think of sharing freely. Letting go of my phone, my broom, my computer, my task list and being able to take someone else by the hand. If I open my hands, I let go of control, recognizing that I'm not in charge anyways. The idea of open hands teaches me to be less territorial, less driven, less tense. I doubt I'll learn the lesson before April 6. But it's still my prayer.

Open hands are also a gesture of receiving. When I open my palm, someone else can put something into it... a hand, a gift, a job, a kiss. And we all need to receive these good things. Thankfulness is one way that we can live openly. When we say thank you to someone else, we are recognizing them. We are opening ourselves up to them. We are acknowledging that we received something from them.

Dot Tyler, the writer for today's act of generosity, says:

We live in a world where it is all too easy to be overwhelmed by difficulties, our personal challenges or the news of a world that is broken and crying out for help. Thankfulness instils in us a gratitude for what we do have. The more we practise an attitude of gratitude, the more I think God inspires us to be generous and live for hope, choosing to defy the odds and believe that a better tomorrow is possible.
Today is not just another day; today is an opportunity to invest in thankfulness and be seekers of hope and positivity. With this in mind, let’s join together and…

And thank someone! Most importantly, God. Because all good gifts come from him. But thanking the Lord and neglecting the people around us is not enough. So today, a few of the things and people I am thankful for:

- I thank God for my family because they have raised me to seek Jesus in every part of my life, and they support me in whatever I feel like God is asking me to do. I can talk with them, cry with them, pray with them. Thank you, Mom and Dad, for modeling what it means to seek the Lord's will in your lives: work, play, family, church, everything. Thank you, Dirk, for being a brother who both annoys and supports. Without you, I don't know who I would fight with on lousy days or laugh with on good days. Thank you for being people I admire.

 - I thank God for my housemate, Kelsey. Even when her dumb cat wakes me up in the middle of the night or trips me trying to get attention. Kelsey, thanks for being someone I can rant to, bother, watch shows and movies with, confide in, and be there for.

- I'm thankful for the partnerships that I get to be a part of. Every visit with pastoral couples here in León or Chinandega, the week-long visits from people who live in Pella or Hamilton, the emails that fly between them when they are not together. I'm thankful that I get to see their enthusiasm, their joy, their struggles, and their desire to serve the Lord in their cities as well as collaborate across international borders. Thank you for being people who inspire me.

- I'm also thankful for the practice of fasting. The León pastors explained the Nicaraguan practice of fasting from food to me and how it's a scheduled, specific time of drawing apart here. They recommended it as the most effective spiritual discipline because it reminds us to depend on God. They encouraged me to try it even though I don't have much experience with fasting. I've read about and tried fasting before, but I never really know how to do it. However, with their encouragement, I'm exploring what it means to give up physical food and focus on the spiritual sustenance that the Holy Spirit can provide. I am thankful for this spiritual discipline, and for grace in knowing that change comes step by step.

When I take time to feed on the Word, pray with others, and dedicate time with God, I can be more generous and live with open hands because I know the One who is really in control. When I take time to thank God and others for their influence and involvement in my life, it gives life to them and to me. Thankfulness is an act of generosity with ourselves and others. Let's be catalysts of generosity today through our thankful attitudes.

Seasonal work

While some people are shivering in the cold North and envying the eternal heat of Nicaragua, they are also thanking the Lord that they come from a climate with four seasons.

Well, I'll tell you that people who say that Nicaragua does not experience seasons are propagating a myth. We have seasons, I tell you! There's the rainy season that starts around May, then the mid-winter sunshine that gives your clothes a chance to actually dry on the line in mid-July. Rain starts up again in August, but by now everything is bursting with color, flowers, mud, etc. At least the streets aren't flowing with the garbage build up of several months anymore. Around November, the rain stops coming every day, and in December and January the nights can get downright chilly. I'm talking hoodie weather if you have fully acclimatized! Then February comes with wind and heat, and you think that maybe you were Shadrach in a former life because it sure feels like a furnace, and the convection oven steam kicks in hotter and hotter through March and April until the rains come again in May. See? We definitely have seasons. Granted, the temperatures still range between 75-95 C all the time, but we will take what we get. 

In the midst of the cool nights turning to burning furnace weather comes another special season for the Nehemiah Center... TEAMS. They start arriving in January and don't let up until the end of March. Thankfully, I'm not involved in every team like some of my coworkers. I just deal with partnership teams, meaning we have some kind of relationship between North America and Nicaragua all year round, not just a yearly visit. 

Though teams are great fodder for blog material, they leave me so busy or exhausted that I don't have time or energy to write. Instead I hear the comments about whether or not I have left the country, been ill, or possibly even died. Well, that's what happens when I disappear for 10 days at a time with a group of strangers to take care of their details, translate, and help bridge gaps between the home and visiting teams. In the end, though, we're all players. (I wanted to say basketball, but that's just because I'm from Indiana. You can think of any sport you like.) 

Thankfully, I have fulfilled my team duties for the next month or so... I just have to prepare for one coming in March. They are another partnership team (really, those are the only teams I deal with if I can help it), and they were the first team I met last year when I came to Nicaragua. This is a partnership with churches in León, so I get to be on my home turf when they come.

Besides preparing for the next team, I've been sorting out visa issues, catching up on meetings and paperwork, and attending meetings. A lot of meetings have come up because I'm the main note-taker for the long-term strategic planning committee that is meeting now to determine the Nehemiah Center's direction for the next 5 years. We are also trying to get a hold of IMPACT club direction again. Some are struggling after the Christmas break (if they weren't struggling before!). So there are some projects which are consistent, but most of them have come upon me all at once. Oh well, when it rains, it pours. I guess I'll have to go find my umbrella or a good book to deal with the rainy days. Figuratively speaking, since it's quite dry and sunny here for the season. :)