We're well..., and Nico too!

Yes, we did return to normal life after our adventures in New Zealand. If this blog were your only source of information on us, you have probably been tempted to think that we abandoned all of our committments and normal life to stay in New Zealand for close access to amazing nature and incredibly delicious fresh boysenberry ice cream cones. As locking as those ice creams were, we did make it to the airport in Christchurch and we've been living normal life again since January 4. I have just been rebelling against writing anything, partly feeling empty and partly feeling out of energy for extras like blogging. That said, I find myself often mentally writing a blog, or a letter to someone I love and ought to write (dad? Grammy? Ron? Sorry).

The big news that's compelled me to write this week is that Nico was in for a blood test on Thursday and his platelet count was at 213! That is to say, hooray! We've crossed the border and travelled into healthy territory and we don't need to go back to the doctor until June! Amen! is the word that constantly comes to mind.

From this picture on the left when we first learned about the ITP to the other one on the right taken recently we've been through a lot of blood tests and a few hospital stays. We've been through these six months with a great sense of peace about what's been going on. The beginning was quite scary but as time has gone on we've known God's goodness and trusted His care for Nico. About seven months before all of this started, we stood in the assembly of believers and Nico was baptised. I spoke then about what his (full) name means "victorious people" and how his attitude towards life seems to just belt out to the world that he is victorious. We sang, "The King of Love My Shepherd Is" and I said that in that Shepherd's care, we are victorious; and come what may, this is where Nico's strength and victory lies. May it ever be so.

I might try to do better at blogging; not making any promises though. At least you know the vacation is over.

Pictures

just tried again to load up some images but it just isn't possible with this connection. Maybe later.

On the Road in New Zealand

We arrived in New Zealand on Thursday, December 20 to a day with beautiful blue skies and puffy white clouds. Already on the way to the city from the airport we saw pastures with grazing cattle and knew we’d arrived somewhere that was very other and quite wonderful. In fact, so far on this journey it seems that just about everywhere you go there are pastures with cattle or sheep grazing on them in herds large, medium and small.
We were in Auckland for less than 24 hours but it felt like enough. We enjoyed what we saw of the city (it seems very trendy like Scandinavia) but we didn’t come down here to experience more great urban life. When we moved to Malaysia in 2005 it occurred to us that one of the fringe benefits of living in Malaysia was easier travel to the Oceana region. We’ve been living in Malaysia for two and a half years now. Under our original contract we should have moved back to Sweden in the end of last August but last spring we chose to extend for one more year when presented with the option. So, we began immediately to consider what we’d like to see during the remainder of our stay if it could work out. With Anders’ 40th birthday coming up next week we decided to celebrate it as well as this Christmas in a memorable way. I got on the internet and started looking and dropped an email or two to some different travel agencies and a few months later…. Here we are. I came not knowing what to expect or hope for. I mean, we’re big Lord of the Rings fans so we have had some pretty high expectations on one level but we haven’t been prepared for the truly adventurous nature of New Zealand.
The highways are of good quality and made to get you from town to town but not in the most efficient way and that is just what we needed. The journey here is the destination if you will. We haven’t found ourselves with a list of “must sees” in the various towns on our itinerary but rather we are just cruising along these highways trying to take it all in. We stop when we get a hankering to and then we check out the things that stand out on the map to us as interest catching as well as the things that people we meet recommend.
A lot of people asked before we came if we’d rented a camper we’d be driving around in and I started to worry that we’d made a bad choice by not renting a camper but being here we’re so glad for the tour we’ve chosen. We have little two room apartments at various lodges and motels on the countryside and in the cities we’ve got small apartments lined up that are centrally located. That felt important for us as while we didn’t come here exclusively for the cities we do like cities and wanted to check them out from a good vantage point. But anyway, checking in at all of these little motels and lodges is no hassle at all and we’ve encountered some nice locals in that way. The boys think it is fun checking out each new place for the most part although Nathan can get attached. Just this morning when we were packing up to leave Rotorua he said, “But I really like this motel. I will miss it”. So, we’ve got our cooler bag with us and we are cooking our dinners for the most part and enjoying a sort of normal life but on the road. Speaking of great quotes from the boys, when we were standing by a pier in Auckland harbour the first day we got here, Nils told Anders, “I’m alive again”. I guess he felt pretty rough after the night flight and all of that but it came out very happily and we of course were thrilled to know that our sweet Nils was indeed alive again.
So, all of that to say that we’re off to a great start on our adventure. I’ll try to post less wordy or self-reflective posts from here on out with pictures. Here are a few pics of where we’ve been so far.
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Sorry, I tried to upload images but so far it won't work. I guess it is our connection which isn't so great. We arrived safely in Wellington this afternoon although Nathan was sick throwing up and with some diarhea on the other end plaguing him since 4:30 this morning but the latest three hours have been fine and he walked across downtown with us happily upon our arrival. Will try later to upload some images again but if it fails you'll have to wait until who knows when. Our time for the internet has been non-existent.

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL!

Holiday Ponderings

The pageant season is upon us again… uh, I mean Advent. I love Advent and have tried to consciously engage in waiting for and receiving the gift of the Christ child in my life at this time every year since I chose to follow him. This year has been the most difficult I can remember for various and sundry reasons. For one thing we are not going to celebrate Christmas in the traditional way this year. We’ll be on the road in New Zealand and hopefully there’ll be some new places to stop and welcome Christ with other members of his body along our way.

Several weeks ago at church the children began to practice singing a new song which they will be singing for the all-aged service coming up in a week or so. It seems that an overwhelming majority of churches do have some sort of pageant every year to celebrate Christmas and I remember as a child thinking that it was fun and terrifying all at the same time. The latest few years I’ve found myself with a lot of questions about the whole pageant thing though. Mostly because my children haven’t liked it but also because having children, I have begun to wonder what they are learning through this all.

The first weeks of practice were painfully irritating for me with promises of treats to the children who tried hard. I abhor such ‘promises’ cropping up in the church. I’ve encountered this before in Sunday school settings and it is always much to my disdain. I think someone else must have spoken up because the treats never materialized and the promises stopped. Anyway, we parents have been instructed from the pulpit how important it is that our children memorize the words to this new song that they’re going to have to sing. I’m beginning to feel like this is too big of a deal. Yes, it is important that we come together and remember the amazing act of God taking on the human form born of a woman into lowly conditions. But we must go about it with the right spirit. I mean, the children are learning the intended and unintended lessons that they get through all of this. Does it make sense that just because they are children they should be performing for the rest of the church? At moments it seems to me like this is one of the times of year when it might be the other way around or at least that there could be some interactivity between all of the ages in celebration of Christ’s birth. On the night of the international carol sing, which is very loosely organized but great fun, my son whispered to me, “Christmas is fun”. Being together and singing songs in a relaxed style was worship and he enjoyed that a lot.

Of course, choirs and orchestras must meet to practice for concerts if they are going to make a beautiful sound and I don’t have a problem with that. I just wonder at what age it will begin to feel like a good thing for my kids.

Am I just a lazy mother who is frustrated by one more thing to add to the “to do” list of the holiday season? This could very well be so. Anybody out there feel like their church handles this well? Do you think it is good to go ahead and force your kids to do these things with the idea that they’ll be glad afterwards? Will they be? I’m full of questions and skeptical of all my own answers this holiday season.

Peace of Christ be with every reader who stops in here… and with the millions who’ll never come close to reading this silly blog for that matter. Knowing Christ, that’s what it’s all about.

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For those of you who might wonder, Nico had his monthly blood test on Thursday and his platelet level is still slowly rising. It was at 83 this time. The doctor feels like we should see a big increase when we go in next month. A-a-me-en, A-a-men, Amen!

Remembering

An activity that Christians should engage in regularly is remembering. Throughout scripture we are called to remember. Remember our Creator, who is active and creating even still; remember the poor, who are ever among us and in need of our care; and remember the history of those who’ve gone before us, like Lot’s wife.

Yesterday evening it was remembering that helped me not to completely lose my temper when my youngest son, 1½ years old, dumped the honey and soy sauce mixture bound for the already cooking chicken all over himself and my kitchen floor. “NO!” I shrieked as I saw him drawing it off of the counter top but it was too late. I had no more honey on hand and the usual dinner time hour had already passed so we were hungry and now there was a huge mess everywhere to clean up. Through my mind went all sorts of sanctimonious comments I wanted to hurl at Anders who I’d just moments earlier assigned the job of getting Nico out of my way but on the heels of each remark was the understanding that the roles could so easily have been reversed. And anyway, he was already feeling bad and handling the very messy job of cleaning Nico up and calming him down – he was pretty upset from mamma’s loud “NO!”

For a change, I kept my mouth shut and as I began trying to scoop the sticky mess up into the trash the gift of memory kicked in. I began to remember a visit my family made to Virginia a very looooooong time ago when my brother, maybe age 8 or 9 at the time, shook a bottle of Coke and let it spray all over the kitchen at my Grammy’s house. I guess curiosity got the better of him just like it had gotten the better of Nico. Remembering that I wasn’t the first person having to clean up an unwanted mess at an inconvenient time and place melted away the smugness that I was so ready to display and we had a good, albeit later, dinner in spite of everything.

Remembering can anchor us at humility’s shores and add very important dimension to our otherwise flat and self-satisfied lives. Take the time to remember; your Creator, others, and your history.

Living in Waiting Part I

I am an introvert and a lousy blogger. I’m not sure if a connection between the two can really be made but it is the connection I am making mentally at the moment. Maybe it is just my way of excusing myself but I equate blogging with being social… cyberneticly speaking. Anyway, extroverts talk in order to think and so I think they may more readily be able to blog off the cuff. Social activity is usually arduous for me. I can come home from a “newcomer’s coffee morning” feeling like half of my blood has been sucked out (but please note I still try to stay active because isolation results in even more unhealthy for me). Anyway, here’s what’s been keeping me busy the latest months.

In the beginning of August our youngest son was diagnosed with a blood disorder called ITP. He is by no means the first child to ever be diagnosed with this disorder whose origins are unknown. We feel hopeful that he will be one of the 75% of children who will outgrow ITP in the coming months. But right now we are living “in the mean time” of waiting right now and since the beginning of August that has translated into four different hospital stays and some crummy weeks of the undesirable side-effects of helpful treatments. We have seen direct correlations between praying for health and a healthy platelet level so we are praying and waiting now.

Anyway, a couple of weeks ago we celebrated our 8th wedding anniversary and so far this life together just keeps getting better. Oh, it’s not without its very difficult and painful periods now and then but there is an overarching beauty to it all. It’s so much fun to think back to the beginning about things I’d (already) forgotten about. Thinking about the future is damn near frightening as I realize that the future is right there on our doorstep – I mean eight years have passed at what right now feels like light speed and in an equal amount of time more we’ll have been together for 16 years! We’d be entitled to the equivalent of a joint driver’s license with those kinds of numbers.

Our oldest son started school when all of the ITP stuff broke loose. That was a real disappointment for me as one has some pre-conceived ideas about their child's first day of school. For me that was dropping him off lovingly but with great anxiety on our way to meet the pediatric hematologist for the first time; and having him picked up by my best friend at the end of his school day. But the good news was that she was there and we have been so humbled by the many ways in which she has been willing to serve us and our children as we've lived through the latest months. In spite of having his home life be quite unpredictable for his first weeks at school, he has thrived and loves going to kindergarten.

God is here, working daily in our midst. Sometimes He’s brought us home-cooked dinner and many times fellowship that is more nourishing than any casserole could be. Other times He moves me to repentance for my MANY shortcomings in light of His abundant sufficiency. If I were self-sufficient, I would have missed out on some truly beautiful acts of grace and mercy in the latest months.

At the end of next week we will be checking out Bangkok for a few days. What we’re really getting geared up over is the trip to New Zealand we’ll be taking at the end of this year. What do people in New Zealand do for Christmas and New Year holidays? Carol Anne, if you should peek in here, NZ won over Australia. I’m sorry I’ve been miserable at staying connected in the blogosphere. My husband still has some hope of us visiting Australia before we leave Malaysia so there’s some hope for a cup of coffee with you yet.

Thanks for stopping by. Keep us in your prayers, especially Nico and his sticky little platelets.

Peace of Christ to you!

Here is a book review I wrote for the St. Andrew's blog which has just recently gotten started. I hope it draws more attention than this blog does :)

Eve's Revenge - A Review

Never judge a book by its cover. That is one of the first, and for some of us continual, lessons we human beings learn about knowing others. With a slightly confrontational title like Eve’s Revenge, we’d do well to apply this lesson to books too. In her debut book by that title, Lilian Calles Barger explores what, if any, meaning the body has for us and how, as committed Christians, we should live in light of that. But beware – this is no self-help book, nor is it an instruction manual. Barger has been on a journey and she invites us to journey alongside her and make our own assessment which is one of the things I really appreciate about this book.

As I read the early chapters of this book, I felt an increasing heaviness over the ways in which women try to measure up to false standards of beauty, value, and success fed to us by incessant media broadcasts and advertisements. We are all born into imperfect bodies with imperfect souls but there’s an endless range of products and services available to help us in our quest to measure up. Religious and non-religious women alike are lured to either renounce the body as having nothing to do with the true self; or use their resources to take control over their body – even alter it, to create a culturally acceptable identity for themselves. But those diverging paths do not lead to integrated lives. We need lives that have meaning where our embodied experience points us to greater realities beyond ourselves.

There is one who we can look to as we seek, in Barger’s words, “a spirituality that allows us to remain in the body as we reach for something greater and outside ourselves, along with a social vision that redeems the whole person in community and in place.” It is none other than Jesus of Nazareth who came to give us abundant life. In his ministry on earth, Jesus treated women inclusively as able-bodied participants in ushering in the Kingdom of God among us. In a culture where women’s bodies were often seen as unclean, he was not afraid to extend his healing touch, welcoming all who would come to him into God’s peace and freeing them from a life of exclusion. He teaches us by his example to live lives of congruence between body and spirit in the places where we find ourselves today. Reading this book has reinforced my love for Jesus and it has awakened in me a desire to see other women know him and live lives of wholeness in Christ-centred community.

For those of us within the church this book is a wake-up call to begin thinking about our bodies as God’s good creation, bearing His image. We must realize that the things we do to our individual bodies have a communal significance. As the body of Christ on earth, our uniqueness is not something that we should harbour to ourselves but like our Lord we are to work towards reconciling a lost world to the transforming love of God. If you want to know where a lot of searching women are, and you doubt that the church has anything to offer them, may I suggest you read this book?