Christmas, Christmas time is here

...time for toys and time for cheer
We've been good but we can't last
Hurry Christmas, hurry fast

I think this silly chipmunks song -- even though I find the chipmunks' squeeky voices a bit annoying, and I haven't listened to that Christmas tape in years -- perfectly sums up my childish anticipation when it comes to Christmas. That's probably why it's been stuck in my head for the last few days.

Today I'm enjoying a somewhat lazy day because I finished my Christmas shopping, gave out all the invitations to our Christmas program, got the cards off in the mail, sent email or facebook greetings to everyone else, and I'm feeling very happy and accomplished. Starting from tomorrow we have busy programs going through Christmas day, so it's nice to sit and relax, enjoy the pretty tree, lights, and decorations, and tell myself that soon I will get up and see to the housework.

Yesterday one of my friends suggested moving some of the Christmas day celebrations, particularly opening the presents to the 26th, and I went a bit balistic. You'd have thought he was trying to cancel Christmas or something. In actuality his reasoning was good. We are going to be pretty rushed on Christmas day. But really I'm just a little kid inside who can't wait to open her presents...hurry Christmas hurry fast...

But really I think it's nice to be able to act a bit childish once in a while, especially if it means keeping that sense of childish wonder and enjoyment. After all, this is the time when we remember that God's son, probably one of the most powerful beings around, was born into the body of a little tiny and helpless baby, just because He loves us. It doesn't really matter how many times I've heard, told, or celebrated the story, I still think it's pretty awesome.

Christmas cookies & bazaars

For me a huge part of Christmas is baking. I love making desserts any time of year and for any occasion, but Christmas just isn’t Christmas without cookies, and nothing looks more Christmassy than prettily decorated sugar cookies.

This year my friend, Lily, encouraged me to make them to sell at one of the Christmas bazaars we always have a table at, and they were pretty popular. I was very happy with the little flowers and stars covered in red, green, and white sprinkles.

Here’s the recipe I used:

I like this one particularly because it uses sour cream which gives a bit more of a kick to the flavour of the cookies. Sugar cookies can tend to be a bit plain.

1 cup sugar (these are not very sweet, you could even add a little more sugar)

1 cup shortening (I use a combination of butter and oil, it mixes up better than just using butter)

1 egg

1 cup of sour cream (or use thick yogurt if you don’t have sour cream)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

About 4 ¾ cups flour (you really do need all this flour)

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

¼ teaspoon salt

Combine first 3 ingredients; beat until light and fluffy. Stir in sour cream and vanilla mixing well. Combing flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt; add to creamed mixture, beating well (at this point you’ll have to use your hands or a fork instead of a whisk). Chill dough at least 1 hour.

Divide dough into thirds; work with one-third of dough at a time, keeping remaining dough refrigerated. Roll out onto a lightly floured surface to 1/8 inch thickness; cut into desired shapes. Place cookies on lightly greased cookie sheets. Bake at 350 degrees (170 C) for 10 minutes or until very lightly browned.

To decorate the cookies, apply sprinkles or colored sugar before baking.

Some more interesting decorating tips I found but didn’t have time to try:

Mix an egg yolk with a drop or two of food coloring. Paint onto the cookie before baking.

Ice with royal icing (there are lots of recipes for this, and they generally all call for egg white, so you could use the yolk for painting and then pipe designs with a different coloured icing afterward)

All recipes has an excellent looking recipe for icing that only calls for mixing a little milk and corn syrup into the icing sugar. I didn’t try it, but it looks much simpler than royal icing.

The Advent of Christmas

I remember the first Advent calendar I had as I child. I was probably about ten years old, and my friends and I would race to the calendar each day and fight over who’s turn it was to open the window. It was just a simple calendar with pictures behind the little flaps. Now you can get ones with chocolates, or other sorts of surprises inside. Still I felt such excitement opening each window and counting down the days until Christmas Eve.


Today I was thinking about how wonderful it is that it’s the start of December with a whole month to enjoy the Christmas spirit. Each day is like opening the little calendar window and seeing what new surprises lie in wait for us.

This month I want to take time to appreciate the simple joys in every day. Little things like a hot cup of coffee in the morning, a transport vehicle pulling up right when I need one, or taking a pleasant walk in the sun when the traffic is blocked. Going up on the roof to take a warm nap in the sun when not feeling well. Coming home from a long day out tired and loaded down with bags, but happy to have found the perfect gift for a friend.

These are some of the little things that are making this a perfect Christmas month.

Happy December

It's December 1st and it's starting to feel a lot like Christmas! I like cold winters, though unfortunately there is no snow in Kathmandu valley.

To get in the mood for Christmas I'm getting an early start on my Christmas shopping. It may not seem like an early start for all those in the US where Christmas starts right after Thanksgiving, but here it's a little different.

Nepal doesn't really celebrate Christmas. The big holidays here are in October/November. Christmas has slowly been picking up popularity, but you still can find people who don't really know what it is other than that it's a western holiday.

This means that I do miss out on some things like the fantastic light displays people in other countries put up in their front yards, hearing Christmas music play in almost every store; but at the same time we also miss all the major commercialism of Christmas, which is actually quite nice.

Starting this weekend we have several programs coming up during the month, so I'll try -- internet and electricity permitting -- to update more frequently. And I hope you are all enjoying a good start to this month and feeling Christmassy. Here's a nice Christmas thought:

A Christmas candle is a lovely thing;

It makes no noise at all,

But softly gives itself away;

While quite unselfish, it grows small.

—Eva K. Logue

more photos from October

Facepainting at a children's birthday party



A fruit market near the school I teach at



October Photos -- Holiday fun

During Dasain (Nepal's biggest holiday) with the girls from Humla House



Just a bit of the delicious lunch prepared for a special holiday meal



Happy Holidays

 

This is Good

I'm taking a break from writing while I recover from an eye infection -- two weeks now -- so here is something  from this month's Activated. Hope you like it as much as I did.

An African Folktale

The story is told of an African king and his close friend, who had grown up together. The king’s friend had a habit of looking at every situation positively and remarking, “This is good!”

One day the king went on a hunting expedition, and he gave his friend the job of loading his guns and handing them to him. Apparently the friend did something wrong at some point, because one gun misfired and blew the king’s thumb off.

“This is good!” the king’s friend remarked as usual.

“No, this is not good!” the king replied, and he sent his friend to jail.

About a year later, the king was hunting in an area that he shouldn’t have ventured into. Cannibals captured him and took him to their village. They tied his hands, bound him to a stake in the ground, and stacked firewood around his feet. However, just as they were about to set fire to the wood, they noticed that the king was missing a thumb. The cannibals had a superstition that forbad them from eating anyone who was less than whole, so they untied the king and sent him on his way.

As the king traveled home, he was reminded of the event that had taken his thumb, and he regretted the way he had treated his friend. He went straight to the jail and released his friend.

“You were right,” the king said. “It was good that my thumb was blown off.” And he proceeded to tell his friend about his brush with death. “I am sorry for sending you to jail for so long,” he said. “That was very bad of me!”

“No,” his friend replied, “this is good!”

“What do you mean, ‘This is good’? How could it be good that I sent my friend to jail for a year?”

“If I had not been in jail,” the king’s friend replied, “I would have been with you.” ■

Meditation Exercise

This is a great meditation to try out. It's one of my favorites, probably because of how much I love the ocean. I can't get to an ocean right now, seeing as I live in a landlocked country, but I can sure pull up many images of beaches, sea water, and waves in my mind. Just thinking about it as I type this is making me feel more peaceful already. You should take a minute or two and try it.

***

Close your eyes and relax. Breathe deeply.


Now picture yourself sitting on the shore of a pristine beach with white sands. There’s a gorgeous view not only in front of you, but all around you. You’re sitting on the shore, close to the water’s edge, looking out over the ocean, toward the horizon.

Slowly now, the tide comes in, and very gently, the small waves begin to lap against you. As the water touches you, it soothes and caresses you. The waters are filled with spirit and life, and you partake of that as these peaceful waves flow toward you. Then they carry away from you stress, tension, worry, fear, and sadness.

There’s not a sound to be heard except for the lapping of the waves and the wind softly blowing. The breeze blowing against the water creates a fine mist. It’s soothing and refreshing.

There’s a message in the wind, though not one that you can hear or make out its words. It’s a message of the spirit that speaks directly to your heart. Your heart and spirit understand, and you open your soul to receive this message, the song of the wind. It’s a song of peace, of understanding, of rest and quiet.

Let the refreshing mist of tranquillity cleanse and rejuvenate you.

"Be still, and know that I am God." (Psalm 46:10)

reorganizing, etc

To all returning readers, thanks for bearing with me while I’ve been away. For the last couple weeks I’ve been busy with work and with a difficult problem that’s consumed a fair bit of my time and mental energy. But I’m so thankful to have now reached the end of the most pressing part of the problem, and to be able to take some time to relax and reorganize.

I just got the last of my things shipped from South Africa, so with winter coming up, I am sorting all my stuff out, and rearranging everything.

It’s always amazing to me how much stuff we manage to collect and carry around. I think this applies to not only things, but also mental and emotional baggage. Like any baggage, a lot of it is good and useful stuff that we need to have with us, knowledge and experience that we’ve gained over the years, important facts, and truths to rely on.

But I’m sure that if we took the time to take stock of all the thoughts and feelings that we’ve held on to, we would realize that a fair amount of it falls into the category of useless, and sometimes even harmful things. You know, those memories we hold on to of some wrong done, blame we carry with us for our part in a negative experience, thought patterns we’ve developed that aren’t exactly the right way of looking at things.

It’s good to occasionally give our hearts and minds a “spring cleaning” (or in my case right now a winter cleaning) as well. Working through a problematic situation presents a good opportunity to sort some of these things out, clean out the mental closet, and put everything in the proper order.

As stressful as the problem may have been, now I’m coming out of this difficulty feeling more relaxed, refreshed, and with new insight and experience, and for that I’m very thankful.

Cookies & Milk

In my current living arrangement I don't get a chance to cook much. Two of the people I share an appartment with are excellent cooks, and are even happy to throw a simple meal together when they get home late after a long day of work. To be honest after spending a year managing a kitchen for a center of 16 people I'm pretty happy to take a break from kitchen, cooking, and food service.

But because I can't stay out of the kitchen entirely I've taken on baking as my department. A couple times a week we host classes and meetings at our place, so I have plenty of opportunity to experiment with recipes, and come up with just the right variations that are a hit.

Here's my adapted recipe for oatmeal raisin cookies. When it comes out right, this one is always popular.

Oatmeal Cookies

Soften:

1/2 cup butter (you can replace part of this with oil if it makes it easier to mix)

Add and mix well:

3/4 cup sugar

Beat in until smooth:

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 tablespoon milk

Sift together, then add to the wet ingredients:

1 cup flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

After the batter is beaten smooth then add:

1 cup oats

1/2 cup raisins

Drop cookies 2 inches apart on a well greased cookie sheet and bake about 10 minutes or until light golden brown in 180 degree C (375 F) oven. (These need to be well baked. They'll firm up a little as they cool but won't get too dry.) One recipe makes about 30 to 36 cookies.

Get a big glass of cold milk or mug of hot coffee and enjoy.


Book Review -- One Unknown

I know I originally said that I'd review an Agatha Christie novel next, but I think that can wait seeing as it's not a particularly wonderful one, and this book fits in better with my overall theme here.

So today I want to talk about One Unknown by Gill Hicks, survivor of the London bombings in 2005. As a result of the bomb attack Gill became a double amputee after loosing both her legs. In this memior Gill tells her remarkable story of life before and after the bombing. Through perseverance, positiveness, and an enjoyable sense of Australian humour Gill make a complete comeback with a new sense of priorities.

I give this book five stars out of five as I found it so motivating and inspiring. Never once did I feel that Gill wanted us to feel sorry for her, rather that she is sharing her story to present what she's learned through a difficult, but life changing experience, so that we can all gain something from her lessons as well. If you haven't yet read this book, I'd definitely recomend it.

Patience and Perseverance

A year ago, I was in South Africa brainstorming ways to pay for a visit to Nepal. One of the ideas I had was to set up an art exhibition. The main obstacle – I hadn’t painted anything in months, and looking back now, I realize that I really wasn’t that good then.

Time passed. My plans changed, and I bought a one way ticket to Nepal. As I was leaving I switched to brainstorming ways to pay for visit back to South Africa. Again I thought of the painting idea. This time I realized it would take more time and practice. Six months, I thought, and then I can sell lots of pictures and make a lot of money.

In the beginning of the year I enrolled in art college and started painting properly for the first time in years. I realized how much I had to learn. Now, after seven months of study and practice, a friend at a gallery has offered to buy a small painting from me, for a small amount of money. I’ve become more realistic about my skills and progress, and am thrilled to have gotten this far.

I was thinking about this today, and I realized that I usually don’t like things that take time. I start out with a huge goal, an unrealistic one, and at the first obstacle I run into, I quit. I’m not good at plodding and making the slow but steady progress that’s needed to get ahead in life. But the majority of success stories will involve a background of hard work, of trial and error, and of a large number of failures. What turned them into successes was the patience and perseverance involved.

A lot of people I know, myself included, are going through changes right now – career changes, lifestyle changes, changes in ideology and mindsets. And no matter how good they are for us, these changes are never easy to make. Even harder, is to stick through the trial and error process involved in getting it right. We naturally want the first thing we do to work out wonderfully, and be a smashing success. But that’s not the way life works.

The experiments are all part of the process, and the best things in life, the greatest successes, reaching that feeling of fulfillment and satisfaction, all takes time. A big part of making changes is finding out what doesn’t work to get to what does, or making adjustments to the things that do work to make them even better.

My prayer is that we will all have the patience, perseverance, and sense of adventure needed to ride out the changes in our lives and make them a success.

where are the updates?

I know this is a question returning readers will have from time to time. Seeing as it is usually for the same reason I'd like to put up a one time disclaimer/explaination as to why I can't update as often as I'd like to.

It's simply one of the disadvantages of living in a third world country -- unreliable internet and electricity. And it will only continue to get worse as we enter the dry months of winter. It's hydroelectric power and not enough is generated to supply the country's needs. Last winter we had up to 16 hours of power cuts per day.

Then there's the factor that when the power is on we've been getting somewhere between 180 to 200 volts instead of 220 so everything runs just a bit slower. Sometimes I go three or four days before I get a good strong connection that allows me to put things up, even then uploading pictures is difficult. Not that I'm complaining, just explaining.

So in the words of the luvets "Don't go away. We'll be rrriiight back."

And in the mean time if you have a minute pray that the powerplants stay up and running; that we get some rain this winter; and that there can eventually be a solution to the power problem. Thanks.

If you need a good laugh

Then follow the link to this blog post

Because I Said So- The official Blog of Author and Mom Blogger Dawn Meehan

This is a blog that I visit from time to time, and this post about American Football terms totally cracked me up. I was laughing so hard, that I was happy no one was home to see me and think I'd gone crazy. The funny definitions of all the terms are just brilliant. I hope you enjoy it too.

Under stress?

After reading a short article on managing stress, I asked the students in my English class to each say one thing they find helps them deal with stress in their lives. I got the usual answers right away, “Pray to God”, “Take a few minutes for quiet meditation”, “Try to find the solution to the problem that’s causing stress”. But one woman gave a different answer. She said, “I go somewhere by myself, don’t talk to my family, and I keep saying to myself ‘I am in stress’.”

After telling her the correct term is “under stress”, I asked her to explain what she meant. It didn’t seem to me that telling yourself that you are stressed would be a way to help you calm down. But after she explained, I realized that this woman had touched on a key, but often overlooked factor in dealing with the problems of life.

It’s something I like to call, “This too shall pass”.

One of the best pieces of advice I was ever given is that it’s important not to make any major decisions when you are upset, or going through a particularly difficult period.

For me, those difficult periods come in the form of depression. It’s something I’ve struggled with from time to time for years now. While I used to think that I would find a magic key that would completely cure me, I’ve now come to accept that it’s a problem I will always have to deal with from time to time. This has helped me to find keys to keeping it on a manageable level.

Reminding myself that I am simply going through a difficult time and that it soon will pass and everything will go back to normal, is a vital key which helps me to keep the bigger picture of life in mind instead of getting overwhelmed by what I am experiencing at the moment.

I imagine this would work very well for times of stress too. In staying away from your friends and family you could ensure that you wouldn’t snap at them or say things that you might later regret. By telling yourself that this is just a stressful time, you put the blame back onto the problems causing the stress, and remind yourself that it’s not going to stay this way. As soon as the situation is resolved the clouds will pass, and you will find yourself feeling happy and calm once again.

Swedish Proverb

Fear less, hope more;
Eat less, chew more;
Whine less, breathe more;
Talk less, say more;
Love more, and all good things will be yours.
     –Swedish Proverb

When's the last time...

…you offered to buy someone a meal, not a beggar, not even a visibly poor person, just because you had a feeling you should.

My parents were tired when they went out one day to take a couple of hours off work. My dad had just returned from a long trip where he’d been attending a series of seminars and workshops. In his absence my mom struggled to keep up with the difficult task of managing a large mission center without the support of her husband and two other colleagues she usually relied on.

Their anniversary had come and gone while they were apart, so they headed out for a simple lunch to celebrate. Money was tight at their mission center. Most donations went straight into their projects and basic running costs with very little left over for extras.

Still, they looked like a nicely dressed middle aged couple, not the sort of people you would immediately think needed financial help. So it was a surprise when their waiter, a young man making an average wage, on hearing about their charitable projects said, “The Lord told me to set aside a sum of money to bless someone. Can I pay for your meal?”

My parents were touched by his offer and gratefully accepted the young man’s generosity. As they were leaving he handed them some folded up bills. “For the mission work,” he said. When they reached home they were amazed to see the sum was about four times more than they’d originally thought.

When’s the last time you were used to bless somebody?

We all can be channels of God’s blessings simply by carrying out random acts of kindness regardless of whether or not the recipient looks particularly needy. And in blessing others we too will be blessed.

“Kindness is like perfume. You can’t put some on someone else without getting a few drops on yourself.”

I'm an anomaly

I feel very at home here in Nepal, and am happy to have had a bit of an unconvential upbringing and education, with a lot of travel, being home schooled, etc.. But every so often something happens that reminds me of what an anomaly I am. Like today.

I've been studying art at the government campus here for several months now. The tuition fees are very reasonable. I get a cheap study visa, and am learning about painting which is something I love. So it works out well all around.

It's time for exams now and I've had a bit of a time figuring out the whole process, schedule, tracking down translations of the texts in English, etc. Since my Nepali isn't fluent I haven't been able to attend some of the classes, but so far that hasn't been a problem with the tests. There's even an Alternative English test that can be taken instead of the Compulory Nepali. That was the test that I needed to take today.

The morning started out good. I managed to get transport straight to where I needed to go making only a 15 minute trip instead of the 45 minutes it took me last time. When I got there though, I realized that there were only announcements up for the Complusory Nepali exam.

Undetered I went up to the office and showed them my entrance card. "This exam is not for you." I was told.

"I know. I'm not taking Compulsory Nepali. I'm taking Alternative English."

They turned and talked to themselves in Nepali. I understood that one of them was saying there wasn't an Alternative English exam. Another one said, "Yes, there is but it isn't today." At this point I asked them if they had a schedule. I'd looked it up on line to make sure I wasn't getting up early for nothing, and it was on the schedule for today.

When they pulled out the schedule I pointed it out to them, and they became even more confused. "I need to phone the office," one of them said. On the phone to the head office he complained that there was a forigner asking for the Alternative English exam and they didn't know what to do.

Then he told me to "wait for some time". Here when you are told to "wait for some time", some time can mean anywhere up to a couple of hours. But there was nothing else to do, so I sat down to wait. Every person that walked into the room while I waited asked what I was doing there, and was told that I was waiting for the question sheet to come. I hoped I wasn't waiting for someone to physically bring it all the way from the main university as that's about an hour and a half trip. But fortunately they did have enough modern technology to get it faxed over -- and the power was working which is always a plus. So after "some time", meaning about 45 minutes, I got my question sheet and was directed to the exam room.

So, I got to feel like a special case, being the only person taking an English exam. And even though my Nepali is no where near good enough to consider taking the Nepali one, I congratulated myself that at least I could understand all of the conversations going on around me while I waited.

At 5:30 in the morning…

I’m NOT a morning person. But here’s what I’ve discovered on the mornings when I’ve had to get up early for my exams.


The air is cold, crisp, and refreshing.

The sky is still pink as the sun is just rising.

All the dust and pollution hasn’t quite settled in yet.

The people who are out that early are all busy doing something or getting somewhere, so they’re friendly but not overly talkative.

The tiredness from the early morning wake up doesn’t really sink in until much, much later in the day, and by then the day’s work is winding down anyways.

It’s nice to be fully awake and starting work instead of stumbling through the first couple of hours wondering when that cup of coffee will finally kick in.

I probably still won’t be a morning person, but when circumstances force me to be up and about early it’s actually kind of nice.

Father & Child

Father & Child: charcoal pencil on paper, drawn in about 20 minutes during a workshop at my college

"We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant,
gorgeous, tallented, and famous?
Actually who are you not to be?
You are a child of God.
Your playing small does not serve the world.
There is nothing enlightened about shrinking
so that people won't feel insecure around you.
We were born to make manifest
the Glory of God that is within us.
It's not just in some of us;
it's in all of us.
And when we let our own light shine,
we unconciously give other people permission to do the same.
As we are liberated from our own fear,
our presence automatically liberates others."

--Maryanne Williamson

The Thankful List

The top things I'm thankful for from the past week:

* When I was home alone and sick, I was so thankful that there are stores just a minute or two away, walking distance, where I could by juice, vitamin C, and pain relievers.

* Because I was alone for a few days I could rest in peace and quite and there wasn't too much pressing work to get up and take care of.

* That this nasty cold is nearly cleared up now.

* The sun finally came out for long enough to dry the laundry that's been on the roof for almost a week -- normally I love the rain, but after four straight days of it, it's so nice to see the sun again.

* Sharmila has made a very rapid recovery, even the doctors are surprised, and she will probably be out of the hospital soon.

* I'm thankful for everyone who prayed for her healing.

Football Fun

Here's some pictures from the Argentina vs Germany game on a big projector screen. It was a blast.

Binod scores a goal -- he posed like that
just as one of the last goals was being scored

Prayers Needed

I've had all sorts of stuff going on in the past two weeks that's kept me from posting. The internet conection has taken to turning it self off and on at random intervals. I presume it's because of monsoon and the cloudy weather. And with five computers on line when it is on it's almost impossible to load any pages.

But the house is quiet now, everyone is out, and I'm getting to use a relatively fast connection for once.
There are pleny of updates in store that I'll work on putting up over the next few days, but the most important is a prayer request.

Sharmila is one of the girls at our childrens' home. She's about 13 years old, and right now she's in the hosptial with severe sepsis. This is a very serious, life threatening infection, so she really needs all the prayers she can get.

She's on antibiotics and an IV drip, and the doctors are running tests to find out where the infection is coming from so they can find the best course of treatment for her. We're all taking shifts with her in the hospital, Lily, Indira (the girls' house mother), Kirti (a friend who helps look after the girls), and myself, as she'll have to be there for at least a week.

Please pray that the doctors find out what is causing this, get her on the most effective course of treatment possible, and she will make a quick and complete recovery.

Thank you.

New Feature – Book Reviews

Starting with The Power of Positive Living


I really enjoy reading, and it’s probably one of my main free time activities. So, starting now I will regularly review books, either ones I’ve just read or that I read a while back and found worth while. I’m starting with The Power of Positive Living as it was one of the books that inspired me to start this blog. A lot of the books I’ll review, though, will be fiction, as it’s probably what I read the most of since it’s in my free time and for entertainment. If you’ve got any comments on something I put up a review for then please feel free to post them. It’s always interesting to me to discuss books, and hear other people’s opinions.

The Power of Positive Living by Norman Vincent Peale

*****

“Basically I am a happy man, not dissatisfied or empty and certainly not turned of. In fact I’m very turned on. Because I am so happy is one of the main reasons I’m so concerned about people who are not. So in the pages that follow I shall simply describe what I discovered that helped me, turned my life around. If you find new meaning, enhanced fullness of life, deeper happiness as a result of reading this book, my purpose in writing it shall be fulfilled.” – Norman Vincent Peale in the preface

Drawing from years of counselling experience, Dr. Peale’s book offers guidance in eliminating defeatist attitudes and finding joy and purpose in life.

What I liked about this book:

I give this book five stars out of five, because I like the way it’s written – both the content and its presentation.

A few years I go I’d been chronically sick for some time, when a friend suggested I read a chapter on health from The Power of Positive Thinking by the same author. The book had been in our house for a while, but I’d never been very interested. I read the chapter and was hooked on the simple presentation of the ideas. I read through the whole book, did most of the exercises, and it was one of the steps that helped me recover.

So I was very happy to find this book in a used book store in Pokhara (a little lake-side tourist town). Each chapter presents a concept, gives tips for practical implementation backed up by true examples of others who’ve been helped by it, and lists the main principles to remember.

I also like the way it brings faith into the picture. Even though Norman Vincent Peale is a pastor he doesn’t use the book to “preach at you”. In fact, he makes a point of putting the faith factor on a very personal level, setting aside denominations and even religions, and simply stating that wherever you are in life God wants to help you, and that building a relationship with Him is an important key to happiness and satisfaction.

Coming next N. or M. by Agatha Christie

Project Update -- Humla House

The Humla House is a small children's home we started about five years ago for conflict displaced girls from Humla. Humla is the furthest northwest district of Nepal and is inaccessable by road. Only one percent of the land can be cultivated, causing regular food shortages. During the conflict many children were brought to Kathmandu, where they were often placed in overcrowded orphanages that could not even afford to feed all the children much less send them to school.

In 2005 we opened a home for eight of these girls. They attend school regularly and are making good progress. This year some of them were able to skip a grade as they are catching up quickly. Later on I will try to find some pictures from when the girls first came, so you can see the difference. In the beginning they were malnourished and suffered from health problems, but as you can see from the pictures below they've grown so much in the last five years and are much happier and more confident as well.

Two of the original eight girls went back to their families, so last year we took in two more underpriviledged girls from different districts.

Lily with the girls, their house mother, and her daughter

enjoying new story books

 

Pink Elephants, Coffee, and Positive Imaging

At the beginning of last week I heard from my parents that a friend from South Africa is here in Nepal attending a week long conference with Room to Read. (As a side note I invite you to check out their website and read the book Leaving Microsoft to Change the World. They’re doing some pretty great stuff, and John Wood’s book is enjoyable, easy reading with a lot of great principles for getting things done and making a difference.)

I tried my best to get in touch with Chris but between internet and email trouble, and missed phone connections wasn’t able to arrange a meeting. After a couple of days I figured it wasn’t going to work to meet up, and emailed my parents to tell them so.

I got this message in reply:

Ok great -- now is a perfect time to use our positive focussed thought power, our prayers, and the beautiful and powerful law of attraction!

Now you focus on what you DO want....you and Chris meeting, shaking hands, then having a big hug, exciting conversation....or whatever you want! Now make your little picture or movie you are seeing in your mind in brighter colour, more clear, bigger, give it some great sound, even some smells (maybe you'll have a coffee?), bring it closer!

Don't think one more minute about what is not working or what you don't want to happen -- otherwise you attract what you don't want! Ha!

(your mind doesn't process negatives! For example, if I tell you, "Anita, Don't think about a pink elephant!" tell me what you are thinking about?

What picture do you have in your mind??! In other words, then what are you focussing on? What you don't want to think about?? Ha ha! You get what you focus on!

I burst out laughing and spent the rest of the morning thinking about pink elephants talking on the phone, meeting, and drinking coffee. Sure, I was using positive imaging, but the pink elephants kept creeping in too. At least it made me smile. And sure enough later in the day I made the connection and we had a great meeting.

I’ve never been super big on the whole “ask the universe for what you want” deal. But I have to say that positive imaging when combined with prayer and God’s will is a pretty powerful force.
And don’t forget the pink elephants :)

God's in control

On July 11 while most of us were happily watching the World Cup final and enjoying ourselves whether at home or out, alone or with friends, the evening ended in a horrific tragedy for many fans in Uganda as terrorists used the opportunity to bomb two locations where many were gathered, resulting in 74 deaths and many more injuries, trauma, and psychological scars.

When I read the news the following day, I was immediately concerned as I know several people in Uganda who work on humanitarian projects. A few days later it was confirmed that one of them, 51 year old Marie Smith from Ireland was killed in one of the explosions. As I’m sure was the case in each of the deaths it came as a shock to everyone who knew Marie, and I know she’ll be greatly missed. She spent 21 years of her life working in Africa and was described as “an outstanding woman who gave her life to reach the African continent, crazy, fun, outgoing, and fiery”. That’s how I remember her from the brief occasion when I met her in South Africa.

When something like this happens there are always questions of why and how it could be God’s will. I don’t have an answer to that, but I was comforted by a post from my friend Tina where she writes that Marie had told her “that her dream was to go help kids in some dangerous place so she could go down fighting in Africa which she loved and made her home, and go be with Jesus to Heaven. She was battling with a lot of health issues and was sick and tired of feeling sick and tired. She said the worst thing for her was to be useless and die slowly of old age and she really hoped when her time came that it would be with a bang and that it would be soon.”

Tina also related how many others had planned to be in that location but weren't because they didn't feel well or had been there but were tired and had gone home early (maybe that the fact that the game went on for so long without any goals being scored was a factor in saving lives, who knows). Reading her post helped me to realize that God’s hand was still there, even in such a tragic event. I know we will never understand all His reasons why, but can trust that He is in control, and pray for His mercy and comfort for each one affected by this tragedy.

Cleaning out the closets

A few random things I found while packing:

• Tea bags – a container of very, very old loose tea bags; I actually think some of these might have been around for more than three or four years.

• An ancient video camera – no, it doesn’t work properly anymore; also video cassettes belonging to the camera which have long since been converted to DVDs

• Micro cassette tapes – God only knows how long those have been around, long enough to get all mouldy and need to be thrown out

• A rat trap – yeah, that was really worth saving, and as an added plus it was packed in a box with other household items that either had to be seriously disinfected or just gotten rid of

• Mouldy costumes – this was probably the most unpleasant discovery of the day, not only did we still have a suitcase full of random costume wear that the kids used to dress up in years and years ago, but they had all moulded and stuck together, yuck

• Art supplies – a very old and very odd collection of paints and craft materials most of which will go to the girls in our children’s home

• Christmas cake – last but not least the delightful discovery that we still have about three quarters of a Christmas cake left, yum

This may not seem like a particularly amusing list, but finding some of these things made me laugh so hard that I cried, and made me so thankful that we getting rid of all this junk (and eating yummy cake).

I am blessed

This move has been going very well, mainly because I'm blessed to live with three great people who make it so much easier. I don't mind sorting, organizing, and cleaning, but I've got some kind of mental block when it comes to packing up boxes. My friend Lily is really good at that bit, and gets everything out of the way so quickly and efficiently. Then there are the two guys who do all the heavy lifting, loading, and unloading, and all I have to do is tell them what room to put the things in -- when I'm not busy scrubbing years worth of grime and mold out of the new kitchen, that is. With all of us working together, it's going much more smoothly than I thought it would -- and we got rid of a whole truck load of junk, hurray!

Thoughts on Change

Today I listened to one of my favourite devotional audios on the topic of change. It brings up lots of examples of how God has changed the rules throughout history. The most notable one being, of course, the coming of Jesus ushering in the era of grace and forgiveness when previously God had required adherence to a rigid set of laws and animal sacrifices for the atonement of sins.

Afterwards, as I thought about this, I realized that when I’m faced with a change in what I’m doing or the way I’ve been operating my first reaction is to think, “Oh no, if I have to change the way I’m doing things now doesn’t that mean that I got it all wrong and wasted a lot of time before?”

Not necessarily. It’s a relief to me to realize that as times change so do our jobs, our methods of operation, and God’s will for our lives. But just because something that was right before needs to be changed or updated it doesn’t negate the value of all the work we put into doing it that way previously. If nothing else, it was a good learning experience.

A project that I worked on for more than a month taught me how to use a new computer program – even though the entire thing ended up getting redone in a different format. A move to another country brought me a new set of friends and pushed me to learn new skills – even though it after a year and a half I realized it wasn’t the right place for me, and moved back here.

I may not be totally certain about what the next few years will bring about. I might decide to try very different things from what I’m currently doing. And they may not work out at all. But I don’t need to be afraid of that, because each new experience takes me another step forward in life, and each old one has taught me something valuable and contributed toward the place I’m at today.

Why I love football games

I was inspired by this article by Christopher Cedar at the Playing2win site talking about why we love watching sports. He says, "I believe that the pleasure of sports comes not merely from the actual games—the winning or losing—although that is a factor. What draws the fans and inspires them is the event; the BEING TOGETHER. Everyone likes to have something or someone they can support, love, and admire...Sports are great! Sports unite millions of people in a way unlike any other! I believe that this power largely comes from the feeling of belonging and camaraderie that we as fans experience at an event; the thrilling euphoria when “our team” scores, and the comfort and friendship from our fellow fans when they experience loss. It sums up our lives in the space of a couple hours."

That just about perfectly expresses what I love about watching football games -- the chance to cheer on your team even when they're loosing; the atmosphere of being in a room with lots of shouting people all getting worked up and excited about the same thing -- it's fantastic. It's great to see how this World Cup has drawn hundreds of thousands of people together around the world to cheer on their teams, to celebrate, and to just enjoy the atmosphere and excitement. I'm looking forward to getting together with some friends later this weekend to watch some of the games together.

We've been busy packing, sorting, cleaning, painting, packing.... There's no way around it. It's a lot of work to move, especially when you're moving from a six bedroom house, where you've had an extra room for storage, into a three bedroom flat. But it has to be done. And this time, instead of whining about how much I hate moving, I've realized what a wonderful opportunity it is to get rid of all that accumulated junk. Hopefully, by the time we get into our nice little flat, all the things we've brought with us will be things we actually need or want, and it will fit in nicely....hopefully.

Resting

As of today I’ve spent two weeks and three days in bed. Well, not always in bed, but a good majority of the time, and it hasn’t been easy. I’ve probably complained about a dozen times (maybe more, but I hope not) about how bored I’m getting. Sure a little extra rest is nice – at first, but this really has started to seem like it’s getting to be too much.

It started out with an old problem with my feet acting up again after I tried out a new pair of shoes. I suffered through a painful first day of wearing them, got several compliments on how nice they look, only to have to put them away forever, as I found that the next day I couldn’t walk without a lot of pain in both my feet and had to visit an orthopaedic doctor yet again.

So I started my long wait in bed for my feet to recover and allow me to walk like a normal person once more. Then just as they started to feel better I came down with the flu which has kept me in bed for exactly a week now and I’m still suffering from that.

But as I was taking some prayer time, and I have to admit complaining a bit about my fate, Jesus showed me a much better way to look at this time. He told me that it was a gift. A gift? I couldn’t quite picture that until He reminded me that come the first of next month we’re moving into a flat, and things are going to get very busy. So, yes, this time where I’m forced to get extra rest, to read, to study, to paint, and do other things I enjoy that can be done while lying down is a gift, and I’m doing my best to enjoy it while it lasts.

Best Dad Ever

When talking about our goals for the future one of my friends said that his is to be the best dad possible. It’s Father’s Day today, and I just told my dad that I think he’s the best—I always have. I remember arguing with my friends when I was little about whose parents were better. I never could understand why anyone would think that theirs were better than mine. Now, of course, I realize that it’s all relative. Being the best dad isn’t about topping all the other dads in the world. It’s about finding out what your child needs from a parent, and being that for them.

Here are a few of the things that make my dad the best dad I could possibly have:

He stays in touch – Like most men Dad isn’t a fantastic communicator or letter writer, but he always makes that extra bit of effort for me, so that I know that he’s concerned and thinking about me.

He’s always available – If I need someone to check something out for me, or give me practical advice, I write my Dad. I know he’ll answer within just a day or two, and if it’s not something he can tell me off hand he’ll take the time to research it for me and come up with an answer no matter how busy he is. When I lived and worked with him for about a year, if I needed a ride or someone to pick something up for me, he’d do his best to arrange it. He’d often take time out of his work day to help me with a technical problem, or give me some advice or instruction on the project I was working on.

He’s always supportive – Dad has always let me know that I have his love and support regardless of what decisions I make, and that means a lot to me.

He enjoys spending time with me – and it’s an added bonus that we like doing a lot of the same things together, going out for a beer, playing a card game, shooting a game of pool, watching a football game, eating popcorn, etc…

And there are many more things, of course, but these are a few of the main things that I love about my dad, and that make him, in my eyes, the best Dad in the world!

The Beautiful Game

Every four years Nepal goes football crazy, as young and old alike turn on their televisions and tune in to the World Cup. We are five days and 15 games into the group stage of World Cup 2010. I'm looking forward to watching my personal favorite team, Spain, play their first game this evening (or afternoon depending on your time zone).

This month's edition of Activated focuses on "The Beautiful Game" with quotes from football star, Pele. "Success is no accident. It is hard work, perseverance, learning, studying, sacrifice and most of all, love of what you are doing or learning to do." And, as editor Keith Philips reminds us, "every day can be a defining moment".
visit www.activated.org to read more

Welcome

From Clouds to Sunshine is a place to find positive inspiration for everyday life. I will post inspirational thoughts and articles, personal news and pictures, and occasionally some of my artwork, all with a positive theme. I hope that you will be inspired.