My Bubbling Teapot

Some days I feel like I'm pouring out more than I'm receiving and I can feel downright sorry for myself. I screenshot this and sent it to my husband sighing to think of some truly romantic evening away. I'm ready when you are, I typed. This morning, I read the verse, "You have made known to me the path of life, you will fill me with JOY IN YOUR PRESENCE, with eternal pleasures at your right hand." PS. 16:11. Today I'm finding joy in the presence of God. Many times I can't understand the way He directs my life and the things He brings, but I claim this promise of JOY even when I feel like we are insanely busy. Would you be poured out like wine upon the altar for Me?  (I'm not sure if I have the strength, Lord) Would you be broken like bread to feed the hungry? (I'd rather just live my comfortable little life, Lord) Would you be so one with Me that you would do just as I will? (I want to, but sometimes I shrink from what you might ask) Wo...

The weekend went way too fast and now that it's all history, I can hardly believe it ever happened. I couldn't have been happier when we decided to take the whole family back to Pennsylvania for weekend Youth Conference where John was one of the guest speakers. And the bonus was it was the church where Austin attends while he is teaching. Conrad decided to join us also and he flew in from WA. I hope we didn't traumatize anyone by descending upon their community, but they were very gracious hosts. They gave us a guesthouse with enough room for us all. That was a tremendous gift. It allowed us time together with Austin after all the scheduled Menno meals and snacks. :) I chose to treasure the moments we had as a family. Nothing big and earthshaking, but a feeling of settled contentment of being together. It was a pleasure to see where Austin churches and teaches and lives, and watching him in his world. And I discovered this wasn't my little boy anymore, but some...

Is it a sign of old age? Or is it the fact that change has been constant in our lives this past five years? Our life has catapulted from one drama to the next in the few short years of leaving the ministry of our dreams--Poland. We brought our family of six home from the mission field in Dec 2011, one of the hardest moves we ever made. So many questions in our minds. Was it the right time? How will our teens integrate American/Mennonite culture? Did we make a mistake?  Two months after returning, I got pregnant. My baby was thirteen. What a roller coaster of emotion for us! But now our nearly four-year-old is an integral part of our home. She will never remember our adventures in Europe but she will make different memories with our family. One reason we moved back was to be near my mom who was fighting cancer. I will never regret that decision. We had over three years with her, a time for my children to learn to know their grandma, before she passed away now almost eight...

It all started with a question. "Mom, what would you and dad think if I entered this writing contest? The winner will be given a scholarship toward a pilot's license." What would it matter? We were in the throes of moving across the ocean and the last thing I wanted was another decision to make. I knew my son's dream was to fly, and maybe this would be the thing that would "scratch that itch." After all, he wouldn't win. What are the odds anyway? "Sure, why not?" And so he did. His essay said a lot about his dream to learn to fly so he could use it in mission work one day. His mother cringed every time he talked about his dream. "Lord, at least keep him on the ground," I prayed. And...you guessed it...he did win. "Lord, I knew I was giving him roots and wings, but does it have to be so literal?" His face was a wreath of smiles when the check came for over $3000. Enough to pay for a large part of his pilot's licens...

God had a plan for my forties. It wasn't anything I ever dreamed of but it has brought our family tremendous joy. Amanda Jean joined our family 10 months ago and like my son said, "How can it be that it feels like she was always a part of us?" Yes indeed. She has been our ray of sunshine. Our twenty-one -year old son drove home that first weekend, nine long hours, just to welcome his little sister.   My husband and I agree on one thing~God intended young people to have children. We don't have as much energy as we did with our other children. Sometimes we feel old but other times a baby brings us back into a world of youth. One of my siblings said, "Poor Amanda! She will be growing up in the old people's home." I hope not.   Some of the things I love about having a baby at this stage of my life: 1. A priceless gift is seeing my teenagers playing with a baby. It brings such joy to my heart. 2. I have a connection with the young mothers at ch...

Turning 40 this year for me was such a combination of feelings--my mom didn't live to see her 40th birthday. She was so young to die--my age almost exactly. As my birthday was approaching this year, I felt myself growing reflective. What thoughts were in her mind when she thought about leaving all her children at such tender young ages? Did she think about the fact that she probably wouldn't live life after 40? How would it be to be so sick and helpless and watching your children grieve your dying? Many thoughts about her life have been on my mind this year. Sometimes I close my eyes and try to remember what she looked like and how her voice sounded. Her image can become so fuzzy in my mind. It seems so long ago that I saw her and touched her. One wonderful night, I dreamed about her and in my dream, she was just as I remembered her--her blue eyes, her nicely-shaped nose, her smile--her whole self in great detail, every part was chiseled again in my mind. She look...

I'm officially moving to xanga. Please come visit me there. I might be back someday, but right now xanga is more user friendly and a lot of my friends are over there. Sorry, bloggers. My address is: http://www.xanga.com/bubblingteapot

I never thought I would stoop to such things. When visiting other homes as a teenager, I disdained the clutter of child’s paintings on the refrigerator. I scoffed at the messiness of obvious child’s experiments in jars in the corner, in egg cartons on the windowsill, on newspaper spread on the table. I vowed my house would be neat, immaculate, and free of childish clutter. I would have an “art gallery” in some out-of-the-way place. Caterpillars would stay outside where they belonged. Clay projects could dry in the garage. My refrigerator would not become a bulletin board. But guess what I discovered? I couldn’t destroy the “beautiful” drawing that my son labored over for hours. How could I throw away the ugly plastic cup with one forlorn flower drooping lifelessly over the side? I remembered my daughter’s gleeful smile when she proudly held out a dandelion clutched in her grimy hand. I never thought I would have a garden growing on my windowsill from the seeds that my son carefully col...

Life has precious moments of blessings. I would like to share three with you. (1)Last weekend our church enjoyed a weekend retreat at a a Christian retreat center. Our theme was prayer and I felt God nudging me to spend more time with Him. Thanks, Lavern and Lolita, for planning such a great weekend! (2) Corleen led a "children's choir" on Sunday morning. It was awesome, Cor!! And the message powerful! Thanks, children!!! The children singing "Love is a Flag" (3) Robin's sister, Caia spent some time here and she blessed me in so many little ways. Thanks, Caia! You were a blessing! She sewed Allison and Hadassah, and Annaliese all look-alikes!!! What a thoughtful gift. Our girlies were happy to wear them at the weekend retreat. It was especially appreciated since I don't seem to find much time to sew recently! (or is that ever?) The three girls wearing their dresses with Caia!!!

Today I'm making monster cookies. And I'm realizing how many American ingredients it takes--peanut butter (ok, we CAN buy it here, but it is expensive and not very good), brown sugar, corn syrup, and chocolate chips. That's a long list of things I can't get here. So, I try not to make these kinds of cookies too often. More substitutes (this time some dressings I like that I can't buy here): Ranch Dressing 1 cup buttermilk 1 cup mayonnaise 1/4 tsp. onion salt, garlic salt, celery salt 1/8 tsp. pepper 1/2 tsp. parsley flakes Mix together and use on your favorite salads! French Dressing 1 cup mayonnaise 1/2 cup sugar 2 Tbsp. vinegar 1/4 cup ketchup 1 tsp. mustard 1 tsp. paprika 1/4 tsp. salt 2 tsp. water 1/4 cup oil Mix and serve! Italian Dressing 2/3 cup cold water 1/3 cup oil 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar 2 tsp. onion powder 1 Tbsp. sugar 1/8 tsp.pepper, allspice, paprika 1 tsp. celery salt, garlic powder 1/4 tsp. oregano 2 soda crackers Combine in blender. Blend until...

Trying to follow an American recipe in Poland can be a catastrophe. Especially, those recipes that say "Quick and Easy." About 99% of the time, I must first of all make my substitutes for the time-saving bought ingredients that aren't available over here. After all my dishes are dirty preparing all the ingredients, I can then assemble the recipe. Unfortunately, for me, these recipes become quite complicated. Georgene posted about being faithful in little things. I thought I would post some of the substitutes I've learned to use. Maybe some of you can save some money by preparing your own substitutes. Bisquick Substitute 8 cups flour 4 1/2 Tablespoons baking powder 8 tsp. sugar 2 tsp. cream of tartar 2 tsp. salt 1 3/4 cups shortening Mix until finely crumbled. Store in air-tight container or in the freezer. Sweetened Condensed Milk Substitute 3/4 cup sugar 1 cup powdered milk 1/2 cup warm water Blend in blender until smooth. Chill. Cream Soup Mix 2 cups instant dry m...

...and we found out that is a long ride!!! Friday we took the children on a school field trip. We left at 4 a.m. from home to catch our boat at 8 in the town of Elblag and spent all day riding a boat in the lake region of Poland through canals, over lakes, down rivers, over land (!!!), through locks, and finally docked in the town of Ostroda at 9 pm (a little later than we planned)!!! We saw some awesome scenery, consumed two back-packs full of food, identified birds, talked to other people on the boat, and just relaxed in the sunshine and enjoyed being together as a family. A boat we met coming up the canal from the same company that we were riding with. Yes, the canal just suddenly ended. There were five slopes like this on our trip and a little cart carried the boat and us up a total of three hundred feet during a 6 mile distance. Amazing! And interesting. The little cart like the one we rode up the slope on! The whole crew ready for adventure The Captain and First Mate (that'...

We feel so blessed that God has given us a property of our dreams. There are many questions ahead that could discourage us: Will we as foreigners actually get permisssion by the end of the year to own this piece of land? (as stated in the preliminary contract we signed this week) Will we be able to find all the building materials to build a wooden house instead of the normal block here? Will we find enough volunteers from America to come and spend some time here building our house? If you are interested in maybe a short VS opputunity or would like more details, email us at jolasmucker@terramail.pl . Will we get permission to cut down trees where we want to build our house if it is zoned as forest land? How will we be able to give the time we need to this project with our already busy schedules? Will the money stretch to accomodate all expenses with the extremely weak dollar? Yes, there are no answers right now for these questions. But we choose to trust God. He has led us so far, givi...

Last week was Reflection Week in the Roman Catholic Church and schools actually closed for this holiday. It was created for a very good purpose, to give people a chance to reflect over their lives before Easter. A very good idea in my opinion. But in reality, nothing is different. In fact, the pace of life increases instead of having a spirit of solemn contemplation. Young people hang around town in groups. The streets swarm with a harried crowd racing from store to store to find their Easter baskets and "palm branches." People are wildly beating rugs and feriously washing windows in preparation for their great "Wielkanoc" (Easter). All the town flocks to the market to buy new curtains and rugs for their newly cleaned houses. Actually, the whole country is in a frenzy to make sure that they are following their age-old traditions surrounding Easter. The church is busier than usual, it is true. Many stop for a few minutes of reflection on their way to town. But are t...

My house was in sad need of a cleaning from top to bottom today . I was planning to clean the downstairs yesterday, but I've learned the flexibility is essential here. I didn't get one thing cleaned yesterday. So, this morning, I'm thinking that I will do a quick over all cleaning. But as I began looking at the living room I saw so many things that needed to be cleaned I decided to spring clean the whole room. Very dangerous! So instead of cleaning my house, I spent all day cleaning my living room. I was washing and hanging out curtains, polishing the lights and windows, dusting the shelves, cleaning out magazine racks, wiping the baseboards, and oh, my, everything looked so nice. Such a good feeling!!! The last thing that needed to be done was to roll up the big rug and haul it outside. These sweepers over here are for the birds. Every so often we just have to take our carpets out and beat all that dust out of them, which isn't impossible since we don't have wall-t...

John's student says, "No, it's impossible. Spring came too easy. There will be more snow and cold." Maybe so.... ...but for now I see little brave crocuses breaking through the hard ground...I see green buds on my rosebushes...I see that the snow drifts have disappeared...and I hear birds...I feel a warmth in the air...I see the world waking up around me... ...And I choose to rejoice and believe that Spring is here and I will enjoy it to the full and believe it is here to stay!!! I told the children today that we should have a "Welcome Spring" picnic soon just to celebrate that winter is gone!!! And somehow I choose to rejoice in the feelings of newness in my heart as well. Why does it feel so much easier to rejoice and feel happy in the Spring of the year?

Overnight guests can throw my weekends into an frenzy. In fact, this past weekend we had seven young people from Ukraine visiting us. That doubled the amount of people in our house. There are a few things that make entertaining more stressful for me here than in the states. I have... ...a small oven ...not a huge fridge ...a small table which means always cafeteria style ...no dryer ...not enough towels and washclothes ...limited storage space So, I will share a few things I have learned in the past few years to adjust to my predicament when I have guests. I started cooking and baking on the Monday (almost a week ahead) so I wouldn't be trying to bake everything all at the same time. What a relief it was on the weekend to pull out fried hamburger for taco soup, mint brownies and pecan pie bars, baked apple doughnut muffins, and cinnamon rolls all ready to just thaw and be served. On Tuesday I made out all my...

A peaceful evening was interrupted with the horrible sound of shattering glass. What shattered downstairs? In a second's time, my mind went through a mental list--the picture on the wall, the glass doors of the cupboards, windows, and I tried to think of all the precious glass objects downstairs. The next instant I was leaping down the stairs two at a time to find all eight persons of our household some running and some huddled around Alli and behind her a huge jagged hole in the glass on her bedroom door. Talk about making a person feel shaky. I felt myself getting faint as I was bandaging up all the little scrapes and cuts, but I felt incredibly thankful that she was alright. Amazing how many bandaids we used. Somehow her shoulder had hit the glass and it shattered cutting her shoulder, foot, and hands. Freak accident. Poor little thing. Her teeth were chattering and she was quite traumatized. I'm still a little worried about her eye. She was rubbing it and rubbing it, but we...

Les told us the other day that he thinks "property hunting" has become our hobby. He might be right. It is true that in the last couple of years, we have looked at a number of properties and houses for sale close to the town of Minsk. So far, none of them have materialized. We sense a great need for something to change. We have been living on this small lot in town now for five years. While the house itself is quite adequate, we feel that we need more space for our growing family. So we continue to look and pray. We want our property to be God's property and we only want to purchase something that we feel that God is blessing. And nothing has fallen into place yet. About one month ago, John's student told us about a property for sale about two miles from Minsk in a small village. We arranged with the owner to go look at it. There are a lot of positive things about it that would have been negatives of the other places we've looked at in the past. The city water and...

There! That makes me feel better! I... ...detest ...abhor ...despise mending. I'm sure those of you who are virtuous mothers are shaking their heads and wondering what is the matter with me. I don't know where I missed it, but the pile of mending in my sewing center makes me cringe with hatred. Why do I wait until all of Allison's dresses are missing a button before I finally, grudgingly get out my needle and thread? Why does a dress hang for two years in my closet with chopped off sleeves that are only waiting for one seam? Why do John's Sunday pants lay over my bedroom chair for weeks before I finally get around to sewing the loophole back on? I've always hated repairing clothes. When I learned to sew and sewed my sleeve in upside down, I would have rather started all over than to tear out the one little seam. Mending is such a tedious chore. But today, when I finally got around to sewing on six buttons on six dresses, sewing up a hole in the back of another, and...