Together, But Not Complete

Isaiah is home for a few weeks between semesters. It's exciting for him to be almost done college and it's fun to have him home, but it's not the same without Josiah. It's amazing how much one person can add to the fun. Late night Catan games with the older boys can't happen very well because there's only 2 people to play. Some of the younger kids sometimes play, but they can't endure the sleep deprivation as easily as the older boys so the late night games happen less often.

The other kids try to fill in most of the gaps left by Josiah who was a big fan of games, parties, films, and good food. Zachariah does his best to make sure good food is on hand and likes films nearly as much as Isaiah. Londa helps decorate and makes parties and games more fun when she's around. The younger kids also help make games more enjoyable, but it's still not the same.

This may be the first Christmas when the whole family cannot be together. Isaiah has been able to come back from college for Christmas all 3 years so Christmas has always been a time of family togetherness.

Thanksgiving has always been the extended family get-together which is greatly looked forward to by all, but Christmas for our family has been a chance to stay home and enjoy just our family. There's something precious about being all together as an immediate family and enjoying a special holiday. So any member who is absent is felt even more strongly at Christmas.

However, they say absence makes the heart grow fonder. This is certainly a time of mutual appreciation for what Josiah is to our family and what our family is to Josiah. Surely God is working good through this time of sadness for both parties.

Not to make too much of our own grief, however. So many around us are missing family members who either do not know Christ or have recently gone to be with him. Our sadness is mixed with joy because we both know we will see each other again, and most likely within a matter of months. We can still video chat Josiah and we are also strongly connected by our common Spirit dwelling in both of us.

Sometimes I wonder if God blesses us in the face of the tragedy of others just so that we can be overwhelmed with our own unworthiness. Why should we be blessed with a healthy family that all love God, especially when so many others who seem to deserve it much more don't get it? As much as we might want to sympathize with others in their misery, we must not let that get in the way of appreciating God's gifts. So we grieve with others in their sadness, and are floored by the absolute, unconditional love of our Father and our own unworthiness of his blessings. We don't envy the blessings of others, but we don't envy the trials either. Like children who know their Father is perfect we thank our him for his blessings, and ask him to be near to those who are hurting.

For now we are content to be together. Together with those around us, and with our God. Yet, we still long for completeness. The day when our own salvation will be complete, and when our number as God's children will be complete. When all the saints of all the ages can really celebrate Christmas together…forever! Until then…together, but not complete…

another year has gone by

In the hectic craziness of the holiday season, as we scatter in a million directions to do a million different things, and try our best to do something a wee bit productive in-between times, there is also the constant remembering the year is coming to an end. "Can you believe it's been just one year since last Christmas?" Remember when we did this last year on Christmas Eve?" We reminisce and smile and laugh because the memories are happy ones, but deeper inside us, clinging under our skin is the overwhelming ache of nostalgia that comes so regularly, this time, every year, as we close another year of our lives, and resolve to do better in the next one. The year has flown like never before–they just go faster and faster, don't they?

Strange how it is easy to be sad this time of year; the memories flood us and our first reaction is sorrow that things can never be the same again. This Christmas will be our first incomplete one–without Josiah. The pain of growing up and the separation that happens with it is heightened during these holidays which are to be happy, are they not?

But we will not let our hearts grow accustomed to the sadness, because of the hope that has been given us. "There are far, far better things ahead than any we leave behind," and we still believe the best is yet to come.

Shakespeare Showcase

Something our family absolutely loves is theatre. This coming weekend, four of the younger kids will be in a play, and this past weekend Josiah, Zachariah and myself (Londa) were in a 'Shakespeare Showcase'.

We had been in a 'Way Clear Shakespeare' class taught by James Shafer, a graduate student who is getting his masters in teaching Shakespearian theatre. He is an amazing drama teacher, and we all learned a lot. The evening was a display of what we had learned in the class, as well as an 'advertisement' for the Shakespeare play we hope to do later in the Spring.

To start the evening off, each of the students recited a sonnet or monologue in costume of their choice.

Bailey Draper performed a monologue by Ophelia from Hamlet. She had an awesome costume, and did an amazing job acting the part of a crazy person. 

Josiah performed a sonnet that spoke of sleep. So he had the creative idea of using a pillow and blanket as his props. 

Londa performed Sonnet 106. Look it up. It's a great sonnet. 

Sharon Rohmann performed a monologue by Juliet from Romeo and Juliet. She did a great job and as her prop she had a picture of Leonardo DiCaprio, who, ironically, played Romeo in a film version of the Shakespeare play. 

Tess Mendoza performed a monologue by Miranda from The Tempest. Tess is awesome to work with -- not only a natural on stage, but has tons of experience with drama. Her monologue was full of expression, and she has great diction and projection on stage.

The next part of the showcase was more monologues and sonnets with the class members dressed in black.

Tess performed a sonnet about Time. Very well done indeed. 

Sharon performed a sonnet as well. It was beautifully recited. 

Zachariah did a fabulous job with his sonnet -- the funny things he did with his eyebrows kept the audience entertained. 

Londa performed a monologue by Lady Anne from Richard III. James said her performance would freak people out with her creepy awesomeness. 

Bailey performed a sonnet. She not only had a beautiful sonnet, she performed it extremely well. I loved her use of props and her expression.

Josiah performed a monologue by Edmund from King Lear. It was powerfully delivered and gave me chills. He did an amazing job with his facial expressions and with his emotions coming through his voice. 

And the last part of the show was the class (including James) performing an act from Shakespeare's Comedy of Errors. Zachariah and Josiah really stole the show and had the audience almost rolling on the floor. The gist of the story is this: Two sets of boy twins are separated at birth and have never met. Each of the Dromio twins is a servant to the Antiphilus twins. One Antiphilus is married, but the other is not. By chance, the one Antiphilus comes with his Dromio to the town where the other Antiphilus and Dromio live. They end up at the other's house with Adriana, the wife, assuming it is her husband. This Antiphilus however, does not like her a bit but falls in love with her sister. Thus we had the hilarious creepy wooing scene of the Antiphilus in love with Luciana, the sister of the woman she assumes to be this Antiphilus's wife. 

The first bit of the act is Antiphilus attempting to get into his own house which has now been taken over by his long-lost twin.

Tess played Dromio of Ephesus and Zachariah played Dromio of Syracuse. Josiah played the part of both Antiphilus's. While Antiphilus and Dromio of Ephesus are trying to get in their house, Dromio of Syracuse, supposed by Antiphilus of Ephesus's wife to be Dromio of Ephesus stands as porter at the gate. 

Luce, one of the maidservants of the house comes out and wonders what all the noise is.   

James, our director, played the part of Luce and had the audience, as well as the cast members, almost dying with laughter.



Adriana, Antiphilus of Ephesus's wife, played by Bailey, comes out and is thoroughly indignant when she hears Antiphilus calling her 'wife'.


Antiphilus of Ephesus, completely frustrated, is unsure what to do, and his servant Dromio is dismayed. Angelo, played by Londa, and Balthasar, played by Sharon, friends of Antiphilus, look on in somewhat uncomfortable silence. They decide to go somewhere else for dinner and work out this misunderstanding later


Meanwhile... Antiphilus of Syracuse, supposed by the people of the house to be Antiphilus of Ephesus, and husband to Adriana, quite dislikes Adriana, but is quite taken by her sister, Luciana. She, frustrated that he seems not to love her sister, is lecturing him on that, telling him that if he likes someone else, at least do it stealthily! 



He hangs on every word that she says, while she, seemingly oblivious, focuses on her fingernails and continues to lecture.


 
She continues to ignore him even when he tries to hang on more than just her words.

 

As soon as Luciana finishes her lecture, he begins on a long speech displaying his ardent love and admiration for her. 

"Oh sweet mistress, what thy name is else I know not!"

It seems he cannot control himself he is so in love with this 'sweet mermaid'. 

Luciana is rather creeped out by this whole affair, and is on the whole unsure of what to make of it.

He seeks to woo her, and she, though not altogether disliking the attention, is shocked and screams that she must 'fetch her sister and get her goodwill'.

 So Luciana leaves, and in runs Dromio of Syracuse. He is running from Nell, one of the kitchen wenches, who is all grease, he says, and who lays claim to him.

 Dromio tells Antiphilus that this Nell is 'spherical, like a globe', and that he 'could find out countries in her'. They then go on to have a long conversation about where countries were on her body. After they have had their fun, they decide it's time to hit the road and leave town. Antiphilius says, "If everyone knows us and we know none, then tis time I think, to trudge, pack, and be gone."

But when he tries to leave, Angelo, the goldsmith catches up to him and gives him the chain that the other Antiphilus had asked for. This Antiphilus is thoroughly confused by this, but says, "No man is so vain he would refuse so fair an offered chain," and accepts the gift. 

And that is the end of Act III from the Comedy of Errors. We all took a bow or two or three, and that was the finish to the evening. 

Londa and James, our director. 

Londa and Josiah.

Londa and Miss Dar!!!! Our awesome Bee Creative director, and one of our very favorite people in the whole world.

Zachariah and Londa.

All in all, it was a fabulous evening, enjoyed by the audience, and perhaps enjoyed even more by the cast members. We plan on performing an entire Shakespeare play later in the Spring -- be sure to be there! 

Happy Birthday to the best dad hands down!

Birthdays are pretty big at our house. When it's getting close to our birthday, we usually put up a wish list, with suggestions (sometimes it's specific commands, at least from the younger kids) for presents to get them. As we get older, we aren't quite as worried about what we'll get, and we tend to tone down our celebrations. And for both my parents, who don't like to keep track of their age, we don't have a huge party.

But, as is tradition, we always have a German Chocolate Cake for my dad's birthday. It's a tradition that his father passed on to him; his dad still has one every year on his birthday. If you've never tried the cake, go to the store right now and buy a box of german chocolate. The recipe for the cake and the frosting is on the box. Papa's birthday is the only time in the whole year that we have a german chocolate cake, and it is looked forward to by all.

For the past few years, my mom has tried her best to keep papa's birthday celebration a bit of a surprise. When my mom realized that my dad's parents as well as his youngest brother, Uncle Bill, would be visiting this week, she decided to do it Thursday night. We were in the middle of making the cakes when he came home from work, so the surprise was found out a tad bit early, but he was sufficiently surprised to make the secret-keeping up till that point quite worth it. Papa is a delight to surprise, because of how much he enjoys the surprise. When he walked in the door and everybody yelled 'Happy Birthday', the smile on his face and the 'What??' were priceless.

Supper was delicious: ham, mashed potatoes, sweet potato casserole, broccoli, corn, and peas, with pomegranate juice for everyone, and wine for the older ones. Sadly, Isaiah could not be with us to celebrate, but we were all happy to have Grandpa and Grandma and Uncle Bill with us for the party.

This year, my dad said he didn't want much -- some new work gloves would be nice, and socks and some jeans from Goodwill (that's my practical father for you). He joked about getting a projector, but of course that was out of the question.

Well, we decided to get him what he wanted, and threw in with the jeans, socks and gloves, some microwave popcorn (to eat while he works his second job at Snyder Packaging) two bags of mixed nuts, and from yours truly, the film 'The Blind Side'. Underneath all those presents (wrapped in baby bags and flower wrapping paper, because we're too thrifty to spend money on appropriate paper and bags) was a large box covered with a blanket. After the other presents had been opened, with much happiness and gratefulness by the dad, Josiah gave the box to papa. Josiah, laughing, wondered (thinking papa surely knew) "Do you have any idea what it is?" Papa laughed, because he didn't have a clue. As he opened the box, he started shaking his head and laughing, because now he did have a clue. "No way. You're kidding me, right?" The excitement and surprise on papa's face when he realized what it was, was worth a million dollars. I wish I had gotten pictures, but even though I did not, I will never forget that look. If a picture is worth a thousand words, a memory is worth a million pictures.

Can you guess what it was? Mhmm. Yup. That's right. A projector. Purchased under the advice of Uncle Bill, by Uncle Bill, Josiah, Zachariah and Isaiah.

My father is a hard person not to respect, admire and love. As is tradition (we Englishes have more than a few super awesome traditions, in case you hadn't gathered that by now) during supper we wrote in our place cards what we like about papa, or some wise (serious, in some cases, not so serious in other cases) advice for the new year ahead of him. After the presents had been opened and admired, the place cards were read aloud. Everyone had something nice to say; some of us cool people, like Grandpa and myself, wrote a poem. (You can read my poem at my personal blog here: http://princessdaughterofthekingofkings.blogspot.com/2011/01/for-my-father.html)

Of course, to end the evening, we ate the magnificent cake. It was pitch-perfect *emphasizes with fingers, like the french people do* as always. But it wasn't quite the end of the evening.

Did you actually think my dad could go to bed without trying out his presents?? Of course not. So we set the projector up, using a white sheet as a screen, and after the younger set had hit their pillows, we watched 'The Blind Side'. Most of us had seen it once when it came out in the cinema, but we wanted to see it again. Grandpa and Grandma were watching it for the first time, and they enjoyed it very much. If you haven't seen it, go rent it (or buy it) now and watch it tonight. It's an excellent movie. And it's even better on our awesome new projector.

The joy we felt together as a family last night is a joy that I realize is not common in every house. Not every family has an amazing father like ours. Not every father works two jobs uncomplainingly because he loves his family so much. Not every father works from before the sun rises till the afternoon, then stays up late with us because he truly wants to spend time with us. Not every dad is quite as amazing as ours is. I realize that, though I too often take him for granted.

Thank you, God, for giving us an amazing father, and being an amazing Father, who cares enough to give us incredible joy in things as seemingly unimportant as birthday parties. It was a beautiful night.

Food and Friends…the Best Memories

I believe the best memories are created by a combination of good food and good people. Isn't it annoying sometimes that we have to eat 3 times a day? However, I think one of the reasons God gave us bodies that use up our food so fast is so that we can enjoy it more. What if you only needed to eat once a month like a python? You could only get together for a meal once a month! It would certainly be quite a feast, but you couldn't very often.

Eating a meal together creates a unique bond between people. In the Bible they are always inviting people in to eat with them. Abraham when he sees the 3 angels invites them into eat with him. That was a sign of hospitality. Our family loves to have people over and share food together. We are a family full of people that love to cook delicious meals. All of the older kids are very proficient cooks (as well as Mom and Dad), and the younger kids are learning to love it also. Because our family is dominated by men the kitchen is also dominated by men.

This is why Thanksgiving is our favorite holiday. Thanksgiving is when all the Englishes (my Dad's side of the family) get together. We have a huge delicious feast and everyone that wants to gets to be a part of the preparation. Uncle Bill might be in charge of the turkey and gravy, Grandma might make an apple pie or sweat potato casserole, Mama might make pumpkin pie, I might make some rolls, Zachariah might have his hand in everything and make something fancy on the side, or maybe try some new combination that no one thought of, Josiah might make some more pumpkin pies (because you can never have enough), Papa might be in charge of the stuffing, Aunt Jenn might make the mashed potatoes, etc. You get the idea. Eating together every year like this brings a great bond between us. Not only do we have the opportunity to work together to create something delicious and beautiful, but we then get to sit down together and enjoy eating and talking together. Something about that sharing time together brings us utter happiness and bliss.

Thanksgiving is what all the kids look forward to every year, but it wouldn't be this way if we didn't have both ingredients. We have to have both the people and the food. If we just had the food it wouldn't be nearly as fun. Things are always better when you have more people to share them with. If we had just the people we could have some fun, but we wouldn't have a reason to all sit down together doing something in common. We would find something to do, but without the food we don't really even have an excuse to get together.

Perhaps that's the main reason why eating is such a bonding experience. As humans we are drawn to people only through common interests or common needs. We all have the most basic need of food so when we can all sit down together and share a meal we grow much closer together.

This is part of what sets our family apart from so many typical American families. So many of them have kids running every which way and they rarely even have supper together. We have always had supper together and sometimes several more meals than that.

The older I get the more I realize how much food and friends really do make the experience memorable to me. I went on a 3 week trip out West and it was an absolute blast (the most fun I've ever had in my life), but it wasn't because of what I saw—although it was pretty cool—it was because of who I was enjoying it with and what I was eating with them.

Food used to seem like a waste to me, you eat it once and then it's gone. However, as I look back on my memories the best ones always involve good food and good people.

What other reason do you have to sit beside your friends around a table for a couple hours? Okay, right, games do that. But you don't always have a good excuse to play a game several times a day. Eating a meal is something you have to do 2 or 3 times a day to keep up normal strength and when you share it with others it is amazing.

Food has historically been a primary ingredient of celebration. It's kind of mystery what exactly makes it so fun, but I know that it makes good times all the better.

Okay, so I've given a lot of examples of good experiences revolving around food and friends, but I've left out the most important example. Can you guess it? It's in the Bible, in the last book. Yup. That's right. The Wedding Feast of the Lamb! What's the most memorable part of a wedding here? The reception right? The same is true for the ultimate wedding. The best part will be when we all get to go to the biggest wedding reception ever! Can you imagine what kind of a celebration that will be? If the wine at Cana was the best they had ever tasted can you imagine the kind of wine Jesus will have at his wedding feast?! All I can say is that I can't wait!

So next time you want to have a really good time, make sure it involves lots of good food and people. Don't be afraid to spend money or time on food because memories last forever…toys or gadgets don't. Just sayin' ~

Another Year Has Gone By

A new year is a time to think about new beginnings and a time to reflect on the past year. This has been a fantastic year for us as a family overall, but has involved some struggles.

Isaiah left for his second semester of college and we had to really learn how to function without him. He could no longer be a part of our everyday life and we really had to accept that this year with him being gone a lot. However, the younger children stepped up and Zachariah especially was soon filling Isaiah's place, perhaps a little better than Isaiah would like.

This was a year of further learning about toxins in the body and becoming more health conscientious than ever. Not only was high fructose corn syrup banned but as our knowledge grew on other toxic substances present in many everyday foods we turned to producing our meals more naturally than ever before. We had always been more or less conscious of eating healthily but this year saw an exponential increase in our health conscientiousness.

This was a year for traveling for our family as a collective group. Isaiah went to Uganda for a month right after school finished. Then Josiah and Isaiah took a 3 week road trip with their cousins in an RV touring the western part of the United States from California to the islands off the coast of Washington and many places between Georgia and there. Then in late November and early December Josiah took a ten day trip to Switzerland. So between the two oldest children, our family has been quite all over the world this year.

In Uganda Isaiah had some great encounters with God and brought some of that Christian African fire for God back to our family. Since his trip we have seen an increased interest and delight in the things of God, especially prayer.

This year has brought increased knowledge to what may be troubling Mama and although not everything was resolved this year we ended with great hope in God's using the removal of mercury fillings from her mouth to give her great respite from many of her health issues.

This year we have brought in a new member of the family. An old friend named Joshua who fell in among some bad friends for the past several years met up with us again and has now joined our church. He has begun working with Papa to take up the slack that Isaiah left. This way Zachariah can have a little time to do school and not be working all the time that Josiah is gone. When Joshua goes to work he stays at our house the night before since we leave between 3:30 and 5:30 to go to work each morning. He has also allowed us to leave as a family while he stays home and runs the route for us, which has been a great blessing to all of us.
As a result he has become very much a part of our family and we have greatly enjoyed seeing the younger children love and appreciate this new family member. We have been greatly blessed to see his steady progression in his walk with God as he devours every book he can find on the subject.

Besides Joshua we have seen the new addition of Londa to the bread-route-workforce. Though by no means a regular, she went on the route for the first time this year and caught on pretty fast. Though, not as strong as her 3 older brothers she is no shrimp herself and pull her own weight on the route.

This year has seen changes as we introduce a new driver into the family. Londa took driver's education this past fall and completed half of her driving experience this past December. She did well in the classroom aspect of driver's education finishing at the top of her class and her driving instructor almost gave her a compliment on her driving—despite his own aversion to giving out compliments.

This past year Jedidiah and Elijah joined the homeschool choir for the first time and have absolutely loved it. Zachariah, Londa, Jedidiah, and Elijah have all enjoyed their choir experience this past year despite misgivings they may have had going into it.

Drama has been another addition that our family has really enjoyed as Josiah gathered some friends together and found a director to help them put on Much Ado About Nothing. The show was an absolute success and although Isaiah was not able to be there the kids had a wonderful time reliving this Shakespeare classic.
This sparked interest in the director they found to start up drama classes in the area and the older children have really enjoyed being involved in his acting class. They are looking forward eagerly to a new play in the new year.

This has been a year with a lot of new experiences, but the best new experiences have been the sweet moments with the three persons that mean the most to us. Father, Son, and Holy Spirit who have been faithful to their promises despite our unfaithfulness and have loved us more than we could deserve or think. This year has taught us even more about the absolutely unconditional love of God for us. He has broken our hearts with his undying love for us despite the many times we forget him in our busyness.
Jesus Christ has become more real and human to us and Holy Spirit has become more personal to us this past year. We look forward to another year in learning how to love and appreciate better these three persons who have given so much to have a personal relationship with us!

Growing in Everything

Growing up is something hard to do. I believe that's the title of a song, but I can't remember who wrote it. However, it's true. Growing up is something we all must do but it's very hard. Some have it easier and some have it harder, but our Father has planned each and every circumstance to make us grow. Grow in trust, love, courage, compassion, sensitivity, etc. Our whole lives are spent growing, either in good ways or bad.

The dictionary defines it first as "undergoing development by increasing in size and maturity." As we grow spiritually our hearts enlarge. Not our physical organs that pump blood, but our emotions and capacity to care about people. As Christians progress along in their lives they become more sensitive to the needs of others and their own need for God. Strangely enough when true Christians grow they actually seem to shrink in some ways. They certainly get bigger hearts that can care more about God and others, but they begin to realize how small they really are and how much they need their Father.

Thoughtful Christians almost always ask another how he or she is growing. This is because being a Christian is never a place you have reached or a level you have attained. This is because Christianity is not something you do, it is a person you know, and a person you become.

Growing in everything. That means being willing to learn, being teachable. If we aren't growing as Christians then we know everything, or at least think we. Recognizing growth in your life is part of humility. If you have a sense that you don't know it all you will be a much better listener and much better at compassionate counsel. That's why in Christian leadership position interviews they will always ask you what ways you are growing. If you can't think of anyways you are growing it's generally because you think you have already grown. Continual growth is an important part of the Christian life. If we are like plants we are dying if we're not growing. Jesus is the Son (or Sun) of Righteousness. As plants basking in the warm light of the Sun of Righteousness we are either growing or withering.

As a homeschooling family we are more sensitive to the learning that takes place in all areas and aspects of life. Notice I didn't say we're exclusively sensitive, just more sensitive. Despite your best efforts there is a tendency to see learning as bound to the classroom (and homework assignments) if you are in school. This doesn't mean that such tendency can be resisted quite well, but that is the tendency.
We aren't perfect by any means, but by God's grace we are a family seeking to learn from God in the smallest circumstance or situation in life.

So growing in everything. Growing from what to what? Growing from sinful to sinless, growing from wicked to wonderful, from awful to awesome, from terrible to terrific, and from self-centered to Christ-centered!!