Noble Norman

August here in Guadalajara brings rest, rain, & restoration. All of our students go home for the month & we get a break from ministry & responsibility. And with an unexpected trip to the States, we were excited for August to arrive!

A couple highlights from our trip included:

- Fried okra, Arby's, & The Cracker Barrel

- Visiting family in Texas, Oklahoma, & Texas

- Hanging out with Gram

- Buying stuff for our new home in Mexico

- Road trip!

- Time away & a chance to feel homesick for Mexico

But there are two B-I-G lessons that continue to stick with me from this trip.

First, my excitement to be in the States again after 6 months sort of took over & I got a little overboard--easy to do when you miss Target & other such novelty places like crazy! I was really excited to get stuff for our new house & rather enjoyed my time in Ikea, Walmart, & Target. But something took hold...

One of the best parts of our trip was our time in Oklahoma with family I haven't seen in about 15 years. We pulled up & those oh-familiar faces & voices came sweeping in...I felt overwhelmed with joy & happiness! Along with that, came a deep sense of simplicity. Aunt Louise & Uncle Mark have always been simple people--appreciating what they have & always sharing with others. But it was more than that. Jesus was speaking REALLY near to the heart about possessions & the concept of needs vs. wants. What do we really need? That's a tough question in a very materialistic society. But the question kept creeping in more & more...so much that we took stuff back to Target. And you know what? It wasn't that hard. And all of a sudden the overwhelming idea of how much money we were spending & how we were going to get it home didn't seem so big anymore. Jesus just sorta took the anxiety away, all because I obeyed.

Along with this lesson came another (more fun) one: when we had reached our first destination in Austin, TX we hit Ikea (and HARD!). Our car was already full & was going to get even more full. It was overwhelming thinking how we would get all this stuff home, along with our bodies & another girl who would be riding back down with us. On our way out of Austin, I had this audible thought (really, it was Jesus); It would be really nice if someone just gave us one of those luggage carriers for the top of the car. We really can't afford one, & it would help us out so much.

Not thinking much of it, we went on our way up to Oklahoma. The very first morning after we'd arrived, it turns out that Uncle Mark & Aunt Louise GAVE us a luggage carrier. We didn't ask for it & I hadn't even shared my thought with Matt. They just felt compelled to give it to us when they saw how much stuff we had. AMEN for the small things. Such a blessing. We proceeded to name the luggage carrier Noble Norman (because we were in Noble & Norman, OK) & he will probably forever be a part of our family!

I guess I want to ask these questions: have you thought about needs vs. wants today? Do you REALLY need that new car, stereo, or even that new CD? It's a lesson I'm still learning, & even now when I walk through Walmart here in Mexico Jesus gives me direction & I pass a lot of things on by. It's hard, but oh so good. And second, do you listen to those little audible thoughts? Sometimes Jesus just wants to bless us! And AMEN when He does!