Random Bits and Pieces

So, I've basically taken the last week off. :-) I mean, I was still Mommy and did laundry and made meals and such, but that's about it. After running in and out of town for most of July, I needed a week to decompress and just be. The phone hardly rang, I didn't have the car from Monday-Wednesday so we were home a lot, and then Friday, Travis had the day off and we just hung out at home most of Friday and Saturday with him. (The day off was because we thought he would need the time to recover from having his top two wisdom teeth taken out on Thursday afternoon. However, it was a ridiculously quick procedure and he really didn't even have much pain.) That said, the week included playing in the kiddie pool, baking a batch of bread, having the neice and nephew over on Monday, watching Yours, Mine, and Ours with Travis on a "school night" and such. I've been pondering some things and though I haven't settled any on any conclusions here are a few nuggets that have been rolling in my head:

I don't know if I've ever noticed this verse before, but I read it in a book my husband bought me to read and it jumped off the page:

We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God. 2 Corinthians 5:20

That verse ties into this statement:

[We are] ambassador families for Christ, our home country is the kingdom of God. We identify thoroughly with the customs, values, and policies of this unseen monarchy. Yet we also seek to understand the place where we're temporarily posted - a place that's as foreign and challenging as Vietnam was to Americans, if not more so. Our call as ambassadors is to further the purposes of our King in the world of pop culture. Our call as parents is to train the foreign service recruits under our management - our children.

From the book, Ambassador Families: Equipping Your Kids to Engage Popular Culture by Mitali Perkins

Do I live like my home country is the kingdom of God? Not even just living like it, but do I even REALIZE that my true home country is the kingdom of God. I love the sound of the word "ambassador" and the thought of being an ambassador for Christ. Going to explore this more.

Joy. Biblical joy. It's hard for me to get a handle on. This was week 4 in my Living Beyond Yourself study ... and yes, I'm way behind where I should be for the summer. (My goal is to finish this in August ... 6 more weeks of homework to go). The last point Beth Moore made in the study was that "joy is the result of relating God's way to God's people" or just the plain fact that we (the body of believers) are to be catalysts of joy for one another and that God did not leave us on earth to be loners. I admit, I tend to pull in rather than reach out. Hmmm.

And as something funny, N1's new favorite movie is "Me-guy-yi-yi Stew." Guesses anyone? I didn't think so. It has taken me about three weeks to figure it out, but what she is saying is "Augustus Gloop" a.k.a. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. She cannot get enough of the Oompa-Loompa dancing and is working on her version of the routines. Quite amusing.