I set the camera on "slow" for the fireworks that were exploding on the seven hills of Edinburgh, and caught this expression on Lily's face.
We had just come from a Ceilidh (traditional Scottish dance-athon get together pronounced "Kaylee") where the girls danced all night. More pictures on flickr.
Here's hoping your new year is full of His incredible presence, power, and peace. In Jesus' name, no surrender, no retreat.
Dust, Jan, Lil' and Zo'
Those of you who've been following our blog, will also be following the struggles of our dear niece and god-daughter, Adeline Hope Kunkel. We call her Addie. (You can still get updates on her battle with H.L.H. in the link in the right column).
I like to call Addie our little "battle maiden." She is a fighter. Even little people have a spirit to them, a nature that grabs God's hand and fights and struggles with tragedy and suffering.
We had no way of knowing it, but one of the little towns between Edinburgh and Glasgow on the trainline is called "Addiewell." What a name! We found this out yesterday on our train trip to Glasgow (see more pictures below).
Say a prayer for our little battle maiden right now. And keep checking her site for updates!
[As of this morning, I'm back to reading, writing papers, studying. I won't have time to share on the blog (besides photos) for a while. Janette might have some things to say, though! I decided I'd better share NOW what I consider to be the most important thing we've been learning since we've come to Edinburgh.]
"He has helped His servant Israel, remembering to be merciful to Abraham and his descendants forever, even as he said to our fathers" (from Mary's Song) Luke 1:54,55.
Our experience in Edinburgh is that God enjoys living in lowly families.
When He sent His son, He did not send Him to be born in the castle as the king. Neither was the Son born into a rich Pharisee or Sadducee family. He didn't come to a trading corporation or even to a not-for-profit group that does good things for people.
He came to a little family--one that looked on the outside like it was unravelling before it started! The girl got pregnant before the wedding, the guy was going to get rid of her! John says "he made his dwelling--literally, tented-- among us" (John 1:14). It almost sounds like God implied an extra phrase in that sentence: "tented among us. . . . the broken, messed up, who-don't-have-it-together, living-in-torn-up-tent ones."
And Mary sang about this: She remembered Abraham and his messiness; she remembered Israel (Jacob) and his lying, cheating and stealing. She remembered that God chose those men and their families to enshrine His very Self through their faith.
Back to tents: ever slept in one that was a little too tight? Ever had to share one with extra people? I have. When camping, I often prefer to take a big tarp to accommodate a lot of people if need be. Abraham's tent was like this--there were all kinds of people that ended up sharing Abraham's tent. He probably had to stretch it out a bit over the years. Hold that picture in your head. . . .
God loves to live with families. Simple. . . yet complex in a society that wants to accomplish “good” without families at the center. Maybe its because. . . .
Dustin, Lily and Zoe had never ridden on a train, so when Janette got a day off, we jumped on the one that runs between Edinburgh and Glasgow. It takes about 2 hours including all the stops. The wide streets downtown were crammed with shoppers, and the skies were clear--rare for the west side of Scotland.
Yesterday Zoe wasn't herself. We know this, when she insists on sitting still for more than, say 2 minutes, that she isn't well. She wanted to cuddle and watch movies. By mid afternoon she was breaking out in little red bumps --chicken pox!--and today they're everywhere!!
She was immunized in USA so we thought for sure that she'ld be free of them but here we go!! We gave her a bath with warm water and baking soda (which is bicarbonate soda over here) to help with the itching, and later she said "when do I get another bath in diet soda?" We thought it was cute. She was to be one of the wisemen today in our church children's Christmas "play," but they had to make do with only two . . . no one to bring the frankincense or as Zoe calls it "Frankin- something".
Should be a interesting week for Mr.Mom as I am working all week. Pray for quick healing and that Lily will be able to dodge the virus. We miss all of you so much. Thanks to those of you who have sent cards or packages. It really helps us feel like we aren't so far away from home. One friend from Trinity, Paula Bennett, sent us a package with Christmas decorations in it...it was an incredible gift because as she guessed, we had nothing here. Thanks for remembering us this time of the year!
Peace and Joy from Scotland!
Janette
Zoe had a great time in her nursery play as rudolph. We found a little nose that lights up when you wear it, but that only stayed on for five minutes before it hung around her neck. They sang carols and Santa visited at the end of it all. She was very happy, as you can see!
What follows is an email we received yesterday from Kris and Sara. It brought a smile, a little tear, and blossoming hope to our lives. We hope it does for you too. . . .
dust and jan,
a little story to brighten your day. first, do you remember the
little red maracas rattle you gave Addie when she was just a
whee little tike? this story is about that.
last week we were having difficulty getting addie to relax, rest
and sleep, so we were trying all kinds of things. we found that
one thing worked---her red rattle. when she had it in her hands
she would relax. she didn't really shake it that much, just
held on to it very tight. kinda her "security blanket" deal.
it was very cute.
the cutest part to the whole thing is that she went for about 3
days straight where that was all she wanted and she wouldnt' let
go of it--even at night. there she was asleep in her bed
holding tight to her red rattle snorring away!! ;) very
cute!!!
she's ventured off into other things this week but she still
likes her rattle. i thought of this again last night when i
couldn't get her to sleep after sara left, i remembered the
rattle. so i scrounged around for it, found it and gave it to
her. as soon as she saw it she got all excited, grabbed it
tightly and pulled it close to her chest. immediately she
relaxed, settled down and began starting to sleep.
so thought i'd share that with you guys. have a great day!
Lotsa love and hugs and kisses from US 2 U!
Kris and Sara
A photo to lighten your day,
A photo just for laughs,
A photo to make you grin,
and crack a wee little smile!
For those of you who wonder what the ancient Celtic Christians had that transformed a pagan island in a single century, I've placed some links in the right hand column. A new friend of mine, Colin Symes, has spent a considerable amount of time and energy in the research and has written a rivetting introduction to their life in Christ. I believe these pagan days are ripe for a rediscovery of the passion our ancient brothers and sisters felt for Jesus.
Check the links under "Going Deeper" on the right panel.
If you've got questions, I'm sure Colin wouldn't mind an email or two!
Dust
