New Year's Resolutions...

I am not inspired to set very many resolutions this year but there is something about a new year that makes turning over a new leaf desirable.

We have been "doing church" online every Sunday at www.lifechurch.tv for a while now. When we were in San Juan del Sur we tried attending a couple of local churches but the services were long and our comprehension short. The kids weren't enjoying it (and neither were we) and we didn't want them to have a bad taste about church or Nicaragua (especially so early in our trip) so we stopped trying. We moved from SJDS to stay with friends in Jinotega and had the privilege of joining them for church in their home two Sundays in a row. They had an English service in the morning and it was such a blessing to sing in English and to hear the message and understand it. They also had a Spanish small group in the evenings which we got to attend as well. We had some help translating and having the message given in Spanish by a native English speaker made it easier to understand. We had a chance to visit Granada and attend 7:00 AM Thursday Men's Bible Study which starts at 8:30 and includes women and children (I love Nicaragua!!). The Bible Study included worship, in Spanish, and a message given in English and translated to Spanish.

So when we settled into our house in Matagalpa we had had enough spiritual refilling to remember how much we missed it. Joe decided that we would watch church online every Sunday. I was less than enthusiastic because I thought we should try some local churches here, but I agreed. I was also afraid it would be hokey and there would be pressure to give financially each week (I believe wholeheartedly in tithes and offerings but I don't like manipulation). I was so pleased with the first message as it spoke right to me and where our family was (God's cool like that). The kids all sat through and listened. The message was clear and simple but deep as well. I figured we caught them on a "good week" but we watched again the next week and we all got a lot out of the message. Again, my kids were all attentive and demonstrated a true understanding of the message. And so it has gone, week after week. I have come to realize that it is a high quality, not manipulative, Christ-seeking "church" and I can stop waiting for a "bad message" and sit back relax and worship the Lord.

I never thought I would feel that way about church, where I can't wait till Sunday, when it's online, but I do. I was so excited to be able to see the "bonus" Christmas Eve service. Our family has been truly blessed and I can see continuing to watch every week, even when we are in a "real" church back home.

The beginning of a new year is a great time to start a "read the Bible in a year" plan. I know this because I have "started" one several times (always at the beginning of the year). Lifechurch.tv has their own Bible software called youversion and they have lots of different translations available online as well as numerous reading plans. There are read the Bible in a year, two years, read it twice in a year, a chronological plan, a cover to cover plan, the gospels, Psalms and Proverbs, even a weekend free plan. Every plan they have can be altered to the time frame you desire. They also have a "Catch Me Up" feature that will divide up the remainder of your reading over the remaining days. There really is no excuse to fail. So I decided to jump on the bandwagon, again, and attempt to read the Bible in a year. I chose a plan that gives a mix of old and new testament and keeps my weekends free (to catch up, if I need it). I am on day 5 today (I started a little early) and I love it! I didn't read at all yesterday but I decided to read 2 days worth today. It is really manageable. Now I have 2 days off for the weekend, but I don't think I will take them off, I don't want to.

So reading the Bible in a year, I said it, now I have to do it.

I don't really have any other "resolutions" for the year. I am looking forward to living out the remainder of our trip here in Nicaragua and experiencing all that God has for me. I would like to lose weight, but I am less obsessed with food since I have been here, so I am not too worried about that. I would like to get a regular exercise routine going. But for the most part I feel very blessed. God has taken a difficult trial in my life and turned it into an adventure. My kids are doing great. My husband is happy and healthy (and 20 lbs lighter, but I'm not bitter). I am learning more and more what it means to rely on God for everything and my heart is lighter for it.

I hope 2011 is a year of good things for you and your family. Happy New Year!!

P.S. If you are interested in a Bible reading plan go to http://www.youversion.com/reading-plans/all

The Food We Eat...

Food. It's a pretty important part of our lives. Our family had some pretty strong opinions about food when we came to Nicaragua. Here's a rundown on our food idiosyncrasies.

Joe. He will eat pretty much anything. He turns his nose up at something not because of how it tastes but because of how unhealthy it is or how he feels after he eats it. He's pretty easy to please however a compliment on a meal doesn't mean much coming from him.

Joey. This kid has always had peculiar tastes. He has a love for white bread and sugar unrivaled by other 12 year old boys, however some of his favorite foods are balsamic vinegar, pico de gallo, a nice green salad, Brussels sprouts, bacon, seafood of all kinds and meat. For much of his early childhood he refused to eat tomatoes or tomato based foods (pizza, spaghetti, etc.) or melted cheese (mac n cheese, grilled cheese, etc.). He has been a tough kid to feed a regular kid menu as he never really liked most of those typical "kid friendly" foods. He'd rather go to a steakhouse (wonder where he gets that...read on).

Bridget. She is pretty adventurous in that she will try most things but unfortunately that doesn't translate to her liking most things. It does make her a relatively good dinner guest though, and for that I am thankful (especially after Joey). She does not like seafood at all (she gets that from me), but she will still try it (she does not get that from me. I don't care how good that salmon is, it still tastes like salmon, which I don't like, so don't waste it on me). She doesn't hate much but she is not fond of rice.

Gus. Oh where to begin with Gus? Gus is a boy who loves to eat! This is the kid who never outgrew the eating every 2-3 hours habit as a baby. He is constantly starving and always needs more. Does that translate into a kid who is easy to feed? No. Gus doesn't like textures. He doesn't like rice, oatmeal, or potatoes. I am sure there are numerous other similarly textured foods he won't eat but those are the big ones that we serve regularly at our house. He also doesn't like beans of any kind (guessing it's a texture thing too). So what does Gus eat? Fruit, and lots of it!! I had to buy a stacking fruit bowl and an overflow bowl to keep enough fruit to get us through between grocery store visits. This kid will plow through a 3 pound bag of satsumas in a sitting and ask "what's for lunch?". The first thing he learned to say in Spanish class was "Yo tengo hambre." (I am hungry). The second thing he learned in Spanish was "Yo necesito comer" (I need to eat.). He will eat 3 or 4 bananas in a sitting. He loves apples, oranges, pineapple, mango, kiwi, persimmons, peaches, pears, cherries, berries....if it's a fruit, he'll eat it. So even though he's a picky kid, I can't complain too much about his choice of indulgences. What he loves, he loves passionately and what he hates, he hates passionately.

Me. I like food. I guess I could be called a picky eater. When I was little and went to my cousin's house to play, my aunt would frequently have me play through dinner. Since I never liked what she made, she gave up offering. I was not the welcome house guest sort of eater. My favorite foods as a kid were teriyaki steak (this was in the late 70's before teriyaki was on every corner) and marinated sautéed mushrooms. My mom didn't love to cook and as we got older we ate out a lot or fended for ourselves. The result of eating what you order (instead of what your mom puts on your plate), isn't a tolerance for mediocre food. I like my food to taste good. I don't particularly like to cook, but I do like to eat good food and since eating out every night isn't feasible, I had to learn to cook food I like. Over the past 15 years of having my own kitchen, I have come to like my own cooking..

Our family came to Nicaragua open to eating new foods. We ate mostly vegetarian at home as I didn't cook meat so having meat was a treat for our kids (and Joe). We used that as a "carrot" for the kids encouraging them to look forward to our travels. Joey made the comment before we left, "I would like to have more meat in my diet". I cringe a bit thinking that my kids' reintroduction to meat is occurring in a developing country, but it's worked out well enough.

The kids have taken to eating with gusto things they would have turned their noses up at home. Joey's favorite thing I make here is "Survivor Soup", named so because we ate it while watching Survivor in San Juan del Sur. Everyone is enjoying my Nicaraguan "mac and cheese" (made with cujada, which is similar to goat cheese, and shells, white wine, tomatoes and basil). We have homemade "dedos de pollo" with garlic mashed potatoes about once a week. I have also figured out a pretty good tortilla soup. What is interesting to me is that even though we are eating meat again, the amount of meat we are eating is so much less than we would have eaten at home. For our family of 5 I make 2 chicken breasts for our "dedos de pollo". At home I would have cooked at least 5 chicken breasts. The soups that I make usually include 1 chicken thigh and leg for the whole pot. I guess that it is close to the way the Nicaraguans eat meat and even less than the "pack of cards" recommended for a healthy heart. While I would love to go back to eating vegetarian at home when we return, I am pretty sure this trip has changed how my kids will eat. I will have to make "Survivor Soup" and "dedos de pollo" but I am pretty sure I am going to add some pinto beans to the tortilla soup and dial back the chicken even more. The "mac and cheese" is pretty good as it is.

I am grateful that my kids' palates are being stretched here and they are rising to the occasion. Last night I made lentil soup for the first time in Nicaragua and while the kids made their opinions about the soup known while it was cooking, once it was served they ate the small portion I gave them (with a big portion of salad) without a single complaint, even from Gus!

Joey LOVES soup nights and raves about my cooking. Bridget keeps plugging away not raving about my cooking but not complaining either. And even though I put potatoes in the "Survivor Soup" Gus doesn't complain about them anymore and actually eats them. So we are eating differently, with less variety and the funny thing is that my kids are complaining less and enjoying food more.