I am moving my blog over to the blogger platform. I have found weebly to be extremely difficult to work with and my dear friends in Uganda can't access it. I have cut and paste this entire blog over there, so I hope to see you there!
https://findingriversinthedesert.blogspot.com/
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Timothy and Katelyn started at Covenant College yesterday. I'm so incredibly thankful that God has made the way for them to go. I appreciate the Christ centered approach to academics that Covenant takes and their emphasis on Christian community. Timothy and Katelyn were invited to be a part of the international students/third culture kids orientation which we were thankful for. Saying goodbye was hard. We've had so much loss and the kids are so incredibly close to each other that it's not easy. But we're counting down the days til we see them again!
Since Timothy and Katelyn are about to leave for college, we decided to take one last family vacation together. We went to Tennessee and camped for a week (primative tent camping!) on the banks of the Ocoee River right near the Tanasi trail system. We had so much fun. I thought that by the end of the week, we'd all be more than ready to go home, but other than the fact that we had completely run out of clean clothes, we totally weren't. We went biking, hiking, floating down the river, and rafting. We came home filled up on s'mores and precious memories. Here's the photo dump (The pictures are posted in gallery form, so you can click on them to expand them): The mountain biking trails were great. There were lots of places the littles could bike around. And more challenging trails for the big kids. The first time the big kids and I went out, we were on the Tanasi trails. They were pretty tough, especially going up. It was a 1000ft. elevation gain in a little over three miles and the trails were rooty and rocky with some shelf trail that you just don't look down. haha... We had to get off a few times to push our bikes through, but most of it was doable and the down hill was great fun. The second major ride we did was less elevation gain, but most of it was a narrow shelf trail. It was faster and very flowy though, so it was pretty fun. The only hitch was that the kids didn't hear me say that it was an out and back, so when we were nearing the turn around, and I said that we were almost to the end of the trail, they were happy until I said, "So now we turn around and go back!" mwahaha! One day we did a hike to Benton Falls. It was such a beautiful day and a beautiful trail. We also had fun climbing up the rocks to the top falls and playing in the water. Perhaps my favorite thing from the week was being right next to the river. I hung my hammock over the edge and spent quite a few hours reading and thinking and praying there. It was peaceful and refreshing. We also had great fun floating down the river. We could walk to one end of the campground, jump in and float down to the other end. It was great fun as long as we made sure to swim to the side in time...lol... I'm so blessed by these kids and was so happy to get to spend a week with them! (and a week with no cell service...bonus!) God has been so gracious to us!
I think it's becoming a new tradition for us to go to North Carolina for the fourth of July. The little town of Belhaven is just the happening place to be on the fourth! Despite Covid, the celebrations continued on as normal, but maybe with a few less people. My youngest third culture kids were considerably more confident in their ability to navigate the celebrations this year than last. They came prepared to enjoy it all and scoop up lots of candy. They were not disappointed. We travel in style (Tuininga style that is!): The first night we spent with the cousins: The next day we went to the beach with the cousins and friends from Uganda. Afterwards we hung out at their church and ate pizza and danced and celebrated Matthew's birthday: On July 4, we went with grandparents and cousins to watch the parade. In the afternoon, some of us biked to the river, swam, and biked back. Later at night the kids and I went to the water to watch the fireworks: We left with full hearts! What a blessing to have family so close!
At the beginning of July I took the 5 youngest camping for a couple nights at the beach. We had so much fun! Here's the massive photo dump! We took our sweet Louisa May with us. She's a little crazy and hyper on the beach though. She let it be known to everyone far and wide that she was there. haha!
I'm so late on this post, because the summer has been crazy busy. But! Timothy and Katelyn graduated this year from high school. Timothy actually finished most of his high school work last year, but we delayed his graduation so he could do a semester of dual enrollment (free college!) at Georgia College this past year. The local homeschool group that we are a part of had a small ceremony for the graduates and their families. It's really hard to believe that I crossed the homeschool finish line with the first two. Now they are off to Covenant College this fall. Timothy hopes to go into robotic engineering and Katelyn is going to major in history and do something with history and writing combined (hisortical research writing or historical fiction writing?). I'm so proud of these two! They've worked so hard! Each of them, between AP courses and dual enrollment, have about a year of college already done. I'm so thankful that I was privaledged to be such a large part of their academic career so far. I'm even more thankful for how they desire to serve the Lord as they push out into the world. Soli Deo Gloria! The kids wore the Uganda flag sash to represent the years that they studied in Uganda.
We had cousins (and Auntie and Uncle) come to visit for the week. It was so much fun! They have 8 kids, so together there were 17 kids running around here. To say it was a happy state of chaos is an understatement. Rebecca delighted the little girls with a ballet lesson. Lots of book reading time with little cousins! The big girls attempted to temporarily dye their hair (on the roof?). It ended up being a huge mess! haha! Then they cooked up a crazy idea to have the boys do their make up. They put everything on the counter and didn't give them any directions. It was fairly hilarious...and a bit hideous. We spent a bit of time at the lake... And at the river... And we only had one trip to urgent care for five stitches. Benaiah's head happened to colide with a rock as it flew through the air. He's doing just fine now though.
This month is a month of one-year anniversaries for us. One year since I felt like my world fell apart. One year since I started walking through this dark providence. One year since God rescued me. One year since we experienced our quick and traumatic move to America. One year since saying good-bye to dear friends. One year of being a single mom. I have cried more during this past year than I ever thought possible. But I was thinking recently, that rather than marking my days of sorrow, I should rather mark them under God's grace. Afterall, I have one year of seeing God's faithfulness. One year of the comfort of the Holy Spirit being poured out in ways I had never known were possible before. I have more than 365 mornings that God has literally lifted me out of bed and set me on my feet. He has pushed me through every day, seen every tear, provided for every single need, given me every ounce of strength needed. And not only that, he has given us a measure of healing. Restored some joy. We have seen, especially in the last month or so, the sun start to peek out again. He has allowed my trauma brain fog to be lifted and a measure of restored hope that I will indeed "look upon the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living." (Psalm 27) I've come to the conclusion that marking God's time is more beneficial than marking my own days of sorrow. It encourages me keep the eyes of faith which see God and say, "He is enough." This picture is from the Entebbe airport parking lot. The big kids and I were struggling with a broken suitcase and weighing the luggage. And in that moment, the littles were struggling with broken hearts and the weight of all that was happening. But when I looked over at them, I knew that one day they'd be okay because in their own personal desperation, they had dug out their Bibles from their backpacks and were soaking in the Psalms while they sat waiting for us to finish.
One year later, I can say that God has never failed us. No, not once. The pain has been intense, but so has his love. I have one more big day that is coming that I'm still struggling to see my way through: May 27 --what would have been my 20th wedding anniversary. I'm asking that you please pray for strength to walk through it, that I'll keep my eyes on Christ, and that God will wrap his arms around me on that day, just as he has done so many times this past year. I have also seen this past year how he has continually used the prayers and love of his people to minister to my heart and this upcoming day just feels like a big one right now that I need a lot of prayer for. So thank you! "The Lord is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth. He fulfills the desire of those who fear him, he also hears their cry and saves him." Psalm 145:18-19. Whew...has a whole month passed since I've posted? This past month I've been enjoying time with the kids and getting things done around the house and still pushing on with my grad school work. God has blessed us with many moments of joy and hope this past month. Here is a smattering of pictures. The kids loved me enough to dress up for Easter still this year. I am so blessed by this crew. We are really enjoying the warmer weather. No need for heating or airconditioning and we eat supper outside almost every night. We've also planted flowers and a garden. It's been refreshing. Talitha got another hamster. Sadly, her other one managed to escape. This is Hamlet. He's pretty cute! My parents have been kind to let us come hang out at the lake. The water is just starting to get warm enough for me, but the little boys have been in for a while. We got Louisa May a life jacket and have been slowly coaxing her into swimming. The kids have a goal of getting her to jump off the dock wth them. Yesterday was our last day of school for the 2019-2020 school year. It's been a CRAZY year, but I am so thankful that I can honestly say we had a strong finish of the year and after our rough start and our "real school" detour things got so much better. While I know we'll enjoy our summer break, I'm really looking forward to next year and am already mentally planning and getting excited about the future. When I think about where I was when we started this past year, I consider the fact that I can say that to be nothing short of the grace of God. Thank you to everyone who continues to pray for us...particularly as we move through a month of difficult anniversaries. We really do see God wrapping us up in his arms and we would covet your continued prayers to that end.
"You will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will be turned to joy." John 16:20
Sorrow is a strange beast. There are days when it is larger than life and seeks to completely consume me. Then there are other days when it is content to remain as a small dark shadow in the corner. The changing of the seasons, the social isolation, Easter, and the anticipation of the shortly coming days where "one year ago today..." will be heard, all mixed with no end in sight for these trials of mine has turned my sorrow into a roaring beast. Last night I felt content to sit with Good Friday. All of its hurt, pain, and death seemed to feel appropriate. Jesus gave the sign of Jonah to the Pharisees, and the sinking and crying out and seaweed wrapped around him and the darkness of his strange tomb was the place where the eyes of my heart wanted to settle. I can feel Mary's pain as she wept at the tomb where Christ was laid. She thought Christ had left her. The pain of losing the one who Loved her was palpable. But graciously, Christ placed his hand on my shoulder, just like he did for my weeping sister, and reminded me of his presence. He doesn't want me to sit with good Friday forever. After all, He didn't. On that resurrection morning He made the greatest exchange so that one day, my sorrow will forever be traded for joy. "You will have sorrow," he said and today it feels like an understatement. But he knows. He knows that sin always causes hurt. He knows that before life can burst forth, the most unimaginable pain must first be experienced. He knows that before a baby's beautiful cry is heard, a mother's painful cry will pierce the ears of those around her. Christ suffered to pay for our sin so that joy could come. He didn't avoid the suffering. He didn't try to diminish the experience of the suffering. He accepted it fully and then paid the ultimate price so that he could exchange our suffering for joy. I wish that the beast of sorrow would shrivel up and die altogether. I know that I will never experience a complete exchange of sorrow for joy here on earth, but I hear people saying that time will help, and I feel frustrated that time doesn't pass more quickly. But the Holy Spirit soothes my heart by reminding me again that the bright hope of heaven and all its future glory will give me the needed strength for today as I face these trials. And graciously, He reminds me that Love hasn't left me. Instead, Love has bottled my tears and recorded my hard ugly cry in his book. He has diminished my beastly sorrow to a more manageable size and comforted me with truth. Easter truth. Resurrection truth. Truth that dries my good Friday tears and replaces them with a joy-filled glimmer of hope. |
Behold, I am doing a new thing;
now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert. Isaiah 43:19 Archives
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