Count With Me.....

I count things.  I don’t do it on purpose… Well, sometimes I do.  But many times (too many times to count) I find myself counting things.

Fifteen stairs make up the staircase in our house.

There are 22 stairs between the classroom level and the office level of the Bible college.

I recently counted ten blooming and brilliant yellow trees visible from my office window.  At the same time, I noticed twelve birds sitting on an electric wire.

Quite often, on my trips downtown to the Bible college, I notice career dog walkers and I quickly count how many dogs they have on leashes.  The highest for one person was nine.  One time I saw two walkers, and they had at least twelve between the two of them.

The ascent from the city of Medellin (down in a valley) up to the airport is quite a journey, and I’m always amazed at the people who bike up this windy road.  One Sunday, on our way to preach at a church near the airport, I decided to count how many bikers we passed.  I stopped at 100… not because I couldn’t count any higher, but because I’d proven a point to myself – there were a lot!

When I’m bored or can’t sleep, I find myself not counting sheep, but counting rhythms with my fingers.  Not just counting to make sure I have ten, but counting to an unheard beat.  One, two three,… four, five, six,…  You get the point!

But one thing I have been unable to successfully count – even past 100 – are God’s blessings!

Years ago, I purchased a book at a little shop in the Amana Colonies (in Iowa), entitled, “14,000 things to be happy about.”, by Barbara Ann Kipper.  I must confess – I’ve never read her entire list.  But I dare say I could come up with more things to be happy about… things I’m blessed with.  Because I’ve been blessed beyond count… beyond measure!

One of my favorite songs these days is “10,000 Reasons,” by Matt Redman.  The song challenges me to find 10,000 reasons why I should (and can) sing praises to and bless the Lord!

November and December seem to be our months of “thanks-giving.”  But we don’t have to wait until then!  Right now, we can begin to count all of God’s blessings in our lives!  If we make a list of 25-30 different blessings each day, we’ll have our list of 10,000 in one year!  (I also love math, but that’s the subject for a future blog…..)

Signing off...  I have some counting to do!

Image courtesy of Ambro / FreeDigitalPhotos.net.

Vacation!

It's officially vacation season in Colombia!  You may think to yourself, "That's not anything unusual.  It is mid-June, after all."  But it IS different in Colombia!

The official school year in Colombia begins in February and ends in November.  Though most of Colombia is north of the equator, the country uses the southern hemisphere school calendar, and considers December and January as "summer break" and mid-June to mid-July as winter vacation.  Vacation season officially kicked off Saturday, June 15, complete with fireworks and neighborhood all-night celebrations.

Of course, living in this City of Eternal Spring, we never experience "winter," as we know it in Iowa.  And, in fact, "winter break" takes place at the end of one of the "winter" (i.e., "rainy") seasons.

So what does vacation season in Colombia mean?  It means quiet days and noisy nights!   It means fewer school buses on the streets, but more people on the streets and in the popular gathering places. It means special activities in daycare centers, at the zoo and the museums, and at shopping centers for the kids.  It means all the popular vacation destinations – whether an hour out of town, or an all-night bus trip away – are packed with families vacationing together.

Vacation season at the Bible College means students have completed their quarter of studies.  It means we're getting ready for two, separate week-long intensive classes, this year offering Greek and Pastoral Theology III.

Because Christopher studies at a U.S.-based school that follows the U.S. school calendar, it means he's on break for two months instead of just one.  It means mentally winding down from 11th grade and anticipating 12th grade.

In our house, it means catching up on all the things we've fallen behind in – office work, blogging, cleaning out closets, etc.  It means hosting AIM teams.

Yes, it's vacation season in Colombia!  That doesn't necessarily mean a vacation!  But it does mean change... and a change of pace!