Back to School?

As we finish out the summer, I want to update our friends and supporters on our kids' schooling situation. Over the weekend, the Belizean government mandated distance learning once again for all students nationwide. Our kids have not been in a school building since March 2020 and it doesn't look like that's gonna change any time soon.

AJ, who is 13, will be heading into High School starting next Monday. He was really excited to not only be in high school, but also to be in-person at least a few days/week. Now that that has changed, our extreme extrovert is adjusting once again to disappointment. The good thing is, AJ has been accepted to one of the best public high schools in the area and they have done a pretty good job of distance learning since the beginning of last school year. AJ is adamant that he stay enrolled in public school so that some day he will be able to attend school with his Belizean peers. In addition to his required work, we will continue to give him advanced work at home, to make sure he keeps up with North American standards.

Brooklyn is our anxious learner. Although she has always done well, she stresses out a lot about how she compares with her peers. Last year, she received paper packets from school and had online classes 2 days per week. In addition, we also gave her Math, language and other subjects to keep her learning. Despite those efforts we believe Brookie can't afford another year of piece-meal instruction, so we made the hard choice to homeschool her this year. We'll keep her enrolled in the public K-8 school, but will supplement with actual home school curriculum for now. The main reason for this is due to her immigration status, as she is here under a student visa. We will see how she (and Eddie) does with the home school curriculum this year and may decide to go all-in at semester break or next year. Brooklyn is excited to be homeschooled, but of course, we haven't actually done any work yet. ;)

If you've followed our blog or social media accounts over the past two years, you may remember that we never intended to home school. Of course, nothing in our lives could have prepared us for the alternative reality we are living in. Eddie and I have prayerfully let-go of our refusal to homeschool and are hoping for the best.

Proverbs 3:5-6

Trust in the Lord with all your heart

and lean not on your own understanding;

6 in all your ways submit to him,

and he will make your paths straight.

How about you? Has God pushed you out of your comfort zone during these Covid times? Has He asked you to let go of a stance that you've always held onto? Has He asked you to do something you swore you'd never do? If so, how's that going? We'd love to hear how He's working in your life too. As for us, it's back to school.

Glass Half-Full(filled)

Recently I realized that in this time of Covid and moving to Central America, I see myself as having an incomplete life. I've left my former life behind and I'm in the process of building a new life- one that is full and fulfilling. While the particulars of this perspective are accurate, there's something in it that feels "glass half-empty."

If you consider Maslow's hierarchy of needs, I have the base levels down: things like air, food, water, safety and belonging. So many people around the world, and in my own sphere of influence, are still scraping to have these needs reliably met. Because of my safe and comfortable upbringing, meeting my basic needs feels a bit ho-hum. It does little to give me a sense of fulfillment. My standards are higher, my expectations rarely met.

Is my life "half" anything? If it is, that's only because of my expectation to make a difference in the world for God; to use my privilege and blessing on behalf of the poor, the rejected, the hurting. I want my contribution to count, my talents to be used and to yield a great harvest. Short of that, life feels a bit...half-empty, if you will.

1 Timothy 6:6-8

6 But godliness with contentment is great gain.

7 For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it.

8 But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that.

While I wait for doors to open career-wise, am I content in my circumstances? Is it enough that I have food and clothing? Will I thank God for every day I have a roof over my head? I don't want to be an ungrateful child, spoiled from years of enjoying every blessing. Lord, help me to appreciate the life I have, whether it's half-empty or half-full.

Seasons Change

Back-to-school in North America means the seasons are changing. Not so for Belize. Here the return to school is smack-dab in the middle of rainy season, which runs from May through December. In our spiritual lives, like in nature, seasons change. Sometimes that change is gradual, like Spring buds pushing up through melting Winter snow. Sometimes it jars us, like seeing pumpkin decorations at the grocery store in July. What?! I'm not ready!

Unlike natural seasons, which mark the change with changing temperatures and changing harvests, spiritual seasons can be a bit harder to pinpoint. It's easy to just keep on trucking, doing what we've always done and miss-out on how the wind of the Spirit has shifted.

In the natural, we might be wearing warm weather clothing, when a sudden downpour catches us off-guard. Spiritually, we might be comfortable in our long-held roles at church when a sudden need pulls us out of our comfort and into a new area of ministry. In our homes, a family friend may suddenly need a place to stay. Will we adjust to the new season and embrace it? Or will we cover our heads and pretend it's not raining?

Isaiah 43:18-19 talks about perceiving the changing seasons in the Spirit:

“Forget the former things;

do not dwell on the past.

19 See, I am doing a new thing!

Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?

I am making a way in the wilderness

and streams in the wasteland."

What new things could God be doing in your own life? Do you perceive a change? Did you hear the wind whistle? Did you feel a drop of rain? My prayer for you is that you would ask God to show you the signs of changing seasons and that you would lean into the change, because (who knows!) the next season just might be your best!