Pour Life

Hanging out with kids can make you laugh like crazy and can expose you to kid cooties.

This Friday I came home with a nasty cold/sinus infection/plague... oh what fun! Because of this I have been cooped up in my room in my pajamas, with tea and my computer for almost 48 hrs. I am going a little stir crazy and started a dance party with the cats. They didn't appreciate my efforts so I thought I would focus my energy into something more creative and restful like writing (also when you have a sinus infection it throws off your equilibrium and dancing can become dangerous to everyone involved even cats). 

Ruminating on what one wants from life is always a good exercise. When you think about what you want out of life it gets you to invest more in life, because life is truly what you make of it. In my ruminations and writings I noticed that I kept using the phrase "pour life," in ways such as "I want to be in a community that pours life into me" and "I want to pour life into children/women/families who desperately need it." This phrase kept coming up so much that I wanted to distill what I meant by it, so I pulled out my handy-dandy iPhone ESV bible app and searched for "life."

Psalm 16:11 

"You make known to me the path of life;

in your presence there is fullness of joy;

at your right hand are pleasures forever more." 

Ecclesiastes 7:20

"For he will not much remember the days of his life because God keeps him occupied with joy in his heart."

Mathew 7:14 

"For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few." 

Mark 8:35

"For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel's will save it."

Philippians 2:16-18

"holding fast to the word of life so that in the day of Christ I may be proud that I did not run in vain or labor in vain. Even if I am to be poured out as a drink offering upon the sacrificial offering of your faith, I am glad and rejoice. Likewise you also should be glad and rejoice with me." 

Colossians 3:3

"For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory." 

2 Peter 1:3-6

"His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness."

Revelations 21:6

"To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment."

Basically what "pour life" means is to live a life of sacrificial love like Jesus'. As this pouring out happens a pouring in happens as well. Like a stream that flows, the waters keep coming and keep going. Refreshing and resting at the very same time. And again the precious grace and goodness of The Father leads me back to his love and lap, to build a deeper dependence on his arm to sustain me. 

I love the verse from Ecclesiastes. I want to be so occupied with the joy of the Lord that I lose track of my days in how lavishly I am living them. As the world is awakening to the warmth of Spring, I feel my heart awakening and sprouting joy. Soon Summer will be here with fruit, and Autumn with harvest, and Winter again for the deepening of roots. But as these seasons come over and over again, I want to find myself "hidden with Christ in God," tucked away in his identity, covered and fulfilled.  

Christmas in Kalimpong

Sorry I haven't updated in a while. Our internet has been not working properly since before Christmas. It will come on for 5 or 10 minutes at a time. Sometimes it will come back in a few minutes and other times it will be gone for the rest of the day. So frustrating, but this is just one of those things you have to deal with when living in India. Because of the internet issues I haven't been able to update in quite a while. So I am going to start back in December...

Christmas was a wonderful time of celebration. The typical India Christian family celebrates Christmas by going to church on Christmas day, where you will probably watch some skits and songs from the children, hear a message, and share a meal with the church family. Most families' decorations don't go beyond some colored lights and a paper star. Christmas is basically one day of celebration. Up here in the hills all the schools are on a two month winter break, but in most of the rest of the country school is still in session having holiday only on Christmas day.

We (Manju, Jeewan Loy, and I) took about a week off of school, beginning with a surprise interruption in our school day. December 20^th is my birthday, and we planned to have school as usual and begin the holiday on the following day with a day of Christmas cookie baking and gingerbread house making. But surprise! In the middle of a math test I was giving to Manju, I hear footsteps on the stairs. I thought maybe some of the girls from downstairs were sneaking up to spy on us. Instead it was everyone from downstairs, the whole German family who lives up the street, and Lindy carrying a birthday cake complete with candles. After I blew out the candles we all went out on the terrace and shared tea and cake. Well that made quite a happy end to our school day and beginning to our holiday.

Gingerbread House (from a kit brought from America)

Here in Kalimpong the week before Christmas youth groups, choirs, and Sunday-schools roam around caroling in the evenings. They do this usually do this as a fundraiser for their group. When a group of carolers arrives at your house you are expected to welcome them in for tea and biscuits(cookies) and send them away with a small donation. Sometimes they send a card a few days before to warn you of their coming, but some just arrive unannounced. They usually begin caroling just after the sun goes down (which is around 4:30pm) and can keep going until 1 or 2am. One night we had three different groups come one of them came at 1am but we were asleep in our warm beds so we just cracked a window waved and went back to bed. Even when carolers don't come to your house you can still here them in the neighborhood as the houses are close together and the windows not very well insulated. It is such a magical thing to fall asleep to the echos of people singing and worshiping Jesus all over the hills.

Happy Birthday Jesus! Yummy Chocolate!

Christmas Eve we spent with Harry and Vroni, the German family, their four kids and Vroni's friend who was visiting from Germany. We had a bonfire with popcorn, apple cider, cookies, and pigs-in-a-blanket, and sang songs in both English and German. That night Lindy, the kids and I slept by the Christmas tree. Jeewan Loy had been counting down the days until Christmas so he was incredibly excited to open his presents and stocking in the morning. I made biscuits(southern style) and gravy, and we had a “Happy Birthday Jesus” cake for breakfast. Then we all got dressed and walked to church. We had a yummy Indian lunch there and had a wonderful time with all of our friends.

Silent Night 

That evening was spent with Mari and Juha, the Finnish family downstairs. They had visitors come for Christmas, two Finnish girls who have been staying in Siliguri working at a rescue home for girls from the redlight district. It was so wonderful to get to know these girls and share our stories. The bonds of the Kingdom are so amazing, it was like meeting sisters. Manju and her friend Siiri had written a Christmas song together and performed it as we shared American and Finnish holiday goodies by candle light. Such a perfect end to a glorious day!

Christmas Eve Dinner