Our Daily Schedule

The routine continues.

We get up early (it starts getting light about 5:30 or so), get started with breakfast, feed Kayla and Tyler, get them dressed, pack a lunch for Kayla, and get bags ready for the day. Tanya leaves to walk to the school to read about 7:30am (its about a 15 minute walk) and the rest of our family starts walking about 8:00am until a taxi comes by to take us to the Christian school here in Panama.

Betty Alvarado helps run the Christian bilingual school at the Church of Christ. She offered that Kayla go to this school while she was here...and it didn't cost us anything! What a blessing this has been to us and our daughter! She is working on her Spanish all the time. It is kind of funny to listen to. It kind of sounds like Spanish, but it really isn't any language at all (at least to us). She has so many friends now in Panama. Her teachers love her (and her red hair).

Tyler and I hang out for a little while, he takes a nap, I get a few things done for our project, and then we make our way to the cafeteria about 11:15am where we will meet the rest of the team for lunch. After lunch Tanya and Tyler go back to the house while I go to read for the afternoon. Depending on our plans for dinner we meet each other, cook dinner, have our team devotional and depart to our respective houses.

For our family, this begins our nightly routine of baths; after a long day of high humidity and a little rain (yes it rains every day only with a couple of exceptions since we've been here), this is much needed. After baths we get ready for bed and get to sleep. This early time to bed (sometime around 9pm) makes getting up so early the next morning easier! Then we get to do it all over again.

I hope you have enjoyed this glimpse into our daily schedule while here in Panama.

Weeks and Days

I look back and see a string of activities stretching back to the beginning of the semester. It just all runs together. Discipleship meetings to class prep to website to coming home to dinner to baths to bed to another day filled with stuff. It all runs together.

Here are some questions at the forefront of my mind:

• Does my time bring glory to God?
• Is there enough space in the margins of my life?
• How can God work on me when I am so busy working on others?

I seriously don't know what needs to go, but something needs to go. I look really busy; I feel really busy; I don't know how to become un-busy.

Lord, are you close? There are moments that I see and feel your presence. You give me words to say to others and speak to me when I am silent. But my desire to be closer to you draws me to look at my schedule. Show me what needs to give a little? Do I need to finish the semester like this? Are you teaching me how quick life vanishes? Give me insight into your heart. I desire to know you more...even in your sufferings. In the character of Jesus. Amen.

My Plate

So...it took me eleven days to write anything in 2008. I have enjoyed the break from the normal routine. I got to enjoy platefuls of food with family and friends. This year I didn't eat as much as I have in the past! Even during Thanksgiving I think I only got one full plate and then snacked a little later on. Christmas was the same. This year was not the year where I couldn't fit something else on my plate if I tried.

I wish I actually had some sort of schedule plate to put things on so I would know that I cannot do anything else.

On Wednesday night I realized how much is going on right now, how much I have on my plate. I am training an LST team (maybe two at the same time); teaching Wednesday night class, Thursday devo, and Sunday class; creating the curriculum for our small groups each week; developing and meeting with a leadership team of students; leading a women's weekly small discipleship group; spending time being available for prayer on campus; leading a church small group discussion starting in February; preaching at least once a month; going through premarital counseling with one of our students; going through marital counseling with a couple at church; maintaining the church website and the campus ministry website; staying on top of two service assignments each month; raising funds for our LST trip this summer; spending better time with Tanya, Kayla, and Tyler; and trying to fit in hanging out with students when the opportunity comes.

I'm not sure if there is any more room on my plate...even for any garnish. I'm not sure what to do about all this just yet. I wait to see how things go.

Lord, help me to stay focused. Give me your energy. I cannot do this alone. May your presence sustain me.