Thirty Years With Cannibals

My brother-in-law recommended this book to us after hearing that we had applied to be associate missionaries with New Tribes Mission.  To see more about that click HERE.


I'm so happy he did.  This book written by John G. Paton about his life of missionary service was thoroughly enjoyable and the Kindle version is free (see HERE).

John G. Paton was born in Scotland, where he grew up in a home in which Christ was lovingly by both his father and mother.  He knew he wanted to serve the Lord in his occupation and set out to do whatever it took to fulfill that goal.  Ending up in Glasgow, he was a city missionary there with a thriving ministry.  This was when The Lord called him into missionary service.

He and his wife became the first missionaries on Tanna, an island of cannibals in the New Hebrides.  Soon after settling in there his wife and small child died from fever and ague.  Paton kept on ministering to the natives of the island despite poor health, constant threats to his life, and the natives theiving from him anything they could lift.  After years there, he did not see many notable changes in the natives and had to flee the island because one of tribe leaders was on a death hunt for him.

Later on in his life he and his second wife returned to the New Hebrides, but to a new island.  The natives, wanting to kill them, sold their sacred grounds to the Patons to build their house upon.  Only the native Spirit Men could walk on the sacred grounds without dying.  When the natives saw that no harm came to the Patons, they understood that he God of the Patons was more powerful than the spirits they worshipped.  Many of these native people came to know and trust The Lord Jesus as their Savior.  A church was founded there and the natives grew more and more in love and understanding of the Gospel.

What most impressed me about the life of John G. Paton, was his constant trust in the Lord.  Innumerable times Paton would come to a crossroads where he knew not how the Lord would provide, each time he "committed it to the Lord" and the Lord provided!

I highly recommend this book!

Back to Brazil

God has been doing big things in our lives.

Watch this to find out more.

 

 

Click below to see our new member profile page on NTM.org

Keith and Holly Splawn

If you want to hear the sermon from our pastor on Elijah calling Elisha click on the link below.

Elijah: When A Prophet Wants to Chat

 

God speaks

God speaks.
He really does.
He speaks in different ways.
Sometimes it's right from a sermon.
Or maybe from a verse he brings back to your mind at just the right moment.
Or even from a sweet friend who speaks Truth and encouragement to you.
He speaks.

Recently I was really mad at someone.  This person had said something hurtful to me a few months ago.  I tried to get over, but not very hard.  Then the same person did it again a couple of weeks ago.  I was mad again.  This time I was even madder and it was not only about the most recent offense, but about the first one as well.  The night it happened I had a hard time falling asleep.  I ended up praying and asking God to speak to me.  This is what He gave me.

"Love keeps no record of wrongs"

Right out of His word from 1 Corinthians 13:5.  And He wasn't yelling it at me or trying to make me feel guilty.  It was a gentle reminder of a truth that I needed to embrace.  To let go of those things that anger me and to love this person.  Not saying this is going to be easy, but I need to try.

And it inspired me to make a reminder to hang on my wall and to read everyday. 

Learning to Savor the Journey

I came across this aritcle in the Homeschool Enrichment magazine that showed up in my mailbox. It is a wonderful reminder and encouragement to moms, especially homeschooling moms.  I contacted the author and she graciously gave me permission to post the entire article on my blog.
Thank you so much, Tia!  I truly appreciate it.  I hope you, my readers, are encouraged by it.  To read more by and about Tia check out her blog Skipping Sideways.
Love, Holly


Learning to Savor the Journey 
by Tia Phillips

I was a horrible mother this week.

The state of it all...the house, the schoolwork, the meals...I struggled through it, dragged my children through the day and barked orders. 　I lamented about time, about mess, about toys and books not put away properly.  I felt crushed. 　Burdened. 　Buried. 　I tried to dig my way out, but I couldn't get to the top of my laundry pile or to the edge of my sanity.

I failed.　
A dear friend offered to keep my kids for a couple of hours today so I could dig a little more. Get a little closer to the surface. 　And what I found was startling.

After de-cluttering toys in the basement, filling two boxes for thrift stores, I climbed the stairs. 　I was working fast...hard...only 2 hours and so much to get through. 　I entered a closet upstairs, prepared to rid it of all its unnecessary necessities once and for all. (I know that, one day, if I'm not careful, the owner of this closet will end up on t.v., crying as the Hoarders Police carry away the puzzle she never liked but was "too much in her memory" to part with.)

I walked into the closet and faced the shelves jam-packed with items, books, toys and things with zippers. 　I sighed as I stared, wondering where to start.

Quite suddenly, the scene faded and another took its place. Images flashed and startled.

The shelves looked pristine. White. 　Empty. Clean. 　Bare.

The image loomed and I couldn't rid my eyes of its sight. 　I stood, paralyzed as the box dropped from my hand and the truth of that image burned straight into my heart. 　The clothes hung improperly on the hangars, the stuff placed precariously on the shelf, the shoes piled in the corner...it was all gone. 　The mess was cleaned up, the clutter removed, the shoes but a memory. 　And my heart ached.

My spirit broken, my resolve crushed, I stood and stared. 　More foreshadowing thoughts invaded the scene.  In the wake of perfect shelves, cleaned and pure, I saw a woman with time. 　Full and in abundance, she was blessed with the commodity. 　She was able to contemplate a never-ending stream of thoughts without interruption. 　But there was less to contemplate.　 She walked through a pristine house. 　But she was alone. 　She wrote to her heart's content. 　But she had less to talk about. 　

The mother who, just some short years ago, yearned for clean and put together suddenly longed to see crumbs on the floor. 　She ached to see messes, to hold hands, to teach multiplication and read stories. 　She longed to go back, do it again, this time with a calmer spirit...with a heart that understood the brevity of these years.

I'm not sure how long I stood there, staring, before the rightful image took its place. 　Slowly it came into focus...the mess reappeared and I saw something different. 　Instead of a messy shelf and unruly clothing, I saw a sensitive heart and a mad dash to save the memories lest they cease to be.

I glanced at the empty box in my hand...back to the heavy-laden shelf...and through my spirit into the longing that lingered. 　I closed my eyes tight...yearned for a new heart, a new beginning, a chance to do the week over and embrace the messy that is motherhood.

Beckoned by the cross, running to the throne, I chose grace. 　Cleansed...washed white...a new beginning. 　Oh that I would embrace it fully! 　That I would refuse to let the enemy steal my sunrise and knit regret together with failure.

I resolved to try again. 　To make more effort to hold the hands responsible for the mess and help them, yes, learn to clean up their own...but more than that I desired oh so desperately to love them unconditionally. To live this out together...to experience a peace and calm in the bits of chaos that envelope this life.

I left the closet as I had found it, carried the empty box back downstairs, and journeyed to gather my children.
　
Tia Phillips is a homeschooling mother thriving with her husband and three girls in small town Missouri. She leans heavy on grace as she falls hard in this endless endeavor to serve a Worthy King. She writes at www.skippingsideways.com about lessons, life, failure, and everlasting grace.  


my image added -- hrs photography/itwouldbegoodforthekids.blogspot.com

where in the world did you go? why brazil?

Some of you may be wondering (maybe not all) why we went to Brazil.

Keith had a connection there.  In college Keith had a roommate that had grown up in Brazil.  He grew up at a New Tribes Mission school for missionary kids.  His dad grew up at the school too.  So one summer Keith went down with his roommate to the school and spent a month there tromping through the jungle, waterskiing in the Amazon and adopting a parasite we dealt with just 3 years ago (that's another story).

The school still exists and serves American and Brazilian missionaries to Brazil.  Tribal missionaries who want to protect their children from the rampant immorality in the tribes  and city missionaries who need a way to provide a good education in a safe place a place for their children to make friends send their children to Puraquequara, or PQQ. 

Since Keith already knew about the school and had been there and because we wanted to take our children with us we thought PQQ would be the perfect place to go.

And it was.

It was a life-changing three and a half weeks.  Want to stir your heart toward missions?  Go live with and serve missionaries for a few weeks.  You'll be impressed, amazed and humbled.

One phrase I keep going back to over and over again in my mind. 

Our extraordinary (Our family giving up comfort, time, money, etc for 3 weeks in Brazil)
is their ordinary (these folks have given up comfort and closeness to family and familiarity and about a million other things to serve God in a foreign land and that life is their ordinary)

A little more about the book Radical.  In it the author suggests tithing on your time.  In other words, using a tenth of your time each year to serve God physically somewhere foreign.  Why not try it?  You tithe on the money you bring home.  He gave that to you.  And all of your days were given to you by Him too.

Your eyes saw my unformed substance;
in your book were written, every one of them,
the days that were formed for me,   
when as yet there was none of them. Ps. 139:16

Why not tithe some time back to Him?

And serve someone like this.

thoughts on going to brazil

some of my thoughts about our recent trip to brazil.

This whole thing started after I read Radical by David Platt, had a conversation with a good friend about going on a family mission trip, and then gave the audio CD to Keith to listen to.  You want to mess up your thinking?  Read that book.  It will help.  Then go on a mission trip.  Take your family.  You'll never be the same.

God provided for our trip well before it....

Right away in the beginning of the year God provided the money we needed to do this trip, in His style, He knows how I would worry about that, but then He took care of it and I didn't need to worry any more.

In dropping off our visa paperwork, we found out that Keith and I needed new photos taken, which we were able to do right there.  The children's pictures were fine, which worked out perfectly since our children were not with us. 

The timing of our trip was determined by several factors...we wanted Phil and Cindy Ketcham to be back in Brazil...we wanted to go during the school year....we didn't want to miss a very important wedding so we chose to leave two days after that wedding.  It turned out perfectly, of course, that one of the teachers in Brazil could go home for a wedding because it was during the time we were there.  I was her substitutue teacher!

...God really provided for us in our preparation for our trip at the last minute

Our engine light that had been on for a couple of months and we'd had it dealt with already, but it was still on.  Finally it went off on it's own two days before we left.

We ordered Brazillian reis (hay-eyes) from our bank to pay for our expenses while in Brazil and they came on the last possible day they could have, Friday.

Saturday morning I was able to obtain Megan's shot record that I thought we might need (didn't end needing it) without having requested in advance or anything.

Our friends were able to lend us their luggage the day before our trip when we realized one of our bags wasn't going to work out.  Thanks, Hazzards!

Several friends gave us cash right before we left and this really helped us out with our time in the airports.  Thanks so much!



The night before we left I couldn't not sleep at all. There was a line from a song that kept running through my mind.  It was "Be strong in the Lord".  Turns out it's a line from this song by the Sidewalk Prophets.  The Words I Would Say 


Some of the verses that stood out to me from my daily Bible readings during our time in Brazil.

Jeremiah 23:23-24
 “Am I a God who is near,” declares the Lord,
“And not a God far off?
“Can a man hide himself in hiding places
So I do not see him?” declares the Lord.

“Do I not fill the heavens and the earth?” declares the Lord.

 

Psalm 84:8-12

O Lord God of hosts, hear my prayer;
Give ear, O God of Jacob! Selah.
Behold our shield, O God,
And look upon the face of Your anointed.
For a day in Your courts is better than a thousand outside.
I would rather stand at the threshold of the house of my God
Than dwell in the tents of wickedness.
For the Lord God is a sun and shield;
The Lord gives grace and glory;
No good thing does He withhold from those who walk uprightly.
O Lord of hosts,
How blessed is the man who trusts in You!

 

2 Thessalonians 3:3

But the Lord is faithful, and He will strengthen and protect you from the evil one.

 

2 Thessalonians 3:16

Now may the Lord of peace himself continually grant you peace in every circumstance.  The Lord be with you all!

 

1 Timothy 1:12

I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has strengthened me, because He considered me faithful, putting me into service.

 

1Timothy 4:8-9

On the other hand, discipline yourself for the purpose of godliness; for bodily discipline is only of little profit, but godliness is profitable for all things.

 

1Timothy 6:7

For we have brought nothing into the world, so we cannot take anything out either.

 

Psalm 94:19

When my anxious thoughts multiply within me, thy consolations delight my soul.

 

Hebrews 7:23-25

And the former priests, on the one hand, existed in greater numbers, because they were prevented by death from continuing, but He, on the other hand, because He abides forever, holds his priesthood permenantly.  Hence also, He is able to save forever those who draw near to God through Him since He always lives to make intercession for them.

 

And on that note, I'll go ahead and post this while I think more about our trip and process it more and maybe I'll post again later.

 

And here's a picture since it seems obligatory to me to put a picture on every post.  

 

 

This is Megan's special friend.  She gave Megan little purse on her birthday.  She's a very sweet girl. 

 

preparation part two

I'm much convicted about the last preparation post.  It's so us-centered and about what we want to get out of this.  We are going to serve.  So, if you will, pray for us to be emptied out in Brazil and by some means that through us God would meet their needs.  Pray for them who are constantly giving up the familiar and comfortable to be used by God to teach and transform others.  Pray that when we leave Brazil, that we will be spent and they will be encouraged, filled up, and ready to continue in the mission God has given them.  And thanks for praying for us and them.

We want to come home like this...used up for Him and them.

preparation

We keep praying for God to prepare us for our trip to Brazil.  I think He is answering that prayer.  You know the saying "when it rains, it pours"?  Well, it feels like it's raining and beginning to pour and we're not talking about blessings.  Or maybe just blessings in diguise, because I think these things [could, should] be preparing us for what lies ahead.  Pray for us, if you will.  Pray for us to be prepared, to be flexible, to be willing and, if you will, pray for these things in particular for each member of our family. 

Keith:  Vision, Confidence
Holly:  Faith that God will give her the ability to do what He's called her to do.
Seth:  Security
Todd:  Selflessness
Megan: Protection

Thank you.

wondrous water

I've been thinking over and over about all of what Ginny's been saying over at 4 U Ruthie.  I've been trying to look and see God in the little things of my day.  I've been looking.  A few nights ago  I saw this.  And it's funny because normally we wipe this water away each day without even thinking about it, but it struck me as beautiful.  Only God can make something ordinary beautiful.  He makes the ordinary beautiful everyday.  So here's my first Wondrous Wednesday.

only servants

I think it's awesome that we are going on this trip to Brazil.  We've sacrificed, we've saved, we've worked hard, we've been disciplined, we are brave, we are trusting, and I could go on.  Are we really doing anything for God, if it's all about how great we are.

Here's what the Bible says.

⁷“Suppose one of you has a servant plowing or looking after the sheep. Will he say to the servant when he comes in from the field, ‘Come along now and sit down to eat’? ⁸ Won’t he rather say, ‘Prepare my supper, get yourself ready and wait on me while I eat and drink; after that you may eat and drink’? ⁹ Will he thank the servant because he did what he was told to do? ¹⁰ So you also, when you have done everything you were told to do, should say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty.’” Luke 17:7-10

And there's the sting.  It's our duty. 

duty

noun, plural du·ties.

1. something that one is expected or required to do by moral or legal obligation.

2. the binding or obligatory force of something that is morally or legally right; moral or legal obligation.

3. an action or task required by a person's position or occupation; function: the duties of a clergyman.

4. the respectful and obedient conduct due a parent, superior, elder, etc.

5. an act or expression of respect.

It's not something extraordinary, not something special, not something to bring us glory.
And our duty is even so much more.  Lord keep me in the right perspective.  You are great.  We are unworthy servants.

hunger

I just recently read The Hunger Games.  Read that as, I just finished book three about fifteen minutes ago.  I know, I am at least six months behind the rest of the world.  I'm ok with that.  I waited until school was out and until my mind was ready.  I started about 4:30 Friday and read the whole weekend away, almost.

What I'm left with is two main things. One, I have a talking point with anyone who has read them.  Something in common with a whole lot of people.  Although, probably not many are still talking about it.  And two, a realization about myself and hunger.  I rarely REALLY feel hunger to an extreme degree. When I do hunger, there's always something nearby to quell it.  Last night I was reading a devotional book to Meg.  It was about when God provided the manna for his people in the wilderness who were hungry.  God always provides what I need.  He never lets me go hungry.  He is SO good to me.  Why?  I don't deserve it.  But He never fails to feed me.  And what do I give Him for it?  A rehearsed grace before each meal?  Do I even think about the words as I'm thanking Him for my food?  But now I will.  I've been thinking about hunger and I'm thanking Him for not leaving me and my family hungry.

anxiety

The whole family mission trip has me a bit anxious.  I never have fared well with unknowns.  They make me crazy-anxious.  I think it would feel different if we were going along with a group, if someone else were "in charge", if we had an itinerary.  But we don't. 
Many times I have wondered if this is a waste.  Will we be wasting their time, their resources?  Ours?  Would it be better if we just sent our money to them?  Stayed out of their way?  Will we do any good?
But my husband isn't ever anxious.  These things don't concern him.  Good thing, we're matched well. 
The other day I was reading to the children from Jesus Calling.  The verse of the day was Ephesians 2:10.
For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
So I'm clinging to that truth.  This is God's plan an he's prepared all of this in advance for us to do.  We just have to do it.

who calls me beautiful? chapter one

I recently started reading throught the Bible study Who Calls Me Beautiful? by Regina Blackwell.
What woman doesn't struggle with her appearance?  I don't really know one woman who doesn't.  I certainly do.  I don't like what I see in the mirror.  Whether that is a result from culture, the women in my life who seem to have a constant concern about their figure and appearance, or Satan's lies, my perception of myself has been poor.  There have been few times in my life when I've been satisfied with what I see in the mirror.  (As a caveat, I'm not a self-esteem band-wagonner.  I don't desire to be delusional about how great I am.   I just want a Godly and God-centered view of myself.)  I know the truths of scripture.  I know that God looks at the heart, I know He approves of and desires in me the incorruptible beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, but I'm struggle with being content with my reflection.  I'm missing out on where the truth connects to living it out in this world as a woman in Christ. 

I'm hoping to learn a lot from this book.  To get my thinking back on track and to share a little along the way.  So here goes.

From chapter one, "Worldly Beauty".

1)"Skin products promise blemish-free skin when we're young and wrinkle-free skin when we're old. We are obsessed with self-dissatisfaction."

There's no end to the improvements a woman can make to herself, at least according to the beauty industry.  In fact, it's totally ridiculous to me, but a eyelash parlour just opened in League City.  Even something as small as an eyelash can be and should be improved.  Are we obsessed with self-dissatisfaction?  Or does the beauty industry just want us to be?  Because if we're always needing improvement, then we'll always be buying into and buying that next thing. 

And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Matthew 10:30

God has numbered your hairs...even your eyelashes, even if they are stumpy and short, or pale and thin.  They are important enough to be numbered by God.

2)Have you thought about what things in our culture shape your ideal self?
"..the entertainment industry sends contradictory messages.  While claiming to portray the average woman, it presents instead the culture's ideal of the perfect woman."

For me, I fall into the lie that beautiful people have it all together.  I mean, look at them, they have beautiful hair, beautiful skin, toned bodies, trendy clothes, cute shoes.  If they look like that, their lives must be in great shape also.  Why can't I get it all together too?
Well, here's reality, what are these people trading for their appearances?  Would I trade time with my husband?  Would I trade staying at home?  Would I trade teaching my children?  Would I trade my small group and the time it takes to prepare for them?  Would I trade my time in God's Word?   Would I trade time at church?  No.  Those things are too valuable to me.  That's just one way to think about that.

3) Who does beauty bring glory to?
"When we mold ourselves according to the world's image, we take what God has created to be a vessel of His glory and use it instead to glorify ourselves and satisfy our desire for admiration."

Can I just say "ouch" about that? 
What is the chief end of man?  To glorify God and enjoy Him forever. 
So I need to ask myself, and maybe you should too, am I seeking to bring glory to myself?  To be noticed?  To be praised?  Honestly, the answer is yes sometimes for me, to my shame.  Why should I be seeking glory when the One Beautiful Creator and Savior deserves all the glory.

So that's all for now.

protector provider pastor

Over the past ten years, it has been an immense blessing to see my husband grow as a father.  My husband does things for his children and me that I know he wouldn't do for anyone else.  For example, twice in the past two weeks, he's scraped vomit off the carpet in our home.  That's amazing.  I'm not sure the man I married almost 13 years ago would have done that.  But the man I'm married to now does it, and never complains.  He's a pure blessing.  He loves, he's patient, he protects, he's playful, he's funny, he's a hard worker, he's a God follower, he's a leader, he's faithful,
and handsome. 

What more could I ask for?

Happy Father's Day, Keith!

obstacles

Obstacles. We planned to turn in the paperwork for our kids' passports yesterday.  We ran into some obstacles.  One kid got a stomach bug,  one post office didn't process passports,  the second one only did passports between certain hours (not at the time we were there, of course!) I let those obstacles create blame which fueled some anger.  I was getting angry with Keith, I was getting angry with myself, I was thankful we were driving separate cars.  But on the way home I remembered, that our struggle  is not against flesh and blood (Eph. 6:12).  I have no right to be angry at keith or myself about a few obstacles, but that's what the enemy would want me to do. So I let go of the anger and we will just try again another day with the passports. P.S. this is my first blog from my phone.

drive-in movie night

We love AWANAs.  From a mom's perspective, I love how much Bible my children learn as they work through their books.  I love how the books get more challenging as the children get older.  I love how much I learn because of my children's AWANA books.  This week was Drive-In Movie Night.

wonderstruck

My friend, Alissa, recommended
this book to me about a week ago.  I happened across it at the library on Thursday and read it last night. 
This book tells the story of two individuals that are separated by 50 years in time, but are  remarkably connected.  One story is told in words.  The other is told in illustrations.  The book is an increbile concept and it was put together in an amazing way to tell the stories, which become a story.

Some thoughts from the book that struck me.
There is a museum theme throughout the book.  So from that: 
Curate your life.
"What would it be like to pick and choose the objects and stories that would go in your own cabinet of wonders?"
In other words, what items represent you?  Your life?  If you had a cabinet to display those things what would be in there?  This reminds me so much of a recent post on Trent Henderson's blog, Thinking Thoughts.  Where his family has a cabinet dedicated to things that remind them of what and how much God has done in their family's life.  I like that.  All of the things I would display in my cabinet are from God.  They all come from Him.   He is good and faithful to me.  To us.

resurrection garden

This is image apparently came from a Melissa Holt's facebook page.

I saw this on pinterest ---------->
about a week ago and I thought,
"Oh that is so awesome.  It looks so hard."  That was that.  Then a few days later I saw Kristen Welch's post on the exact garden on her blog We Are That Family.  I read her "how to" and I realized it was veryeasy.  So we did it!  The kids love it.  So do I!







Here is ours ---------------------->
Our grass should sprout in about a week.

Seth is wetting the dirt so it will stay.

Todd adding the grass seed.

Meg putting in the crosses.

little women

I recently finished reading Little Women. It was my first time. I know it is one of those books one is supposed to read while growing up. A great piece of literature history. It never appealed to me until I could read it gratis via IBooks on my iphone. I am very glad that I waited so long to read . I would have not understood very much of it if we hadn't, as a family, read Pilgrim's Progress last summer. I don't think I would have even liked it if I hadn't. So I heartily recommend reading Pilgrim's Progress and then Little Women.

These are my favorite quotes from Little Women.

"...for love casts out fear, and gratitude can conquer pride."
Beth conquering Mr. Lawrence's gruffness.

"Pride goes before a fall..."
Amy's embarrassing lime situation which results in her being taken out of her school to be taught at home.

"People who hire all these things done for them never know what they lose, for the homeliest tasks get beautified if loving hands do them"
Meg, overwhelmed by the love shone her on the event of her marriage to Mr. Brooke through the handmade items given her with which to set up house.
Loving hands make a dull task dear.

"You are a thing of beauty and a joy forever," said Jo.
Describing Amy before the two go calling on the neighbors.

" Simple, sincere people seldom speak much of their piety. It shows itself in acts rather than in words, and has more influence than homilies or protestations. Beth could not reason upon or explain the faith that gave her courage and patience to give up life, and cheerfully wait for death. Like a confiding child, she asked no questions, but left everything to God and nature, Father and Mother of us all, feeling sure that they, and they only, could teach and strengthen heart and spirit for this life and the life to come. She did not rebuke Jo with saintly speeches, only loved her better for her passionate affection, and clung more closely to the dear human love, from which our Father never means us to be weaned, but through which He draws us closer to Himself." Their precious Beth.

" she recognized the beauty of her sister's life—uneventful, unambitious, yet full of the genuine virtues which 'smell sweet, and blossom in the dust', the self-forgetfulness that makes the humblest on earth remembered soonest in heaven, the true success which is possible.."
Jo realizing Beth's true beauty.

12 in 12

I got this idea from a friend.



These aren't actually resolutions, but goals.



These are 12 things I would like to do in the year 2012

1. Read the Bible all the way through

2. Sew more

3. Be more evangelistic

4. Be bolder (see above)

5. Go on a mission trip

6. Make cards

7. Call an old friend

8. Pray more

9. Make bread and cinnamon rolls

10. Photograph more candid moments
& use Manual mode more

11.  Engage more than disengage

12.  Redeem the time


Thanks for the inspiration, Jen. 

You can check out her words at
strangers in a strange land.