Marla is one of the young people that attends the church in San Juan. Saturday her family invited us over for lunch at their house.

This is Marla's mama. Next to her is their woodburning stove, where our meal was cooked.


Here is some of the group that was there:


Left to right: Marla's mom; her sister Dora; friend's mom; friend whose name I can't remember; Marla; and another older sister who cooked our delicious meal.


Johanna's digging in!


We had chicken that reminded me of a Guatemalan dish called Pepian, but it wasn't exactly that. I would call it Chicken and Broccoli Yum!


We enjoyed the Guatemalan hospitality. Casual, comfortable, and so friendly...
















And look what Jillian, our animal-lover, caught:


This little pigeon flew down to the patio, Jillian cornered it and caught it, and it seemed perfectly happy to come home with her!

These are just some random pics of the Stansells' visit. You can see more at our ministry blog.

The last few days were a whirl of activity, and I hardly had time to post about our visitors! As I write, Daniel is driving Bro. Stansell and Jonathan to the airport in Guatemala City. They fly out around 1 p.m. today. The children are a bit somber this morning; they got up early to see them off, and miss them already.

I have to apologize for the lack of photos in this post, but I don't have access to the camera. To me, posting without pictures is like talking without my hands! So I will post pics soon.

We enjoyed their visit very much! On the Lord's Day, Bro. Stansell preached to a crowd in Xela, then at the new church in La Esperanza, and then again at the church in San Juan. He and Jonathan were a great encouragement to the people, as well as to us missionaries.

Monday we met up with another missionary family, the Wilders, and headed out to visit the ruins at Huehuetenango. The weather was perfect, and the deep blue sky and ever-changing clouds were a dramatic backdrop to the ancient Mayan structures. We explored the palacial house, a sport arena, the temple of (pagan) worship, and other ruins. The history was fascinating.

Tuesday was the day for shopping and running errands. They visited the Centro Comercial, which has some of the best touristy shopping in town. The Stansells had brought down the parts we needed to get our van repaired, and the shop was working on it. Tuesday evening was prayer meeting in San Juan.

Wednesday morning, Daniel took the Stansells and our three oldest children up to Cerro Quemado, which is a huge dormant volcano south of town. I stayed home with the younger ones. When the phone rang later, it was Daniel saying he was calling from 9500 feet above sea level! In the afternoon they shopped some more, and in the evening there was the church meeting in La Esperanza.

There were thirteen present for church last night, in spite of the rain. The preaching was great, and we were exhorted that our life is but a vapor that appeareth for a little time, then it's gone. If we want our life to count for Christ, the time to do His work is right now, because tomorrow is not promised.

On the way home, I think that message was on all of our hearts. As we approached the central park of La Esperanza, it was spontaneously decided to stop and pass out gospel tracts. Even though it was dark and wet, there were many people out, and I think most all of them received a tract.

We did the same in San Juan. There was the sense that time is running short, partly because the Stansells were to leave the next morning, but mostly because life is short, and we don't know how long we have to work!

"Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.

For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that.

But now ye rejoice in your boastings: all such rejoicing is evil.

Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin."

James 4:14-17

Daniel has gone to Guatemala City to pick up two guests who are to arrive at the airport tomorrow morning. We are excited to have Bro. Chris Stansell and his son Jonathan here! Their visit will be short, but we hope to get them in on some of the mission work here, as well as seeing some Mayan ruins and maybe hike a volcano or something...

We'll see what happens!

We've had a project abrewin' at our house. Ever since we heard about the concept of a family closet, we have been excited about implementing the idea.

The beauty of having a family closet is that all of the clothes in the house are located in one room, so putting away laundry is MUCH easier. Another benefit is that there is more space in the bedrooms when you don't have a dresser in each.

Phase one of the Family Closet Project was to clean out a small room that used to be our boys' room. Daniel took out all of the furniture, then I cleaned and swept in there. After giving it a fresh coat of paint, we were ready to put in shelves.

Phase two was choosing and installing shelving. We had to assess how much space we had in there, what type of shelves to use, and how to put them in without crowding the clothing too much. We chose metal shelves over wood, because although they are not as pretty, the metal does not retain moisture, and humidity can be a problem here.

The skylight in this room will also help keep humidity at bay.

Daniel put the shelves together, then anchored them to the wall.


We put down some shelf lining, and now the closet is ready to move everyone's clothes in.



During this process, I've been sorting through the children's clothes, passing down what needed to be passed down, and tossing what is worn out.

Another nice thing about our new Family Closet is that it is right next to the laundry room. No more folding the laundry on the couch, then having to deliver the stacks to separate rooms. Woo-hoo!

I've been scarce around blogland lately. I guess part of the reason is that we've been without a car since the end of June, and I tell you, everything seems to take a bit longer when you don't have a vehicle of your own! Thankfully, there is a bus stop within walking distance of our house.

When we head out for whatever errands we need to do, there is no need to stop and gas up the car, for it is safely tucked away at the shop. Once a week I take the bus to the bus terminal in town, then walk several blocks to the market to buy our fresh veggies and fruits. I take one of the girls with me to help carry the booty home, so I am forced to spend one-on-one time with one of my sweet daughters.

Daniel and our oldest son Joseph ride their bikes to prayer meeting each morning. When Daniel needs to go to La Esperanza or the big city Xela, he takes the bus and is obliged to converse with new and interesting people, some of whom hear the gospel right when they need it.

I tell you, being without wheels is the pits! As far as I can tell, we have 1) gotten more exercise, 2) saved on gas money, 3) spent quality time with each other, and 4) been able to meet more people who need Jesus.

Isn't that terrible?? :o)

"Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee. Trust ye in the LORD forever: for in the LORD JEHOVAH is everlasting strength:" Isaiah 26:3,4

Thanks to my husband, I was awake at 5 a.m. this morning. Seriously, I really am thankful! I got up, fed the baby (who promptly fell back to sleep), saw my Sweetie and Son #1 off (they leave for men's prayer meeting at 5:30), showered and dressed, then enjoyed some time in my Bible that was much more leisurely than it would have been if I had risen at the usual later hour. If I hadn't been up so early, I might have missed what the Lord wanted to give me to prepare for this day.

And, boy, did I need it.

Thou wilt keep him... It is the LORD who holds me in His hand. I am not aimlessly wandering on this planet Earth for no reason, but have a Creator God who has all things under control. This is a comfort to me, that the One in control is also my loving Heavenly Father, who has my best interest at heart!

...whose mind is stayed on thee... What peace we can experience when our minds are "stayed" on Him. I've kept this verse in mind all day long, through all the "issues" that have come up, and it really helps me keep things in perspective.

...Especially when company arrives unexpected at 7 a.m.

Now, maybe your house is company-ready first thing Monday morning. But after a busy weekend and the Lord's Day when we have three church services and are home barely long enough to eat lunch and nap the children...well, my house isn't.

But on keeping my mind stayed on the Lord, a thought occurred to me: What is more important, nursing my wounded pride, or greeting our guest with a smile and a cheerful word? In light of eternity, what matters more?

Now with that kind of perspective, I have perfect peace, even through all the other "issues" that have presented themselves today. It's a lot better than being stressed-out and annoyed. :o)

For years I put off trying to make flour tortillas at home, thinking it must be too difficult. And why go through the trouble anyway, when they are available at the store, mass-produced, packaged, and ready to go?

Welll, I found out that those icky mass-produced, ready-made tortillas are not to be compared to hot, homemade ones. And they are actually very easy to make! Here's the recipe we use. I call it mine, because I've adapted it :o)

4 cups flour (use as much whole wheat as you want)
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
1/3 cup olive oil
1 to 1 1/4 cups water

Sift flour, salt and baking powder together. Sprinkle with oil, and mix until you have even crumbs (no big ones). Stir in one cup of the water, then add just a little at a time until you have a workable dough (meaning when you knead it, it doesn't "crack" where you bend it). Knead about twenty times.

Let the dough sit for 10 minutes, then start heating a large skillet or griddle to med/high heat, not high enough to make it smoke. Your cooking surface should be dry, not greased. Divide the dough into 12 equal balls, and roll them out into circles as thin as you can get them. Cook the tortillas for about 30 seconds on each side, or until the dough is firm and you see browned spots.

These are so delicious while they are hot! We have eaten them with refried beans, cheese and salsa, etc. They are also yummy for a snack, with butter and honey on them. Oh, the possibilities.

They take about twenty minutes to make, start to finish, and that is if you roll them out, like I do. If you happen to have a tortilla press, you could whip these out all the faster!

¡Buen provecho!

Lately I've been playing around with the idea of making laundry soap, for several reasons. One, it would be something less harsh to wash my family's clothing with. Two, it's cheaper than the laundry soap we can buy here. And three, it just looked like fun! So when we ran out of powdered laundry soap yesterday, well, necessity provoked some invention.

Most of the recipes I found online called for a bar of plain soap, borax, and washing soda. I did find one recipe without borax, and that was good because I can't buy borax here.

So I shredded a bar of soap into a saucepan and melted it with a little water. Then I poured that into a bucket with 2.5 gallons of hot water.

Then stirred in a cup of washing soda. Actually, all I could find was a laundry treatment powder made of 1/2 sodium carbonate (which is the "washing soda") and 1/2 sodium percarbonate, thinking that it wouldn't make much difference. Would it?

The recipe said to set it aside to cool. Which I did. And the stuff just kept foaming up... and UP...

...and UP SOME MORE.

Perhaps that sodium percarbonate made it do that, because none of the recipes I saw said anything about the soap foaming up.

Anyhow, what we ended up with was a nice liquid gel laundry soap with a foamy head. We stir it up, then use 1/2 cup of it per load, or a little more for particularly dirty loads. It works great, and smells so fresh!

What's this girl up to?

Trying to look casual...

Uh oh... She's not gonna...

YEP, she wants to ride that cow!

OOF!... Well, maybe next time. :o)

"Thou Shalt Not Kill."

This, the sixth of the Ten Commandments, is written succintly there in the context of Exodus 20. It is further explained in the next chapter of the Bible. There the law states that premeditated murder calls for execution, but a person who kills another person in self-defense or by accident is not to be put to death. The difference is in the intent and attitude of the heart.

"Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer..."

...Words from I John 3:15 reiterating that murder is not just the act of taking the life of another person, but it is the attitude of the heart that makes a murderer. So one can be a murderer without taking someone's life!

Now I am going to say some things here that not everybody is going to agree with, but I think I stand on God's Word.

Most Christians believe that aborting a baby is wrong, that life begins at conception, and to take away that life is to commit murder. But many of those same people practice a form of abortion in the privacy of their own homes. Others have the spirit of abortion and murder, harbored deep in their hearts. I am talking about an ungodly attitude toward having children.

"Except the LORD build the house, they labour in vain that build it."

We call it "family planning". But if you are a Christian, you say Jesus pilots your ship, that God is in control and you've surrendered your life to Him. Why is it, then, that you take the helm when it comes to having children? Whose job is it to build our families? It is the Lord's, and there is no Biblical evidence that shows that responsibility has been placed into human hands, regardless of our modern medical advances.

Lo, children are an heritage of the LORD: and the fruit of the womb is his reward.

Children are gifts from the Lord! Imagine if the royal king of a vast kingdom were to choose to honor a peasant by bestowing him a rich, priceless treasure. He sends a caravan to deliver it to the doorstep of the pauper with much pomp and an entourage of well-wishers. But when they arrive, the poor fellow turns them away and sends the gift back to the castle from whence it came. He doesn't need it, nor want it.

Would this not be offensive to the king? Of course it would! It would be at the height of ingratitude and shameful arrogance on the part of the peasant. Or perhaps simply ignorance of the value of the treasure he turned away!


A child is an eternal soul, a priceless treasure, that God intends to give to a man and his wife. It is His blessing upon the marriage. Will the Christian turn away such a priceless gift, given with all love and blessings from the heart of God? It is certainly an unrighteous attitude toward the Giver of Life. Each one of us will give an account to Him one day.

And yet many Christian families take careful, premeditated measures to turn away the blessings of God. Why? Well, there are many reasons, but most of them have to do with convenience. (Peasant: "I don't have room in my house for all this gold!" or "I don't think I have what it takes to manage it all, and am too lazy to learn how.")

So what does family planning have to do with the spirit of abortion and murder? The attitude. The attitudes that one can't afford children, or just doesn't like children, or that it would disrupt the course one wants to take in life, are common whether contemplating abortion or just family planning.

Granted, family planning is not necessarily an act of murder (although most methods can destroy life that is already there). But I think Christians should rethink their attitude toward having children, and make sure we have the mind of God on this issue. If we were to place the same value on children that God does, there would be far fewer families limiting the number of children they have.

"Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them: they shall not be ashamed"

Baby Joel is eight months old. He's so much fun! His sisters love to do silly stuff with him.

Okay, so I was doing it, too. :o)

"Hey, there's Mom..."

"Got milk?"

He puts in long hours of playing and learning. So when it's naptime or bedtime, he sleeps like a... well, like a baby.


He is such a sweet blessing from the Lord! :o)

Nina over at Portugal Bound tagged me for a meme. This is my first time to do a meme, so fortunately for me, the rules are simple:
1) Link to the person who tagged me.
2) Mention the rules.
3) Tell six quirky yet boring, unspectacular details about myself.
4) Tag 6 other bloggers by linking to them.
5) Go to each person’s blog and leave a comment that lets them know they’ve been tagged.

So here are six quirky details about me:
1) In fifth grade I decided to stop biting my nails. Then I started biting my cuticles instead. Still do.
2) I have a tiny hole at the top of each ear that I was born with.
3) I procrastinate until the last minute. I guess I work better under pressure.
4) My doctor hates to see me coming. He knows I most likely will not take his advice nor Rx, but rather get his diagnosis then look for a home remedy to treat it.
5) Babies #4, #5 and #6 were born in water. I loved it!
6) My husband asked me to marry him when he was fifteen. (Good thing we lived 300 miles apart. Ahhh, camp romance!)

Okay, so I'm tagging:
Tammy at View from Behind. Church planter's wife. God bless her!
Ashleigh at Heart and Home. Military wife. God bless her, too!
Charity at Fresh from the Chari Tree. A fellow Texan, Yee-Haw!
Jaynee at The Lockwood Family blog, if she has time. This lady has 11 precious little ones to look after!
My buddy Tori at A Home Away From Home. She did a meme a while back, but might have developed some new quirks since then ;o)
And Sandra at WatercolourDreams, about whom I would like to know more. :o)

We are enjoying some fruit from our little garden, and will soon have broccoli, cauliflower and beets. Sadly, our tomatoes were attacked by what turns out to be fungus. I'm going to try to save them by spraying them with GSE water.

Ever hear of Grapefruit Seed Extract (GSE)? It is a wonderful antifungal, germicidal, all-purpose product. It can be used externally, taken internally, used to disinfect anything! It's wonderful. Google it, and you'll learn more about it.

This rose is on one of the beautiful rose bushes that Daniel has planted for me. Its color is so vivid, I had a hard time taking a picture of it that shows detail instead of a bright flash of orangey-red! To me, it looks just the color of glowing embers.

Forty years ago today, Edgar Graham and Barbara Epps tied the knot. They went off to Bible College, started a family, and began a lifetime of serving the Lord. I am so blessed to have been raised in their home!

Dad is Mr. Steady. His faithfulness to Mom and to our family made our home solid indeed. He was the first man that ever held the heart of this little girl, and there remains a special place for him there, even though I'm married and have a family of my own. His easy laugh is music to my ears, and there's no one I'd rather hear sing, than Dad.

Mom is Mrs. Creative. She seems to be good at anything she puts a hand to, and has never ceased to amaze me with her music, her art, her way with children... I don't know how I could have survived those difficult adolescent years without her patience and willingness to listen. When I grow up, I want to be just like her. Oh wait, I am grown up. Well, I still have a ways to go, but I have a wonderful example in my Mom.

Dad and Mom raised four children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. Sometimes when we needed it, they nurtured and admonished the tar out of us, but we always knew they loved us! I am so grateful for that. I am forever indebted to my parents for teaching me about love, family, laughter, loyalty, joy, and God.

Their love for God and for each other has stood the test of time. Happy Anniversary, Mom and Dad! I love you!

"The lines are fallen unto me in pleasant places; yea, I have a goodly heritage." Psalm 16:6

This is me, taking Oscar and Canela out for a walk. Correction: Oscar runs, leaps, rolls, and gambols; Canela walks, but only because I've got her on a leash, and I'm walking. She keeps that leash pretty tight. Have you ever seen horses released from the starting gates at a horse race? That's Oscar and Canela when we open the yard gate to take them out. Check out Oscar on the left.


Here's a closer look:

That dawg is airborne!

Do you see the look of grim determination on his doggy face? That's because he has one thing on his mind:

Not the cute little boys, but the flock of unsuspecting sheep behind them.

Our dogs are sheepdog wannabe's.



"Bring 'em home, Lassie!"