thankful twice

(this is the 2nd time i've created this post...i created it once and then managed to delete it.  couple that with a flooded bathroom and you have a recipe for frustration.  i'm choosing thankfulness instead ...and trusting that the vacuum system will be restored soon - there won't be much to clean up once it's working again...until then, there are plenty of other bathrooms on the ship.)

• awesome people who listen to walkmans (eileen foley and lord ian, to name 2)
• "the One who reigns forever, He is a friend of mine." - chris tomlin
• caroline's toothless grin

• getting to talk to my daddy most Saturdays
• my schedule is a bit more free now that PE "subbing" is done
• thank you notes from sweet students and teachers

• running on the beach
• gum in the ship shop
• napping on the floor
• napping on the beach

• when the kids wake up happy
• how emma often walks out sleepy-eyed with some sort of bear in her hand
• lovely people who invest much into me and my children

• project complete.
• "my choice is You, God, first and only.  And now i find i'm your choice!" psalm 16:5 (the msg)
• basket o' apples (and occasionally other fruit)

• fun responses to the caterpillar story
• pancakes + syrup + cinnamon + sugar
• emma's little hand waving from the window of the landrover at anyone and anything passing by

• falling asleep easily
• lisa hart's determination to get cherry coke on the ship - and it just may work!!! 
• this conversation:
• emma: "i'll take care of you when daddy is away."  
• me:  "you will?  thank you!  how?"
• emma: "by blessing you."

something i've been thinking about...

I've been thinking about this quote lately....I don't especially care for the word "stupid" but I still like the quote. 

jars and sinks and such...thankfulness comes in all kinds of containers.

• aft deck 7 is cool again!
• chicken & fries for lunch (not sure it could have come on a better day)
• pictures that God puts in my head and heart to help me understand things better
• so many good books to read
• time to BREATHE 
• an empty sink (clean dishes!)

• cartwheels on the beach (especially the one in honor of my dear friend, mary)
• shea's card & kind offer to babysit
• worship.  eyes off me and onto Him.
• tasty pizza
• "one thousand gifts" from amy taylor (i suppose it's about time i read that book!)
• grandaddy's call just to say "hey" and "i love you"
• moments of craftiness that have a pleasant result

• the #17.  i just like it.
• 20 oz cokes in the ship shop (well done, mr. josh, well done.)
• picture day for the academy went well
• peach tea
• cup of coffee from mae
• amy and i are in the same time zone.  still thousands of miles apart...but somehow closer. 
• sweet dreams (especially the one of a little girl in the arms of their forever mama)
• espresso flavored bits in a super special jar

some are silly...some are serious...all are gifts.

• "silent stretching" in PE 
• bubbles (they seem to make everything better...especially for K-3 kids in PE)
• the way the waves crash into and over the rocks 
• the fun words on the door of the HR office and the shapes they get made into

• 4 course meal for the Cash family:  1)omelettes 2)popcorn 3)icecream 4)popcorn
• the kids' enjoyment of the pool
• eating chocolate frosting from the can with a spoon (and having a friend that TOTALLY understands)

• fun soccer game at the beach saturday morning! (that one coach is soooo good looking)
• a new vat of peanut butter

• passing out stickers on deck 7 with emma
• the sweet little one who is with jesus right now (i wonder if she had a sticker on her hand when she met Him)
• knowing that God holds the pieces of broken hearts
• keyboard from the palmers

• my parents' anniversary
• when i take a shower and manage not to get water all over the floor (one of those things that i don't think about being thankful for until the opposite happens...multiple times)
• fun time at the hospital open house
• the casts and eye patches and bandages are not real
• the young adults who are so willing to invest in our family/children

...and it breaks a little more.

i've sung the song and made it my prayer...."break my heart for what breaks Yours"...but then, when it happens....ugh...the tears...the heartache...face to face with so much hurt and pain and sorrow.....how does our God handle it?  how does the One who loves us so much handle it?  i'm glad that He can... i sure can't...

• a precious couple dealing with the death of their yet to be born baby
• a man who never intended to be unfaithful to his beautiful bride
• an incredible woman who just can't seem to beat the cancer that is trying so hard to beat her 
• a friend low in the trenches of depression
• a mom sick of reacting to her children in anger and frustration
• a most lovely family waiting and waiting and waiting to bring the newest addition to their family home from across the ocean
• an epidemic of misplaced priorities, pride and selfishness
• a daughter picking up the pieces of her marriage
• a little girl we couldn't help
• a mama's heart ripped into a billion pieces

Yes, God, please break my heart for what breaks yours...but i need you to take care of the broken pieces...and i need you to take care of the pieces of my friends' hearts, too.  so thankful that You are trustworthy...good...capable...faithful...present.  

thankfulness comes in all sorts of shapes and sizes.

• ultimate frisbee (and the loud singing that accompanied it)
• spending the morning in the cafe with KJ
• time with erin (fun fact: she knows Will Smith)(our Will Smith, son of William & Debbie...not Fresh Prince of Bel Air Will Smith)
• sweet compliments about the library
• getting mail ready to be sent...so grateful that we can send and receive mail
• eli & caroline's "thankful flowers"

"My ipod, friends, my family, a safe sail, living on the Africa Mercy"

"The Bible & the teachers, family, friends, school, the AFM"

• i'm enjoying emma a bit more these days
• playing basketball on the dock
• nick v. and suzanne's willingness to take our kids to get icecream and watch a movie
• storytime!
• getting more involved in chaplaincy
• fun new things in the ship shop (individual sized cinnamon toast crunch, squeezable apple sauce)
• a friend willing to "stand in the gap"/be a wall watcher
• grace.  it covers us.
• Academy Open House
• "you're strengthened at your core when you're unbalanced" - a life lesson during exercise class with bill foley
• Truth: "My presence revitalizes you as you sit quietly with Me." - jesus calling
• encouraging words on facebook

Q&A (i love 'em)

A sweet, sweet friend of mine sent me an email a couple of weeks ago with lots of questions.  As previous posts have shown, I love questions and I'm happy to answer them!!   Thought it might be fun to share the questions and answers here.

How are you? i am good....some moments are better/easier/more wonderful than others...but, all in all, i am good and my soul is certainly well.

How's your new port? it is good!  it's very busy and more developed than the port in Guinea.  it's really trying to keep the rules and abide by codes...so the security is stricter (which is a good thing!).  It's a much longer walk out of the port here than in Conakry --  it's about a mile to get out of the port...where as in Guinea it was a little over 1/4 of a mile.  lots of workers - lots of Congolese people to wave and say hello (bonjour!) to....i keep thinking that if someone is needing a bit of a "boost", they should just walk through the port and see how many hellos and marriage proposals they receive....it's guaranteed to be lots (though that may not be the kind of boost they were looking for)(and i'm really not serious about that recommendation). What's your favorite snack lately? hmmm....good question (they are all good questions!).  i think the "mini mix" crackers are my favorite snack -- we got them in Tenerife....and then i found them here!!!  they are a bit expensive...so we won't get them often....but they are tasty!!  sort of a sweeter and saltier ritz cracker!!  Have you read any good books? i finally finished a book about mother teresa that i was reading....it took me a long time to get through.  i really enjoyed david platt's new book "follow me"....i'm reading "the note" right now....not sure of the author.  it's pretty alright (there's a movie of it....)(not "the notebook" - just "the note").  i've also been reading a couple of parenting books -- i feel like i needed to sharpen my tools.  i picked up dobson's "strong willed child" and another one called "the paradox principle of parenting" - by a guy named john lucas (i think) -- it's all about seeking to parent the way God parents us.  it's making me think.  hmmm...didn't realize i had quite so many books going at once.   How's the magnet decor? it is GREAT.  i can not over emphasize how convenient having magnetic walls really is.  it's easy to rearrange things...and fun to super glue magnets onto random objects (remote controls...pencil holders...alarm clocks....).  i feel like our cabin looks a little less "dorm-room-ish" this year...we actually have some things in frames (thanks, ikea!).  and there aren't quite as many small random things stuck everywhere...  Do you gaze at the sunrise or sunset often? yes.  the way the ship is positioned i get to see the sunrise pretty much every morning.   i haven't been watching the sunset quite as much here as i did in conakry....usually we're on the dock or deck 7 starboard around sunset and there's not a great view from either of those places. i'm always amazed by the beauty of our God's creation...and so grateful for the fresh starts and blessed endings.     Did you use any Spanish during your time in Spain? un poco (doesn't that mean " a little"!?!).  Nick certainly used more than i did...even though I don't know much Spanish, it still amazes me how much I recognize and can kind of figure out (lucky for me, lots of the signs also have pictures :))  Did you have any interesting conversations with a Spaniard? not really.  nick managed to have a few -- they all seemed to happen at the playground.  the Spaniards weren't particularly drawn to me this go round :)   What non people item are you missing the most at this moment? the worship at CCC and Crave.  those would be at the top of the list.  would those be considered "items" though??  if i had to pick an item, i'd pick a Cappucino Blast from Baskin Robbins.    What are your top 5 most thankful besides your family? top 5?  that's tough!!!  i suppose i could go with the generic "good health...clean water....comfy bed..." but i'm going to go with the non-generic...what am i most thankful for besides my family?  (i still don't think these will be "most" thankful for...just things i'm really thankful for  1)questions.  2) the way God used Teen Advisors to help me become more of who He wants me to be 3)grace.  the all surpassing sufficiency of His grace...for me, for you, for all.  4)naps 5)authenticity...especially in relationships.  Is the sky star fillled at night? i want to say yes...but i'm really not sure.  the port (and the ship) has plenty of light at night...so it's tough to see the stars...and i haven't really been out at night to a place where there aren't lights.  even during the sail i somehow managed not to go out on deck much at night -- i went out there some...but forgot to look at the stars.  feels like something might be wrong with me for that!!!!   What is your favorite worship song at this point in time? chris tomlin's "lay me down" (and the entire sons and daughters playlist on my ipod)  Bible verse?  the cry of my heart for a long time has been john 3:30..oh that He would increase and i could decrease.....that's what i long for.    What is your favorite story to talk about? the "she'll take care of you" starbucks story (coming soon to a cash family blog near you....)

Hope you enjoyed the questions and answers.  If you happen to have any questions that you want answered, feel free to email me diannacash@yahoo.com :)