BE THE CHANGE

Land That I Love

2011-12-30T00:11:00.000-05:00

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

2011-12-25T07:32:00.000-05:00

Merry Christmas dear friends!!!

New Name

2011-12-02T09:48:00.000-05:00

"You shall be called by a new name, Which the mouth of the LORD will name."(Isaiah 62:2b) Many things have changed in my life recently. Our beautiful daughter was born last week and she is a joy to our lives. I started a journal for her. I don't want to write in it every day but I do want to capture some of the most important moments and let her know how we felt. I want her to be able to see

Lately...

2011-10-30T03:31:00.000-04:00

Lately... we have been quite busy. A lot of preparations are in order for our little baby girl to come next month. And that is on top of all the work and ministry responsibilities we already have. Because of that I am realizing that we have not been super faithful updating this blog on a regular basis... sorry. Here's a quick snapshot into our lives in the past 2 months. Of course our main

"My Heart Has Been Replaced With A Face"

2011-09-06T21:15:00.002-04:00

When you look down, it is easy to walk by. In my previous post I have written about feeling sorry for myself and being caught up in the "woe is me" mentality. The more I think about it the more frustrated I become... angry at myself and many others around me who are so caught up in our little problems that we don't even notice the pain of those who need our help. Part of the problem is that

Down with Pity

2011-09-05T07:44:00.000-04:00

How easy it is to whine! To feel sorry for myself... feeling as if everyone in the whole world has got a better deal... just because one someone has... How easy it is to throw yourself a pity party! Filled with 'if only's and 'but's and wishful thinking... Do you ever get caught up in that? Sometimes I do. And when I do... somehow... I am even more miserable than I was a second ago... In

Joys of Decision Making

2011-08-23T08:02:00.003-04:00

One of the toughest things to do as a family is to make a decision. From the very beginning of their existence every family is bombarded with many many decisions they have to make. Some of those decisions are easy to make. Others - not so easy at all. The worst among that difficult kind would be the infamous "life-changing" or "life-altering" decisions... the ones that send you packing... the

Our New Button

2011-08-19T06:58:00.000-04:00

Hey y'all - we have a button now!!! It is very simple but I feel like it is such an accomplishment as I made it by my own little (ok maybe not so little) self. Feel free to grab the code and share it on your blogs, pages, etc. <a href="http://metrobelarus.blogspot.com/" ><img border="0" src=" http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-NgH-qZYJvLw/Tk49RnNis2I/AAAAAAAABGM/wDBtEM309U8/s1600/button-2.jpg" /></a>

Overcoming Fear

2011-08-15T19:08:00.001-04:00

I wonder what are you afraid of? You know, it's not always the obvious things like mice and spiders. Real fears hide deep inside, carefully masked by layers of learned behaviors and social expectations. Real fears are very hard to admit to anyone, even ourselves. Bryan & I with some of the kids who came to day camp from our site. Starting August 8th, we have been bringing children from

Greatest Author

2011-07-06T09:57:00.000-04:00

I was on the subway the other day and saw this advertisement for some new book. The reviews that were chosen to put on this advertisement claim that "authors just don't get any better" and that the writer is "one of the greatest storytellers of ours or any time [emphasis mine]". Really? Are they trying to tell me that The Lion is such a work of literary art that Mr. DeMille is surpassing Leo

Imperfect Hospitality

2011-07-05T10:23:00.004-04:00

"When hospitality becomes an art it loses its very soul." (Max Beerbohm) I read a lot... about everything... I read books, blogs, facebook feeds, signs on the streets, even cereal boxes. Sometimes that stood in the way of my hospitality. I am not the person who will think of little cute flags to decorate her cupcakes with, or get matching linens, or make homemade tags for the glasses. I live

My Blessings Are Easy To Count Today

2011-07-04T08:10:00.000-04:00

My blessings are easy to count today. As I sit in my bed this morning and type this post, I am excited about the new (to me) dessert recipe I get to try out today for the Independence Day celebration. I know my fridge is stoked with yummy things that in a few hours will be transformed into a great food for a great get-together with some great people. I went to church yesterday without fear for

Project: Food Budget (Week 6)

2011-06-23T04:15:00.000-04:00

Thursdays seem to come much faster now that I am participating in the Project: Food Budget challenge. This week was super easy... We have not purchased much groceries and were eating up what was left in the house. However, I feel like we've also done quite a bit of eating out too so it's probably balancing itself out. Fun Find: Last night hubby and I were walking through the local farmers'

My Home

2011-06-22T08:48:00.001-04:00

"Moses took his tent and pitched it outside the camp, far from the camp, and called it the tabernacle of meeting. And it came to pass that everyone who sought the Lord went out to the tabernacle of meeting which was outside the camp." (Exodus 33:7) Moses loved the Lord so much that his own house became a place where people would come and seek God. I want my home to be a place where God speaks

A Heart of Jonah

2011-06-20T11:13:00.000-04:00

As I ponder on the Word of God this week, one thing comes to mind. Jonah was a prophet of God, His servant, His messenger. But he was human too. When the Lord asked Jonah to go to Nineveh, he did not want to go. How often do I refuse to step into God's plan, to follow His desires? How often do I think I know better? Do you ever find yourself there... on a boat to Tarshish? Sometimes I do.

Project: Food Budget (Week 5)

2011-06-16T20:28:00.000-04:00

It is week 5 of me participating in the Project: Food Budget Challenge... or week 2 if you consider the fact that I have not posted for like a month ;)... but hey - I am back and hopefully I'll be able to be more faithful over the summer... This week presented an interesting challenge for me. I have ventured out to the Russian area of NYC called Brighton Beach. It is not very close to where I

Intentional

2011-06-13T07:49:00.000-04:00

INTENTION - an act or instance of determining mentally upon some action or result. I choose to be intentional today. I choose to be intentional with my relationships. No amount of time spent on facebook or watching movies or playing games on my computer or reading other people's blogs will ever justify not investing in the lives of my dear friends and family. I choose to be intentional in my

Time to Blog vs. Time to Live

2011-06-12T07:28:00.000-04:00

I haven't done much blogging lately... and it's a good thing. Things have been busy and slightly hectic around here. With the Sunday School spring semester winding down (last week starts tomorrow) and the ever-present pregnancy issues it has been very hard to keep up on all of my favorite things (including this blog). But do you know what that really means?... That means that our lives have

History of Belarus in 5 minutes

2011-06-10T08:07:00.000-04:00

I have stumbled across this animated feature from one of my former classmate's facebook. She is the one who did the animation for this cartoon. I waited a while to share this but now that there are finally English subtitles I am sure many of you will enjoy learning a bit of Belarusian history in only 5 minutes. At the time when everyone is disillusioned in the proper future for Belarus it is

When Everything Is Uncertain

2011-05-30T22:26:00.000-04:00

They say that the only thing that is certain in life is... CHANGE. Whoever they are, they must be on point with that. Do you sometimes feel that just when things settle and you can finally take a breath something else comes up? Do you sometimes feel that you are not too sure of what will happen to your life in the next year or two? Do you find yourself ask God, "Ok, so what's next?" If you do -

What Next?...

2011-05-26T06:37:00.000-04:00

I wonder if you all read this article yet? What do you think? I am wondering... what will come next. Shall we stop giving names to our children too?... You know to give them freedom to decide what their own name should be... Shall we stop teaching them about any moral values and the right way to deal with the world around them? Shall we just let them run wild and free until they just decide for

Project: Food Budget (Week 1)

2011-05-19T06:22:00.002-04:00

Week 1 has come and gone... and I still haven't figured out how to keep track of everything we spend. My husband balances the checkbook and pays cash for little guilty pleasures like Starbucks and eating out. I'll do my best to be as true as possible. Weekly budget: $100.00Beginning of the month BJ's trip was $284.54 ($149.54 of it was spent on food)That leaves us with an average of $62.62 for

Invisible Adoption

2011-05-16T05:30:00.027-04:00

I grew up in a very good family. My parents worked and took good care of me. My grandparents were always there for me as well. They wanted the very best for me. They made sure I had the best education. They made sure I had my needs taken care of. There were few things however that they simply could not give me. No matter how hard they tried to provide for all my needs, they simply could not

Project: Food Budget

2011-05-14T15:30:00.000-04:00

Starting next week I will be participating in the Project: Food Budget challenge. With the baby on the way we have been very careful with our finances. I am really trying to figure out what works for us and find that perfect balance between cooking at home, eating out, and buying ready-to-go snacks. The first and foremost challenge has been figuring out the actual budget. I will give myself a

I Love You More...

2011-05-09T07:18:00.001-04:00

The truth sinks within me. My life will never be the same. It's a good thing. You will be changing my life and my habits in more ways than you'd ever know. The first one is my coffee. I like me some coffee. I don't need to have it in the mornings so it has not been physically challenging to give it up. But oh how I miss the social aspect of going out for coffee... or the warmth of a mug