Posts

Showing posts from July, 2018

Gods Promises

Image
We were reminded afresh this week as we saw a rainbow stretched across our sky.... " I [God] have set my rainbow  in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth.   Whenever I bring clouds over the earth and the rainbow  appears in the clouds,   I will remember my covenant  between me and you and all living creatures of every kind. Never again will the waters become a flood to destroy all life.   Whenever the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant  between God and all living creatures of every kind on the earth.” So God said to Noah, “This is the sign of the covenant  I have established between me and all life on the earth.” Genesis 9:13-17 While there is a group of people who would like to twist the meaning or even the thought of what a rainbow stands for  The Bible  makes it very clear as to its origin.  This is the truth with so many of God's promises.  The words of God saying " I will never le

A Rookie

Image
A rookie, by definition, is someone in their first season of a professional sport.  Man, do I feel like that sometimes.  The game?  Life.  The team?  Hovey.  The stakes?  High.  The coach?  God, Himself.  The first season there is a lot of fresh, new spark and love of the game, but there is also the steep learning curve that comes with how to manage a familiar sport on a public basis.  To a watching world, the rookie can either make it or break it for the rest of the team.   As I have been reflecting on that and my own sense of feeling like a 'rookie,' I have also been struck with the idea that while I can't 'bring in the win' for my family, I can bring heart, soul, and passion to the ranks.  Success or failure isn't necessarily based upon who 'wins' the game.  REALLY winning can be accomplished in the attitudes of the heart, the integrity of the players, and the overall inspiration to the crowd. For example, in the classic Disney film Cool Runnings  tha

Firsts

Image
Firsts....we all have them.  These past two weeks marked a couple notable 'firsts' in the Hovey household.  To start?  Gunner.  He had his first day of school in PNG!  He is attending a play school here on the Goroka Baptist Bible College campus with PNG national children.  So far, so good!  It was a bit of a rocky start as Gunner had to come home several times to go to the bathroom, but he is doing very well.  He is starting in the middle of the PNG school year, so his first letter he learned was the letter 'M.'  However, he is starting at the beginning of a term, which helps.  He is making friends, learning rules, remedial reading skills as the school is taught in English, and we are pleased.  Today is his first 'sick' day too.....he has a bad cold, so we kept him home.   It was Moriah's first time being an only child for awhile now that Gunner goes to school in the mornings.  She has adjusted well and has become quite a helper!  Her favorite task is washi

The Ordinary opportunity

Image
Life here is full of ordinary things that give us opportunities to learn.  For instance, laundry....clothes inevitably get dirty.  However, washing here is more involved than it was back home.  You don't just put the clothes in the machine and then transfer them to the next.  You scrub them in needed spots (which are plentiful with two littles), then you put them in the machine, it soaks up soap and sloshes them around, then you rinse them by hand and spin them with a machine.  Lest you think that's  it, then you hang each piece to line dry and then you wait to fold and put them away before the process is complete.  Whew!  Since we are entering dry season, we have decided to do laundry once a week to conserve water.  However, that makes for a full day of laundry when the time comes!  We know it can be an easier process as our experience in the States has been, but we also know it could be more difficult too.  Many of our neighbors don't have the luxury of a machine to help