Merry Christmas!

December 25, 2018

Merry Christmas to you! 

I don't usually write a note on Christmas day, but this post will constitute the Klazinga Christmas greetings to family and friends (as long as they follow the link on facebook to read it).  We want to wish you a joyful and blessed Christmas season and a Happy New Year.

Our family has changed in so many ways this past year but most of the changes have been on the inside, growing, maturing, learning new things, and experiencing life in new ways. 

Rather than recount all the ways we have lived this year, I will simply share a photo of our family and extend our love and thankfulness for our family, friends, and brothers and sisters in Christ who have walked alongside us and encouraged and prayed for us this year.  Our hearts are full when we see how God has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places.  We pray you will also know that blessing this coming year and every year until Jesus comes in the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.  (Ephesians 1:3-10)

Lead the Way

When I first heard about the trip to England I started dreaming.  We were attending regularly what would become our new church and had heard snippets of testimonies from almost a dozen missionaries or mission fields over a period of a few months. It is amazing to hear what God is doing in His church globally.  When our church started talking about sending a team of people to England for the purpose of encouraging a small, fledgling congregation I thought, "Wow. if only I could be a part of something like that. "  At the time, we weren't members of the church.  And that was the least of the obstacles preventing us from pursuing this area of service.  We both wanted to go and we didn't think we could afford for both of us to go.  So, I put to rest my quickened heart and told myself I wasn't going to think about it because it would have to wait for a better time in our life.

About a month later, the prayer requests for sending a team centered on having some women consider serving the church in this way.  Bryan and I talked about it again.  Although our financial ability to pay for the trip hadn't changed, we asked more questions and prayed about whether it would be possible.  We were both experiencing a desire, a calling, to serve the Lord by helping a congregation in another land not too terribly different than our own (they speak English, after all, so we already knew the language).

We told one of the planners that we were prayerfully considering the possibility of going and he let us know what the cost would most likely be for each of us.  He was excited that we were seriously considering being a part of the team.  This conversation happened after a Sunday evening worship service.  The next day, Bryan had a call from a company he has never heard of to answer questions as a consultant for an hour and they would pay him generously for his time.  That same day (still Monday)  the financial aid package for our college student was finalized and gave us a little more 'wiggle' room with our budget for what we needed to save before the next semester of classes began.  That evening we talked about how God seemed to be opening the door for us to trust Him to provide the financial means to commit to the mission trip.

Since then, we have received a few gifts from family and business associates to help us on our way.  We are trusting that God is providing the way for us to not worry about what it will cost monetarily. He knows what our concerns are about being fiscally responsible when we have college tuition to pay, but He also asks us to trust Him to work out all the details.  And He is doing abundantly more than that: He is equipping us to serve Him in England.

We are excited about how the Lord will use us.  We are also excited to visit a country that we have always wanted to see.  We are looking forward to meeting fellow believers who share a common faith and hope.  We hope we can also talk to people who are searching for the truth that will set them free. We are preparing our hearts through prayer, reading some books, and discussing what we may face as we minister to the Solihull congregation.   We trust that God will use us how He sees fit and that we will grow and learn more about His faithful caring for us through our experience.  Where He leads, we will follow.

More on England

I love all things England; I guess that makes me an Anglophile.  I have wanted to travel, maybe even live, in England for a good portion of my life.  As child books transported me to different locations in the world and different times in history.  England was my favorite location and English authors have always held a special place in my repertoire of reading materials.  I am a fan of mystery stories, so Agatha Christie and Dorothy Sayers are like old friends of mine who I visit through their writing when I need some light reading.  Churchill and Chesterton, Lewis, Tolkien, Orwell, Potter, Dickens, Doyle, Kipling, and Shakespeare have their places on my bookshelves in our school room library.  And more.

  In high school, my fascination with the Kings and Queens of England morphed into becoming a student of history in college.  When I researched what kind of education I wanted to provide for my children as we homeschooled, my sister told me about a British educator named Charlotte Mason who taught students, parents, and teachers in her lifetime.  It was an easy fit for me to use Charlotte Mason’s methods in my school and to base our curriculum on Western Civilization beginning with the Birth of Britain. 

I have dreamed about visiting England for a long time.  Whenever Bryan and I would talk about which country we want to visit for our first trip overseas, I voted for England (his vote was for the Netherlands since both his parents were born there).  

The idea that an island has birthed a civilization (or at least perpetuated it) that expanded to all the ‘corners’ of the globe makes me want to see the land and its historical landmarks.  I want to feel the history of the place and to experience the people who live there.   I want to absorb the culture, the history, the air, the sea.   

I have a running list of British idioms that I am practicing as a fun way to prepare for the journey (that’s ‘trip’ in American English).  Bryan is looking forward to a fry up; I know how to ask directions for the loo (or bog?). We look forward to a lovely time as we stay a fortnight in the country.

Visiting England this Summer

Bryan and I are embarking on a new adventure in our life.  We are part of a short-term mission team that will travel to Solihull, England to encourage and interact with Christians and their neighbors.  We will be with a small congregation for 10 days and then do a few days of sightseeing before returning home.  This is one of a series of adventures of late that have marked our life together.

The biggest change for us in the last 6 months is joining a different church family.  One of the benefits of joining a new church is that we are very accustomed to meeting new people and learning about them.  So going to a different country to meet new people is not as intimidating as it may have seemed in the past.

We are stepping out (maybe I should say walking out) in faith as we plan our trip.  We can't really afford it on paper, but God is providing the means for us to go.  And we are trusting that He will be leading us as we meet and encourage fellow believers.  We will also be inviting neighbors of the church to a few events.  It will be interesting to see how we are received by the English.  And how much we can connect with the Christians we meet at the church in the short time we are there.

It is exciting to think about doing 'work' like this in the church in the future.  We both have wondered if we could be used as encouragers to new believers (discipling) or as supporters of a new church just starting out.  We look forward to what we can learn from this trip about ourselves and about how to care for strangers to whom we are connected through our faith in the Lord Jesus.

Here I go again...

Starting over: I think I start over every week in some area of my life.  Why?  Because I am not a disciplined personality.  I am a disciplined-habit-keeping-routine-list-making wannabee.  I want to have my day ordered, taking things one step at a time, having habits in place that I don't have to really think about.  I know the value of going from one task to another without having to 'talk' myself into the task; it should be automatic, I shouldn't waste brain power or will power to 'decide' to do it. Like making my bed or getting dressed in the morning or putting my glasses on.

I want to be disciplined, and yet no matter how often I work on this area of my life, I still, after almost 50 years, can't get it perfect.  Probably one of the few habits I have is working on forming habits!  I know that my personality is what is making it impossible for me to succeed in this desire.  Maybe it's the procrastination part of me; or is it the flexible, change-embracing (as opposed to change-resisting) part of me?  Over time I have become less of a procrastinator and more of a habit or routine keeper.  If I do fall into procrastination mode, I still gets lots of stuff done as I avoid the one or two tasks over which I am procrastinating.  I frequently make lists of what I have accomplished for the day just so I can see that I am actually getting things done, habitually, every day.

Some of the things I have learned about myself is that if I am given a detailed plan to follow about how to do pretty much anything, I will resist it, rebel against it, and eventually change it or tweak it to my own ideas about how to do something.  What does that say about me?  Is it my rebellious nature that does this, or is it a positive side to me that just gets out of hand sometimes, preventing me from following someone else's idea of how to do something?  I won't follow a recipe to the letter (mostly for cooking, I do pretty much follow a recipe for baking),  I can't follow a diet for longer than a week, I can't do the same thing at the same time every single day of my life, and if I start to see myself doing that, something inside of me kicks in and stops me from sticking with it.  I wonder how I managed to raise four children, feeding them, caring for their bodily needs every day--I guess that is one area where I did keep good habits without even thinking about it.


At this point, you may be thinking that I am some kind of a freak who never gets anything done.  Actually, I read books all the time about how to be efficient, creating habits, dieting and exercise books, plans to follow for every area of my life--housework, hospitality, home schooling, Bible study, and more. I love thinking creatively about how to get things done and reading or hearing about how others accomplish what they do in a day.  Mini habits are the way I get things done--breaking up my goals into very small chunks so I can see myself succeed (at least for a little while) and baby steps that become real habits to me which I follow for the rest of my life (mostly).  I have to be 'in the mood' to cook, to clean, to write, to read, to exercise.  Even when I tell myself that I am working towards consistency and true habits, I have to qualify myself because I will never be able to keep to the habits absolutely. I don't always know my own limitations, and so I get stressed about how busy I am and wonder how I will ever get anything done which paralyzes me and sometimes prevents me from starting something new or causes me to procrastinate.

I wonder:  does anyone keep routines, daily habits, disciplines absolutely?  I do know people who seem to be ultra-disciplined.  Usually, they are the people that I wish I could be like. Disciplined people seem to know what they can do and what they can't.   But sometimes they seem to have difficulty being flexible with their day or don't deal with change or life circumstances very well.  Nothing is allowed to distract the ultra-disciplined from their daily work. I am sure they get a lot done, and their flexibility exists as long as it can be conformed to schedules and routines.  But there seems to be less creativity at times, less spontaneity in these kinds of personalities. Maybe that is the trade-off for being a person completely disciplined.  And actually as much as I wish I could be as disciplined as they are,  they also drive me a little crazy when I am around them.   I drive them crazy, too, I am sure.   That's the interesting side of having relationships with people who are different than you.

My assessment of the disciplined person as compared to me may be completely wrong.  I may be glorifying their abilities or justifying my own weaknesses.  My desire is to reduce daily stress by having habits in place so that on my worst day I can still get up, and 'do something', or many 'somethings'  so each day is a success.  I struggle against my own flesh (physically) and against the leanings of my personality (mentally) to do, accomplish, excel at life, to be someone who values small daily work that adds up to bring meaning to me and to others.  All of the habits I want to develop should serve me intellectually, spiritually and physically.  Routines, discipline, habits should serve rather than enslave an individual; if I keep that in mind, hopefully, I can find a balance of creativity and flexibility while working towards keeping habits with less effort.  

A New Year Note

Dear Friends and Family,

Happy New Year! We look forward to 2016 even as we reflect on what God has done for us as this year closes.

This year has been one of blessings , challenges, changes, and perseverance.  As a family we have witnessed God's love and mercy, His faithfulness and patience with us, and His reminder to us that He is real and that He cares about every detail of the plans He has for us.

Bryan and I celebrated our 25th year of marriage all year long.  We enjoyed sunny Orlando and even sunnier (except when we were there!) Jamaica as quiet get-a-ways from our busy daily life.   It has been wonderful to reminisce and remind one another of the beginning of our love life together.  How far we've come and how much our lives have been shaped by our love for each other and by the love of God in our lives.

Justin graduated from Grove City College in May and secured a teaching position for the 2015-2016 school year at a Classical Christian school in Beaufort, SC.  We see him (and make room for him) every weekend as he travels 3.5 hours to and from the coast.  It may sound like he's had a hard time separating from us, but in reality he comes home every weekend to see Sarah, to whom he is now engaged! (Yay!)

Joanna started her college career in January at University of South Carolina Lancaster.  She is a teacher's assistant and is balancing classes, work, piano lessons, and teaching Sunday school.  She has been blessed in all her endeavors and truly enjoys life as a college student right now.  She wants to study history and possibly minor in music and will have to decide if she will continue her schooling at USC or transfer to a smaller private college in the next year or two.

Aaron works at Chick Fil A, has been accepted to Liberty University next year, and is in choir, has a garage band, and plays soccer and rugby.  He is in his senior year of high school , always a challenging year trying to figure out what comes next and what to study in college.   He has grown in his faith this year and is a blessing to us as we help him work through all the possible ways he feels called to serve the Lord.

Abigail is in Year 8 in our home school.  She plays soccer, enjoys choir and has good friendships near and far.  She is learning to play the ukulele along with her piano lessons.  She is such a good help to me regularly in the house and a joy to teach.  It will be strange to have only one student in our home school next fall but I look forward to it.

We've seen both sets of our parents this year deal with health stresses that they have faced.  It has been such an encouragement and testimony to us and to our kids to see older saints who are facing life-changing news by trusting in God and calling on His mercy and His healing.   My parents and Bryan's parents are living out their faith and trust in their Savior and do not hesitate to show how much God has cared for them in the big and small things.

It has been a year of reconnecting with family even though we may not see them face to face.  We have had our ups and downs as a family, but feel the love and encouragement even if we can't be with each other in the same room, house, city, state, or even country!  We know that prayers and Christian love surrounds us as we share our lives with one another, even at a distance.

Our hope and comfort has always and continues to be in our faithful Saviour to meet all our needs.   Through disappointments, trials of faith, suffering for Christ's sake, blessings, and trusting in what is unseen but sure, we will face the new year as we did the last: with confidence and joy. 

Wrapping it up

I must confess a failure of mine that I believe I have passed on to my children:  I am unable to wrap gifts.  I confess this today after wrapping Christmas presents.   You may be thinking: just watch the many tutorials on wrapping on you tube and you'll figure it out.--been there, done that.    It's like those videos of how to fold fitted sheets into neat squares; it looks so easy when someone else does it.  I think this year's wrapping projects are actually my best yet, but I still haven't unlocked the secret.  All my wrapped boxes have the paper pattern right side up, most of them have square edges, none of the paper is torn at the edges, and best of all: I didn't give up!  Or, maybe you wonder how I can blog about such a mundane topic.  I'm pretty sure I can fill at least 5 paragraphs explaining and expounding on this particular weakness that I've lived with all my life.

I love wrapping paper because it has so many colors and designs.  I search for sturdy paper that won't tear easily and that has some kind of grid or geometric pattern that will give me guide lines so that when I cut the paper it will be somewhat straight (that's another problem I have that may be related to this one; I can't draw a straight line very well so I don't cut straight, either).  This year I found a huge roll of heavy wrapping paper at Costco that is reversible!  How cool is that?  And I decided that I would wrap the girls' gifts in one pattern and the boys' gifts in the reverse pattern.  Since this post is confessional I will admit that I already messed up that plan by wrapping a gift for Aaron with the wrong pattern.  But I fixed it:  I wrapped the outside of the wrapped box with a strip from the reverse-boy pattern.  Problem solved.

I love wrapping paper but I also get excited about wrapping gifts.  Basically, I approach every gift wrapping opportunity with hope and optimism:  this gift will be my best wrapping yet.  This year I got smart and kept lots of amazon boxes so that all my gifts could go in a box first.  You're probably saying to yourself: of course, who would wrap a strangely-shaped gift without putting it into a square or rectangular box first anyway?  But that kind of question is what separates true gift wrappers from people like me.  Just like the assumption that watching people on you tube wrap gifts means that I will become proficient at wrapping like they are.

So, I have beautiful wrapping paper, square or rectangular boxes, tape, and scissors.  I have my large cutting board as my surface so I don't cut crooked or pull the boxes onto my lap at some point. The stage is set for an easy gift wrapping session.  I can see in my mind what I need to do; cut some paper off the roll and begin.  This I believe is where everything starts to go wrong.  And I think this is why the you tube videos are useless.  They don't explain how much paper I should use.  If someone would just give me a rule or procedure for cutting the right size of paper for the box I am wrapping, I think I could actually become an expert gift wrapper (see the eternal, hopeful optimism?).

Wrapping becomes a full-body experience with tape sticking to fingers, the gift in my lap so I can hold a corner flap down while I twist around to locate the scissors that have ended up just out of reach to cut extra paper that I didn't know I would have and don't know what to do with on the end flaps.  Effort and care goes into every gift I wrap even if it may not seem so by looking at the finished product.

I wrote at the beginning of this post that I fear I have passed on my poor wrapping skills to my children.  As I sit here writing I look across the room at a very large box that has upside down snowmen on it.  I also see a cowboy boot wrapped mostly in a penguin pattern--I say 'mostly' because the toe of the boot has the reverse pattern of snowmen.  Beside the boot is a wrapped 2-liter soda bottle.  Do you see why my use of boxes this year is inspiring?

This brings me to another confession: we have in the past wrapped gifts in pillowcases, towels, blankets, socks, brown paper bags or store bags.   NOT Christmas gifts, usually, but birthday gifts don't always get the same time and care in presentation.  Sometimes it seems too time-consuming and expensive to go out and buy birthday wrapping paper and wrap a gift for just one child who will tear it apart in a few seconds anyway.  And since I pointed out the wrapped cowboy boot that is being used to hold a gift, I must also confess the odd-shaped gift that has a stapler sitting on top of it underneath the wrapping.  The offspring of mine who did this said it was because she doesn't want the recipient to guess what the gift is.  I guess it didn't occur to her to use a box to disguise the gift's shape and weight.

I don't know if anyone outside of my immediate family has problems with gift wrapping, but I do feel better admitting my inadequacies.  My gift wrapping failures offer a valuable and practical lesson similar to the adage: don't judge a book by its cover.  Not every thing or everyone has external beauty.  We must look beyond the external wrappings; it's what's on the inside that counts.  That is the real gift.