Loving the Blockers - Needs list

We are collecting donations of your used/new items for the Blocker family of 7, returning from Tunis to the USA on March 5 (but will arrive in Little Rock the weekend of March 8-9), for a furlough of 6 months. If you can donate any of the items below, please leave a comment with what you can provide. You will be much appreciated! Items will be collected at Mosaic, Mon-Thurs, 9am-5pm, leave at the front desk for Ines (562-3336)

BLOCKER FAMILY - HOUSEHOLD/KITCHEN NEEDS LIST 08

UTENSILS
Spatulas - got it
pasta servers - got it
measuring cups - Alana Leiva
ice cream scoop - Alana Leiva
oven holders - got it

STORAGE
storage and freezer bags - Sarah A
aliminum foil - Linda Miles
plastic wrap - Sarah A.
canisters for flour/sugar - Beverly Chesser

POTS/PANS/CASSEROLES
muffin pan - Kara G.
cookie sheets - Kara G.
pizza pan/stone - Kara G.

APPLIANCES
coffee maker - Kim Roth

CLEANING / LINENS
Dish deter (Amy B) /dishwasher detergent -

laundry detergent - Melanie Li
all purpose cleaners - Amy B.
kitchen towels
wash cloths - Amy B.
bath towels - Linda Miles (need a few more)
broom, dust pan - Melanie Li
vacuum cleaner - Ines
Linens for (2) queen (1 set -Alana),

(3) twin -(2 sets-Alana)

and (1) double bed sizes

additional random furniture:
dressers or plastic storage drawers for kids clothing.
desk or table for a computer - Amber Mickey
TWO CARSEATS! (gracie is almost 4; sam is 2)- Ines/Dana
Bikes or skates for the bigger kids
Toys for sam and gracie ( 4 and 2 yr old) - got some, could use few more

Amber's idea for Shawna:

Girly lotions and soaps-- Amber (great idea!)

"wow...i'm overwhelmed to have received this email soliciting our needs. again, thank you so much." Shawna on behalf of the B7

Dad's 67th Birthday Dinner at the Flying Fish

alpha loves omega

My father jokes around our house about my youngest sister, Sara Lydia, who is 1 yr old, and I (*ehem* I won't tell you my age, but sufficeth to know that I'm the eldest of the 7). Due to our age difference and birth order, he calls me "Alpha" and the little one "Omega". He claims that his child-bearing years have come to a close in a funny coincidence. "Omega" was born one day after my b-day and that closes the baby factory in full circle. I don't think they planned that, it just happened.

So, while my father Ali, who should be also known as "Abraham", is getting senior discounts at IHOP and Kroger pharmacies, Omega and I have the grandest of times when we're together. You see, 7 kids in a bunch can fight over the attention of the parents. So, I just gladly give Omega the attention she doesn't get because she can barely talk. (that's a joke about her not getting attention...) And for that, she likes me a lot. She can barely say my name, and thus calls me something that sounds like, "Ness", like the Lock-NESS monster. But I dig that.

Today my heart melted when my stepmom said that Omega was eating in her high chair the other day and heard some noise outside. Thinking that it was me coming in thru the garage door, like I'm used to, she popped her eyes open and exclaimed, "NESSS!!?" Like, could it possibly be that girl that can't stop kissing me and holding me and always asks me if I want to sleepover at her house? Sadly, they inform her it's not Alpha. To which she drops her head in her criss-crossed arms and cries as if it's the end of the world. Okay- maybe I exaggerated! But she DID cry I was told! What a thought...that a 1 year old could remember me past her short-term memory. That's just got to be the warmest feeling in my heart ever!

So, you don't have kids? Me neither. That's why I borrow other people's to find joy in those little faces with little questions and little worries and little anxieties and little problems. As I grow older and forget the joy of being young and innocent like those early years, little Omega reminds me of those days when you just have no worries except to eat, sleep, and get your diaper changed. And you just trust that someone's going to do it. As I consider my future, every day can be a struggle if I let my flesh worry about what I will eat tomorrow (not so much about getting a diaper changed, *cough-cough*). I'm really trying to submit my flesh to God's will in my life, and with it trust that my Dad up there will take care of me. Isn't that hard for some of you?

And again, if you don't have kids, mentor a child or visit a hospital where they need loving arms to hold babies who are in critical care...something about touch and healing babies and such as.

"o Lord, you have searched me and known me...you understand my thought from afar...How precious also are your thoughts to me o God! How vast is the sum of them!...When I awake I am still with you." psalm 139...

~Ines

my kingdom fall. His Kingdom has come.

I had lunch yesterday with Virginia, a delightful woman who has traveled all over the world, but lately made her home in Rwanda for one year. She and her husband helped to build wells to provide clean water to Rwandans- so that women wouldn't have to travel 4+ hours away to get murky, muddy water to cook and wash, among other provisions of having a clean water well nearby...Someone asked Virginia what word God was giving her, and she reached down into her pocket looking for something. She finally found it and pulled out the picture of "her". It was a lady eagle perched on a tree and stretching her wings while looking down at Virginia, sitting on her back porch, the Rwandan blue sky in the background. The lady eagle came to visit her often while she was out sipping tea. Virginia said something about, "stretching your wings and flying" that caught my heart... She's probably in her late 70's and still longs to "stretch her wings and fly". She captivated me with her passion and her tender smile as she said that.

Eagles are beautiful indeed. I saw 7 of them soaring and gliding smoothly in the skies of northwest arkansas during a young adults retreat a couple of years ago. At that time, God gave me a similar word like Virginia's, to "spread my wings and fly". I saw them unafraid, confident that the wind was under their wings and it would push them up or hold them almost still in one spot. The green hills below them never dared to think that the eagles would just fall off from the sky. The eagles were trusting their Creator to do what they were made for: fly. They got their wings from Him. They got their good portion of wind every day. He charted their way to fly. Sometimes with their wings flapping gently, sometimes with them almost still, gliding away. I think sometimes I barely believe that I can fly, so then I end up just flapping my wings despairingly & not concentrating on flying, but instead on not falling. There's a difference.

I don't believe that the only person we disappoint, when we don't fly like we were made to, is ourself. When we are blessed to fly, it is not just for us, it is to teach others to fly. Whatever God has suited you with, it's never just for you, it's for you to make Him look good, and for you to bless others. If He gives you trials & consolation, it is for you to console others. If He gives you money, it is for you to alleviate another. If He gives you encouragement, love, attention, affection, it is never just for you to keep. If He gives you bread, go feed another. So, if eagles are meant to fly, don't just sit there and not fly.

~Ines

Yes, we can...¡Sí, se puede!

I don't endorse candidates- I can't even vote in the USA! but I wanted to share this really cool video about Barack Obama. It engages me because of the history of the words, "yes we can". People of my color have chanted these words before, "Sí, se puede." They are really powerful words in a determined mind! You can do anything if you really believe these words. I think inherently in the heart that God has given us, we truly want to believe that we can "be" someone or "do" something; and it's amazing when we believe that in community, that together we can accomplish something for the greater good of another. When I see how Jesus gave of Himself for others- to do things for others that would make His Daddy look good, I wonder if he, as a human, had to tell Himself, "yes I can!" I bet He did. As he stepped down from heaven, it was with the determination that He alone could heal us, individually for Himself, and as a human race, heal us for each other. His love for His daddy and for us, compelled Him to say, "Alright I'll do it."

And He probably also knew that if He gave us the example, if He could do it, He could cheer us on and say, "Inés, now that I've done it, you can do something, too!" like alleviating poverty, like feeding the hungry, like clothing the naked, protecting the abused and mistreated, sending a child to school, helping the beat down immigrant, speaking for the oppressed who have no voice, speaking love instead of hate, being patient instead of demanding, speaking edification instead of words that belittle others. Sure I can. Yes I can. Do what He said. (John 14)

Alright, here's the video- and again, I'm not endorsing, neither am I comparing Obama to Jesus! don't send letters. ;-)

http://my.barackobama.com/page/invite/yeswecanvideo

~Inés