Bullet Point Thoughts :: Rats and Breakfast, Facebook and Puritans.

• There has been a rat in our house. He is pretty brazen; thinks he owns the place. One morning when my eyes were still a little blurry before the coffee had done its magic, it skittered across the counter top and jumped off, then ran right under my feet and into the living room. Needless to say, we are all pretty much skeeved out and determined for this rat to never ever EVER AGAIN set foot in this house. 
• My children have been making breakfast in the mornings. It is Chinese New Year break so we have not been getting up for school, and they are surprising me with the kind of meals they can pull off. I was encouraged to realize that even if I don't spend a ton of time walking them through step by step tutorials on how to bake, cook, etc., just by proximity and the amount of time they spend watching me do it all, they are picking things up. So in the past week we have had pancakes, ham and cheese egg sandwiches, french toast, and one muffin attempt. The fractions were going well until 3/4 cup milk became 3 cups of milk out of 4. And the oven does not work just by matter of placing something inside it, you must turn it on. Still, I think it's clear that lessons are being learned. And they are having a ton of fun...and their chests stick out a little further each morning as they roll their creation out of the kitchen.
• Social media is driving me crazy. It's just driving me crazy. I have pulled out before, "fasted" from it. But right now I just feel resigned and lethargic about it. The complaining. The negativity. The insensitivity. The look-at-me-ness of it. The sheer amount of thought that should be kept private or between two people that gets exposed to the world. It's all part of the price we pay to "keep in touch" I suppose. 
• I think the Puritan writers make great virtual pastors. Since moving to China, and throughout much of my life really, I have not had a pastor who shepherded me in the way all believers need to help them grow into maturity. It is one of the things that can feel lonely or even a little helpless while living here. But every time I pick up a book written by a Puritan, I immediately feel "pastored" as though I were one of their little flock, and they were looking into my heart, determining my soul sickness and needs, and administering just the right tonic through the Word and teachings of either conviction or explanation or encouragement or instruction. If I remember correctly, the Puritans were even called something along those lines... Soul Physicians. I recently picked up Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment by Jeremiah Buroughs and I am finding the same old thing is happening again. If you can't have the warm body of a real pastor, these guys are the most relevant dead men your soul may ever need.
• We are getting on a train tomorrow. To go visit one of our local friends in a smaller city a short distance from here. She invited us to come spend some time with her family and celebrate her grandma's birthday together with them. I love doing things like this. It will be a day full of some discomfort for sure... lots of travel with little kids, meeting new people and struggling to speak their language or understand them, feeling awkward and unsure of how to act appropriately, wanting to say so much more than you can express, and watching my friend struggle with the dynamics of her family. But it is the kind of thing we live for.