I love to bake, and I’m not half bad at it either. Cookies, cakes, brownies…no problem. I can dish ’em out. But the one dessert that has escaped me is the delicious pecan pie…oh, and popcorn balls but nobody cares about popcorn balls except at Halloween. I have attempted to make pecan pies and inevitably something always goes wrong. I have actually had the crust melt off the pan before. How does that even happen?? I don’t know either. The first one I tried to make cooked for hours without ever “setting up”, which means it was really runny. I felt really bad for everyone who had to eat it.
However, against all odds, I tried again. And the pie came out pretty dog gone good. A tad bit burned but not so much that you couldn’t eat it or anything. I even made the crust from scratch and it was good. So I am patting myself on the back every time I eat a slice. Below is a picture of this delicious pie I finally made (it only took about five years to accomplish). Please ignore the pieces missing.

Tell me the story of Jesus, write on my heart every word;
Tell me the story most precious, sweetest that ever was heard.
Tell how the angels, in chorus, sang as they welcomed His birth;
“Glory to God in the highest! Peace and good tidings to earth.”

I have sung this song my entire life, and every time I have thought of me. Tell me the story of Jesus’ birth, life, death and resurrection. But after my devotion today I realized that Fanny Crosby probably wasn’t talking about me the believer. Me is the unbeliever. There are people in our buildings, neighborhoods, cities who are crying out “Tell me the story of Jesus!!”
It took me almost 28 years to finally understand this wonderful hymn. At least I finally got it. Now lets see what I do with it.

Last night I went out with a group of ladies from my aerobics class. There were about 13 of us crammed into a space in the back of a restaurant under the air conditioner, which was on. The entire evening someone at the table was periodically talking about how cold it was, but there entire body wasn’t cold, just the top of their heads.
The ladies spent the evening chatting and laughing. I spent the evening trying desperately to keep up with what was being said. I did not do so hot. I am pretty sure that I was talked to or about a few times and had no idea that it was happening. But on the bright side, I was invited, I went, I enjoyed myself, and I bonded with some women. So overall it was a good night.

Last week Paul and I kept Micah, Emma, and Alessia Worthy. We did lots of fun stuff, like make brownies (which I cooked too long because I was watching the girls play the Wii…an hour after they came out of the oven you needed a chisel and hammer to get them out of the pan), make a paper machee (I have NO idea if I spelled that right, but spell check didn’t highlight it, so…), watched Madagascar 2 (not as good as the first one), and did many other wonderful and artistic activities. To see the results of these activities please visit Shannon Worthy’s blog: http://www.mammainnaples.wordpress.com.

We had a great time with my mom, brother, and sister this past week. Below are some pictures of their trip!

The girls looking out at the sea in Vietri sul Mare.

After a tour of Pompeii

The “sibs” at the Pompeii Forum

On the beach in Baia

I met one of my neighbor’s in the stairwell this afternoon. She is a very sweet old lady who I have coffee with about once a week. Yesterday I saw her and told her I was going to take a walk, which she and I both agreed was a good idea because it was sunny and not quite as cold as it had been. Well, today when I saw her she told me I didn’t take any sun, I was still so pale. It has officially begun, people asking me if I have “taken any sun” because I am so white. Last summer I spent a majority of my time explaining to people how I am genetically disposed to paleness. This is not going to change. I’ve spent one lone summer in 27 NOT getting a tan. I burn and then burn some more. The only time in my life I have ever tanned is when I was a lifeguard in high school and I worked my behind off to get a tan. I started the summer using SPF 50+ and eventually worked my way down to SPF 25 or 30. One very stupid time I took the advice of other lifeguards who were several shades darker than I was to use Afrosheen. For those of you who don’t know, Afrosheen is a can of pure oil that black people use on their hair and white girls use on their bodies to get a tan. Sheer stupidity on my part. Needless to say the next few days were spent rubbing aloe on myself every 5 minutes. But by the end of the summer I was the color of most people’s base color, which was a really good tan for me. I have senior pictures to prove I was a different skin tone for those who don’t believe me.
My paleness tends to stand out in the summer because everyone around me here is anywhere from 10 to 25 shades darker than I am. Makes for funny pictures. But this is something I had to adjust to and not just since I arrived in Italy.
But, you know, I’m ok with my paleness. I mean, sure there are days when I would love to be tan enough to look good in white, but that’s probably not ever going to happen. I think I got to be ok with not only my paleness but who I am when I figured out who I am in light of Christ. God knew I was going to be pale, a clutz, have a dorky laugh, love to play the piano, have blue eyes, live in Italy, marry Paul, love board games, really like things to be clean, and really not like snakes. So, bring on the comments about my paleness. I’ll combat them the same way I always do…this is the way God made me and there is no changing it.

So, i have been going through a devotion book called “A Heart that Dances” by Catherine Martin. Honestly, it’s been ok, not the greatest devotion book I’ve ever been through but I am getting stuff out of it. Yesterday I was reading about suffering. Martin included several excerpts from other authors and Bible verses that I wanted to post because they had such an impact on me right now.

“Our afflictions whatever they are, whether pain, trouble, disappointment or illness, contribute to eternal glory….Afflictions are momentary, passing, transient. They belong to time. The glory, which means the image of the Lord Jesus Christ, will be eternal….Far too many of us have our joys and our sorrows connected with the external, material, sensuous things of life. The practice of focusing one’s vision spiritually upon the unseen in life, character, salvation and glory will remove the sting from present affliction.” Harold J. Ockenga in The Comfort of God

My Father’s way may twist and turn,
My heart may throb and ache,
But in my soul I’m glad I know,
He maketh no mistake.

My cherished plans may go astray,
My hopes may fade away,
But still I”ll trust my Lord to lead
For He doth know the way.

Tho’ night be dark and it may seem
That day will never break;
I’ll pin my faith, my all in Him,
He maketh no mistake.

There’s so much now I cannot see,
My eyesight’s far too dim;
But come what may, I’ll simply trust
And leave it all to Him.

For by and by the mist will lift
And plain it all He’ll make.
Through all the way, tho’ dark to me,
He made not one mistake.
A.M. Overton

“But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying in the body the death of Jesus so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies. For we who live are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh.” 2 Corinthians 4:7-11

Here is a list of things that we miss from the good ole US of A. Also included are things that some friends have said they miss.
1. Mexican food
2. Movies in English
3. Wal-Mart (this is NOT something I miss)
4. Starbucks
5. watching TV shows not downloaded from iTunes
6. good communication technology
7. easy access to books in English
8. traffic that follows road signs and traffic laws
9. being able to find clothes in your size (this would be from taller people who live in a shorter person culture)
10. well formed lines
11. lines that move and when you get to the front of the line the window doesn’t close
12. toilet paper that you can flush (This comes way of our friend Paul serving in a remote region who a)inspired this post and b) made me laugh so hard I cried. Thanks Paul….thanks)
MacKenzie

I am ever amazed at how God is a God of big and little things. He knows our little things that get us down and he cares. I think some of the most powerful and revealing passages of scripture is of when Lazarus dies and Jesus meets Mary and Martha on the road and he cries. God cares. God feels. This brings me to what happened to me today. It’s not that big of a deal to anybody else but to me today has been a big deal.
I’ve been feeling….lonely and like I am not doing anything with my time. It’s no that I don’t have friends, they just all work. And I can’t spend all my time with English speaking people. So I have been moping around the house and sitting on my behind every day. Very productive. I came up with every excuse not to go outside, other than to the gym or grocery store. I am the queen of excuses. But today…today was different. I got up and had my quiet time (how quiet can it be with horns blowing and dogs barking). I told God I just don’t know what to do. So any way, I went to pick up my contacts at the eye doctor (YEAH!! no more glasses!!) and when I got back I ran into a little old lady who lives on the first floor of my building. We chatted as we walked to our stairs and she asked me in for coffee. Luckily, I had the sense to say yes. So, me and this lady talked for about a half and hour. She told me to come back whenever I wanted as long as it was after 3 because that is usually when she is home. She was patient and kind and although I didn’t understand everything I felt comfortable and welcomed.
This is such a little thing but it made my day. As did the somewhat understanding at the eye doctor. Who knew that talking to a little Italian grandmother would bring me such happiness. It has lifted my spirits. I thank God for giving me the desire to say yes when invited for a coffee. He truly does care about our little things that make us sad or depressed or like we have nothing to do.

Paul and I started back at the gym this week. I decided to go to aerobics classes…so off I go Wednesday. Well, Wednesday is weight day…ok, great, I think to myself. Little did I know that after the class my legs would feel like spaghetti and the next day I would not be able to so much as turn my head without pain ripping through my body. But, it gave Shannon a good laugh – well, several good laughs…
So today I went back and we were doing a “routine”. If you’ve ever done aerobics you probably know what I mean. You learn some steps and by the end of the class you have this great dance/aerobic routine. (I did it for Paul when I got home but he wasn’t really impressed with it). So, we start with nice warm-ups. “I can handle this,” I think. Then, the instructor starts teaching “steps”. At this point I am standing in the back of the room and kinda getting it. Then, a very nice woman tells me that I need to move up front so I can see better….that means up in front of everyone and right by the instructor. So, I am fumbling all over myself (but so are the old ladies). I am understanding the steps the instructor is giving out but they are not registering until the next step has been given and executed. Now, by this time I am pretty tired but feeling ok. Well, then it’s time for abs. My abs have not recovered from the previous session. But I don’t want the instructor to think the newbie can’t hack it, so I dive in. But as I sit down on my too thin mat I notice something….there is a whole in a place where there should not be a hole. “Great”,
I think. But I also think that maybe nobody will notice. I am not that lucky. During some kind of hip raise excerise thingy the instructor comes over to me because clearly I am not raising my butt off the ground correctly and stands at my feet. Well, of course she has a clear view of the hole. She didn’t say anything but I am none the less mortified. We soon finish the ab/hip/butt part of the class and go on to cool down and stretching. It was quite a day and if you had been a fly on the wall you would have laughed at my inability to follow an Italian aerobics class. But at least I wasn’t the only one having trouble….the old ladies couldn’t keep up either.