Adore-ment

My husband is back from his trip to PNG! How good it is to have him home! :)

The day after he came home, we got to enjoy a few pictures, and he surprised us all with some gifts he had picked up in PNG. You can see from the pictures- he brought traditional ladies' shirts for myself and the girls. I will be wearing this type of shirt when we live in PNG. It's optional for the girls. :)

He also brought the girls and I some beautiful necklaces and bracelets, and some earrings for me. He is so thoughtful! Looks like I went on a vacation with him to Hawaii or something... ;)

But he also showed me lots more pictures and videos later from his trip. Some of these were recordings of missionary ladies who are currently living out in the tribe, passing on some advice and hints for the rest of us about jungle living. :) ... tips for what kinds of kitchen appliances and basics to have/not have, AND ways to make our home special/homey.

We will have freedom to choose how we want our tribal house to be. (Just like anyone in the states... we can make our homes extravagant, simple, or anywhere in between. Or hippie.) We can spend a lot of our resources, time, and energy on having a comfortable, decorated home. On the flip-side, we can spend a lot of our resources, time, and energy merely surviving each day because we've chosen to have a very primitive home.

And trust me, over the years in training, having heard many, many missionaries and visited many, many of their blogs/websites, we have seen these choices ranging all over the board.

But one commonality that the missionaries Noe got to meet with had to say was this- don't neglect to bring a few little things here and there to make your home YOURS- to make it cozy/homey. Especially thinking of your children! Put a few pictures up. Make pretty curtains. Paint the walls in their bedrooms. For you- have a few things that you enjoy, such as candles or decorations. Bring birthday and other 'party' decorations for the year(s).

And one lady in particular stressed the importance of adorning yourself nicely for your husband! Have some bracelets, some necklaces. Do your hair! Even paint your face for a special occasion! (Oh, she didn't mention this, but I would say shaving legs would be a bonus...) It can be tempting to become complacent and give absolutely no time to looking nice for him. After all, I'll be in the middle of a jungle. Who cares what I look like, right? Wrong! Doesn't a wife want to be adored by her husband? So perhaps if I'm willing to adorn myself, even just a little bit, for him to enjoy... that way I am someone who can BE adored (and that way he will hopefully remember he did not in fact marry a cave-woman).

So I've decided that I will call these little things ADORE-ments. Both the things I choose to wear, and the little things I choose to put in our home.

I should ask myself more often- *Am I being adore-able?*