giveaway

Our China: Exercise

March 11, 2013 by Carey Jane Clark

Exercise is part of the culture here–from school children who line up every morning to march and do junior calisthenics, to the elderly who take a morning walk and/or one after dinner. In addition, until quite recently, the primary mode of transportation for everyone in China was by foot or bicycle (although in our city, bicycles are scarcer because it is quite hilly), so walking was a part of daily life in China. Elevators used to be reserved for buildings over five floors, and small “exercise parks” like the one pictured below are common–every park and apartment complex has at least one.

exercise_park — Seniors exercising at one of the many exercise parks

Exercise in China park ladies dance — Seniors do aerobics in our apartment complex

Groups of ladies like the ones pictured above meet every day to do aerobics together. Someone brings a radio or CD player and with a leader–usually an older lady who used to teach some kind of dance classes–they all dance together. When we lived in the south, a group of ladies met in our complex every night to dance holding beautiful red fans. From time to time, I’ve been tempted to join them, but have been held back by the certainty that my participation would not go unnoticed and a large crowd would gather.

kindergarten exercise — Our kids do morning exercises at their kindergarten, 2008

There is a proverb in Chinese that says, 饭后百步走活到九十九. “Walk 100 steps after dinner and you’ll live to be 99,” so it’s a way of thinking deeply engrained in the culture.

The car, however, is changing all this. Certainly, there are still people who exercise regularly, but the most visible group exercising are the elderly. Perhaps it is simply that they have more leisure time to do so, but I do believe this is a part of Chinese culture that is slowly disappearing.

This article shows just how much car ownership is pervading the new China as a status symbol, and changing this aspect of Chinese culture. We are sad to see it go.

So what are you doing after dinner this evening?

{Tomorrow I’ll be participating in 5 Days of Teaching Creatively along with other members of the Schoolhouse Review Crew. Don’t forget to enter the giveaway
for almost $1000 worth of homeschool and family-friendly products.}

7 Prayers to Pray for Your Spouse

February 14, 2012 by Ashley Pichea

Happy Valentine’s Day! To celebrate, I have a guest on my blog. Ashley Pichea, of L.I.F.E. by Ashley Pichea is visiting to write about a subject very close to her heart.

In January, she hosted a challenge: 31 Days to Pray for Your Spouse. So as Valentine’s Day drew near, I asked if she would share her heart here at enCouragement. And that’s not all! In celebration of Love Day, there’s a very special giveaway. More details after Ashley’s post:

One of the greatest gifts you can give your spouse this Valentine’s Day is a commitment to pray for him. Nothing says “I love you” more than a promise {and follow-through} to take his every need to the throne of grace each day!

My eBook, 31 Days to Build a Better Spouse, walks readers through 31 different areas in which our spouses need prayer. {This set of prayers is in no way exhaustive.} As we meditate on and lift up our spouses in these areas, we begin to experience the power of God in prayer.

Today, I’d like to share just a few prayers that you can pray for your spouse this week.

7 Prayers to Pray for Your Spouse

1. Strength – Philippians 4.13

I pray that my spouse would rise up on wings, like the eagles, as he waits upon You. I pray that You would give him supernatural strength to defend against the attacks of the devil and to live in this fallen and sinful world. Strengthen his spirit with Your Word, through Your people.

2. Spiritual Growth – Philippians 3.14

Father, I pray that my spouse would not coast through his spiritual life on “cruise control,” but that he would continually and intentionally put himself in a place of grace – a place where he can learn and grow and mature. I pray that You would continue to grow him daily, bringing him to Christ-likeness.

3. Mind – Philippians 4.8

I pray, Lord, that my spouse would have control over his mind. I pray that he would submit his thought life to Your will. Purify his thoughts, make them honoring to Your name. Help him to dwell on good and not evil, for whatever he thinks on, so shall he be.

4. Courage – Joshua 1.9

Because we know that You are sovereign, we can have courage in the face of the unknown. Thank You, Lord. I pray that my spouse would be a man of courage – that he wouldn’t be thrown by life’s waves and curveballs, but that he would face life head-on, trusting that You are in control of all. I pray that he would hold fast to his faith in You.

5. Joy – Habakkuk 3.18

I pray that You would be the Source of my spouse’s joy. I pray that he would not only find his joy in You, but that he would share his joy with others. May his joy run so deeply that it overflows into every part of his life, drawing others to him and to You.

6. Love for God – Luke 10.27

Lord, I pray that my spouse would be overwhelmed by Your love for him and that he would respond in love for You. I pray that love for You would overflow out of his soul and into his everyday life. May his actions be a result of the love he has for You. May he long to spend time in Your presence, growing his relationship with You deeper each day.

7. Faithfulness – Proverbs 3.3

Father, I pray that my spouse would be faithful – that he would be known for his faithfulness. I pray that he would be faithful in his relationships – with You, with me, and with our family and friends. I pray that he would be faithful to his word – that his “yes” would be “yes.” I pray that he would be faithful to his commitments – that he would stick with each task until it is complete.

Will you commit to praying for your spouse each day this week?

If you’re looking for more prayer ideas, be sure to download my eBook, 31 Days to Build a Better Spouse!!

Ashley Pichea invites her blog readers to join her in “doing LIFE together – living intentionally by faith everyday” at LIFE by Ashley Pichea where she shares faith, family, and the adventures of homeschooling. Ashley invites you to connect with her on Twitter {@apichea} and Facebook {fb.com/ashleypichea}.

And now for the GIVEAWAY details. You can win the following giveaway package:

The Power of a Praying Wife by Stormie Omartian
Praying Through the Deeper Issues of Marriage by Stormie Omartian
The Spark by Jay and Laura Laffoon
The Power of Praying through the Bible by Stormie Omartian

You may enter the giveaway by completing the tasks below. The only one that’s mandatory is the first one, but you earn extra entries for each additional task, increasing your chances of winning. You can share on Twitter and Facebook each day of the giveaway for an additional entry. The giveaway closes at midnight EST February 20, 2012, and the winner will be announced one week from today. Happy Valentine’s Day!

All the Details

February 13, 2012 by Carey Jane Clark

{Don’t miss this review of After the Snow Falls at Isn’t that the Craziest Thing.}

This week, we’re still plugging through a lot of the details of our move. My thanksgiving list still looks a little like a completed checklist, but I’m starting to get excited and homescick for getting back “home.” On the other hand, I’m feeling a little tearing away for what we leave behind here–but more for the sake of my kids, who are feeling the imminence of the move.

When there are so many details to be mindful of, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed, but it has been proven to us over and over again that not only is “God in the details” as they say, but that He cares about them too.

Just this week, I had an experience with that. I have been wanting an iPod Touch for some time. I have put off purchasing it, balancing it between a want and a need, but I wanted a camera I could keep on hand for quick shots when we’re out and about in China–but something I could tuck in my purse. We also plan a weekly video blog, and a techie friend recommended the iPod touch as the best tool for what I wanted to do–especially now that I have a Mac! In addition, I use an iPod for language learning and podcasts.

I could almost justify spending $199 on an 8GB, but really felt more comfortable with the memory on a 32GB. Yesterday, I was able to get an amazing deal on a 32GB, which basically gave me the extra memory for the same price as an 8GB. I don’t have it in my hands yet, but it is a tremendous blessing to get it at that price! So my first item of thanksgiving is:

80. A bargain on something I needed/wanted for our return to China.
81. In spite of all the busy-ness, we had a good homeschool week last week. Despite the change in location, and a bit of a lack of organization, we’re keeping up!
82. We have several of our appointments out of the way (doctor, medical reports, etc.) and our passports–all except one.
83. We had some family time on Saturday: we went swimming!
84. While swimming, Sweetpea passed her “swim alone” test–a real milestone for her. How wonderful to leave on a note of victory!
85. Sprout has suddenly found confidence in her swimming–she is jumping into the deep end (albeit with a lifejacket), swimming underwater (without one), bobbing like a maniac, and even started what looks a lot like a front crawl.
86. Had a chance for a real heart-to-heart with Pumpkin last week, who was feeling the pain of our move. It didn’t make everything perfect again, but it got him back on track emotionally.
87. We had an unexpected financial blessing last week–all these little blessings are wonderfully timed, since there’s a lot of last-minute resources we have to gather together before we leave (a year’s worth of vitamins, just as an example, and all the spices I want to take with me, because they are much harder to come by there).
88. I was feeling a bit spiritually out of sorts, and I got back on track this week.
89. I’m thankful for the resilience of children.
90. I’m thankful for the ability of my children to make me see what’s truly important in life.
91. I’m thankful for homeschool. Can you imagine living our life without it?
92. I’m thankful for my parents and their home. This is not Plan A, but it is good to have a Plan B.
93. I read the blog of a military wife this week. I really just stumbled on it. They are in the midst of an international move themselves and she remarked how they had found their home, a new church and a number of other key ingredients all in the space of four days. I was very encouraged by this.
94. In the meantime, we’ve been receiving updates from a real estate agent and the Chinese office manager at the office Brian will be working at, and things are looking very hopeful on the apartment front.
95. Have been really encouraged by friends lately: their friendship and their prayers.
96. I had a chance to encourage someone yesterday. As I did so, I was so grateful for just this very exercise. Counting one’s blessings certainly brings about a different perspective on life.
97. While I haven’t been able to write much of substance lately on either of the projects I’m working on, things at the planning stage (character development, etc.) have been progressing in the background, and I’m really grateful for 750words.com. It’s been very useful for helping me brain dump, helping me become more fluid in my writing, and helping me feel like I’m getting somewhere in my writing development in a season when it’s difficult to see big leaps of progress.
98. I got a little window into the workings of a situation that had baffled me. It’s good to know that even when you don’t understand what’s going on, God is in the details.
99. Laughter–in the face of every circumstance in life, it’s such a gift.

Don’t miss tomorrow’s post: a special Valentine’s guest post and GIVEAWAY!

Last-minute Reading List

January 6, 2012 by Carey Jane Clark

This month in Friday Fiction Fix, I’ll be interviewing an author and reviewing Saving Grace by Annie Jones.

In the meantime, we are packing up for China, and I’m coming across a lot of books that were on my I’ll-read-that-one-day-when-I-have-the-time list. You know the list, right?

Only problem is, I refuse to pack up a lot of books and move them to China. A lot of these books are non-fiction, but there are some good fiction titles in there too, mostly ones I picked up at thrift stores or had passed on to me after someone else read them.

So here’s my hopeful list of books I want to read before we seal the lid on the final box:

The Muir House by Mary DeMuth
Their Eyes were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston
An Imperfect Lens by Anne Roiphe
The Deep End of the Ocean by Jacquelyn Mitchard
Captain Corelli’s Mandolin by Louis De Bernieres
Revolutionary Road by Richard Yates

Okay, okay, you see just as well as I do what’s going to happen here, don’t you? There are simply not enough hours in the day. Sigh.

Looks like a giveaway may be in order. Stay tuned.

Also, if you haven’t heard yet, the Grace Awards have been announced. I’d be honored if you’d vote for After the Snow Falls.