Heart Reflections: Finding Contentment
Linda Dillow in her book Calm My Anxious Heart speaks of a missionary woman that lives in a mud hut in Africa. When she asked the missionary how she was so content this is what she said:
- Never allow yourself to complain about anything (not even the weather).
- Never picture yourself in a different circumstance or someplace else.
- Never compare your lot with the lot of another.
- Never allow yourself to wish this or that had been otherwise.
- Never dwell on tomorrow. Remember it is God’s and not ours.
A few months ago I had the opportunity to travel to India. It was an amazing trip and I had a great time exploring several different areas. I saw things while traveling that just broke my heart…people living on the street or under tarps, children who didn’t have their basic needs met, poverty, and much more. On the flip side while in India I experienced the wonderful hospitality and generosity from the people we encountered (many who didn’t have a lot yet graciously shared).
Traveling to India revealed a lot of things in my heart – one of them being how selfish and discontent I am even though I have been abundantly blessed. I have food, family, clothes, shelter and even more yet some days I still complain. I plan to use this list as a reminder to focus on the many blessings in my life so my heart will rejoice and break the shackles of discontent that sometimes holds my heart captive.
At times it can be difficult to be thankful for the many blessings we have in life. Life doesn’t always go the way we expect. I have a tendency to not only be discontent but to worry about the future or things out of my control.
I could fill my house and heart with all kinds of stuff, worry, fear, or anything else yet by doing this it only grabs hold of my heart and hampers my effectiveness in ministering to the people around me. Besides life here on earth is temporary and I cannot take stuff with me when its my time to go. Let’s take some time today to think, pray, and count our blessings in our lives and find contentment in what really matters.
Travel & Vacation: Life Around the Kabini River, India
Sign near the Kabini River. Guess it probably won’t be a great idea to swim in the river….not a fan of swimming with crocodiles! Hmmm…let me think about it….No, thank you I would rather not swim with the crocodile! 🙂
I absolutely LOVED going to India. It was an amazing experience. The people were awesome and I learned a lot about myself during the trip. I have many things to be grateful for in my life yet so often I complain. I don’t have to pump drinking water or live in a tarp yet how often I grumble with the inconveniences of my life. I really do need to have a more thankful and giving heart because there a many people in this world that are content with far less. May I never forget this trip or the many things India revealed to me.
Filling her water jugs up to take back to her home. Watching her pump the water makes me appreciate the running water we have in our home. Sometimes I don’t realize how “convenient” life really is in the United States. I don’t ever remember pumping and carrying my drinking water.
Road full of goats!
Family in a small village near the Kabini River! The little boy is so cute.
Colorful houses near Kabini River
Look out stand in the tree. They use these look out to spot dangerous predators.
People will set up tents near the fields that are ready to be harvested. When the field is done they move to the next location and set up their tents. Makes me feel so very blessed to have a nice home. Even though its not perfect I don’t have to set up tarp tents near a jungle with lions and leopards in it. I have so much to be grateful for in my life.
Traveling through India was an eye opening experience for me. I enjoyed meeting a lot of wonderful people. Jake and I spent time exploring the area with Jake’s cousin Matt and his family. Thankful for an opportunity to spend some time with their family. We had a blast and hope we will be able to go back again some day.
The “Travel and Vacation” series is an insight into our trips together as a family and ways we relax. Life is short and we were thrilled to have the opportunity to build memories with family and explore of of the most amazing places during our time away. Explore with a good attitude, look for fun, and it will be an awesome trip jammed packed with positive memories. It is refreshing having some time away from the regular routine. Make it a once in a lifetime opportunity to meet new people and learn. You just might see or try something new that takes your breath away!
Travel & Vacation: Orange County Kabini, India
Matt & Jake in an intense game of ping pong
The kids taking an evening swim in the kids pool before heading back to the hut to crash.
In the evening there is a tribal dance put on by people from the local village. It was fascinating to watch them. I was having a hard time getting a picture that wasn’t blurry. Between the darkness, fire, and constant movement this was the best one I could get of the men who came to demonstrate their traditional tribal dance.
Massive tree at the resort! If you look closely you can see Jake and Matt standing in front of it.
Travel & Vacation: Quick Stop in Doha, Qatar
Looking at Qatar from the airplane, BEAUTIFUL!!!
Our longest flights to and from India were on Qatar Airways. The flights were between 13 to 17 hours (one included an extra delay where we were stuck on the plane). It was a great airline to fly. I only wish we had more time in Doha, Qatar so we could explore the area more. The people we met on the flights and in Qatar were really neat too. The service was great, food delicious, and all our luggage arrived exactly when and where it was suppose to (which is kind of important). After traveling with them I would definitely recommend them especially if you are traveling overseas with long flights.
Another picture of Qatar as we gained more altitude. These are all man made patches of land. Qatar is one of wealthiest country in the world.
When you have to spend 17 hours on a flight it is nice they have good food! 🙂 Breakfast anyone?
Rain delay in the Qatar! Guess they don’t get a lot of rain in the desert area so it causes some issues with the planes. We ended up being on the plane almost two additional hours with this delay.
Qatar Airways
I tried not using any flash on the plane so I wouldn’t disturb people around us who were sleeping, but had to take a picture of the ice cream. On the way out we got Ben & Jerry’s and the way back London Diary ice cream and cookies for snacks. The girls were ready to go to India as soon as the heard we had meals and ICE CREAM on the plane, ha! 🙂
Another delicious meal on the airplane. If I remember correctly we had 3 meals and several snacks on both our Qatar flights. The stewardess would give you a menu and you picked out which options you wanted. If you fell asleep you could just put a sticker on the top of the seat telling the steward what you wanted for your next meal.
The food was great (as you can see from the pictures) and the seats were really comfortable. The seats were bigger and even reclined a lot more making it easier to rest. After flying Qatar from Doha, Qatar to Washington, DC we transferred to US Airways (that’s when we realized how big, comfortable, and reclining abilities of the seats on Qatar were). The US Airway plane felt tiny and more cramped. We were thankful for safe flights and were ready to get home to our chickies. Only a couple more hours of driving and we would be there! 🙂
Travel & Vacation: Leela Palace – Bangalore, India
The Leela Palace in Bangalore, India
Matt and Jen took us to the Leela Palace on the last day we were in Bangalore. You know how sometimes you save the best for last…..well this was it. The Leela Palace was AMAZING! They had every kind of food you could think of to eat from Indian Curry, to Roast, Pasta Bar, Salad Bar, Cheese Bar, Breads, rows of Desserts and so much more. Some of the best food I have eaten, it was delicious and the palace was beautiful. If you are in Bangalore I highly recommend that you check the Leela Palace out!
They had row after row of desserts. It was difficult picking the ones you wanted to try because all of them looked AMAZING!
Yes, that huge beautiful artistic piece in the middle is made up of………..chocolate!
They had a separate supervised play area for the kids. The kids could play, watch a movie, eat, read, run around, play a game or many other awesome activities.
Gorgeous Birds of Paradise flower in their garden.
Even the bugs in India cannot resist a pretty flower!
The Leela Palace such a beautiful place to visit in Bangalore, India
Jake & I in front of the gold elephant on the garden gate at the Leela Palace
One of the large entryways.
It almost looked too pretty to eat…….but I did it anyway and it tasted awesome!
Jake and I were thrilled that we had the opportunity to come visit his cousin Matt and his family while we were in India. It was wonderful meeting many awesome people and eating their tasty food. A lot of great memories were made on the trip. Hopefully, some day in the future we will have the chance to bring the girls with us. I know they would love the adventure!
The “Travel and Vacation” series is an insight into our trips together as a family and ways we relax. Life is short and we were thrilled to have the opportunity to build memories with family and explore of of the most amazing places during our time away. Explore with a good attitude, look for fun, and it will be an awesome trip jammed packed with positive memories. It is refreshing having some time away from the regular routine. Make it a once in a lifetime opportunity to meet new people and learn. You just might see or try something new that takes your breath away!
Travel & Vacation: Heading Back to Bangalore
Look at all that scaffolding around the local water tower….
One of the best parts about driving through a chunk of India is we got to see a lot! Even though it has been several months since our last trip I still think about it often. Driving through India really made me appreciate all the many blessings I have in my life, including, food, shelter, and so much more. I really have more than I really need and somehow that is ok (and even expected) in our culture, yet it bothers me. I hope that I never take all the amazing blessings for granted and learn to share what I do have with others.
Look out shelter high up in the tree. It is used mostly to keep an eye out for wild animals and alert the people in the small villages of danger. As you may remember from an earlier post there are tigers and leopards that roam the jungle near them, see our boat safari and jeep safari.
Loaded down jeep….people hanging off of it and items stacked up high on it.
Large irrigation and water canal coming from the Kabini River and going to the local villages.
Kids playing on their bicycle
Brightly colored house in a nearby village. Many of the homes we seen were painted very bright and bold colors.
Colt walking on the street with all the cars, Mama horse was right in front of this little guy.
On the back of the truck we were following…”PLEASE SOUND HORN PLEASE” One thing about India is you hear a lot of horn honking!
A group of people waiting near the gas station for the public bus to arrive.
Mom and four kids waiting by the side of the road.
Jake relaxing on our ride back to Bangalore.
Now that’s a load full of goods.
People literally find spots on the sidewalk, benches or random places on the side of the road to sleep.
Recently, I read an article in the Bloomberg magazine about a group of people in India taking the food that was given to the poor and reselling it so they could pocket the money. This happened over several years and was several billion dollars worth of food. They had warehouses full of food that literally went moldy and was eaten by animals even though only a couple miles down the street people were starving. This article probably would have never had the impact if I had not gone to India. Several days after reading that article I was still thinking about it. We are very blessed to be living in the United States and have a home, food, and so much more.
Man sleeping on a cement slab outside a vacant building.
Standing room only in this auto rickshaw!
Multitasking…..talking on the phone while riding his bike.
Construction site in India, the wooden poles help hold up the levels of the building.
I was amazed at the amount of liter on the side of the road.
Tarp tents set up on the side of the road.
Family riding together on their motorcycle. It was common to see families on their motorcycles riding through town with a bunch of goods from the market on their laps.
Our trip to India was amazing, shocking, and life changing all wrapped up into one package. I hope I never forget some of the things that made such an impact on me during my time in India. May I appreciate the blessings in my life more and learn to be more generous with those around me.
The “Travel and Vacation” series is an insight into our trips together as a family and ways we relax. Life is short and we were thrilled to have the opportunity to build memories with family and explore of of the most amazing places during our time away. Explore with a good attitude, look for fun, and it will be an awesome trip jammed packed with positive memories. It is refreshing having some time away from the regular routine. Make it a once in a lifetime opportunity to meet new people and learn. You just might see or try something new that takes your breath away!
Travel & Vacation: Beautiful Orange County Kabini, India
Brilliant bright orange -red flowers found near our hut at the Orange County Kabini Resort
Orange County Kabini captivated my attention with the all the beauty around us. Even though there were a number of families staying on the resort it always seemed peaceful and relaxing. Whether you were walking along the cobblestone paths lined with beautiful flowers, going for a swim, or mesmerized by the colorful sunsets there was plenty to see.
At Kabini there was a kid pool and an adult pool! The adult pool was right next to a huge tree and it looked out over the Kabini River.
View from the other side of the pool. It was a peaceful place to swim.
Funky tree stump by the Kabini River.
Massive ant hill! Now that is one you don’t want to step into, although it was fascinating to see!
Want to relax in a hammock under a huge tree? You can relax in the hammock as you watch the kids swimming in the pool.
Pretty lavender colored flower at Kabini. Not sure what it is called but it reminds me of a small thistle.
Swimming in the pool and watching the boats cruise by on the Kabini River.
Sunset at Kabini
Calm, peaceful and beautiful sunset
Enjoying the last few minutes of the sunset at Kabini
Orange County Kabini was a beautiful place. There were plenty of fun activities as well as ways to relax. It was great having a chance to soak in all the amazing things at Kabini from a relaxing swim to a brilliant colored flower to an amazing sunset. What a wonderful place to visit on our trip to India.
The “Travel and Vacation” series is an insight into our trips together as a family and ways we relax. Life is short and we were thrilled to have the opportunity to build memories with family and explore of of the most amazing places during our time away. Explore with a good attitude, look for fun, and it will be an awesome trip jammed packed with positive memories. It is refreshing having some time away from the regular routine. Make it a once in a lifetime opportunity to meet new people and learn. You just might see or try something new that takes your breath away!
Travel & Vacation: Elephant Ride (Orange County Kabini, India)
Jake & I on our first elephant ride
Elephants are amazing creatures! If you would have told me at the beginning of 2012 that I would be traveling to India and taking a ride on an elephant I am not sure I would have believed you. Boy, how a few busy months can change and new adventures happen right before our very own eyes.
It was an awesome opportunity to travel to India earlier this year. Jake and I not only got to see elephants up close our both of our Boat Safari and Jeep Safari, we got to touch one, take a ride on an elephant, and give an elephant a bath! How COOL IS THAT?!!!
The kids and Matt going for a ride on the elephant.
Taking the elephant to the water for her bath. Bathing an elephant is a new experience for all of us.
Whose ready to help give the elephant a bath?
How often do you see a sitting elephant?
The workers are getting the elephant to sit then lay down in the water so we can help give her a bath.
Splashing water on the elephant to rinse her off. She seemed to really enjoy the bath. I bet it felt great to have the cool water splashed on her after giving everyone a ride.
This was the best part of the bath! The workers asked to see if anyone wanted to get up on the elephant one last time at the end of her bath. Of course the kids volunteered! Right after they got onto the elephant she reached her trunk down into the water and flung it up over her head spraying them with water. The first time it took all of us by surprise, but before long everyone was wanting a turn. This picture of Erica and Michael getting sprayed by the elephant
Rachel & David getting sprayed by the elephant
It was so neat being able to touch, ride, and interact with an elephant up close. The elephant was big, gentle, and well behaved. I wonder what it would be like to have a “pet” elephant (I know the girls would love it)! Thanks Matt and Jen for showing us amazing place and sharing this experience with us. Hopefully, we’ll get a chance to take the girls for a ride on an elephant someday.
The “Travel and Vacation” series is an insight into our trips together as a family and ways we relax. Life is short and we were thrilled to have the opportunity to build memories with family and explore of of the most amazing places during our time away. Explore with a good attitude, look for fun, and it will be an awesome trip jammed packed with positive memories. It is refreshing having some time away from the regular routine. Make it a once in a lifetime opportunity to meet new people and learn. You just might see or try something new that takes your breath away!
Travel & Vacation: Jeep Safari – Orange County Kabini, India
Wild boar by the Kabini River as we watch the sunrise
We got up before dawn the second day at Kabini to go on a Jeep Safari. Everyone was excited but moving a little slower. We took a boat over to an island on the other side of the Kabini River. On the other side we got our jeep and set out on our adventure. It was a lot of fun exploring the jungle and seeing the wildlife with Matt, Jen, and the kids.
Our tour guide standing up and alert as he looks for some animals. He was great about spotting animals, stopping so we could take pictures, and giving us descriptions on the animals, plants, trees, and other facts about the area. He went to Kabini as a kid on a family trip. In school he studied to be a software developer but after a few years he decided to come back to Kabini and work outside giving tours. He led both our boat and jeep safaris.
Oh look….a monkey in the tree right beside the jeep! He was just casually looking at us.
Elephant walking casually through the jungle next to our jeep. It was neat watching him walk, stop for a few seconds munch on a stalk or grass then continue on his merry way. This guy must have gotten into a fight at some point because his one tusk has been broken off. He turned to face us but continued eating his breakfast while watching us in the jeep.
Momma and her baby were grazing on grass before we drove up. As soon as they saw us they were alert and it wasn’t long before they went deeper into the tall grass away from us. I think Momma didn’t want us getting too close to her baby.
Monkey see….monkey do….. A group of monkeys hanging out together. It looked like they were digging for grubs or some type of bug.
Beautiful peacock strutting his stuff right next to the jeep
Two male peacocks were down in a ditch fighting with their tails fluffed up and in the air. We could hear them but this is the only picture we could get of the tails because the ditch was so deep. Their feathers look pretty amazing when they are all spread out.
Guess if an elephant is crossing it wouldn’t be a good idea to run into it….at least not for your vehicle anyway!
Matt in the back seat protecting the kids from the tigers and leopards. Rachel was a little concerned!
Beautiful tree, you see many of these yellow flowers hanging from vehicles everywhere. I cannot remember the name of the flower but I believe it is a symbol of good luck. Our driver stopped to hang one up in our jeep.
Leopard paw print, we were literally following the leopard through the jungle…..soooo neat! 🙂
I didn’t realize this before, but do you know why tigers and leopards will often be seen walking on the roads instead of in the woods? The pads on their paws are tender and they like to walk on the softer dirt road (it’s more comfortable for them).
Monkey hanging out in the tree next to us.
Fresh TIGER tracks on the road right next to our jeep!!! These are a little harder to see with this camera angle, but now we know one is in the area. We never did catch up with the tiger but it was pretty cool to be driving down the same path only moments behind one.
Red squirrel flying from tree limb to tree limb. They are fast and pretty!
Bison leaving after getting a drink from the small pond.
Deer eating peacefully.
Did you know that deer make a distinct noise when they sense danger (like a tiger or leopard)? It was really interesting hearing their danger call and watch them bolt as we sat there in the jeep looking around to see if we could spot a tiger or leopard near us. Not sure who was smarter in that decision, ha!
Large nets hanging from the trees for the kids (and our guide) to climb and play on.
The boats that took us on the boat safari and across the river for the jeep safari
Going on the jeep safari was truly awesome. We got to see so many animals in the jungle as we were driving through. The guide was really good about stopping to let people take pictures and point out different plants, trees, animals along with tidbits of information. I loved seeing the animals up close…..just wish we could have seen the leopard or tiger that we were following as well. Although I am not sure what we would do if we caught up with an hungry and aggressive tiger or leopard since we were in an open jeep.
Thankfully the animals seemed to be pretty well fed and use to traffic. It was a blast going on the jeep Safari. I am grateful for the time with spent with Jake’s cousin Matt, Jen and their family. It was really neat hearing the kids dialogue as we would spot different animals. If you are ever in Orange County Kabini, India I highly recommend this going on this adventure!
The “Travel and Vacation” series is an insight into our trips together as a family and ways we relax. Life is short and we were thrilled to have the opportunity to build memories with family and explore of of the most amazing places during our time away. Explore with a good attitude, look for fun, and it will be an awesome trip jammed packed with positive memories. It is refreshing having some time away from the regular routine. Make it a once in a lifetime opportunity to meet new people and learn. You just might see or try something new that takes your breath away!
Travel & Vacation: Traveling through MySore, India (and a Couple Small Villages)
Sometimes the only home and shelter people had was under a tarp with several other family members.
Earlier this year Jake was in India working for a few weeks and I had the opportunity of traveling over there to meet him. After his final week of work we went to spend some time with his cousin and took a road trip with them. Over the next few weeks I will sharing more snapshots of our time in India. India left a special mark on my heart. It was an amazing experience!
Sign in MySore, India showing the way to the local places – MySore Palace, Zoo, Chamundi Hills, Airport, and MySore City Corporation
Houses in a small village that we passed through, even those these are a step up from a tent shelter it still breaks my heart seeing these homes. Our driver stopped briefly to ask for directions. It was during this brief stop I realized that India has many different dialects even from town to town and even though we were only a short distance from where we were going it took awhile to find someone who knew which direction to point us.
I was really surprised at the amount of trash that littered the sides of the roads in India. Some times you would see piles of trash that with people and animals digging through it to find food, supplies, or items they could use or sell.
Fresh Pineapple anyone….only 5 rupees (approximately 9 cents in US currency). Some of the pineapples I saw were a little smaller then the ones we see in our grocery store but for 9 cents you could get quite a few for the price of one pineapple in the United States.
Can you see the bicycle underneath all the fresh coconuts?! Pretty sure he is going to push that bike because it would be impossible to ride with all the coconuts. Behind the bike you can see coconuts that he has cracked open and the shells laying on the ground. It is very fascinating to watch them break open a coconut, they basically take a huge mashedy knife and chop open the coconut. It’s hard to see with the window glare but the ground all around that area is covered with dry coconut pieces…wonder how expensive it would be to buy “coconut mulch” in the United States?
Guy carrying a mattress on his head. It amazes me the amount of stuff they carry on their heads. You would think their necks would be so stiff.
Cows walking along the side of the road. These are not your typical Kansas grass and corn fed beef cattle. In India there are not always large grassy areas for the cows to graze so it is common to see their ribs. You will often find cattle looking for small patches of grass and occasionally you will see them rummaging through the trash on the side of the road looking for food.
Families from the local village washing their laundry in the river.
After washing all the clothes in the river they lay them out to dry on the rocks.
It was fascinating to see a lot of the countryside of India. We passed through towns and small villages. There was always something interesting to see as we drove through the area. Their fresh fruit looked delicious but I am not sure how much I would like washing my clothes in the river and drying them on the rocks, the wash machine is more efficient. These pictures bring back a lot of memories. I am thankful for the opportunity to see India and already looking forward to the next visit.
The “Travel and Vacation” series is an insight into our trips together as a family and ways we relax. Life is short and we were thrilled to have the opportunity to build memories with family and explore of of the most amazing places during our time away. Explore with a good attitude, look for fun, and it will be an awesome trip jammed packed with positive memories. It is refreshing having some time away from the regular routine. Make it a once in a lifetime opportunity to meet new people and learn. You just might see or try something new that takes your breath away!
