theacousticlife.com

you can call me…

abelara — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 17:10:18 +0000

i’m somewhat particular about my name. particularly when my name is written. here’s the rules of my name:

• you can call me Abraham or abe. (notice that when shortened to abe, i prefer the A to be lowercase)

• growing up my sisters started calling me aber or Aber (they never wrote it so i’m not sure if i like it upper or lowercase). while this feels very natural coming from my sisters, if feels/sounds VERY weird coming from anyone else, no matter how long you’ve known me. my wife doesn’t even call me aber.

• also when used with my wife’s name i prefer that both of our names be long as in Abraham and Deborah, or both to be shortened as in abe and deb. we’re just kinda weird like that, it looks strange to us to see either Abe and Deborah, or Abraham and Deb.

• Deborah isn’t as particular as to whether her first initial is upper or lowercase when using Deb/deb. Although she always initially introduces herself as Deborah, and only after people get to know her do they start calling her deb. she’s mentioned that after she returned from the year she was in the internship at TeenMania, it was weird to hear all my friends who hadn’t met her refer to her as Deb because that’s what i had been calling her. but she also prefers to have either both names long, or both names shortened when used together.

• we do sometimes refer to ourselves as deboraham (only when speaking, not in writing). we’ve heard others refer to us that way, but not when speaking to us directly. and it may be cute the first time or two if you were to start referring to us that way directly, but we’d probably soon tire of it.

anyways, i just thought you’d like to know a little bit more into the quirkiness that makes up the Laras. :)

hard work = big reward!

abelara — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 23:37:07 +0000

our niece has definitely worked hard for the money to get this. she’s watched all 6 of our kids several times by herself while we were out on appointments.

congratulations Cathy on your new iPod Touch!

our little family

abelara — Sat, 09 Jan 2010 15:56:17 +0000

after our Christmas meal this year we went out and took some family pics.

here’s a candid one that I just love.

we stick together.

8 smiles

abelara — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 18:29:35 +0000

eight faces, eight smiles, all facing the same direction. that’s all we ask for. what could be so hard about that?

here’s some of my favorite pics from our recent photo shoot that didn’t make the cut into the Christmas card and including the one that did.

(thanks to michael sekaquaptewa for holding the camera.)

See and download the full gallery on posterous

Christmas Cards

abelara — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 17:44:02 +0000

i love creating opportunities to have our girls help us in this MPD* journey.

a little later than we’d like, but we’re finally getting our Christmas cards out today. here’s a video of the girls helping us stuff envelopes this morning.

- – - – - – - – - -
*MPD = Ministry Partner Development – that’s the name given to the process of us raising a team of supporters so we can report to Little Rock as fully funded staff missionaries with FamilyLife.

our creative thermometer

abelara — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 20:38:35 +0000

deb and i are creative people. if there’s a project that needs to be done, then it has to be done with creativity and WOW.

when we were in Little Rock this past summer they had some kids of staff members come share their experience in moving to Little Rock and their adjustment to life there. every one of them mentioned that during their family’s fundraising process their parents made some kind of chart for the whole family to see how much progress they’d made.

but for the Laras, we didn’t want to simply do some “boring” thermometer. we liked the idea a family had of making a large magnet of a map from their home to Little Rock that they stuck on their fridge and had a little car magnet that traveled down the road.
but we wanted something even BIGGER. so we figured, “hey, we’re not going to stay in this house forever. why not go crazy and make a HUMONGOUS map on the living room wall.”

so that’s what we did. we announced to the girls that they were going to write on the walls, through a projection of the US on the wall, handed out pencils, and then let them go at it. after we’d put them to bed, mom and dad stayed up outlining it in Sharpie markers, and then we colored in the highway to Arkansas with them in the morning.

take a look for yourself.

(youtube link)

you may not understand it

abelara — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 06:13:40 +0000

but it is starting to change EVERYTHING.

how will it affect your…
work…
school…
family…
church…
sport…
ministry…
“other”…

(youtube link)

i saw this today. and i consider myself pretty “connected” to the social media scene. but there’s still a lot i haven’t been a part of, or simply don’t “get”.

and then i started thinking how i’ve kinda been neglecting my social media “skillz” because of how busy we are with MPD* and family. and then i started to wonder, “can we really afford to let our social media presence take a back burner if it’s turning out to be such an important aspect of the culture we live in?”

what are people saying about YOU?

date nights

abelara — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 23:05:23 +0000

for today’s marriage tip I thought I’d share this little interchange that deb just texted me between her and our kindergatener.

———-
Julia (5): a boy in my class says he wants to go on a date w/ me.

Deb: what do you think you would do on a date?

Julia: whatever a mom & dad do, I guess.

Deb: we usually just buy groceries :)

———-
yeah, sounds exciting huh?!

but seriously, go on dates with your spouse no matter how “unromantic” they sound. not every date has to be a scene out of a movie, or beat the expectations of the last time you went “all out”.

couples need to spend time together. period.

yep, God still rocks

abelara — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 06:51:51 +0000

so i talked with my MPD* coach this afternoon and told him that i felt like we were getting to a spot where the “honeymoon” phase of fundraising was coming to a close.
right after New Staff Training we were all fired up, excited to make appointments, and confident with the tools that we’d be given.

now after 3 weeks…we’re juggling a 40hr work week, kids determined to live in a messy house, and people forgetting or rescheduling the appointments they’d previously set with us.

but through it all God is faithful. i have a job that i’m thankful for and enjoy doing. we’ve been blessed with a babysitter who not only watches kids, but cleans as well. and deb have enjoyed getting to spend unexpected time together when our schedule is suddenly “freed up”.

plus, after FOUR appointments this week that were cancelled, rescheduled, or simply forgotten we were blessed with another couple who have partnered with us for $100/month.

that’s exactly what we needed at exactly the right time.

thanks God, you rock! :)

Raising Royalty

deblara — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 05:38:53 +0000

As a mother or a father, do you ever feel like you’re floundering with the responsibility of raising your children? Do you have a clear strategy regarding how you will ensure that your kids turn out to be decent adults? Many times I feel lost, like the best I can do is keep these kids alive until they move out. However, I also feel that my children need more; God wants me to give them more.

This past week, during my Bible reading, I’ve read again the story of Esther. This book, in the Old Testament, tells of an incident that occurred in Jewish history. The king of Persia, having disposed of his queen, was in search of a replacement. The king’s attendants suggested that the entire empire be searched for beautiful young women; the young ladies would then be brought into the royal harem where they would receive beauty treatments. Following this time of preparation, the girls would be presented to the king. The woman that pleased the king the most would be made queen. The second chapter outlines how Esther was brought into the fortress of Susa, the location of the king’s harem. Esther found favor with the attending eunuchs; she was treated kindly, given a special menu and received twelve months of beauty treatments in the best place in the harem. When it was her turn to meet with the king, Esther was ready. She had been coached and prepared. She smelled good. She looked good. And she had the aura of royalty. The king loved her, even after their first meeting. He was delighted with her and promptly declared her queen.

What does this story have to do with parenting? A lot. It has changed how I have been parenting my six princesses this past week.

My home, anyone’s home, is like that fortress. We all belong to God, but when He calls us into action, will we be ready? Will our children be ready? Will the King be delighted with what we have to offer? Will we exude an aroma of praise or possess an aura of pride? I can prepare myself to meet with the King by reading His Word & practicing a lifestyle of praise.

What about my kids? As a mother it is my task to help my daughters become presentable princesses. They must be ready to listen to HIs voice & eager to obey; they must be beautiful with gentleness & kindness. They must know that their time is coming soon- the KIng will call for them. They must be ready. When a child is alone or hurting, will our children allow God to love others through them? Will our kids be characterized by obedience and gratitude?

There is another, more masculine, example to follow. The book of 1Samuel shows how a mother gave her son to the Lord, to be “the Lord’s helper,” (1Sam 2:18). And, when the Lord called on Samuel to be His prophet, Samuel was ready & obedient.

We are raising royalty. Will our charges be ready when God has need of them? No longer are we nagging parents; it is our privilege & responsibility to make sure that our children are aware of the fact that they were created for a purpose. I am not parenting for my own enjoyment; the mandate is much higher. The King desires that our children know Him and His commands. As parents, we cannot simply feed & clothe our children until they can do it themselves. We must give them the best ‘diet’ & ‘beauty treatments’ so they will be pleasing to the King when He calls for them.

moolah, benjamins, loot, dough, greenbacks

abelara — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 23:34:22 +0000

there’s all kinds of names for it, but there’s no way around it. this world runs on money.

so it’s no surprise that in marriage, it’s a HUGE topic. and sometimes, shall we say, “heated discussions” ensue. there’s lots of different ways i could discuss the issue of money in marriage, but i’ll focus on the practical.

1) don’t be afraid to talk about how your parents spent money.
that’s right, i said your parents. it’s easy for accusations to fly, and feelings to get bruised when we’re discussing how our spouse spends, or defending how we spend. but it’s not quite so personal to talk about how our parents viewed money when we were growing up. and in doing so it gives your spouse a lot of insight into why you make the decisions you do.
2) find help
although most of us are far wealthier than we think are compared to the rest of the world, we could all use some advice in the area of finances. and there’s no excuse for not finding that advice. there’s books, cds, podcasts, blogs, websites, and software all dedicated to helping you get “on track” when it comes to your finances. if you have now idea where to start go to www.daveramsey.com and click the link at the top of the page titled “new to Dave Ramsey?“
3) know where your money is going
“budget” is not a four-letter word. and it doesn’t mean “not spending”. it simply means knowing where your money is going before it’s gone. DO IT!! whether you do it on paper, in a spreadsheet application, or some fancy computer software, DO IT!! (and do it together with your spouse)
4) be generous
even Ebenezer Scrooge didn’t want to be known as a scrooge by the end of the story. and in all honesty, i’m not even throwing this one in because Deb and I are currently in a process asking people to support our ministry with FamilyLife. even if you aren’t or don’t want to give to our ministry, we still want you and your spouse to be generous people. and save the excuses for why you’re not, i’ve heard them all. you’ll thank me later. be generous.

if money issues are a source of tension in your marriage, then you owe it to yourself, your spouse, and you kids to figure this money stuff out, and get on the same page. whether this is the first advice you’ve received on marriage, or if you’ve already been through FPU and just needed a refresher course i hope this has nudged you and your spouse in the right direction.

she’s nine n’stuff

abelara — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 20:39:03 +0000

our week in pictures and a video.

Anna turned 9! we went bowling. I broke my mirror. and Rachel hid in between clothes racks. :)

what kid in America hasn’t done this before?

See and download the full gallery on posterous

falling in love in MPD

abelara — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 13:32:24 +0000

abe: “i think i’m falling in love with you again.”

deb: “oh, really? what do you mean?”

abe: “i think it has to do with all the time we’re being forced to spend with each other through this process. and even though the time we’re spending together is spent doing the SAME thing over and over again. it’s just nice to be able to be with you.

we don’t have kids pulling on us, we’re having interactions with other adults and it’s just nice.

it’s nice to be able to be working on this project together”

deb: “that’s nice”

that was a snippet of conversation deb and i shared this past tuesday as we drove home from yakima.

we also happened to be driving separate cars home, and we talked on the phone the WHOLE way home. (45 min) we haven’t had a 1 on 1 uninterrupted conversation like that in years. i might even say since our college days when we’d go for long walks or talk on the phone for hours.

i’m looking forward to not having any appointments this weekend – our kids could use some dedicated uninterrupted “mom and dad” time.

we’re two weeks into this process, and from my post last week , you can tell it’s thrown our “normal” routine schedule into a tail spin. that particular tuesday, we had just gotten done with two appointments with great friends and i had been gone from home since 6:20am and returned home around 10:50pm.

but through this challenging/exhausting MPD* process, i’ve been pleasantly surprised to find myself falling in love with my wife all over again.

the balloooooonnsss

abelara — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 21:21:00 +0000

it’s become somewhat tradition to bundle up all the kiddos and see the Balloons launch every year. these pics were taken this morning.

deb asked me what part i like best when they’re laying them all out, inflating them, when they’re rising, or when they’ve lifted off?

my answer, “just watching the kid’s excitement.” i think you’ll agree.

best laid plans

abelara — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 13:52:59 +0000

we had a fabulous time at New Staff Training last week in Orlando. we covered some really valuable information and got to know a little better what we are actually getting our selves into. but what i enjoyed the most from our week away was all of the incredible people we met. not only did we have fabulous instructors, but the other participants from the various ministries of Campus Crusade are all top notch people. we made some great new friends, it's hard not to when you spend 10 hours or more for 10 days together.

so we've made it home and have hit the ground running. in fact, we may have started running a little too fast.

deb and i are both pretty competitive people. so when a challenge was given during our training of who could be the first person to get 3 appointments for the following week to share our ministry, we were on it. we each got our three, and i even got a fourth. deb won a handcrafted pen for being the first female to get her 3 appointments by 7:31pm. and i won some books for going above and beyond the assignment of getting three appointments.

but we weren't very strategic in our calendar planning. as it stood when we left training, we had appointments on tuesday, thursday, friday, and saturday of this week. and since i have a leaders meeting at church on wednesday, that meant one or both of us was busy every night of the week from tuesday-saturday.

so it was kinda a relief for us when yesterday our appointment for thursday rescheduled for friday. it's easier to ask a babysitter to come earlier or stay later, than it is to find a babysitter for another night of the week entirely.

Campus Crusade has various goals per week/month that they'd like New Staff to aim for in order to eventually report to their assignment in a timely manner. these goals are adjusted according to a person's work schedule at an outside job. so for me working 40hrs/week at Efcom, plus some more hours towards church related activities, we have goals set on the low end.

well as competitive as we are, and as much as we sense the urgency of the work we'll be doing, we've overachieved our goals for the first two weeks. which is great because it eventually gets us closer to our goal of reporting to work in Little Rock. but it's not so great being away from our family every night of the week.

i think the people at Campus Crusade have set their goals for us very reasonable, probably because they've seen thousands of families go before us and are aware of what drain it can take on time, family, and body. if we can taper back slightly and coordinate our schedule even better, we'll be better off in the long run. doing that i think we'll be able to reach our goals and maybe even overachieve every once in a while, and still have a healthy, sane family when we finally move.

keep us, our kids, and our health in your prayers. thanks.

for parents only: unsolicited advice

deblara — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 22:01:03 +0000

what do you do when some concerned individual offers unsolicited advice about how you should handle your children? whether it is a relative or a bothered customer at the grocery store, do you run home and implement their suggestions right away? do you start yelling, “you have no idea what i deal with on a daily basis! i’ll thank you to keep your opinions to yourself!” do you go home and bawl yourself to sleep, feeling guilty for being such a horrible parent? or is your response something a little less extreme?

i hate it when people, albeit with good intentions, point out the flaws of my children and indicate that somehow this is my fault. “your girls fight too much.” “your two-year old shouldn’t still have a pacifier.” “i can’t believe you let your twins climb on the tables and counters.” “your six girls should help around the house more.” i feel that the problem pushed on me is to transform all these selfish people into selfless servants by the age of 2. i want to scream, “these are my children! would you like to take them home with you and make them perfect?!”

instead, i remain silent. i let the person share their concerns, trying to remain objective. like in the fable of the father & son who were traveling with their donkey to market, if i tried to do all the things the way that everyone suggested i would end up looking silly and inconsistent. and yet, it is hard when someone criticizes your children- you are the one who has shaped them, thus far.

but when you think about it, parents are not the sole molders of their children. first of all, children are not made with a cookie cutter- some are more compliant than others. there is also influence from media and peers at school or church. oh, and then there is the whole sin-nature thing; kids naturally don’t want to obey- they want things their way. so when a parent is faced with raising a child that is hell-bent on going the opposite direction, what should their priorities be?

i believe parents need to know what battles to fight- what kind of adults do you want your kids to become?

do you want them to know, trust, and obey God? then, by our example, we need to show them what it means to live this kind of life. and we teach our kids to obey God by expecting them to obey us, their parents, when they are young. i have my kids sit in a time-out chair (one minute corresponding to their age) even for having a fit. i want them to know what is acceptable and to realize that they are not in charge. we must also have realistic expectations for them; a 2 year-old cannot do the same things an 8 year-old can.

do you want your children to be kind and selfless? then encourage your child in the moments when you see them helping a sibling or loving someone when they are sad. give them opportunities to reach out in kindness at home (e.g. “your sister just fell down; would you go ask her if she is okay, and give her a hug.”) and to reach out to outsiders by looking for needs and finding ways to fill them (e.g. let them buy some groceries with money they have earned and take them to a local food bank).

do you want educated kids? read to them. do you want healthy kids? offer them healthy snacks and limit screen time. do you want kids you aren’t using a pacifier after age 2? you’ll have to ask someone else on that one.

just decide what is important to you and your spouse. yes, i want my kids to be safe. i want them to be respectful. i want them to fold ten loads of laundry by themselves. But, i also want them to know that i will love them no matter what they break; i will teach them what i can knowing that i will not always be their only teacher; i will live a life i want them to copy; i will say i’m sorry and ask for forgiveness when i am wrong.

so the bottom line is decide what you want to work on with your kids. and if someone comes to you and says, “where ARE your child’s clothes?!!” or some other unnecessary remark, you can just smile and think, “we’ll work on that issue in our own timing- every child is different.” because, honestly, nobody is really expecting an answer: they just think it would be helpful if they pointed out to you what you obviously haven’t noticed yourself.

so if you’re ever tempted to point out the shortcomings of someone else’s kids- don’t. unless of course you’d like to take the job over yourself. ’cause, let’s face it, parenting is a big job. and we all need as much grace and encouragement as we can get. have a great day!

it’s official!

abelara — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 00:16:28 +0000

We are now officially commissioned as Missionaries and Members of the Religious Missionary Order of Campus Crusade for Christ.

For His Glory,

Abraham & Deborah Lara

the called

abelara — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 15:33:11 +0000

as i sit and look at the picture above of our fellow New Staff Training attendees, my eyes are welling up with tears. these people are heroes to me.

only 14 others in the picture above will eventually be joining deborah and i on the staff of FamilyLife in Little Rock, AR. the others are all joining other ministries of Campus Crusade for Christ. some are going to join Campus Ministry, reaching young adults at various colleges around the country. some are headed to Student Venture, to reach High School students with God’s love and hope. still other are bound for Athletes in Action, specifically targeting athletes in college. there’s a few with a heart for Here’s Life Inner City, reaching the poor with the gospel of Jesus Christ. and a couple of them are called to Military Ministry. and still others are being sent to work with The JESUS Film Project®, Keynote, or other International assignments.

you see happy, smiling, young faces.*

i know the men and women who have been called by God to set apart their lives for a greater work of full time ministry. they come from all walks of life. there are students right out of college, former military, pastors, video production engineers, IRS agents, teachers, people from office jobs or manual labor. some have been married for years and have grown children, others have young children, and there are even two couples here that just got married 19 days ago!

these men and women have chosen to leave their friends and loved ones, pack up their families sometimes to a place unknown, and trust fully on God for their lives. these heroes have accepted the task of raising their support not because it’s fun, attractive, or easy to do so. no, they’re here at New Staff Training because each one of them has felt a call from God to do what He’s called them to do (and oh, if you could hear all of the stories i’ve heard). they have a passion for their particular area of ministry. and they have a sense of urgency to their work. the time is short, and we must begin doing the work He’s called us to do while there’s still time.

they are my heroes…my co-laborers…and my friends.

- – - – - – - – - -

* picture intentionally blurred and darkened for various reasons. email me or call me if you’d like to know why.

talk it out

abelara — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 02:03:04 +0000

this morning, for various reasons, deb and i got off on the wrong page together. the first two sentences we exchanged turned into a misunderstanding.

as a guy, everything within me wanted to clam up, try to forget about it, and hope for the best later in the day.
but the fact is: it doesn’t EVER just go away. over the last 10+ years of marriage i can attest to that fact.

fight the urge to put it off, ignore it, or forget about it. if you absolutely can’t talk it out right now, then at least agree on a time to get back together to talk it out.

yes, it’s hard. yes, there may be more confusion as you’re trying to talk it out. and no, you won’t always resolve the issue with one session of talking.

but your spouse deserves to know that you care enough about them to talk it out. and that’s the real issue. you’re working on your relationship, not necessarily on the issue.

talk it out.

how do you know God is God?

deblara — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 16:58:40 +0000

Ezekiel 34:26 I will turn them and the regions around my hill into a blessing. I will make showers come down in their season; they will be showers that bring blessing.

Ezekiel 34:30 Then they will know that I, the LORD their God, am with them, and that they are my people, the house of Israel, declares the sovereign LORD.

I really enjoy reading this chapter in Ezekiel. It shows God, in all His power, taking it upon Himself to go, find and rescue His own sheep, His people. It paints a creative picture of sheep who technically belong in the fold. However, because of negligence on the part of shepherds that have been put into place to care for the sheep, the sheep have wandered away. But this is not okay with God- He desperately wants to maintain relationship with each of His children.

And so, the chapter goes on to point out how God will care for and provide for His people. He will send “showers of blessing.” And the part that really stuck out to me is found in verse 30: “Then they will know that I, the LORD their God, am with them…” God’s heart is to bless His people; He wants them to be blessed and to know that it comes from our Heavenly Father because He is good.

There are other passages throughout the Bible, as well, that show when a person or nation chooses active rebellion or passive indifference against God, they receive justice from God. This is simply so that they would get the clear picture that there is one God, and they are not Him.

So the bottom line is God wants us to make good choices that result in blessing. And if we have wandered away from Him, He will actively pursue us until we can once again walk in the abundant life that He can offer us.
God wants us to know that His character is good. We do not “know” He is God because He alone says it or simply because nature displays His majesty. In and of itself, that should be enough proof. However, God wants to prove His love to you through His power to find you and to bring you into a place of blessing.

——-

Dear God, thank you for passionately pursuing me. Thank you for the showers of blessing that You have in store for me. Today I choose to give you glory & honor because of who You are! Amen.