Our blog has moved to WordPress

Well, sometimes good things must come to an end.  I was just getting the hang of Blogspot, until I received the unfortunate news that the Ethiopian government blocks that particular website.  Bummer!  No point in starting a blog that will have to be abandoned upon moving to Addis Ababa.  So-- our new blog has moved to WordPress.  Click this link to be redirected:  http://jasonandlizpolk.wordpress.com/

La-La-La-La-Linoleum

Happy Saturday, faithful blog followers.  With the Super Bowl just around the corner, many of you are preparing to don the colors of your favorite team and get together with friends over chili and hot wings to cheer or curse your pick for Sunday's game on to victory.  I imagine you in your pre-game bliss, thinking about touchdowns and field goals, and the intricacies of defensive strategy.  I, on the other hand, am thinking about...linoleum.  Boxes and boxes of linoleum.

This week has been a challenge.  Not a bad challenge, necessarily, but this week has definitely pushed the bounds of physics and human decency that ordinarily govern how many things can happen simultaneously in one small condo.  First-- we have kitchen remodeling.  Currently we have doors from our kitchen cabinets scattered and propped up all over the house as we let them dry from their recent paint job.  These doors seem to have developed their own natural migration pattern-- like wildebeest or arctic birds-- travelling from our living room couch to the hallway to our bed with daily regularity.  Lately it has seemed that no matter where you would like to sit, stand, walk, or lie down in our house-- it first requires moving several pieces of kitchen cabinetry.  This is in addition, or course, to the aforementioned linoleum--stacked in boxes in front of our bedroom closet in a display that rivals the great Leaning Tower of Pisa in both it's grandeur and structural instability.  

Add to this chaos, the fact that we are in the process of packing for our impending move to the mission house at our church.  As I look to my left, I see what is quickly becoming the world's largest collection of Schnuck's grocery store egg boxes.  These boxes are gradually being filled and stacked around the house, filled to the brim with the various and sundry items that we have collected over the years.  In addition to taking up lots of room, these boxes also continue to tell me with their forceful, black, block letters that I must "KEEP CONTENTS REFRIGERATED."  Despite my better judgment, that knows full well I don't need to refrigerate the linens or books that I just placed in these boxes, I still can't help but feel a little guilty for not doing it.  It's like those "Do Not Remove" tags on your mattress.  You know it's not illegal to cut them off, but you still look over your shoulder while you're doing it, just to make sure no one's watching.

Lastly, we add to this Polk Family Circus a little 9 1/2 month old boy, who has been fussy from a cold all week, and has made a new past-time out of scurrying across the floor to find various pieces of lint, plastic, and other inedible things that he can pop into his mouth with lightening speed.  Combine all of those things with a liberal sprinkling of Nathan's baby toys and children's books all over the floor, and we have what Liz and I have begun to affectionately call, "The Death Trap."  As I sit here on the couch,  I can visualize in my mind the twists and maneuvers that would be required of me should I decide to get up and go to the bathroom.  With elegance, power, and grace rivaling any ballet dancer or NBA star, I would twist, turn, pirouette, and "shake-n-bake" my way past 14 children's books, a baby blanket, two cabinet doors, several stuffed animals, a dining table chair, my infant son, a cantaloupe box from Honduras, and a plastic duck who, despite being dressed up like a kind and helpful fireman complete with hat, ladder, and firehose, never the less seems to be mocking my efforts through his unblinking eyes and smiling duck bill.  Maybe I'm wrong-- but I don't remember the Home Depot commercials that assured me of my ability to "do it all myself with a little help from the orange aprons" ever mentioning the physical dexterity that would suddenly be required to navigate my home without breaking a hip.  So much for truth in advertising.

So, what to do?  What else is there to do-- but laugh, pray, and try not to take it all so seriously.  We are in transition, and we are going to be in transition for a long time to come.  This is the path that we have chosen, and which we believe God has called us to follow.  And so, we embrace it and walk through it as a family by God's grace.  As a good friend once told us prior to having kids, "You have to embrace the crazy!"  Good words.  Life is crazy right now--there is no doubt about it!  But we are in this crazy transition together, and even in the midst of the minor frustrations and tensions, God is at work shaping and refining us more and more into his image.  So much of Scripture speaks of our Christian life through the metaphor of a journey.  We are called to travel God's narrow path, and walk as children of light before Him.  And every Christian journey comes with transitions and potholes.  That is just the way it works.  So please pray for us in the upcoming weeks as we complete our move and finish our remodeling projects, that we would handle the frustration and chaos in a way which honors God and loves one another well.  We know that eventually the chaos will begin to settle out again.  In the meantime, I'll keep practicing my ninja-like moves as I leap over furniture and linoleum boxes to get from one room to the other.  Oh, and by the way-- if you come over for a visit.  Don't leave too quickly if we don't answer the doorbell.  We might just be busy climbing a mountain of linoleum or trying to refrigerate our office supplies.  Be patient-- good things come to those who wait.  It's a good reminder for all of us.  ~Jason

Moving Right Along - reflections on couches, CDs, and other "stuff"

"Moving Right Along."  Yes, before you ask, I did lift that title from the Muppets Movie.  But it seems to fit.  What does it say about us that a singing frog and bear in a Studebaker seem to sum up our current experience?  I'll let you decide...
But, muppets aside, there is a lot of moving and transition going on for us.  First up is getting our condo ready to rent.  Liz and I hope to get a renter for our condo by this spring, and move into the mission house located on our church's property.  This will hopefully give us greater flexibility to travel in the upcoming months to speak with churches and individuals about prayer and financial partnership with us in church-planting and AIDS ministry in Ethiopia.  But it also means that the time has come to start selling or giving away many of our belongings, and also means we have to say goodbye to a home we love.  Seriously humbling and scary!  These transitions have already begun to expose Liz and me in the often hidden ways that our hearts cling to "stuff" more than to our Savior.  But it is also a joyful and liberating task--as we grow in excitement in our sense of calling to Ethiopia, and as we are daily reminded of the power of the Gospel that promises God's grace and forgiveness for the subtle ways we love couches and CDs more than Jesus.  Liz just finished reading Missions and Money by Jonathan Bonk, and it has spurred lots of conversation, and has led us to reflect quite a bit on what the Scriptures say about wealth and material possessions.  "As for the rich in this present age, charge them not to be haughty, nor to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy.  They are to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, thus storing up treasure for themselves as a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is truly life." (1 Timothy 6:17-19)  The humbling reality is that even as Liz and I give away many of our possessions, and transition into a lifestyle in Addis that most would consider quite modest, we will still be among the richest Christians in the world.  This feels strange to say.  Liz and I have sought to live modestly and without too much focus on material possessions, and yet the truth remains that by global standards we are wealthy Christians-- especially when compared to the numerous believers around the world that live on less that $1 or $2 per day.  It has forced us to ask in very personal ways, "What is God calling us to regarding our possessions and lifestyle in the future?  What does it look like to live as wealthy Christians in a city like Addis Ababa that is so deeply affected by poverty?"  Liz and I have started calling out to God in prayer about these things, that He might deliver us from the greed, materialism, and worry which so easily entangle our hearts when material possessions and our own financial security are involved.  Please pray for us, that we would grow in faith and trust in God as our eternal portion and lead lives of generosity and readiness to share, that we might "take hold of that which is truly life."  We can not do it without the work of His Spirit within us.  Thank you for praying--it means more to us than we can possibly say.
In the meantime, we'll keep getting rid of stuff until our lives can fit into a shipping container.  Keep singing Kermit and Fozzie, the journey has just begun.  "Moving right along, footloose and fancy-free..."  ~ Jason

A New Year, A New Blog

Welcome to "Living on the Ground"-- our new blog.  With the beginning of 2011 comes many transitions, as we prepare to move our family to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.  We thought it would be helpful to have another outlet to share our thoughts and feelings about this journey in the upcoming year, and would love to invite you to trek along with us through these blog entries.  Thanks for walking this path along with us!