I've been busy crossing off a few things from my list of 101 things in 1,001 days this summer. Here's a recap.

#20 Pray for a different country every day for two weeks.

July 2-July 19

Syria

Israel

Indonesia

Turkey

Egypt

Jordan

Palestine

Iran

Saudi Arabia

Iraq

Kuwait

United Arab Emirates

Lebanon

Yemen

Omen 

I spent about 3 weeks praying for a different country every day using the book Operation World by Jason Mandryk. The book goes into detail about each country's demographics, issues (physical, spiritual, economic etc) and the work that is being done to further the gospel.

I was struck by the estimated number of people who have never had a chance to even hear the gospel in their language; millions of people in each country. It really opened my eyes to the strife and hatred that plague the region and made my heart so heavy for the multitudes trapped in false religions without hope.

The problems are so immense and the challenges to sharing the gospel are overwhelming, it was hard to think that my prayers would make a difference. But I know that God is the God of the impossible and it is only He who changes hearts, that He has called me to pray and He is in control of the outcome. During this time, I noticed an heightened sensitivity to these cultures and the great need throughout the day(s) and quickened tendency to hear news about a country and immediately pray.

I definitely need to do pray for specific countries again soon. It definitely helps to have this book and the detailed information about how to pray for each country. 

#10 Buy fresh flowers when having guests three times in a row. 

 The third time was 4th of July. We had Andy, Alicia, and Rhyan over for dinner. 

#80 Make homemade Chai tea mix. 

 I used this recipe  and it was super easy!

Thanks to Kara for the original inspiration (she gave me some yummy chai tea mix years ago for a Christmas present) and to Naomi for finding a recipe and motivating me to actually get the 

ingredients and make it!  It was amazing!

#14 Post a blog entry 1x a week for three months. 

 This was a good goal because posting on this blog often falls down to the end of the to-do list. And then I don't write because I am so behind and don't know where to start. I started in July and have continued through the first part of October. It is my hope to continue at this rate (or more!). 

There were a few times I was off posting by a day or two but I'll let that slide. 

This wasn't a goal, but I made some homemade ricotta cheese this summer. It was fairly easy, turned out well and I definitely impressed myself. 

Here I am straining the whey off the curds. I'll make this again the next time I feel like wow-ing myself (or others) in the kitchen.