the land of the free and the home of the brave..

Sometimes there is such freedom in being an American.

For instance, just now while cleaning my house, the time came to take out the trash. I grabbed my key, and the various trash bags, and - although I almost went out in short sleeves - my conscience got the better of me and I put on a jacket.

The girl I passed while crossing the street had a slightly scandalized look [mixed with a knowing smirk] on her face. The reason?

In Germany, none but an American would ever dream of wearing flip flops outside in February.

I grinned the whole way home.

[postscript: I stand corrected. Many dream of wearing flip flops outside in Germany during the winter. Typically only Americans or perhaps the occasional Japanese actually attempt it!] :)

like a busy little bee..

it shouldn't be surprising that, after a post concerning rest and quietness, i should be more or less swamped with opportunities to DO. :) it's ok, that's why i'm here. i know the Lord has good plans in store, and He's prepared good works for me to walk in, so walk i shall. i really want to stay in this place of calmness in my heart- it makes this crazy life much more tolerable and highly livable, and - dare i add - enjoyable!

this morning sabine and i, after considerable time in discussion and prayer, christened today Stress Free Day. [although at first glance it might seem otherwise, the discussion and prayer were not for the express purpose of the weighty task of naming the day. the day-name came after all of that - plus a big coffee.] pretty much every staff girl around this place had it written on her thumb by lunchtime!

so what have i been working on today?

-march worship schedule [devotions]

-worship outreach schedule [sending teams to a few other churches in the area who don't have worship leaders.. takes a good deal of coordination, i'm finding out]

-going back to the BFA! black forest academy emailed me this morning to ask for a team to come out to Nürnberg [Nuremberg] for their senior high retreat.. in 11 days. March 5-8. i wrote back immediately with a resounding "Yes!".. our team is pretty much set, now we just have to work out the details. i've been thinking about those kids/staff a lot lately, and i'm really glad to see them again, and to have this opportunity to be "complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work." [2 Timothy 3:17]

-getting excited to go back to sweden too for the 2nd annual Women's Retreat hosted by CC Stockholm! we got to go last year, and last week we purchased our tickets to go again. very excited. 30 april - 4 may.

-last night i put some finishing touches on a song i wrote in fall 2007 during my time at home.. and tonight i recorded it. i'll try to post it on my purevolume whenever time and internet cooperation happen to coincide.

soooo, since i'm a teacher at a bible college and my class is in a couple days.. i'm going to go study for it. 

alle Gottes segen!

a.

selah.

I've been thinking alot about rest lately. I tend to be the one who volunteers for everything [meaning well], and afterwards I end up burnt out and exhausted. I really don't think that's the abundant life the Lord wants for us! I spent a few hours today reading a great book called "On Being a Missionary," by Thomas Hale. There was a lengthy chapter on stress and burnout, during which I found myself often nodding in agreement. We must be found abiding in the Lord, and use our God-given common sense to know when we need to say no and take the time to rest and just sit at His feet. [Why else would the Word talk so much about taking a day of rest, and call it the Lord's day??]

For thus says the Lord GOD, the Holy One of Israel: 

"In returning and rest you shall be saved; in quietness and confidence shall be your strength." 

But you would not, and you said, "No, for we will flee on horses" --

Therefore you shall flee! And, "We will ride on swift horses" -- Therefore those who pursue you shall be swift!

One thousand shall flee at the threat of one, at the threat of five you shall flee,

Till you are left as a pole on top of a mountain and as a banner on a hill. [burnout, right?]

Therefore the LORD will wait, that He may be gracious to you; 

and therefore He will be exalted, that He may have mercy on you. 

For the LORD is a God of justice; blessed are all those who wait for Him.

- Isaiah 30:15-18

In class on Wednesday night we studied some verses in the Psalms that all had a common theme: meditating on the Lord/His Word, dwelling in His courts, and the Hebrew word Selah- taking a pause to reflect or be still. Even as I was teaching through each part, I knew the Lord was trying to teach me too. One of the greatest joys of teaching is having to understand the subject matter well enough to explain it simply and succinctly. This is a lesson the Lord has been working on teaching me for a long time, being of a rather impatient nature: the importance of being still before Him, and calming down enough to really just enjoy His presence. It's so easy to get busy, and come to the Lord only to demand answers to current problems in my life; but that isn't true fellowship with Him! As we remember who He is [His character] and what He's done [His works], the biggest problems in life suddenly seem to shrink. Let us be found abiding in Him, dwelling in His courts, meditating on and being filled with His Word, and being led by His Spirit. Let's take time to Selah in His presence. For in His presence is abundant blessing, eternal life, and fullness of joy.

love,a.

ponderings.

here are a few little bits of truth upon which i've been dwelling lately..

A man has joy by the answer of his mouth, and a word spoken in due season, how good it is! - Proverbs 15:23

The backslider in heart will be filled with his own ways, but a good man will be satisfied from above. - Proverbs 14:14

In the fear of the LORD there is strong confidence, and His children will have a place of refuge. - Proverbs 14:26

Behold the proud, his soul is not upright in him; but the just shall live by his faith. - Habakkuk 2:4

"Oh, let us rejoice in the Lord, evermore,

When darts of the tempter are flying,

For Satan still dreads, as he oft did of yore,

Our singing much more than our sighing!" 

- excerpt from Streams in the Desert

it's snowing!

it's friday baby!

and happy early walentine's day!

first week: check.

Week One is officially over!! I'm tired.

But it was a good week. Registration felt like a breeze compared to last semester, and classes seem to be going well. My first class was on Wednesday night. I have 6 students, some who lead worship and others who don't, but all seemed pretty excited to be there [and nobody fell asleep]. We did a little intro on Who we worship and why.. and then studied through John 4 to see all about worshiping in Spirit and in truth. I think the weirdest thing about teaching the class [so far] is that as soon as you're finished teaching one week, you need to start on the next week. It'll be a good lesson in diligence, I am certain.

What else happened this week... I worked the school coffeebar a couple times, led worship at Chosen Girls [which went really well, and I had a great time with the girls!!], and spent the whole day today in Eisenach and/or the bus.

It also must be duly noted that my roommate, Katha, and our friend Sabine, and I are more or less addicted to the lovely treat known as a homemade latte macchiato. It's just so good... especially when served in a tall sturdy glass, with a long spoon and a lot of foam. Mmm. We have a lot of fun in our house!! Katha also recently invested in a raclette grill.. and we have a raclette party with different people at least once a week [still smells like chicken in here]. Plus we found a set of 6 really cute little white bowls, which are perfect for our lovely grilling delight. [If you don't know what raclette is... it's really fun, and a wonderful German tradition. It makes dinner a long, creative, and very enjoyable experience. So come over and have some!!]

Oh! I got an amazing little German hymnal from the Halle! I found it in the back last week, and asked Christina to put my name on it, for whenever they got around to pricing it. Then Karen showed up at my door last night with it all wrapped up for me! What a delightful surprise! It's SO cute, with an embossed leather cover and amazing little clasp, and it's from 1901, and in beautiful condition. Hooray! I've been wanting an old little hymnal for ever so long.. and now I have one, and it's even in German, how handy.

der Anfang! [the beginning.]

today is the official start of our semester! almost all of our students have arrived, and i must say it's a nice group. only around 30 on campus students.. good staff.. lots of returning people.. and nice new people. i like it already.

i got to lead worship this morning before orientation, and tonight i'll lead with roelof and caleb before david's Church History class. soon we'll be having our first worship meeting.. i think there will be plenty of people who are willing to share their gifts and talents in this ministry this semester. should be cool. i love worshiping with the students, staff, and church here!

my class starts on wednesday night!! i'm really excited for it. i got to study a while at home, on the plane, and yesterday too. hopefully later on tonight i'll have some time, and maybe more on tues/wed. lots to do, but excited to do it. and i have a basic outline of where i need to study, so that's helpful!

tomorrow is our first official staff meeting of the semester [we had one last week too before things got started]. wednesday morning is an all-girls Women's Discipleship class.. we'll be studying the names of God. really excited to sit in on that. and on saturday we're going to Eisenach, the place where Martin Luther translated the Bible into German, and consequently began the Reformation!! [been there a few times but it's always cool]

on friday night i'm leading worship for the girls' ministry from the youth group, called Chosen Girls. i've done it before, a long time ago, so i'm excited to go again and hang out with the girls! i already know a handful of them and i really love them a lot!! plus i've been asked to lead worship at the tuesday night youth group sometime in the next couple weeks.. so that should be good too.

i am so richly blessed by this church here! i absolutely love coming back, and every single time being welcomed "home" and meeting even more people. plus i'm getting to spend lots of time with friends from the Bible College and church, and i've had some great conversations in the last few days with some of the new students too! what a blessing to be involved in the ministry here! hannah and i were thinking about that last night.. we truly are blessed. and as Pastor Nick says, "What an awesome God we serve!!"

time to go introduce my class to the student body, and get rolling with registration.

thanks for reading, and praying! the Lord is so good. the initial week here was super busy and kind of rough, but i'm so encouraged and blessed. AND i'm in an amazing little apartment with my friend katha, and it's a lovely little home for us!! please come visit sometime! :)

love,a.