Family Visits

We were so blessed to have both sets of parents visit us after Maya was born. This also meant, because of the timing, that we had family here for Thanksgiving, Christmas and Ellie's birthday! It was really special for us to celebrate all of these holidays with family, because these can often be the most difficult times to live overseas, when we have to be alone for a holiday. It was also neat to show our parents our new neighborhood and what our life is like, now that we have relocated outside of the city. They have a better sense of our everyday life and ministry now.

Here are some photo highlights from Nate's parents' visit ("Oma & Opa"):

Playdoh with Oma!

Visiting the Christmas markets, sometimes one need a break from all the walking

Baby snuggles

Oma and her girls

Baking Christmas Cookies

Raclette dinner with the Kosse family, here on a Vision Trip and now joining our team

Thanksgiving Dinner

Nate, Oma & Ellie hiking through vineyards

Here are some pictures from our time with Bethany's parents ("Grammy & Grampy"):

Grampy sitting by the presents and our "fireplace"

Playing Candyland

Walking to Schönbrunn Palace, with Ellie's doll in her baby carrier

At the mall

Our day trip to Bratislava

At a Slovakian restaurant

The view from the Bratislava Castle

At the playground

Maya's baby dedication at church

Dedicating Maya

Ellie's third birthday

What is love?

This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 1 John 4:11,12 (NIV) 

This time of year, everything is red or pink and heart-shaped. All the magazine covers tell us “5 Tips to Win Back Your Man’s Heart” or “Take Her on the Date of a Lifetime.” Love is everywhere, or at least packaged definitions of love are everywhere. "If you really loved him, you’d buy him that expensive watch", says that magazine ad. Others say, "if you really loved her, she’d open a little felt box of diamonds on a ski vacation!" 

 And while the bible can’t tell you if you can pull that dress off for your big date tonight, it does answer the burning question behind all of this steamy advice: what is love? In the 1 John passage above, the question is answered for us. When Jesus died on the cross for the sins of His enemies, He gave us the best example of what love truly is: sacrifice. I may know how to love my wife, even when I screw up, but how do I love others with the sacrificial love Christ showed on the cross? 

 E.M. Bounds was a pastor around the time of the Civil War. He wrote a lot about prayer. He said this:
“Talking to men for God is a great thing, but talking to God for men is greater still. He will never talk well and with real success to men for God who has not learned well how to talk to God for men.” 

Spending time in prayer for those around us is a wonderful way to show the love of Christ. We know that when God’s people pray, God moves powerfully among them. There are also many small decisions we can make in a day to show love to those around us. We can leave work early to have a family game night or send someone an encouraging email. When we sacrifice our most precious resources for other, like time and attention, we show others how important they are to us and to God.

An Invitation to Breath

I just read Marshall Shelley's most recent Leadership Journal newsletter.  He was reflecting on the week between Christmas and New Years as a chance to slow down and catch a breath.  When I was working I looked forward to this week as a time when no one else would be in the office.  I was one of the few hold outs that had used all my vacation days through out the year, and I was using that uninterrupted time to sort files or take care of those things that sank at the bottom of my "To Do" list.


Life can feel like a train we got on years ago, one that has gathered momentum with every small decision. And when we reach for the break leaver, it comes apart in our hands. With the life changing steps we have taken, we have the chance to re-imagine things like this.  I get to ask the question, "How do I want to spend this week between Christmas and New Years?" I don't think I expected that preparing to serve Christ is Austria would push life so off the rails that I'd have this much of a chance to rethink how I invest my time. I am thankful for the opportunity.


What do you want for this week of quiet time?

A Post-Thanksgiving Meditation

Oh give thanks to the LORD, for he is good,for his steadfast love endures forever!

Psalm 107:1

Last weekend was Thanksgiving, which in some ways feels like a 2nd class holiday in American culture.  All over twitter, I have seen people refer to it as “Black Friday Eve.” And usually we are all to quick to move beyond thankfulness and into consumption, shifting the focus back to us.

This year I wanted my thanksgiving to be a bit different. I intentionally meditated on Psalm 107, especially the first phrase: “Give thanks to the Lord, for He is Good, His steadfast love endures forever.”  We know that we need to be thankful.  Objectively, even non-Christians would say that thankfulness is important.  So it isn't just that we should be thankful, or even that we should be thankful to God just because He is God.  The psalmist gives a clear call to worship not just to be thankful, but why we should be thankful.

We should be thankful for God’s goodness.  This is His moral excellence.  Every choice He makes, every gift He gives, everything He does is completely correct and is set up for our good and His glory.  This is a hard thought in today's world. There are so many things that aren't good. Yet in a world of "not goodness", God is the only one that is truly good. We can trust His leading and His word. Furthermore, his “steadfast love” endures forever.  There will never be a time in which God’s steadfast love runs dry.  This is His covenant-keeping love. His love is unshakable.

So this Thanksgiving I sought to give thanks to God. Not just because He is worthy, but because He is good and His love endures forever.

What part of God's character are you most thankful for?

St. Patrick - a Radical Missions Story

St. Patrick was a great missionary! Here is his story, told by VeggieTales. Video via Out of Ur.

Thankfulness and Other Things

Today is Thanksgiving and we had the traditional meal with the family.  We ate turkey (and my fav stuffing), we watched football, we looked at Black Friday specials in the paper, and we watched grand kids dance or walk around in the center of the circle - all the important thing.  It was a special time! (I have included some pictures after the jump)


One thing I heard, that is something you really only hear around this time of year - Happy Thanksgiving!  It is a great encouragement to enjoy being thankful!  


I don't think I spend enough time being thankful, so with that in mind here are 5 things I am thankful for based on today's adventures...