life these past days

I have been blessed with some dear friends over the years and I love that God does not ever leave me alone in that department.
In the end of May, my friend Amy came with her dear mother Sue. As I have written before, it is so pleasant to be in the company of friends who have known you for ages. Thank you both for coming!!!!
May was also a time of Spargel!!!!! Asparagus to the English speakers. SO good! There is a small group of us in Kandern that makes it a point to get together when we are all in town to enjoy some of the local seasonal delights like Spargel.

Also in May I had another Birthday. And even though some key friends were not able to be there, I enjoyed the company of all who came! And a HUGE thank you to Rick and Mary Beth Holladay for hosting it. A beautiful May day for a BBQ!
Make new friends, but keep the old. One is silver and the other's gold. ... that song goes through my head any time I am thinking of the people God allows me to enjoy in life. One such person whom I have only known since December of this past year is Kari Sue. :-) She is a delight! She works with the English Camps that are held at Black Forrest Academy each year. I thank God for her! We went to the Alps a week ago and at one point we were saying.. "has it really only been since December?" That is what happens when you have a kindred spirit.

So in the midst of preparing for some time stateside, and planning for the upcoming transitions in my role and living place, I have been delighted by God's provision of friendships.

going to the States...

There are some people who would not like to hear me say this... but going to the States is not going home. I love people in the States. I love Oregon. I miss the Pacific Ocean. I miss Stumptown coffee. I miss family and friends all across the states... but the states does not feel like home. Europe feels like home. Home in the way that you know you belong there. I know I belong here.

But that aside, I am looking forward to seeing some of you dear people soon! Honestly!

re-occurring dreams

I woke up this morning and realized that I am not in school anymore. Yes, I know that is an odd statement, but I had to really think seriously about this in relation to a re-occurring dream that I have.

In my dream, I am in school. for some reason, I think it is high school... because the hallways seem to scream HIGH SCHOOL! :-) So always in the dream, I am really enjoying a class and I am doing well in the class. It is generally a literature or philosophy class.

Then I find myself not going to class. I never know what is keeping me from class...all legitimate reasons but nothing concrete... and I know that really enjoyed the class and I get more and more upset and the thought that I might fail due to absences scares me.

So I try to go to class. But I can't find the classroom. I can't remember the schedule or where classes meet. And then I stumble upon the classroom at the right time, because I recognize the teacher and the classmates.

The teacher is always forgiving and understanding. I had been doing so well and the teacher kept wondering what happened to me... I had just disappeared.

So... I don't fail. but I always wake up as the teacher is telling me how worried they were and as I am feeling relieved to have found the class and scared that I cannot make up the absences.

Last night I had that dream. And when I woke up... I thought... I am not in school anymore. ...so know I wonder... why did I not realize this truth the other times I have dreamt this dream?

But it does make me wonder what God wants to show me through this.

stuff and nonsense

it is the little things that bring me delight... My friend Amy is here and she has known me since 1995 when we were roommates at Northwestern College in Orange City Iowa.... seems like ages ago, but what a blessing to have her here!

She keeps remarking on how easy it is to make me laugh... we were on a plane to Rome and they were showing a Mr. Bean cartoon... I was cracking up! and she was laughing at me. I had another friend tell me recently that I am funny because I think everyone else is so funny.

Honestly though... life is full of funny moments. God made us all so different! We each approach life in different ways based on our experiences and our personalities. The encounters we have with each other can be really really humorous!

Ever notice that every child... no matter what country they come from... can pout if they don't like what is happening? they all master it! incredible!

We are all hilarious when we try to imitate an accent or dialect that is not our own. Admit it... you northern American's have tried at least once to pull off a British accent...

Have you ever watched a group of high school aged girls when they are around high school aged boys? or have you watched the boys? and does that behavior change as we get older?

I was struck recently, as I was watching people in a city, that every morning we each get ready for the day...and generally... when we leave our living place, we think we look good enough to enter the day... but what we think is good... is sometimes down right hilarious!

And what about the intensity with which we can argue a topic that really does not make a difference for eternity? Does it really matter if one person leads differently than we think they should? Does it really matter if one person squeezes the toothpaste from the end instead of from the middle?

The last time I laughed so hard I cried... was a couple of weeks ago when my friends were putting on their "back woods" accents... One friend made the statement that his grandma said she would slap him into next week if he ever made a girl cry.... skip a few beats... other topics covered... then he said, thoughtfully... "i missed a birthday one year".

The Proverbs 31 woman laughs at what is to come. in Psalm 126: 2 and 3 laughter and joy are tied to the Lord having done great things!

i guess that is why i laugh so much. i am truly delighted by what the Lord has done. and I believe that joy, true joy is from having my hope for eternity in the Lord. And if my hope for eternity is in the Lord, than i can laugh at the funny things of the world.

Do you laugh enough? what do you find delight and joy in? Do you see it enough?

Amy just asked me what I want to do for lunch... i replied... "eat" .. she said.. rather sarcastically... you are SO funny!

hmmm...

Being who God made me to be

i was just thinking... I have been in Rome for the past couple of days with my dear friend Amy... and in those days, I got to help a German couple figure out what they were looking at, and a Spanish couple figure out the bus ticket machine. and I thought... Thank you Lord, for allowing me to have enough of those languages to be able to help those people.

one of my favorite things when I move to a new place is the day that I get asked for directions and can help the person asking. Whether that means I finally know the area or that I finally know the language enough.