So Busy

Wow, I've been so busy since Friday. Sometimes (often?) I issue multiple Facebook status updates per day, but I realized this evening that I hadn't posted there since Thursday.

I haven't been able to clear out my recent emails since then either. I've been trying to keep reasonably aware of what's in there and pare it down.

Tomorrow is March!!! There is only ONE patch of snow left on our lawn now: the sad remains of the giant snowman the kids built back on February 3rd, with snow that had been on the lawn since January 2nd. I wonder if it will be all green grass by tomorrow morning.

Friday night we had a friend over, Saturday Jason had rehearsal and then we had more friends over in the evening for dessert and games (Mad Chatter, Cancellation Hearts, Pit, Bananagrams, Ping Pong). 

This morning at church we tried out a new computer program (OpenSong), a "free, open-source software application created to manage lyrics, chords, lead sheets, overheads, computer projection, and more." It worked GREAT. David was on sound board, Jason on drums, I was singing, and Emily ran the chord charts on my laptop! So much better than flipping through a powerpoint presentation like crazy when the worship leader decides to sing different parts of the song over again in different orders, etc. Just click on the slide you want and presto. So nice for the singers (me, in particular) not to have to run the slides, either. Just sing, worship, and keep an eye on the worship leader for cues. Way better.

After service, we had pizza all together and then stayed for an afternoon course for ministry leaders or people wanting to serve and help at church. Then a quick trial of teaching a new barn dance to 12 willing subjects (a much-needed exercise as it was a royal mess and now I know exactly what NOT to do at a real dance evening with this dance!). Then home for some downtime...

And now it's time for bed again already! Sleep well. Or have a nice afternoon, if you're on Pacific Time...

Posted via email from K's Café

Colour-Coding Leviticus

I've just finished Exodus and started Leviticus, the third book in the Bible. There are a LOT of repeated words in these instructions to the Jewish priests and people. Serious themes emerge as one examines what gets stressed.

This time as I read it, I am colour-coding various repeated words. It helps me to:

a) see what is repeated and emphasized (and therefore important to God)
b) think about the themes and how they relate to me
c) get through it without drowning!
d) make pretty Bible pages...?

So this is how I decided to underline:

WORD/PHRASE	COLOUR
Sin	Brown
Guilt/Responsible/Unclean/Guilty	Gold
Burn/Burnt/Burning/Fire	Orange
Acceptable to the Lord/Pleasing to the Lord	Light Green
Without defect	Pink
Before the Lord/To the Lord	Yellow
Holy/Most Holy	Purple
Blood	Red
Atonement	Light Blue
Wash	Dark Blue
Forgive/Forgiven	Dark Green

See how it starts with sin and ends with forgiveness? I sure need and like that ending. But it has to go through offering something without defect and pleasing/acceptable to the Lord, coming before the Lord, being atoned for with blood... the Israelites used "perfect" animals...but they had to keep on sacrificing them day after day, never finished, thus they didn't really take away the sin. Every sacrifice was pointing towards the one final, really perfect, voluntary one: Jesus, once for all, finished and done. Thank You for washing me, making me clean, taking away my guilt, forgiving me and making me holy.

Posted via web from K's Café

Is Our House in the Bermuda Triangle?

Last night we were supposed to have a group of guests over; bit by bit they cancelled, and then the last few just never showed up. Leaving us to eat all the carrot-sunflower-seed-chocolate-chip-coconut-banana muffins. Not too bad a fate.

However, we had an overnight guest who was already at our place; she, too, disappeared early in the morning before we got up (she left a nice note, though).

Now we are waiting for someone to come and pick up Emily to go for a playdate; they are 30 minutes late and have not called. Have they disappeared as well?

Perhaps we're living in the Zürich Triangle.

But it's sunny and calm and David is baking delicious-smelling walnut brownies...so we are content and patient :-)

* * *

Postscript later: now everyone's disappeared but me! Ah, but that's a bit misleading. I drove Jason to his play practice myself and came back home. Emily's friend did arrive and take her away for a day of fun in the next kanton. And David took some ailing computer gear to the Apple Store in Zürich. Leaving me to color-code Leviticus - the subject of the next post.

Posted via email from K's Café

Thankful

Thankful for:
my husband
my mom & dad
my mom & stepdad
my son
my daughter
my health
my home
the sunshine
the wind
the hail
technology
my really long-term future
my value in the eyes of my Maker
sleep

Posted via email from K's Café

First Snowdrop 2010

Our first snowdrop is out in the yard today!!!! Also, green shoots for daffodils and tulips. And little pink beginnings of flowers on a tree, and the large, tightly furled hellebore buds. Plus soft, fuzzy magnolia buds. Spring is starting! Maybe it will still snow one more time, though, like last year after the snowdrops came out?

I took my 20th Meeting Anniversary Purple Tulips (thank you, my dear one, for that colourful surprise last night!) outside for a little walk to make them appreciate the fact that they weren't out there with the remaining bits of snow. And because the natural sunlight makes it much easier to get the right colour in a photo.

See and download the full gallery on posterous

Posted via email from K's Café

Did you know there's one Swiss canton mentioned in the Bible? Which one?

Click for answer here: Swiss canton mentioned in the Bible.

(Unless you count this dubious "mention" of one other Swiss canton.)

You're welcome for your Swiss Biblical trivia of the day.

* * * * *

Yesterday's mid-week luncheon at home with my only son, whose last 18 months with us I am relishing before they are over and he flies the coop:

• Caprese (mozzarella balls, halved cherry tomatoes, fresh basil leaves, balsamic vinegar, olive oil)
• Homemade guacamole with corn chips (leftover)
• Salmon and asparagus (leftover)
• Quark-cereal bread with goat cheese
• Homemade chocolate-chip-peanut-butter-chip-ground-oatmeal cookies (kind of dry, need water sprinkled on them and microwaving!)

The first item was the only one planned, but we kept finding other fun tidbits hanging around to add. It turned out to be a feast. Got to keep those teenaged sons' bellies full of growth materials.

* * * * *

Three thoughts that keep coming back to me from the ladies' study on prayer I've been attending since last month:

- God as the "Most High" (there's nothing higher, no higher authority, nothing greater or stronger)

- Prayer = Drawing Near to God

- An Intercessor = a role someone can be called to, to spend special time praying for others (a place to start if you don't know what else God might be calling you to do)

* * * * *

A thought that occurred to me in the car this morning:

I recently got my favorite boots resoled.

God re-souls me.

What a difference in my boots! What a joy to walk on! A newly solid foundation.

How much more will the restoration of my soul make a positive difference! Does that make God the Great Cobbler? :-)

* * * * *

From my reading this morning - 

I had never thought about the significance of the symbolism of the

"four rows of precious stones" on the Jewish high priest's clothing (ruby, topaz, turquoise, sapphire, emerald, amethyst, etc.), "mounted in gold filigree settings." 
"Twelve stones, one for each of the names of the sons of Israel, each engraved like a seal with the name of one of the twelve tribes."

In all times previous, I just completely passed over the meaning of this! I thought, oh pretty, and moved on.

Today, it dawned on me that the stones represent God's people, AND:

1. The stones are PRECIOUS.

The stones are BEAUTIFUL.

The stones are each DIFFERENT.

The stones have NAMES on them - He knows us by name.

The stones are worn over the high priest's vital organs, including his heart.

Wow. We, the people who bow down before the Creator and want to be His people, are precious to Him, beautiful because He made us, different by design, and known by name. We are close to His heart. This reinforces to me that every part of the Bible has good lessons for us, even long descriptions of stuff we don't use anymore!

Posted via email from K's Café

Every Day for A Month

I've posted here on my blog daily since January 24th, more than a whole month in a row. That's pretty good. I've been receiving grace (via co-conspirators) to keep up quite a few daily disciplines lately, that have for long stretches of various sections of my past eluded me:

- Prayer (at least ten minutes alone while not doing anything else)

Accountability: five other ladies on Facebook private group.

- Bible reading (several chapters - reading the whole thing this year)

Accountability: a group of about seven other people on Facebook, sometimes dwindling to three active people - but hey, I only need one.

- Flossing & mouthwash at night in addition to brushing

Accountability: my son, with whom I'm writing stories one word at a time as rewards.

- Blogging

Accountability: that would be you guys. So...any lurkers who'd care to delurk by commenting on a post in the next week? Who's reading? Say hi. If you don't mind.

I know: how can these things be listed together, right? Sacrilege. But still, they're all things in which I want to engage every day (though the blogging isn't as important). Now, if only I could add some three-times-a-week exercise. Guess I need to find people to do that with as well. Preferably in person. Low-key amateur tennis, walking/hiking outside, low-impact aerobics, anyone I know locally? Then the real challenge: finding time in the schedule between other regular meetings and lessons and chores and ferrying, and meshing schedules with another person (or several). Maybe someday. For now, I'm happy to be practicing these particular rewarding doses of daily discipline.

Posted via email from K's Café

Some Experiences are Not as Nice as Others

I wander around the store looking for a caramelizing mini-blowtorch. After some time, I happily find it. Victory! Now I have something which will tickle David's culinary fancy on our 20-year-meeting-anniversary. He likes making crème brulée (and other types of custard), and using fire inside the house, to compensate for the fact that we don't currently have a gas stove.

There are lines at all the cash registers, but I shuffle my way to the front of the line in due time, where the cashier asks me with a tired, raised eyebrow whether I realize the blow torch is empty and needs butane gas bought separately. In Swiss-German, of course. Or maybe it's German, because I understand that much. But then she proceeds rapidly to explain where I can find the fuel, and says I could quickly go get it.

At which a lady in line behind me makes an exasperated noise, as I pass her to seek out the needed container. Except I really only understand the word "green" out of the location instructions. I see some green bowls, so I head their direction rather cluelessly, still not so sure the blowtorch actually is empty, and wondering anxiously how mad the people behind me in line will be when I finally return.

I can't find the stuff, and give up in order to finish my original transaction and let the other customers get through the line, thinking I can come back around for a second pass afterwards. But the cashier now informs me that she has suspended my order anyway (the other shoppers have been passing through successfully in the meantime), and it's just over there somewhere (more directions given that I really don't understand, apart from perhaps "down low" and something to do with a lady - of which there are several in the general direction she is pointing). The expression on her face spells out that she doesn't see why I couldn't find it.

I head off again, snag another employee and attempt to communicate what it is I am looking for, but it's her turn to look clueless, until I show her another blowtorch from the shelf and combine this visual aid with more clumsy German words (mixed with the French "crème brulée" which I feel certain must be an international expression). This woman claims at first that they don't sell the fuel (to which I reply by asking how I'm supposed to use the thing, then?), and then that the gas is already in the device. I ask her if she's sure, and she tries to find confirmation on the packaging. Then she asks ME whether the device is empty - which clearly I don't know and am confused about. Next, she spots the fuel canister on the shelf (down low, yes), and hands it me (so, they DO sell it?). It's only 4 Francs and 30 Rappen, so I take it, just in case.

I get back to the register, excuse myself in front of a fresh crop of strangers, and go back to the front of the line. The cashier now asks me if I was planning to pay by card (or something about a card, anyway). I go into stunned mode, trying to remember where I left the card with which I had been in the middle of paying, way back at the beginning of this débacle. I say yes... and with a critical look, she holds up my card, which I had left in the machine. Her gaze makes me feel like an irresponsible idiot. Or it at least feels like that's what she's trying to convey. Anyway, she hands it back, and we put the payment through.

I leave with my mission accomplished, but a sour aftertaste.

Then there are those other pleasant cashiers who smile.

Posted via email from K's Café

Twenty Years of Thinking About You with Excitement, Fondness, eventually True Love

Exactly 20 years ago today, my life took a sudden turn for the way, much, seriously better, and bright, steady sunshine began to shine on me: I met David for the first time. Who cares that he doesn't remember meeting me at that particular moment? He remembers the 2nd time :-) We can celebrate that too, three months from now.

Thank you for loving me, David! You sure are easy to love.

Posted via email from K's Café

You know Dugongs?

Have you ever wondered what a DUGONG is?

Maybe you have, briefly, if you've read about the building of the Tabernacle that the Israelites carried around in the desert as a predecessor to the Temple, before settling in the Promised Land. The hides of "sea cows" (another name for dugongs) were used as the outer covering of the structure. I guess they're pretty waterproof in case of rain! They were also used to wrap up and protect the tabernacle accessories during travel.

Sea cows are mentioned 13 times in the Bible: six times in Exodus chapters 25-39 and seven times in Numbers chapter 4. 

And what are they? Well, they're a lot like manatees. They are real animals, still living, even if we from North American and Europe maybe have never seen one or really heard of them. They are marine mammals which nurse their young for two years, and invest in a lot of parental care, as the young do not reach maturity until 8-18 years old. They live to about 50-70 years old. They are to be found around Australia and Malaysia and neighbouring areas.

Honestly, I wasn't sure from the photo on wikipedia whether I was looking at the front or the rear of the creature. What do you think? 

Some of the more interesting facts from wikipedia's dugong article:

"Its range... spans the waters of at least 37 countries throughout the Indo-Pacific, though the majority of dugongs live in the northern waters of Australia"

"It is easily distinguished from the manatees by its fluked, dolphin-like tail"

"Dugongs are also threatened by storms, parasites, and their natural predators, sharks, killer whales, and crocodiles."

"The word "dugong" derives from the Tagalog term dugong which was in turn adopted from the Malay duyung, both meaning "lady of the sea." Other common local names include "sea cow," "sea pig" and "sea camel.""

"Dugongs are referred to as "sea cows" because their diet consists mainly of sea-grass."

"There is a 5,000-year old wall painting of a dugong [in] Malaysia. This was discovered by Lt.R.L Rawlings in 1959 while on a routine patrol."

"Worldwide, only six dugongs are held in captivity." (one is called Gracie!)

Pretty cool that wikipedia notes another location of dugongs these days: "in the Red Sea in Egypt." Of course the Israelites got their hides in plundering the Egyptians on their way out during the exodus.

There, now I can continue my reading as a better-informed amateur marine biologist, with a boosted grasp of the details of the account. Don't you love learning stuff?

Posted via email from K's Café

Sledding at the Albispass, Zürich

On this, our last day of February break from school, we managed to:

• watch a James Bond movie from 1995 (fast-forwarding some deranged sadist woman parts)
• go sledding on the ridge in the sunshine with a view of Lake Zurich on one side and Mount Pilatus in Zug on the other
• bake cookies
• do most of the Monday chores (changing towels, laundry, gathering trash, meal-planning, tidying, cleaning out the fridge, dishes)

• watch Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs (very funny!)

Back to school and routine activities tomorrow.

See and download the full gallery on posterous

Posted via email from K's Café

Us and God in Psalm 74: Purchased People of the King from of Old

I used Psalm 74 in my prayer time today, and liked the way it described us who are wanting to know, follow, and honor God:

• "the people You purchased of old"
• "the sheep of Your pasture"
• "whom You redeemed"
• "the dwelling place of Your Name"

I love how these words from verses 1, 2 and 7 show that I belong to God, I am His, He is my Caretaker, and He chooses to live with me. 

I also felt it could have been describing me with the words in verse 3, "these ruins" and "the sanctuary." I am a sanctuary of God's Holy Spirit, and sometimes I am in a bit of a ruined state, but He keeps restoring me and not giving up on me. 

Then I also liked some of the ways it described God in verses 12 and 17:

• "my King from of old"
• "You bring salvation"
• "You made both summer and winter"

I especially liked verse 16, a great one to teach to kids who are afraid of the dark or don't like bedtime:

"The day is Yours, and yours also the night; You established the sun and moon."

A good reminder that not only are we God's, but so is everything else, including time and stars and floating rock. I worship the owner of everything.

Posted via email from K's Café

Where's the snow going?

It's day 51 of snow on the lawn without interruption (since Jan 2nd) - but, oh dear, it's getting patchy now. Winter is perhaps in distress. David says it's supposed to get up to 10°C tomorrow (50°F). What's that? Perhaps some early flower buds or shoots will start coming up?

This warmth allowed us to go walking in the sunshine today with friends by Lake Zug after church. The kids and their three friends got to throw about 4,731 rocks into the lake (missing the swans and ducks), and skipped some across the top of the water quite nicely. They also got to climb several different kinds of trees, and I even clambered up after they vacated the one I thought looked the best. Lots of branches for footholds and grips. A nice view from up there. Unfortunately, I forgot my camera in the car, and only had my iPhone, which takes decidedly inferior photos into the afternoon sun. But you can see the sunshine and the swan.

See and download the full gallery on posterous

I had quite a singular (I hope) experience at a restaurant today. I received a delicious vegetarian pizza with all kinds of interesting things on it, including thin carrot slices, leek rounds, and yellow bell pepper sticks. I didn't even have to ask for anything to be withheld (it didn't come with olives, onions, or artichokes, as too many veggie pizzas do for my taste). I was enjoying it tremendously for the first little while, eating bite-sized pieces with a knife and fork, until I did a double-take as parts of the plate became visible: there was a lot of broken glass scattered around on my plate underneath the pizza. Oh, not good. Don't worry, Mom, I feel fine. I stopped eating. A shame, really - it was a great pizza. We found out that the plates are stored underneath the shelf where the glasses sit. Next time I'll just ask them to hold the glass, please.

Posted via email from K's Café

On differences between skiing in Colorado and Switzerland (Davos today)

We skied today in Davos, Switzerland, home of the World Economic Forum annual meeting.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Some things I've noticed as different between skiing in Colorado vs. Switzerland -

In Switzerland:

1. No free tissues at ski lifts (though we did see an empty tissue box at a lift in Engelberg the other day; so maybe we just have never been at the right place at the right time).

2. Not as much tree skiing. Mostly bare slopes (too high?). But beautiful, stunning rockscapes, which I love.

3. Lots of T-bars. Which used to frighten me as a child, but are okay now. But better with people of similar height. On the other hand, Emily and I did just fine sharing one today in Davos.

4. Not as "convenient" - a lot more walking, poling, herring-boning, skating...puzzling how many slopes have uphill sections, for a sport called "downhill skiing." I noticed this in both Engelberg and Davos this week. The Swiss don't modify the landscape to be more convenient to skiers (!). Do American resort-makers modify the terrain, or is it just naturally more convenient for slopes, or do the Swiss choose the slope layout with less regard to the skiers' desire not to pole? And then the mystery at Davos of only a black slope leading down to the base village (only other option is riding the train back down). Unusual, if not unheard of at a U.S. resort? Know any like that?

5. Windshields on the chairlifts - A+!!!! What a great idea. Never seen this in the U.S. - have you? So nice in the middle of a windy snowstorm. Keeps one warmer and dryer, and makes conversation easier as well.

6. Numbered slopes, instead of named ones. We skied down #15 the most today at Davos. But I think "Sheer Bliss" is a lot more memorable & charming (in Snowmass, CO). But then, perhaps the Swiss-German names would not be easy for most foreigners to pronounce or remember? I suppose numbering the slopes is a more international way to do it, catering to anyone who can count in Arabic, rather than speak any particular language?

7. When helping a fallen child who has lost their skis and poles and is crying with no adult nearby, one doesn't start with "Are you okay?" but rather with "Sprichst du Deutsch?" in order to establish in what language we will be helping. This happened today. And indeed, the child was German-speaking. Fortunately, another man also helped and did most of the talking, while I straightened out the skis and poles and brushed snow off.

8. Hot chocolate automatically made with hot milk, allowing the drinker to add the desired amount of high quality chocolate powder from a sachet. So civilized. Not too chocolaty, just right.

9. We can drive to lots of different resorts for day trips from our house!

I enjoyed the skiing and fresh snow today (despite occasional white-outs and -15°C/ 5°F), and absolutely love the beauty of the jagged Alps. It seems we will only have one more day available to ski before spring hits, due to the kids' theatre rehearsals - we only got to go today because one was cancelled. Grateful.

See and download the full gallery on posterous

Posted via email from K's Café

A Cold Rain

Hardly any progress on the photo album project today. Instead, coffee-cake-baking, laundry, overnight guest, social luncheon, shopping, errands, cold rain, phone calls with good friends...

David is shaking the bed again laughing at his latest Wooster and Jeeves book. I know for sure it's P.G. Wodehouse when he laughs that hard. Wodehouse and David get along perfectly.

We've been realizing how booked up our weekends are from now until spring break. We do not have much more opportunity to go skiing this season, given the fact that both kids are in separate theatrical productions coming up, and therefore have frequent Saturday rehearsals.

Emily has recently enjoyed a book series about Noah's daughter-in-law, Shem's wife: The Heavens Before, and its two sequels. The author's name is quite a mouthful: Kacy Barnett Gramckow. I'd like to read them someday, when I next have a chunk of time like that. She's also been enjoying some Lori Wick novels, such as The Hawk and the Jewel, along with some Deeanne Gist, starting with A Bride Most Begrudging. I'm always happy when I can find a good new series to temporarily satisfy her voracious reading appetite.

Time for bed yet again.

Posted via email from K's Café

Bookfactory.ch, rock climbing, and a good man

Today I've been trying out the free photo-book-making software downloadable in four languages from bookfactory.ch. I chose English, fancy that. I like the software - I'm making friends with it, and I'm up to April 15th in my 2009 family photo album which I shall try to finish and have them print and mail to me. Until this year, I have made a photo album in the traditional way for each year of our family's life: with scissors, double-sided tape squares, and page protectors. We'll see whether this move into the digital age works for me, after I finish this project and receive the printed version in my hands. It doesn't seem to be any less work so far, and both ways are fun; with this digital method, I am more likely to develop Carpal-Tunnel Syndrome and bad eyesight...but on the other hand, I don't have to order any materials or guess how many pages I'll need, or throw away any clippings.

The kids hopped on the train today and went indoor rock climbing with friends at Pilatus Indoor halfway between Zug and Luzern. I'm so glad God has provided such nice friends here for fun stuff like that. And tonight Emily has another great friend over for a sleepover. For dinner, I made another new recipe pointed to by my friend Laura: Macaroni & Cheese with Mushrooms and Bacon. Quite tasty. Thanks to my finding that link for you, I made the discovery that I was tricked into cooking a Bon Appétit recipe!!! I've always left these things to David before, preferring easier, simpler recipes. Now I see why it took an hour to prepare!!! Funny. I modified the recipe by using whole wheat pasta, skim milk instead of whole milk, and regular mustard instead of dry mustard. We still found it could have used more liquid. Other than that, it was great.

I'm so thankful for a husband who comes home from a full day's work and asks if I want any help in the kitchen, chops mushrooms, grates cheese, does dishes, and gives me hugs and kisses in between. I am so undeserving of such abundant love, but I'll take it and express my delight and joy to be his, all his forever.

Posted via email from K's Café

Garlic Rosemary Lamb Chops and Jogging

Sunday afternoon, David marinated lamb chops in some serious garlic, rosemary, thyme, salt and olive oil. They were delicious for dinner, with Gruyère-toasted-walnut-polenta and bright green buttered peas. They made good leftovers for Monday lunch, too. Thank you, my love!

The kids went out for a 45-minute jog this morning through the local Wildpark, before 8am. This after our day of skiing yesterday. Apparently that got them into a fitness mood.

Speaking of fitness, these men have finely tuned arm and leg movements:

US Navy Presidential Ceremonial Honor Guard Drill Team

(HT:  MommyLife's Barbara Curtis)

Another great part of fitness: rest. It's rest week here. Or ski week, catch-up-on-things week, do-homework-at-a-leisurely-pace week, etc. Rest is good. It was instituted early on. And referred to often thereafter:

Six days do your work, but on the seventh day do not work, so that your ox and your donkey may rest and the slave born in your household, and the alien as well, may be refreshed.

Exodus 23:12

I like that God is concerned for our refreshment and rest. What consideration and forethought. He knows we get tired, since we're made of dust.

Posted via email from K's Café

Ski Day at Engelberg with Friends

Oh, such a beautiful day in the gorgeous, rocky, snowy mountains made by the Amazing Creator Dude. Who also made our wonderful friends who came with us. A truly lovely time:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

PHOTOS:

1. On the way to Engelberg, after emerging from the foggy lowlands into the brilliant sunshine.

2-5. Scenery to lift the heart and inspire worship.

6-8. Jason up high. Thankfully, he decided not to ski over the cliff.

9. The gang. This is a lovely family we are thankful to know from church and the international school.

10-11. Jason mid-jump, and then communing with the mountain. 

12. One of my favorite rock faces in Engelberg. I really want to go back in summer sometime to hike.

At one point during the day, we got to see some impressive jumps - one guy did a 900º spin (as best we can calculate) in the air, landing backwards, and was just fine. Crazy, maybe, but happy and healthy post-jump. Another guy took off backwards, turned 180º and flailed his arms and legs on purpose before landing forwards perfectly casually...I could have stood and watched these guys all day, but we had our own exercise and fun to have. Which, for me, includes no jumps, but plenty of downhill skiing on reds and blacks.

See and download the full gallery on posterous

Posted via email from K's Café

Dangerous Grumbling

I would like to learn from the experiences of the Israelites as they were rescued from slavery and brought through the desert safely into their own fruitful land. I would like never to need plagues or sinkholes to teach me anything or to discipline me and stop me from spreading grumbling to others. Here are a few things these guys complained about as God led them to a better place, and how God responded:

Exodus 14
Grumble: THE EGYPTIANS ARE GOING TO KILL US! WHY'D YOU BRING US OUT HERE TO DIE?
God's Response: Parting of the Red Sea, bringing them safely across and destroying their enemies.

Exodus 15
Grumble: WE HAVE NOTHING TO DRINK! ARE YOU PLANNING TO KILL US OF THIRST?
God's Response: made the bitter water sweet, then led them to an oasis with twelve springs.

Exodus 16
Grumble: WE HAVE NOTHING TO EAT! ARE YOU PLANNING TO STARVE US TO DEATH?
God's Response: "I will rain down bread from heaven." God gave them manna and quail to eat.

Exodus 17
Grumble: NOW WE HAVE NOTHING TO DRINK AGAIN! YOUT MUST BE OUT TO GET US.
God's Response: made water flow from a rock (but Moses is getting angry now).

Numbers 14
Grumble: WE'RE AFRAID OF THE SCARY PEOPLE! WE DON'T WANT TO GO INTO THE PROMISED LAND.
God's Response: That's IT. Plague - grumbling people died. Also, none of those older people got to enter the promised land. Instead, they got to wander in the desert 40 more years until they died.

Number 16:3
Grumble: WE DON'T LIKE MOSES' LEADERSHIP!
God's Response: God said to Moses: Get away from them so I can kill them without hurting you. But Moses interceded for the grumbling people, and God only killed those who were most responsible. A sinkhole swallowed them up.

Numbers 16:41
Grumble: YOU KILLED THOSE GUYS WHO GRUMBLED! THAT'S NOT FAIR.
God's Response: Another plague.

Numbers 17:5
"I will rid myself of this constant grumbling" says God.

Numbers 17:10
God made "a sign to the rebellious. This will put an end to their grumbling against me, so that they will not die."

Just like we do not like to discipline our kids - we want them to do right, so we won't need to discipline them. We like them to ask politely, trust us to provide, and thankfully receive our abundant provision, and trust us again for the future. Which turns into them trusting God for the future we cannot control. Who wants continuously whiny kids? Nobody. Who gets them? Those who don't discipline them, and keep just giving them what they want when they whine. Both roads are hard, but one is more rewarding. Lord, help me trust You, ask You for in faith what I need, be thankful for all You've done and will do, and not whine or grumble.

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David's Valentine's Day Cookies 2010

Every year around Valentine's Day, David makes me Cocoa Peanut Butter Heart-Shaped Sandwich Cookies, with strawberry jam inside. They are very special cookies indeed, and take quite some work and time to make, in several stages.

 

Wow, thank you again, my dear one. So delicious.

See and download the full gallery on posterous

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Better than Life

Our new worship leader at church just introduced us to a great new song: Better than Life. We got to sing it this morning. It comes from Psalm 63:3 - "Because YOUR LOVE is better than life, my lips will glorify you." Have you sung it at your church yet? Just curious where it has reached. 

Fortunately, this was not the song during which the power to the whole sound system went out (though the overhead lights stayed on) and we had no more drums, bass, keyboard, or amplified voices...at least we still had acoustic guitar to keep the otherwise a cappella music in tune...Jason considered moving from the temporarily useless electric drum kit over to the unoccupied conga drums, but before the song was even over, David had figured out what had happened, taken the key downstairs, found the fuse box, reset THREE fuses that had blown, and gotten everything up and running again. It turned out that it was really cold in the kids' rooms, and people had plugged in too many space heaters and blown everything. I loved that we just kept singing, and the leader kept playing his guitar, and we started and ended with richer sound, but had the unexpected "unplugged" part in the middle, and it was just fine! Funny, though.

We had four Covenant Players staying at our house for three nights this week. Covenant Players' motto is "Drama is what we do." They travel around in close-knit units of 3-5 people, usually in a beat-up van, performing plays in prisons, schools, at military bases, in the street, or at churches (and in our living room when we're lucky, like yesterday). Their plays can be just a few sentences, or up to a three act play. They can be funny and serious at the same time, or poignant, and mostly leave you thinking afterwards about the deep implications for your life. They did two for us yesterday, one in German, and one in English. The anglo one centered around the word "hope" and how we use it; the difference between saying you hope something, and truly having hope. The one in German read profoundly between the lines about the relationship between prayer and love. The woman thought her husband didn't love her anymore because he didn't tell her so, and in fact didn't talk to her at all. At the same time, she said she was a Christian, but that she didn't really pray because there wasn't anything to say, she and God just loved each other.

Interesting. Stirring.

David and I met twenty years ago this month. I first laid eyes on his handsome face on the 24th of February of my freshman year in college, at Yale University in Connecticut, though neither of us attended Yale.

227 months ago we agreed it would be an excellent idea to begin dating each other exclusively, though he lived in Rhode Island, and I in Massachusetts.

928 weeks ago, we got engaged, and then missed our flight to Florida in the excitement. We did make it there later in the evening to share the news with his parents.

6,244 days ago, we married on a gloriously overcast, cold, snowy day, and I moved in to his apartment in New Hampshire, which became "ours."

A little over 134,000 hours ago, we became parents together in Illinois.

Six and a quarter million minutes ago, we added a little girl to our family, now four of us in California.

About 145 million seconds ago, we moved our family across a continent and an ocean to Europe, where we've been living ever since.

But that's pretty hard to make sense of, isn't it? Lucky you, you can make all your own nonsensical calculations.

All I know is that nothing compares to God's everpresent, all-encompassing love, except that David's love for me comes pretty close (allowing for his much more limited resources), and I intend to keep on talking to both of them with love as long as I have thoughts and breath. God's love is better than life, and David's love makes life better.

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Drawing Near

I have the great honor of teaming up with five other ladies who, like me, felt some accountability for daily personal prayer would be helpful. We span three countries. We are in a temporary partnership for six months, checking in with each other weekly to see how daily dedicated talking to God has gone; we are committed to taking at least ten minutes a day to pray alone while doing nothing else (no driving, no cooking, no laundry, etc.). it's unbelievably motivating for me to know someone is going to want to know something this specific. This was my check-in message this week:

> How's the praying going? It's been going steadily for me. Starting today I am trying a new focus on prayer being:
>> "Drawing near to God"
> "Seeking God"
> "Seeking Your Face"
> starting with some silence
>> And I like these quotes on prayer:
> "Hurry is the death of prayer"
> "Courage is fear that has said its prayers"
>> As I asked God this morning to help me draw near to Him, and to be my everything, and to fill me, I waited and felt the edge of Him - He is
> warm
> comforting
> rich
> full
> unafraid
> unworried
> wise beyond imagination
> deep, deep, deep
> caring
> intelligent
>> And so much more! The feast we have before us daily!!! I have been lacking in drawing near to Jesus in this way...want more.
>> And you?
> Love, Katherine

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Mother Teresa knew what she was talking about

Quotes from Mother Teresa (HT: Barbara Curtis, mother of 12 at Mommy Life):

God doesn't ask that we succeed in everything, but that we are faithful. However beautiful our work may be, let us not become attached to it. Always remain prepared to give it up, without losing your peace.

Let anyone who comes to you go away feeling better and happier. Every one should see goodness in your face, in your eyes, in your smile. Joy shows from the eyes. It appears when we speak and walk. It cannot be kept closed inside us. It reacts outside. Joy is very infectious..

Do not think that love, in order to be genuine, has to be extraordinary. What we need is to love without getting tired.

We are at Jesus' disposal. If he wants you to be sick in bed, if he wants you to proclaim His work in the street, if he wants you to clean the toilets all day, that's all right, everything is all right. We must say, "I belong to you. You can do whatever you like." And this is our strength. This is the joy of the Lord.

Do not wait for leaders; do it alone, person to person.

Each one of them is Jesus in disguise.

Every time you smile at someone, it is an action of love, a gift to that person, a beautiful thing.

God doesn't require us to succeed; he only requires that you try.

If you can't feed a hundred people, then feed just one.

If you judge people, you have no time to love them.

(More where all these came from)

Posted via email from K's Café