Our congregation planted a tree in honor of our elder. The children of the church helped pile the dirt over the roots. The grandchildren of our elder watered the soil and (with assistance) lowered the tree into the hole. This was an emotional few minutes. My sweet Madilynn (who I don’t take my eyes off of in moments like these) continued kicking … [Read more...]
A Growing Cloud of Witnesses
Sometimes we have no words for an event or situation. Sometimes the real problem is we have a jumble of too many words and getting them out or processing them interferes with all the emotions connected to the words. The past few days have been filled with such words and emotions for me. I’m once again pondering the brevity of our earthly lives … [Read more...]
When Prayers are Bittersweet
When God answers our prayers, how do we respond? If we pray for the hurting to find rest, are we ready to accept God’s definition over our own? When we pray for people to change for the better, for families to be reunited, but also that children remain safe and loved, how do we respond to the gut-wrenching rip when the answer is some children need … [Read more...]
The Music of My Heart
If my voice could hold out, I would sing all day every day. I have enjoyed the singing part of church service as far back as I can remember. I can close my eyes and see my child self - singing all the words to all the hymns loudly (and likely not on key, at that time in my life). As I grew up, I learned how to sing “right” in addition to singing … [Read more...]
If Your Spiritual Life Had a “gas gauge”
We live in a technological age. Everything is “smart” – our phones, computers, appliances, and even cars. In the fall of 2009, we bought our first Escape (or started making monthly payments on our first Escape). The digital gas gauge told us how many miles we could go until the tank would empty. A few thousand miles later, image my surprise when a … [Read more...]
November 2013 in Review
Germany celebrates many holy days of various saints. Through Dietrich's attendance at a German Kindergarten, we have learned about some of the culture and traditions. St. Martin was a Roman soldier turned monk after his baptism as an adult. He earned sainthood by performing a good Samaritan deed of sharing his cloak with a beggar during a … [Read more...]
Sweet Fellowship – Just a sliver of the pie
After two years in Germany, attending Ktown church of Christ, we were finally able to host home fellowship. Our living room comfortably(snugly) held 32 people, ranging in age from three months to 71 years. Our third-floor apartment is acoustically sound (pun intended) making for exceptional singing. Peter used some of the gleanings from his … [Read more...]
August 2013 Review
While not as packed with activity as July, August bustled with fun just the same. From VBS, to home fellowship, to Peter's birthday, every day held knew adventures. Dietrich also started back to the German Kindergarten and this year is a "Treff-Kinder" (one or two days out of the week, he and the other five-year-olds will go to a separate class for … [Read more...]
July Adventures: Sesame Street, Koln, and Going Barefoot
We packed so much fun into the month of July. The sun came out and we enjoyed some park dates with friends (Dietrich has friends of all ages, this particular friend is a teenage boy). Madilynn discovered park swings are fun. For the Fourth of July four-day weekend, we took our first trip to Cologne. We drove and both kids did really well. … [Read more...]
April: the month of the Military Child.
I'm often amazed at how much Dietrich has faced/endured. He is four years and nine months - give or take a few days - or 57 months. Of that time, Peter has been deployed 29 months (this is only deployments, not extended training or classes that take two to three weeks at a time). For those of you doing the math (or too lazy to do the math), that … [Read more...]