Without Vision

A lack of ethics breeds illusion

“Modern man believed that an increase of power meant an increase of 'progress' itself, that it advanced man in his security, usefulness, welfare and vigor; it was an assimilation of new values into the stream of culture. Power, however, is truly a thing more powerful than any of those things. It can create evil as well as good; it can destroy as well as construct. What happens to power depends upon man’s tempered exercise of it, upon the reasoned ends to which he places it. Close examination proves that recent years have been marked by a monstrous growth in man’s power over being, over things and over men, but the grave responsibility, the clear consciousness, the strong character needed for exercising this power well have not kept pace with its growth at all. Contemporary man has not been trained to use power well nor has he – even in its loosest sense – an awareness of the problem itself. He seems alert to the crisis of power today only in its limited external dangers, such as clearly arose during the recent War [reference to WWII] and were then publicly discussed.”

-Romano Guardini, The End of the Modern World, p. 82

"Where there is no revelation the people cast off restraint; but blessed is he who keeps the law." Proverbs 29:18

The Equative Complex

The recovery of self esteem is not salvation, but salvation brings about the recovery of self esteem among many other things.

Addendum to "Expectations"

Expectations

By accident this evening, I found a quote in a facebook note I posted some time ago and it resonated with me because I see and struggle with many of the expectations listed. In the quote the author, Daniel Borsten, gives his description of current American culture. I think it is very revealing:

"When we pick up our newspaper at breakfast we expect, we even demand, that it will bring us momentous events since the night before. And as we turn on the car radio driving to work we expect news to have occurred since the paper went to press. Returning to our homes in the evening, we expect our house not just to shelter us, but to keep us warm in the winter and cool in the summer and to dignify us. To relax us and to encompass us with music and interesting hobbies. To be a playground, a theater, and a bar. We expect our two week vacation to be romantic, exotic, cheap, and effortless. And if we go somewhere far away we expect the atmosphere to be just like our own hometown. And we expect new heroes every season, a literary masterpiece every month, a dramatic spectacular every week, and a rare sensation every night. We expect everybody to feel free to disagree, but yet everybody remain loyal. We expect everybody to believe deeply in his religion and yet not think less of others for not believing. We expect our nation to be strong and great and vast and varied and prepared for every challenge, but we expect our national purpose to be clear and simple. We expect anything and everything. We expect the contradictory and the impossible. We expect compact cars which are spacious. We expect luxurious cars which are economical. We expect to be rich and charitable, powerful and merciful, active yet reflective, kind and competitive. We expect to eat a lot and stay thin. To be constantly on the move and yet somehow ever-more neighborly. We expect to go to the church of our choice and yet feel its guiding power over us.

Never have a people been more the masters of their environment, and yet never has a people felt more deceived and disappointed."

Not to be an alarmist, but this Borsten quote parallels well with a description by a cultural anthropologist Charles Kraft in which he contrasts cultures that facilitate well-being and those that do not:

"A well-functioning culture provides its people with a high degree of physical, psychological, and spiritual security. Such security results in what I call human well-being. Just how much of such security needs to be provided by a culture for the people to be in a state of well-being is not known. Perhaps it differs from people to people. Nor do we know for sure how much of that security can be sacrificed before people begin to break down and their lives fall apart. Perhaps this, too, differs from people to people.

What does seem clear is that a point has been reached in many societies where large numbers of people cease to obey many of the rules of the culture, where psychological illness and breakdown increase dramatically, where people lose hope and become demoralized, where individual selfishness and crime increase, where people dramatically decrease their rate of reproduction."

Again, I am not attempting to be a "doom and gloom" prophet or something of the sort here, just drawing parallels with things I encounter pretty much on a daily basis (that is, many parts of my life connecting and referring to each other). I will say though it reminds me that no culture or society is perfect and that although a culture of a respective society answers many problems for those in it, it does not fully answer all of them.

Jesus, may you use your body by your Spirit to integrate Kingdom paradigms into the cultures of the world, not throwing cultures away, but redeeming them for your Name's sake. Amen.

Heaven and Coldplay

Since the spark to write this post happened while reading the lyrics to the song below, I suggest you look at them here before/while/after you listen to Coldplay's song. Either way, I hope you'll follow my trail of thoughts :)

The song mentions "heaven" and when I read this I was reminded of a discussion of heaven, eternal life, peace, salvation, and the Trinity in a book I am reading for my favorite class this semester, Theology Survey.

What I just said deserves a quick aside:

Now you may be thinking like Elle Woods' father in Legally Blonde that I don't need theology. Theology is for people who are boring and ugly and serious - and you, Brie, are none of those things. Well, the shock of my life has been (1) a theology class is one of my favorite classes not just of this semester, but of all time (2) theology, when applied, is anything but boring, ugly, and annoyingly serious. Surprisingly, this class is the class I laugh the most in.

End of aside.

So, back to heaven, eternal life, peace, salvation, and the Trinity. Topics like this should be short and easily summed up in a few sentences right? (note sarcasm) I'll try to keep it short and to the point. Also understand the vast number of conversations that can stem from what I will say and that I cannot possibly address all of them in this wee little post. Please know I am aware of the extreme complexities in each of these topics and I am only taking you on a train of thought I had earlier this evening. I am not attempting a discussion on how to solve or to ignore all of life's difficulties.

Heaven is sometimes understood as a peaceful place that good people will go to where they can do whatever they want and (my favorite part) eat whatever they want without the consequences (constant Pumpkin Spice Lattes for eternity - yes!!!). Simply drawing connections from Fairbairn's "Life in the Trinity", I think the world's idea of heaven is relatively equative with the world's understanding of peace, which Fairbairn explains as:

"the peace it [the world] gives us is merely negative - the absence of open hostility and conflict. All the world can hope for is a truce and this is part of the reason why most of us are conditioned to think that the best thing for us would be to eliminate the conflicts, concerns, and stressors of life." p. 69

He goes on to explain that this is not the type of peace that Jesus talks about giving us in John 14:27, rather the peace Jesus gives his followers is peace in the midst of the storm - a peace that does not depend on external factors:

"God offers a peace far more personal and more significant than what most of us even wish for - an internal peace that does not depend on eliminating the sources of stress and hostility." p. 70

Where does Jesus get this peace? It is the same answer to the question of how the Incarnation is possible in the first place, how God can be love and how He could love before he created a single thing. The answer is: the Trinity. As Fairbairn explains,

"For him [Jesus], the ultimate source of peace...is his relationship with the Father." p. 71

What does peace have to do with heaven, eternal life, and salvation? Jesus says in John 17:3 that eternal life is knowing the only true God and knowing Jesus Christ whom God sent. With an understanding that God's glory is not just His greatness, but also his presence with us, we can conclude along with Fairbairn:

"Eternal life is a deeply personal knowledge of the one who has shared from all eternity in the glory of the Father...Salvation is a person's sharing in the fellowship that unites the Father, Son, and Spirit."

In the Trinity is a perfect unity of substance (the Trinity being one essence and three persons) and a perfect unity of love. This second unity is what the Incarnation made available to all the world. It is the source of, and is in and of itself, peace, eternal life, and salvation. Christians do not simply model the relationship Jesus has with the Father, those who are "in Christ" possess this relationship - this unity of love. Sharing in this unity of love is possible through Christ alone because it is through believing in Him that anyone is adopted as a son or daughter of God:

"We are adopted into the same relationship [Jesus] has with the Father...incorruption and immortality (as well as other benefits of salvation) flow from the gift of God the Son himself; they are not the primary aspects of [participation in the divine nature]."

The benefits/gifts that flow from salvation in Christ are secondary. Our adoption as sons and daughters into the Trinity is first and foremost.

God's love never fails. Praise the Lord.

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The seventy-two returned with joy and said, "Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name." He [Jesus] replied, "...I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you. However, do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven...Blessed are the eyes that see what you see. For I tell you that many prophets and kings wanted to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it." -Luke 10:17,19-20,23-24

Simeon took him [baby Jesus] in his arms and praised God, saying: "Sovereign Lord, as you have promised, you now dismiss your servant in peace. For my eyes have seen your salvation..." -Luke 2:28-30

The Sweetest Place

I have recently been ministered to greatly through a song by Audra Lynn and I invite you to check it out for yourself here.

The following are the lyrics:

How I long to see the picture finished
Painted as a perfect portrait
Void of all the mysteries of my life
The cares of life bend every corner
Taking me in wrong directions
Can I walk despite the pain and strife

But what is life without all the yearnings of the heart
And who am I to doubt all You have in store for me

So I will take up my cross and I will follow, I will follow
Day by day, choice by choice, I will follow, I will follow

I will enter by the narrow way
For Your cross is the better place
I will follow, I will follow

Come and take me by the narrow gate
For Your cross is the safest place
I will follow, I will follow

Your cross, it is the sweetest place
Your cross, it is the sweetest place

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May I count the cost and find you forever worthy Lord Jesus.

A New Season

With a new academic year in full swing and it being a little over a month since I returned to the States from Europe, I now feel like I have the ability to blog again.

I would like to first say again how grateful I am for the wide array of support I received from my family and friends before, during, and after my OMP to Vienna. I am truly blessed by you all and I hope that through some of what I shared the Lord blessed you as well. Please feel free to continue reading my blog even though it won't specifically be about Vienna and Europe.

Just to get the ball rolling again after a considerable time away, I would like to share a few quotes and concepts from my devotional times and my current courses. The reason I share things like this is because (1) I am a scribe (as some of my closest friends have dubbed me) (2) it invites others into my internal processing world and (3) I hope they are as thought-provoking and encouraging for someone else as they are for me - sharing the wealth so-tis-speak.

Some of you might remember when I talked about a discipleship retreat in Schladming, Austria. During this time the Lord showed me some areas in which I was loving other things more than Him. I am so thankful that to God, ignorance is not bliss. Here, he showed me how I was loving the point of arrival more than Jesus Himself. This, as good as it sounds, is still idolatry, where a good thing becomes an ultimate thing. Dispelling the lie that I need to be perfect before I can be used in God's Kingdom is a hard thing to break. The following is a quote from Martin Luther shared during Schladming that helped start that break:

This life is not righteousness,

but growth in righteousness.

Not health, but healing,

not being, but becoming,

not rest, but exercise.

We are not yet what we shall be,

but we are growing toward it;

the process is not yet finished, but it is going on;

this is not the end, but it is the road.

All does not yet gleam in glory but all is being purified.

When we give our lives to the Father, He can use us and can invite us to co-labor with Him despite our unfinished, under construction, messy, non-linear progressive state. We do not do this because we have arrived. We do this because we have been taken hold of by Christ Jesus.

Across the Pond

It's almost 5 am here in Vienna and for the second time in the past month I will be leaving Vienna. The emotions are raw, real, and are sure to continue as I travel today and return back to my home country. From Vienna I will fly through London and arrive in Philadelphia on Wednesday afternoon as I travel "back in time" today. In Philly I will have a short debriefing and then on Thursday I will fly to Boston where I will be greeted by my three lovely roommates whom I am very excited to see!! They are very sweet and all coming to get me at the Boston airport. :)

I am looking forward to the plane ride. I plan on looking over my journal entries from this summer and reflecting on God's goodness. I hope to share some of those over-arching reflections here as I will continue to blog even though my Vienna internship is done! Please feel free to continue following this blog past the summer. I hope to continue to put some thought-provoking posts up as the school year starts!

Here is a quote that is most prevalent for me today:

"You can kiss your family and friends good-bye and put miles between you, but at the same time you carry them with you in your heart, your mind, your stomach, because you do not just live in a world, but a world lives in you."

- Frederick Buechner, Telling The Truth

Home Again Home Again

Home again, home again!

Well, almost.

After traveling to Germany to visit some dear friends of mine I met up with my dad in Edinburgh, Scotland to start a few weeks vacation with him through Scotland, London, and finally Vienna. After a day of travel and a short walk through Vienna's "downtown" we are currently resting in our hotel room which is much needed since it is 93º in Vienna today!! My time with dad has been wonderful and it's been kinda fun being a "tourist" again. It was also refreshing to be in the UK where English is everywhere, especially since they sound like William Wallace and Johnny Depp. :)

I apologize for not updating this blog during my time in Germany, Edinburgh, and London. I thought I would be able to, but to be honest, I was so busy that I never got the time to sit down and update you all. There were several nights where we would get back to the hotel at 9 in the evening after getting up at 6:30 in the morning! It was well worth it though, and we saw some really great sites, with many days of guided tours with delightful guides. Here are a few pictures of our time so far:

August 16: I meet up with Dad in Edinburgh and celebrated his birthday in style!

Boat tour of Loch Lomond

Sheep dog demonstration

Long-haired highland cattle in Scotland

King and Princess of Scotland :)

Military Tattoo Festival in Edinburgh Castle

London: Classic phone booth picture

Westminster Abbey

After our tour of Buckingham Palace

Views of London in the London Eye, a giant ferris wheel

Window reflections at Oxford University

Now we're off to get some dinner and check out what Vienna looks like at night :)

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"I said to the man who stood at the gate of the year, 'Give me a light that I may tread safely into the unknown,' and he replied, 'Go out into the darkness and put your hand into the hand of God, that shall be to you better than a light and safer than a known way.' "

-Plaque in St. George's Chapel at Windsor Castle

This Just In...

Schladming and the Final Countdown

The team's discipleship retreat in Schladming was surreal and very raw at the same time. While we were surrounded by some of the most beautiful scenery I have ever encountered, us interns went through discipleship lessons that challenged us to share our burdens, struggles, and failings with one another concerning our respective walks with the Lord. It was during these raw times of being honest with ourselves and one another that healing and growth occurred, and I am thankful for my fellow interns and the WHM staff who made this retreat such a powerful time!! I only wish that such a retreat were longer. Below are some photos of Schladming and the surrounding area:

Some of the most beautiful scenery I have encountered

On a suspension bridge

Sheep grazing on the mountain side

View after a ski lift

The lodge at the top was serving buttermilk with blueberries

Delicious apple strudel swimming in vanilla cream sauce

This next phrase will be difficult to type, especially since I am living in denial of this:

there is only one week left of the Vienna internship.

As I begin to realize that only a week is remaining, I can't help but think of all the support from back home that I have received from family and friends before, during, and I'm sure after, this summer journey. Although the internship is almost completed, my summer in Europe is not. After our last day on August 9 (next Tuesday) I will be traveling to Germany to spend a week with a German friend of mine and her family. I visited them two years ago and I am excited to see them in person again! Please pray for this time - it is a short time we have together, so please pray that the Lord enriches every moment and that it will be a fruitful time of conversation and fun :) After spending time in Germany, I will be meeting up with Dad in Edinburgh, Scotland where we will start our two week adventure which will also take us to London and then to Vienna. We will both leave Vienna on August 31 to return back to the States. Please pray for safety in our travels and that we will have a relaxing and enriching time together making memories :)

Bis Später

Tourist No More

Hello lovely readers :)

Just wanted to drop a quick update and list a few prayer requests. It's hard to believe that there are only a few weeks left of the Vienna OMP/internship. Vienna has felt more and more like home as the weeks have passed. One of the interns, Amanda, and I had a discussion last night about how us interns are certainly not locals, but we are also not tourists anymore. I had this realization last Saturday while walking through Hofburg Palace. Just as a guide, I was walking through this:

Eyes straight ahead, I brushed past people gawking at the dome above and wove back and forth between multiple tourist groups. I realized that I was no longer the one gawking, the one taking pictures, the one stopping to take in the beauty that surrounded me. I was choosing to walk this way not really because of this spectacular piece of architecture, but because it was the quickest way to get to a cafe for lunch. Such mannerisms echo a women's thoughts I heard this past Wednesday, one who has lived her whole life in Vienna: when you are constantly surrounded by beauty you sometimes forget that what surrounds you is beautiful.

In a sense, beauty can easily be taken for granted.

This will certainly be difficult for me to do in the next few days. Starting tomorrow until Friday, we will be staying with the pastor's family and two of their friends from WHM in Schladming, Austria for a discipleship retreat:

Here are some prompts for prayer if you feel led:

• safety in our travels there, during our stay, and back. We are taking two 7 passenger vans - flash back to youth group camp anyone?

• for our hearts to be open to what God will say through Jeff (the WHM leader of the discipleship retreat), through His creation, through one another, and anything/one else.

• for the fruit of the Spirit to increase as God continues to prune us, just as he has throughout this trip.

• an awareness of the Father's heart

• for me specifically, this will be one of the first times I will have to begin to process what has happened during my internship. pray for discernment of spirits, clarity, and wisdom as I begin to intentionally process my experience here thus far.

• for everyone going to love themselves and one another well

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Last Saturday I finally got a chance to check out the Museum of Fine Arts :) I took in the wonderful art work for about three hours and during this time I felt that God was pointing out specific pieces to me and revealing more about himself through them. Here are some that especially spoke to me:

Learning From Children

It's been about two weeks since the English Camp at New City Wien and I am still processing the many things the Lord did through the camp and the things that I learned. I hope to be able to share a taste of that in this post.

Although this camp was called "English Camp", the main goals of it did not include teaching the children English. This might seem odd, but in the Kingdom, there are different priorities. The main goal of the camp was to love these kids. Shortly before the camp started, Brad shared with the adult helpers how these kids are coming from a school system in which shame is used for discipline and teaching correct behavior. The outgrowth of this is children being guilted into doing things and not loved into doing things. The first day there were some children who did not want to leave their parents (this reminded me of myself when I was young), but by the end of the second day, many children did not want to leave when their parents came to pick them up. This is unheard of for a vast majority of children's programs in the city. Parents were shocked that their children received a small prize at the end of the day and even more astounded on the days when they found their children with elaborate face painting and holding balloon animals.

The camp was split into two groups: 5-7 year olds and 8-12 year olds. I worked primarily with the younger group and as a result, one of the challenges was the language barrier (the older group knew a lot more English because kids learn English in school as well). One of the most helpless and defeating moments is to have a child look at you, say a simple four word sentence, and have no idea what they are saying or asking for. The children's responses in these situations, however, was remarkable. They were patient enough to repeat themselves, to ask again and again without getting upset, and beam with acceptance and appreciation when someone finally got their simple little sentence. How patient am I in seeking mutual understanding and learning?

Being around children constantly for a week gave me a new lens to see the adult world through as well. We adults are in many ways just big kids. Watching kids playing/talking in the park and comparing this to adults joking around/talking in the subway has many overlapping components especially in regards to our needs, wants, and desires. I could also go the other way and look at adults, wonder about why they do/think the way they do and then postulate what their formative childhood years were like. No wonder why Jesus wanted the little children to come to him and be blessed - adults are afterall merely children who have grown.

Tobias with his balloon sword

Felix and Sarah inquisitively studying the facepainting

Maxima getting butterflies everywhere

Leonie's a mermaid

Kids getting their prize at the end of the day

Last day group shot with their English children's Bibles

Every Tuesday night is "family night" where us interns, the pastor's family, and the two year intern spend the evening together having dinner, playing games, etc. A night dedicated to this is a testament to the emphasis on community here, which is something I hope to replicate in the future. Tonight we are having dinner at the pastor's home and then watching The Sound of Music - a must since we are in Austria afterall!! Here is my absolute favorite scene from the movie :) I used to dance around singing this as a kid. Enjoy!

Almost Just Another Day

This week, New City Wien is hosting an English Camp for 40 Austrian children (ages 5-12). Brad Hunter, the pastor of New City Wien, describes it as a VBS (Vacation Bible School) on steroids. After two days I definitely agree with him :) The task of doing this camp is extremely less burdensome, however, because a group from the Hunter's church in America is here this week to help out with the camp (thank you Jesus)!! Twenty-three adults with forty children is much smoother than eight adults with forty children! This also means that the kids have more opportunities to have one-on-one time with an adult.

English Camp is one of the main events for this summer as an intern and it is one of the main events the church puts on annually. A vast majority of the children come from non-Christian homes, which makes this week a wonderful opportunity for ministering to these children and families. One example of this comes from testimonies of past English Camps. Several parents have commented how well loved their children are at this camp. I have witnessed this in small ways already this week - when parents come to pick up their children, many don't want to leave. I will share more stories, videos, and pictures about English camp later this week!

Ways you can pray with us for English Camp:

• rest for the adults not just for our own comfort's sake, but so that we can invest our whole selves into these kids lives!

• for the Holy Spirit to illuminate the Bible lessons for the children. The public schools in Austria have a Christianity class, but it's more for culture's sake than anything else. Pray for ears to hear and eyes to see both for those who are hearing these stories for the first time and for those who are hearing them again.

• Thursday night some of us will be going to the home of an English Camp participant. Pray that this family sees a reflection of the Father during our time with them and that we might have a dialogue about faith.

Yesterday would have felt like any other day had I not been in Austria with so many other Americans. It was the best 4th of July I have had outside of the USA :). Yesterday was also the first day that I have felt homesick since arriving - the 4th is second to Christmas on my favorite holiday list. Last night we had a cookout at the Hunter's apartment (hot dogs, brats, cheese wursts, and cheese wursts wrapped in bacon), had TWO American flag cakes (one regular and one ice cream), ate way too much, and best of all, sang the Star Spangled Banner loud and proud while four fountain candles were going off on one of the cakes!! It's not the 4th of July for me unless I smell some sulfur in the air. This is because during the week of the 4th, I usually watch and take part in at least three fireworks shows. Below is a video of my Dad lighting off aerial shells at an annual get-together in Wisconsin with his "fireworks buddies".

I hope everyone's 4th of July celebrations were wonderful!!

Unplanned Events and Journal Entries

It's been awhile and many events, both planned and unplanned, have taken place since my last post. By now us interns have been to two church services at New City Wien where we have helped out with set up, music/children's church, food preparation, and take down. We have been inside the glorious Opera House and watched The Magic Flute by Mozart for 3 euros. We have walked through breathtaking palaces and gardens fit for kings and queens. Vienna's scenery, class, eateries, and culture do not disappoint even the harshest critic.

While we have seen the beautiful parts of Vienna, a 5-10 minute tram ride from the touristy city center brought us to the heart of the city's prostitution and human trafficking ring. Prostitution is legal in Vienna and many women and children are illegally trafficked here from Eastern Europe and Africa. We sat down and listened for two hours to a woman who formed a ministry called "Hertzwerk" (Heart Work) that helps/ministers to human trafficking victims in Vienna. For two hours we heard of terror and joy, bondage and freedom, several of us needing to leave the room throughout the presentation to get air. Our hearts were enlightened and very raw after hearing many stories, both horrifying and wonderful. While ministering to these women on the street and in the brothels is not possible for us interns, we are able to help the ministry out in other ways during our time here!

An incredible "unplanned" event that took place last Friday was a benefit concert that was put on by some of our new Austrian friends to raise funds and awareness for their mission trip to Israel this summer. The event included performances by talented musicians studying in Vienna (piano, violin, and viola), learning a Jewish song and dance, and socializing with a common middle eastern meal (falafel, cucumbers, hummus, pita, tomato, fruit). I was blown away about a week before the concert when the main coordinator of the concert asked if I would like to play percussion! I was so moved by the offer and for me, it was a testament to God's goodness, the fact that he knows me, and that he has good works prepared in advance for me to do. This is something that I would never been able to orchestrate on my own, with so many elements fitting who I am. It was a wonderful night meeting with friends, making new ones, and sharing lots of stories over lots of yummy food.

I would like to share with you all a few journal entries. These are straight from my pages, so I have not corrected them grammatically, stylistically, etc. in any way, so please forgive me if there are errors that drive you nuts. For me, journaling is not writing a paper for a class, it is strands of thoughts written out attempting to synthesize and process.

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6/19/11

"We tend by a secret law of the soul to move toward our mental image of God. This is true not only of the individual Christian, but of the company of Christians that composes the church. Always the most revealing thing about he Church is her idea of God, just as her most significant message is what she says about Him or leaves unsaid, for her silence is often more eloquent than her speech. She can never escape the self-disclosure of her witness concerning God."

- A.W. Tozer, Knowledge of the Holy, 1

Who do people in Vienna think God is? An angry teacher looking for perfection and waiting to strike our hand when we fail or a loving father with open arms?

Father God, reveal your true self to Vienna.

People here do not know the tenderness of God, the comfort of the Holy Spirit, the peace that passes understanding which the world cannot give because it comes from Jesus alone. Purpose and life are entirely missing. Having everything yet having nothing. What God has shown me concerning himself, how I know him, how I am loved by him, the ways in which he has displayed his care and attention, these stories are what I am offering. These stories are testimonies to his goodness, his faithfulness, his existence, his love, his desire to be known, and his desire to deliver, heal, and free.

[brief explanation for this next part: the first Sunday Alli and I did children's church, Emma was one of the children]

Held Emma for half of service today. Snotty-nosed, teary-eyed, adorable redhead. First time away from her parents during a service and I - the never has babysat in her life, never done nursery, never done children's church woman - am the one chosen to take care of this little one. I sat down with her, holding her and bouncing her on my knee a little. After about five minutes of crying she stopped and was somewhat content on my knee. I couldn't help but think about a message by Bob Johnson when God gives him the realization that fishing with his nephews is just as glorious as casting out demons and healing the sick. Jesus held and blessed children. What I did today was glorious. I was pretty (surprisingly) calm while holding her and kept praying peace over her. Hope the child doesn't need Sozo [inner healing] after being separated from her parents (haha!). Afterwards her mom saw her and said, "You're hired!". I just beamed. Not too bad for my first time. :)

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6/26/11

Cafe Diglas. First large-ish drink I have ordered (on accident as is typically the case here thus far) - cafe latte machiatto. This is not Starbucks. This is class. Waiters in white button-up shirts with bright yellow ties or bow ties. Coat hanger, gold, at the front door. The scaffolding out the window does not belong here. Chandeliers that typically belong in rich people's mansions hang from the ceiling. In America one would automatically assume that such a thing was fake, here one would be shocked if it wasn't one of the finest crystals and materials dating centuries back. Back to the yellow ties - who could get away with such a thing? There is no questioning it here.

I have found it semi-difficult to reflect in cafes here. Everything is so new here still, and my mind tends to wander not to process, but to continually take in.

Alli shared a passage out of a book she is reading and it addressed the distinction between our agenda and God's. Often times anxiety comes from our progression and agenda not moving forward the way we might like. Perhaps it is the pace or maybe the steps are all wrong. We forget to check in with God, be at ease, and allow him to work out our days for us with us actively engaging. While I do enjoy the image of God driving the car and us in the passenger seat, I do feel that Jesus lets us drive sometimes. I think when we get off track we pull over at a rest stop and Jesus starts driving again. According to his purpose to benefit us, getting back on the right path may take awhile, or we may instantly find ourselves right back on track like we never took a wrong turn in our lives.

The fact that God loves us and is for us always allows us to choose to let go of how we think things should go and just come along for the ride. We are never giving the directions, but we are also never solely passive along the journey. And thank goodness - I would go brain dead. Thank God that our experience is not only Luke 1-8, but our experience and role is also Luke 9-24.

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Breakfast with the other interns: latte and plum cake!

In the Opera House after watching The Magic Flute

Concert Venue

Instruments for the benefit concert: violin, piano, viola, and percussion

So many falafels!!

Resting and Believing

This Wednesday will mark my "week" anniversary for arriving in Vienna. In many ways it seems like it has been a lot longer than a week and as I sit here in our kitchen sifting through which thoughts and experiences to share I find that I am at a loss at the moment for sharing many of them. When you are in an entirely new context you undergo a tremendous amount of change and are constantly learning at both a conscious and unconscious level. The amount of intake I have undergone concerning physical surroundings, navigation, emotional adjustments, spiritual "climate", aspects of community, etc. have been huge (for lack of a better term). I cannot begin to describe God's faithfulness to my teammates and I, but I hope that in this post and after you will be able to see some of what I am seeing.

I am overwhelmed by the amount of care that us interns are receiving from the New City Wien team. I have never felt so cared for on a volunteer trip. The emphasis placed on prayer and spending time with the Lord is such a blessing. On Monday we had several hours to ourselves to find a place (for me it ended up being several areas) to spend time with God - talk, listen, meditate on His word, etc. Before Vienna, and especially now that I am here, God has been teaching me the importance of just "being". This is another way of talking about identity - does my identity come from who I am in Christ or what I do? A more specific theme that has flowed out of this is simply believing and resting. On Monday I was sitting in front of Karlskirche (Karls Church)...

I stopped here to read some Scripture and as I was reading out of Genesis a gust of wind flipped some pages over to a short underlined phrase in Exodus which read: "The Lord will fight for you; you need only be still." Coincidence? Maybe. Probably not though.

On our second day in Vienna, Lindsay, a long-term intern who has been here for 1.5 years, shared from John:

Then they [the disciples] asked him, "What must we do to do the work

that God requires?" Jesus answered, "The work of God is this: to

believe in the one he has sent."

John 6:28-29

The next day I read from Mark, as I followed my daily scripture reading guide to read the Bible in a year via genre. Here is what I read (larger context is Mark 5:21-43):

While Jesus was still speaking, some men came from the house of Jairus,

the synagogue ruler. "Your daughter is dead," they said. "Why bother

the teacher any more?" Ignoring what they said, Jesus told the synagogue

ruler, "Don't be afraid, just believe."

Mark 5:35-36

I am sure that this theme of rest and believing will continue throughout my trip. I would like to share one last "Jesus moment" concerning this from last night. This just goes to show that when we invite the Lord to make us increasingly aware of his love and presence in our lives, he will answer our prayers. God longs to reveal himself in greater ways to us as we are willing. It is a wondrous thing to see how God seamlessly orchestrates our lives to bless us, our relationship with Him, and our relationship with others. Last night I "accidentally" came across this sermon excerpt that fit with what God had been reminding me of the past week:

God is so good. I am learning more and more how actively living for God comes out of resting and believing. Soon I will share some more about the interns first New City Wien service and our second prayer walk. For now, I will share a few pictures :)

Bis Dann! (Until then, i.e., when we meet again)

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Swing ride (350 ft high) in a Viennese amusement park

Vienna's grandeur buildings are lit up at night

Delicious Indian meal in Naschmarkt

Best coffee so far in a most unexpected place: a tiny stand underground

at a subway stop

Hilarious