Advent and Creating

Tonight, I was inspired to create and craft. I miss you old friend. It's been quite some time. I'm not sure what kept me from you. But I think I know what led me to you. A hunger to spend time with my Creator, reflective tunes courtesy of The Brilliance, and words from a friend. It's good to be back. 

My book bookshelf I made earlier this year

Advent Creation

Words from my dear friend Taylor

Besinnliche Adventszeit....Have a reflective and thoughtful Advent-season

"May we love as you love" --- words from The Brilliance


Much love and grace to you,

Amy

Beauty in Words

I'm simply and utterly captured by this quote.

"Every time you feel in God's creatures something pleasing and attractive, do not let your attention be arrested by them alone, but, passing them by transfer your thought to God and say: 'O, my God, if thy creations are so full of beauty, delight and joy, how infinitely more full of beauty, delight and joy art Thou Thyself, Creator of all.'"

---Nicodemus of the Holy Mountain

This morning as I sat with God, I began reflecting on who He has been to me this past year. I filled the last pages of my journal, started on March 25, 2011. This always causes some sentimentality for me. I want to share my words with you this morning. They are close to my heart but I do want to sing out who God is, who He is in my life. So here goes...

Father! I love you :) I love seeing you at work. I love your gentleness, the way you create beauty, the way you overcome me, those moments when in the pit of my stomach I feel your presence and my heart quickens and I feel as though I will just burst because I am so full of your presence. And know your love so deep within me, so real. You are real. You are alive. I'm so excited to live my whole life for you. To spend it all for you. Thank you Father for knowing me for letting me experience glimpses of you. And for hearing your voice. You have been so faithful in letting me hear your voice this past year. Each time I was at such a broken place. I had nothing and was so weak and vulnerable. And you spoke. And you brought hope. And newness of life. And each time I was so amazed at your faithfulness. How you meet me in those times of suffering. How you made me desire for you. And you weren't scared of my anger and tears or my roller coaster emotions. You comforted me. You gave me time alone with you. You are such a gentle God. And you showed me my sin more clearly. And you beckoned me to put my hope in you. My identity. And my failures and faults didn't seem so overwhelming anymore. Because you loved me in them. And your desire was to walk with me as I grew in you. As I discovered more of who you are. And sometimes I was really disappointed. I didn't understand why life couldn't be easier. Why pain couldn't disappear. I wanted to run from it. I did. But I didn't get anywhere. And my heart was still filled with bitterness. Then you gave me the courage to look at the pain in my life with you. And my soul started to wake up. I saw your hand in the pain. In the brokenness. You are beautiful. You breathe life into me. I'm inhaling it Lord. Sweet breaths of you that give me peace. hope. A delight in you. A guttural thankfulness. You are with me. You are my song. My joy. My desire.

Summer Nights

Today was a beautiful warm summery day. And sadly, we have not had too many of them here in Germany lately. But today was such a day. I wanted to go be a beach bum for the day but since I couldn't I went to eis cafe. I love those late summery nights when it's 9:30 and the sun is just going down and it's still warm enough out for shorts. Tonights choice of flavor was pfferminz and schokolade. Delightful :) Here is me demolishing a cone :) Zwei Kugel, bitte! Thank you Jesus for summer nights, ice cream, and walks! 

fluffy clouds and changing skies

The weather is constantly changing here. Today was such a day. This morning was clouded over with drizzling and downpour intermixed. Those poor JV soccer girls. They got the brunt of it. I think they kind of enjoyed playing in the rain though! The day turned beautiful around 5:00. I was so taken by the fluffy clouds that I just had to go take pictures! So early evening I sat under the changing skies and the fluffy clouds and read. I felt God's grace and love wash over me as I sat among God's creation reading One Thousand Gifts. I was particularly struck by a verse the author shared from Isaiah 14:24. "Surely, just as I have intended so it has happened, and just as I have planned so it will stand" (NASB). I drew so much strength from these holy words. Seeing events in our lives through the lens of God's plan. And his love and goodness towards his children. It was a moment when everything was so full and perfect. Full of life in the light of Christ. Thank you Father for fluffy clouds and changing skies. You are good!

up-do's, pretty dresses, and celebrations

Tonight was a special evening at BFA for junior's and senior's. It's especially a night of celebration for the senior's as it is one of their last big events before graduation. Just like any celebration the guys pull out their tux (and get ready in ten minutes!) while the girls spend hours getting ready! Except this year due to it being on a school day, the girls only had an hour or so. But, the girls looked absolutely stunning. Tonight I was able to go and take pictures of the kids before their night of celebration. The event was hosted at a place called Funfschilling. It's a beautiful venue with amazing food, fresh produce, an apple orchard, and outdoor/indoor seating. I loved seeing these girls all dressed up and even had the opportunity to style a girls' hair! Thank you Jesus for night's of celebration!!

Taylor and Rachel! I'm loving Rachel's one shoe on/one shoe off!

Taylor made her date a boutonniere from a lightbulb....impressive!

Hanna!

ElleBelle! She's being silly :)

Tay Time

Today I am so very thankful for an afternoon visit from my friend Taylor. She is such an amazing woman of God and we always have such a great time with one another. We have walked through life with each other at Moody and now at BFA. And one of our four year old friends wonders why were not sisters. She tends to get us confused. Anyways, thanks Tay for being such a great friend! And thank you Father for a community of friends :)

Sitting outside on a warm, sunny balcony sipping coffee. 

Gilmore Girls

Yesterday, I was so thankful for Gilmore Girls. So thankful, in fact,  that I watched it instead of posting about it. From the witty humor and fast dialogue to the quirky characters and relationship between Luke and Lorelai that is always on the brink of beginning. So good!! Especially when you're watching them with someone who has never seen them...thanks Roomie :) I always want to eat and drink coffee while watching Gilmore. But, if I had a cup of coffee every time they did in an episode...I would have a complete coffee buzz. Not sure if that's the right terminology. But, you get my drift!

If you haven't watched them, check em out. Well maybe not if your a guy. They usually don't like them!

Spring Fragrances

Today I am thankful for the fragrances of Spring. From the fresh, dainty flowers to the misty smell after a Spring rain. Not to mention the bonfire smell in the air. They feed my soul :)

Grandma's Letters

        I didn't have the opportunity to post yesterday. Even though I was thankful for moments in the day, I couldn't bring myself to write. It had just been such a hard day. But on Monday I truly was thankful for a card from my Grandma. After receiving bad mail, aka medical bills, I opened a card from my Grandma. Dorothy Jana, G-ma, is a prayer warrior for all of her grandchildren. She is always encouraging me and of course keeping me updated on all the events happening in our large family! Since I came to Germany, I have received a letter from her every month, talk about faithful :) This letter could not have come at a better time. In her letter, she told me the Pastor at her church prayed for me on Sunday. Tears started streaming down my face as I read those words and realized I am not alone. I draw so much strength from knowing her church and many others are praying for me. I am so very thankful for my grandma, my family, and my ministry partners. Thanks Grandma for your letters :)

Hopscotch

               Today, I am thankful for kids. How creative and bold they are. On Saturday, my roomie and I, along with our downstairs neighbor family, were invited to a German open house grill out. This is pretty unusual for several reasons. Germans do not usually invite you to their home unless you know them very well. They are very private people. It is also unusual because all of us our American and our neighbors are all German. Hence, a potential language barrier. But my roommate Emily and I decided we shouldn't miss out on this opportunity. We walk up the road, nervously knock on their door. He swings it open wide with a "Come in, come in, welcome!" Not expected! It turns out he studied English in University and works for an American company here in Germany. Very unexpected! We were actually able to communicate with many of the neighbors. Not due to my own smarts but theirs. I was so thankful they spoke English :)

               The best part about the night was watching our neighbor girls play with the German kids. They all played with a parachute, jumped on the trampoline, climbed trees together. They just made interacting look so simple when they don't speak the same language. They played with them for over 3 hours! And my favorite part is this!

They created a 200 square hopscotch from our German neighbor's house to ours! So cute :)

Here is the back gate to our house.

 
     Thank you Jesus for children and hopscotch and cross-cultural relationships!

Coffee, Scones, and Strawberries

          Today, I am thankful for warm, strong coffee. I am thankful for the buttery vanilla goodness of homemade scones. Made all the more delicious by making them with my roomie at 11 pm the night before! I am thankful for strawberries so good you can actually smell the flavor. The sweetest strawberries I have had yet this season. Enjoying them all with the bright sunlight streaming through the window on a Saturday morning. Thank you Jesus for these small blessings. Small blessings that begin a day well and show me more of you :)

Fresh scones baking in the oven. Oh, we didn't have enough flour. So we TRIED to alter the recipe. Let's just say the scones were huge and not quite so fluffy. But with all that butter and fresh vanilla bean how could they not be delicious!

Coffee, Scones, and Strawberries

Inspiration for Project Thankfulness

            Lately, I have been quite discouraged. To speak honestly, this past year has been hard for me emotionally.  But I was beginning to experience Spring in my life. A rebirth of joy and gratefulness and just plain happiness. But I'm back in a slight funk as my physical health has demanded rest from me and little movement. Don't get me wrong I'm not dying and I'm not alone. Friends and co-workers have been so caring and gracious to me here. But not being able to go to work this past week has put a damper on my ministry and interactions with high school students. Which saddens me more knowing I only have 5 weeks left with them.

             Needless to say, I have a lot of time on my hands. This always gets me thinking. Sometimes I'm too analytical for my own good. About a month ago I began reading a book "One Thousand Gifts" by Ann Voskamp. It is a story of her own personal journey. I'm still only 60 pages in, I read too many books at one time. And working at the library doesn't help my already bad habit of starting new books before I finish old ones. Whoops. My dear friend Taylor loaned me the book. I was instantly interested in reading it because of the aesthetically pleasing cover design! As I began reading, many aspects of the book drew me in. A significant one being that she is a farmer's wife. I'm no farmer's wife but I am a farmer's daughter. I'm sure from the outside, this woman looks like she has it all. A husband, 6 children who adore her, oh and she home schools them. Pretty impressive. Not to mention her amazing writing skills. But she still experiences sadness and the daily drone of life.

             While studying the Word one day, she stumbles across the word 'eucharisteo' meaning 'he gave thanks.' 'Eucharisteo' translating to thankfulness with grace and joy caught up in it. Jesus was constantly giving thanks to His Father. 1 Corinthians 11:23-24; Matthew 11:25; 1 Corinthians 10:16; John 11:41; Psalm 50:23. As her story unfolds, she is challenged by a friend in her life to name one thousand blessings. Or gifts-- hence the title of the book. One thousand things she is thankful for.

              Sometimes when I go to pray I feel as though my mouth is glued shut. There is so much I want to share with God but nothing comes out. So I just go on living life without really engaging in prayer. I was having one of those times yesterday. Reasons why I journal. God always seems to at least unstick my mind when I have a pen in hand. Which usually leads to my lips unsticking and a conversation.

This time it has led me to this blog post.

"And give thanks for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ" (Ephesians 5:20).

"When we lay the soil of our hard lives open to the rain of grace and let joy penetrate our cracked and dry places, let joy soak into our broken skin and deep crevices, life grows" (58).

"And when I give thanks for the seemingly microscopic, I make a place for God to grow within me" (59).

A..."Dare to write down one thousand things I love. It really is a dare to name all the ways that God loves me" (p. 59).

             My mind began reeling as I read these statements. What would it be like to capture my thankfulness? My heart literally began quickening its pace as I considered. A rush of joy and hope. To practice thankfulness and experience richer relationship with My Father through thankfulness.

            Project Thankfulness: take a photo each day that captures my thankfulness, for the remainder of my time in Germany. An experiment to connect more deeply with God, notice his blessings, see his goodness. And an opportunity to share thankfulness.

Perhaps if you look VERY closely you will see what I wanted to capture. Floating all about this beautiful tree in my backyard are tiny white dandelion fluffs. They looked so free and dainty floating all about the yard. Thank you Jesus for dandelion fluffs!

Feel free to keep checking out Project Thankfulness :)

Warmly,
Amy