Unconditional

"Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres".

I've been reminded a lot lately of the the importance of love and the command we have to love one another without condition...the way that Christ loves us (in that while we were still sinners, He died for us). While Jesus was in Jerusalem, the Pharisees and Sadducees were trying to prove that Christ was not who He claimed to be. They asked Him in Matthew 22:36, "Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?" To this Jesus replied, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself. All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments" (Matt 22:37-40). Nowhere in that command does Jesus say to love your neighbor only if they are nice to you and do everything you want them to do. That wouldn't be much of a commandment or sacrifice. Rather, He says to love your neighbor, who may be your greatest enemy, as yourself. God knows that we are a self-centered people. I think that why He wants us to love our neighbors as much as we love ourselves. With that same attitude we are to love our enemies, with a love that is sacrificial, true and pure.

Recently as situation has arisen that has reminded me of this. We were put on this earth to love wholeheartedly, and not to judge. I think that the only way to get someone to see the err of their ways is to love them unconditionally no matter what their sin is. Is their sin greater than my sin? NO!! We are all sinners saved only by grace. Someone's sin of adultery is no greater than my sin of cursing the salesperson who takes too long to check me out. So why do we act like the person who has committed such a sin openly is unclean? We are ALL unclean...only made clean through the blood of Christ. Just because our sin is more private doesn't make it less of a sin. This goes back to my previous blog about wearing a mask so people will think we have it all together. We can act like there is no sin in our lives and condemn others of their open sin. Or we can choose to show the kindness and love of the Father to His children and realize that we all struggle with sin. Rather than cutting each other down, maybe we can help each other out and hold each other accountable in love.

The choice is ours.

Women

I've been reading a book series by Francine Rivers called, "The Mark of the Lion," and that is what has inspired this blog.

I think women feel that in everything they do, they must be perfect and look perfect while doing it. I've never understood this, but I am guilty of falling into the trap. I find myself admiring women who can cook, keep the house clean, and keep up with their families all while looking like a million bucks. In their own hearts, however, they are dying. They feel like they are drowning, and they are tired of keeping the façade going. We paint our faces and hide our hearts. We want people to think we have it all together, when in actuality, we want to rip our hair out.

As I was reading the books by Francine Rivers, I found my heart was turning to what the ideal woman is in God's eyes. She is one who prays fervently, constantly. She is a servant in all that she does. She is utterly devoted to her family and friends, and equally, she loves her enemies as Christ loves them. She is one who sees beauty in all things even though she may be scared and disfigured physically. She doesn't hide behind a ton of makeup, but rather, she reveals her true self so that she can grow in Christ and in love. She strives for a different kind of perfection...perfection in Christ, and not in the eyes of men or women.

My personal experience with women has been that they can be very vicious to one another. We feel like we must be in constant competition with one another, and this is not right. We feel like we must be dressed to kill, in the best name brands and with the perfect makeup. But all of this is vanity. What is the heart of the woman? Why do we try so hard to hide it?

The point I'm trying to make, quite unsuccessfully, I think is that it's time for women to take off the "makeup," and let the real person come out. I cannot stand phonies, even though I can be guilty of it as well. Why can't we just be the people God created us to be? He didn't make us robots, so that we would all be the same. He made us individual and different, with different strengths and weaknesses. Rather than dwell on our weaknesses, I pray that we cherish our strengths. What we are weak in, another may be strong, so why don't we work together more?

Just a though. What are your opinions?

Lovis Marie

 

Lovis Marie

We have a new addition to the family. Danny's cousin, Michael, and his wife, Manuela had their first child about a week ago. We had the opportunity to see her on Saturday, and she is the most beautiful little baby girl I've ever seen. It's amazing how little babies are. I'll post a picture in just a second.

Happy Turkey Day

Today is Thanksgiving, so I thought I would write about some things that we're thankful for, especially since my last blog was kind of a downer. (Sorry about that)!

1. I am thankful that I have such a wonderful God, and that He forgives me when I don't deserve it. Faith by grace, not works!!

2. I am thankful that I have a husband who constantly encourages me and builds me up rather than tearing me down.

3. I am thankful that my relationship with my mom and step dad is so good now. I love them so much!!

4. I am thankful that I have two awesome pastors, Mark and Jeff, who teach Danny and I so much, and encourage us in our faith.

5. I am thankful for friends like Tiffany, who send reminders of home when I feel homesick. (Just when I needed it, thanks)!!

6. I am thankful for my brothers and their significant others.

7. I am thankful for Greyson, b/c he blows me kisses and high fives me on the computer.

8. I am thankful that a computer program like Skype was created, so we can still feel close to family and friends even though we are thousands of miles away.

9. I am thankful that we have this opportunity in Germany, and that I can get to know Danny's family here.

There are so many other things we are thankful for, but these are the ones that are the dearest at this time in our lives. We hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving!!

I've Got the Blues

This has been a really tough week for me so far. Maybe it's because Thanksgiving is this week or something, but I just feel really conflicted. I am so happy to be here in Germany, but I feel like I am missing out on so many things in America. I miss my family and my friends so much. I miss singing at church on Sundays. I miss working. I miss being able to have conversations with people and it not hurt my brain. I miss having get-togethers on Friday and Saturday nights. I miss eating Mexican food after church on Sundays. We've been here for 2 months, and I feel like it's already been 6. I am so tired of listening in on conversations, and by the time I think of what to contribute to the conversation, we're no longer talking about it. I've always been a perfectionist, and it's so hard for me to feel dumb or stupid. But it seems like that's how I feel the majority of the time.

I am trying to keep looking on the bright side, but this week, my emotions have just over taken me. Sorry for such a depressing blog. I'll write soon when I am in a better mood.

Various Ramblings

I haven't written in a while, so I thought I'd just write to tell you what we've been doing, in general.

Last week, I started my intensive Deutsch course. This course is 5 days per week for 3 hours per day. On top of that, I have about 2 hours of homework per night. It has really been amazing!! I can now understand almost everything. Especially when we go up to Hessen to see Danny's family, I can understand. They don't speak with a strong dialect like people do here in Reutlingen.

Last weekend, we went to visit Danny's grandmother. She lives about 2.5 hours north from here. We had so much fun even though the weather was not so nice. One evening we got together with Danny's cousins Andi and Martin and their significant others. We had cake and coffee at Omi's house and then we just sat and talked for a while. Later, we went into Frankfurt. I think this is a fairly large city in Germany, almost as big as Atlanta. It seems like there's a lot to do there. We shopped there, and then we went to Darmstadt for dinner. We ate at a Mexican restaurant, which is really funny if you think about it. Mexico is nowhere near here, and trust me, it's not like the Mexican food in America. It's really good, but it is not nearly as spicy or as authentic, I think. Just different.

This week, we've been enjoying all the snow. Every evening and night, it has snowed. This is very interesting considering we live in South Carolina in the US. I have absolutely no clue how to drive in the snow. But with traction control and winter tires, I've done ok so far. The car and I are still in one piece. Always a good thing.

Today I got a call from Michael, one of Danny's cousins. His wife just had her baby last night. We are looking forward to going back to Omi's this weekend, so we can visit with them and see the baby. It's such and exciting time, because three of Danny's cousins' wives are pregnant (well, now one has had their baby). All of them are due this month or next. We are happy to be here this year to see it all unfold.

Anyway, that's about all that's been going on. We continue to meet more people and pray for opportunities to make friends and just get out there, I guess. Thanks for all of you who read this and keep us in your prayers. We really appreciate it. We love you all so much!!

Beth

Neuschwanstein November 1-3

Hallo!!

This past weekend was a holiday weekend for Danny. November 1st is All Saints Day, and people actually don't have to work!! Amazing!! So we decided to go to Baveria...close to Austria in Southeast Germany. We stayed in this nice little hotel...very quaint and cute. (There was no phone or television...not a bad thing, really). Anyway, we started our trip on Thursday. On the way to Neuschwanstein, we stopped in Ulm (Albert Einstein was born here) for lunch and to climb 700+ steps to the top of the tallest church in the world. For lunch, I had "kirbis suppe," which is pumpkin soup. Sound gross? Well, it is freakin AMAZING!!! Take my word for it, not Danny's. At about 7pm or so we arrived in Neuschwanstein. They had the castles all lit up there. It was very pretty, and the mountains were so gorgeous. I took a lot of pictures, but they don't do justice to the beautiful sights we saw.

On Friday, we toured Neuschwanstein castle. It has a sad history really. King Ludwig II set into motion the construction of the castle. He lived in a fantasy world, so he constructed this castle to suit his fantasy of God-like royalty. It took close to 20 years to build, and unfortunately, King Ludwig II died mysteriously after only living there for half a year. (Wie shade!) The castle was not even finished on the inside. I took lots of pictures of the outside, but of course, we couldn't take pictures of the inside. It was so elaborate. The king's bed, for instance, took about 14 wood workers 4 years to carve. It was so detailed. I've never seen anything like it. It was like the Biltmore House times 10.

On Saturday, we decided to take our new to us bicycles around the lake at the base of the Alps near the castle. It was such a beautiful day...probably my favorite day. Danny and I laughed and played. We felt so good. We rode for several hours, up the mountain and down. I really didn't like the uphill so much. My heart was beating so fast. When we started to flatten out, Danny asked me if I like this kind of mountain biking better. I said, "Yes, and I also like to go downhill." Flat or downhill...that's the mountain biking for me. When we were going downhill, we were going so fast. I can't even describe the rush. It was awesome!! It made me wish, however, that we'd brought our helmets. (Don't worry. We were trying to be cautious. Mark and Mirjam are bringing our helmets when they come here in December).

Anyway, after our bike excursion, we decided to drive down the German Alpine Road. This is where we got some of our best pictures of the mountains. By the time dusk came around, the mountains were just magnificent to look at. I told Danny that you see this stuff on the Discovery Channel or in books, but to actually see it for yourself makes you realize how small you are and how big God is.

So hopefully, if you all look at the pictures, you'll really really want to come to Germany to visit us. That's the true motivation for taking all the photos!!

There is a link to the photos on the left side of the page. Check them out, and leave a comment or two.

Schönen Tag und Jesus segne euch!!
(Have a great day, and may Jesus bless you)!!