Monday, April 14, 2008

What's New?

Let's see....

The food here in Germany is very rich...lots of fatty meat with creamy sauces served with starchy potatoes or noodles. Oh, and let's not forget the incredible sugary pastries and breads that fill your senses every time you walk anywhere near a bakery. (They're EVERYWHERE!!!) I had set some goals for myself when we first moved here...even put them in writing...such a dork, I know. After being here for about 6 months, I realized that I hadn't even started working on some of them. Not good!! So, about one month and a half ago I started an amazing new journey in getting myself in shape and eating healthy. I completely changed the way I was eating. Not only did I start feeling so much better and having more energy, I have also started losing a good bit of extra weight that I've put on over the years. Danny's not really participating that much in eating better. He loves his sugar too much!! But, he's lost weight too just from eating healthier dinners, I guess. We both feel tons better, and that's the most important thing. Losing weight should only be a side effect.

 

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One of Danny's and my friends came to visit while on business from Bosch. We had dinner in Tübingen on Thursday night, and it was hilarious. Travis, our friend, brought another guy with him, Michael. I so wish I could tell you some of the stories we heard over that dinner, but you wouldn't get the full effect just by reading it. All I've got to say is, "Sprechen Sie Deutsch!!" Only a few know of what I am speaking, and you should be laughing your head off.


Yesterday, Sunday, was a strange day. It was actually sunny outside, so Danny and I really wanted to take advantage of it. We decided to meet up with a friend and go to this place where some meteor hit. Well, needless to say, after about 1.5 hours of driving around the booming metropolis of Metzingen (note sarcasm), we had no clue where to find the parking lot where our friend was waiting. Apparently, stores are only open on Sundays 1-2 times per year, and EVERYONE decides to go shopping whether they really need to or not. After being yelled and honked at for not pulling out into speeding traffic, we decided it was time to tuck our tails between our legs and find another activity for the day. I got the bright idea of going for a bike ride around where we live. It was a marvelous idea, honest!! We retrieve our bikes from the cellar downstairs, and Danny notices that his back tire needs a little air. So we walk the bike down the street to the gas station where Danny proceeds to pump up his tire. He checks my bike again, just to make sure, and he decides that my tire needs air also. What he doesn't realize is that my tire has a different nozzle and cannot be pumped up by just an ordinary pump. He then tries to figure out a way to pump it up anyway. (It's the engineer in him that won't let him just leave well enough alone. I do love that about him, though). In the end, Danny had a perfectly ridable bike, and I had a tire that had absolutely no air in it at all. Then, I decided that, for some reason, God just really didn't want us to be outside. It was such a strange day, full of folly!!

My mom is coming to visit mid-May. Yay!!!! She finally booked her flight a few weeks ago. I was so hoping that she would take this opportunity to visit a foreign country. I think we're going to Paris again, because Paris is awesome. I hope that she is impressed by my German skills...haha. And for the record, the only French I can speak is counting to about 13, so we may be in trouble in Paris. Who knows. (Tiffany used her French skills while we were there before).

On April 30, we are going on our 2 week trip to Italy!! I still don't know where all we are going, but I plan on figuring all of that out this week. I got my new Rick Steve's Italy book, so I should be set.

My birthday isn't for a while. It's in July, but I think I am at the age where I don't really want to tell you how old I am anymore...booo. Anyway, we're going to go to the Canary Islands for a week in July. There's a black sand beach on one of the islands, and we're really hoping to stay there, lay on the beach, and drink pina coladas!! I can't wait to see the ocean again!!!

Well, I think that's about all that's new here. We'd love to hear about what's going on back home. Feel free to leave a comment or email me.

Tuesday, April 08, 2008

That is the Question

What would you attempt for God if you knew you could not fail?

Thursday, April 03, 2008

Figuring Out My Purpose

Having been here in Germany for almost 7 months, I have had a lot of time to think and pray and figure out what's truly important in my life. I've been doing a lot of God seeking about what He wants me to be. I feel kind of like a teenager wondering what I want to be when I grow up, even though I've had a pretty successful career so far in nursing.

Today, God used one of my best friends to show me that for basically all of my life, I have been living in incredible fear of being rejected. I've feared actually stepping out and doing what I know God has truly called me and gifted me to do. I've settled for things in my life, because I was scared to truly go after and pursue certain things.

So, today I've made a decision to put an end to the fear in my life. I've decided to go after my dreams and passions and understand that if I get rejected, it's ok. My life is my Jesus' hands, and if I am going after His will, then He'll open the doors that need to opened and close the doors that need to close. You have to understand that this is a little intimidating and scary for me. I've never really faced the types of rejections that I may face here in the near future. So pray for me, that God will guide and instruct me on this new journey in my life. Ooooo...I am actually really excited about this!!

Beth