Refinished

So I finally got around to refinishing these awesome chairs we got of the trash...
candy apple red all the way!

Time captured...

This was taken on our Hawaii trip with Paul's family last year. We were on a 4 hour hiking trip through Haena State Park in Kauai. While I hated that hiking trip, I will say that this is one of my favorite photos. It just has a certain quality about it. I love that Paul is smiling...and that you can see the coastline stretching into the distance. I am glad I got this shot when I did because this is the last time we are seen without being covered in mud. We literally all fell flat on our butts the whole hike. lol Anyways, here is a shot of the treacherous trail. Good times.

Around the World....

List of my top 10 favorite cities in the world to date...

Jerusalem, Israel

Prague, Czech Republic

Charleston, South Carolina

Amsterdam, Netherlands

Venice, Italy

Savannah, Georgia

Antalya, Turkey

Berlin, Germany

Salzburg, Austria

San Diego, California

There are many other places I have been that I really love as well...like San Francisco, CA. Dublin, Ireland.  Faro, Portugal. Malaga, Spain. Agadir, Morocco. Stockholm, Sweden. But they didn't make it on the top 10 list.

My next cities I want to check out are...Sainte Mere Eglise, France. New York City (I've been to airport but never in the actual city) Ciaro, Egypt. Buenos Aries, Argentina. Barcelona, Spain. London, England. Moscow, Russia. Petra, Jordan. The Grand Canyon. Niegra Falls and Alaska to see the northen lights. I would also really like to do a road trip across the USA. I think that would be awesome too.

Who knows if I will ever get to all these places...but then again I never thought I would go to all the places I have been. The Lord has blessed me so much in giving me so many opportunities to live and travel abroad! I never thought that walking by faith, obeying the Lord in some crazy ideas would take me all over the world and back again. I hope that never stops...

July...

Wow, I haven't written in a few weeks now. A lot has been going on. I started working as a cleaner at a gym called Fit X here in Münster. I've been getting up to work at 4:30-8:00am every morning for the past few weeks so maybe that has cramped my writing abilities since I feel like a zombie woman most of the day. Anyways...

This past month has been a fun one despite the cold and rainy weather here. We traveled to Berlin to meet up with our friends Sammy and Caleb. They live in Sweden, so Berlin was a good place to meet in the middle. I blogged about it on our ministry blog here: www.paulandbec.blogspot.com. Needless to say Berlin is now on my top 10 favorite cities in the world! I loved it! So much life, food, history, amazing architecture and people! It even had some dirt...which I know sounds weird. But seriously, here in Münster there is none,  so seeing dirt, cigarette butts, coke cans and some trash made me feel good for some reason.

The other night Paul took me out on a date in the city. I actually wore a dress and make up and did my hair nice. And Paul wore a nice button down shirt. We ate at Vapianos. Paul ordered his usual calzoni and I order a dinkle pasta scampi. It was so delicious! We then walked around the city, ate some ice cream and headed to hang out in our favorite cafe here in the city called Cafe Gasoline. It is an old gas station that they turned into a cafe and bar. We love the atmosphere there because it reminds us of how the cafes in Israel are. Except they don't have the awesome coffee that Israeli cafes have. It was really great dressing up and everything! I mean we hang out together all the time but we rarely dress up and on a proper date. It was super fun!

 

Bleeding Red, White and Blue...

I am very patriotic, I was raised that way. With each year that passes it seems as though I become more and more. I am not ashamed of it, traveling the world these past years I have realize how truly unique and special my homeland is. It is like no other country. The American people from the beginning were people who desired change, desired to be free and were willing to fight for the rights in which to do so. They were people of faith, people of determination, people who would not back down from a crazy tyrannic king and the world's strongest super power. As I read the Declaration of Independence yesterday, it truly is an amazing declaration for humanity. To believe that "all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness-" and to that "whenever any form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or abolish it". America has changed a lot of over the years, and I am not saying that Americans are always right about everything. But this one thing we have done good, and that is creating a country where the freedoms which God our Creator has given us can actually be lived. I am proud to be an American, I am proud of the truths our country was founded on. I am proud of the men and women who have died laying their lives down for these truths. To protect life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. I love the spirit Americans have...to be creative, to take risks, to not back away, to be different, to hope for a better future. Paul and I have been watching this series found on YouTube called America: The story of US. It really has brought out the American spirit in us. Seeing why Americans are the way we are, all the change and hardships our country has gone through and triumphs we have had. It really is amazing!

Now that I got out all my patriotism, I can actually tell you how we celebrated yesterday being Americans in Germany. It was probably the saddest 4th of July we ever had, but we didn't let it get us down. We made hot wings with a Louisiana hot sauce. Potato salad, sweet southern tea of course. A red, white and blue dessert made from American jello, whipped cream and blueberries. Though there were no fireworks, we did listen to some patriotic music and watched some patriotic movies. The Patriot, just for the record is one my favorite movies, Mel Gibson is amazing! And I even got to talk to my family in the Great State of Virginia. Here are some shots of our lil' 4th of July Celebration.

Time captured...

Morocco 2008

This picture reminds me of all the different ways we traveled through the country of Morocco. We took planes, trains, buses, chicken buses, boats, donkey carts, pick-up trucks, taxis, motorbikes, jeeps and of course your feet got you most places. In this photo we were making our weekly journey to the market to buy some groceries. We succeeded in fitting eight people and a baby in this cart contraption. A bumpy ride and 20 minutes later we arrived at the shook. Our sides hurt way more than our bums because we had just about laughed the whole way there. We had a saying, that if you didn't laugh you'd cry...so it was just better to laugh! I am thankful here all I have to do is walk about a half block to get my groceries but I am sad to say I don't laugh half as much as I did in Morocco. Good times. Oh and on the way back home that day, we took a horse and cart...crazy!

What makes a house a home...

Pillows....

Pillows are the little things in a home that we often take for granted. Both sleeping pillows and deco pillows. I remember during my time in Morocco there were some nights when we didn't have pillows. And let me tell you that sleeping on your arm is not a productive way to getting a good night's sleep. Boy, was I happy to finally have a big fluffy pillow to sleep on. Being in Germany we have pillows of course...but when we first moved in we only had our two sleeping pillows. Our coach looked so sad without any color or pillows to lay on. So I brought some of my pillows from the States and recently made this pretty orange one to add some spunk to the big white coaches. I think it's lovely...

Other things I would like to add to the list in a more practical way, ovens and dryers. 1) Ovens are amazing and you shouldn't take them for granted. 2) You see here in Germany it is still very popular to line dry your clothes. I don't really understand why since its pretty cold and rainy most of the year. Dryers are expensive to buy and to run, thus Paul and I also line dry our clothes. And since we have had two days of sunshine in the last month, I am trying my hardest to get all the laundry washed and dried before the rain comes. I think God is trying to really teach me to be thankful for even the little things in life...happy laundry day!

Devotional musings...

Something I'm learning...


“And there was a voice from the firmament that was over their heads, when they stood, and had let down their wings” (Ezekiel 1:25)

That is the letting down of the wings? People so often say, “How do you get the voice of the Lord?” Here is the secret. They heard the voice when they stood and let down their wings.

We have seen a bird with fluttering wings; though standing still, its wings are fluttering. But here we are told they heard the voice when they stood and had let down their wings.

Do we not sometimes kneel or sit before the Lord and yet feel conscious of a fluttering of our spirits? Not a real stillness in His presence.A dear one told me several days ago of a certain thing she prayed about, “But,” said she, “I did not wait until the answer came.”

She did not get still enough to hear Him speak, but went away and followed her own thought in the matter. And the result proved disastrous and she had to retrace her steps.Oh, how much energy is wasted! How much time is lost by not letting down the wings of our spirit and getting very quiet before Him! Oh, the calm, the rest, the peace which come as we wait In His presence until we hear from Him!

Then, ah then, we can go like lightning, and turn not as we go but go straight forward whithersoever the Spirit goes. (Ezek. 1:1, 20)

“Be still! Just now be still!

Something thy soul hath never heard,

Something unknown to any song of bird,

Something unknown to any wind, or wave, or star,

A message from the Fatherland afar,

That with sweet joy the homesick soul shall thrill,

Cometh to thee if thou canst but be still.

“Be still! Just now be still!

There comes a presence very mild and sweet;

White are the sandals of His noiseless feet.

It is the Comforter whom Jesus sent

To teach thee what the words He uttered meant.

The willing, waiting spirit, He doth fill.

If thou would’st hear His message,

Dear soul, be still!”

-Streams in the desert

Time captured...

"If I forget you, O Jerusalem, May my right hand forget her skill." Psalm 137:5


I love this photo...I remember this morning very well. A few of us decided to rise early and have devos together on the Temple Mount.  We were younger then, living abroad in the great city of Jerusalem. We were close, still are. We were real, passionate and loved every minute of the adventure we were on.  If there was ever a season in my life where I felt like time stood still it was fall of 2007. We laughed, we cried, we traveled, we shared each others burdens and spurred each other on. We had our jokes, our sayings, our reenactments of ridiculous things that had happened while on our journeys. We also had our serious moments too. Moments when tears would not be held back. Moments that overwhelmed you. We were only there 5 months yet it felt like years and then all of sudden it was over. Just like that. God did a work in our lives that was so deep and radical, it is hard to put into words. I know that every one of us left Israel changed, and for many of us longing to return. I had the blessing of returning in 2009 with my husband. It was another amazing season in my life. And now both of our heart's ache to return to the Land. 


Now we say along with all the Jews, בשנה הבאה בירושלים (next year in Jerusalem...)

What makes a house a home...

Quilts...

I have always loved quilts. Especially those old worn ones.You know...the ones that feel like you're being hugged by the arms of an old friend. Nothing is better than snuggling down in one of those. I love it that quilts see so much life. They are used over and over again and yet that warm feeling of an old friend never gets old.

My family has a few quilts that have been circulation of our home for many years. My parents have one that was made by an Amish women in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. She hand stitched every piece. It is truly a work of art. Beautiful colors, tight stitches, lovely lines. Running my hands over the top of it, I can feel how much work went into making this cover. Paul and I don't have an handmade Amish quilt yet, we will have to save up some money for a "real" one. But we bought this cozy quilt when we were in the States. I like it because it has these big beautiful medallions of bright colors. It is kind of a Mexican inspired pattern. Which of course Paul loves! I do too.

I love that there is so much history and creativity behind the making of quilts. You could read for hours on all the different patterns and the story behind America's Quilt History. I remember growing up I was in a girl's quilting club. We would read literature on women and the making of quilts. We even started sewing our own quilts (which I never finished mine lol) as part of the class. I think I really gained an appreciation for quilts during that time. It was amazing!

I hope to collect some beautiful quilts for our family to use over and over again in the many years to come...