Neuschwanstein Castle

King Ludwig started building it when he was 24(ish) years old... not bad for a starter home.

The design for the Disney castle was based on it.

Moss Grows on the North Side of a Tree

I learned that from Scooby-Doo...

Jesus Gives the BEST Gifts

Yesterday I was given an awesome camera with a gigantic extra lense to use for the rest of my time in Germany! What makes it so sweet is, about a month ago, I was talking to God about how beautiful it is here and I asked Him if He would provide a nice camera to capture it with... and He did! Wow. This has been a reminder of how God so desires to be intricately involved in our lives... He cares even about the littlest things.

(Uhh, Jesus, I also could use some blue jeans without holes. haha)

Modern Day Abolitionists

Some friends of mine that are doing something about the sex slavery that is happening today in America. Check out their website... http://www.photogenx.net/sexandmoney.

Watch them. Pray for them. Support them. Join them.

A quick trip from head knowledge to practical information

Learning about the differences between western and eastern thought and culture, and playing UNO with four Indians... oh boy oh boy oh boy

My Euro Ride

an audio book and a ride through the fields... good day

FYI

In Europe, "WC" means bathroom... just wanted to share that handy bit of information.

"Jesus Money" continued continued...

Bought a soda for someone this weekend at the local restaurant, "Metzgerwirt" and helped pay for a plane ticket home for a friend whos dad passed away last night.

Current total: 3.30 euros

Dang, that went fast... Jesus is a big spender

The Brevity of Life

At 2am this morning, my roommate/classmate from Belgium was woken by some men from the red cross and the German police to bring the horrible news that her dad had been hit by a car while riding his bike... sadly, he passed away. Pray for her and her family... Jesus, be very present.

My Weekend Reading Spot

carried a castle chair out onto the lawn...

"Jesus Money" continued...

So, my $100 of "Jesus Money", which I told about in an earlier post, has changed nationalities, and has now become 60 euros... dang exchange rate.

I made my first blessing purchase yesterday... bought a guy an apple-fritter-looking pastery from the local bakery.

Current balance: 59 euros

The Day Can Only Get Better

missed the last two steps on the way down stairs this morning... got gum stuck in my hair in class... had green bean soup for lunch...

I just asked for a picture...

I got a little more than I bargained for.

Oktoberfest

Munich

Went to Munich (or as it is said in German, "meu-chin"). Rode three forms of public transportation... train, bus, and subway. Saw some beautiful old art and aged buildings... love classic architecture... prefer modern art . Experienced Oktoberfest... drank my first German beer... "vas goot".

Friend-aversary

Tomorrow, September 27, is the two year anniversary of meeting my dearest friend, Lindy, in the back row of a YWAM van in Kona, Hawaii. What a fantastic two years it has been...

Happy Friend-aversary!

Went For a Walk

This is what a German cow looks like...

The Gravity is Stronger Here...

I have tripped at least once, almost every day I've been here. The picture shows one of the locations of my many "get-togethers" with the ground.

The US Should Get Some of These...

24 hour milk station... bring your own bottle

The Castle

It was built as a hunting lodge by a banking family 400 years ago... not a bad vacation home. In WWII it was used as a hospital by the US... the barn loft that is now used as a worship room was a prison for nazi soldiers. After that, it became an orphinage. Now, it is my "home".

Maiden Voyage to Europa

I had the whole row to myself on all three flights... it was a fantastic 15 hours.

Picture taken out of a frosty window over Ireland

"Jesus Money"

For my birthday, some beautiful friends gave me a $100. But it wasn't meant to be just spent on anything... they called it "Jesus money". It is $100 that is to be set aside to be used however Jesus wants... so that's what I'm going to do with it. I'm expecting to find some crazy opportunities to spend/give the Jesus money in a way that will really bless some other people like buying someones groceries, paying someones tab, buying someones gas, etc. If the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil, then I think loving people with the use of money could be the root of all kinds of good.

This is nice practice for the way I want to handle all my money... I hold it with an open hand saying "God, what do you want me to do with this?" I'm excited to see how it goes.

Current "Jesus money" balance: $100 USD

Memory Lane

I just remembered that it was a year ago tomorrow that I got stuck in the Phoenix airport, a complete wreck after leaving my beautiful friends, and running from terminal to terminal trying to get home for Easter... I still remember the name of the Southwest Airlines ticket lady that listened to me cry and did everything she could to get me home...

Gaye from Phoenix, this trip down memory lane is dedicated to you...

What a Good Friday it is...

Exactly one year ago today I said "goodbye" to my DTS friends and headed for home after spending six months together falling in love with Jesus and doing our best to love other people...

So here I am, a year later, still falling in love with Jesus, and, just this morning (and pretty much every time I read anything in the Bible lately) being reminded that my life should be spent loving people...

We must go.
Live to feed the hungry.
Stand beside the broken.
We must go.

God is all about relationship, love, people, relationship with people, loving people, people loving people, people in a loving relationship with Him... and that, my friends, pretty much sums it up.

Someone send me some Ban!

They don't have stick deoderant here!... I don't know if this roll on stuff is gonna do the trick.

O-Town, New Zealand...

Where...

• there are more sheep than people
• the video rental store's check-out log is hand written
• everything closes at 4p
• people hang dry their clothes... primitive huh?
  
• the sunrises are pink and purple
• everyone's garden is beautiful
• the light switch is on when it's flipped down, and is off when it's up
• the toilets have two buttons... one for a regular flush and one for a super flush
• the local ice cream shop gives three HUGE scoops for a dollar
• roosters crow in the morning
• everyday we have "tea" instead of dinner
• the weather changes like crazy!
• kids ride their bikes to school
• with the accent, I can't tell if someone is saying "letter" or "ladder",and "bear"or "beer"

What a good place to be...

Expand Your Vocabulary...

with a kiwi commercial...

What I'm feeling...

I'm feeling like in the next three months of my life some pretty significant changes are going to take place in me personally and in my lifestyle. I have no concrete reasoning on which I'm basing this feeling, but the words of Jesus have a reputation of shaking things up a bit, and since I'll be spending the next three months studying the Bible, I'm bracing myself for a good shakin'.
Lately I've been getting a lot of revelation about desperation. I was reading the story about the prostitute that washed Jesus' feet with her tears while He was eating at the house of the pharisee, and I could feel my heat start to ache with longing for a desperation for Jesus like that woman had... desperate enough to show up uninvited to the pharasee's house and weep at the feet of Jesus while everyone else looks on, I imagine, in judgment and embarrassment. I find myself to be too aware and logical to be that desperate... I'd probably at most wait outside the house until He came out as to not disturb the meal, and I wouldn't think to wash His feet with my tears because there's a possibility that that might make a scene and it's just weird and it looks weak. I WANT THAT KIND OF DESPERATION SO BADLY... an abandonment of self to such a degree that it leads to an almost scandalous desperation to even just be at the feet of Jesus. That sounds good to me.

Some things I'm looking forward to...

1. Finishing painting the youth room (it's the never ending project)
2. the Daddy-Daughter Valentines Dance with my wonderful father and sister
3. going to Colorado for a week!
4. heading off to New Zealand for three months to study the Bible (I leave at the end of Feb)
5. BEING HOME ALL SUMMER!

I LOVE BEING HOME!

family golfing experience


trail of lights with Rach

sibling bonding time