Last weekend, while not a typical one of my semester abroad, was probably one of my favorites! OK, I say that about nearly every weekend, but this last one was great for a very different reason.
I stayed in Brussels. I have a number of papers due in the next two weeks, including a 20 page one for my Nazi Germany class and 13 pages for my Intercultural Communications class. I also had a paper for Furman due on Saturday afternoon.
Friday rolled around, and a few of us decided to adventure to the Parliament Library. We made our way to our workplace, which felt weird since I wasn't dressed in work clothes and I had my backpack. We discovered where the library actually was, and walked into a hidden gem! Seriously, it is great!!! The entire ceiling is made of windows, so natural light comes pouring in. There were rows of tables for you set up at, or a couch area if you so prefer. Its great. Not too crowded, reminds me of the Furman library in the morning. We all settled in and got to work.
Around 1, we took a lunch break and headed to my favorite restaurant in Brussels: the Parliament sandwich shop! Not only can you get sandwiches here for a grand total of 2 euros, but they are delicious! It was a great lunch break, and then we headed back to the library until 5 to get more work done.
On Saturday, Cameron and I ventured to a cafe nearby to work for a while. That afternoon, we continued working at our apartment until around 6:30, when Mary Grace, Cole, and Sey came over for dinner! We cooked pasta with pink sauce (thanks a million to Mrs. Short for sending that over!) and just sat around the table for a while, eating and talking and laughing and just relaxing. That is probably one of my favorite nights in Brussels. It was perfect. After a while, we moved to the living room/board room and turned on the TV. This has been done a grand total of twice before Saturday night. The first time was the day we moved in. The second time was really random, Allie turned on a show about tigers? We didn't really watch it, but it still counts, I suppose. We found a few English shows, which was nice.
While it was a weekend full of homework, it was also really enjoyable to spend a "normal" weekend in Brussels. Dinner with friends is always great, and it made me look forward to more fun times, both here and back at Furman.
Thursday, November 17, 2011
Sunday, November 13, 2011
Fall Break
I have no idea how I am going to talk about fall break. It was far too wonderful to fit into a blog post! Sorry, I am warning you in advance that this will be a long post!
The 10 Days of Incredibleness began when our whole Furman group boarded a plane for Berlin. Cameron and I sat next to an interesting and nice Belgian named Dauwe. We talked to him the whole flight, which was nice. Anyway, we made it to our hotel that night and settled in. I loved our hotel! It was so charming!
I won't go through everything we did everyday, but I do want to mention my favorite parts of Berlin. Walking in the Brandenburg Gate area, seeing the lines that represent where the Berlin Wall once stood, was so cool. There is a great Holocaust Museum right next to the Gate. It is exceptionally welld one, and it offers a wide array of personal stories of Jews during the Holocaust. It was very moving.
We also visited the Stasi museum. We had read the book Stasiland by Anna Funder, and it was amazing to see many of the things we had read about in her book. Our tourguide through the museum was also interesting, and he told us many of his own experiences growing up in East Germany.
I also got to see Robin while I was in Berlin! That was so fun. I am so glad I got to see her and give her a big hug!
After the papal address, we explored St. Peter's Basilica. Wow. I don't even have words. Michaelangel's Pieta has always been my favorite pieta, and to see it in person...The whole building is incredible. We then took a break for the best gelato ever. Soon it was time for our tour! we heard the history of the Sistine Chapel and wandered through the Vatican Museums. The tour ended at the Sistine Chapel. It is so crazy to see things in person that you have heard about your entire life. The Sistine Chapel was in many ways different than I imagined. It doesn't really feel like a chapel anymore, mostly because everyone is talking (despite the signs saying, "Silence Please") and taking pictures and it is super crowded. But it was still incredible. Seeing the Judgement Day painting was incredible. Seeing all of Michaelangelo's work made me appreciate what he did even more, especially knowing that he did all of the actual painting himself and it only took him four years!
That night we headed to the Trevi Fountain. I may or may not have burst into a few Lizzie McGuire songs (actually, I kept saying in Rome how I wanted my "Lizzie McGuire moment," you know, where I was mistaken for a pop star? Haha). The next day we explored the old parts of Rome. We went to the Colosseum, which was very emotional. Seeing it and knowing what happened there was very moving. I am really thankful that I got to see the place where so many were killed for their faith. It was hard, but so good at the same time.
After the Colosseum, Mary Grace and I wandered through the Roman Forum, the temple of the Vestal Virgins, and many other ruins. Then we met up with the group and walked to Piazza Trastevere for lunch. I had some of the best pizza of my life, and it was even better sitting on a fountain looking at a beautiful church. Then we headed across the river to the Pantheon, which I loved.
Afterwards, we headed to what became my very favorite part of Rome, Piazza Navona. There are artists everywhere displaying their work and painting, musicians play, and the fountain bubbles in the background. It was such a cool area. I walked around for over an hour, looking at art and just taking everything in. It was perfect. After a great dinner, we headed back to the hostel to pack up.
We took a train on Friday morning to Florence. We grabbed some breakfast and then went to the Uffizi museum. It was so cool to see paintings I had studied in my Art History class (Mrs. Badham would have LOVED Florence). The Birth of Venus was perfect. After the museum, we grabbed a great (and cheap!) lunch and headed to the Academia Museum. Now, I loved the Uffizi, but if you have to pick, choose the Academia. Wow. There was a Bartolini exhibit that I could have spent hours in. Bartolini has been one of my favorite sculptors since high school, and to see his statues with their eloquent facial expressions is to understand a little of the person he was sculpting. It was incredible.
After the exhibit, we walked out and there in all his glory was the David. Oh my gosh, y'all. I just stared. It is more breath-taking than you could imagine. Mary Grace, Anna, Adair, and I sat and stared for almost an hour. There is a reason the David is so famous, and he is worth every bit of his fame. Incredible.
That night we grabbed dinner at 13 Gobbi (translation: 13 Hunchbacks). It was so good! So fun to laugh and talk and joke around. The enxt day we got up, grabbed breakfast, and then hit the markets for a little while. Then we made our way into the Duomo. This church is so beautiful! After the Duomo we grabbed lunch, and then Mary Grace, Adair, and I headed to the Santa Maria Novella, another stunning church. then we headed up to Piazza Michaelangelo. This was quite a hike, but worth ever bit of it! On the stairs leading up the mountain, there are the stations of the cross, which end at the monastery on top of the hill. the view from the piazza was breaktaking. So beautiful! Afterwards, we wandered up to the monastery and poked around the chapel there.
We then met up with everyone for another fantastic dinner. It was such a great trip, and I loved every minute of it. Leaving on Sunday was definitely difficult, but in the words of Anna during her toast to the trip, "We'll always have Italy!"
Adair, Leah, me, Cole, and Theresa at the top of the Reichstag
The 10 Days of Incredibleness began when our whole Furman group boarded a plane for Berlin. Cameron and I sat next to an interesting and nice Belgian named Dauwe. We talked to him the whole flight, which was nice. Anyway, we made it to our hotel that night and settled in. I loved our hotel! It was so charming!
Tri Delts with Poseidon
I won't go through everything we did everyday, but I do want to mention my favorite parts of Berlin. Walking in the Brandenburg Gate area, seeing the lines that represent where the Berlin Wall once stood, was so cool. There is a great Holocaust Museum right next to the Gate. It is exceptionally welld one, and it offers a wide array of personal stories of Jews during the Holocaust. It was very moving.
Brandenburg Gate
I also really loved the DDR museum! It was like taking a glimpse into daily life in the German Democratic Republic. I was very impressed with how the handled the history. For so many people, life behind the Wall is their past, and for many it isn't a very happy one. The museum did a great job of displaying the past in a tasteful way that was almost nostalgic, just as most people around the world look back on earlier times in their life. At the same time, it sisn't hide the difficult parts of life or the extensive use of propaganda. Anyway, it was a great museum. we all had fun trying to dance the Lipsi and exploring the model apartment. 
MG and I being silly in front of the Reichstag
We also visited the Stasi museum. We had read the book Stasiland by Anna Funder, and it was amazing to see many of the things we had read about in her book. Our tourguide through the museum was also interesting, and he told us many of his own experiences growing up in East Germany.
Adair, Allie, Shannon, and I goofing off in front of the Victory Monument
I also got to see Robin while I was in Berlin! That was so fun. I am so glad I got to see her and give her a big hug!
THRILLED to be hanging out with Robin!
There are tons of other incredible parts of Berlin, but those are the things that stand out most in mind. On Tuesday afternoon, some of us borded a plane for Rome! We arrived really late and went straight to bed. First thing in the morning, we headed to Vatican City. We snagged a bunch of "golden tickets" and got in line for the papal address! It was really amazing to see the Pope. Even though I'm not Catholic, I have enough Catholic background and enough appreciation for Church history to recognize the significance of this figure. It was cool to hear him speak and to be blessed by him (along with my future children, sick family members, and any relics I had brought with me). 
Inside St. Peter's Basilica
After the papal address, we explored St. Peter's Basilica. Wow. I don't even have words. Michaelangel's Pieta has always been my favorite pieta, and to see it in person...The whole building is incredible. We then took a break for the best gelato ever. Soon it was time for our tour! we heard the history of the Sistine Chapel and wandered through the Vatican Museums. The tour ended at the Sistine Chapel. It is so crazy to see things in person that you have heard about your entire life. The Sistine Chapel was in many ways different than I imagined. It doesn't really feel like a chapel anymore, mostly because everyone is talking (despite the signs saying, "Silence Please") and taking pictures and it is super crowded. But it was still incredible. Seeing the Judgement Day painting was incredible. Seeing all of Michaelangelo's work made me appreciate what he did even more, especially knowing that he did all of the actual painting himself and it only took him four years!
Sitting on the Spanish Steps
That night we headed to the Trevi Fountain. I may or may not have burst into a few Lizzie McGuire songs (actually, I kept saying in Rome how I wanted my "Lizzie McGuire moment," you know, where I was mistaken for a pop star? Haha). The next day we explored the old parts of Rome. We went to the Colosseum, which was very emotional. Seeing it and knowing what happened there was very moving. I am really thankful that I got to see the place where so many were killed for their faith. It was hard, but so good at the same time.
Cross at the Colosseum
After the Colosseum, Mary Grace and I wandered through the Roman Forum, the temple of the Vestal Virgins, and many other ruins. Then we met up with the group and walked to Piazza Trastevere for lunch. I had some of the best pizza of my life, and it was even better sitting on a fountain looking at a beautiful church. Then we headed across the river to the Pantheon, which I loved.
Green door outside the Pantheon
Afterwards, we headed to what became my very favorite part of Rome, Piazza Navona. There are artists everywhere displaying their work and painting, musicians play, and the fountain bubbles in the background. It was such a cool area. I walked around for over an hour, looking at art and just taking everything in. It was perfect. After a great dinner, we headed back to the hostel to pack up.
Artists on Piazza Navona
We took a train on Friday morning to Florence. We grabbed some breakfast and then went to the Uffizi museum. It was so cool to see paintings I had studied in my Art History class (Mrs. Badham would have LOVED Florence). The Birth of Venus was perfect. After the museum, we grabbed a great (and cheap!) lunch and headed to the Academia Museum. Now, I loved the Uffizi, but if you have to pick, choose the Academia. Wow. There was a Bartolini exhibit that I could have spent hours in. Bartolini has been one of my favorite sculptors since high school, and to see his statues with their eloquent facial expressions is to understand a little of the person he was sculpting. It was incredible.
The "Orphan Fam" in Florence
After the exhibit, we walked out and there in all his glory was the David. Oh my gosh, y'all. I just stared. It is more breath-taking than you could imagine. Mary Grace, Anna, Adair, and I sat and stared for almost an hour. There is a reason the David is so famous, and he is worth every bit of his fame. Incredible.
Pont Vecchio
That night we grabbed dinner at 13 Gobbi (translation: 13 Hunchbacks). It was so good! So fun to laugh and talk and joke around. The enxt day we got up, grabbed breakfast, and then hit the markets for a little while. Then we made our way into the Duomo. This church is so beautiful! After the Duomo we grabbed lunch, and then Mary Grace, Adair, and I headed to the Santa Maria Novella, another stunning church. then we headed up to Piazza Michaelangelo. This was quite a hike, but worth ever bit of it! On the stairs leading up the mountain, there are the stations of the cross, which end at the monastery on top of the hill. the view from the piazza was breaktaking. So beautiful! Afterwards, we wandered up to the monastery and poked around the chapel there.
Enjoyign the view
We then met up with everyone for another fantastic dinner. It was such a great trip, and I loved every minute of it. Leaving on Sunday was definitely difficult, but in the words of Anna during her toast to the trip, "We'll always have Italy!"
Thursday, October 20, 2011
No Equation
I was reading a book review on Amazon.com, and I saw numerous comments such as, "(blank person) shows what it means to truly be a Christian," or, "(This person) lives the way all Christians should."
Somehow that rings wrong. And I think this person would probably agree with me here. Following Jesus does not mean leaving your home and living in some third world country and healing the sick and teaching people jobs and raising orphans. It might look like that. But it doesn't necessarily mean that. Following Jesus does not mean living in your hometown all your life, getting married, having 2.5 kids, working in an office every day. It might look like that in your life, but that isn't what it means.
So what then does following Jesus mean? It means a lot of things. Above all else, it means loving Jesus first. And that means wrestling, it means saying yes to Jesus above what your old self tells you, it means trusting what you know to be true versus what you feel, it means not settling for your dreams and ideas of your life but looking to the greater, fuller, marvelous dreams that God has for your life. It means you look for direction, take one step, wait to hear the next step, and then you walk once more. It means you work in a bank all day if that is where God leads and it means you take care of that money with a smile on your face and a song in your heart because you know the God you serve. It means you attend university if that is where God leads you and you study and learn as much as you can with all your might because you are in God's plan. It means you choose hard things, you sacrifice your last 20 dollars because you know that your money is not your own but it is God's. It means you live with anticipation, knowing the end of the story and blessed that you get to see how it unfolds. It means that yes, people drive you insane, but you are not content in that so you run to Jesus with those feelings and thoughts and you praise that His power is made perfect in your weakness.
Following Jesus is a complex thing. It is so simple when you get down to it, yet it is so hard when you are constantly battling your old self (even though that self is already dead and gone). But through it all, through the struggle and overwheming-ness and exhaustion and crying out to Jesus, God is looking on in delight, because He loves us. He loves making us new. He loves revealing Himself to us through these things. He loves that we did not choose easy and chose Him instead. He loves watching us come to terms with what it means to follow Him, and He loves revealing His plan to us. He loves teaching us to love Him more. He loves teaching us what following Him looks like! And that, that is what it means to follow Jesus. There is no formula, no equation, no check list, no answer key. But what we have is better than that, because we have God Himself.
Somehow that rings wrong. And I think this person would probably agree with me here. Following Jesus does not mean leaving your home and living in some third world country and healing the sick and teaching people jobs and raising orphans. It might look like that. But it doesn't necessarily mean that. Following Jesus does not mean living in your hometown all your life, getting married, having 2.5 kids, working in an office every day. It might look like that in your life, but that isn't what it means.
So what then does following Jesus mean? It means a lot of things. Above all else, it means loving Jesus first. And that means wrestling, it means saying yes to Jesus above what your old self tells you, it means trusting what you know to be true versus what you feel, it means not settling for your dreams and ideas of your life but looking to the greater, fuller, marvelous dreams that God has for your life. It means you look for direction, take one step, wait to hear the next step, and then you walk once more. It means you work in a bank all day if that is where God leads and it means you take care of that money with a smile on your face and a song in your heart because you know the God you serve. It means you attend university if that is where God leads you and you study and learn as much as you can with all your might because you are in God's plan. It means you choose hard things, you sacrifice your last 20 dollars because you know that your money is not your own but it is God's. It means you live with anticipation, knowing the end of the story and blessed that you get to see how it unfolds. It means that yes, people drive you insane, but you are not content in that so you run to Jesus with those feelings and thoughts and you praise that His power is made perfect in your weakness.
Following Jesus is a complex thing. It is so simple when you get down to it, yet it is so hard when you are constantly battling your old self (even though that self is already dead and gone). But through it all, through the struggle and overwheming-ness and exhaustion and crying out to Jesus, God is looking on in delight, because He loves us. He loves making us new. He loves revealing Himself to us through these things. He loves that we did not choose easy and chose Him instead. He loves watching us come to terms with what it means to follow Him, and He loves revealing His plan to us. He loves teaching us to love Him more. He loves teaching us what following Him looks like! And that, that is what it means to follow Jesus. There is no formula, no equation, no check list, no answer key. But what we have is better than that, because we have God Himself.
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
This Has Gotta Be the Good Life
I went to London last weekend with Mary Grace to visit two of my dearest friends, Olivia (henceforth referred to as Liv or Livy or some variation; she pointed out that 'Olivia' is only used when it is something serious, which is true) and Julie (aka JuJu, Jules, etc)! We had SO MUCH FUN!!!! I love all of them so much, and when we are together, it is like all that love comes together and explodes in hugs, laughter, great conversation, jokes, dancing, singing, etc. Truly, its the best (the only thing that could have made it better was if the rest of the Wonder Week crew had been there! Missed y'all, Kare, Hil, Laur, Carolyn, Kristin, and Katie!).
On Friday, we left really early and met up with Liv and Julie by 8:30. We hugged and screamed in the courtyard of the Royal National Hotel and then made our way up to their room. They had class, so MG and I grabbed breakfast and then napped on their beds. The girls came back, and we visited with some guys on the trip, and then we hit the town! We ate at this perfect cafe called In Season (go there! So cute and good and inexpensive!). Then we made our way through Trafalgar Square (had an interesting time trying to sit on the lions...that never ended up happening, haha), down to Big Ben, across the river, and found a wine and cheese festival. We walked around and spied pumpkin cheesecake. Of course, we had to split a piece! And it was delicious. Then we headed up to Westminster for an Evensong service. Wow. That was beautiful! It was soo cool to be a part of it. The choir was incredible, and their voices were all echo-y in the huge cathedral which made them sound even more ethereal and heavenly. After that, we headed to this pub called The Globe (yes, after the theater) with Allie and talked and laughed over fish and chips! Yum!
We headed back to the hotel for the night, pushed the beds together, and all piled in together. If you are a girl, you know exactly what I mean when I saw that those are the best times. I don't even remember all that we talked about, but it was perfect.
Saturday morning, we all got ready for our day. As Mary Grace was straightening her hair, the fire alarm went off and we had to evaculate (we may or may not have had something to do with setting the fire alarm off in the 1000+ room hotel....we'll never for sure...). It was hilarious, but we finally made it down to breakfast. then we headed to check on tickets! There were no good tickets for anything we wanted to see, which was disappointing. But we decided to stop by the Les Mis theater just in case. The manw as really grumpy, and everyone had turned to leave, but Julie and I spotted a "Standing Tickets, £10" sign, so I asked about it. "Oh, yes, you can buy those, but you have to stand up for the whole (2 hour and 50 minute) show," he said. We looked at each other and immediately began pulling out our money. Les Mis!!! In London!!! For £10!!!!
We joyfully made our back through Picadilly to Hyde Park, where we had a wonderful picnic enjoying the sunshine. After a while, we wandered down to Harrod's where we ate some incredible fro yo, looked around in awe (or overwhelmedness), and rode the Egyptian escalator to the voice of the live opera singer. In honor of Carolyn and our love for Victoria and Albert, we headed to the Victoria and Albert museum! We didn't have long, but it was fun to look around for a while. We grabbed a double-decker bus back to Picadilly. We headed to Chinatown, stopped in at Four Season Chinese restaurant, had a hilarious experienec and some delicious Chinese food, and then headed to Les Mis!
The show was, in a word, incredible. I loved it so much. We were all spellbound. Afterwards, we of course went to meet the cast! I think we were all slightly euphoric when we walked home, singing and talking and laughing and dancing a little too. It was perfect!
On Sunday, we headed to all Soul's for church and then to Camden markets. Camden was very interesting, kind of more punk than I was expecting. But it was still fun! We grabbed some lunch and ate in the hotel room so I could get my things before boarding the train back to Brussels. I hated saying good bye, but knowing that Liv and Julie are coming to Brussels next month made it ok! All in all, it was a perfect weekend. Thanks, Julie and Liv, for everything! Love you both!
Liv, MG, Julie, and I in Hyde Park
On Friday, we left really early and met up with Liv and Julie by 8:30. We hugged and screamed in the courtyard of the Royal National Hotel and then made our way up to their room. They had class, so MG and I grabbed breakfast and then napped on their beds. The girls came back, and we visited with some guys on the trip, and then we hit the town! We ate at this perfect cafe called In Season (go there! So cute and good and inexpensive!). Then we made our way through Trafalgar Square (had an interesting time trying to sit on the lions...that never ended up happening, haha), down to Big Ben, across the river, and found a wine and cheese festival. We walked around and spied pumpkin cheesecake. Of course, we had to split a piece! And it was delicious. Then we headed up to Westminster for an Evensong service. Wow. That was beautiful! It was soo cool to be a part of it. The choir was incredible, and their voices were all echo-y in the huge cathedral which made them sound even more ethereal and heavenly. After that, we headed to this pub called The Globe (yes, after the theater) with Allie and talked and laughed over fish and chips! Yum!
Big Ben!
We headed back to the hotel for the night, pushed the beds together, and all piled in together. If you are a girl, you know exactly what I mean when I saw that those are the best times. I don't even remember all that we talked about, but it was perfect.
Love JuJu!
Saturday morning, we all got ready for our day. As Mary Grace was straightening her hair, the fire alarm went off and we had to evaculate (we may or may not have had something to do with setting the fire alarm off in the 1000+ room hotel....we'll never for sure...). It was hilarious, but we finally made it down to breakfast. then we headed to check on tickets! There were no good tickets for anything we wanted to see, which was disappointing. But we decided to stop by the Les Mis theater just in case. The manw as really grumpy, and everyone had turned to leave, but Julie and I spotted a "Standing Tickets, £10" sign, so I asked about it. "Oh, yes, you can buy those, but you have to stand up for the whole (2 hour and 50 minute) show," he said. We looked at each other and immediately began pulling out our money. Les Mis!!! In London!!! For £10!!!!
Fire Alarm! We'll never know...
We joyfully made our back through Picadilly to Hyde Park, where we had a wonderful picnic enjoying the sunshine. After a while, we wandered down to Harrod's where we ate some incredible fro yo, looked around in awe (or overwhelmedness), and rode the Egyptian escalator to the voice of the live opera singer. In honor of Carolyn and our love for Victoria and Albert, we headed to the Victoria and Albert museum! We didn't have long, but it was fun to look around for a while. We grabbed a double-decker bus back to Picadilly. We headed to Chinatown, stopped in at Four Season Chinese restaurant, had a hilarious experienec and some delicious Chinese food, and then headed to Les Mis!
My beautiful friends
The show was, in a word, incredible. I loved it so much. We were all spellbound. Afterwards, we of course went to meet the cast! I think we were all slightly euphoric when we walked home, singing and talking and laughing and dancing a little too. It was perfect!
So Silly
On Sunday, we headed to all Soul's for church and then to Camden markets. Camden was very interesting, kind of more punk than I was expecting. But it was still fun! We grabbed some lunch and ate in the hotel room so I could get my things before boarding the train back to Brussels. I hated saying good bye, but knowing that Liv and Julie are coming to Brussels next month made it ok! All in all, it was a perfect weekend. Thanks, Julie and Liv, for everything! Love you both!
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
Glory Glory Glory
God doesn't need me.
A major theme in life since becoming a Believer is God's glory. From what it means to how it is displayed to it being the point of my life, I have constantly learned things about God's glory. Frequent questions I ask myself are: 1)How can I glorify God? and 2) What can I do to bring Him more glory? And this weekend, sitting in Inistioge in one of the most beautiful places I can imagine, I realized how wrong those questions are.
God doesn't need me to glorify Him. In fact, I cannot give Him any more glory than He already has! While yes, I want my life to please and be an expression of His glory, it doesn't give Him more glory. He has the glory. When Jesus lived the perfect life, died on the cross, overcame death, and broke sin, that is God's expression of glory. He already has all the glory simply because of Who He is. Yes, God in and of Himself is glorified because of Who He is.
And so I cannot do anything to bring God more glory. God doesn't need me to do that. He can't have more glory because He already has it all!
I constantly find myself trying to live up to what God has done for me. After all, He sacrificed it all. And He did it for me. So shouldn't I live a life that is worthy of that? The funny thing (well, not so funny, really) is that I can't. I can never be worthy. When I was preparing to be baptized, Daddy asked me, "What would you say to God if, when you got to the gates of Heaven, He asked, 'Why should I let you in here? What have you done to earn this?'" I thought about it, and as we talked, the answer became clear: "In all honesty, Lord, You shouldn't let me in here. I have done nothing. But You did it for me, and because of Jesus' sacrifice, You forgave me." That is true. Yet I still find myself pushing myself harder, pressuring myself to "earn" God's love, to be worthy of the sacrifice that He made for me. Even though I know the truth, that there is no way I can ever live up to it, that is where I find myself time and time again.
Now a new part of that struggle has been realized. I can't bring God glory, because He has already done it. All I can do, all that I can do, is love Him. And that does not mean living a perfect life, because God knows that I can't and He does not expect that of me. What it does mean is chasing after God first and foremost. It means not settling for what I feel but trusting what I know to be true. It means wrestling and not giving up and not taking the easy way. Loving God means I fail but in my failings I don't despair; instead I rejoice at the God I serve! It means I choose life in every thought and action.
No, I am not enough. I am not worthy. But God looks at me, He sees me for who I am, He sees the dirt and filth and shame, and He smiles and says, "You are Mine. I love you. And see, I am doing a new thing! I am making you new, and I delight in that! You are not enough, but I AM."
And so today, again, I choose to trust and walk in Him and live in the freedom of loving the Lord.
Monday, October 10, 2011
Ireland
And my European travels continue! This weekend, I went to Ireland Ireland Dublin
Standing by Liffey River
We arrived at only 7:30 am, local time. So dropped out things at the hostel, and then we immediately hit the town! First things first, we went to Queen of Tarts for breakfast. If you ever in Dublin
Raspberry tart!
Next we wandered around Dame Street for a while, up through the Temple Ireland Dublin Castle Europe ! So we went with them to Trinity College
This gate was built to hide the slums from British aristocrats visiting the British who were ruling Ireland at the time. It serves no purpose except to pretend that the slums don't exist.
After St. Patrick's we headed along the Liffey River Ireland
St. Patrick's well
You can find this "Door of Reconciliation" in St. Patrick's. Sons of two feuding families chased their way throughout the town, and one barricaded himself inside the church. The one outside finally said, "I am tired of this. Let's call the end of this feud and live in peace." The one inside didn't believe him, and so to prove himself, the one outside the door cut a hole large enough for him to stick his arm through to show he was serious and had no weapon. This is where the phrase, "chance your arm" comes from!
On Saturday, we got up, had breakfast, and then parted ways. I headed to County Kilkenny Kilkenny City
Ten Arch Bridge in Inistioge!
Inistioge Town Square
Eventually, I headed back to Kilkenny City Bruges St. John's Church Kilkenny City for a while, and then I met my train back to Dublin Brussels
Kilkenny Castle
Old church in Kilkenny
It was such a nice and relaxing weekend. Dublin was fun to visit, and I loved Inistioge and Kilkenny City Ireland to visit other areas like Donegal and Galway and The Rower. I'm already trying to talk Mama into going there in the next few years! We added it to the five year plan (you know, the one we made up just so we could add this trip to it!), so hopefully it will happen! Ireland
Last night in Dublin
Tuesday, October 4, 2011
Normandy
We went to Normandy last weekend. What a paradox! As we walked along the sites of World War II battles, the sun shone down in the best weather we've had since being in Brussels. It was truly the most peaceful weekend, yet we were learning about devastating battles...
On Friday, we loaded up in the Furman bus for the 7.5 hour drive to Normandy. We were all fairly excited and in high spirits. There was lots of talking, lots of laughter, lots of napping, and lots of reading for school. Eventually, we made it to Bayeux! We dropped our stuff at the hotel, and then Sey, Cameron, Mary Grace, Theresa, Leah, Connnie, and I went to this great pizza place for dinner. Yum! Such good food and hilarious conversation!
Saturday morning we met our tourguide Claire and loaded the bus for our tour of Normandy. We went to a German cemetary, which was interesting. Then we headed to Utah Beach, home of one of the invasions. What a cool place! Not only was it wonderful to stand by the ocean again (!!!!), but it was incredible to think about American soldiers leaving their ships and storming the beaches.
After a while we stopped for lunch. We grabbed sandwiches, pastries, and drinks, and then we headed to picnic on the beach! Talk about ideal...So perfect. We headed to Pont du Hoc and saw where the Americans attacked the German bunker. We got to tour inside the bunker, which was interesting. Afterwards we headed to Omaha Beach, where soldiers stormed the beach to push back the Germans. Incredible. Then we went to the American cemetary - wow. The graves are endless. Row after row of soldier who sacrificed that I might be free. I just can't get over that. This was particularly moving because those men where my grandparents' family and friends. I'm so thankful, words cannot even express it.
On the way home, we stopped at these German guns, but the field was so inviting that I had to have some frolic time! I just want to build a house on this spot and give tours to Americans all day and drink my tea overlooking the ocean...Sigh.
My apartment at Pont du Hoc
On Friday, we loaded up in the Furman bus for the 7.5 hour drive to Normandy. We were all fairly excited and in high spirits. There was lots of talking, lots of laughter, lots of napping, and lots of reading for school. Eventually, we made it to Bayeux! We dropped our stuff at the hotel, and then Sey, Cameron, Mary Grace, Theresa, Leah, Connnie, and I went to this great pizza place for dinner. Yum! Such good food and hilarious conversation!
Saturday morning we met our tourguide Claire and loaded the bus for our tour of Normandy. We went to a German cemetary, which was interesting. Then we headed to Utah Beach, home of one of the invasions. What a cool place! Not only was it wonderful to stand by the ocean again (!!!!), but it was incredible to think about American soldiers leaving their ships and storming the beaches.
Utah Beach
After a while we stopped for lunch. We grabbed sandwiches, pastries, and drinks, and then we headed to picnic on the beach! Talk about ideal...So perfect. We headed to Pont du Hoc and saw where the Americans attacked the German bunker. We got to tour inside the bunker, which was interesting. Afterwards we headed to Omaha Beach, where soldiers stormed the beach to push back the Germans. Incredible. Then we went to the American cemetary - wow. The graves are endless. Row after row of soldier who sacrificed that I might be free. I just can't get over that. This was particularly moving because those men where my grandparents' family and friends. I'm so thankful, words cannot even express it.
Omaha Beach
American Cemetary at Normandy
On the way home, we stopped at these German guns, but the field was so inviting that I had to have some frolic time! I just want to build a house on this spot and give tours to Americans all day and drink my tea overlooking the ocean...Sigh.
Frolicking. So wonderful!
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