Last Few Weeks...

Spring is officially here in Germany and Summer is just around the corner! But along with this lovely weather comes some sad and exciting changes...my girls are getting ready to head home for the summer and my seniors are preparing to pack up and start a whole new chapter in life. I am finishing up my last few weeks as an RA and preparing to move into a new and different job at the school. It is all exciting changes but ones that are also sad, as any change is. 

All the change in the air also brings back lots of memories from my past of saying goodbyes and knowing that there is a very good chance you won't ever see that person again on this side of heaven. It is hard to say goodbye and I am not looking forward to the goodbyes on Graduation day but what I do know is no matter how hard the changes God is in control! And if He is in control then I can trust Him to hold my heart and carry me through it all! It will be exciting to see what surprises God has in store for this upcoming year! I know that He has some big plans and I am excited to see what all those are!

Here are a few fun pictures from the past few weeks with my girls...

My girls doing their dance/song for BFA's talent show!

Looking out my front door at the guys dorm across the road! Everything is green again!

One of my girls performing at a Strings Concert at BFA!

A weekend of home soccer games up by where I live! BFA against one of the Military schools in Germany!

Out for ice cream with my girls and wear wacky clothes trip that lead to photo shoots outside!

My beautiful Seniors and Juniors all dressed up and ready for Prom! They had their prom last Friday!

Words...

One thing that God has really been teaching me lately is the power of words! So often we think that what is spoken in haste or anger will just be forgotten but in all reality words are like the internet. What you post on the internet is out there forever, what you say be it kind or mean is in the other persons mind forever. Kind words can lift a person up and make them feel like the most loved person! Mean words can lead someone to make some wrong decision and bring harmful results. We need to remember that no matter what is happening around us a quite answer turns away wrath and a kind word can free someone from a dangerous place! 

May we never forget the power of words! 

"...Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks!"-Matthew 12:34b-

Ode to Fathers...

As I was sitting this morning thinking about all that God has done in my life and around me over the past year I was hit with a realization...

I remember when I was very young going with my dad to a special Islander festival, with the people group my parents worked with, I remember being so proud that I was able to go with just my father to see the dances and traditional festivities. I can still feel the feeling of pride and of safety as I held on to his hand and walked down the street in my favorite shoes! 

As I was sitting and remembering this I was hit with the fact that from an early age I have always pictured my walk with God just like that...as a father holding onto my hand as I walked with joy and excitement at His side! Little did I know at the time that a simple act of love from my earthly father would shape how I viewed my Heavenly Father! 

I wanted to take this time to say a huge thank you to all the earthly fathers that take the time to take their daughters, or sons hands, and show them life! Who take the time to love their child! You have no idea how this will impact how your child views God! Thank you for showing His love!

The Hills are Alive with the Sound of Music...

One thing I love about living here in Germany is how close it is to almost everything! 

This past week I was blessed with the chance to do a road trip with some friends to Austria and Holland! It was fun to see the sights from the Sound of Music movie, dance around the same fountain the kids danced around and then finish it all off with a lovely trip to Holland to see some friends and the world famous tulips! 

It was just the kind of Holiday I needed and left me super excited to see what God is going to do next!

Here are some fun pictures from my trip!

The Chapel Captain Von Trapp married Maria in!

A statue in Salzburg!

The garden Maria and the Kids run and sing Doe, Ray, Me in in the movie!

A typical view from the down town of Salzburg!

The fountain Maria and the kids dance around! 

Austrian cakes and coffee!

Holland and the world famous tulip farm!

Out side of the back of the Von Trapp house from the movie with my friends that I traveled with! 

Homesick...

God has shown me lately that it is the little blessings that count and matter! It is the little surprises from Him that make our day, week and year! If you had asked me a few months ago if I was still super homesick for places I have grown up I would of told you no...I have learned to move on. But that is not the truth and I have been hit with that this past week as God keeps bringing person after person back into my life from my past or with connections to a country I have dreamed of returning to for years. A country that I thought I would never see or possibly be in contact with again. 

It is things like this that make you realize that no matter how much you say you have forgotten or moved on you still have left a huge part of your heart in that former country. A part of your heart that will never die or leave. It is hard to know that you might never see those places again or smell the smells or hear the gentle tropical rains but deep down you know that the very fact you had a chance to leave your heart in that place is a huge blessing! How many people can say they have parts of their hearts in different countries? And until you have given your heart to a culture and place you will never truly understand what it means to love a place so deeply that a simple smell or sound can bring back floods of memories! What a blessing that God allows us to give our hearts to each place we go!

The Little Things in Life...

    As I sit here with my window open listening to the birds outside, for one of the first times in a long time, or listening to the sound of the stream outside my window. I am hit with a flood of memories. Memories of days sitting in the hot tropics praying for the first breath of air. Sitting on the beach watching the rain gently hit the water and make little ripples. It is little memories like this that will stick with me forever and make me realize that the little things in life are most often the most important. 

The things that stick with people are not so much the big lavish gifts you gave them as it is the fact you got down on your knees to help them clean out a wound, or you gave a simple note saying you thought of them at that very moment. It is the little things in life that make the biggest impact and as I sit here realizing this I am hit with the fact that those are often the very acts of kindness we find the easiest to forget. It only takes a few minutes for us to take the time to write a note or give a hug but those few minutes can make a persons day.

So as you prepare to head out today think about the little things in life you could do for those you meet! It might just be the little reminder they need of a God who loves them!

Snow Boards, Alps and Hot Coco...

Life, I am continually reminded, is always a surprise. Just when you think you have everything figured out and exactly how everything should end up something unexpected happens and all of a sudden you find that you are yet again in that place of having to surrender it all to God and trust Him alone. A very good place to be but not always fun. There are so many times I wish I had the answers to life, the answers to the big questions of WHY, WHEN, HOW? But that would take away the aspect and need for trust and that I am finding is something we don't ever want to lose. 

No matter how hard it is to truly trust once we do it is like a huge wave of relief and blessing comes flooding over us and we realize that it is all worth it! That no matter the hardships or pains or sorrows as long as God has us that is all that truly matters!

I was blessed this past weekend to be able to go and help lead a retreat that Black Forest Academy puts on for all their students in the Alps. A weekend of seeking God, of building relationships and learning what it means to be still before the King in a place of true beauty! 

I am excited to see what all God has in store for these upcoming months and this past weekend away with staff and students has really given me a deep excitement for all that God is about to do!

Here are some high light pictures from the weekend...

The walk to the little village that was close to where we stayed!

The scenery around the retreat center!

Some of the students!

Some of the students took advantage of being in the Alps and went snow boarding or Skiing!

One of our session times!

Two of my students with some friends!

Where we stayed! It felt like we had just stepped into a movie!