Thanks....Giving

For us here in Deutschland, tomorrow is just another day. In the states, tomorrow will be a big day for families and friends to get together and take time from their busy lives to relax a little and spend some great time talking, laughing and eating together. Karen and I spent last Wednesday celebrating Thanksgiving day with some friends here in Chemnitz. We had turkey, dressing, mashed potatoes, and green bean cassaroll. It was truly a time for us to be thankful. One of the things that I was most thankful for was having people who understood what this tradition is all about to share this meal and time together. Karen and I have learned so much about German culture, German ways of thinking, and about living a different lifestyle than we were use to in the states. But there are some things that will always be important, like celebrating thanksgiving day. It is really not about the food... okay the food is incredible... it is about have a time together with people you love and sharing. Sharing food yes, but more than that it is sharing our lives with each other. We are a long way away from our families at this holiday time, but I am so thankful for the celebration that we were able to enjoy last week. I want to be more thankful everyday for all the blessings that God POURS out on us. He gives us so much, sometimes I don't really appreciate all He gives me. God is great and He loves us so much and just like a good father he provides for His children. Thank you. I hope you enjoyed your thanksgiving day... I hope you are thankful everyday.

Taking a trip to Leipzig

Today Karen and I took a day trip to Leipzig. As we look to the very near future of moving there and planting a church, we feel it is important to spend time getting to know the city and people. I say very near future because in our lives, as I am quite sure is true in your lives also, time flies by faster than we are ever ready for. Today we spent time walking through the city and trying to get a better feel for the layout of the city. The people are very friendly and quite helpful when you go into one of the little shops. Leipzig has over 750,000 people, man is that a lot of people or what? It is a growing city, with many new buildings being built and a lot of renovation on older buildings. It takes us about an hour to get to Leipzig by train, but we feel so blessed to have such good public transportation. I am going to put in a couple of pictures of the city and then make this post and get to bed... it is quite late here. I just want to say thank you for reading this blog and for keeping us, this work, and the lost of this country in your prayers. Hope you enjoy the pictures. Okay, the pictures are first... I am still trying to figure this whole blog thing out... thanks for the patience.
Mark

God is at work

Often I think that we forget to slow down and see God working. Here me out... God works in His own time and in His own ways, but sometimes we are not on the same page. Take for instance some friends of mine here in Deutschland. Simone has been a Christian now for about a year. But after listening to her "salvation story" I realized that God had been working on her for the last 10 years. He has put different people into her life that have continued to help her get a little closer to God and His son, each and every year. Now her husband Jürgen, has come along in what seems to be a much quicker pace. But when I really think about it, he too was being influenced all along while she was growing. It thrills my heart to hear from Jürgen today with a request for Karen and I to come to Bremen next weekend and celebrate with him as he puts on Christ in baptism. Man, what a great event that we get to participate in. Thank you father for working in so many peoples lives... including mine. Take a few moments this day and slow down and look and see God working... in your life and the lives of those around you, it will give you a great feeling.

How do you limit God?

This morning as I was preparing for a lesson, an English Bible Study Lesson, on Friday night here in Chemnitz, I ran across a verse that hit me very strong. I was reading in John 11. This is the chapter about Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead. Jesus had waited to come to Bethany even after he had heard that Lazarus was ill. Verse 5 makes special point to explain to us that Jesus cared very deeply for these three people, Mary, Martha and Lazarus. But he waited... Martha is the first to see and talk with him, then comes Mary and she is followed by the friends, neighbors, family that were mourning with her at the loss of her brother. When they arrive where Jesus is, the folks with Mary make a unique statement. Verse 37 says, "But some of them said, "Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?" It is interesting to me that they at some point had witnessed Jesus healing a blind man. Because of what they had seen they believed that had Jesus been there before Lazarus died he could have saved him from dying. What they could not see was what he was about to do... raise him from the dead. They could not see what he was going to do because they could not imagine that it could happen. See my point? Sometimes we can't imagine what God can and will do in and with our lives because we can't even imagine it. That doesn't mean that it won't happen though. God can see on a much grander scale than us. We have limited sight, we have limited insight, we have limited.... I could go on, but you get the point. The greater point is that God is not limited! Trust in God to use you in ways that you cannot imagine. A friend of mine put it this way, "Let go and let God!" He also said to put on your rollerskates when you do because God will make it hard to keep up with Him without them! This week, don't limit what God can do just because you cannot imagine it happening!

Why difficult times?

Karen and I try to start every morning by reading our Bible together... outloud... in English and then in Deutsch. It is more than a chance to practice our pronunciation and reading skills. It is a time of reflecting together on God's word, it is a time of hearing how the other one is effected by what we read, and it is a time to see how in different languages we can have a deeper, fuller understanding of what God is trying to share with us. It is truly a blessing for us, what a way to start the day!

This morning we were reading Philippians chapter 1. It struck me once again how God uses so many things in our lives for "HIS WORK". Let me back up a second. How many of you out there actaully like difficult times? How many of you out there relish the fact that at some point or at some time in your life you are going to have to suffer? It may not even be your fault! But it is gonna come. I think I can step out there and say that not any of us like it. Not any of us even want it! The hard thing sometimes is that we often do not understand why those things are happening to us. Sometimes we may even cry out to God and ask Him why these things are happening... or even why He allows or makes them happen to us.

I like Paul's way of looking at difficulty: 1:12-14
Now I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel. As a result, it has become clear throughout the whole palace guard and to everyone else that I am in chains for Christ. Because of my chains, most of the brothers in the Lord have been encouraged to speak the word of God more courageously and fearlessly.
Paul was put in jail because he preached Christ and Him crusified, and the religious leaders of his day didn't like it. Ever been in prision for something you didn't do? Not me. I think if I had I would be feeling pretty sorry for myself, but not Paul. He was preaching the good news of Jesus Christ to the guards! Talk about a captive audience! I think Paul sees the glass as half full, how about you? Not only was he able to continue to preach to those in his reach, the other Christians who knew of Paul's situation were so encouraged that they were even more boldly proclaiming the wonderful message of Christ.

Okay, I know that we all have difficult times in our lives. It is just the way it is. What is different for us as Christians is how we handle it. Do we grip about it, do we whine about it, do we grumble and complain, do we blame God? Or, do we look for the good that can be accomplished in our given situations. Sometimes we may not get to see the immediate effect... but we learn and with that learning we can help, encourage, strengthen someone else. Paul went on to say something that most of us can quote, "For me to live is Christ, to die is gain." He was looking forward to his reward, but he was also going to use his every breath to try to bring the lost to Jesus and to encourge those committed to Christ to remain true to Him.

Next time difficulty strikes... oh yea, it is gonna happen... look for the possitive in the situation, LOOK for the positive. It is an attitude, and a very good one! I believe God allows/makes things to happen to us because He knows the BIG picture. It is bigger than me, HIS plan. I am so glad that He uses me in His plan. I truly want to bring Him glory in every situation. How about you?

Kitchen Pictures

Here are a few pictures of the kitchen building project, Deutschland style.

Chemnitz, Deutschland

What can I say? It has been a remarkable 3 1/2 weeks. First we packed everything that we own up and loaded it into a van that was about the size of my work van when I was a locksmith. Karen, Sebastian and I then drove about 5 hours (a remarkable time) to Chemnitz. I have to tell you that it was pretty great all the help we had in Bremen to help us get loaded up. My thanks go out to Jurgen and Simone, they can pack a truck like no ones business! Once in Chemnitz, we had everything loaded up and in the new apartment in about 40 minutes. Man, that was fast. Karen and I took the next week to put our furniture back together. We had to disassemble it all to get it into the truck. Once the furniture was assembled, next came the fun part of delivering the kitchen. I believe the driver told me that there were 118 seperate pieces. Sounds like alot doesnt it? IT IS! But you have to remember that the only thing in the kitchen... or the room designated for the kitchen... was four walls, a floor, a ceiling and a light bulb hanging from the ceiling. Ha, okay the light bulb is still hanging from the ceiling even though the kitchen is finished. :-)

It took us about two weeks to complete the kitchen. I was able to do everything without hiring any of it done. Actually, most of the applicances were fairly easy to install and wire... a blessing. We now have countertop, oven, stove top, sink and running water. Right after finishing the kitchen I went to a monday through friday mens retreat. I arrived home from that yesterday and then got up at 5:30 this morning to take Karen to the train station for her to go to the ladies retreat till next Friday. Thanks for all your prayers on our behalf. I will write more later and bring you completly up to date... like how it took 3 weeks for us to get internet access. Didn't realize how much I counted on the internet. It is good to be back. Love you all.
Mark