FW: checking in...

Just making one entry since it’s been awhile…

 

Cheers on the 2^nd day of September!

wow...it's been awhile...

being grateful. it's amazing how quickly your perspective can change when you stop and just thank God for all the small things. today...thank You for waking me up; showing me Your love; coffee and friendship with Juniper; relationship with businesses in Kirkland; free cup of coffee at Ladro; ability to work; new beginnings in jobland; pushing through the hard times; believing it is all going to work out; faith; family; friendships; simplicity; joy; rest; quality time with people I love; worship; the Word; Your creation; and the day has still 13 hours left. set your mind and heart of gratefulness and it serves as a blow torch to fear, oppression, bitterness, hopelessness, and so on. it is a mighty useful weapon that is easy to forget we have. pull it out and wield it today...make it a constant weapon in hand and your perspective will continually be fixed on the joy of being alive! until next session...

Sunset at Heritage Park in Kirkland

serious breaking of the law right here in Pike Place market.

Needing a shaking...

Over the past month or so, I have been asking God to help me become child-like again - not childish, but child-like. When I look back on my life over the past several years, I realize that I have become so engulfed in doing things in my own strength and within my own limits. I feel like I have been building and establishing my own life and material goods. I am not saying that establishing things in life is bad, but I have been caught up in creating a comfortable life. This past weekend, I allowed some time to reflect on the differences between my life and the disciples life in the Bible. I cried some deep tears because I realized that I have not been focused on the hurting, needy, hopeless people that I come across on a daily basis. I am convinced that one of the enemies greatest tactics is to get us busy building our own comfortable lives so that we gradually stop noticing the hurting, lonely, poor, broken people. One of the greatest things we as people hold onto is our time. So, if we are busy building our own comfortable lives, then even if we do see the hurting, needy, and broken people, we may immediately reason that we don't have time to love them, because it doesn't fit into our focus of creating a comfortable life. I pray that we lose our comfortable lives and get desperate about loving people unconditionally and giving of our lives to see the lost found, the hurting restored, the broken mended, and the hopeless restored to Hope! Help us get uncomfortable God!

just a few thoughts for today

Lately I have been perplexed about my heavenly Father's love. Why would He care about me, a little speck in the entire universe? Why would He want to love me and hear my thoughts, joys, cries, frustrations, passions,...why? It's unexplainable actually. We will never comprehend His love for us because we really don't deserve it. It's simply because He wants to and delights in loving us. That is such a heavy thought, but I can't think too hard about it. He just asks me to believe Him at His word. It's like this little girl with her dad in the picture. She has no concerns in the world because she is standing with her dad. She is completely free to be herself becasue she is 100% certain that her dad loves her and will take care of all her needs, wants, and desires. I am learning to be child-like and become simple again. It's easy for the things of this world to come cloud our view of Abba. He doesn't make things complicated, we do. Matthew 11:30 says, For My yoke is wholesome (useful, good--not harsh, hard, sharp, or pressing, but comfortable, gracious, and pleasant), and My burden is light and easy to be borne (Amplified). The words described here hit me in a new way today because I realize that sometimes I allow the concerns of the world, or what others think of me, or the tension of living in this earthly life, weigh me down. This verse puts all of those tensions into perspective. I need this perspective continuosly. May we truly become like children who know that their Daddy is going to take care of everything and He delights in them. He's crazy about us! Just believe it...don't analyze it or diminish it by reeling through all that you aren't or want to be. He sings over us just as we are...because He wants to, not because we deserve it. I am rejoicing today for that simple revelation from my Daddy.

Peacock chasing me...

Dreams...I had a dream the other night that peacock was chasing me. I wasn't afraid and actually I was enjoying the playfulness of the peacock. A few days later a friend tells me that she has been crazy about peacock's the last few months and proceeds to tell me the meaning of a peacock. (You may not believe that dreams symbolize certain things, but if you take note of your dreams and do some research on the meaning of dreams you will soon realize that they do carry great meaning.) So, my friend tells me that peacocks are a symbol of resurrection and new beginnings. Immediately, I had to laugh because last year "new beginnings" was a common phrase in my life. I guess He isn't done yet with that theme in my life. Interestingly enough, the peacock (resurrection, new beginnings) was chasing me in my dream! That was an additional symbolism that made me smile. Furthermore, a friend's mom had a dream about me two nights ago and she emailed me the dream and meaning of the dream. She dreamt that I was standing, smiling as I held onto the rains of a half of a horse...sounds bloody, but half a horse actually means something:) Half a horse means new works! To add to the animal theme, a few weeks ago I was at a church service in California and three ladies prayed and prophesied over me. None of these ladies knew anything about me. The first lady prayed over me and said she saw a horse racing toward the future. The second lady was an ex-member of the Columbia drug cartel and I went up to her and asked to hear her testimony. She gave me a very brief version of it and then I asked her to pray for me. She prayed many things and then said that I have the gift of joy. The third lady prayed a few things and then pointed out that I have the gift of joy (none of the ladies were with each other when they prayed for me). She expounded on the joy gift for a bit and it was very direct to my heart and what I needed to hear!

All this to point out that God is so interested in encouraging us, especially when we are hungry for Him. He is speaking some themes in my life and I would be silly not to pay attention to them. So, today I acted in faith toward what He is speaking to me. I was being trained on a job that I just accepted on Monday. Today was my first shift and within thirty minutes of being there, I knew that I couldn't accept the job because it was not my "new beginning". It would be a fine job, but I can't just accept fine jobs anymore. I must do what He wants me to do and not just accept something because it is secure. He is teaching me to risk and not settle for the common.

So, I await the "new beginning" and "resurrection" to come chasing me. It is a life of faith, right?

I drove to Alki Beach this afternoon, to process my decision and get outside in His creation. Here are a few pictures of the end of this monumental day of living FAITH!

My last meal was in Murten with Sara.

A little chimney in Murten.

Eric being goofy for his kids!

View from playing the drums.

Another one of my favorite villages - Thun.

This is Magglingen, a famous place where people go to train for winter sports. Simone and I just went walking up here and we were looking down on the clouds in Biel.

This is one of my favorite villages in Switzerland. It is Aarberg.

Erik Mongrain

You have to check this guitarist out...August Rush eat your heart out! Let these kinds of sounds be released in a greater dimension!

Return to the States

It is always hard to leave my other home...but always great to return to life here in the States. There are different atmospheres in Switzerland and in Washington, and both have their advantages and challenges. I realize that being back home here in the US there is a greater anticipation for new opportunities, at least that is how I feel. In Switzerland, I don't feel that as much and I am assuming it's because not speaking the language forces that feeling of restraint. The Swiss love to take the time and enjoy every part of life, especially eating and being with one another -a treasure that Americans can tend to lack. In coming home I am not the same person. I left intending to have a great experience and I come home wanting to change things in my life. I don't ever want to go somewhere and not be changed when I come back to "normal" life. I am determined to take more time to enjoy the everyday moments in life and not to diminish the value of the "now" just because there is a sense of "hurry up" and do more here in this nation. I would encourage everyone to go away every once in awhile and get a fresh perspective of life. One of my favorite concepts that I learned from a dear women in Switzerland is that life has seasons for a reason. Some seasons have rain, some have sunshine...all of them are needed and hold within them treasures for our maturity and growth. The key is to find joy in the midst of every season that comes our way.

I love how I can be in a completely different culture and nation and feel so at home. I have been here in Biel for about 5 days and it feels like I have been here for a month. Yesterday it snowed for awhile and again everything looks beautiful. It has been so cold here that the snow has stayed frozen on everything. It has been about -6 degrees Celsius for the past two weeks here. Well, I must go for now...

Leaving for der Schweiz...

I have a few days left before flying to Bern Switzerland to participate in a worship conference at the JAHU church in Lyss, Switzerland. I am looking forward to being with my friends over there and to just get away for a bit before I dive into my business.

When I look ahead at the coming year, I am excited for all that is ahead. With my natural eyes, I see impossible things, but I know that with Him all things are possible. I am choosing to lift my head and think in faith, not fear.

I walked the streets of Kirkland the other day and met a few business owners on Park Lane. I have time now to get involved with the city of Kirkland and it's local businesses. I am looking forward to meeting new people and making new connections. (by the way, it's snowing right now:) I met one business owner who was so helpful in giving me people's names of Kirkland associations, so that I can get involved now that I am full-time at Blaubak Gallery now.

I find that sitting at local coffee shops (Cafe Ladro, St. James Espresso, etc) are great places to get things done for work.

Okay, I am headed home. Remember that today has enough worries of itself, so don't worry about what hasn't happened yet. (I learned that idea partly from the Word of God and partly from Jane Guthrie!).