All I can say is: THAT IS QUITE A FASHION STATEMENT! :0)
Saturday, April 30, 2011
Friday, April 29, 2011
Oh, the British and their CRAZY HATS!
Today was the big day! Kate and William are finally married.
I don't know about you, but I wanted to make sure that I caught this big historic event. After all, I want to be able to tell my children one day that I saw Princess Kate and Prince William get married just like my parents talk about the day that Lady Di and Prince Charles got married or some other big event happened. I did not get up at 5 a.m. to watch it, but I did TiVo it. :)
I have to say, I am quite surprised at my reaction. I think most people in my immediate family, including myself, would have thought that I would get all wrapped up in this romance. After all, I was the one in the street car 6th through basically 10th grade was grinning from to ear to ear as I was reading a romantic section from my much beloved romantic teen fiction.
The truth is, I came home and turned on the recording and for several hours tried to get excited and swept up in this fairy tale - but I didn't. It seemed like a facade - not the real thing at all.
Don't get me wrong, I thought Kate's dress was beautiful. STUNNING. She was breath-taking.
The main thing that kept me watching were definitely the hats. Have you ever seen such head accessories in your life? Wow, I finally understand what my dad means when he says, "Oh, the British and their hats!" :0)
On the whole, though, I came away quite saddened. There was a sanctuary filled with 1900 people stumbling along as they were trying to sing beautifully rich lyrics, but their hearts were left completely unmoved by the magnitude of their meaning. The lyrics are filled with words of praise to God, but if felts as if the words were being lost as soon as they escaped the lips of the mouths by which they were being uttered.
I listened to the words of the bishops and did not find flaw in the theology of them, but I did not find them compelling to worship either. Rooms and sanctuaries can be decorated and elegant to the nth degree, but unless the ceremony turns our complete focus to Christ as the center - there will always be a big void. The true beauty of a wedding is when the Gospel is at its center. The evidence of His love and grace shines brightly through the very vulnerability that a believing bride and groom feel as they enter into this sacred covenant on their wedding day. These two people will change in the coming years - no doubt. Who is to say that they will not grow apart and decide that they are just not "right" for one another anymore?
There is no guarantee, but when Christ is at the center of that marriage, then reconciliation, forgiveness, sacrificial love and the power of the love of God is on their side, which conquers all obstacles. It is His power that is made evident and perfect in our weakness that is at the same time mind boggling as well as breath-takingly beautiful.
I've always loved weddings. I love the "magical" aspect about them. Like many if not most girls, I've always had the desire to be a princess and be absolutely beautiful and swept off my feet by my handsome groom. The day would be beautiful and perfect.
That day came for me. And no, it was not as I expected it to be, it is far more meaningful than anything I could of imagined. It has taken me a good amount of time to come to grips with my own vulnerability in this situation, but as I sit back almost a year and half later, I would not describe the life as a wife as "magical" because as a wife I am still living life, everyday life, which has its ups and downs. Instead, the word that comes to mind is "grace". Here we are, two individuals with our own personalities and desires partnering in this thing called "life". And God, in His amazing grace and abounding love, breaks the wills of these two people as they attack life together. Love grows despite the struggles, putting aside our own selves, as we seek to emulate Christ and in so doing learn to truly love.
Now, to me, that is a truly beautiful picture and something that I cannot get enough of.
I don't know about you, but I wanted to make sure that I caught this big historic event. After all, I want to be able to tell my children one day that I saw Princess Kate and Prince William get married just like my parents talk about the day that Lady Di and Prince Charles got married or some other big event happened. I did not get up at 5 a.m. to watch it, but I did TiVo it. :)
I have to say, I am quite surprised at my reaction. I think most people in my immediate family, including myself, would have thought that I would get all wrapped up in this romance. After all, I was the one in the street car 6th through basically 10th grade was grinning from to ear to ear as I was reading a romantic section from my much beloved romantic teen fiction.
The truth is, I came home and turned on the recording and for several hours tried to get excited and swept up in this fairy tale - but I didn't. It seemed like a facade - not the real thing at all.
Don't get me wrong, I thought Kate's dress was beautiful. STUNNING. She was breath-taking.
The main thing that kept me watching were definitely the hats. Have you ever seen such head accessories in your life? Wow, I finally understand what my dad means when he says, "Oh, the British and their hats!" :0)
On the whole, though, I came away quite saddened. There was a sanctuary filled with 1900 people stumbling along as they were trying to sing beautifully rich lyrics, but their hearts were left completely unmoved by the magnitude of their meaning. The lyrics are filled with words of praise to God, but if felts as if the words were being lost as soon as they escaped the lips of the mouths by which they were being uttered.
I listened to the words of the bishops and did not find flaw in the theology of them, but I did not find them compelling to worship either. Rooms and sanctuaries can be decorated and elegant to the nth degree, but unless the ceremony turns our complete focus to Christ as the center - there will always be a big void. The true beauty of a wedding is when the Gospel is at its center. The evidence of His love and grace shines brightly through the very vulnerability that a believing bride and groom feel as they enter into this sacred covenant on their wedding day. These two people will change in the coming years - no doubt. Who is to say that they will not grow apart and decide that they are just not "right" for one another anymore?
There is no guarantee, but when Christ is at the center of that marriage, then reconciliation, forgiveness, sacrificial love and the power of the love of God is on their side, which conquers all obstacles. It is His power that is made evident and perfect in our weakness that is at the same time mind boggling as well as breath-takingly beautiful.
I've always loved weddings. I love the "magical" aspect about them. Like many if not most girls, I've always had the desire to be a princess and be absolutely beautiful and swept off my feet by my handsome groom. The day would be beautiful and perfect.
That day came for me. And no, it was not as I expected it to be, it is far more meaningful than anything I could of imagined. It has taken me a good amount of time to come to grips with my own vulnerability in this situation, but as I sit back almost a year and half later, I would not describe the life as a wife as "magical" because as a wife I am still living life, everyday life, which has its ups and downs. Instead, the word that comes to mind is "grace". Here we are, two individuals with our own personalities and desires partnering in this thing called "life". And God, in His amazing grace and abounding love, breaks the wills of these two people as they attack life together. Love grows despite the struggles, putting aside our own selves, as we seek to emulate Christ and in so doing learn to truly love.
Now, to me, that is a truly beautiful picture and something that I cannot get enough of.
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
Pumped!!!
This past weekend, I got pumped. Really really pumped. About what? Well, the fact that I am going to the European Leadership Forum and am serving with one of the most incredible volunteer teams, working to support something I think is so important.
To be honest, I had not been looking forward to the weekend very much. I was nervous how everything was going to go at the Volunteer Training since I had been responsible for putting it all together. We had a really tough start to the day, but once we go there, boy, it just took off and I had to hold on. The time went by so incredibly quickly.
I met wonderful wonderful people, whose applications and personality tests, etc. I have been processing for the past 5 months and I finally got to meet them. What a wonderful group of people who are coming. I can't wait to meet the other half who are going to be coming from Scottsdale.
There was so much laughter and such a sense of community and joint purpose within just seconds of being together. Ever since college, I have been missing that sense of community and it was just refreshing to be on a team together.
My boss cast the vision of the Forum on Saturday morning, which was followed by an amazing introduction to what our role is going to be at the Forum: serving, loving, working with excellence, and being flexible. I was deeply touched by Pastor Eric's words as he described how Christ's disciples were floored every day as they walked with Jesus and he performed one miracle after the other. The Forum is such an incredibly big thing with so many people and so many tasks and we are going to have the privilege of seeing God show up and work.
I loved getting to talk and connect and with so many different personalities - each person bringing a different set of strengths to the table.
It is my heart to see Europe change. It needs to change desperately as it continues to become more and more secularized. I don't just read statistics about people who are spiritually isolated, but I think about people in my life for whom I wish there was more spiritual nourishment. I long for my childhood friends to have godly mentors pouring into their lives. The resources simply aren't there. That is why I am so excited and supportive of this ministry. Let's empower the leaders that do exist. Let's help them network together and give them resources.
It is my dream, that one day not only my friends and some of my family members will have godly people pouring into their lives, but millions of other Europeans as well.
Five more weeks until Hungary.... :0)
To be honest, I had not been looking forward to the weekend very much. I was nervous how everything was going to go at the Volunteer Training since I had been responsible for putting it all together. We had a really tough start to the day, but once we go there, boy, it just took off and I had to hold on. The time went by so incredibly quickly.
I met wonderful wonderful people, whose applications and personality tests, etc. I have been processing for the past 5 months and I finally got to meet them. What a wonderful group of people who are coming. I can't wait to meet the other half who are going to be coming from Scottsdale.
There was so much laughter and such a sense of community and joint purpose within just seconds of being together. Ever since college, I have been missing that sense of community and it was just refreshing to be on a team together.
My boss cast the vision of the Forum on Saturday morning, which was followed by an amazing introduction to what our role is going to be at the Forum: serving, loving, working with excellence, and being flexible. I was deeply touched by Pastor Eric's words as he described how Christ's disciples were floored every day as they walked with Jesus and he performed one miracle after the other. The Forum is such an incredibly big thing with so many people and so many tasks and we are going to have the privilege of seeing God show up and work.
I loved getting to talk and connect and with so many different personalities - each person bringing a different set of strengths to the table.
It is my heart to see Europe change. It needs to change desperately as it continues to become more and more secularized. I don't just read statistics about people who are spiritually isolated, but I think about people in my life for whom I wish there was more spiritual nourishment. I long for my childhood friends to have godly mentors pouring into their lives. The resources simply aren't there. That is why I am so excited and supportive of this ministry. Let's empower the leaders that do exist. Let's help them network together and give them resources.
It is my dream, that one day not only my friends and some of my family members will have godly people pouring into their lives, but millions of other Europeans as well.
Five more weeks until Hungary.... :0)
Friday, April 1, 2011
Day 4 - Finally Friday!
Well, it's day 4. After a what seemed like and incredibly long day at work, I talked to my mom on the phone, ate dinner with the Tebbe fam, talked to Mom Tebbe about traveling to VA tomorrow for Meredith's baby shower, went on a little shopping adventure, talked to my grandparents on the phone, got my stuff in order - am traveling super light - and am ready to do some reading and head off to bed. 4 am is going to come awfully early!
Sionara!
Sionara!
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