Blossoms of Light

Okay honestly time. I really do not like looking at Christmas lights. . . sorry my dear sister, Nicole. BUT last night was a blast! We all went to Denver's Botanic Gardens' "Blossoms of Light". It was cold and the lights were everywhere. We had a great time just walking through the gardens looking at the lights, talking and doing a lot of laughing! What a great memory maker! Thanks guys for making my Christmas so special!

Packing is hard work!

I never thought that packing would be as hard as it is! All of the little details and all of the things that I have to get straight in order to not have a customs fiasco! I am doing my move to Poland in 3 stages and that is making it VERY interesting! First I must get everything that I need to take with me on the plane (of course paying for extra lugage), pack everything that will come over later with Daniel and Iwona who are also Josiah Venture people and finally, anything that I still need that one of the Denver youth groups bring to me during the summer.

I have never packed like this before and can say that I am not the most detailed, orginized person. I am trying to look at it as a game and to see how much I can get done and how well I can do it in order to take the last week "off" to say good-bye and get ready to take the next chapter in my life well.

I know I am not making much sense. I am really writing this so that I can get in bed and sleep rather than stay awake thinking of all the things that need to be orginazed and done. So, please forgive this little entry and consider it a little look into my thinking. . . :)

Merry Christmas! It was one year and two days ago that I started this blog journey. I am amazed how much God has done in my life over this past year! My dream of moving to Poland has now become a reality!

I am thinking about this year and how much God has provided for me. I have been blown away by the number of people who have caught the vision that God has for Poland's youth. Those who have been so gracious in supporting me both prayerfully and financially, has given me a taste of God's grace and desire to see

The Time is HERE!

It has been a long road, but the end has come! I am going to POLAND!!!! I got word from my head office that I have raised all the needed funds and now I get start a new chapter in my life next month! Yes, I will be a “Polska” resident in January!

Please pardon my excitement. This has been a 13-year journey and I never thought that God would really have me return. HE IS FAITHFUL!!!

I am planning to leave towards the end of January and will be living in Katowice, Poland.

Thank you to all who have faithfully prayed and supported me! I cannot fully express my gratitude.

In the women’s bible study I attend we talk about how God’s timing is perfect and how our lives (after we are believers) are not identified by sin and the flesh, but by grace and the Spirit. During this time, I could not help but think of all of the lies about sin that I have believed. For the longest time, I believed that the main reason for the delay in my return to east Europe was that I was not “good” enough for God to use me and that God was punishing me for sinning against Him. WHAT A LIE!!!!

The timing of my departure has ALL been about HIS TIMING!

Life with Christ is a life of freedom from feeling guilty when I sin. He already paid the price for all of that sin. My life is a life that follows God because I LOVE Him, not because I am afraid of His wrath if I do not follow His commands. I follow His commands, because I LOVE Him. His grace is covering those times when my flesh (sinful self) temporarily takes over. I don’t have to fear retribution, because HE has paid it all. Sure, the Holy Spirit makes me feel conviction for my sinful behavior, but it is NOT guilt. My guilt has been paid by Jesus' shed blood on the cross and His resurection!

Through this class I have been able to see that my staying and going has been His doing and not mine. He did not keep me here longer than I wanted in order to punish me, but to show me and help me better prepare myself for the stresses that I am facing now and will face when I move over to Poland.

So there you have it, the BIG announcment. I am going to POLAND!!! YEAH! Thank you, dear LORD!

My Turn about Narnia

I have taken some time to process my opinions about Narnia. My first thought was, “Wow! What a great movie. Had some technical “flubs”, but Wow!” I loved the way that the book was followed. Yes, it was not perfect, but NO movie adaptation completely follows the book.

As I was watching the film, I kept on thinking about how I am so much like Edmund in my selfishness and in my own ways of trying to get ahead. I would have liked to have seen Edmund a bit meaner and whinier (as the book depicts). His obsession for Turkish Delight reminded me of some of the things that I have made into idls in my life.

I really LOVED Lucy and her innocent wonder and the way she trusted Aslan, not because she could scientifically prove who Aslan was, but because she trusted in whom Aslan SAID He was! I have experienced that wonder and they were the most freeing and stressless times in my life.

With Peter, I experienced the same fear and frustration with that fear that

he showed. I also saw the confidence that he gained through the power of

Aslan! I have experienced that same power as I have allow Christ to give me

the strength.

Susan was bitter sweet for me because I have read all of the books. I will not give it away, but I kept looking at her as a warning for my life.

I loved the beavers and almost saw them as Pricilla and Aquilla type characters as they instructed and protected the children. (If you do not know these two people, check out the New Testament!) They were passionate about Aslan and TRUTH as well as concern and love for the children.

The white witch was great. I was a bit disappointed that she did not shrink away from Aslan as much as she did in the book, but I understand why the movie had to make her a bit stronger for theatrical purposes. She was even more evil than I had imagined her as I read the book. Her evil was so subtle and attractive in a very strange way. She was beautiful and yet eerie at the same time. I could see why Edmund fell for her schemes. How often do I fall for the schemes of the evil one because they look so attractive?

Aslan, Wow! I have heard criticisms about the CG look, the lack of emotion, the lack of screen time . . . I loved him! I wish he would have been a bit larger, but they did a great job. Honestly, I don’t think that film could fully capture what C.S. Lewis meant for our minds to capture. He looks a bit different for everyone who reads the book. Aslan is part spiritual when you read the book and I truly think that the movie only captured one person’s view. Aslan to me was wonderful and once again, I was reminded of the price that Christ paid for my sin.

I was awed by what the Cair Paravel scene did to my heart. The children became Kings and Queens, not by their actions, but by Aslan’s. It reminded me of how my identity and place in life is NOT due to my actions but Christ’s. It was inspiring and comforting to know that just as Aslan was in charge of Narnia, so is Christ in charge of earth and my life.

My mind and heart has been mulling this wonderful movie around and as much as I would have LOVED to have seen a more “Christian” movie, I had to remind myself that it was not made to be a Christian movie. I really think that God would NOT want that. If it was, then we Christ’s followers would depend on IT to share Christ instead of us. I feel that we have been given a wonderful opportunity to use this film as a source and conversation starter to ADD TO how we are living as we take the journey of life with those who need the love of Christ. My question is, will Christ followers take the challenge or will we just chuck it up as a great movie that was “Pro’-Christian”?

The Wizards of Winter!

Christmas time means hearing some of my favorite songs! I love the old carols and they remind me how blessed I am to be created by a God who loves me SO much that He pursues me EVERYDAY, wanting to have an intimate relationship with me! He is SO GOOD!

Another thing I love is getting out my TransSiberan Orchestra out and hearing some great Christmas songs on Mountain Dew! They are a GREAT band! You should check them out!

My freind Tim put this on his blog and I know that we have different people reading our different blogs so I know he will not mind me using his great Christmas find of the season! Here is house owner who obviously LOVES this group too and put his Christmas decorations together with the song in mind. . . You will understand what I mean as soon as you see it! It is pretty cool!
And now click on :Wizards of Winter