Happy July 4th!

I'm not overly patriotic, but I am grateful that God has blessed America these last 230 years. I am grateful that we live in a country where we are free to do as we please (within limits, of course). And we can worship in a manner according to our beliefs. And women are as free as men. And children can dream of being almost anything they want to be. And materially speaking, we are very rich, especially compared with the majority of people in the world.

The United States is so diverse, it is hard to describe her to the folks here in Spain. She covers 3.7 million square miles, almost the size of Europe. Spain would fit inside Texas with room to spare. Every state is so different and there is so much beauty to see within our own borders. Of course, at 230 years old, she's very young. I realized how young when I stood in front of the aqueduct in Segovia, Spain that was built 2,000 years ago.

In case you couldn't tell, I'm feeling a little nostalgic these days. Perhaps it's because I'm "alone" here for now, at least in regards to other friends from the U.S. Although I will be driving down to Madrid on the 4th to spend the day with the Schweitzers, part of our WorldVenture Spain team. And I was in Madrid yesterday to celebrate the birthday of Thomas McGee, the son of our newest WorldVenture Spain teammates. They spent a year in Costa Rica at language school but were surrounded by Americans, so they are experiencing a different level of culture shock here in Spain.

I received an email from a friend in the States a few days ago that started this whole nostaglia thing. I don't usually pay too much attention to "junk e-mail" but I watched the video (click here) and it made me cry and at the same time it made me grateful for my home country. With all its faults, it's still a beautiful place to live with more variety than can almost be imagined. And I'm looking forward to seeing parts of it when I'm back this fall and winter. I'm looking forward even more to seeing many of you.

Enjoy this 4th of July with family and friends and know that I'm thinking of you and missing you.

Poland bound

I stole this image from my friend Dan's blog. (I thought this was really cool. You can make your own by going to www.churchsigngenerator.com.)

Our team of high school students from my home church in Littleton, Colorado was stuck in Chicago for three days on their way to Poland because their plane left Denver too late to make their connecting flight. (If you're interested, you can read all about their experiences here. They have photos and an audio blog and all kinds of cool stuff.)

They are on their way now and should be there sometime today. I have a more personal interest in these trips because my daughter has been one of the adult leaders for the past three years. And I also have a good friend who is serving in Poland as of this spring (you can see her blog by clicking on The Poland Pulse in my links).

Following their journey on their blog, I have been very impressed by how this group has handled the delay and their confidence that God is at work. It brought to mind something I just read in Reaching for the Invisible God by Yancey, "I am learning that mature faith, which encompasses both simple faith and fidelity, works the opposite of paranoia. It reassembles all the events of life around trust in a loving God. When good things happen, I accept them as gifts from God, worthy of thanksgiving. When bad things happen, I do not take them as necessarily sent by God--I see evidence in the Bible to the contrary--and I find in them no reason to divorce God. Rather, I trust that God can use even those bad things for my benefit."

God is alive and well and working on our behalf! Join me in praying for these young people as they take God's love to the young people of Poland for the next 10-12 days. Here's a photo of the team before they left the church on Monday afternoon.

Books, books and more books

I am making a little progress on my list of books to be read in 2006. Although I must confess that I added a few more to the list. Since the last time I blogged on this subject, the total amount to be read has been reduced to 58. Still a daunting number but I do love to read, so the only struggle is finding the time to do it.

The last three books I have read were written by Philip Yancey. To quote Chuck Colson, "Philip Yancey is one of the most engaging and convicting writers in the Christian world. Once again he has produced a work with something in it to make everybody mad." He certainly has a way of challenging a lot of my preconceived notions about God and faith and grace. In What's So Amazing About Grace?, his chapter on loving homosexuals as Jesus would was particularly challenging. There are far too many things I could have underlined in this book, but I'll include a little from his chapter on legalism (entitled "Grace Avoidance") here.

"At first glance legalism seems hard, but actually freedom in Christ is the harder way. It is relatively easy not to murder, hard to reach out in love; easy to avoid a neighbor's bed, hard to keep a marriage alive; easy to pay taxes, hard to serve the poor. When living in freedom, I must remain open to the Spirit for guidance. I am more aware of what I have neglected than what I have achieved. I cannot hide behind the mask of behavior, like the hypocrites, nor can I hide behind facile comparisons with other Christians...Jesus proclaimed unmistakably that God's law is so perfect and absolute that no one can achieve righteousness. Yet God's grace is so great that we do not have to. By striving to prove how much they deserve God's love, legalists miss the whole point of the gospel, that it is a gift from God to people who don't deserve it. The solution to sin is not to impose an ever-stricter code of behavior. It is to know God."

The other two books, for those interested, were The Jesus I Never Knew and Reaching for the Invisible God. Actually I'm not finished with the last one yet. But it's very good as well. As the book jacket says, "If you're ready for a spiritual journey that reconciles faith with honesty, start here. Reaching for the Invisible God helps you move from tough questions to a deeper relationship with a God you can trust, love, and live for with all your heart."

It's Hot!

For those of you who don't know, I hate hot weather. And summer has arrived early in Spain. By 9 a.m. it's 25º (77ºF) and by noon it's around 30-35º (86-95ºF). If I could just sit by the fan, I'd be fine. But I can't. I'm moving from my place to Jon and Kathy's but I don't make more than 2 or 3 trips a day because it's too hot. I'm only moving small stuff and trying to pack up the rest. The men at church have all said they will help when I'm ready. It's a good thing I have plenty of time because at this rate, I won't be ready for several weeks.

Well, enough whining. It could be worse. Or could it? :-)

June Update

English Tutoring

I have begun tutoring a 12 year old boy in English twice a week. I’m enjoying it more than I thought I would. His father is the brother of my good friend and language helper from church. They would like me to continue to tutor him through the summer. They are not believers so please pray that my life will be a reflection of God’s love and grace. This is also an answer to prayer regarding someone to practice Spanish with.

Moving

Last month during a discussion with my landlord regarding the paperwork necessary for me to file my taxes here in Spain, he requested that I pay the back taxes for this year and he wanted to increase my rent considerably. After discussion with mission personnel, we decided to deny his request since it was not in accordance with my rental contract. He has responded very positively, but has indicated he will change my contract next March when it comes up for renewal. Since Jon & Kathy will be out of their apartment for a year while they are in the States, and I will also be in the States for several months, we’ve decided I will move into their place while they are gone and look for another place next summer when they return from the States. This will help both of us financially and will give me a quieter place to live and work.

This month’s quote:

“Over the margins of life comes a whisper...a faint call, a premonition of richer living which we know we are passing by. Strained by the very mad pace of our daily outer burdens, we are further strained by an inward uneasiness because we have hints that there is a way of life vastly richer and deeper than all this hurried existence, a life of unhurried serenity and peace and power.”

--Thomas Kelly

Praises:

1. Deborah (the wife of my professor) is doing well. She has been back at work and they are taking a short vacation to France to visit her family.
2. The renewal process for my residence card is underway. Pray that there will be no “bumps” in the process.
3. God has provided an unexpected answer to my desire for additional language helpers in the form of my English student and his mother.

Prayer Requests:

1. Pray that my English tutoring is an enjoyable time for both of us and that I reflect God’s love and grace to this family.
2. This week I will begin meeting with my language helpers from last fall. I plan to return to language school once a week during the summer. Pray that I would find one more person to meet with weekly to practice my Spanish.
3. Pray that I will find a place to store most of my belongings while I am living in Jon & Kathy’s apartment.
4. Pray that the dollar strengthens soon. We have to live on approximately 25% less income while our expenses remain the same.