It Was Peaceful There- Mittenwald, Germany (and other life news)

     The past few weeks, I have found myself often thinking on this absolutely lovely little village in Bavaria where my parents and I spent several days at the end of last summer. I guess I wasn't expecting to fall in love with this place quite as much as I did. I knew it would be gorgeous, I knew the air would be clean and I knew I would have some time to breathe deeply and find some peace after and before huge changes in my life, but I wasn't expecting to be reflecting so deeply on my time spent there less than a year later. I guess it makes sense, really. Since returning from Warsaw at the very end of August of last year, my life has been almost constantly in a state of flux. I have been desperately trying to find my niche and seek answers from God on exactly where He wanted me next and what He wanted me to be doing once I arrived there. I still haven't settled, but I so long to. I think for me, Mittenwald has come to represent a place where I felt at peace. It was a safe place far from too much familiar commercialism. It was a place where there seemed no threats and nature lived in harmony with people. I think in the midst of uncertainty and change and scary things, my mind longs to find that quiet peace that I know lives in Mittenwald.
     For myself and actually, many other people I know, this winter was long and cold and dark, but not just physically. It seems that both many of my closest relations and also myself daily faced some sort of spiritual oppression that was attempting to cut us off from the Light. Thank God for His grace to carry us through even the darkest and coldest of winters.There were days that I honestly didn't feel an ounce of strength left to continue and in those moments, I am so thankful that God sent family or friends my way to help just carry me through the night. What's a bit coincidental is that just as spring is finally (slowly...so, so slowly) arriving, life in general is beginning to look much brighter as well. I can feel a new chapter creaking open and I can almost see the pen dipping into the fresh ink for new stories of grace and journeys and adventures to be written into my life and the lives of those around me. It's exciting, really. The physical and spiritual worlds have survived a very tough few months and new life is beginning to burst through just as we approach Holy Week. How beautiful.
     With all that being said, I would like to share with you several of my favorite photos from this tiny village in the German Alps. Before that though...I would also like to mention (casually) that after so many months of trying and seeking and praying, it seems that God is opening the door for me to return to Poland to teach for two years (I know- long enough to settle!!!) and even earn some further education for myself while I am there. I am so excited to see what God has in store for me during this time, but being that right now my focus is mainly on paperwork, organizing and "gosh, I hope this really is happening", I haven't yet been ready to put this news out there officially, until now. So, there you have it- Lord willing, I should be moving sometime this May! And without further ado, here are those photos of Mittenwald...enjoy!

Books, books, books!!!

    Hello there! So much happening these days, but unfortunately, I haven't had the mental headspace nor physical time to write about any of it! I promise an update soon-ish, but in the meantime: Books! Who doesn't love a good read, right?          

     Here's what I'm currently delving into (or will be delving into this spring and summer). There is such a long list of even more reads which I want to pick up in the near future, but I think these will keep me busy for the duration. Happy spring wishes to you all! (Also- in case you can't quite see the title, the top book is A Wonder Book by Nathaniel Hawthorne.)

Book Review: Unbreakable- What the Son of God Said About the Word of God

     Another book review? Is this going to be a regular thing?!? ...I mean, maybe? Is that alright? Yes? Good, because this is about one that is really worth the read. 
     The book Unbreakable was written by Andrew Wilson who is an elder at Kings Church in Eastbourne, United Kingdom which is a part of New Frontiers. You can find links to more

information on both Kings and New Frontiers at the end of this post. I would love to bore you with a long and slightly silly story of how I've heard of Andrew, but I won't because it's not necessary. I will say that if you're looking for additional spiritual food for the soul then you may be interested in watching the Sunday sermons from Kings on their website and you may find yourself (as I have) blessed and amazed at watching from afar as God grows this ministry (unless you live in Eastbourne, in which case you should probably just go visit the church on Sunday).
      Unbreakable-What the Son of God Said About the Word of God is a short and simple, but very intelligently written text on the authority and trustworthiness of Scripture. I found it to be an excellent read to challenge a wide audience ranging from new believers to long-time believers to well learned skeptics. In short- we can trust the Word of God because Jesus does. "Jesus, it seems, loved the word of God with his heart (being satisfied by it), his mind (understanding it), and his will (obeying it)." (page 18. Ubreakable) Andrew explains with strong intellect, but easy-to-grasp clarity that Jesus viewed and taught Scripture as God-breathed/inspired, so we can doubly trust it and Him as He revealed Himself to be the true Messiah prophesied of and promised within Scripture. Scripture affirms Christ's Messianic position by listing so many prophecies long before Jesus was born that actually did happen through Him/to Him/because of Him and Jesus asserts Scripture's authority as from God. It flows both ways.
      Unbreakable goes on to explain that Jesus was just as serious as His opponents (most often the Pharisees and Sadducees) on the correctness of Scripture (at that time meaning the Old Testament). He continuously affirmed the Old Testament as absolute Truth from God. If we believe only the Bible or Jesus, we can then believe both because both confirmed each other. We as imperfect mortals can misunderstand Scriptures, but this does not make Scripture any less full of rightness and accuracy. During Jesus' life, the religious leaders of the day often debated Him over the truth of God and I think we in modern times often do the same, though we cannot currently access Jesus in physical form. Depending on where we are in regards to spiritually, we may doubt or worry about or even criticize the coherence of the the Word of God. Andrew does very well in writing on how Jesus taught clearly the coherency of Scripture, even to His greatest skeptics. One of my favorite quotations from the book regarding the coherency of Scripture can be found on page 28-  "You don't know the Scriptures. You've read God's word so clumsily, and so superficially, that you haven't noticed how coherent it is: how themes can appear in Genesis and then wait until Isaiah before they're developed, and how doctrines like resurrection are hinted at in Exodus, even if they're not stated fully until Daniel. So you play one part against another, without recognizing that they're all given by the same God. If you understood the coherence of Scripture, the beautiful way in which it all hangs together, you would never make such a silly argument. But you don't, so you do."  
     Though not at all a lengthy book, Unbreakable is packed full with truth about who Jesus is, why we can trust the Scriptures and what this all means in the grand scheme of life in 2015. Here are a few other aspects in the book that I found especially challenging, helpful and encouraging in my own Spiritual journey with God:
*Awesome examples of how Jesus has become the new version of so many Bible characters and how His story is the perfect one when theirs fell short.
*Explains how Jesus affirms the New Testament Scriptures (yet to be written during His lifetime) and explains, in one of the best ways I've ever read, how Jesus fullfilled the Law and why it's okay that He says the Law is not abolished, but things still change.
*A short teaching on and reminder of the fact that though the  Scriptures are pure and holy, God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit are who we as Christians worship and are in relation with over and beyond the Scriptures.
      Finally, Unbreakable ends with a helpful, short guide on properly interpreting Scriptures. This is a book which I was very excited to read and it did not disappoint. As the Christian faith lives out focusing on Christ's sacrifice this Lenten season as we approach Resurrection Sunday and celebrate the redeeming sacrifice of the Savior of the world, I highly recommend adding Unbreakable into your study materials whether you're a new believer, quite an old believer or not actually a believer at all. Let your mind be challenged, your faith be strengthened and your love for and trust in God be increased.

Links:
-If you would like to order Andrew's book, you can do so here.
-Information on Kings Church in Eastbourne can be found here. 
-Information on New Frontiers can be found here. 
-If writings on Theology and how Christianity can be lived in modern life interest you, you can find a very thought provoking blog here. 

View from my window today.