Mein Liebling

He's here!
My nephew is here.
And all those over-used sentiments about aunts and nephews are coming true. He is the brightest and most wonderful thing I've ever seen.

Every moment I look down on his little face and see his searching eyes I feel my heart get tied to him. Every grunt is precious. And he is especially cool because when he gets really mad he almost whistles like a sweek toy! This would not be good to continue to do this for very long, but at three days old it's about the funniest thing ever - except that I would do anything to make him happy again so that he'll open his eyes and search for our eyes with his wobbly head.

I'm hooked. It will be impossible to leave him. But, I will so that he can have that cool aunt who will teach him German some day, an aunt who lived in utter obedience to the God who created them both. So, this morning has been all about assessing what there is left to do before getting on that plane. This is not as fun as holding him, but I guess I should like Christy and Paul have a shot at holding their son.

What Happens Before Things Happen

Tonight there is so much energy at my parents' house and not just because there's a Predators game on. My sister-in-law and brother are at Baptist hospital awaiting the coming of their son. There are probably many hours left to go so we're patiently waiting for the call to come over. I'm so thankful I get to be here for this time with my family. More family is coming in town tomorrow.

As much as I'm so looking forward to being a Viener, I would not miss a moment of this.

Learning from a Guru

Today I went to a lecture by Thom Wolf, an American professor and pastor who has been living in India. The wisdom he has shared with us in just a matter of hours has really made an impact on how I will converse about the way we live and "who we listen to" in the future. First, I will listen more. And, I will ask more questions. but even when I to talk about the most important thing to me, my words are going to be a little different.

I've never felt like I could express my faith in Jesus in such a global context until today. I've made him too small and too much just my tribal God when cultural anthropology (not to mention the Bible) shows me He is the Most High God of all peoples - and they already know that if they have held on to their own people's stories. I said this before, but I do not want to import anything from America (other than fajitas and po-boys . . . Tabasco. . . ).

I won't go into it now because I fear that I won't do it justice, but he did this presentation of the history of the world (worldviews in their historical context) on a page. And not just a page but something I could scribble out on a napkin. It's a great frame work that can be fleshed out over many conversations. And, my favorite thing was that none of the information was knew (although I'm not sure I put together the fact the prophet Daniel, Confucius, and the Buddha were all at the same general window of time). It was just all put together in the big picture. Amazing point of view!

I was really challenged by his presentation so I did something I don't' usually do: I bought a book for myself and a friend who couldn't make the lecture. Then, I sat down and finished the book with in a couple of hours even though it was on a different subject from the lectures. This book was for a Indian audience on the Baliraja Proposal of the guru Mahatma Phule for the future progress of India. (Clearly, these are things I knew very little about but his writing is accessible enough to glean quite a lot from it.)

While I was reading, I noticed a theme in his book that reflected a theme Dr. Wolf taught in a separate lecture on how to be a universal disciple of Jesus - just from the teachings of the Bible. God demands of all His people: walk in faith by putting off some things and taking on other things that please Him (honesty, immigration, no idols, transparency, rejection of empty ritual, and taking on of individual religious conviction), love God and He enables us to love everyone including our enemies (compassion, accountability, conversion, invite outcastes to your table, hard work), and hope by promoting justice (education, allow outcastes to drink from your well, impartial government, gender equality, social reform).


I'm not sure how all this will flesh out in my own life, but I will be directed by these themes, these teachings, these mandates from my God. And, I hope that people in Austria will show me how God has always been working among their people and how they will see the love of Jesus and the power of His resurrection in their lives. And, how their lives will be altered for the better because they are in Christ. Life really would be so different if we obeyed the Scriptures. It is not easy, but I hope others will agree that He is so worth every drop of our sweat and blood.

Almost Spring

For three days snow has covered that ground. I love how much lighter the world is because of this water that covers the ground. All this sleding and walking in snow is turning my mind to Austria like never before. Ever time I look out a window I think of true winters to come. I think of the coming spring.

Hopes and dreams are forming in my heart. (I really hope I can figure out how to actually make things happen.) I would love to do a website that people can go to to pray for the different neighborhoods of Vienna. I want to pray around the boarders and see the characters of each place and share with other people so they can catch the vision.

I can't wait to see my apartment and my coffeehouse; my streetcar stop; my u-bahn stop. I want to see the faces of the people there. I long to walk through the botanical gardens and find my favorite spot. I want to meet my future friends. I want to find out how to order coffee; I want to find my new rhythms. I can't wait to take ballroom. I hope I can find people who love jazz.

As you can see my mind and heart are leaving this place.
Pray I can finish well here so I can start well there.