Cherry Blossoms

When I picked Nathan up from work on Monday, we chatted with Major Gipson a bit and he strongly encouraged us to go out to the schlossgarten in Schwetzingen before today to see the cherry blossoms. So Tuesday night, we made a date of it and ate dinner at Pizza Hut prior to driving out there. The pictures almost communicate how beautiful the cherry blossoms were, but what the pictures could not capture was the loud buzzing of all the huge bumblebees crawling and hovering around the blossoms. There were lots of people enjoying picnics in that area of the garden and almost everyone had out nice cameras, constantly snapping away. We stayed for about an hour and then headed home as the sun set.

PWOC Board

I applied and interviewed for the PWOC Executive Board, and today I was officially named next year's Administrative Coordinator. Or Secretary for short. I am so excited! I had thought I wouldn't be able to serve on the Board, but I can now that our move to Wiesbaden has been moved back to next March.

PWOC has four aims:

• to LEAD women to accept Christ as personal Savior and Lord;
• to TEACH women the history, beliefs, and programs of the church, all built on a solid foundation of worship and Bible study;
• to DEVELOP in women the skills of prayer, evangelism, stewardship, and social service, against a background of personal spiritual development;
• to INVOLVE women in the work of the Chapel, in keeping with their abilities and interests.

Ye Olde Towne of Rothenburg

Nathan and I had talked about going to Rothenburg many times, but we never set a firm date. Last Tuesday I was talking to a girl in my Bible study group about her recent trip to Rothenburg and when I picked Nathan up that day from work, he said, "Let's go to Rothenburg next weekend." I said, "Ok!" and Nathan booked us a hotel for one night the following Friday. We had heard how cool Rothenburg is and it did not disappoint. It is famous for its well-preserved medieval old town, which is surrounded by a stone wall with many towers, and was one of the biggest cities in the medieval ages. Our hotel was just inside the old city wall, so we had to drive into the old town, through little archways and down narrow, cobbled streets to get to it. It was pretty cool. 

It's only about an hour and a half drive from Heidelberg, so we plan to go back and to take visitors when they come.

we had to drive through some arches like this to get inside the city walls

city square 

to the right of the wall that runs down the middle of the picture is the city 

looking out over the wall into the valley 

market in the city square 

st. james' 

view from walking around inside the top of the wall 

the path inside the top of the wall 

we went to the medieval crime museum

so fascinating! 

used the dunk prisoners in the water 

paddy wagons 

apotheke sign 

A Little Spring In Our Step

Spring has come to Germany and it is so beautiful! The first blooms are always these white flowers on spindly, little trees that grow all over the hills and the sides of the road. I absolutely look their soft look and quiet whisper of Spring's arrival. We went on a walk in the fields near our home for the first time since Fall ended. It's so relaxing to get out of our apartment, stroll along, enjoy the scenery, and talk with each other about anything and everything. We always find our way into meaningful discussions. Oh, and in the summer, Nathan plucks cherries from some of the trees that grow out in the fields and they are the juiciest, sweetest cherries I have ever eaten. We'll definitely miss these fields when we move!

TV > Movies

Well, I have successfully hooked Nathan on Mad Men, The Office, and The Big Bang Theory. We also have Breaking Bad on our must-watch list. And in the last week or so, we have been sucked into Downton Abbey. We are almost through Season 2 and just love it. We are coming to the conclusion that television series are so much better than the movies they are releasing nowadays.

Have you ever...

...studied the Bible through Living Your Life as a Beautiful Offering by Angela Thomas?

I'm facilitating this study in PWOC this semester. I haven't blogged about that, but it's happening nonetheless. It's been a learning journey for me, but I have enjoyed it. I have absorbed quite a bit about Jesus' words in the Sermon on the Mount and the things he said in Matthew following that. So much about how we are to live and what God offers us when we do. We just started another study by the same author called Brave.

...read the book of Romans?

Nathan and I have been reading small sections almost every night since before his second surgery. We just finished and will probably start on another book in the Bible. Romans covers a lot of difficult topics that most people shy away from.We also read a lot of verses I wanted to plaster on our walls. Like Romans 12:9-21. 

...read Crazy Love by Francis Chan?

My mom let me bring this book back with me from the States in September. Nathan and I read it chapter by chapter, mostly while he was in the hospital for 6 days back in February. It had a lot to say about who real Christians are and really prompted us to not only examine what we believe, but to change how we act.

...read Classic Christianity by Bob George?

This was the study I was in at PWOC last semester. We still haven't finished the study guide to the last few chapters, so we are meeting on Wednesdays. This book lays out an amazing basic understanding of Christian beliefs. Even if you've been a Christian for a long time, this book contains a lot of truths that are easy to forget.