random knowledge

Here's an article I thought very fascinating about the Grant Tour which Chinese tourists like to take of Europe. It brought a toe step closer a culture which based on my West coast/middle America/North African upbringing has been entirely unknown. Here's a link if you're interested:

Chinese tourists

Oh! and one more random article just for fun... if you're like me and find random bits of knowledge incredibly delightful (it's also from The Economist):

An elegy on the British pub

Enjoy...
Brooke

home sick

I'm terrible at being sick. The low point to my madness was yesterday when I caught myself starting to clean the bathroom. It took me a minute to realize how insane that was before I hobbled back to bed. I have what my mom calls the "superhero syndrome," I love that she came up with that and it so perfectly describes me. It points to something that feels good a lot of the time when I'm feeling 'top' as they say in dutch or having a good day or feeling emotionally healthy but then out of the blue can be so very bad.

And I realize that it makes me a person who lives like I don't need grace. A dear pastor said to me a few weeks ago, 'Brooke, remember that in your weakness your Father is strong. That's just how it works.' And I would say to myself, 'Come on Brooke, just get used to it! He loves your weakness.'

Here's a lovely little Wendell Berry poem I'm been reading nearly daily:

The Wild Rose

Sometimes hidden from me
in daily custom and in trust,
so that I live by you unaware
as by the beating of my heart,

suddenly you flare in my sight,
a wild rose blooming at the edge
of thicket, grace and light
where yesterday was only shade

and once more I am blessed, choosing
again what i chose before.

I'm reading a lovely little book called, Proper Confidence; Faith, Doubt and Certainty in Christian Discipleship by Lesslie Newbigin these days. I'm trying to savor it so it's taking me quite a while despite it's size. Do you ever read a book that you wish deep in your gut could become a part of you, stick to you, with bits always floating around your earlobes, close enough to be caught on a whim and quoted? This is one of those books for me. Here's a little tidbit:

"... the gospel does not become public truth for a society by being propagated as a theory or as a worldview and certainly not a s a religion. It can become public truth only insofar as it is embodied in a society (the church) which is both "abiding in" Christ and engaging in the life of the world."

Good stuff. Okay, what else is going on?

It's been a restful week for me. I took a week off to visit my brother and sister in law in the lovely mountains of Switzerland. It's so good to have family an hour flight away. I feel very grateful. We skied some, though I remember myself being better than I actually am, and did our best to stay on the slopes! The narrow slopes in the Alps are very new to me, they're nothing like the wide Rocky mountains. We tried our hand at snowshoeing as well, ate lots and ate lots of cheese and chocolate.

Oud en Nieuw (New Years Eve) was spent with some of N&T's friends in a nearby small town. It was a fabulous mix matched group of internationals. We started off with a scavenger hunt in the town of Rolle (which brought us instantly closer!) running around looking for empty wine bottles with the city's name on them, the cheapest gas station, the name of the port master, and of course taking a required awkward group photo at each site. The night concluded with a fondue dinner and dancing... lots of dancing!

Going away from the "normal," may that be Amsterdam or Columbus, always gives me life and helps me find center, re-focus, and gain creative ideas. This week was no exception.

I hope you each had a great New Years as well! Here's to a 2011!