funny funnies

The days and hours go too fast. I feel these days like my life is whizzing by me and I'm trying desperately to stop and smell the roses. There are small things in life that give me delight and they often involve children, ritual, food, and memories. I received all 4 this afternoon.

I went over to Amanda's to bake pies with my grandma's special pie recipe. I think it's from her, I can't remember. But the secret ingredient is vinegar (I can't keep secrets). We baked and talked and I cried and we talked and Grayson played. Halfway through Gloria, Connor, and Lucas arrive with their parents, hungry for an after school snack. So, we make funny funnies! We hardly ever had dessert in my family, but when we did it was usually pie. And when you make a pie there are always extra dough bits left. And when you use my grandma's crust recipe it's too good to not use every bit! Thus, funny funnies came in to being! We drank tea and ate funny funnies and played Yatzee Jr. and reminisced and laughed. A good day.

Recipe for "funny funnies":

• Take all the extra crust bits and mash them in one ball. Roll it out.
• Sprinkle on sugar and cinnamon generously then roll it up into a log.
• Cut little slices along the top of the log about 2 inches apart (don't cut all the way to the table).
• Curve it a bit into a wreath shape and then shove in the oven on a pan next to your baking pie.

These will get done before your pie does ... so you have something to snack on as you wait!

Remembering stories

Lately in an attempt to remember my roots, the truth of what God has done in my life, I've been re-listening to the testimony of John Wimber (the founder of the Vineyard movement). It's entitled, "I'm a fool for Christ, who's fool are you?" I'm thoroughly enjoying it, both laughing and sniffing back tears. I think more than his story or the way he articulates simple Biblical truth, or his laid back hilarious manner ... is the intimacy with which he talks about God, it almost sounds too personal, too dichtbij, but it's having quiet the effect on me. I love all his little quips, for example... "one prayer that God always answers, is 'God, what's wrong with me?' " Or, how he had been praying for healing for over a year and finally a woman is healed, and he walks out of her home, looks up at the sky and says, " Yeah God... we got one!" His journey from being raised in a thoroughly un-churched family (for generations) to a personal relationship with Jesus, to falling in love with the church, to encountering the Holy Spirit and starting a new movement of churches is such a gift to us.

I met John just a few times in my life. He died when I was about 18 years old and I still have strong memories of him sitting on a bar chair each Sunday morning and praying simply, "Come Holy Spirit." My brother, sister, and I would at that point put away our coloring books which kept us occupied during the message and sit up to watch the Holy Spirit come. Some people encountered Him in a quiet way, others with tears, others with shaking or laughing, it didn't really matter how He came but that He was thick in the place. And the way John lead the time was without hype or extra craziness, just simple and confident.

We grew up excited to go to church, expectant to see what God would do. Still to this day when it's time to pray for people at the end of a Sunday service, I get this little twist of excitement in my stomach, expectant to see God touch people. Listening to John's testimony brings back my childhood memories, it renews again my love of the greater Church and makes me so thankful that Jesus didn't just promise to return one day in the future but that He left His Holy Spirit with us for the now.

the crew: ages 2 till 53!


pub quiz time! (hannah sure made it hard!). I still can't believe the Sahara desert is only 20% desert.


hannah, trav, daniël, mark, and jaap apparently up to no good...


I'm back from a lovely weekend away with some of my favorite people. For our church retreat. We crammed into an old building in Driebergen, once used as a stable for horses. Yes, high class digs. There were large bunk rooms for the men and women... and kids. It was cold but we had candles lit nearly 24/7 and the heat turned up. The kids ran wild all weekend (I was glad I did't have to wake them and take them to school come Monday morning). We explored some nice trails in the woods around the area, played some mad games of Phase10 and Werewolf (kind of like Mafia), completed a 1000 piece puzzle, who's the geek who brought that? :). During the day we had workshops on meditative and imaginative prayer and how to study the Bible, we worshiped and best of all the Holy Spirit really met us and did some great things. It was a weekend that I will not forget quickly. We left Sunday afternoon, some in their cars, other walking to the bus and train, all saying, let's do this again soon! Here are some of my favorite pictures from the weekend, the top one includes not everyone, some had already left by Sunday afternoon.

would you know how to intall this?

Over the past couple weeks I've felt so empowered, trying my hand at a few things that freaked me out or that I simply hoped some kind soul would do for me. There is much I can do on my own but a few things like the installation of this bike rack... I wasn't so sure about. I'd been putting it off for months, had even bought a new one at the market, it would just stare at my as I left the house each day, perched next to my boots. Every time Gloria or Mark or someone needed a ride on the back of my bike, I would remember my broken rack (from too many passengers!) and it would make me cringe thinking of them sitting on there. But yesterday, I did it! And man, did it feel great to get greasy fingers and and figure out how to install my brand spanking new bike rack (there's actually a better term for it, but it's slipping my mind).

This has come after a few weeks of high "You can do it" moments for me! I was terrified to drive in Amsterdam and had managed not to for 2 years, I had also not driven a manual transmission in 2 years either but then I moved and I rented a huge moving TRUCK ... and I drove it remembering how fun manual driving is. To top that off we went to a conference last weekend in the England AND I rented a van AND drove on the wrong side of the road all weekend. I think my shoulders were in a fixed cramp but I did it! And only merged onto oncoming traffic once! But the Brits are so polite not even one person honked as I backed up and entered the correct lane.

Thanks for relishing my "you can do it" moments!

non-violence is beautiful

and so is this cool poster.

Recently, after hearing stories from my parents who are currently in Palestine, I came across this film, Little Town of Bethlehem, about 3 men who were expected to be enemies but are working together to end the cycle of violence in Israel/Palestine. I haven't yet seen the film but I'm hoping to organize a screening/discussion in Amsterdam soon, so stay tuned for details and come out to watch and discuss. If you want more information about what organize the film is about, check out Holy Land Trust's website. This is an organize doing a remarkable thing, seeking to train people in the manner of Gandhi and MLK in non-violent resistance.

I've been having a lot of weekends "away". Last week I traveled to Nottingham, UK to attend the "Cause to Live For" conference. Eric and Julia were invited to speak so a bunch of us in our 20's from Vineyard Amsterdam went along. It was a great weekend. I realize when I'm in the UK there's a sense of "home" I experience for a bit, maybe it's being able to speak English and sound intelligent (unlike my "very intelligent" 8 year old Dutch skills), or listening to a lovely English accent, or more likely the deep kindness and gift of hospitality Trent Vineyard has. They organized host homes and food for us all weekend, while being just wonderful fascinating welcoming people. Their church serves a huge need in the community providing free furniture to impoverished families and immigrants to name just one thing. I left definitely wishing we were a church of 1200 and able to do things like that.

What will be the areas that will define us as a church? They started those ministries more than a decade ago, how will we start serving and loving the people of Amsterdam now, which God will bless years down the road?

This weekend I'm in Utrecht, just down the road from Amsterdam, for a Benelux leaders retreat, getting to interact with other leaders and church planters in the Vineyard movement in the Benelux (Belgium, Netherlands, and Luxembourg) area. Then it's off to Tobi's wedding in Zwolle tonight, Tobi is marrying Geert-Jan! I'm looking forward to celebrating them tonight.

I hope you find yourself also doing what you love and enjoying your weekend whether it's "here" or "away".

With love...

I'm remembering back to Ouarda's wedding today. It was so lovely. Thoroughly Moroccan, meaning fabulous food, dancing, music, and most important gorgeous dresses... yet set in the Netherlands. It was a joy to be there. May you have many happy years of marriage Ouarda and Hamid!