A New Start to the Very Short Trip

It’s a very short trip. While alive, live. ~Malcolm Forbes

Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you’ve imagined. ~Henry David Thoreau

To me, dreams are like mountains, disappearing for a while, obscured by daily life and the blinding fog of busyness. But if we pause to look and listen, they are always there, always guiding us until the dream becomes reality, if we dare to take the adventure.

I love the New Year. I love celebrating the gifts in the year coming to a close, and thinking on the year ahead. There is no time like the present to reflect on how far we have come, and the direction which tells where we want our lives to go.

Many sites and blogs and gurus give advice for how to form resolutions which you’ll stick beside, and for the best methods for achieving your goals. But for me, I prefer simplicity: where is it that my heart lies, and each day, how can I consistently move in the direction of those dreams?

So today, I send you heartfelt wishes for a meaningful day today, at this threshold of a whole new year. May you hear the whisper of the direction of your dreams. And I hope in each day to come, you’ll have the perseverance to walk that way, and to live the life you have imagined.

Keep on in the direction of your dreams ...

Happy New Year!

How are you going forward in your New Start, this New Year?

An Alpine Storybook Christmas

Nature is too thin a screen; the glory of the omnipresent God bursts through everywhere. ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

Last week, at Christmastime, we took a roadtrip from Prague to the Austrian Alps, to stay the week in the tiny ski village of Rauris.

For our family, fresh expats living in Prague only six months from Cincinnati, Ohio, USA, this seemed an amazing opportunity. The reality of living in Central Europe makes driving from Prague to the Alps only a five or six hour drive—breathtaking Alps in our backyard (the US equivalent to roadtripping to Chicago, or Cleveland, or Detroit,or the Smoky Mountains from Cincinnati).

Growing up skiing every year near Durango, Colorado, where my grandmother lived, I always dreamed of teaching our boys how to ski. We saved up, and waited. And this year, in the Alps, the dream came true.

It was fantastic …

Starting our boys, ages 7, 8, and 11, without poles, proved to be a great experience, even with the cold temps (-20 degrees Celsius). After a couple of days, they skied like old pros.

The village did not disappoint, as it had been described to us as “a chocolate-box town” with a church in the center. The Christmas Eve service at the village church filled our hearts, as it turned out to be so packed that children sat along the banister to the balcony. I had never dreamed of listening to the Christmas story in German, sitting in centuries-old pews alongside Austrians who share the same Faith, and hearing the same carols accompanied by a simple accordion. A memorable experience for all of us …

Driving home, with a fresh layer of snow and a heavy dollop of fog, we experienced the beauty of the mountains in a new way. With tired limbs from a week of skiing, and hearts filled with the majesty of the Alps, we returned home to Prague. A storybook Christmas …

How did you see this Christmastime in a new way?

Now What?: Three Daily Goals for Moving Forward through Change

I had lunch with a friend yesterday, and we talked about the struggle with Now What? Maybe the question is familiar to you, as well … so I thought I’d write about it, at this time of year of new life and love at Christmas, and fresh starts at the New Year.

The Nativity near Saint Nikolas Church, on Old Town Square, Prague, Czech Republic

Jesus came. And we ask: Now What?

He said, “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” –John 10:10

Now What? is a question I face whenever I’ve crossed the threshold into a new phase in life. This year, I’ve been challenged in new ways (all our boys are in school full-day this year, and we’ve moved to Prague as expats), and so I’ve asked the question quite a lot. Now What?

Sometimes the question sneaks up as we work hard and struggle through something to achieve a worthwhile goal (maybe losing a few pounds, going for a job interview, or even—defeating cancer). But once we’ve reached that goal, we get to the triumph, breathe a moment, and then wonder Now What?

For me, maybe it’s that I’ve changed a bit during the journey to get there, or maybe had to grow a whole lot. After the goal, the world looks different. And there at the brink of our next step, if we listen closely, we can hear the question ring out from deep inside: Now What? Because nothing is the same—the way we see the world, the way others see us, and our relationship to our prior goals. Maybe it’s that the pieces of our lives have rearranged themselves in order of importance.

I’m a firm believer that 1) Life is a gift, and 2) We were each made for a reason. This article post written by Michael Hyatt, based on the new Andy Andrews book, The Noticer, sums it up well:

We have been given the gift of today because we have yet to fulfill our biggest purpose; we have yet to make our most important contribution. [my paraphrase]

In that light, today is another step closer toward fulfilling that for which we were created.

These are my three answers to the question, Now What?, and coincidentally my goals for each day:

1) Love.

2) Be Loved.

3) Make the best use of the gifts I’ve been given to shine for God.

God offers us new beginnings every step along the way. Today is the next step …

Starting the Conversation: When have you thought the question, Now What? And what is the answer you heard?

The Fragrance of Christmas

As Christmas approaches, and life becomes busier with the celebrations of the season, I enjoy settling down for a few minutes each day to remember the reason for the joy we have. I'm sharing an excerpt from my daily devotional, The One Year Mini for Busy Women, published in Tyndale House's The One Year Brand line. Daily inspirationals / devotionals are a great way to slow down, and reflect for a few minutes each day.


Enjoy!

Prague, Wencesles Square at Christmastime

December 6
She wrapped him snugly in strips of cloth and laid him in a manger. (Luke 2:7)

Every perfume counter at the mall offers a new fragrance. Department stores are decked out in the sparkly splendor of the season. Beside every store’s entrance, a person rings a bell and asks for donations. In a world decked out for the holidays, it is time to spend money on gifts wrapped in glittery papers. In the bustle of buying, we can be far from experiencing Christ’s birth.

When Christ was born, he was not greeted by fragrant perfume, but by the aromas of a cow barn. Instead of the flashy lights we find in every store, Jesus was born under the pale light of a star. Instead of ringing bells and jingling money, Jesus heard the movements of cattle. There was no fanfare of radio jingles, but Jesus’ birth was announced by the glorious radiance of an angels’ choir. Jesus’ world was far different than the world we know.

This Christmas season, step back from the familiar commercialism and experience the simple truth and beauty of Jesus’ birth. Make time to reflect on the sights and smells, the sounds and feel of Jesus’ manger on that first Christmas Day. Jesus’ gift of life began that starry night.


What do you do during this busy season, to help slow down and enjoy the Christmas season?
 
 
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2009 Book Recommendations (from my shelf)

The View of Prague, the Vltava River, and the Prague Castle from Strahov Monastery

Around Prague, new wintertime scents linger on every corner—logs burning on raging fires, sugared chestnuts roasting at street vendors’ carts, and the tangy aroma of Czech mulled wine. Adding much shorter days, frostier nights, the twinkle of lights on Christmas trees, the sounds of seasonal operas and the Nutcracker from the National Theaters, and the impending celebration of the Czech St. Mikulas Day, we know the Advent season is upon us.

With December here, I’d like to recommend a few great books from the stack (more like a towering stack) we’ve read here in our house this year. Books always make great gifts, and stocking stuffers …

Yesterday, I had the privilege of seeing the Strahov Monestary on Petrin Hill in Prague, which includes libraries with books dating back to the Ninth Century. It was a complete Wow experience—amazing to witness the works of the ages collected in such a beautiful place.

the 9th Century New Testament

I’m currently reading The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon, a European bestseller. The book includes the story of a book, found in a very special library. I believe Zafon says this about libraries so poetically, I have to insert his words to share with you:

“’This is a place of mystery, Daniel, a sanctuary. Every book, every volume you see here, has a soul. The soul of the person who wrote it and of those who read it and lived and dreamed with it’ … I wandered within the winding labyrinth, breathing in the smell of old paper and dust. I let my hand brush across the avenues of exposed spines, musing over what my choice would be. Among the titles faded by age, I could make out words in familiar languages and others I couldn’t identify. I roamed through galleries filled with hundreds, thousands of volumes. After a while it occurred to me that between the covers of each of those books lay a boundless universe waiting to be discovered …”

My Shortlist of Book Recommendations: (click on title for link to Amazon)
Women’s Fiction:

Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Annie Barrows and Mary Ann Shaffer

For Children, Fiction:

The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo

The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S.Lewis

Adult Non-Fiction:

The Hole in Our Gospel by Rich Stearns

The Noticer by Andy Andrews

And … (if I may) my book: The One Year Mini for Busy Women by Jennifer Lyn King
I hope you, or those on your list, enjoy one or more of these as much as we have …

Happy Reading!

Jennifer

For you: What are some of your favorite books you've read this year?