Five Minute Friday

Special: Favorite Christmas Memories

It’s Friday and I meet with many fellow writers over at Kate Motaung’s Five Minute Friday.

Today’s prompt is ADORE.

This feeling of awe in light of what we celebrate at Christmas.

This sensation of joy as we recall childhood memories.

Pure adoration for Christ in the midst of gift shopping and endless loops of annoying Christmas tunes is a piece of hard work.

It’s so easy to just fall into routine and leave our heart’s response to all of this behind.

Traditions can help us to focus on the important things again. Treasure the little steps of preparation. Feel the excitement and joy building.

Leadings our hearts to adoration.

As a Christmas treat I have a guest on my blog today.

Sophie Kröher is a dear friend of mine and she shares a few of her favorite Christmas traditions from the Eastern part of Germany with us. She is also a very, very talented photographer, so of course, you’ll find a bit of her work in here, too. 🙂

Her thoughts are in German; I have attempted to translate it below.

Von Würstchen in Mehl

Der Schatten der sich drehenden Pyramidenflügel an der Wand.

Feine Nebelschwaden der Weihrauchkerzchen in der Luft.

Leuchtend gelbe Punkte der Schwibbbogenkerzen, die sich im Fenster spiegeln.

Das Kinstern und Knacken einer Schallplatte.

Männeln wecken.

Mamas zerstochene Hände vom Bögenbinden.

Stollen buttern.

Heimlich die Butter mit Puderzucker an einer Stelle abkratzen.

Und dann, nach schier unendlich langem Warten: den Tannenbaum schmücken, Linseneintopf löffeln, Würstchen in Mehl wälzen, die nach Braten riechenden Haare waschen, in die Metten gehen.

Weihnachten im Erzgebirge.

Mein Weihnachten.

Beim Männeln wecken, Bögen binden und Stollen buttern bin ich leider schon seit einigen Jahren nicht mehr rechtzeitig dabei.

Pyramidenflügelschatten, Weihrauchnebelschwaden und Schwibbbogenkerzenspiegelungen habe ich mir wenigstens hergeholt.

Aber morgen geht’s heim, rechtzeitig zu Mamas Linseneintopf – dem besten der ganzen Welt und des ganzen Jahres.

Und um mit Papa Würstchen in Mehl zu wälzen.

Mein Weihnachten.

Daheim.

Sausages and Flour

The shadow of the pyramid wings moves along the wall.

Fine mist of the frankinscence candles in the air.

Bright yellow spots of the light arc are mirrored in the window.

The cracking sound of a vinyl.

To wake up the Männel (German tradition to put up the traditional frankinscence candle men).

Mom’s pierced hands while making the bows.

Butter the Stollen (Eastern German traditional Christmas loaf).

Scratch off the butter with powder sugar when no one is looking.

And then, after a long time of waiting: decorate the Christmas tree, eat lentil stew, roll sausages in flour, wash your hair smelling of meat, go to church.

Christmas in the Erzgebirge (Ore Mountains in the East of Germany).

My Christmas.

I haven’t made it in time for years to wake the Männel, make the bows, or butter the Stollen. A few things I managed to take with me, though – pyramids, frankinscence, and light bow.

But tomorrow I will go home, just in time for Mom’s lentil stew – the best stew in the world and of the whole year. Just in time to roll sauages in flour with Dad.

My Christmas.

At Home.

[Five Minute Friday] Prepare

This month I am doing a series on Advent and preparing ourselves for Christmas. You can find more info on the series here. Come and join us for a month of getting ready and waiting!

But it’s also Friday and I am linking up with Kate Motaung. Join our writing party here!

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Prepare.

I suppose this word sums up what we do during Advent.

We wait for Christmas, the birth of our savior.

And we prepare. Get everything ready.

Clean the house.

Plan the Christmas Eve meal.

Buy presents and wrap them.

Write Christmas cards.

“In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord;

make straight in the desert a highway for our God.

Every valley shall be lifted up,

and every mountain and hill be made low;

the uneven ground shall become level,

and the rough places a plain.”

Isaiah 40:3&4

The bible calls us to prepare. The Lord himself told the Israelites to prepare.

Make way for the Lord.

Prepare yourselves and everything around you because I’m coming.

So how does preparation look like back then and today?

Are we really prepared when Christmas comes or are we simply exhausted from preparing?

It is quite a big job to do to prepare for the Lord’s coming.

After years of struggle and exile and ‘punishment’ from the Lord he wants to return.

To be with them again. How do you get ready for that?

The bible speaks of making a road in the wilderness and making the hills flat.

Wow, that’s not easy.

Getting ourselves ready for Christmas can be hard, too.

To get your heart in the right place.

To establish a welcoming atmosphere and nurture an expectant spirit in the midst of Christmas turbulences – that’s really difficult.

But it starts with little things.

Taking steps towards a bigger thing.

Making a road in the wilderness, as long and dry as it may be.

Working on one hill at a time.

Practical preparation can help us with the spiritual preparation.

For me, Advent begins when we light the first candle at home and when we start baking Christmas cookies.

It might be in the middle of the week, in the midst of work and other challenges.

But the moment you put on that Christmas cassette (yes, cassette!) and roll out the dough – this is when Advent begins.

It is my first step towards Christmas.

It would be a shame not to share some of these sweet cookie outcomes…soon.

But before that I would like to hear from you: When does Advent start for you?

How do you prepare for Christmas?

[Five Minute Friday] Dear

This month I am doing a series on Advent and preparing ourselves for Christmas. You can find more info on the series here. Come and join us for a month of getting ready and waiting!

But it’s also Friday and I am linking up with Kate Motaung and many other fabulous writers. Come and join us!

For Advent, there’s another link-up over at Story and Table, hosted by Laura. If you’re interested in more Advent stories, click here.

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It’s that time of the year again.

Christmas is approaching soon and fast, so you need to get your presents and cards all set. My family always used to have wishlists we would hang up on the refrigerator.

Oh, what joy it was as children to scribble down all your wishes! And even greater joy when you found many of these things under the tree on Christmas Day.

We still do wishlists and I found it interesting to think a bit how they’ve changed with the years.

Dolls turned into books. Toys turned into clothes or perfume.

But overall, it has become more difficult each year to sit down and write my wishes.

What do I want for Christmas?

What do you want for Christmas?

We never really wrote letters to Santa, but how about writing a grown-up Christmas wish list?

Dear Santa,

When I look inside my heart I see longings.

Lots of longings.

I wish for deep joy that would not depend on what happens.

I wish for justice in this world.

Reconciliation and true peace.

I wish for the end of hunger and starvation.

The end of slavery and prostitution.

Freedom instead of human trafficking.

I wish for close friends who stay and don’t always leave.

I wish for honesty and growth.

I wish for security and safety in my life.

And in this world.

I wish to know where my path will lead and what my future will look like.

That’s a lot.

And as a I think about it I realize a “Dear Santa” won’t do it.

This isn’t just a Christmas wish list.

This is supposed to be a yearning turned into prayer.

Confession.

Intercession.

A wish list addressed to the One who sees everything, is in everything, and whose heart longs for these things probably as much as we do.

Not just on Christmas, but all year-round.

Dear Lord,

you know my heart that is so full of longings.

Ultimately, these longings point to you, the One who can fulfill all these longings.

Let Christmas come this year to the hungry, the suffering, the poor.

And let us trust you a bit more with this world and our lives.

[Five Minute Friday] Give

I cooked Thanksgiving Dinner for my family yesterday.
For the first time.
In Germany we don’t celebrate Thanksgiving, but I enjoyed this tradition in the States, so I brought it over and thought my family would like it, too.

We should have Thanksgiving more often.

As I was standing in the kitchen almost all day I was really looking forward to the evening.
Eating lots of good food and spending time with family.
I didn’t look at all the work.
I didn’t look at all the time and energy I invested.
I was happy and excited to give.
Seeing their happy faces and hearing their “O my gosh, this is such good food! We should have Thanksgiving more often!” I was glad.
Giving can be so rewarding.

The thought that crossed my mind several times was, “We should invite more people.”
Not only is it good food, there’s something about sharing meals and fellowship you can’t really explain. It is a gift we accept and give not often enough.
Even though this world is in such desperate need of it.

While I was cooking I was reminded of a story in the bible.
A man prepares a big feast but none of his invited guests shows up.
Instead of pouting he goes and invites people from the streets. Strangers. People who really needed and enjoyed a good meal. People who made this feast a most memorable moment and probably turning point in this man’s life.

And if my table and hands are full – where are the people on the streets I can invite and give to?
Where is the lonely neighbor that might enjoy a night of fellowship?
Where is the stressed out mother that could really use a day off?
Where is the friend that needs cheering up in the form of turkey and apple pie?

Let’s be grateful that we can give.
It doesn’t take much to turn someone’s day around or make it better.
We have been given more than enough, and only if we give to others we realize the true joy of it.

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I am linking up with Kate Motaung’s Five Minute Friday today. Five Minutes of Writing. No Editing. Much sharing and encouraging.

[Five Minute Friday] Notice

I have a hobby I don’t always take the time for.
But when I do it, it’s always very fulfilling and interesting.
I like to watch people.
After a full day of shopping or just running around town, it feels good to sit down, have a cup of coffee, and just watch people.
The other day I met with a friend and we sat there for about two hours just watching.

We were in a new city, but even if you are in your own town you’ll notice so many things.
There are so many people on the streets you’ve never seen before.
Every day you walk these streets, and yet you’ll never be able to have seen everyone in this town!

There are single people. Couples walking hand in hand.
Wives dragging along their husbands into yet another shop.
There are children window shopping for toys and candy.
There are senior couples taking it slow.
There are three old ladies who enjoy a night out in town as if they were just 22 years old (these three seriously made me laugh and hope I will be like this one day!).

You notice so many things around you if you take the time to stand still for a while.
Each of these people has a story, a life behind this moment I get a glimpse of.
I am overwhelmed by seeing everyone.
Trying to figure out how they live, what brought them here today, how they might feel.

And then I am reminded of my heavenly Father who says of himself that he notices everything and everyone.
He sees more than a glimpse.
He sees your whole life, your deepest feelings, the full story.
And YOUR story matters to Him.

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It’s Friday, so I am linking up with a great group of writers over at Kate Motaung‘s place. Come on over and read some more inspirational thoughts!

[Five Minute Friday] Still

Do you hear that?
Nothing.
Silence.
Stillness.

This week has been somewhat strange.
After an immensely busy year it is the first time I paused.
After a year of studying I could wake up in the morning and do nothing. Or whatever I wanted.
Well, I got sick. Back pain kept me in bed for most of the week and I was forced to rest.
To be still.
And I realized I am really bad at it.

The thing I had yearned for was finally here.
That feeling I had looked forward to all year whenever things were just too much for me: “Soon you’ll be off and can be still”. Well, here it is.
And I don’t know how to handle it.
I am actually quite afraid of it.

I am between wanting and not wanting.
So wanting to get out of my busy life, away from the voices and tasks and things thrown at me.
Shutting off the sounds that make it impossible for me to hear what’s really important.
Being attentive to God’s whisper once again.
So anxious of really being still.
Cutting everything off and being left with…nothing.
Afraid that the stillness will not lead to something.
That God won’t show up.
That I am not willing to go far enough.

It is a challenge to be still.
It is hard to really seek stillness.
And yet I think we sometimes need to let go of the not wanting and walk towards the wanting.
Cut off some of the noise and expect HIM to come out of the stillness.
Because if I am still, really still, I can hear him calling.
Can you hear it, too?

(I am off for two months now before student teaching begins, and I am looking forward – with an incredibly anxious and wanting heart – to a time of rest and stillness. I don’t know what will happen, but I definitely want to try and listen to the call.)

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Once again I am linking up with a fabulous writer community over at Kate Motaung’s Five Minute Friday – come and join us!

[Five Minute Friday] Turn

I love driving.
Cruising on African sand roads and navigating the potholes is one of the most exhilarating experiences in life.
Sometimes, though, driving can be nerve wrecking. Like driving through a city you’ve never been to. With a car full of people and everyone seems to have an opinion on “don’t drive too fast”, “I think we should stop here”, or “look out for the traffic lights”. And then of course, there’s the GPS which has a mind of its own.

Far too quickly I get lost, take the wrong turn and don’t know where I am anymore.
Generally, I have a very good sense of orientation and like to guide people.
Driving and navigating in busy traffic at the same time is really hard. So when I get stuck I need to park somewhere, shut off the engine, figure out where I am and start over.

Sometimes life is like driving.
Every new day is a trip into the unknown, we don’t know the “life city” with all its roads ahead of us. We might have a general road map, but this can change at any minute.
There will be construction sites – things we need to work on which slow us down.
There might be potholes – broken things in our life that get to us again and again.
Or traffic jams – voices all around us, telling us what to do and what not, trying to push us in a certain direction…
We try to get through, we try to navigate this madness called life, but very often we are confused.
We take the wrong turn. And we’re lost.

I have taken quite a few wrong turns in life.
And that’s okay. Life’s not meant to be one straight path.
There will be turns and curves, hills and speeding lanes.
When life gets too busy, when I am lost in traffic or have just taken a wrong turn I stop.
I remember what this “drive” is all about.
I turn towards the One with the master plan, who calms all the other voices and brings peace to my troubled soul.
No matter how many wrong turns I take, He takes them with me, and his grace will lead me home.

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It’s Friday and I am linking up with Kate Motaung and a great community of writers from all around the world. One prompt, five minutes of writing, no editing. Why don’t you join us?

[Five Minute Friday] Leave

It’s the last Friday of October and as usual, I am linking up with Kate Motaung and a fantastic writer community. It’s also the last day of October, which means it’s Day 31 of the 31 Days in the Life of a TCK series! You made it to the end, yay! If you’re just starting now, you can find more info on the series here. Don’t forget to subscribe!

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We went to see the animals at Lake Victoria.

We went to sit at the beach.

We went for dinner at a nearby hotel.

It all seemed unreal. Our last day in Uganda.

And finally, finally we went to the airport.

I watched my parents check us in, drop off our luggage, say goodbye to friends and teammates. And then we walked down to the gates.

I felt like in a trance.

This was happening, but not to me.

We were just dropping someone off and tonight I would sleep in my bed in our house in beautiful Namutamba and everything would be alright.

It was already dark outside when we walked onto the airfield and towards the plane.

The tender summer breeze brought the smell from the Lake and you could see the lights glitter on the water’s surface.

We boarded the plane, had layovers in Nairobi and Amsterdam, and then we were home.

Really?

I didn’t realize what had happened to me until a week later.

I asked my mom when we’d be going back, but she said, “We’re not going back.

We will stay here now.”

That’s when it hit me.

I had really left.

And I hadn’t even said goodbye.

I am not a cryer normally. Which doesn’t mean I am not sad.

But now I cried.

For all the friends I hadn’t hugged one last time.

For my best friend who I had left the day before as if I didn’t know we wouldn’t meet again the next day.

For the village I had called my home.

For all the memories I had made there and would never be able to repeat.

For the piece of my heart I had left in the Pearl of Africa, Uganda.

I have had to leave quite a few other places since then.

My family, South Africa, my teenage years, the US, university.

Familiar faces, cozy houses, a certain lifestyle.

Dreams of how my life should look like, dear relationships, broken hopes.

I’m sure if you added your losses we’d get an entire novel together.

Make sure you say goodbye.

You never know if you’ll have the chance again.
Make sure you cry.

Crying is a way to cleanse the soul and I have come to appreciate my tears sometimes. After the tears have ceased, another feeling wells up inside of me: thankfulness.

My heart is overwhelmed with deep gratitude.

For the beautiful places I got to live in.

For the amazing people I had the privilege of meeting and who continue to be in my life. For the sweet memories I could make and can now hold on to.

For God, who continues to walk with me and already knows where I’m heading to next.

Well, and now I am leaving this series.

It’s been a great month and I’ll surely reflect a bit about it after I had a short blogging break. 🙂

THANK YOU for staying with me on this journey, for your comments and thoughts, all your encouragement!

I am leaving you with hopefully a lot of impressions, things to ponder, and the wish to embrace your TCK life a bit more…

What did you learn in the course of this series?

[Five Minute Friday] Dare

It’s Friday and I am linking up with Kate Motaung and a great writer’s community.

It’s Day 24 of the 31 Days in the Life of a TCK series! Welcome! You can find more info on the series here. Don’t forget to subscribe!

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TCKs are some of the most adventurous people I know.
Many of who I met many years ago trying to fit in to Germany again are now back out there.
Traveling the world, serving God in the hard places.
Almost every day I get emails from younger TCKs I mentored on our TCK camps and who now go abroad again, following the travel bug.
TCKs push themselves to new levels, countries, situations and from the outside I can often just smile and see them prosper.

At our camps we dare them to do quite a lot and it is amazing to see what they make of it.
The last night is always the best.
Some sort of loose program, full with what the TCKs have to offer.
I can only smile at the outbursts of creativity, musical skills, comedic talents.
A formerly shy girl brings the whole house down with her jokes, and some guys don’t have a problem dancing in front of people they just met.

But it’s not always like this.
Many TCKs come to our camps with parts of their adventure spirit missing.
Buried in fear of what awaits them in Germany.
We want to help them come alive again.
Challenge them to try new things.
They start daring to hope again that things will work out in their passport country.
They dare to trust again.
Trust that they’ll find new friends at a new place.
Trust that God is the same, no matter how much they change.

When did you have to dare yourself to step out?

[Five Minute Friday] Long

It’s another Friday, so I am linking up with the writer community at Kate Motaung‘s place.

This post is part 17 of the series “31 Days in the Life of a TCK”.

Come join the whole conversation here. Don’t forget to subscribe!

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“Africa? You’re going to Africa? This is so far away! It’s desert there, lots of dangerous animals, and only poor people!”

I remember my grandma saying things like that when we first told her we would be moving South. She came from a little village and hadn’t gone further than the European boarders, so she was terrified. Terrified to lose her children and grandchildren to heat, sickness, or lions.

She was terrified because she didn’t know. Africa was a long way for her.

But we went. All the long 8000 km to beautiful Uganda.

In these two years we had maybe 3 phone conversations (it was before the highspeed internet and smartphone age) with us walking around in the garden to get reception and screaming: “You there? Can you hear me? Merry Christmas, Grandma!” and the signal broke off.

Uganda is a long way.

Fortunately, we had a visitor one day who brought a video camera, so we shot a film for grandma, showing her everything in this new home of ours. The way we lived, the GREEN grass (Uganda is close to the equator and pretty green in rain season), the people we had come to love.

The next letter we got from her was very different. “Now I know where you are. Now I can be at peace. Africa is not as different as I thought.”

Suddenly, Uganda isn’t such a long way after all.

Long distances can become very small if we know how to bridge them well.

I am not saying the kilometers magically disappear.

And trust me, as soon as I hang up on a skype conversation I feel the distance more than ever before.

But thank God for so many ways to make the long distances come closer to us.

To allow the world to reach us where we are.

Having the world close to us can have its challenges as well – stay tuned for this part tomorrow!

How did/do you experience distances in your life? Any funny stories to tell?