The leadership team we are a part of is reading together through this book, Crucial Conversations. It has been the perfect book to read because we are growing and learning together about all sorts of important things regarding have healthy, helpful, safe conversations with people. Our brother Ike recommended it to us and I think it is one of those books that everyone should read! One of the things I thought was really good is that the authors talk about how we have this false impression that if you are going to have a ‘hard talk’ with someone you either will be honest and destroy the relationship, or not say anything in order to keep peace, but that is the fools choice. In fact it is possible to be honest and still maintain relationships. Something else that they talked about is how often we lose sight of what is important when emotions get involved. We start trying to ‘win’ and make our point instead of just looking at what is the main goal of the discussion. This has been a great book for Ben and I to read in our marriage, in parenting, and in leadership. We highly recommend it!
The Rest of God
It depends how you read it. The title could imply ‘the stuff about God you have missed’ but actually it is a book about rest. Our Pastor from Canada sent it to us and it arrived appropriately the day before we left on vacation.
We got in the car early the day after we graduated our Titus Project students and drove all the way to Budapest. It only took about 14 hours (including a 2 hour border line up). ย The next day we got up early and drive to Croatia where Ben and Josh (our good friend) taught a week on ‘God’s Father Heart’ to a DTS. But officially on Saturday we started our vacation. We drove down the coast of Croatia and have stayed in two cute little villa apartments. Tomorrow we will leave for Italy and then after a few days there back to Budapest. 5 squished in our little car (us + Josh) makes it a great road trip, lots of memories, screaming children, food everywhere! FUN!
But in all of this travelling by car I (Angela) have had a chance to read a lot from this book and am being inspired to really practice the art of rest, not ‘shutting down’ or ‘crashing’ or even ‘amusement’ but real, soul-reviving, spirit-saturating rest. Thanks Bruce for taking the time to send the book!
Thanksgiving
In most of the places we have spent our fall in the last 5 years, there is usually more American influence than Canadian, which means celebrating American thanksgiving. So this week we will celebrate with all our friends here. (we found out that our friend Becky even imported pumpkin pie filling for the pies… we’re excited!)
This Sunday at church, we heard a really great line that defines thanksgiving for us. Most of the time, what happens on thanksgiving is a day of being thankful. So we do some special activities that remind us of how much God has blessed us. Which is good. But thanksgiving is so much more, it is an opportunity to remind ourselves that we are supposed to be thankful people. We’re not just thankful today, we’re thankful in all circumstances.
Paul, our pastor, reminded us of some of the times when we’re not ordinarily thankful. Like when the walk needs shovelling or something around the house needs fixing. Or when the clothes fit a little too snug or we can’t sleep in (because the kids are up bright and early!). Those are great opportunities to remember that we have a home to shelter us, plenty of food to eat, and kids full of joy and excitement for life!
Thankfulness is usually a matter of perspective and not usually circumstance – of course, that’s difficult to remember when we’re in the middle of it. Butย I hope that I become more thankful as the days turn into seasons and the seasons into years – becoming a person characterized by thankfulness, day in and day out!
At the Front Door
When was the last time you lost your keys and had to break into your own house? Wait a minute, I didn’t lose the keys and we sure didn’t break in. Actually, it was an innocent mistake. Have you seen Cassie lately? She is so innocent! She talks so sweet, she smiles like a princess; “of course honey, you can help us open the front door to the apartment”. No problem. “Can I hold the keys too?” she asks. I mean, what are the chances that this little girl will lose them within 15 steps of our apartment door – inside the building?
Alas, it could happen to anyone. Up to the 8th floor we go and as we are stepping out, sure enough, clink clink. Down 8 stories drop our keys, through the gap between the elevator car and the 8th floor – the crack is only a couple inches.
Of course, breaking into an 8th floor apartment isn’t too simple. Thankfully we were hosting a school event that evening and our friends (who speak Russian and know how to get things done around here) were coming over. Sure enough, in less than an hour they elevator guys opened up the bottom and searched through half a foot of cigarette butts to find our keys. Thank you Yulia and Daniel and Tetyana for helping us!
It’s all part of growing up, although from now on the keys will stay with Mom and Dad! :)
Angela’s Reading Skills
At the Park
Cassie sure is growing up really fast! At the park she is no longer satisfied without a challenge. “Let’s do the big slide”, “I want to climb on the rainbow” (monkey bars in a semi-circle shape), “look Mom, I’m pumping” as she swings (although she still needs a lot of pushing). We’re practicing on the tricycle. Inside the house, she is painting pictures and using different colors on different objects, reading books and of course, helping her brother overcome any obstacle he encounters.
Growing Up So Fast
The Island
A few posts ago, ย9 of Themย, we mentioned weยd like to feature some of their stories. Here is the first one.
One of the students in Sweden is from Ukraine, Dima. We met him and his wife, Zhenya, while we were still there running Titus. Theyยre really an incredible couple, intelligent, passionate believers, from atheist background.
So what are they doing with YWM in Sweden? They are part of bringing Jesus to people who donยt know who he is. Anyway, we got started talking about the Orthodox church while we were there. Why? Well, the Orthodox church is the major Christian presence in Ukraine and the post-Soviet world. And Iยve been on a major learning curve since we arrived. Weยll do some posts in the future, talking about the Orthodox church. And we watched this very interesting movie with Dima and Zhenya, called The Island in English (you can see its facebook page here). During the Soviet years, the Russian Orthodox church dwindled because of the soviet states radical atheistic marxism seen in repression of religion. Listen to some of these stats:
– In 1917-1939, over 50,000 Orthodox priests vanished, 1000 churches & 60 seminaries were closed
– by 1933, of 600 churches in Moscow only 100 remained open
– by 1941, 98% of all Orthodox churches in Russia were closed
(ยEastern Orthodox Christianityย, Daniel Clendenin, p44).
Wow!
Anyway, the story of the Island takes place during WWII. The main character becomes a priest after having committed a grave sin. Itยs an interesting story and we will bring it home with us in summer, if youยre interested, let us know and weยd love to watch it with you. It will give you some understanding of what it means to live here.
As Clendenin very appropriately states ย ยwhere this all will lead remains to be seenย.
The Orthodox Church – Experience #1
Our first experience with the orthodox church happened in late May 2009. We were visiting Kyiv while considering where we might relocate Titus Project in Europe. As part of our visit, one of our hosts by the name of Tim Huddleston, now a treasured friend, took us for a tour around Kyiv.
As we learned, one of Tim’s hobbies was really understanding Kyiv’s history. It turns out to be very rich and interesting (but more on that later). Anyway, one of the landmarks on his tour was St. Volodymyr’s Cathedral. Writing this nearly two years later, I barely remember anything. I will briefly introduce two things that I do remember because they really struck me, but we will only go into depth in subsequent posts.
The first thing I remember was how different it was. Angela and the ladies put on scarves before we entered. There was the paintings and the dim light with candles and a few other things that I really hadn’t experienced, even in the old catholic churches I’ve entered in other European countries.
The second thing I remember was Tim’s comment. It was a teachable moment and he took the opportunity. He said that although worship may be very different than what I am used to, do not quickly pronounce judgment on it because there are many many positives to it and things we can learn from. It was, and remains, wise advice.
So why begin recounting our experiences with the Orthodox Church here? There are a few different reasons, but probably the most important is that the Christian church is vast, and vastly diverse in its style and character. To breathe Ukrainian air is to breathe a mixture of Christian faith. Need a picture? Consider how puppies are tied to the same pole, yet as they run around and around, they get tied together even while they run in many directions. So while we are all rooted to the same Christ, the atmosphere and experience of his worship may be very different, sometimes crossing, sometimes running in parallel. I want to explore this relationship more fully, understand these other worship experiences without prejudice and with love. And in turn, hopefully, bring my own experiences to people who might benefit from them.
Teaching Adventures 