For some reason I woke up early; really early today – 4 a.m. Maybe it was to compensate for the sleeping in until 11:30 the day before, but for some reason I was up & ready to go. So I read. Looked at the dark, pre-dawn sky. Counted sheep. (not actual sheep… more the pretend kind in an attempt to lull my brain into thinking it could go to sleep.) No luck.

Thought about the events of the last few days. Time with Johannes & Anja. Anja’s famous Thai Chicken. Bulgarian Wine. “Coincidental” answers to prayers unlooked for. Hard conversations wrought with pain, challenge, & hope for a future.

Pondered home & what would be happening there today in the lives of my loved ones. TheBean. Pasty. IDoey. Weezer. Wished I’d be able to see Reed vs. McQueen tonight.

Wondered on going back to school. Again.

I’ve had 2 people in the last couple of days both pray for me in 2 totally different situations, & give an encouragement that seemed to run along the same lines:

• 1st person – God likes you & is glad that you’re His friend. He likes to hang out with you & do nothing, just for fun. And, don’t ever forget it’s not a small thing to be called a friend of God.
• 2nd person – your identity isn’t founded in anything you can do, but in the fact that you are a son of God. He values you based on that identity & not on anything else.

Interesting to hear that – because it reminds me of things that I’ve heard God ‘say’ to me over the years about Him valuing me because I’m his, not because of what I can do, what my mission in life is; being valued as a human being vs. a human doing.

It takes me back to being here 3 years ago & first hearing about leading our church family into the Sabbath. Memories flood my brain – memories of people, places, situations – some good, some…not so good. But all of it centered in God’s faithfulness & goodness. Opportunity to reflect, in hindsight on fulfilled promises, & on the results of obedience. Interested to see how it will be in a year. ☺

Sigh.

Came to TPLF around 9 for breakfast & hanging out with friends at Roundabout. Good discussion over good food (brownies ala Talitha!) & a seemingly endless supply of coffee. Some things don’t change.

Went to lunch with Frank, the husband of Elena, the super-woman that runs the office at TPLF. Great talks – he’s a world-class businessman & entrepreneur that reminds me of my friend Dennis… Really rejuvenating to spend time with him.

Decided that I’d do something productive with my afternoon so I walked the downtown – went to the Eintracht Frankfurt store to check for a new hoodie, but no dice. It appears to have fallen on hard times. So, I shopped the Adidas, Nike, & SportsSheck, looked at Clima365 gear (I’m a sucker for it – shirts, pants, you name it.) Didn’t buy anything, thought there were about 3 shirts that I WANTed.

Navigated back to TPLF using the U-bahn, & now I’m doing what the locals call “relaxing” – blogging, sipping wasser mit kohlensaure, & waiting for the evening Roundabout session. I’ll be headed back to Alex & Linda’s around 8:45 so that I can make it there by 9:30 to talk with them, hang out, & get to bed at a decent hour. I’m feeling just a little bit tired, most likely from my early morning. Loving the solitude, quiet & opportunity for reflection.

Ahhh.