Monday musings on a Thursday in Reno…

Posted on November 19, 2009 by scoeyd

Got home last night about 9… the last leg of the trip, even though it was only a 2 hour flight from Denver, was the most challenging. I think its because I just wanted it to be OVER already.

Some things that I’m pondering this morning in my partially convoluted (but never deluded) state are:

Going to try to sneak a work out in, then it’s time to start my Monday. On Thursday. Here I come. Watch out!

playing catch up, #2

Posted on November 17, 2009 by scoeyd

November p.m..
Monday night brought a couple of surprises – käse nacht (cheese night) at the Kern’s & a special tour of the Olde Gott Winery – with the local “Wine Queen” Corinna, who just happened to be a friend of Julia’s that had visited us in Reno for a few days. It was a very high tech winery, & is known as 1 of if not THE best production wine maker in Salsbachwald. Corinna gave us background on the local grapes (mostly whites with a couple of reds,) & then took us through the process the grapes go through to make the wine. (Took us through virtually, that is. Virtually. Not actually. That would only produce Whine.)

Special surprise at the end was that we got to meet the president & CEO of the winery, who gave us a greeting & a free tasting of the top 4 wines on Olde Gott’s shelves – 2 reds & 2 whites. Very cool.

Käse Nacht involved melty cheese, garlic & French bread, good wine, & lots of laughter, discussion & tears. We sat around the Kern table with the whole family plus Heiko, the boyfriend of Linda. Good times. It got late way too quickly, so before we went our separate ways, Julia’s dad, Klaus, gave a heartfelt speech of thanks & gratitude to Jesus – for us, for Julia coming to the US & fulfilling her dream, for God’s provision, & for family. I don’t think there was a dry eye in the room when he finished.

It was a real blessing to us to spend this time with the family, & I’m richer for having experienced it. Matty kept saying that this was the favorite part of the trip for him – I’m guessing it had to do with the family interactions, the intimacy of the talks, & the incredible food.

17 November
Went to the train station WAAAYYY too early for our 8:30 train – made it on without any trouble (yay me!) & managed to make it all the way to Frankfurt Main station without having to surrender our seats. Found a Starbucks & downed an Americano before we braved the drizzling rain.

Took the U-Bahn to TPLF where we met Elena & Eddy – he was hungry (almost as hungry as us,) so he accompanied us to Zimt und Koriander for pizza. Again. Go figure. Good talks & good pizza.

Afterwards, I tried to make my way to Alex’s house on the U-bahn. I must have fallen asleep, because I found myself waking up, disoriented on a train. Fortunately, it wasn’t far from the stop that I needed. 1 of the weirdest experiences of my life so far – didn’t know who or where I was, & my brain wouldn’t kick in & give me a context, language, or idea of what was going on around me.

Got to Alex’s & decided to take a nap. And that’s where I am right now.

playing catch up…

Posted on November 17, 2009 by scoeyd

15 November –
Woke up early on Sunday to have a breakfast with Alex & Linda – she made her famous pfannküchen (pancakes.) Very nice.

Alex dropped me by the TPLF Sunday a.m. service – I enjoyed time with friends; the room was totally packed to the point where it was standing room only. Eddy spoke on “Faith.”

There was a bit of a rush to the Hauptbahnhof “main train station”, mostly due to my incredible ability to take the simplest of train switches & complicate them. I am convinced that this just may be my superpower, which will be wonderful & make me totally fit in if I every meet up with the cast of Mystery Men in a real life adventure that requires getting lost in a train station I’ve been in 100 times. And a special shout out to the nice police officer that tried to send me to Munich.

Got to the station & met Shawn & Matt by our favorite cigar shop – it’s a landmark… Ate a döner in the food court, & caught up on the boys trip to Berlin. Especially fun was hearing the story about how they narrowly avoided getting into a fight with an irate (& very large) Englishman. It’s their story to tell, but suffice it to say, the moral of the story is: be careful who you sit by, especially if they are a loud-mouthed American from the Bay Area that wants to rip on England, English food, & worst of all, English soccer.

Made our way to our train – the ICE. Its interesting to ride these for me, because there are no assigned seats – except for the people who HAD assigned seats. Meaning, some people had paid extra couple Euros. Its kind of a gamble to find a place & sit down, then hope that no one comes to kick you out of the seat by an extra paying customer…

It only took us about 1:20 to the Southwestern burg of Baden-Baden. It’s as different from Frankfurt as Napa is from Reno. Julia picked us up – it was so good to see her in her element. She drove us (quite safely actually) through several villages to her home in Achern. Absolutely beautiful, esp. as the light rain that has accompanied 90% of our visit continued to fall – not pour, but mist & drizzle.

We were greeted by her parents as long-lost friends with many hugs & tears. Made me well up a bit myself, & also to give thanks to the LORD that we were nice to Julia while she lived with us ☺.

The Kern family has an absolutely beautiful home – & the first thing we did was all sit around the table for coffee & marmot-cake (which is named because it looks like a mole-hill.) We spent an hour talking with the family, with Matt & Shawn getting to know Klaus & Pia (the parents) & Linda (the sister.)

We made our way to our rooms – which were prepared so wonderfully & with great care. The hospitality we are being shown is truly humbling.

While dinner was being prepared, the boys & I spent an hour talking; we’re helping Matty prep for his impending nuptials – only has 5 months to get ready ☺. Really good talks, with lots of questions from Matty (go figure!) Shawn & I laughed a lot.

For dinner we ate sauerbraten, sessel (potato/bread cakes,) & garlic laced salad greens, accompanied by a tasty spätburgunder rotwein. We sat around the table for several hours of eating & conversation.

The thing that has stood out to us the most is the familiarity & connection that Jesus brings – across cultures, languages, & life-experience. I’m thankful for that – Matty said this was his favorite moment of the trip so far – for me, it was waaayy up there too.

Couldn’t keep my eyes open any more, so I made my way to bed around 10, making it the earliest night in 4-ever.

Woke up to the sound of falling rain – which, if I lived here would probably get old really quick, but for a visit, it makes for quite the experience & backdrop for our adventures.

Ate a typical German breakfast with Pia – she wanted to take a picture of Matty eating the soft-boiled egg. She laughed & laughed as he made a mess of it on his plate – good ol’ Matty.

Over breakfast, we had a good discussion about auslanders (foreigners) growing to the point where they will soon be outnumbering Germans; partially due to immigration, mostly due to a much higher birth rate. It made us reflect on Reno (& the States) & our own rising immigrant & non-US native population… & how it affects us & changes the culture of the city with the added language, experience, & change that comes as the population grows… It was a good talk about politics, economics, life choices, & the kingdom of God.

Made me think & reflect on the discussions that we’ve been having with a local-Reno Spanish speaking church. And how connecting with them gives us an opportunity to connect with another facet of Reno; to intentionally be making choices to reach Reno for Christ as it grows, changes, looks, & becomes different than me. I’m reflecting on the fact that my commitment (& the commission to Christ-followers) isn’t to perpetuating me & my way of life, but to see people come to know Jesus, & to grow into finding, understanding, & following His plan for their lives…

We have lunch coming up shortly with Roland Lorenz, the pastor of the church that the Kern family attends – he’s the initial point of contact that I’d had from the German pastors conference of years past. Looking forward to it, then a quiet afternoon together, maybe a walk in the rain, & then finally dinner with the Kern family…

S-A-TUR-DAY… night.

Posted on November 14, 2009 by scoeyd

Couldn’t sleep last night. Again. Not overtired, & no pain this time, just awake, missing home. Caught theBean at a good moment & we were able to set up a Skype with 4/5 of the fam. (Sorry Weez. You were hoopin’.) Almost forgot how beautiful that woman is. Wow. It takes ones breath away. Tried to sleep. Finally, asked Jesus to put me to sleep, & to “rest” me in the 5 hours I’d get. Next thing I knew…

Woke up to a light rain, which has been par for the course. Not that I mind. Choco-croissant, coffee, time with theAlex & Linda, then the 45 minute trip to TPLF via the U1 & U7.

Quiet morning at Roundabout, with good conversation, prayer, worship, & goodbyes.

Hefe Went to ALDI & snagged some cool smelling deodorant & some cheap nail clippers. It was buy those or get a manicure, & I didn’t have the time or inclination. But you could imagine.

Made my way to Zimt und Koriander for pizza & a hefe. That combo just can’t be beat. Back to the house for a nap… have to charge up for later, as theAlex & Linda & me are headed out for the evening… which of course is where the title of the post comes from. Don’t know if we’ll see the Bay City Rollers, but if we do, I’ll be ready.

HEED! PANTS! NOW!

I saw the sun in Frankfurt, even though it was only for a moment…

Posted on November 13, 2009 by scoeyd

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. Continue reading →

I’m back… or, how I finally found the internet in Prum, Germany

Posted on November 10, 2009 by scoeyd

I’ve not been able to connect to the net for a while, so if you’ve been sending me emails or notes that haven’t been returned, I’m sorry. Please bear with me – today, 10 November, Shawn & I found the “Lothar Raum” which is where we are connecting to the net via an ethernet cable. Also, this is a long post – you’ve been warned.

Sunday, 8 November
Woke up early to have breakfast with Alex & Linda – a good German breakfast of bread, nutella, yogurt & mueslix… & coffee of course. I appreciate these people who have opened up their home & life to me, inviting me in to be a part of what they do.

Alex dropped me at TPLF at 10, & I spent time reconnecting with friends & mentally preparing for the Sunday speech. Worshipping with our sister church is a lot like being at home, with a pleasant comfort that comes from revisiting something familiar, something that you’ve been missing. It was especially fun to see Dudi on the keyboards ☺.

I spoke on John 15:1-11 – on Staying Connected, with 3 specific points about connection:

connecting to God,

connecting to our church & church leaders

connecting to the people in our church family.

Speaking through an interpreter is mentally draining – esp. because it requires thinking in complete thoughts vs. in ‘sentences’ if that makes sense. I hit a tangible ‘wall’ in point #2 about connecting to church & church leaders – because of the German reticence to ‘trust’ those in leadership due to both the history of domineering leadership in Germany (WW2) & also the loss/removal of TPLF’s senior pastor 18 months ago. It was tough, but I know I did what I was supposed to & said what I needed to. And left the rest up to the Holy Spirit & the grace of God. Sigh.

After church, I ate a döner with Shawn & Matty, then waited for Eddy to come pick us up to take us to the Pastors conference that I’ve been a part of for the last 4 years – really enjoyed the talking & laughing with the boys on the long (3 hour) drive to Prüm, on the western border of Germany near France & Luxemborg.

Our evening at the conference was one of getting oriented to the youth hostel where we’re staying, & a service consisting of praise & worship. Afterwards, we spent time with the German pastors & talked at length about the life & times of the last year. I met a pastor from Kazachstan who was visiting Germany & the German conference to see how the FEGW (Foursquare Germany) functioned as a church movement. As I stood their & listened to amazing story after amazing story, it reminded me both of how incredible our God is, & how small I am.

FEGW Conference, Day 2
Peter Wenz, a pastor from Stuttgart is the presenter. The thing that jumped out at me is that he is very animated & full of life & a tangible joy. The topic for the week is “FAITH” – & learning to live ‘correctly’ – which he defined as being filled with the Word of God, filled with hope, & lead by the Spirit into a life that is greater than me, for a purpose that God intends. Our main texts for the session were Habakkuk 2:14 & Hebrews 11:6

I love how he defined & discussed faith –
• not as something nebulous or intangible, but as something that is a secret, Godly substance placed in the hearts of His people; this secret substance gives us Godly confidence & boldness, special hope, discernment, & supernatural abilities to accomplish God’s purposes.
• Faith is a gift from God to stir us, to awaken us to be looking for opportunities to live for God & to intersect the lives of others for God.
• Faith opens us to God’s realm, the really real realm, to live life in a way that is ‘overcoming’ (Romans 8:39)
• Faith is real & integrated into our everyday life, & as we act on it causes truth to become ‘real & evident’ in our hearts & lives
• Faith is real & tangible, & causes ordinary people to really live extraordinary lives.

Session 2 addressed Mark 1:14,15 & the ministry of Jesus – he talked about Jesus’ 4 declarations:
• The time is come
• The Kingdom of God is at hand
• It is time to Repent – to renew our minds & way of thinking to God’s
• Believe – in Christ, & follow Him

Things that stood out:
• The main obstacle to faith is unbelief – a humanist intellectualism that opposes the purposes & plans of God
• This unbelief is often centered in the religious upper-class of society
• We ask God to increase our faith, & then we ‘stand’ in & exercise the faith that we have – not the letter of it, but the Spirit of it.

Good stuff – lots of great testimonies & encouragements.

Shawn, Matt & I ate lunch together, then walked to a store down the street for supplies (snacks & water.) The highlight of our walk was when Matt tried to engage the cashier in small talk with a little, “How you doin?” She just looked at him blankly – didn’t speak any English. Shawn translated for Matt, & the clerk, once she understood, just looked at Matt & said, “Bad. Bad.” We all got some good smiles from that. Went to an Austrian restaurant for a schnitzel, a hefe, & lots of good discussion then went back to the hostel for the evening.

We’re learning all kinds of stuff about each other. Good times.

FEGW Conference, Day 3
I woke up at 1 a.m. to a dull ache in my right shoulder, waaaay down deep in the joint. It kept me up until about 4. Bummer way to start the day.

Our final sessions with Peter Wenz centered on Ephesians 4:7-13 – which is a portion of scripture that is especially significant for me (on account of the fact that we spent more than 3 months in those verses last year at this time – he focused on the words “measure of grace,” something given by God for people to live & function in – & that the “some people” who’ve been given the role of being a pastor, teacher, evangelist, prophet, or apostle are to be about the work of making disciples, spurring others on towards maturity in Christ.

I especially enjoyed his discussion on how the body of Christ is to be “complementing” each other instead of “competing” with each other – with complementing being “to harmonize, go together better;” truly functioning like a body functions towards the same goal, not 100 unique ones.

The boys & I are debating what we’ll do this afternoon during the ‘small group’ time – everyone else will be getting with the other pastors & leaders from their region & working on a project. We may be making another run to the store for snacks & supplies; Shawn found a “Sculpture Park” that we might be walking to, though the chill of our day, coupled with the ache in my shoulder makes a longer jaunt seem much less attractive… We will see.

preparing for lunch, & other adventures…

Posted on November 6, 2009 by scoeyd

Eventually, one gets hungry on a Friday. And when one gets hungry, what does one do? One makes their way to the local REWE to do some grocery shopping.

Since we were having hamburgers, the 1st thing we need to pick out was what we’d eat them on – Alex said that the bread needs to be good German bread so that it doesn’t get soggy – & who am I to argue with him. So we started by checking out the bread roll section…

After we got our rolls & other supplies, we made our way back to the house for creation & assembly. The picture at left is the assembly line; notice how its put together in such as way as to allow for maximum efficiency.

The burgers were marinated with a home-made marinade with lots of garlic & honey (delicious, with a spicy-bite-kick to it.) & then cooked in the oven.

Linda isn’t a meat-eater, so she created tofu versions of what we had.

And yes, thanks for asking, those are the hamburger creations we dined upon. They were so huge that large skewers were needed to just hold them together. I even ate my burger with the skewer still in it, which required a coordination & dexterity that I was not aware I possessed. Only had one DOH! moment where I Homer’d myself in the right eye. No pictures were taken of that portion of the meal.

And here’s Linda downing her tofu-burger, topped with Alex’s specially created sauce, fresh tomatoes, lettuce, & chopped up little gerkins (which, by the way, is german for little pickles. Who’da
thunk it?

Near the end of the meal, I got a call from Anja – we’ll be getting together tomorrow for coffee, then dinner with Alex & Linda. Good times.

Tonight, we’ll be hooking up with Earl & Matty, Levent & Ines to go to a place called Celsius, which I’ve been told is as close as one can get to Berlin, while staying in Frankfurt. I’ll have to report on that.

Finished the final touches for my speech for Sunday at TPLF – I’m talking from John 15:1-11 about staying connected:

Connected to God

Connected to our leaders

Connected to our church family

Sound familiar?

The Fantastic Journey!… or how I managed to travel for 24 hours straight…

Posted on November 5, 2009 by scoeyd

I’ve known that my November 2009 trip to Germany was coming – months ago, when I booked my flights, I intentionally did 3 things to avoid known trouble spots:

Avoided any flight with the words “San” or “Francisco” included in it.

Put “I Heart Denver” in all my itinerary searches

Determined not to start my outbound voyage before 10 a.m.

Lucky me, the first 2 things I did worked great – the 3rd? Not so much. Due to an Unforeseen Need To Cutback on the Number of Flights, my Reno-Denver leg was moved 3 times. So, I got to start my day at 5 a.m. so that I could make sure to get to the airport to make my 7:20 with time to spare. Sigh.

Denver is a great airport; lots of great places to eat, spacious & clean concourses to walk (w/hand sanitizer every 10 steps,) & this time, friends to hang out with. Matty C & Earl W were both on board for the 1st leg of the trip – we hung out at the New Belgium Hub, ate omelettes & egg burritos, sampled the 1554 Black, & talked.

A good time was had by all… a good time that was split up only by the next flight for me – Matty & Earl had somehow finagled a direct flight to Frankfurt out of Denver, albeit with a 7 hour layover in the aforementioned Denver Airport. At least it was a good one.

Said my goodbyes & headed for Chicago – even landed there early due to a great tailwind. Only 90 minutes & I was to be off to Deutschland. Or so I thought.

Literally as we were lining up for boarding, word came down from On High that there was an Un-named mechanical issue that needed to be resolved – the screen began flashing a modified departure time… 45 minutes further out. Ok.

As our scheduled boarding time arrived, the voice from On High declared that our aircraft had been sent to the proverbial bullpen – & needed more repairs than could be gotten on the tarmac. The good news (& I use that phrase with my tongue firmly placed in my cheek, which caused me to bite it,) was that a replacement plane had been found to take us to the Fatherland… though it was only a mere 3 hours away. Which meant that our departure time would be just a little bit later than we’d initially thought…

So, what to do? Get a bad attitude? Complain? Go flex my proverbial muscles for all the desk-counter personnel & ask them if they happened to know who I am? No. All of those jobs were already taken, with understudies even.

The job that wasn’t taken was the one of the happy, content guy reading his book, who was also pleasant to be around, & occasionally even engaged in conversation with the people around him. So I took it.

Not because I felt like that guy – precisely because I DIDN’T feel it. I was uncomfortable, grouchy, tired, hungry, frustrated, missing out on Game 6 of the Series, missing theBean & theFam something terrible already… I’ve been trying to grow in not just living by my feelings or by the attitude/outlook that tries to muscle its way to the surface… instead I tried to put on Christ. Keep a good attitude. Not focus on me & my disappointments.

And I made it.

Slept for 7 out of 8 1/2 hours of my flight. Woke up rested. Flight landed. Eventually made my way through passport control, baggage claim, & customs… found Alex G. Matty C & Earl W were located. Navigated the city (with a temperamental GPS to boot) & eventually got everyone where they needed to be for round 2…

Ate the Hot & Spicy Pasta that Chef Alex made, with the 337 that theBean sent for Linda… enjoyed a Via together. Went for a walk through the park & the streets around Alex & Linda’s new neighborhood. Relaxing.

Had a brief chat with theBean before she went to work. Ahhh.

I’m looking forward to the rest of my time – starting with a good nights sleep. Good night now.

40 going on 21, part 1

Posted on October 29, 2009 by scoeyd

I’ve been ruminating on a series of conversations that I had with my buddy, Chuck, while I was at CSR this last August.

The conversations were brought on by the fact that my 40th birthday was coming soon – & how much I was looking forward to that event & the stage of life that would come with it. (And, by the way, I’m 40 days into my 40th year, & so far, I’m loving the fact that I’m a man! I’m 40!)

A lot of our talks centered on the infatuation our society seems to have with YOUTH & being YOUNG… & the seeming inability to accept the fact that people age… & aging is seen as a bad thing, something to be ashamed of, avoided, &/or denied.

Bummer.

Part of what really drove it home for me was that a lot of my ‘thinking time’ happened on & near the Virginia Tech University campus – there were literally thousands of 18-25 year olds all over the place just arriving in Blacksburg for the start of the fall semester… In Walmart. Starbucks. Borders. The campus bookstore. Swarms of people. Checking each other out, visually measuring self against others, masking anxiety with volume… The pretty young things got the most attention & savored it.

In the midst of it, I felt strangely secure. Comfortable in my own skin. I pondered Chuck’s words, & thought about what he’d said about the privileges & things gained as one ages…

…experience & wisdom to be shared. Perspective at having seen seasons of life, fad, & fashion come & go & come back again. The weight the words carry of one who has not only lived, but has lived well, without striving, through the tides, peaks, & valleys that life brings. The joy of watching one’s children grow. Peace at being able to simply enjoy the moment.

The glory of the young is their strength; the gray hair of experience is the splendor of the old. Proverbs 20:29 New Living Translation

Being 40 is great. I’m lovin’ it.

Things I’m thinking about:

Associating ‘young’ & ‘youth’ with childish, irresponsible, immoral behavior

Peter Pan syndrome…

valuing people by their outward appearance…

living selfishly, without regard for others

attempting to avoid the responsibility that comes with the making of choices – & the consequences (outcomes?) of those choices

the inevitability of aging… something that no amount of cosmetic surgery, hair dye, or botox can avoid.

my dream…

Hmmm.

tuesday & it’s pretending to snow…

Posted on October 27, 2009 by scoeyd

Woke up last night to a howling wind, accompanied by the sound of rain & hail being slammed up against our windows. Ah yes. It is nearly Winter. Or at least its pretending.

Went to theWeez’s soccer banquet tonight – held at Pizza Plus, which IS a plus. Got to eat pizza & wings & watch 15 or so 12-14 year old girls do whatever it is that 12-14 year old girls do.

75 minutes, lots of giggling & a 3 minute awards ceremony later, we were on our way out.

It was snowing. Or at least pretending to snow. You know what I mean, the kind of snow that you can actually see falling to the ground, but once its actually there, it sort of disappears. Which is why I say it’s ‘pretending.’

I’ve started my packing process – the week-long saga I go through in preparing for my November trip to Germany. Laying out clothes I might want to take, making sure they’re all washed & pressed; then, laying out clothes that I’ll wear in the days leading up to departure day. Silly, I know. But the 2 piles can’t be mixed.

Determined more than ever not to over pack, & also to leave adequate room for my gifts & take-alongs.

Got a great present today – about 40 3-packs of the Starbuck’s Via instant coffee… just add hot water & booyah! Coffee, or at least a reasonable facsimile thereof. I’m taking it with, just in case I meet some hot water…

I like to hulu, – esp. because it makes it so I can watch Fringe. It reminds me a bit of The X-Files… Fringe is something I normally couldn’t watch, because it’s on the same time as The Office, which totally trumps Fringe, at least in theBean’s eyes. (Which, by the way, are some pretty deep blue eyes… so deep, I got lost… but I digress…)

Week 3 of the kettlebells – holy moly. That’s all I have to say. Arms, legs, chest, core…

Which reminds me that I need to soak-a my feet. I’m tired.

Here’s to “No Snow!” tomorrow.

scoey's conundrum

just a boy trying to figure it out on the fly…