Last saturday (12 Jan) I invited myself to go along on a skiing trip. It was a group from church, Molly, Richard, Valda, Nigel, Jen, and me. We drove about an hour north(ish) to Feldberg. It was a nice drive and we didn't really see snow until we got to the village. Jen commented on the way home about how interesting it was that the snow literally tapered off on the hillside.
The Ski resorts are a bit different here. It's interesting because it seems to me that people are more serious about their winter sports, but it also seems to be more of a social event or party. There were definitely more people at this resort than I saw when I went snowboarding in Oregon and at least two or three more places to eat.
At the beginning of the day, I thought I would try to snowboard since I actually knew how to do it, but could not get up the lift (it's a t-bar that just pulls you along, but you can't put any weight on it or you will fall and you have to work to keep your board or skis going straight so you don't fall over), which was not designed with snowboarders or beginners in mind. After several attempts and a lot of frustration, I decided to see if the equipment shop would trade my snowboarding things for ski equipment. The guy was very nice and abliging. I, then found Jen and asked her to teach me how to ski. She did a very nice job showing me what to do and was encouraging while I experimented.
I finally caught up with the rest of the group and tried out my abilities. Everyone was very patient and encouraging, especially Richard and Valda who took a special interest in making sure I figured out the particulars. Richard was very adamant that I lean forward, which I was very determined not to do. It actually helped and made sense once I became a bit more comfortable. And Valda did not hold the fact that I ran into her against me. I can snowplow, but not very quickly. I prefer to dig my skis in sideways, but haven't quite reached the skill where I can do it without faalling over sometimes.
Anyway, I had a great time and am looking forward to going again, at some point. If you want to see me look silly skiing, you can go to this web address... http://picasaweb.google.com/richard2718/Feldburg/photo#5154685507455274146 I am most impressed by the fact that Richard is skiing as he is filming me. The funniest thing is that he wanted to get me falling over, but he stops filming just before I fell. You can see me about to biff it in the last shot.
15 January 2008
14 January 2008
Sunday
Yesterday's sermon was on 1 Corinthians 3:5-23. The pastor made some good points like always (I really appreciate his preaching style and his point of view, even though I find myself differing in opinion slightly) and I did my best to stay with him since I had spent the entire day before learning how to ski and today I have a mild cold.
The point that struck me most was about how as Christ's workers we need to examine what sort of building materials we are using when building into others' lives and whether or not those materials will stand up to the testing or fire that will most likely come along in our own lives and others.
I think this struck me most because as a teacher I am building into my student's lives every day in one form or another. That is the nature of being a teacher. Now, I will most likely never see the fruits of my labor, and that again, is the nature of my profession. But, am I doing all I can, now, to ensure that if my students do come to know Christ, they will be able to stand up to the fire? or, even, will my effort ever come to fruit because it was built with the right materials?
I was convicted at that point of the sermon because this image or question does not daily weigh heavily enough on my heart. I pray that from now on it will.
I also appreciated being reminded or having it first brought to light (I don't know which it is) that God is the only one who makes the seed flower and it is only my job to plant and/or water the seed. God will not be judging me based on whether or not my work was 'successful', but by whether or not I worked and how much effort I put into that work.
This encouraged me because the flowering or fruiting is out of my control, but I can control whether or not I put in the effort for God. I was always a bit worried about this point, especially because I have always seen my role as more of a behind the scenes planting and watering person rather than the forefront conversion (fruit) person.
I'm sure many of you will have thoughts to add and I would love to hear them, but I hope you appreciated hearing a bit about the glimpse of understanding I had yesterday.
Peace and Joy
The point that struck me most was about how as Christ's workers we need to examine what sort of building materials we are using when building into others' lives and whether or not those materials will stand up to the testing or fire that will most likely come along in our own lives and others.
I think this struck me most because as a teacher I am building into my student's lives every day in one form or another. That is the nature of being a teacher. Now, I will most likely never see the fruits of my labor, and that again, is the nature of my profession. But, am I doing all I can, now, to ensure that if my students do come to know Christ, they will be able to stand up to the fire? or, even, will my effort ever come to fruit because it was built with the right materials?
I was convicted at that point of the sermon because this image or question does not daily weigh heavily enough on my heart. I pray that from now on it will.
I also appreciated being reminded or having it first brought to light (I don't know which it is) that God is the only one who makes the seed flower and it is only my job to plant and/or water the seed. God will not be judging me based on whether or not my work was 'successful', but by whether or not I worked and how much effort I put into that work.
This encouraged me because the flowering or fruiting is out of my control, but I can control whether or not I put in the effort for God. I was always a bit worried about this point, especially because I have always seen my role as more of a behind the scenes planting and watering person rather than the forefront conversion (fruit) person.
I'm sure many of you will have thoughts to add and I would love to hear them, but I hope you appreciated hearing a bit about the glimpse of understanding I had yesterday.
Peace and Joy
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