“I believe in Christianity as I believe the sun has risen. Not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else…” 

-C.S. Lewis

The weeks seem to fly by, something I tend to have mixed feelings about. I love the fact that spring is here which means summer is right around the corner, but the thinker inside of me starts pondering on how time seems to be such a fleeting thing.  If you know me at all, you know I think, probably way too much; but sometimes, there seems to be a theme occurring in my thoughts.  These are the ones I try to give more attention. These thoughts are often the ones that I feel are God given, whether I am being convicted or being made aware of something I am supposed to do. 

The thought that has nagged at me now for a couple of months is…What is my worldview? What is your worldview? Now, in reality, I am only responsible for my own, but from everything from wars, and natural disasters, to Rob Bell, it makes me think of how others, namely those who call themselves Christians, view the world and what has been in the news.  How we see the world does come from what we put in front of us, TV, music, culture, education, Scripture…

What gets the most attention? Questions like this swirl around inside my head. Could I answer a question someone has about some TV show, but also be able to show you what the Bible says about Hell? Do we (Christians) really know what we believe or do we regurgitate what has been fed to us?  Do I view everything that goes on around me through the “lens of Scripture” or do I just see it through the flesh that I live in?  Now, before we all beat ourselves up or just flippantly respond with, “Of course I have a biblical worldview.” Think about it.

When you hear about a man who writes a book that goes against what Scripture says. How do you respond? Does it depend on what that man looks like? Does it depend on what kind of following he has? If he wasn’t “modern”  would I have ever paid attention to him in the first place?

It’s easy to think or feel that, “I always thought he was a bit off.” or “I don’t see what the big deal is.” But, seeing that people don’t get the Truth from our feelings, the questions that have been posed require responses. Not that all of us will find ourselves in a conversation with someone who is asking what we believe and our opinion on a book. We do,however, end up with: Do we respond? Can we respond? Are we able to answer and not just send them to someone else or a website.

All of these things require our thoughts. We have to think. We have to process what is going on around us.  Do I know what the Bible says about Heaven or Hell or am I holding onto what I was taught in my 2^nd grade Sunday School class?

R.C. Sproul states in The Truth Project, even though we are living in a day with more access to more knowledge than we have ever had, “We are living in probably the most anti-intellectual day…’I don’t want to learn, I don’t want to study the Word of God, I want to have a feeling, I want to have some kind of mystical experience and let that supplant or replace the hard study of the content of the Word of God.’ But, the Scriptures say, the way life changes is when the mind changes.”

I love that last line, “…the way life changes is when the mind changes.” Our mind has to be conformed to the Word.

When our mind is conformed to His Word we can accurately gauge fact from fiction (Romans 12:1-2).  As 2 Timothy 2:15 says, 

“…rightly handling the word of truth.” Paul is addressing the issue of false teachers here and he goes onto say, “avoid irreverent babble, for it will lead people into more and more ungodliness…” (vs. 16) False teaching results in arguing.

What makes me sad about this whole controversy is the pastors who seem to be afraid of taking a stand on important issues.  I saw a quote from a pastor that stated, “We bash Rob Bell, but morons who say that earthquakes are God’s divine judgment get a free pass?”I know there are people out there who take Scripture out of context and say very hurtful things, but just like those, there are others who also take it out of context and say things that are false. Both are wrong. We should be asking, “Why do we NOT require (Scriptural) context from Rob Bell, but we do from the morons who say that earthquakes are God’s divine judgment?” It seems, that we are more concerned about being viewed as relevant, and dare I say it, “cool” than we are to being biblical. 

When we have a biblical worldview we see everything that goes on around us thru the filter of God’s Word. So, we aren’t surprised when someone comes along and preaches something contrary to it because we see that Paul addresses false teaching time and time again in the New Testament. This isn’t the first time and it won’t be the last.

Can you, can I, answer the questions that have been raised by this book? I would encourage you to read, study, seek out godly counsel. We have the Holy Spirit to guide and teach us. We are told that the “…(Spirit) he will guide you into all truth…” (John 16:13). Wisdom comes from the Spirit, 1 Corinthians 2:6-16. 

A public or spoken answer to the questions won’t be required for the majority of us, but the very least these questions should do is to push us to find the biblical answers.

We have had a fun, relaxing weekend. Reece's 11th birthday was on Friday. So, what's a birthday without a party! He had 2 boys spend the night and Nina had 2 girls spend the night. In total, we had 8 kids under one roof which measures about 1000sq.ft. It was fun, and it wasn't too loud.  I was thankful for that, our downstairs neighbors just moved in, and I would hate to give them a bad first impression. 

Monday begins the new week. The calendars here start the week on Monday, not Sunday. I look forward to the start of every week. What does God have for us this week? Will I meet someone new? What will I learn this week? Will it feel more like home? So, every week is started with some anticipation, even more so this week because my parents are coming! I normally start my week with a list of things I have to do and this week is going to be busy.

There is much to be done. Cleaning, going to the market, sitting down to translate papers that have to be signed and returned. What would I do without Google Translate?! 

Finally, working on Dutch. This is the time consuming one. I will be trying to set up and schedule our formal classes this week. I absolutely can't wait to speak this language. I hate not being able to have a complete conversation. Oh, I can talk to people, but so much is lost in translation. They don't understand every word and certainly don't get our slang, cliches, or sayings. I don't understand theirs either. I learn more every week why it is so important for us to know their language. It has become an earnest prayer of mine.

Although, during this time of not being able to speak someone's native language I am learning to listen more and prefer them above myself. Which, surprise surprise, is hard to do. I have to put someone's needs above my own. Philippians 2 says to "...count others more significant than yourself..." It seems, I am faced with situations where I hear this whisper, "prefer them above yourself." Whether I am faced with 2 women in the grocery store who seem to be oblivious that anyone else is shopping or giving up my seat in the tram for the older gentleman who is having trouble walking. I wish I could say I prefer the other person every time I am faced with that choice, but sadly, I do not. I long for the day that I default to looking out for the interests of others above my own, although, I'm not sure that I'll see that day this side of heaven. 

It all seems to be wrapped up in humility. Do I ever get away from this one? 

Practicing the language is hard, and because I want to say the words as close as possible to the way they say them, I am asking questions, a lot of them, but my insecurities come screaming to the surface. I'm afraid of sounding like an idiot. I'm afraid of saying that one word that sounds like the other word and saying something really rude or profane, I've heard too many horror stories. I find myself asking strangers, "How do you say that?" or "Sorry, I don't speak Dutch, could you help me?" I have to push myself to say "Goedemorgen" and "Dank u wel." I know it's important that I keep trying even though I don't feel like it.

But, in the middle of all these new lessons of dying to self is this gift that this new experience of learning a language brings: that communicating is much more than words. It's about smiling when no one around me is smiling, and allowing the joy that is in my heart to show on my face.  Paying attention to the little details of someone's life so I can serve them and let them know I heard them and what they say matters to me.

I am excited for the day when I can converse with someone in Dutch. I know that before that day comes, I am going to have to go through some humbling experiences of speaking and, at times, being laughed at. The way I always laughed at the Mongolian restaurant in Springfield that wrote "We will rebuilt!" on their sign. I wonder if they were using Google Translate?

It is a beautiful day here in Amsterdam.  We woke up to, well to darkness, but when daylight broke it was the sun!  I was so happy to see it.  
January is over and so is our month of free public transportation. So, that means we are back to biking. Biking is something that is almost synonymous with this country. The responsibility is almost equal to that of driving a car in the states, at least, that is what we have told our kids. I have told them it is one time where you have complete permission to think only about yourself because everyone else is biking that same way. You have to watch out where you are going, what is in your way. 
It's funny though, to see someone talking on their phone or reading while biking! Everything that we would do, TRY to do, or shouldn't do, in a car they will do on a bike. They will bike when there is 6" of snow on the ground or when it is raining. They will put their 2 kids on their bike and head out to run their daily errands. It makes biking on the Greenways trails in Springfield a true leisure activity. Something I look forward to doing this summer when we are back. We have laughed many times at the comparisons. "This is like biking to Lowe's and buying our paint and tools and loading them up on our bike and going back home." 
I admire the Dutch for the attitude they have. It seems, when they have something to do, they do it. They may complain about the weather, but it doesn't stop them. I am trying to adopt this same attitude, but, needless to say, I still can't wait for spring!

I am finally getting around to starting this blog.  I have been meaning to for a couple of months now.  I want to share about our life here in Amsterdam, and other thoughts I have. I will warn you though, I like to write about a wide variety of subjects. Nothing is really off-limits to me (except crudeness, which I just don't like).  I will talk about my beliefs, my morals, my interests, and things I find funny. Feel free to comment, but as so many others blogs state I will delete comments that are rude or offensive. I do struggle with technology, which I'm sure will come out on this, as things on it may not "match" at times. I really am "computer illiterate" and not up to date on "tech lingo" (I can hear my brother laughing at me right now for saying "tech lingo"). Let's just say, I went a LONG time thinking that LOL meant "lots of love," and could not, for the life of me, figure out why people where ending their sentences talking about "ruffles" (ROFL).  Sometimes I feel like I should take a computer class where you spend an hour learning how to turn your computer off and on. Maybe during this process I will learn a thing or two about how to write a better blog. Anyway, thanks for reading this little disclaimer, I promise, this will get more interesting.