Who am I the Most?

It seems that everyone is consumed with making his or her identity/opinion known. From social justice platforms and political stances to movie reviews, people are insisting on being heard. Where are we as Christians supposed to be in all of this? What are people hearing from us? What/Who should we be in response?

 This begs the question that I have been pondering for a while now. Who are we the most? Who should we be the most? Are we mostly about being a certain race, gender, or political party Monday through Saturday? Are we mostly the social justice advocate speaking out for or against a certain issue? Are we more about winning an argument or making a point than being Christ-like? Social media is filled with Christians and non-Christians alike fighting to be heard, but who is listening? More importantly, what’s worth hearing? Do we simply want to be agreed with or liked? What is our motivation? 

Don’t get me wrong, I think having an opinion on these issues is important and there’s nothing wrong with sharing it. But as Christians, when we are more of something, anything than we are a follower of Christ (as revealed through how we spend most of our time, and what we focus on the most) then we really can’t be distinguished from non-Christians. If we can’t be distinguished, then what is the point of calling ourselves Christians?

God challenges us throughout Scripture to become more like Christ. Christ certainly addressed social issues such as the woman at the well in John 4. Jews and Samaritans didn’t interact at that time. Jesus caused outrage when he joined tax collectors, who were part of one of the most hated of people groups, in Luke 19 and Matthew 9. Even when the Pharisees tried to trap Jesus by mincing words regarding authority in Matthew 22, Jesus replied by acknowledging the authority established by both the government and God. I Peter 2:13-25 is particularly interesting because Nero, a cruel man and the one who would eventually kill Peter, was in power during the time it was written, yet Peter specifically talks about submitting to human authority.  

More than anything else, Jesus was all about addressing people’s spiritual condition. Going back to the woman at the well, Jesus wasn’t there simply to break social boundaries or to make some kind of political statement. He was there to speak to the woman about a need greater than water, and a problem far more destructive than a division between people groups. He was there to address her need for a relationship with God. 

So, I’m challenging myself and all Christians, the next time you’re tempted to join a heated argument, take a hard line stance, or respond to a platform presented on social media, before you do, ask yourself…who am I the most? In the words of my pastor this Sunday, choose God’s heart over your head. 

A Change of Perspective

A little boy changed my perspective today. 

We were at church, waiting for the offering plates to be passed around. I looked over my shoulder to see if it was on its way when this little boy, probably three or four years old, caught my attention. I was struck by his excitement at the opportunity to drop his little handful of coins into the plate as it passed. 

He was so excited that he ran to the end of the row and knelt on the pew, his head resting in one hand and his fingers tapping restlessly with the other. As the plate got closer, he could contain himself no longer. He ran to the usher and excitedly dropped his little coins in the plate. 

Now, I know that he probably just felt like a big boy for putting the money in the offering and was not really fully aware of what he was doing, but it certainly had an impact on me. When was the last time I really eagerly ran towards God like the little guy ran toward that plate? 

The offering song was also beautifully poignant to the moment, as the words referenced God calling to us with his arms open wide, beckoning us to run to him. I suddenly wished I was that little boy, eagerly awaiting a chance to worship God with that much excitement. 

This year has been very difficult. But seeing that little guy with all that joy on his face really changed my perspective today. I'm not sure that I have been truly joyful in a while. 

So that is my challenge to myself and anyone else reading this: be joyful. Rejoice. 

Planes, Trains, and Automobiles

Well I, Tonya, have finally arrived back in Prague….kind of anyway. As most of you know, I wasn’t able to get my visa back before Christmas, which meant an unexpected trip to the U.S. for the holidays. We have learned to “roll with the punches” and the trip home for the holidays was a blessing in disguise. We had a great time catching up with family and friends and I received my visa through the mail in time to return to Prague January 11th. It was just enough time to prepare for my next adventure. 

Melissa and I aboard our propellor plane headed to Latvia.

Exactly a week after arriving in Prague I was off to Latvia to visit Freedom61’s ministry. This amazing organization is dedicated to reaching out to the women of Latvia in various walks of life, but their main focus is exploitation. My friend Melissa and I were able to spend time with various volunteers, ask questions, and check out their café and women’s center. I was amazed at the variety of volunteers hailing from America, Australia, and of course Latvia. They have both Latvian and Russian translators! The ministry began several years ago by offering a café for exploited women to visit as a safe haven for relationship building. It has since expanded to a restoration home and a men’s outreach where they try to address the source of exploitation.

The temperature was in the 20's F so we layered up for touring the city.

A fun ice sculpture outside a cafe gives some perspective on the cold.

One of my favorite parts of traveling is seeing how God is real and at work all over the world. It was surreal in many ways, preparing dinner with a fellow American, on our last night in a foreign land while listening to country music. It's in these moments that the world seems both bigger and smaller at the same time. There are so many places that we have yet to see and so many things left to learn. But at the same time, people all over the world have so much in common and you find that out when you do something as simple as sitting around a dinner table together.

We left feeling greatly encouraged by the work Freedom61 is doing. Here is the website if you are interested in learning more about this incredible outreach https://www.freedom61.org. Needless to say, considering all the traveling, jet-lag continues to be a real thing, but I wouldn’t have missed this opportunity for the world.

                Riga's art nouveau architecture was quite impressive!

St. Mikulas Day and Christmas in Prague

One of the more interesting things they do here in Czech Republic (and other countries) is the celebration of St. Nicholas Day. Here in CZ the name is Mikulas, hence the blog title.

Nicholas greets tourists. 

St. Nicholas goes around with an angel and a devil escorting him. They find little children in the small towns and the kids have to sing Christmas songs. If they sing the carols, they get candy from the angel. If they don't, well that is what the devil is for.

As I was downtown walking around this day, there were many people downtown participating in this and enjoying the Christmas markets. Several people went all out and had incredibly detailed and even frightening costumes. Prague has been a hot spot in the film industry for making movies, so occasionally Barrandov Studios will send out some people in costume. 

Creepy Krampus takes the time to pose with a fan.

Several of my coworkers were not fans of the monstrous representations. The traditional devil is more of a cutesie little baby imp type creature. Popular movies such as Krampus have influenced the representation I believe. Plus, Krampus himself is very popular in Germany, just one country away.



Everything about Christmas downtown is beautiful. All the streets are beautifully decorated and there is truly a magical feeling about walking around down there. Pair that will the amazing architechture and you get a wonderful experience. It's almost hard to believe that the percentage of atheists is so high here.

Our prayer for Prague is that they would see the real meaning of the season. Please join us in praying that for them. 

Old Town Square Christmas Markets

We are going to be taking the next couple of weeks off. We wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! 

When It Rains, It Pours (Through the Ceiling)

Someone once said, "The accumulation of little things is no little thing." I can tell you for certain that this is true. The past month has been hard. There have been a lot of little things that have gone wrong. I know that we are not supposed to make a mountain out of a mole hill, but what if all the moles got together and made one giant mole hill? What if there was a Mole King, and he lorded his Moleness with ruthless indifference? You get the idea.

We decided before we left for Europe this time that if we wrote a blog we would post the good and the bad. Well that has been hard to stick with, as it is often difficult to share our struggles, especially in an age when most people are only showing the highlights of ther lives on social media.

About a week or so ago, the ceiling in our kitchen decided that it would leak. I was in the other room and I thought I heard rain outside. Tonya was not home at the time and I remember hoping that she had taken her umbrella with her. The rain intensified, so I decied to get up and look out the window at the storm. That's when I stepped in the small lake that had formed on the kitchen floor. I looked up at the ceiling and the water was pouring as if there was an artifical rain machine installed. What happened next could have been an episode of "I Love Lucy" or some other ridiculous sitcom. I emptied the trash can and as many pots and pans as I could find to catch the leaking water. Thankfully, it finally stopped. I also frantically messaged a colleague who helped me devise a plan to communicate with the neighbor upstairs. Thanks Alena.

My next task was to contact the school administrator to see what could be done about it. He told me to talk to the man upstairs (not God, although I also did that) to see what the leak was. I walked upstairs and realized my dilemma. I spoke no Czech. He spoke no English. This was going to be wonderful. Through Google translate and the use of my exceptionally limited Czech vocabulary, we established that he had no idea what I was talking about. Fortunately, my administrator came and talked with him later. The only problem is that he said nothing was leaking in his apartment, so nothing got resolved. The leak stopped though, so that was at least something.

The next couple of areas of frustration come from our ministry attempts here. I really should not speak publicly about those, but please be in prayer for us. Things simply are not working out in the way we anticipated they would.

Next, we have basketball. The begining of November brings the beginning of basketball season. As I have written about previously, not getting to be around basketball is like missing a member of our family, so for that to be up and running again makes us very homesick. They're in good hands though, so that brings us quite a bit of comfort. Thanks Greenie.

Speaking of homesick, last week was Thanksgiving! Or, as they call it here in the Czech Republic, Thursday. It is not an observed holiday here (why would it be?) so that left us feeling all the more lonely still. Thankfully Tonya, being the Wonder of a Woman that she is, (see what I did there?) was able to locate some pumpkin pie mix at an American speciality shop here in the city. She also found most of the ingredients for a pretty nice Thanksgiving meal, so that turned out to be pretty nice.


I am glad November is over. There were so many small things that went wrong this month, so many mole hills trying to become mountains. Nothing this month was very consistent. That is why I am glad we have our faith. That is the only constant in this constantly changing life we're building here. Thank God for that.


NEXT WEEK: We'll have a look at the Christmas markets here in Prague and the St. Mikulas (St. Nicholas).

Changing Seasons and Cultural Challenges

I have always loved the changing of the seasons. There’s something magical about the leaves transforming into a beautiful collage of colors and the anticipation of the first snowfall, but in Central Europe this magic is accompanied with the cloud of sunset at 4:30 and many days, even weeks, without a hint of sun. These times have revealed to us the importance of leaning into our new culture. We are trying to embrace new traditions when possible. 

So instead of the state fair, we explore a new part of the city. We learn about the incredible struggle for independence that this country has experienced, which helps us better understand the inner struggle of the people, who want to move forward and be happy but often don’t know how. A Czech lady once told us that there is this constant tension between wanting to be like an Italian, bubbly,  hopeful, smiling, and generally happy. This is contrasted by the knowledge that the Czech Republic remains neighbors with Germany, with its complicated history and sense of cold efficiency. 

 Exhibit placed in the city center to commemorate Czech history. 

November 17th is Struggle for Freedom and Democracy Day here in the Czech Republic. This day commemorates the role students played in the fight for freedom. In 1939, Nazi soldiers stormed the University of Prague in response to demonstrations against German occupation. Nine students were executed and over 1200 students were sent to concentration camps. In 1989, a memorial march took place. This resulted in strikes prompted by students, which became the Velvet Revolution, the beginning of the end of the communist regime. 

Embracing a new culture is exciting, and often challenging. The early sunsets only add to that challenge. But we remain convinced that we are supposed to be here, so we continue to lean into the culture a little more each day, accepting the challenges ahead. 

Long Haired Bulls, Tiny Roads, and Sheep! Oh my!

 Last week we took a trip to celebrate our fifteenth anniversary. Yes, it’s quite late to be celebrating an anniversary that happened in July, but better late than never. We chose Scotland for this latest adventure. I won’t say it was the most relaxing of vacations but it had some of the most beautiful landscapes we’ve experienced. Driving on the opposite side of the road can be quite unnerving!! Not to mention the fact that outside the city there are many roads that have to be shared for both directions, in which one car must pull over in order for another car to keep driving….a tricky business indeed…oh yay, and there may be sheep crossing the street at any given point.

Just beyond the sheep is the cutout that may or may not
be close by in case another car is coming. 

I asked this Highland bull to pose for the picture and it did!

We explored Edinburgh a bit and rented a car to see the countryside on the way to the Isle of Skye. Believe it or not, hearing so much English after being immersed in Czech language for months is both a mental break and unsettling at the same time. Every once in awhile during our trip I’d think, “Why can I understand what they are saying… wow I must be getting better at this language thing…oh yeah they’re speaking English.... hmmm." It’s amazing how being able to ask about something or find something in your native language simplifies the tasks of everyday life (i.e. directions, menus, etc.).

The Isle of Skye is so picturesque it looks fake.

Scotland was much more diverse than we expected. At times the landscape reminded us of the Appalachian Mountains and other times it was reminiscent of various places in Canada. At one point we even felt like we were traipsing around the Shire from The Lord of the Rings. Below is a picture of Kilt Rock and Mealt Falls. Kilt Rock looks similar to a pleated kilt, hence the name. Eileen Donan Castle is on the way to the Isle of Skye. We didn't know it at the time but it is one of the most photographed castles in Scotland and has been used in several movies. The last picture is of the Fairy Glen. Our pictures could never do it justice but you can google Fairy Glen Skye and see some magnificent views. We are so thankful to have had a chance to explore God's beautiful creation.