i took this in prague at the castle. there's a church inside the castle area with several eras of archetecture. this was just a little corner of it.
i want to scoop about each of the cities we've been in, but some of my pics are in pete's laptop, so i have to wait until i see him and retrieve and post them. this one will hopefully give you a glimps of some of the wonderful things we've been blessed to see. more later. i promise.
i know it's been ages since my last post. as i write i'm rockin' out to "ain't missing you" on the '80s radio station wafting through the lobby of our berlin hotel.
i've taken loads of pictures, but they're in kathleen's computer, so i'll have to add them later. i may have a seperate travel blog...we'll see. but for now let me say that prage was really cool- gotta go back. dresden was nothing like i expected, but super cool. we were in a part of the city called neustadt, which is the old part of town that wasn't bombed to smitherines in ww2, but now is called new town because of the rebuilding of the old city, and the fact that urban renewal has made this a hip-happening neighborhood. it was full of really cool trendy bars and cafes. it was great.
my friend pete has joined us for 3 days in berlin. we putzed around yesterday and got pics of some of the major sites here. there are some seriously amazing buildings and urban areas here. it's incredible. (i wanted an exclamation point there, but the keyboard is so different i can't find it. the z and the y have traded places on the german keyboard. it makes for alot of backspacing.) we got some really great pics and made a little movie on my camera. i'll post them as soon as i am able.
more soon.
i'll be getting off a plane in london about 24hours from now, and about 14 hours after that i'll be in prague. funny to be seeing 2 important european cities in the same day. the better we get at transportation (thank you, easyjet!) the smaller the world seems to me. i'll be doing in 38 hours what would have taken 3 months 150 years ago. amazing.
as for blogging, i will do what i can, but will be at the mercy of both kathleen's generosity with her laptop and wi-fi availability. i do have a lovely digital camera with me (thank you, jake!) so i should be able to add some pics as i go. i'll be gone 22 days, so if i'm blog-negligent please don't forget about me.
now to pack...
i feel see-through.
that's not a bad thing, it just feels funny because it's so rare that i'm this aware of being seen. there's so much in my heart and i feel like i'm cracked open and everything is visible before God. i know it's always visible, but i'm not always in tune enough with what's going on in my own heart to be able to see it along with Him.
this weekend we did 24-hours of prayer in st johns an area north of most of portland, but still part of the city. the focus of this 24 was to thank God for what He's said and done through all the other 24s and 48s we've done this summer. it was really good, but i haven't slept much these last two nights.
on saturday afternoon we finished our 24 and renee, kathleen and i headed to salem (about an hour south down I5) to participate in the last hour of a 24-7 prayer week the salem house of prayer was putting on. part of the reason we went was to support their 24-7 prayer week, but partly it was to connect with the couple running it, since he's also going to the thing in dresden that we'll be at. it was really awesome to be there and see someone else doing what we do, but so close to home.
we drove back to portland and went to a prophetic gathering. God said some pretty amazing things to me there, and confirmed in my heart what i've been feeling is a word for 24-7 (that's the name of the group we're going to europe to visit). i felt about two months ago that God was going to send me with a word, and to ask Him for it, so i have been. over the weekend He's really solidified it in my heart, and i'm going to spend some time studying the things i've heard before we head out next weekend.
so all that to say that this weekend has left me very aware of the things God has been brewing in my heart over the last couple months. i feel so small compared to the things He's said, but such a peace that is founded in the fact that He considers me friend enough to share His thoughts with me.
this weekend also reminded me of what amazing people He's put in my life to share this journey. jben is on a team that went to mississippi for a week, so unless he is able to go to germany with us i won't be seeing him until january at the earliest, since he's going back to australia while i'm on my trip. it's amazing how connected you become to people when you're focused on the same things. somehow over the summer ben has gotten to be one of my best friends, and i miss him dearly already.
my heart is full, my mind is full, my expectations are overflowing and i have an intese sense that my life is about to pivot. this is the last week of sheena as we know her. :-) i have no idea what is in store on this trip, but i can't wait!
myself and two of my chick-possey have been following a powerball jackpot for a few weeks. i've never been one to play the lotto, but we bought a ticket for this one at the start on a lark, but nobody's won it yet and it keeps rolling over. as long as it keeps rolling over i keep thinking about the scripture that says that God stores up the wealth of the wicked for the righteous.
i think it highly unlikely we'll win, but not beyond the realm of possiblity. the sickly optimistic side of me is sure it could happen...the other part of me just laughs at the optimistic side of me. but it doesn't keep me from talking about it in 'when i win powerball' instead of 'if' terms.
the jackpot's up to $70mil now, which means an actual cash value of around $32mil. after taxes that would leave us with $7-$8mil each. we all told God we'd tithe on the gross since bribes work so well with the Lord.
so here's my disclaimer: when i win powerball i will not be promising cars, houses, vacations, shopping trips or any other things. i will do some of these things, but i'm not making any promises and will not acknowledge any long-lost relatives.
this is where i'll be. two weeks from this moment i'll be between the sheets at a dresden hostel with prague added to the list of destinations i've visited and left. i'm trying to have no preconceptions of germany or the czech republic, but it's hard not to when i book trains and accommodations there and have to describe it to my clients.
i'll be gone a total of 22 days. after dresden and berlin i'll be heading back to my lovely britain. i'm looking forward to taking trains this time. more specifically, i'm looking forward to not being the behind the wheel driving from london to edinburgh and back. i'm stoked about seeing tons of my blog buddies and spending time with our friend pete. i'm insanely grateful for the use of jake's pretty camera and tate's backpack.
this trip is going to be different than any other i've ever taken. whenever i travel internationally it's always been to participate in some ministry activity or work thing. this trip, though i'll be at a 24-7 gathering in dresden and visiting boiler rooms, is for me to receive something...though i know not exactly what at this point. i'm also scouting for the internship i'll be a part of next september. it's all very new and exciting. all very soon!
i never used to be girly. it's only in the last 3 to 3½ years i've even had pink in my wardrobe. i hate shaving my legs (some jerk woman-hater thought it up as a way to continually punish women for being women) and have never been one to pluck my brows...until recently.
i think my little girly spark has turned into a dragon. i didn't ever think the day would come where i'd be tweezing my brows, let alone waxing them. not that my brows didn't need it, but it just seemed like it was taking it too far to rip tiny hairs out of your face for the sake of beauty. but then i got new glasses, and the frames hit just at a place that seemeto accentuateee the scragglyness of my brows. i went back and forth about weather to use the cream that burns the little hairs off (my skin's pretty sensitive, so i was a bit nervous about that route) or to get the little wax kit and do it in one painfully quick yank.
why i decided to do it myself is still a mystery to me. i just didn't think it through. there's a nail salon a few miles from my house that only charges $8 or $10 for a brow wax, but i just grabbed the $7 kit at the store and decided to do it myself on saturday night, so i could let the irritated skin rest overnight.
i didn't get home until around 1am, but i was determined to do it before bed. so with everyone in the house sleeping upstairs i went to the little bathroom on the main floor and painted on the wax. it was messy and i had to keep microwaving the tube, but the worst was when i put on the little paper-cloth thing and tugged (in the opposite direction that the hairr grows). talk about pain! i must admit i cussed. and then i realize that the bushiest part of what i was trying to rip out of my head hadn't come off, so i had to re-do part of my brow! it was ridiculous. brow two waxed a bit better, but i still had to pluck a few the next day, and i have to pencil in a few spots. next time i'm going to the salon.
i am incapable of wrapping my brain around the things going on in my country right now. i looked for a picture to put on here but they were all so intense i didn't want to lessen them by using any of them to'accent' my blog. (that's not a judgment about anyone that did use a photo of the disaster on their blog)
last night on the news i watched seasoned reporters crack and weep as they tried to express their frustration and sense of urgency about getting aid to the people still in the convention center and other parts of new orleans. i find myself numb as i watch horrified, unable to help. in parts of this 'civilized' country society is coming apart at the seams and all many of us can do is watch in horror. i know prayer moves God's hand, but it takes a stretch of faith for me right now to believe that my silly words will have any effect. thankfully it's not my silly words that do anything, it's God that brings the help.
they said they estimate around 10,000 dead in louisiana alone. how do i get my mind around that number? it's not just 'bodies', it's mothers, fathers, babies, best friends, brides-to-be, new graduates, sons, bandmates, pastors, grandmas. these are all people with names, stories, personalities, struggles, victories and passions. the anniversary of my friend's son's death last saturday was a reminder to me that everyone that is lost is loved by someone. one of the pictures i saw today was of a woman dead floating face-down in the waters of new orleans. she's somebody, yet they called her an 'unidentified body'. it's overwhelming. God help us.
