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Wednesday 30 September 2015

thank you england


4 years ago today i moved from germany to the uk. (crazy how time goes, isn't it?!)


it has not all been easy but overall it has been an amazing time. i have grown a lot, i learned more about how amazing the living god is, i found a church which i now call home, i got more excited about church planting, i got a bachelors degree and i fell in love with a very handsome, intelligent and funny guy. (to only name a few significant events.)

even though i miss germany and especially my family the uk has become my home and i love this country and its people. 

feels appropriate that on this 'anniversary' i am in london, seeing some of the amazing places and sights of the capital of england.

royal albert hall - i really want to see a concert there now. such an impressive building.
 
view from the tate modern. loved the art but the view was stunning also! was lucky as some random pensioner took me as their plus one into one of the exhibitions that you have to pay for. if you get a chance definitely visit 'the world goes pop' exhibition at the tate modern. so interesting.

on my way to my exam yesterday morning. felt like a londoner in the midst of the rush hour traffic but still managed to be a tourist and take pictures.

after my exam i went to the bank of engalnd museum (i know how to celebrate, right?) and then enjoyed the stunning weather by walking from there along the themse to westminster, than through st james park, past buckingham palace and to victoria station. felt incredibly blessed by being able to see so much of london, being able to linger when i wanted to and to enjoy the sunshine.
london, i'll definitely be back. but for now i am looking forward to going back to my beloved north-west tomorrow!


Tuesday 29 September 2015

Tuesday Tunes | Stornoway


exactly one week ago it was my birthday and i had the most wonderful day. started by a run along the canal and the first song i listened to was this. this song oozes so much happiness and it was the perfect beginning to the day and a good motivation for the rest of the week where i did a lot of studying accompanied by many many cups of coffee. 



i listen to this song again today as it is my exam day and i hope that i will describe it as perfect also! wish me luck :)

Sunday 27 September 2015

German Sunday | Rotznase



this week i have mostly spent studying as i have an exam on tuesday. apparently that is not very good for your immune system because now i am in bed with a horrible cold.

according to this theme the german word of today is rotznase which literally means 'snot nose' but is usually used to describe a child that is a bit cheeky. today i feel more snotty than cheeky but hopefully i am soon back to my normal self.



i hope you have a snot free week!


Tuesday 22 September 2015

It's my birthday

i am 25 today! happy birthday to me! 



i love birthdays and to celebrate the fact that i am alive. what a privilege and blessing to be in this world with all it's terrible and beautiful parts. i am so grateful to God for all that he has given me especially the people he put in my life: my boyfriend, my parents, my brother, my church family, my friends. there have been many tough and many happy moments in the last 25 years but through none of it all i had to go alone. so thanks to all the amazing people who were there. 

anyway i stop being soppy now.

as 25 years seems like a milestone and i really like that number i thought it is the perfect time for a bucket list! so here we go...



things i wish for and things i would like to do before i am 30 (in no particular order)

1) start every day by talking to jesus.
2) run a half marathon.
3) see noah and the whale live.
4) visit india.
5) get married.
6) open an etsy shop.
7) read brave new world.
8) get a cat.




9) buy a house.
10) figure out how to live a sustainable life.
11) have a baby.
12) visit japan.
13) read lord of the rings.
14) get back into horse riding.
15) buy a meal for a homeless person.
16) help plant a church. 



17) learn a new language (spanish or french)
18) visit iceland.
19) see the tallest man on earth live.
20) get good at playing guitar.
21) join a choir.
22) plant a tree.
23) grow my own vegetables.
24) kiss at the top of the empire state building.
25) sleep under the stars.


hope you all have an amazing day today whether it is your birthday or not. 



Sunday 20 September 2015

german sunday | naschkatze



hallo and willkommen to today's german sunday. word of the week is die naschkatze. i really like this word as it is kind of a cute expression for someone who loves sweets. 
i hope the coming week will hold many lovely treats. 
happy sunday, naschkatzen. 





Thursday 17 September 2015

biodiversity loss, noah, worship

this june i started a masters degree in sustainable development at soas, which so far i greatly enjoy. yesterday i was reading about the topic of biodiversity loss. hunting, over harvesting, uprooting, pollution and other factors (mostly originating from human activity) are resulting in an incredibly fast reduction of biodiversity. e.o. wilson, an american biologist writes:
"even with cautious parameters, selected in a biased manner to draw a maximally optimistic conclusion, the number of species doomed each year is 27000. Each day it is 74, each hour 3."
(wilson 2001, biodiversity threatened. in the diversity of life, p.268). 

in a different article he writes this:
"by and large, religious leaders also lack a record in environmental stewardship of which they can be proud. even though the fate of the creation itself is at stake, very few are committed conservationists."
(wilson 2003, nature's last stand. in: the future of life, pp.42f)

via weheartit

last week  i was in sheffield for the first session of my second year at christ central's school of leadership. the school of leadership is a two year course designed for anyone in some form of leadership in the church or in the wider world. the aim is to give a solid grounding in biblical theology, a deeper understanding of church history, time to consider leadership issues and an opportunity to grow in one's personal calling. (for more information - visit their webpage here).
this week we learned about the pentateuch - genesis, exodus, leviticus, numbers and deuteronomy.
the content of what we talked about is way to vast to depict here however, i just wanted to share one thing that particularly spoke to me.

i assume most of you are fairly familiar with the story of noah.

if not, here is a very brief recap of what happens:

the story starts when God tells noah that he will flood the earth to basically wipe out humanity because the people are so wicked. however, noah is righteous in god's eyes and God wants to save him and his family. so noah build a ship - the ark - and he, his family and a female and male representative of each animal species are saved from the flood. when the flood has ceased and noah and is family disembark from the ark God makes a covenant (which is like a promise or a contract but stronger) with noah.

then God said to noah and to his sons with him: "i now establish my covenant with you and your descendants after you and with every living creature that was with you - the birds, the livestock and all the ark with you - every living creature on earth." 
and God said, "this is the sign of the covenant i am making between me and you and every living creature with you, a covenant for all generations to come: "i have set my rainbow in the could, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth. whenever i bring clouds of the earth and the rainbow appears in the clouds, i will remember my covenant between me and the earth. i will remember my covenant between me and you and all living creatures every kind. never again will the waters become a flood to destroy all life. whenever the rainbow appears in the clouds, i will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and all living creatures of every kind on the earth. 

there is a lot that can be said from this, but what impressed me particularly was that God doesn't just promise to have grace towards humans but towards every living creature of every kind.

via weheartit

i am not at the end of my thinking about this at all, but i cannot help but think that if God regards every living organism important enough to speak blessing over, to give promises to, then clearly we should treat creation with respect and care and it should bother us that the diversity of what God created vanishes by every hour.

there is many psalms that speak of creation singing praises to god, for example psalm 96 says:
let the sea resound and all that is in it; let the fields be jubilant, and everything in them. then all the trees of the forest will sing for joy; they will sing before the Lord, for he comes. (v.11-13)

what happens if nothing in the seas and nothing in the fields is left? does our careless killing of thousands of species deduce from the worship that is given to God?
i am not sure if these conclusions really can be drawn at all, i might be very wrong making this jump. however, i do believe that it is time for us to consider what it means to be stewards of this earth.


Tuesday 15 September 2015

Tuesday Tunes | Matt Simons



                                                             we do not remember days
                                                             we remember moments.
                                                             - cesare pavese

Sunday 13 September 2015

German Sunday I Vorfreude



to stay true to my roots i decided to start a new series dedicated to appreciate the german language and culture: german sundays. 
today i want to introduce one of my favourite german words: vorfreude. it literally translates to 
"pre-joy" and means joyful anticipation. vorfreude is, i think, one of the best kinds of joy. i have a lot of vorfreude for heaven.




Thursday 10 September 2015

this is my becoming.

one summer night in july i was driving home from work and everything felt a bit pointless.
the money i made never was enough, the job i work wasn't showing the best i got and the time i had did not seem like it was well spent - far away away from the fiancé, stuck in a never ending to do list.


despite those feelings i rolled the windows down, and sang along to my head and the heart cd that was playing:

the world's just spinning

a little to fast
if things don't slow down soon we might not last 
so just for the moment, let's be still

singing always cheers me up (i heard it releases endorphins). 
and i remembered a quote by cheryl strayed:

"the useless days will add up to something. the shitty waitressing jobs. the hours writing in your journal. the long meandering walks. the hours reading poetry and story collections and novels and dead people's diaries and wondering about sex and God and whether you should shave under your arms or not. these things are your becoming." (tiny beautiful things)



sometimes i need to refocus and remind myself of the fact that jesus has a plan, that he is sovereign, and that no time is wasted that is spend gazing upon him. maybe some of you need that reminder as well. 

so there you go: in all things God works for those who love him. 





Tuesday 8 September 2015

Tuesday Tunes I Tommy Emmanuel




in june i spent a bit of time back home in germany. one really hot sunday my dad, a good friend of ours and i drove to freiburg to a music festival to see the world's best guitarist (according to eric clapton): tommy emmanuel. 


and i have to say eric clapton did not exaggerate - it was the best concert i have ever been to. despite being sat in a tent in 38° degrees heat the music was so mesmerising that i completely forgot about how much i was sweating. tommy emmanuel is not only incredibly skilled, he has a way of playing that just takes you to different worlds and made me soul soar.

if you ever have the chance to see this guy live - do it.

Monday 7 September 2015

this is a re-launch

hi! 

after quite a long (summer)break i have decided to re-activate my blog.
if you have visited my blog before you maybe noticed that it has changed slightly. woop woop for my pretty new design! if you haven't been here before: welcome! i am very happy you're stopping by.



if you here for the first time - i thought i'd introduce myself:
i am a 20-something german blogger, living in the uk. my greatest passion is jesus, his gospel and the church. i love music, poetry and knitting. 
last year i graduated from university where i had studied politics, philosophy and economics. 
i love drinking coffee, reading books and being outside. at the moment i am studying a masters degree in sustainable development, training for a half marathon and trying to figure out life as a (nearly) grown up. 




my hope is to blog more regularly in the future and to write about all these different things. 
so make sure you stop by.