Days with Desmond

No, the photo to the left is not of Desmond. It is my beautiful wife, preparing for said Desmond's arrival. Fortunately, by Monday Liesbeth was bright-eyed and bushy-tailed (strictly a metaphor). There was no saying her nay; her days of being "sentenced" to the couch were certainly finished. That morning and early afternoon we made a few final preparations to make Desmond's stay with us as comfortable as possible.

These last few days, Liesbeth and I have enjoyed Desmond's company. He arrived in Schiphol on Monday afternoon. (I was quite pleased with myself that I managed to drive to and from without losing the way.) It's taken some time to learn how to get around on the highways. Like in the USA, the highway signs help drivers navigate by giving the names of the cities that lie ahead. If you don't know all the city names, they don't prove very helpful. (And I find the signs to be much smaller and less well lit, but I'll stop complaining.) I'm finally becoming acquainted with the lay of the cities about the land, so driving isn't so difficult as it once was.

It's been a lot of fun to have a guest from home. It's gratifying to share some of the local sights with a friend. Liesbeth is really enjoying his sense of humor, too. Yesterday, we (Desmond and I) visited Gouda together using the quintessentially Dutch mode of transportation: the bicycle. I think one such cultural experience will suffice for Desmond. He was quite happy that when we traveled to Rotterdam today, we took the train. In Rotterdam, we visited an art museum and some shops (namely, a book store). Desmond wanted to cook a meal for us, so he purchased a cookbook and tomorrow we will happily surrender the kitchen to him and our palates will await the delights he'll serve. Flavors don't post so deliciously, but perhaps I'll be able to post some photos of our meal together.

Attitude of Gratitude

After my morning walk, I bought a copy of the VolksKrant. Incidentally, it's big news that the man who tackled Farouk Abdulmutallab on Flight 253 was Jasper Schuringa, a Dutchman. The Dutch Foreign Ministry is no doubt relieved that one Dutchman was able to make up for the security shortfalls of others in Schiphol. This afternoon, Desmond Strooh arrives in said airport. It'll probably be the safest airport around. I'm looking forward to spending some time with a friend from home over the next few weeks as he checks in and out of our B&B on his European travels.

As I read in Numbers over my breakfast, I was struck by how much God values gratitude and hates complaining.

And the people rose all that day and all night and all the next day, and gathered the quail. Those who gathered least gathered ten homers. And they spread them out for themselves all around the camp. While the meat was yet between their teeth, before it was consumed, the anger of the LORD was kindled against the people, and the LORD struck down the people with a very great plague.

(Numbers 11:32-33)

In the beginning of this chapter, the Israelites aired their grievances over the manna God supernaturally provided them, and they expressed their longing for the free fish of Egypt, and the cucumbers, leeks, and melons they had eaten in the days of their slavery. It's interesting that our vision often gilds the past ("Oh, things were so much better then! I wish I could go back to that point in my life!") and the paints the present in tones of grey. (I think our view of the future somehow moves between these two points of the attitudinal spectrum.)

Too often, we despise God's present provision for us. In the case of the Israelites in the wilderness, God provided them daily with manna, and then after their tirade, He gave them a month's worth of quail. The people gather the quail and lay it out to dry and cure it. And then they eat it. And then God's anger flashes and he sends a plague on the people.

Why the plague? The complaining people gathered God's provision, and then began their dinners without ever once a) acknowledging their sin of murmuring and b) acknowledging God's provision with a prayer or sacrifice of gratitude. Would this story have a different ending had the Israelites expressed gratitude?

I've wondered before why God listened to their murmuring in the first place. Why didn't He ignore them, at least until they asked nicely? The quail seem to be almost a reward for their complaining. But as much as I catch myself murmuring sometimes in thoughts and prayers, I think I should stop asking why and just be thankful God listens to me!

After reading this chapter, I stopped for a few minutes to reflect on God's blessings in my life. Truly, we have been well provided for. We have wonderful family and friends. We are healthy (Lies is feeling much better today) and we have a nice and cozy apartment. Our car runs well; our bills our paid. We have peace in our hearts. As we look back, we can see God's leadership in our lives again and again. Praise the Lord for His goodness to us!

Christmas Day

Christmas Day was special because it was the first time this week that Lies had been able to make it outside. On Monday night, she started feeling sick to her stomach. On Tuesday, she got a fever. On Wednesday, a painful sore throat, and on Thursday a cold. Poor girl. By Friday morning she was feeling well enough to go to church. (But I think she would have been stubborn enough--perhaps zealous is a more positive word--to go, even if she were feeling miserable.) I tell you, my respect for nurses has surely grown over the past week ... sometimes patients can be really strong headed. It took a great deal of supervision to keep Lies on the couch. It was a lost cause for me to keep her lying down, so I had to settle for a sitting position on the couch. After many attempts. she finally permitted me to place a cold washcloth on her warm forehead. Thankfully, at the time of this writing, the patient is feeling much better, save for a cold and a sinus headache.

We celebrated Christmas Day with a special service at church. A few weeks ago, Bro. Ab asked me if I'd minister for the Christmas service--he'd done it the past several years, and was glad to give someone else the opportunity. I spoke from Romans 8:29, that Jesus is "the firstborn among many brethren." Then, we looked at the story of Christ's birth from the book of Luke. I told the story more from the point of view from the shepherds. I imagine the native Bethlehemites were quite put out by Rome's census: their quiet little village was probably flooded with visitors. It was the City of David, and David had quite a large family, not all of whom were the most mannerly.

The shepherds were quite happy to be on the hillside away from their now noisy village. I see them sitting around the fire. Their conversation gradually drifts to the City of David, then back to Israel's golden days under that king. How different from the present, they thought. Oh, for those days to come again! But alas, God had cast them off because of the sins of their fathers. There wasn't much hope left anymore. One shepherd reminded them that they had come out of Babylon, like Jeremiah and Daniel prophesied. However, another chimed in, that was hundreds of years ago. Yes, the temple had been restored, and the walls rebuilt, but that didn't seem to matter so much now that the Romans controlled everything.... But, yes, things would be better if King David were back again.

The fire dimmed as the wood slowly burned out. Someone added another log to the fire, and the flames grew brighter and brighter and brighter. Something unusual was happening. They'd been looking at the fire so long, their eyes could perceive little, but their senses surely felt something. Gradually, they could make out the form of a man standing behind the fire. Fear gripped them, even as his words struck their ears, "Fear not: for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people."

The messenger surely had the shepherds' attention. He continued, "For unto you is born this day, in the City of David, a Savior which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you: Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger." What strange words! A messenger comes to tell a group of shepherds about the birth of a child ... men usually aren't so concerned about childbirths, unless, of course, it's their own. But this was different...this birth concerned the Christ, the long prophesied Messiah. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, filling the once-quiet hills with jubilant song, "Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace, good will toward men!"

The shepherds rejoiced at the angelic message and made haste to go to the city that they had just berated. The angel hadn't told them the address of the inn whose barn contained the Savior, but the shepherds gave all diligence to find him. And when they did, they worshipped. Then, they left to give testimony of the angel's message to them. Luke says that the people wondered at the shepherds' testimony. I wonder how many acted on their testimony.

I also wonder what happened to these shepherds over the next few years, and decades, as they had to wait for the baby Messiah to grow into manhood and ministry. And when they realized they truly had been sent a Savior instead of the King they hoped for, I wonder what their reaction was. Did they pursue the ministry of the Savior, even as they had pursued the angel's message into a Bethlehem barn thirty years earlier? Or did it get progressively more difficult to follow the angel's words? It was easy to project the imagination on the babe in the manger, and see a coming King. But it was probably harder to accept the teachings of an itinerant carpenter-rabbi. God sends us what we need instead of what we want. As we listen to God's messenger today, sometimes we might want something more kingly or sophisticated; but in a time of convenience and pleasure-seeking, God sent what we needed rather than what we wanted.

Luke gave sure testimony of the birth of God's firstborn in Luke 2. And in Acts 2, he gives eyewitness testimony replete with "infallible proofs" that the Christ had been reborn again and again ... in the lives of his followers. And in Revelation 3:14, John the Beloved, writes that Jesus was but the beginning of the creation of God. The firstborn is the beginning of the father's strength (Deut. 21:17) ... just the beginning. That strength continues to grow and multiply up to the present day, including even people in our own assembly. We ended with a few testimonies of how the Lord had been born in the lives of some of the local believers. It seemed a very fitting way to celebrate the birth of the Firstborn.

In the Netherlands, there is a First Christmas Day (that was yesterday) as well as a Second Christmas Day. (If you guessed that is today, you win the satisfaction of having guessed correctly.) Today, Lies and I are hosting Johan and Suzanne Vanhees (her brother-in-law and sister), and this evening, we're going to eat dinner with Chris and Susanne (her brother and sister-in-law). It should make for a pleasant and delicious day!

SNOW!

This morning, I awoke to the happy sound of children's voices. I got up to look around, and quickly discovered the cause of the (neighbor) kids' celebration: the snow! It seems that even as leaders from around the world gather north of us in Copenhagen to discuss the globe's devastating warming. I remember C.S. Lewis' observation that while children frequently enjoy the weather ("Mommy, can [sic] I please play outside in the rain?") adults usually find something to worry about. This week, Copenhagen has an unfortunate overabundance of adults.

This past weekend was a blur of activity. Liesbeth had long been wanting me to paint the dining table white, and the day finally came. We spent Saturday prepping the table and applying its first coat. My favorite moment of the day came in the shortly after noon, when Liesbeth commented, "Isn't it fun to paint together?" I just laughed and replied, "In the same way that it's fun to bike on the tandem, and canoe, yes, it is fun to paint together!" It requires but little imagination to understand why people laughed at us on our honeymoon when they saw "us" peddling "together" on the tandem bicycle! But a later, Liesbeth really did help us paint the table. Though we lack the corroborating photographic evidence, she painted one of the chairs and part of the table, too. And, I offer the photo to the right as corroborating evidence to demonstrate that, yes, it really was fun to paint together. After much arduous labor (see the corroborating photo to the left) and another full day on Monday in which I applied a second coat to said table and chairs, the project was completed. Of course, the best part was seeing the finished product, of which there is also corroborating evidence. (In case you were seeking an explanation for all the "corroborating evidence" in today's post, I've been reading Lee Strobel's chapter on corroborating evidence of the Gospels in The Case for Christ.)

As a brief postscript, I'm guessing Michelangelo began with something like a dining room table before he graduated to the Sistine Chapel. I can imagine the birth of his "contract" for the Sistine Chapel taking place when the alleged Pope visited the Michelangelo's at lunch time. Said pope was so impressed with the alleged table that he offered the artist the chapel. Of course, I lack any corroborating evidence. But my interpretations probably don't leak nearly so much water as Dan Brown's (of Da Vinci Code notoriety). Hmmm.... the clock has ticked too far for me to continue with a second postscript, but I'll try to address the kilometer tax in a later post! Besides, it probably warrants more than a postscript!

Morning Meditation

After Liesbeth left for work this morning, I went jogging in the Gouwebos park behind our apartment. (Bos = forest; the Gouwe is a river flowing by Waddinxveen.) As I jogged, I had the idea of writing reflections upon my daily devotions. In a person-to-person conversation we often discuss those newsy bits of daily life, but sometimes we go deeper into those things that are of greatest value. Perhaps this blog can also be improved by occasional meditations on our pilgrimage. (It's helpful to think of life as such!) As I occasionally muse on my daily devotions, I warmly welcome other musings to ruminate upon.

I'm currently reading through Leviticus. Chapter 11, verse 44 summarizes today's reading well:

For I am the LORD God: ye shall therefore sanctify yourselves,
and ye shall be holy; for I am holy:
neither shall ye defile yourselves with any manner of creeping thing
that creepeth upon the earth.

Even though the ceremonial laws that chapter 11 describes are no longer in effect, there are certain principles which certainly are. The Law wasn't abrogated, but rather magnified: the Law underscores the existence of Clean and Unclean in the world. That has not changed, though the emphasis is more on the spiritual realm than the natural. What struck me today is how easy it was to become unclean.

The Hebrew pilgrims were surrounded by things that weren't clean (just consider the creepy crawly categories of the Unclean, as well as Rodents and Reptiles). And what about a man's best friend? The four-footed dog that walks on paws is unclean, too. If any of these creatures happens to die in your house, or on your belongings, they become unclean, as well as the person(s) who clean up the uncleanness (and the clothes worn and tools used).

It is still all too easy to become spotted by the world in which we live. That's why God intends His Word to guide every area of our lives, just as the ceremonial law did. Only by walking with Him and abiding in His Word can we fulfill the New Testament call to a holy life (I Pet. 1:15-16).

The unclean is ubiquitous (it's all over the place!). I think that's partly why God desires to permeate every portion of our life: our rising up and lying down, our goings throughout the day, and our relaxation at the end of the day (Deut. 6:5-9). May that which has the power to keep us holy and spiritually healthy gain greater preeminence in our lives!

Nice weekend

Throughout the Netherlands families celebrated Sinterklaas on Saturday. It's a uniquely Dutch holiday. Families gather together in the evening to exchange presents (or in some cases, get them from St. Nicholas, aka the neighborman). The most interesting tradition is writing poems for each other. Ideally, the poem should have something to do with the gift and how you present it. The presents don't have to be anything too expensive, but there is a significant investment of time involved in the presentation that makes it all quite special.

As wonderful as Sinterklaas must be, Liesbeth and I did not celebrate in any of the customary ways. We spent the evening very nicely together. By Saturday evening, I had spent two days studying for the Sunday morning service, so I was ready for a little diversion, which Liesbeth quite happily provided. We spent some time decorating the apartment. A week earlier, Lies put up some lights in the front windows and put a nice red table cloth on the table. But while I was studying, she went out and bought a table runner and some candles. Lots of them. As we sat on the couch that evening, I counted nearly 20 candles in the room. Of course, all of them weren't burning ... just 17 of them. Very nice atmosphere. (I've suggested installing a fire extinguisher beside the couch, but the idea went down in flames.) It's important to open a window when we blow out the candles to prevent the smoke alarm from arousing our neighbors!

This past Sunday afternoon, Liesbeth and I enjoyed the company of Chris and Susanne, along with their two children. (Chris is Liesbeth's brother, and Susanne is his wife, as well as one of Lies' good friends.) They came to view the wedding album, and have some tea with us. After church that morning, Chris told Lies they'd like to come over. It was rather ironic because just that morning, Liesbeth and I had plotted to pay them a surprise visit. But they made the first move, so we played host. It's a good thing someone said something, otherwise we both might have showed up to empty houses! I took a picture of us sitting around the couch ... or, rather, since I took the picture, it's best said that I took a picture of them sitting around the couch. I'll try to do a better job next time by somehow including myself in the photo. (Note the candles....)
Their two boys, Eelco and Jesse, were brave souls. Poor chaps ... when you're a five-and-under, it's rather difficult to visit someone's house when said someone has no toys for you to play with. Their cars occupied them for awhile, and then they went to the races themselves. They enjoy Auntie Lies, but I think the boys prefer if she and Uncle Rapp visit them!

All for now ... perhaps I can write more later this week. There is a lot of talk in the Dutch government about tossing out annual auto taxes and replacing them with user fees ... the more you drive the more you pay (especially at rush hour in areas of high population density). How's that for a cliffhanger?