How Did This Happen?

How Did This Happen? pt.2

The Whole Story (video)

From Here To There

I hope this helps you process what He is saying to you.

Jesus ascended Scripture tells us in Acts 1:9.

Here’s an excerpt from Wikipedia concerning Assumption Day.

Although the Assumption (Latin: assūmptiō, “taken up”) was only relatively recently defined as infallible dogma by the Catholic Church, and in spite of a statement by Saint Epiphanius of Salamis in AD 377 that no one knew whether Mary had died or not, apocryphal accounts of the assumption of Mary into heaven have circulated since at least the 4th century. The Catholic Church itself interprets chapter 12 of the Book of Revelation as referring to it.The earliest known narrative is the so-called Liber Requiei Mariae (The Book of Mary’s Repose), which survives intact only in an Ethiopic translation.  Probably composed by the 4th century, this Christian apocryphal narrative may be as early as the 3rd century.

On November 1, 1950, Pope Pius XII solemnly declared:

By the authority of our Lord Jesus Christ, of the Blessed Apostles Peter and Paul, and by our own authority, we pronounce, declare, and define it to be a divinely revealed dogma: that the Immaculate Mother of God, the ever Virgin Mary, having completed the course of her earthly life, was assumed body and soul into heavenly glory

Roman Catholic theologians consider this declaration by Pius XII to be an ex cathedra use of Papal Infallibility.  Although Pope Pius XII deliberately left open the question of whether Mary died before her Assumption, the more common teaching of the early Fathers is that she did.

I need Scripture passages that support this belief and doctrine for me to accept this teaching.

Living in Belgium does afford us many public holidays based on the religious traditions of the Catholic Church.

Easter Monday

Ascension Day

Pentecost Monday

Assumption Day

All Saints Day

Language learning is an exercise in perseverance for me. It is difficult (tres difficile) and frustrating, yet it is also very gratifying to know you are making progress, all be it ever so slightly.

This past week when meeting with one of my language partners, yes that’s right I said one of my partners, I had a hilarious happening. Well, it was hilarious after I had time to reflect on it. I laughed with the man and his wife but inside it was painful. My slow southern and East Texas accent made a mockery of the elegant and melodic French language. In fact, the melody I was speaking had a country twang that resembled an old Merle Haggard tune about a drunken fool. But I digress from the story at hand.

I was explaining to my partner that my kids attend a school named “Montjoie.” The man and his wife looked at me wide-eyed and his wife began to snicker which quickly moved to an all out belly laugh. He tried to hush her and asked me again what I said, which I replied “Montjoie.” At that moment he fell over laughing and explained with many hand gestures, because we are “en français,” that the kids would never attend a school called “feeding trough.”

I tried to explain what I said meant Mount Joy. At which point he asked me to spell the name of the school. So I began, M-O-N-T-J-O-I-E. They both were leaning across the table watching me write out each letter. All of a sudden they both fell back into their chairs and laughed even harder realizing I had not meant M-A-N-G-E-O-I-R-E which means a “feeding trough.” We began at that moment to practice pronouncing words more succinctly and quickly. Basically, I had to adjust the speed of my country album to 78 rpm up from 33 rpm.

Needless to say, my family has received a great laugh out of this story. Today, while meeting with the man and his wife we laughed again at my pronunciation and my “Southern” Belgium accent. I hear that French people make fun of people from Belgium for the way they speak the French language. Well, I am in “deep you-know-what” then.

It is time change weekend in the USA, but in Belgium we won’t “spring forward” for a couple of weeks.

With that in mind, I wanted to update you on the “times” that are happening in our world. I’m going to use a bullet statement format since there is limited time and space to adequately expound on each happening.

• Amy and I are still in language school. It is going as well as can be expected three months in country. Slow. Difficult. Challenging. Opportunities. Friendships starting.
• The kids begin going to Belgian schools (french speaking) everyday this week. They will attend each day until 1 pm and work on their American studies in the afternoon. Acclimating. Language. Friends. Influence.
• It is starting to get warmer and the days are getting longer, which is a wonderful occurrence for our family. We are able to get out and move easier. We don’t let the weather hinder us too much. But, it is nice to have good weather since we walk a lot. Easier. Warmer. Less layers. Daylight.
• The Christensen’s have arrived. Our next set of partners from LifePoint have landed in Brussels. We now have another family to work alongside and to do life with in the city. Vision. Friends. Partners. Sending Church.

The time is flying. It has been three months since we lived in the States and everything seems to be moving so fast.

We have been in Brussels for a short period of time (60 days) but we have tried to find inexpensive things to do on Friday evenings as a family. We have set ourselves a budget of 10 euros or less. Our family prefers free these days, but we know getting out and having a Coke or a coffee cost euros.

Here are a couple of the Friday night fun times we have had together.

Go to a local Christmas fair and walk around observing new cultural goods.

Going to IKEA and having .50 euro hotdogs and looking at all the compact living paraphernalia.

Ride the Metro to see local attractions at night. This trip was to see the Atomium.

Eating frites at a local stand is a hit with the family. (My mouth is full.)

Getting 2 desserts and a large bottle of water and sharing between 5 people. (I caught Peyton off guard.)

All in all, it is about our family being together and moving around the city that is the most fun. Friday night has already become a favorite time and something to look forward to after a hard week of language study.

What does your family do together that is inexpensive and leads to great memories?

Thank you God for sending us here.

Luke 12:15 “…for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.”

Over the past several months I have been trying to process several emotions as our family walks through a transition in our living arrangements. We began this transition a few months ago but the full force of it has really hit me over the last few weeks.

At the beginning of November as we were closing life in the United States my wife and I listed our vehicles for sale. With the help of some friends this process only lasted a week. Imagine, two vehicles sold within a week of one another. As a result I removed two keys from my keyring. The new owners were glad that I no longer had keys to vehicles I didn’t own.

My last day of work as the Exec. Pastor at LifePoint Church I returned the key to the church building and my office. I would not need a key for an office in the US that I would no longer occupy. The next person to work in that office will be glad of that also.

The very next day my family moved from the transitional apartment we had rented for the previous year. Before we left for a visit with extended-family I returned the keys to our apartment. I would no longer need keys to an apartment in the United States I would not reside in any longer. The new residents will appreciate that I am not able to walk into their apartment unannounced.

The keys for me symbolized “place” or “belonging”. I knew where I was going and what I was doing. The feeling of where I needed to be and where my “stuff” was located provided meaning to my life. So, to hold out my hand on Nov. 12 and have no keys on my keyring brought a weird feeling to my heart. I have heard often that we do not own anything and it is all on loan from God. But, to be sitting in a borrowed vehicle (thanks Alleys) that is fully loaded (think Clampetts) with what you have left is very humbling and eye opening to say the least. I had waited for and looked forward to that day. But, the full force of the feelings were extremely strong.

Yes, it is very freeing now that I have had a few weeks to process through some of the emotions. I realize there many miles to go in the journey but it is an interesting range of emotions from sadness, elation, freedom and even mourning in relation to things and stuff being removed.

But, I have to recommend removing some of your keys. It is emotional at times, but well worth it.

I try to begin my day remembering my calling is to glorify God in all I do and point people to a Christ centered-centered life.

The beginning few days have been full of first for our family. We have traveled to the bank to open an account in a different country where we do not know the language or the banking procedures. Thankfully, we had someone with us who has walked through the transitioning process. We have a good friend and partner in ministry who has given himself to helping us transition during these first few weeks. His family moved here a few years ago to minister to the French-speaking people in southern Belgium. Thank you so much for holding our hands up in these days.

We have purchased cell phones so we could communicate with each other as we divide in the city to accomplish daily tasks.

We have spent the past several days riding buses, trains and metro to reach our destinations in the city.

We have purchased groceries each day because our refrigerator is about the size of a college dorm fridge. his is not uncommon in the country in which we now reside.

We are very thankful for our friends with Operation Mobilization who have allowed us to rent a space for our family. We have a few people here who are helping us with practical daily life in a new country.

The daily routine is not glamorous but the tasks are essential if we are to be effective for the cause of Christ in the coming days. Please continue to pray for us as we settle in and learn how to point people to a Christ-entered life in our new home.