Shaved Head Spirituality

I want to share with you a passage from Brennan Manning’s The Relentless Tenderness of Jesus quoted from Paul Tillich that jumped out to me this past week.

Sometimes at that moment a wave of light breaks into our darkness and it is as though a voice were saying: “You are accepted. You are accepted by that which is greater than you….Do not seek for anything; do not perform for anything; do not intend anything. Simply accept the fact that you are accepted.”
If that happens to us, we experience grace. After such an experience we may not be better than before, and we may not believe more than before. But everything is transformed.

As I think about my decision to shave my head, I am amazed. What may seem like a momentary lapse in judgment, has opened my eyes to many new things. God's grace is alive in my life--accepting me as I am.

Spirit Week 2007

For Spirit Week this year I decided to shave my head for "Crazy Hair Day". To make further use of my bald head, I came as a Buddhist monk for "Around the World Day" and Mr. Clean for "Fictional Character Day". It certainly gave the students and staff quite a shock-and still does I suppose. I am enjoying the shorter shower times and expect a great savings on shampoo!

A Child Shall Lead Them....

Our building fund received its first donation today-from a 3rd grader. How neat to hear the story of him emptying his coin purse because he wanted to be a part of the new building! Truly a special kid! 45 bani gets us started (about 20 cents)!

You can be a part of our building program too! Check out the information at:
BCA's Website

100 Posts

So, this is my little song and dance because of this truly amazing landmark:) Hope you can all celebrate with me...

IKEA

I am becoming very fond of IKEA. Although they haven't had the tupperware I am looking for the last three visits, I still love to go and wander through the store looking at things that are colorful and beautifully arranged. I went a couple weeks ago and had my eye on a corner bakers rack. I went Friday morning, picked it up, carried it home on the bus, and assembled it. It now sits in my "balcony" with all my plants. My "balcony" was looking a little sparse so I ended up going back to IKEA yesterday to buy a comfy chair and small table to sit on the opposite end. My "balcony" makes me smile:) I also bought some new pots so all my plants aren't in the standard brown plastic pots anymore-yeah!

Preview of Bucharest

I came across this one day while searching for some other information. I thought you might enjoy a glimpse of my city:)

Train Companions

Here we are all snuggled together in our shared compartment:) Don't you wish you could join us?

Train Ride

How long is a 1.5 hour train ride from Sinaia to Bucharest?

Last weekend I went up to Sinaia with two other women. We were awed by the beauty of creation all around us during the ride. The trees were changing colors and the mountains are always beautiful! We had a wonderful day together-touring the castle, walking through the shops, stopping at the monastery, and eating lunch together.

We decided to take the 5pm train back to the city, bought our tickets and waited. It appeared that all would be normal for our train ride. We arrived at Campina 30 min later and stayed at the station for an hour-much longer than the standard 3-5 min stop. I had heard there was some construction being done on tracks so I didn't think too much about it. No information is given, so you just sit and wait-there really isn't anything else you can do.

We finally pulled out and continued toward Bucharest. 5 min into the journey, we heard some strange noises and then in another few minutes. The second set of noises were quickly followed by a thump and a slowing train. It isn't unusual to stop between stations, but this stop was rather extended and people started looking out the windows and even getting off the train. We later found out that the power lines had fallen, cracking the front window on the train. We would be unable to move until they were righted. There was the option of walking to the next major road to catch another form of transportation, but it was getting dark and raining.

So, we waited. There was an American team on the train-further toward the back. We went and sat with them to get regular updates from the Romanians traveling with them who went out to talk with people and take pictures.

The repair train showed up some time later and finally we were able to make our way toward Bucharest. Instead of arriving at 6:40 as planned, our train pulled in at 10:00. So, the 1.5 hour ride was 5.

Answered Prayer-Where are the dogs?

It took me a couple nights, but I finally realized that it was much quieter around my apartment. When I left Bucharest in June, there was a pack of dogs that hung out behind my bloc and barked anytime anyone walked past them. It made for restless nights of sleep and annoyances during the day. So far, there has only been one night when I've heard anything. They don't seem to be prowling around either. Wow! Praise God!

More Than You'll Ever Know

Something brought you to my mind today
I thought about the funny ways
you make me laugh
And yet I feel like it's ok to cry with you
Something about just being with you
When I leave I feel like I've been with God
and that's the way it ought to be, yeah


Cause you've been more than a friend to me
you fight off my enemies for me
cause you have spoken the truth over my life
And you'll never know what it means to me
just to know you've been on your knees for me
Oh, you have blessed my life
more than you'll ever know
Yeah, yeah, yeah, more than you'll ever know
Yeah, yeah, yeah

You had faith
when I had none
You prayed God would bring me a brand new song
When I didn't think I could find the strength to sing
and all the while I've been hoping that I'll
do the kind of praying for you that you've done for me
and that's the way it ought to be, yeah


You have carried me
You have taken on a burden
that wasn't your own, yeah
may that blessing return to you
A hundredfold
oh oh yeah, a hundredfold

(Watermark)

These words echo what is in my heart from my time in the US this summer. I can only imagine what the prayers of so many have done on my behalf. I am amazed and overwhelmed! Thank you!