Self Control is a Sign of Maturity

Sometimes when I pray I tend to feel overwhelmed with all the things to pray for and rather than allowing that to come over me, I just focus on one point to meditate on. I believe the fruits of the Spirit come by knowing the Lord Himself and choosing to reflect on whatever things are true, right, pure, lovely...... But also considering the affects of the world, our still somewhat lingering sin nature and the whole concept of spiritual warfare altogether, I know these all impact our abilities to completely live out all the fruits of the Spirit. 

Patience in our western world is something that is hard to come by. This is still preeminent on my prayer list, yet self control became the topic of my prayer a few days back. While each individual fruit cannot fully be displayed without the others, sometimes our finite minds can't attempt focusing on more than one at a time. And so this week I began to think about self control. 

I remember my junior high youth pastor always saying, for obvious reasons:), "self control is a sign of maturity." And it so is! Whether Christian or not, all people can identify those who exert lack of self control in their lives. When we analyze all the various aspects of our lives, we can see the results of either discipline or the lack thereof. 

When we speak too much or often or are too lacking in grace...something I've often been in trouble for:/, it shows our lack of discern to bite our tongue.

When we have just eaten several scoops of ice cream and yet must fight the urge to also splurge on the decadent chocolate cake displayed in the next shop, we must exert self control. (Yes, sugar is also an addiction:) Sometimes it's worth it to give in, but many times, much more worth it to just walk away...just as with any other sin.

When we are angry and allow "harsh" words to tell the world how deeply upset we either feel or want to cast the blame on them for; this also, is lack of control.

When our blood boils because of the drivers around us who are of course lacking much more sense than us and as our schedules are also always more important than theirs...yes this physiological reaction too, is our lack of self control to talk to rather than listen to ourselves and choose selflessness instead of selfish ambition.

When every time we shop we see a sale sign which seems might be the last great sale on the most optimum item we have ever laid eyes on, which also seems that by purchasing it will make us more happy than if we were to hold back; this also, is lack of self control.

When we choose not to consider that whoever God puts before us is vastly different than us, and therefore we may not understand them and therefore also choose not to take the time to try to; this too is lacking in self control of our thoughts about others in considering them better than ourselves, just as we were called to do in Philippians...with no vain conceit.

To think that someone else's sin is abominable and incomprehensibly so far from anything we could ever think of or even do, is also the lack of love, mercy (not to mention puffed up with pride...), and which also shows lack of control in our opinions about others. 

When we pray and think upon the attributes of God but only for a second, utter a quick "help me God" and then whisk about our hurried and flurried days, this too is lack of control to just meditate on, pray to and be still before God.

Intertwined in these actions of daily life is also the lack of the other fruits of the Spirit. These fruits ought to display the example of the love that God has shown us and therefore gives us the ability to also show others. The ability to love, give, listen, WAIT, give, forgive, love....and do it gently, kindly, patiently,...God always reminds me of how much more unconditionally loving He is than me.

This doesn't mean we have to dress in sackcloth and ashes, lay a red carpet before any who stand before us and listen to Mozart all day. But it does mean that as Christians, we do have to consider our actions and remember the grace and mercy that we were given which in turn will hopefully result in a fruitful life, one that exemplifies the fruit of the Spirit in word and in deed.

A man who controls himself is stronger than a man who can conquer a city. Proverbs.

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with it's passions and desires.

So how are we all doing?:)

-Julia Rudolph

our city's half marathon

I've really enjoyed each half marathon I've run, the latter two of which have both been here in Germany. This week I ran one which was different than the first two as it was here in rural Germany as opposed to bigger cities like Tampa and Berlin where I've run before. It was surprisingly flat here too though as it was there....thank the LORD! Although we have many big hills, the course weaved throughout the city and the Bundestrasee (county highway).  Though beautiful, I'd say the distractions in bigger cities were better as there were never dull moments with crowds like that...something runners need during a long race:)

 It was a beautiful, typically cloudy day here in Deutschland, and unfortunately the race time competed with the time of our church service in which Rich was called into preaching last minute to pinch hit for Michael who was out sick. This was a good opportunity, but one of which also posed difficulty with Justus as I am usually the one and only "nursery" worker for him and any other potential children, between three and four others. Quite an interesting little group and opportunity for me to sometimes humiliatingly "practice" my German with these kids, who are not always so quick to help me figure out how to say what I mean...which sometimes is necessarily commanding them to climb off the couch or refrain from jumping out the window:/.....more stories for another Blog:) So while Rich preached, Justus cried for mommy the whole time while babysat in the next room. Praise God for our friend Lea and her long suffering love for our baby boy:)

Though for this race I trained (never) nearly enough as I should have, I was able to pace myself and stick with the group of 4 other men who meet with a larger group of runners that I just joined just last Tuesday. They often train for much harder races, iron mans, etc., so I feel privileged to have such competition! It was to my surprise that last Tuesday as I pulled up late to our track work out, none of the girls showed up. This just happened to be the case this week, but I thought it was worth my time to at least get the challenging work out that I knew I both lacked and needed so badly before this race. It went well. Thankfully the coach and at least one other runner speak some English too. They were very much a help as we each individually, and as a group, focused on our goals to the end of the race. 

The morning rush began as Rich and I weaved our way through the outskirts of the city trying to find roads that weren't blocked by tape for the race, I jumped out and got my "warm up" in early, while frantically trying to find where to sign in, store my stuff and find my group in the location I only hoped I knew where it was. All was well, with just a few details lost in translation and a few minutes late. The race was on, with plenty of body oder to begin the race as you would think would be at the end:), and the final count down....zehn, neun, acht, sieben,...such an exhilarating and adrenaline filled moments lead up to the start. It's interesting how many parallels there are to running and life...especially the spiritual side of life. We can attempt to run it alone, but it is so much better with encouragement from those surrounding who are also going through the exact same, sometimes toiling experiences.

Not to long into the race I felt like my legs were as a machine, switched into fourth gear and though at times I thought it would be easier to slow down, I wanted to stay with the group and just kept thinking only 14 more Kilometers....7 more, 2 more...and finally, the finish line:) And I always say to myself while in the middle of races like this "why would I ever want to do a whole marathon?" Maybe some day. But halfs for now are right where it's at.

We must run with endurance the race set out before us, always looking to the author and finisher of our faith; that is our Lord. Praying that we will not get entangled in anything hindering and that we will be steadfast to the end. 

1 month in the books

1 month is in the books and much has taken place. This might have been the fastest month of our lives it was so filled with activities and new beginnings. If you were to ask me how long we have been here I would have said 3 months, but it has been exactly 1 month ago today that we landed. In one month we have seen God do so many awesome things and He has connected us with so many people. We are now living in our city of St. Wendel, and the people in our church have been such a blessing. They have been so kind and loving toward us, it has been such an easy transition here. We have even had our first house guest, our close friend who is a missionary in Berlin, Kristi. She came and saw where the Lord has put us and was an encouragement for the short time she was here.

            In our first month we have moved in, we are still without internet (takes 3 weeks), we will receive our kitchen tomorrow, and we are still getting our furniture put together. We are excited for the kitchen, because doing dishes in the bathtub will be over after tomorrow J

            We have had a great advantage to be able to take part of the ministry right away because we lived here for 8 months before. We are not leading any ministries at this time but we are able to be there and help when needed. It has been great for our German and we continue to see it improve. Today was my first time preaching in our church with the help of a translator, we are praying in 1 year it will be in German J

            Julia ran in our city’s half marathon and we have enjoyed being a part of a city that we can call home for years down the road. Whether it is going to the same place for groceries, getting coffee at the same place, or being active in city events we want to be out and among our community.

            This next month we will be getting into more of a regular routine and continue to get to know the people in our church. It is so great to build relationships with our new friends here and see how God is drawing us together for His Kingdom.

Some highlights – Losing all my hair by accident, making different language mistakes, Justus getting his first room (which means he is out of ours), Julia running in the half marathon, driving 100 mph legally on the autobahn, and making many new friends. God has been good, thank you for your prayers J

Hair is lost in translation

I know we begin many blogs the same, but the last couple days have been great and have gone by fast. We have done more unpacking and preparing our house, while at the same time being a part of meetings and ministry here. We are hoping in 2 days we can live in our house, today, I found a used tiny fridge that we can use until we get ours in 2 weeks.

 I knew I needed a haircut because it had been a while, the last time we lived in Germany, a haircut was not a problem because I went with Michael the first time and I always went to the same lady after that. Now I was living in a new city and wanted to get to meet people in our city, so feeling courageous I was going to go by myself and ask for what I normally do in America, 3 on the side and cut by hand on top. I went to the hair place and asked for a 3 on the side and cut by hand on top, she began to buzz the back part of my hair. I noticed that it felt breezy back there and when she came around to the front I knew why. She had not put a 3 guard, but a 3 mm on the side. I was in shock, If I went through with this haircut, I was going to give a new definition to the Mushroom Cut. I would have had long hair on top and 3 mm on the side, as if I hated side burns or something. So I quickly asked her to give me a 3 mm on my whole head, now changing from a shroom cut to a haircut that is associated with a certain political party here in Germany. It was a lose/lose, I think the part that hurt the most is that I could have done this for free, but I had to pay.

On the bright side, my son loves it, Justus keeps touching it and loving it. Now as I see people that I know here and they asked me what happened, I have to explain the story a couple times, hopefully after a couple, I will have it correct grammatically in German. Enjoying our life here and I find it funny being lost in translation, unless you can’t understand them and they think you can and keep talking J

4 day whirlwind

               The last 4 days have been very filled. Monday we purchased our kitchen which will arrive in 2 more weeks. We took a friend to help translate words that we were not familiar with and without him we might still be at the store. We saw a listed price for a kitchen that seemed reasonable, so we told the man we wanted that one. We had to give him our measurements and essentially it is like getting legos and building it to fit your room. As we were going through the process, he would offer different options, we would usually pick the one that seemed nicer than all the others. We did not realize that all the options had a different price besides the basic one that we were shown in the model. He failed to tell us, so when he told us the price of our kitchen, Julia and I were in shock. We then back peddled and asked him to remove all the “upgrades” and just to give us the basic one that we saw in the kitchen. It was fun, but very confusing until you go through it. Hopefully it will be the one we ordered.

               Then the last 3 days we finished painting and cleaning our place. We had people from our church and our interns help us. It was a blessing to have so many people part of the process  helping us. Everyday it was something new that would come up, that might be a little road block, but we did it. If they did not help, I might have left everything white, especially when we repainted the room that was a wrong color. It was a great time to talk about and get to know the people we are working alongside of here in the ministry.

The ministry that we are a part of is different than many others.
                 We essentially are living with the pastor until our house is ready to move into, and he already has a dormitory at his house. 3 interns living next door, coming over for dinner every night and many others that stream through the house from time to time. After being with the Landolls, Julia said, “they sacrifice their home so that others might have one”. They get their example from Christ, becoming poor that we might be rich. We try to live together and be a part of everyday life with one another. It sounds so romantic on the outside and many would say they have it and want it, but to live it can be difficult at times. A sacrificing of time, money, possessions, and food for the sake of investing in others and working together in the church so that they might grow in their relationship with God and for more to come to know Christ. I know people that are part of the open door here have gotten saved through their sharing life with everyone and anyone who wants to join. We love the DNA of the ministry here, we pray we will dye to self and serving as Christ would in order to make it work the way it has for many years here. The Landolls would never pat themselves on the back or want others to give them praise for how they live, but I know they have touched many live and it will be awesome to see someday the effect of their ministry. Julia and I pray that we can learn from their example and have a home/ministry like theirs.  

Wrap up of the week.

The last couple of days have been very fun, but very long. We finally got our key on Tuesday to our house, so Wednesday we had to find a car. At the end of the day we came up empty handed, but we had an idea of what we were looking for and what we could get, but because Michael was busy with other work on Thursday we had to postpone car shopping till the weekend.

 Then Thursday came around and we began painting. One thing we have learned from our last time here is that nothing is cheap in Germany, you even have to pay to use public bathrooms normally, and with the Euro/Dollar difference it adds up. After I had a heart attack seeing that paint costs $50 a bucket, I had another when we realized we bought the wrong paint and myself and 2 others painted our living room with it. Julia was gracious and said she can live with the color, so we did not have to paint the room again. What a good wife J

 So when it came to painting we were not sure what to expect and began to realize how different it is. In Germany, you have to wall paper the rooms first before you paint, it has to do with their walls being different. So you have to paint over wall paper, which is sponge like so it sucks in the paint. You can imagine how long it takes to paint one room. After all day Thursday and Friday we had finished 3 rooms and will continue on Monday. Also Thursday we had Bible study, which went very well, I gave my testimony in German, the important part was at the end they knew I was a Christian J

Saturday rolled around and it was time for car shopping. We found a car, which was a blessing and then later we had to go Kitchen shopping. In Germany you buy the whole kitchen, every piece. So we went to a kitchen store about an hour away and found one we really liked. While we were looking, we saw a sign that was supposed to excite us, “receive your kitchen, very fast, in 2 weeks.” Julia and I were in shock because we haven’t moved in yet, and this means another 2 weeks. Thank goodness we are able to stay with Michael’s family until the house is ready. So we rushed back to our house to measure the kitchen, measured it, came back believing we would have 90 minutes to order it and rearrange it to fit our kitchen, but that was not the case. We got there and the kitchen salesman said, we would not have enough time to make a kitchen in 25 minutes. As I continued to tell him we could do it in 90 minutes, he said, yes you can in 1 hour, but you only have 25 minutes. He then showed us the time, it was 7:35, we had been driving in a car where the clock was set an hour behind and had not been changed for day lights savings the week before. We all had a good laugh realizing we drove 2 extra hours for nothing, so Julia and I have to wait till next week to buy our kitchen. Overall it’s been a busy week, but very good. We have church tonight, pray for the continual growth of the ministry here. We are thankful for your prayers!

Beyond the Romance

There are often spoken of, among missions circles, the culture shock phases that people go through when entering a new culture. There is the romantic phase, when everything you encounter is awesome just because it's different and new. Then there is a phase where everything becomes really frustratingly different, and so much more so than what we are used to and therefore seemingly wrong and maybe even hated. Rich and I have had such an easy transition, I feel as if we are floating among clouds and waiting to be hit by something. I believe that the internship we had here for eight months was a great prep for where we are now in our journey here, and thank God for that experience. We had friends who we told we would be coming back to in about three years. It was one month shy of three years. We knew God would direct if He had us here, and He has in many overwhelmingly pointed ways. There are many things we love about Germany, not the least of which is the beauty of the landscape. I wish I could have taken a picture of the road I was running down this evening with a pink hue of the last sunlight of our day slipping away (if only I had Google glasses you could seen just that:). With the misty hills in the background and small villages scattered throughout the valley it was picturesque enough for a magazine. But that is not why we are here; it is only a bonus.

 A song popped in my head by the name of "You're Beautiful" by Phil Wickham. I don't know it well or even the author except by the Google search I just did to realize what it was that was in my head. And not because I've heard it recently because I have a very outdated i tunes and the radio does not play English Christian music, if even Christian. However the song fit perfectly to the backdrop God had painted the sky tonight with. The first two lines, "I see your face in every sunrise, The colors of the morning are inside your eyes." And this is just what I saw...not to get too poetic on you, but we know that God is the creator of every sunset and sunrise, which also represents and reminds us that He is our Creator and all that goes on in our lives.

 And so today was also just that. A reminder that He has brought us back right where he wants us. I've teared up only a handful of times before we left and once since arriving for a moment and feel as though I left no permanent home, but that this has been the home we've been waiting for. That is by His grace and prayer! I am not ignorant that we won't have struggles, for the real work has yet to really begin. Working with people and a church in a post modern setting,...all these things are not easy. And I don't even pretend to think that we won't go through some real culture shock, as I am already very aware of the many differences between our cultures, some of which don't make sense to me and make me miss what I am familiar with. But today I sat with such joy before a friend whom I've remained in touch with only a bit these three years. I remember her dumbfounded, wondering why we would leave our family to come here. We speak only German together so somethings only go so deep. I was giddy as a child when I made plans with her again as her family is one I've been praying for since I left; someone I consider one of my real friends here who cares to invest in me, despite my poor German at this point:) She asked why again we are here and not home by family. And as I explained why we see the need for us to work here versus a ministry in the States, she affirmed that Germany is very much this way. That those who go to church, mostly the older crowd if at all, though they claim a religion, it is not in their heart. Many churches are spiritually dead, and so are the people. Once again affirming our purpose here in this ministry. And so we are glad for the Lord's timing in all of this. We are humbled daily by our language and the lengths we must go to to perfect it. A prayer request for sure! We feel good at times, and at times, oh so not good.

It's amazing how I believe God's Holy Spirit places within our hearts certain thoughts or encouragement throughout our lives that give us just the perfect reminder that He alone is the most beautiful and Sovereign over all things, even the details of our lives. Please look up this song and be encouraged. For He alone is most beautiful!