Because perfection is never really obtained this probably was not the perfect weekend; but it sure felt like it to me!
It started on Friday night. I felt like the Bible Study went really well. Rather than the usual discussion I did ALL the talking. Our passage was Matthew 5:17-20. I was trying to reconcile two ideas. Jesus says in this passage that the law is important, that it will never pass away and the smallest part of it is to be obeyed. Idea one; The Pharisees understood this better than anyone and they were always in trouble. In fact in this passage Jesus says our righteousness must surpass theirs. Idea two; Jesus & much of the New Testament seem to redefine the law so it has all but passed away.
Of course this has all been explained to me in ways that never made much sense so I came up with a novel way of looking at these two ideas. Because I think my idea is novel it is probably wrong (I told everyone that and suggested they not take what I was saying too seriously). But the doing the study has really helped me in my walk with the Lord! I love it when that happens!
Friday night every bed in the house was filled with single soldiers who spent the night and on Saturday we took a good group to Mainz to visit their Christmas market. It was great fun and I was able to have a number of significant conversations.
On Sunday after chapel we took a group of folks on an adventure to cut our own Christmas Trees. It was way fun! After cutting them we brought one back to the house and a group of soldiers helped us decorate the tree. That was followed by dinner, a devotional and a good discussion about what it would look like to really prepare to celebrate the birth of our Lord Jesus.
As I reflect on the weekend it seems perfect to me; a good balance of laughs, deep conversations and fun, wholesome German culture.
It looks like our house will be full during the Christmas season. Many of the soldiers who just arrived can not go back to the states for Christmas. In additions both our sons and their families will be with us. (Richard, Pamela and Brad arrive on Thursday this week). As always thank you for all of your prayers for us.