Living here for the last eight months, we've learned a few things about British life and culture. Here are a few insights in case you jump out of a plane and aren't sure whether you're in England or not:
10) People drink tea in the afternoon.
9) People drive on the other side of the road (but don't ask them why they drive on the "wrong side" :).
8) Everything is older in England whether it's Stonehenge or the plumbing.
7) People are polite, reserved, and yet use sarcasm and wit often.
6) People don't like it when you talk about what a great holiday the Fourth of July is in America.
5) People drink tea in the evening.
4) Pubs are great community gathering places to meet friends and have meaningful conversations.
3) People like One Direction and Downton Abbey much more than the Prime Minister.
2) The umbrella is an essential part of your daily "wardrobe."
1) People drink tea in the morning too!
Friday, May 24, 2013
Sunday, May 5, 2013
This is Home
While back in the states for a few weeks in March, I realized that one main stress for me during our time in England has been trying to figure out where home is. We're in England for only 9 months, so it has been difficult to really feel settled here. We still own our home in Georgia, but are currently renting it out and don't know if we will ever live in it again. Plus, we are still in the discernment process of where God is calling us next. So all of these things leave me feeling a little lost at times and thinking, "Where is home anyway?"
Subconsciously, I was hopeful that our time in the states would feel like home and that we could just relax for a bit. However, unexpected circumstances did not allow for a lot of rest and relaxation. While lying awake one night, I realized I really wanted to feel at home somewhere. It was in the midst of my prayer to God (i.e., my pity party) about this, that I felt the Lord say, "I am your home. You need to find your home in me."
A week later, we celebrated Easter at our home church in Atlanta. Part of the sermon that day was about how God did not bring the Israelites out of Egypt just for their freedom. God was taking them home. Likewise, the redemption that Jesus completed through his death and resurrection was not just for our freedom from sin, but also the means through which we will dwell with God in our forever home! My ears quickly perked up as this theme of home was before me yet again. What a reminder that it is very much in the heart of God as well!
Now, I will say that I am still not totally sure what finding my home in God fully means. I'm pretty confident that it is one of those "already, not yet" realities of God's Kingdom. Through the Holy Spirit, we can already get a taste of our forever home with God, even if it isn't completely fulfilled yet. What I do know is that I feel a greater sense of peace in remembering that our true home is not a specific place in this world, but wherever God is.
Since returning to England, I have begun to experience it as "home" in ways I hadn't previously. As we finish up our final few months here, I am feeling sad that our time in England is almost over. It feels like it is only really getting started. Yet, I know that wherever the Lord takes us next will have a taste of home as well, if only we are willing to open ourselves and allow God to show us where He is present in that place as well.
My main task for this final term of school is to finish writing my thesis. Ironically, the topic that I chose back in the fall is about Jews living in Egypt (this time after the exile from their land) who are trying to reconcile what it means to be the people of God in a different environment. While these Jews are assimilating into a different culture, they are, at the same time, holding on to their identity as Jews. In the midst of this, they are also translating the Bible into Greek (the Septuagint) so that it is in their everyday language. This is the first translation of the scriptures! My research focuses on the Septuagint book of Isaiah and some of the driving questions are "Where is home for them? And how do they identify as the people of God in this different land?"
I'm thinking this is not mere coincidence, but just a reminder that this current world is not our forever home. We are all looking for that final realization when God's Kingdom comes in full and changes our whole reality. For the time when we are fully in His presence and experiencing Him in totality. Man, I look forward to that day!
In the mean time, while we are still waiting, here's a taste from Revelation 21:
5 And the one who was seated on the throne said, “See, I am making all things new.”
Hallelujah!
Subconsciously, I was hopeful that our time in the states would feel like home and that we could just relax for a bit. However, unexpected circumstances did not allow for a lot of rest and relaxation. While lying awake one night, I realized I really wanted to feel at home somewhere. It was in the midst of my prayer to God (i.e., my pity party) about this, that I felt the Lord say, "I am your home. You need to find your home in me."
A week later, we celebrated Easter at our home church in Atlanta. Part of the sermon that day was about how God did not bring the Israelites out of Egypt just for their freedom. God was taking them home. Likewise, the redemption that Jesus completed through his death and resurrection was not just for our freedom from sin, but also the means through which we will dwell with God in our forever home! My ears quickly perked up as this theme of home was before me yet again. What a reminder that it is very much in the heart of God as well!
Now, I will say that I am still not totally sure what finding my home in God fully means. I'm pretty confident that it is one of those "already, not yet" realities of God's Kingdom. Through the Holy Spirit, we can already get a taste of our forever home with God, even if it isn't completely fulfilled yet. What I do know is that I feel a greater sense of peace in remembering that our true home is not a specific place in this world, but wherever God is.
Since returning to England, I have begun to experience it as "home" in ways I hadn't previously. As we finish up our final few months here, I am feeling sad that our time in England is almost over. It feels like it is only really getting started. Yet, I know that wherever the Lord takes us next will have a taste of home as well, if only we are willing to open ourselves and allow God to show us where He is present in that place as well.
My main task for this final term of school is to finish writing my thesis. Ironically, the topic that I chose back in the fall is about Jews living in Egypt (this time after the exile from their land) who are trying to reconcile what it means to be the people of God in a different environment. While these Jews are assimilating into a different culture, they are, at the same time, holding on to their identity as Jews. In the midst of this, they are also translating the Bible into Greek (the Septuagint) so that it is in their everyday language. This is the first translation of the scriptures! My research focuses on the Septuagint book of Isaiah and some of the driving questions are "Where is home for them? And how do they identify as the people of God in this different land?"
I'm thinking this is not mere coincidence, but just a reminder that this current world is not our forever home. We are all looking for that final realization when God's Kingdom comes in full and changes our whole reality. For the time when we are fully in His presence and experiencing Him in totality. Man, I look forward to that day!
In the mean time, while we are still waiting, here's a taste from Revelation 21:
21 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more.
2 And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying,
“See, the home of God is among mortals.
He will dwell with them;
they will be his peoples,
and God himself will be with them;
4 he will wipe every tear from their eyes.
Death will be no more;
mourning and crying and pain will be no more,
for the first things have passed away.”
He will dwell with them;
they will be his peoples,
and God himself will be with them;
4 he will wipe every tear from their eyes.
Death will be no more;
mourning and crying and pain will be no more,
for the first things have passed away.”
Hallelujah!
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