27

I’m exceedingly psyched because I’m turning 27 today on 02•22•20… and if you know me, then you know that the number symmetry, along with turning one of my favorite numbers, makes me feel absolutely delighted.

But really, it’s always a blessing to me to see another year. The song going through my thoughts these past few days was You Keep On Getting Better sung by Maverick City Music, especially the refrain that says, “Every day gets sweeter, every day gets better.” It speaks to the fact that every day lived in relationship with our awesome God gets better for us as His children – He never changes in His perfection, but for us He gets better as we discover more and more of Him with each passing experience, good or bad. I’ve found this to especially be true these past few years, and it’s a concept I’ve been pondering these past few days as I walk into 27 with that same mindset. There’s another part of the song that says over and over – after declaring how good God is – “You keep on getting better, You keep on getting better.” I couldn’t listen to that part without joyfully singing along and expressing thanks to the Lord for who He is and all He’s done. I asked myself in what specific ways the Lord’s kept getting better to me, and what I loved was that many of the ways seemed like such simple things, but their impact on my life was anything but. He gets better and better to me every time I get the opportunity to enjoy the beauty of the clouds above me, or the serenity of a Poznan sunset at the end of the day. I mean, at times (at least in my view), the sky looks so intricately painted with a range of pastels, and I just can’t help looking up in awe at God’s creativity. And then it’ll be a whole different range of colours the next day, harboring a completely different vibe and bringing a new sense of wonder to my heart – something new, yet at its core, still the same. God gets better and better to me with each day, as I literally experience His strength in me on days when Tuesdays feel like Thursdays and I can barely keep my eyes open long enough to study. I notice how He listens to me and encourages me exactly as I need, and how He draws me closer to Him, motivating me to be a better child of God, refining me day by day and removing all that isn’t like Him. All these things and more make me emphatically say: Yes, Lord – You keep getting better! And I love that as I discover more of Him with each passing year, I’m consistently reminded of how He is good. There’s a part of You Keep On Getting Better that says, “You are good; In the morning I’ll sing ‘You are good.’ In the evening I’ll sing ‘You are good,’ You are good to me.” It’s a sentiment often said about God without much thought – Oh, God is good all the time, and all the time God is good. But the reality of taking a moment and realizing that He truly is… means so much. The way He works and helps me when maybe I’ve slacked a bit on my to-do list – He’s good. The way He warms my heart through interactions with my family and friends during long rotation days – He is good. The many, many ways He shows me His character through specific verses in His word and strengthens my faith daily in such thoughtful and personal ways – He is so, so good.

Turning 27 today is a gift. There’s so much peace, joy, and excitement surrounding me, not only due to anticipation of the year ahead, but because I know that no matter what, He keeps on getting better.

Forever

Chills.

If any song could even begin to sum up the immense importance of Good Friday, it would be Forever. No words could adequately express the pain, love, and the fulfilling victory that were in play on the day that Jesus was crucified. Just listening to the words of this song gives me chills. How can Someone love us this much?
But He does, and He did. It was indeed a Good Friday for humankind on that day over 2000 years ago, and I couldn’t be more grateful that Jesus willingly chose to die in the most humiliating, painful way possible… for me, for us, and for the world.

The ground began to shake
The stone was rolled away
His perfect love could not be overcome
Now death, where is your sting?
Our resurrected King has rendered you defeated!

Forever He is glorified
Forever He is lifted high
Forever He is risen
He is alive, He IS alive!

No Longer Slaves

You unravel me, with a melody
You surround me with a song
Of deliverance, from my enemies
Till all my fears are gone

My sister emailed my family this song a few weeks ago, but I didn’t get around to listening to it until now while (finally!) reading emails. Turns out, it’s the perfect message for this mid-semester morning.

It can be so easy to dart our eyes around quickly and stumble into listening to the world’s message on every front in life, especially during stressful times. The common lies that we choose to hear and believe are sometimes shocking. Concerning school: “You should be scared. That exam is going to be so difficult. And you definitely didn’t study correctly for it. Plus, you’re not even smart enough to be doing this.” Concerning relationships: “You never do anything “fun.” Fun friends do this. Why can’t you just shut up and join the crowd for once?” Concerning identity: “You’re not unique in any way. You are not special. You’re just like everyone else.” Concerning ability: “You don’t have any talent whatsoever. People are probably laughing at you behind your back.” Concerning practically everything else: “You should be worried. You should be hesitant. You should be filled with fear. Good luck getting through this.” That’s why the constant refrain of this song couldn’t be any more powerful or true:

I’m no longer a slave to fear
I am a child of God. Continue reading

How Deep

Happy Sunday! We sang this beautiful song in church this morning and it’s been running through my head all day long, so I thought I’d share it here.

I also had my first day-trip to Budapest yesterday (the first of many trips there I’m sure…it was lovely to get my big-city fix after a couple of months as a smaller-town girl in Pécs)! I’ll be sharing photos from that trip soon, along with Part Two of my Art of Translation post. Have a blessed start to the week!

Art of Translation

It’s been a bit of a minute since I last posted, but I’m back (with a couple exams behind me too, to boot)!

Fall is here! I love this time of year. I’m pretty sure I can vouch for the fact that no matter where you are, fall weather is always agreeable – whether the day is quietly sunny or breezily cloudy, it’s beautiful. I’m enjoying Pécs’s fall weather so much (minus the mosquitoes… shudder); looking out my window in the early evening at this time of year brings on bouts of introspective thoughts and future-minded daydreams. I experienced one of those thoughtful days recently; a couple weeks ago, I hosted a Bible study at my place here in Pécs with the ladies from the church I attend here (I use the word “host” loosely…though I didn’t cook any food for the event, I’ve recently gotten into baking and a little cooking! I apologize in advance because I may be sharing a ton of food photos in future months…). Since my church here strives to reach out to as many Hungarians as possible, services are often held in Hungarian, and then translated into English (or vice versa). So this time, the Bible study was taught in English, and translated into Hungarian. It was a hilarious ordeal at the onset, because our Bible study leader speaks both English and Hungarian, so at certain intervals, she’d stop and look at her friend translating her words into Hungarian and say, “Aw come on! That’s not what I said! There’s a better way to say that!” We all had a good laugh at these instances, chuckling to ourselves about the translator’s use of artistic license in conveying original words and ideas to the listeners. Continue reading