A Living Dog Is Better Than A Dead Lion

Went to a quilt show on Saturday, 250 Quilts, Quilters from across Germany. Here is one of the most impressive quilts on display. My personal favorite. Absolutley lovely, warm colors and incredibly made.

One of the 250 Quilts at the show, this one drew me in
more than the others. Haha, no pun intended.

Soo many fabrics to pick from!!

Hello Readers!
The role and repetitive use of youth in the Bible is essential for young people of the modern day. Purpose and a relationship with Jesus is not granted at a certain age or season of ‘more time’. God is not a respecter of persons, and I suspect He is not a respecter of age either. David was the youngest of his brothers, he was the ruddy sheep keeper that was anointed with oil from Samuel (1 Samuel 16:12). Samuel was dedicated by his mother through a covenant with God at a young age (1 Samuel 1-28). Isaac, bearer of Abraham’s seed, grew up with the Lord (Genesis 21:20). The role of God in their life, started at a young age.

The topic of youth has been on my mind. I have thought about my youth, childhood, and addressed my entering into the threshold of legal adulthood. In Germany, every fourteen to sixteen year old has the opportunity to celebrate, whether through the state or church, the entering into the adult realm of responsibility. Though they are not legally adults, they are to be introduced to a new level of adulthood. There is no government paid holiday in the USA that is similar to this. Therefore it is the parents personal decision, when to address their child as being responsible.

Personally I was raised as always being responsible for my actions. I knew that if I did something wrong, I was to tell my Mom and we would address the issue. If I played with Lego’s, I was supposed to put them back in the container when I was done. It was not the job of the next person that walked by to clean up after for me; I was the last one responsible for them. I’m grateful for my upbringing. This ‘clean up after yourself…right away’ part of me, has surfaced to produce some awkward moments with my host family here. I’ll explain to you our meal rules together: Breakfast is eaten at separate times, but the dishes can stay on the table for the last person who eats breakfast, who has to clean everything up. Coffee cups are set on the counter next to the kitchen sink, sometimes filled with a little bit of coffee left over. Lunch is eaten together throughout the week and naturally the last person has to clean up. Dinner is also eaten together, and the last person…has to clean up. 

Red Flower, Blue Horizon

This is a fast eater/lazy person galore, but I eat slowly so I always end up cleaning the dishes. I don’t mind doing the dishes, but I often think to myself as I’m scraping the leftovers into the recycling bin outside, that the rules are a little wacky. If everyone cleaned up after themselves or we decided to all clean up together, the job wouldn’t always fall to one single person. A lot of the time my host Mom talks with me after everyone else has finished eating and left, then we clean up together. Which is still weird for me, everyone ate, so everyone should clean up right? Another rule I don’t understand, the person who cooks for the family also has to clean up. Whereas in my family, the person who cooks gets to enjoy the meal and the family cleans up together. I learned that I am responsible for myself, but also have a responsibility to help others too.

Choose Ecclesiastes as your next casual read, and you will find the value of living in this moment. ‘For to him that is joined to all the living there is hope: for a living dog is better than a dead lion’ (Ecc. 9:4). Choosing God throughout your youth sets an unshakeable foundation for the future. I have enjoyed many fruits in my time here in Germany because God is first. I have reflected and gained strength from Hebrews 12:2 ‘Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.’ The word author according to the Strong’s Hebrew and Greek Dictionary means, the captain. I can understand the difficulty for young people to give up the reins. We are young, capable, full of strength, and a lot of us are unaware that we are totally clueless though we feel we have figured it all out. 

Photograph of my host sister, to the moon!

As I have loosened my grip on the reins, and continually give them up daily, I remember the verse 1 Corinthians 14:33 ‘For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints’. When you have a question, ask Jesus and seek in His Word. He does not leave us without an answer. 

Photo taken at my school,
it was the 'Project Day', remember? The last-minute
prepare-four-hours-material day? Gotta keep your cool.

Last Sunday I also visited a concentration camp the Sachenshaus concentration camp, in Sachsen-Anhalt. What was done to the people was simply horrifying. I only included one picture with the memorial for all of the victims and a website for those interested in the history of this specific site.

http://www.orte-der-erinnerung.de/institutions/institutions_liste/sachsenhausen_memorial_and_museum/?L=1
Informational link to Sachens-Anhalt Concentration Camp website.
Visited on Sunday. On the opposite side of this wall,
 was a quote from one of the camp survivors,
'The future of Europe can not go on, without forgetting the
hate, murder, gasing and torture that has happened here'.

Glory be to God, Peace, Genevieve