Birthday Hike

For the past ten years or so, Dave has spent his birthday in the midst of our annual Josiah Venture fall conference.

Sometimes it's been spent with the JV Council, sometimes it's a day before conference starts, or it's also been during the actual conference.

And to share a little secret: he's not big on his own birthday celebration (though he's great at celebrating the rest of us!) so it's been just fine for him to be in the midst of the people and ministry he loves when that day comes around each year.

But this year, he got to celebrate in another way: a birthday hike!

One of Dave's most favorite things to do is take a long hike. Like, for days. In the Alps, if possible! There are few things he enjoys more than that.

But we're down in Croatia right now, so the next best thing is to find somewhere fun to hike here.

About an hour from where we're staying is an old monastery, Pustinja Blaca. That's where we headed for his birthday hike yesterday.

All 2.5 kilometers there was absolutely beautiful. It had rained the night before, so the air was fresh, the smells were rich, and the views breathtaking.

 And the sun came out as we hiked, making it all the more beautiful!

After hiking all downhill (which you know what that means when we hike the other direction!), we came to this awesome sight.

First built into the rock in 1570, it was a working monastery until 1963 when the last monk died, and no one came to replace him. Fires destroyed parts of it over the years, so it was rebuilt several times.

The only way in is by the sea and hiking up to it. Or by walking in from land as we did. No road reaches this place.

Mules used to be their means for supplies coming in, and as a way to transport out the goods they sold to nearby villagers as a way to make a living: olive oil, produce and animals.

Unfortunately, the monastery is closed one day a week. Can you guess which day? Such a bummer!

But it was still a lot of fun walking around to see it, and imagining what their lives must've been like so long ago.

I'm laughing in the above picture because Kaylee kept trying to get up on the wall with me. When she did, she sat down as if to say, "Okay, now you can take the picture." Honestly! She cracks us up much of the time!

There was almost no one there (a German couple was leaving as we came up, and later a Canadian couple came just as we were leaving). So we got to sit, read Scripture, sing and soak up the beauty there.

And of course, celebrate the birthday boy! :)

You just had to wonder, how long has that olive tree been there? Did monks pick the olives off that very tree to make their olive oil? And did they ever go hang out in those caves across the valley?! What must life have been like there for them?

Just as we were about the leave, the Canadian couple came down the trail, so we even got a picture together before hiking back up the trail.

What a great way to celebrate Dave's birthday this year!

Dave's Croatian Birthday

Today is a special day. It's this guy's birthday!

So very grateful to the Lord for the gift of this wonderful man, my husband!

How I love: sharing life with him; watching his walk with the Lord up close; being loved, adored and cared for by him; the privilege of being led and taught by him; the adventures we share together; seeing him as a dad; spending these precious days together here in Croatia.

"Dave, thank you for choosing to spend your life with me! I love you, am proud of you, and love the joy of sharing life with you. Happy Birthday!!!!! Let's go climb a mountain!!"

Staying Fresh and Flourishing

I love this photo for so many reasons.

Maybe you wouldn't know it, but Dave has such a tender heart for our little furry girl, and enjoys her a lot. And she is quite enamored with him too!

But there's another reason why I love this photo so much. It's the same reason that I like the next one too. See anything similar between them (besides the dog?!)

 It's this tree, on the far right, that intrigues me, and gives me cause for thought.

 How does a tree grow out of the rock??

I'm not a botanist or an arborist, who could tell you the whys and wherefores of its existence there.

But this morning I kept thinking about it from a spiritual standpoint as I was reading in Psalms.

If my life is like that tree in the rock - meaning that at times there are hard, difficult, seemingly impassable situations that could potentially keep me from thriving - how do I stay fresh, green with life, flourish on the rock and even produce fruit, though it looks as though I'm in a very hard spot?

Psalm 92 held the answer to those questions for me this morning. These are His instructions to me on how to stay fresh, thrive and produce fruit:

• Praise the Lord
• Make music to His name
• Proclaim His love in the morning
• Proclaim His faithfulness at night
• Be glad by His deeds
• Acknowledge His great works and the profoundness of His thoughts
• Exalt the Lord
• Live righteously
• Plant myself in the house of the Lord
• Proclaim Him as upright and as my Rock

If I purposely sought to do those things every day, I think I'd look like that tree! Healthy, strong, vibrant, adding beauty to the rest of the scene in that cove. My roots would be deep (I'm pretty sure that has something to do with why that tree thrives in the rock), and no amount of wind would cause me to fall.

As I continue to be in the Word and spend time with the Lord these days, these are the kinds of things He's speaking about to me.

So good, so nourishing.

Lifting Our Eyes

One of the blessings about this time of sabbatical is the gift of having time to "lift our eyes".

We're doing that literally and figuratively during these days.

There is something so good about getting up above the clouds, having time to look out over the horizon, and listen to the Lord's still voice in the breeze. 

Being able to do this literally is true nourishment to our souls, especially Dave's. There is nothing he enjoys more than getting "up above" so he can think, pray, and dream.

There is a spectacular view from the highest mountain on Brač as evidenced by these photos that are not even edited. This is some serious "God country" here! What magnificent places He has created!

Our eyes, ears, souls, and hands are lifted up to Him these days as we spend time with Him and with each other - envisioning the future and all that God has in store for us and His work with Josiah Venture.

Secret Cove Cafe

If I ever opened a coffee shop (which I don't intend to, but I'm just sayin'!) I now know what I'd name it.

The Secret Cove Cafe.

Several days ago Dave and I were out wandering around the area where we're staying. Just a short walk away, we came across a little cove with not a person in sight. Right then and there I wanted to go back some morning and have coffee, just the two of us.

With cooler, cloudy, rainy weather the past few days, this morning was the first day that it was possible. How happy I was to wake up to sunshine and know we could set off for a little morning adventure!

Down the rambling path we went, French Press coffee in hand (we don't have a thermos so had to walk fast so it'd still be hot).

Seriously, you'd never know there was anything down this path, which may look like a road, but the farther you go, the bigger the rocks in the middle, and the narrower it gets...so I don't think any cars travel down there!

Summer homes are scattered in the trees, though no one's there at this time of year so it's all quiet as you reach the steps down to the sea.

And enter into the Secret Cove!

Well, it wasn't as secret as we thought...there were a couple of sailboats moored there this time. When we'd been there before, it was completely empty, giving it the feeling of being in the middle of nowhere. Made for some nice pictures though!

An old dory turned upside down, made a good spot to sit for a picture before we embarked on our morning ritual...

Because now The Secret Cove Cafe is open for business!

This time, with a pot of "Sisters Coffee", from Oregon. I'd brought a bag of beans with us that were in my pantry at home after buying them last year (shhh, don't tell my boys I'm using year old coffee. They're baristas, convinced of the need and rightness for freshly roasted beans).

But I'm telling you...it sure tastes good to me!

Especially sitting here in this absolutely breathtaking cove. Wow. It really is stunning.

Though I had an interested little girl who thought she wanted what was in that cup (don't think she'd enjoy it like me), it just made my morning to sit there in the peaceful, serene cove and drink a cup of coffee with my husband.

Oh. So. Good!!!!

We stayed for a couple of hours. Talking. Dreaming. Thinking. Being.

Just the sort of thing you'd do in The Secret Cove Cafe.

**By the way, I Googled the name and as far as I know, there is not another cafe like it. So for now, we're the only ones in business!

However, there is a Secret Cove Marina in British Columbia! :)

I'm Listening

I woke up restless. As I started to process what I was feeling, I quickly thought to ask the Lord what He had for me.

It wasn't a surprise.

"Head down the steps. I'll meet you there". (We've been there before).

So I sat, I thought, I prayed, I listened.

Then, as clear as could be I heard him say, "Go to Mark 6".

So I went there.

First few verses: "A Prophet without honor". No, that doesn't seem to be for me.

Next verses: "Jesus sending out the twelve disciples". Nothing there either.

"John the Baptist beheaded"?? Yikes. No...I don't WANT there to be anything in that for me!

I was seriously beginning to question whether or not I'd really heard that reference. I even flipped over to the next chapter, before finishing this one, to see if something was there. But it wasn't.

The next verses were on the feeding of the five thousand. How many times have I read this passage, or a similar one in another Gospel?

I thought, "Surely there's nothing in that for me".

I actually skipped that story and went on to the last part of the chapter where Jesus walks on water. Still nothing.

So, finally I went back to the feeding of the five thousand. To verse 30, then 31.

And there it was. It went straight to my heart. I knew it was for me.

The apostles gathered around Jesus and reported to him all they had done and taught. Then, because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat, he said to them,  

 "Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest."

This is exactly the spot I'm in right now. I've come away to a quiet place and I'm supposed to be getting some rest. Those were His words to His disciples a long time ago, and they seem to be His words to me right now.

But, honestly it's harder than I thought. It's not easy to go away. To a quiet place. And get some rest.

I wonder what the disciples thought when he gave those instructions?  Were they thinking, "Hey, we were right in the middle of telling you everything we've been doing!" Or were they saying to themselves, "Oh good - now we can eat"?

How often I've thought, in the midst of a super busy day/week/month, "IF ONLY I could get away to a quiet place and rest."

And I think it's a good idea to get away and rest, recharge, refuel. Even Jesus did that.

But now that I'm here to do that very thing for a longer time...it's different. I'm so used to being busy. To having purpose. To getting something done. To DOING. I actually LIKE doing!!!

For now, His instructions are something completely other though. He spoke those words to His disciples and now He's speaking them to me.

So my response on the steps is like Samuel's long ago: "Here I am Lord; you called me. Speak, for your servant is listening".

Unusual Approach

 WARNING!!!!

View Discretion Advised

It was Dave who convinced me to do this blog post. So blame him if you aren't glad you read it by the end! And I really hope this is helpful to someone, sometime.

I've had ear trouble for several years now. I've been to the doctor many, many times. I've been on antibiotic. I've put in drops. I've even done exercises! I've really tried to take better care of them, but with no results to show for it.

My problem? This is where I get personal! 

One of my ears leaks. All the time. There is a steady stream of liquid wax that trickles out day after day.

Granted it's a small amount. But it's messy, it cracks and hurts sometimes, it clogs up my ear, pieces drop out, and it's just annoying. I have drops to put in when it gets really bad, but it never clears up. Ever.

One day while out running errands with our hostess here at the house on Brač, for some reason I can't remember, this topic came up and she told me about Cervann, the product above. It's an ear candle, something that I'd never heard about.

This particular candle is Croatian made. I don't know if that makes any difference. I've since done a lot of reading about this method and there is a lot of discussion and skepticism about it.

I'm glad I didn't read it before I tried it!

It took Dave a while to translate the directions from Croatian into English. Thank you very much Google Translate!

I kept asking him, "Are you sure you feel good about this? Know what to do? Think I should do it??"

He assured me with "Yes" to all those questions.

So out to the patio we went on a sunny morning to try it.

This is probably one of the stranger things I've ever tried. And these are definitely some of the least flattering pictures I've ever posted! But for the sake of knowledge and honesty, I'm doing it.

You can't imagine how funny this actually was! The proverbial "smoke coming out your ears" was a comment Dave made more than once. At least it was legitimate, since there really was smoke, and fire, surrounding my ear!

As the candle began to melt, there was a crackling sound in my ear, that at first was really odd, and then became somewhat soothing. Have no idea why! But it was actually pleasant laying there, with Dave watching over me, as the candle did its work. 

And hey, if you going to put a burning candle in your ear, you might as well do it with a view to the sea! :)

Warning again! If you are squeamish in any way, skip these next two pictures and just go to the end.

I warned you!

The candle melted partway, and then Dave removed it (according to the instructions) and cleaned it out, then lit it again and did one more round. He did the same on the other ear, though it doesn't have the same problem.

On various websites where I read up about this, people wrote that all that came out of their ears was some sort of powdery substance. And that it was the same in both ears.

But as you can see in the photo, that wasn't the case for me. And one side was definitely different from the other. Can you guess which side was the one I've been having a problem with?

I can't tell you whether or not this is a legitimate approach or cure for anyone else's ear problems. All I can tell you is what happened for me.

It's been five days and I haven't had one drop of liquid come out of my ear.

I'm a pleased customer, and grateful for the conversation I had with my friend who told me about this.