Sabbath Rest

There remains a Sabbath Rest. Why don't I experience this much? I know the answer--it's because of me! It is Sunday morning now. I am rested; I am at peace; I've been up long enough to have two cups of coffee and my deovtional; I even have time to be sitting here typing this! This looks so different than a lot of Sunday mornings. In part, we have almost two hours extra before Chapel since there is no Sunday School today (How does not having a one-hour Sunday School equate to almost two-hours extra? It's complicated but it does!). Which makes me think, if I had extra time most Sunday mornings before "rushing" off to chapel then I might arrive at church to worship God with a peaceful and rested spirit instead of being hurried and frantic. Does the latter describe you? If you have kids it probably does! Maybe an extra hour or two would do us all some good. But don't go cancelling Sunday School just to make it happen! Maybe the key is Saturday night... What if we ,me included, were better about going to bed at a decent hour so that I could be up before the "frantic" sets in immmediately after the alarm? Just a thought worth considering...

Graf House Happenings!

This Friday we will continue our study of the Gospel of John by looking at Chapter 1:35-51. Two weeks ago we started through this gospel by looking at why John wrote it, the difference between recognizing and receiving something, and we were then challenged to testify to The Light. Last week we discussed testimonies (especially John the Baptist’s testimony) and baptism. Here are links to a couple of websites that offer good articles on baptism if you want further reading: John MacArthur’s Grace to You and John Piper’s Desiring God.

Please join us on Friday for a potluck dinner (theme: Family Favorites) at 6:30 and then we will continue through the Gospel of John at 7:45. And here are a few more upcoming events:

Saturday, 17 Jan: Guy’s Game Day (Wii, Risk, and other games generally not favored by the girls.)—4:00

Sunday, 18 Jan: Reminder there is NO Sunday School or Awana’s at Graf Chapel (due to four-day weekend).

Monday, 19 Jan: Ski Trip!
We will be going to Arber (www.arber.de) which is about 2 ½ hours from Graf. They do have ski school for those interested (30 Euros; 9:30-12:30) and lift tickets cost 25 Euros for adults and 18 Euros for kids ages 6-16. They have sledding available as well. We will be leaving the Hospitality House at 6:30 so that we can be there in time for ski school but you are welcome to just meet us there (the slope isn’t too big!). Single guys are welcome to stay at the House Sunday night.
Please let us know:
1. If you plan to come.
2. If you will carpool from here or meet us there.
3. If you will be staying the night.

We look forward to seeing you at any or all of these events. Check out more events to the right.

A New Year's Resolution...For You!

Join us for our Friday Night Dinner and Study each week. We have a potluck at 6:30 followed by a time of worship and a lesson on the book of John. We normally kick worship off around 7:45. We are just starting John and look forward to seeing God revealed through this Gospel.

Childcare is provided form 6:30-9:30 and please bring your kids fed as dinner is for adults only. This provides many parents a night to enjoy "adult conversation" without kiddos in tow! We would love to see you this week!

Happy New Year

We rung in the New Year last night with several single soldiers who came over for dinner. After that we had several families join us for dessert and games until around 11:00. We probably had about 25 people and the games were good and loud!

The German tradition is to light off fireworks for New Year's so we did that an hour early so the kids could go to bed. In the end only Owen went to bed and the rest of us stayed up to watch the rest of the countryside shoot fireworks at midnight. About 10 people stuck around until 3:00am playing Taboo! Aimee and I haven't been up that late for quite a while!

We hope your New Year's was good! Check back for more of what is going on here!

December House Happenings!

Friday Night Dinner and Study (12th)—Dinner at 1830 (All-American Potluck)—please have your kids eat before coming as we have a babysitter from 1830-2130. We will then look at what it means to love our neighbor.

Saturday (13th): White Elephant Gift Exchange from 2:00-5:00. Fun for the whole family. Find a gift in the basement, attic, garage, or anywhere else and wrap it up. Before opening them we will then select gifts, trade gifts (aka, steal one that you think looks promising), and then unwrap them! You are welcome to bring a gift per person in your family (for example, if you have five people in your family you can bring five gifts and then each of your kids can select and participate at well.) The more unique your gift is the better!

Friday the 19th: Dinner and Study. Potluck theme: “Breakfast for dinner.”

Saturday the 20th: Christmas Caroling to our Neighbors—7pm

Sunday the 21st: Graf Chapel Evening Christmas Program

Monday the 22nd: The Chapel will be caroling through the barracks. Meet at 5pm at the chapel. See CH Hammond for more info and bring cookies to share with soldiers!

Christmas Day: Brunch for single soldiers at 1030 (let Brian know if you want a ride). Christmas dinner for everyone at 5:00 followed by games, puzzles, dessert, etc.

Tuesday the 30th: Swimming at the Weiden pool (4pm)

New Year’s Eve: Dinner for single soldiers at 1730. Pie and Game Night for everyone from 1900 until….??? Single soldiers are welcome to stay the night.

Past and Future!

Past: It was great to have so many of you join us for Thanksgiving dinner and the Christmas Market. I think we had around 30-35 for turkey dinner and 40 to see a very cool (and cold!) parade at the Medieval Christmas Market! Thanks also to all of you who invited friends to join us.

Future: This Friday we will resume our weekly Friday Night Dinner and Study. The potluck dinner theme is Mexican! Please bring your kids fed as we will have a babysitter from 6:30-9:30. The study will be on loving God as we look at what is commonly referred to as the Greatest Commandment:

"Hearing that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, the Pharisees got together. One of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question: 'Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?'

Jesus replied: 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself. All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.'" Matthew 22:34-40

We will look at loving God with all of our heart, soul, and mind. Next week we will look at the second commandment, loving our neighbor as yourself.

Please call or email with questions!

It Is Good To Give Thanks!

Psalm 92: 1-5

"It is good to give thanks to the LORD
And to sing praises to Your name, O Most High;
To declare Your lovingkindness in the morning
And Your faithfulness by night,
With the ten-stringed lute and with the harp,
With resounding music upon the lyre.
For You, O LORD, have made me glad by what You have done,
I will sing for joy at the works of Your hands.
How great are Your works, O LORD!
Your thoughts are very deep."

It is indeed good to give thanks to God. Why?
1. For His Lovingkindness--How have you experienced His love towards you lately? Was it through the love of a friend? Through a good experience? Through salvation given in His Son Jesus Christ? We love because God first loved us!
2. For His Faithfulness--Keep your eyes open to how God is faithful to you. Consider what He has promised in the Bible and how He has been faithful to those promises. And give thanks!
3. Because He has made you glad. God's actions make us glad. Every good thing is from God. What has made you glad lately? It is a gift from God. Give Him thanks.
4. For His works. God works in marvelous ways still. Aimee and I have seen this first hand. Consider the amazing works of God. They may happen regularly (the sun does rise each day!) or they may be less frequent. Either way, keep your eyes open to how God is at work and then give thanks!

These are really just a few reasons to give thanks. Keep reading through other Psalms and you will find many more reasons to give thanks. My prayer is that your Thanksgiving holiday is full of thankfulness to God. It is good to give thanks to Him.

Thanksgiving Dinner

Please join us on Thursday for a traditional Thanksgiving meal! Anyone is welcome! Consider your friends and co-workers in the barracks, those whose have a spouse deployed, or anyone else that would enjoy a home-cooked meal. Dinner is at 5:00 pm. Brian will be on post at the CMR at 4:30 in our blue VW van to give a ride to those who need it (if you are planning be at the CMR, give him a call so that he will be sure to look for you). After dinner we will watch some football, play games, put together puzzles, or whatever your Thanksgiving tradition is! Feel free to bring any games or puzzles you enjoy.

If you are planning to attend but have not let us know, please call or email so that we have an idea for numbers. However, no RSVP is required so you can always join us at the last minute. If you would like to bring something, just bring your favorite side dish to share. Again, there is no requirement or expectation for you to bring anything.

Don’t forget that on Saturday we will be going to a Medieval Christmas Market in Guteneck. We will meet at the Graf Chapel parking lot at 1:00 and caravan! Attached is a rough translation of their web-page .

We look forward to seeing you this weekend!

Weekend Events

This Friday we will have our first Friday Night Dinner and Study! We will have a potluck dinner at 6:30 followed by worship and a lesson on God's Love for Us at 8:00 . Please bring an Italian-themed dish to share for dinner. (If you are single you do not have to bring a dish!) Childcare will be provided from 6:30 to 9:30 but please bring your kids fed as dinner is for adults only.

Then join us on Saturday (1:00-4:00) as Brian's parents will be hosting a craft and baking day. They are bringing years of experience with them to teach you how to do such things as make your own sourdough, create fun Christmas bags, and several other fun projects. You are welcome to bring your creative projects and skills to share with the group as well. Childcare will be provided from 1:00-4:00.

Don't forget we will be hosting a Thanksgiving Dinner on the 27th!

St. Martin's Day Parade

Our town celebrated St. Martin's Day this evening and Jacob and Owen's Kindergarten had a parade downtown.  They both made lanterns at school and then sing songs and walk through town with their class.  Here are a couple clips and photos from the night.

Our Patriotic Boys!

Much Fun

We had a great time this Saturday as we opened this new Hospitality House with a BBQ and dedication. Thanks to everyone (about 75!) who joined us for some great fellowship, burgers, dogs, and weather that was about 20 degrees above the forecast! We are especially grateful for those who helped cook, clean, and our wonderful musicians (thanks Phil, Susan, and Cydney)!

This Saturday we will be showing the movie "Amazing Grace" at 7:00 PM. We will also have a babysitter and movie going for the kids. We look forward to seeing you then!

A little info from the Amazing Grace Movie website:

Amazing Grace, based on the life of antislavery pioneer William Wilberforce, is directed by Michael Apted (The World is Not Enough, Coal Miner's Daughter) from an original screenplay written by Academy Award® nominee Steven Knight (Dirty Pretty Things).

The film stars Ioan Gruffudd (Black Hawk Down), Albert Finney (Erin Brockovich), Romola Garai (Vanity Fair), Michael Gambon (Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban), Benedict Cumberbatch (Hawking), Rufus Sewell (Legend of Zorro), Ciaran Hinds (Rome) and introduces Youssou N'Dour.

Gruffudd plays Wilberforce, who, as a Member of Parliament, navigated the world of 18th Century backroom politics to end the slave trade in the British Empire. Albert Finney plays John Newton, a confidante of Wilberforce who inspires him to pursue a life of service to humanity. Benedict Cumberbatch is William Pitt the Younger, England's youngest ever Prime Minister at the age of 24, who encourages his friend Wilberforce to take up the fight to outlaw slavery and supports him in his struggles in Parliament.

Elected to the House of Commons at the age of 21, and on his way to a successful political career, Wilberforce, over the course of two decades, took on the English establishment and persuaded those in power to end the inhumane trade of slavery.

Romola Garai plays Barbara Spooner, a beautiful and headstrong young woman who shares Wilberforce's passion for reform, and who becomes his wife after a whirlwind courtship. Youssou N'Dour is Olaudah Equiano. Born in Africa and sent as a slave to the Colonies, Equiano bought his freedom and made his home in London, where he wrote a best-selling account of his life and became a leading figure in the fight to end the slavery of his fellow countrymen.