This Little Light

So one day my sister and I decided that we would buy some CDs. Well we ended up spending $45 on 4 CDs....crazy? I know. Not sure why CDs are so expensive these day since everyone buys them online now.I ended up buying Addison Road and I forget the other one, but they were both christian, very rare to find at the BX here. They always have gospel and hymns but hardly contemporary christian artists and if they do they are under pop or something else. Anyway there is one particular song on the Addison Road CD Stories called "This Little Light" . Listening to it again recently after everything that has happened this summer brought me, I guess you could call it, comfort. It talks about how we all have a light in us burning for christ and how we should nor lose it during the happy times and the sad. We need to remember through it all that we are child of God. A God that loves us very very much that he sent his Son to die for us so that we may live with him in eternity. A God who has shown us mercy, peace, grace, joy, sorrow and pain, but has NEVER EVER left us. We also need to cherish the time we have with those around us because a life could end just like that, but also to never forget those who have gone from our lives because they are in a better place and they served their purpose here.

"This Little Light"
There's a little flame inside us all
Some shine bright, some shine small
The rains will come and the waters rise
But don't you ever lose your light
In this life you will know
Love and pain, joy and sorrow
So when it hurts, when times get hard
Don't forget whose child you are

Chorus:
This little light of mine
I'm gonna let it shine
This little light of mine
I'm gonna let it shine, gonna let it shine

May you live each day with no regret
Make the most of every chance you get
Let your eyes get wide when you look at the stars
With the same sense of wonder as a child's heart
With the ones you love treasure the time
And for those who are gone keep their memories alive
Hold on to your dreams don't ever let go
There's a fire inside you burning with hope

Chorus:
This little light of mine
I'm gonna let it shine
This little light of mine
I'm gonna let it shine, gonna let it shine

There will be days when you want to give up
When the clouds settle in
But after the rain comes the sun
Don't you ever forget
One day there will be no more pain
And we will finally see Jesus' face
So until then I'm gonna try
To brave the dark and let my little light shine

Chorus:
This little light of mine
I'm gonna let it shine
This little light of mine
I'm gonna let it shine, gonna let it shine

There's a little light inside us all

Family Wedding

Last weekend my Mum, Heather, Rachel and I drove 6 hours (should of been 5 but there was tons of construction) to just outside Dresden for my cousin Adam's wedding. The party was over a three day period because as the invitation said they like to celebrate. My cousin and his wife have been married for a year but they never had a church ceremony. We were staying at a hotel/hostel run by Monks and some mission. What the mission does is help people in East Germany who have dropped out of school or been in jail and they teach them different skills and morals and things in life. The buildings on the property were all restored and were actually built with the help of the people who have been through the mission. My cousin, his wife and her family have had strong ties to the mission and what they do for a while. The rooming situation though I have to say was a little awkward. Everyone else had rooms with the people they came with and my mom ended up with her own room because the room we were going to have was going to be used for something else. So Rachel, Heather and I ended up sharing a very large room with Marci's (Adam's wife) brother and his girlfriend and a friend of Adam's. The guys however were up in the loft so we did not sleep on the same floor but it was still slightly awkward because we didn't know them.

We arrived in time for the BBQ and the rest of the festivities. That night   we had a BBQ with friends and family from both sides of the couple and then celebrated the Baptism of Adam that evening. As the evening led on some of us sat around the table for a little chat and get to know each other time. Breakfast was a traditional German breakfast followed by free time till the wedding at 3pm. So we decided to go into Dresden for a few hours. We only walked around a small area of the city but it was fun to
 see all the old buildings and the beautiful detail on everything. It used to be where the Royal family of that region lived. before leaving we stopped for lunch and had the most delicious flammkuchen (a very flat pizza with no marinara sauce); my sisters ended up getting bratwurst. the funny thing is is that we don't think the cook charged us for the bratwurst and my sisters are convinced it's because the cook thought I was cute but I'm not totally sure. Anyway it was a neat little cafe where they cooked the pizzas and food outside and served it to you sitting down at a table or standing up. We made it back to the hotel in time to change for the wedding, which was in a very small rustic church, completely their style. After the wedding on the way to the reception, Germans do a vehicle line where they drive along behind the happy couple honking their horns till they arrive at their destination. We returned to the hotel for tea and cake, had a break and then had the remainder of the reception and dinner.

A neat little thing they did was a picture guest book where you would have your polaroid taken and then stick it in a book with a little message for the couple. They also did this thing where everyone went outside to the lake where they had a little dingy set up and the couple got in and rowed out to the middle kind of as a crossing of the water because he's from England and she is from Germany. They then set up fireworks from behind a set of bushes. I must say it was very romantic. I enjoyed many things about this celebration and one of them was that almost everyone who attended was a Christian, which was very enjoyable because many of our conversations were about Christ and the church. They were also all very welcoming and friendly. It was amazing to see such a loving couple who are completely dedicated to Christ and furthering his work, join in a holy union set up by God. It is very encouraging and gives one hope for the future and the people of the world.

Not another one!

This summer has turned out to be a very morbid one filled with accidents and death. We were away this past weekend at my cousin's wedding and so we did not receive the phone call until last night. Apparently my Great Uncle Joe passed away on Friday from natural causes. I had not seen him in many years but from what I remember when I was younger, is that he was a really fun and nice uncle. Why all this stuff is happening in one summer I am not sure but I am glad it is this summer because I am not sure if I will be home next summer to help my mom. I suppose though that you have to be joyful about their life and pray that they lived it to the fullest.