We Must Come Down From the Mountain Top

I was recently reminded of a song I learned growing up that was sung by the group Acappella called Mountain Top. Here are the lyrics and now the link to the music :)



I love to sing and I love to pray
I worship the Lord most every day
I go to the temple and I just want to stay
To hide from the hustle of the world and its ways

I love to live on a mountain top
And be fellowshipping with the Lord
Love to stand on a mountain top
Because I love to feel my spirit soar
But I must come down from that mountain top
To the people in the valley below
They'll never know that they can go
To the mountain of the Lord

Praising the Father is a good thing to do
I worship the trinity in spirit and truth
But if we worship all of the time
There would be no one to lead the blind

Well I am not saying that worship is wrong
Worship is more than just singing a song
It's all that you say and everything that do
It's letting His spirit live in you

They can go to the mountain of the Lord

Scriptural Reference:

"So Abraham called that place 'The LORD Will Provide'. And to this day it is said, 'On the mountain of the Lord it will be provided.'" Genesis 22: 14
"You will bring them in and plant them on the mountain of your inheritance-- the place, O Lord, you made for your dwelling, the sanctuary, O Lord, your hands established." Exodus 15: 17

Just a week or so ago I was talking to a friend and they made a comment that made me really think. The comment had to do with going to their child's school for a party but not really talking to any of the parents because they didn't know them. I mentioned I sometimes felt the same way when I was around other people I didn't know and I also had noticed that some of the other parents seemed to know each other. I'm not exactly sure if they already knew each other or had just met through volunteering at the school or what. My friend said they thought maybe several of the parents at their school knew each other through the same church.

Over the last week or so I have thought about that conversation several times and I had to ask myself this question: Am I truly reaching out to others in the community even when I may feel awkward or not know them, or do I keep my life compartmentalized and just live in my bubble of church friends? I'm not saying that is what those parents at school were doing, but for some reason it led me to think about how I would react to others outside my circle. I thought of the song Mountain Top because I know there have been times in my life that I have just wanted to stay on the mountain top and with my own Christian circle of friends. The song is a wonderful reminder of what we are here for. We're here to share the love of Christ with the world! that means I should really look for opportunities to speak with people who may not have a relationship with Christ and try to shine His light in my life wherever I go and whatever I do. I'm always glad to have little reminders about what my task on earth is. I just felt like I wanted to share this experience and hopefully it is a good reminder to others too. 

Care Bears Dancing in My Dreams

Today after school I told Heidi we would be meeting our friends Amanda, Casen, Liam and Haddie at McDonald's to play. She got really excited and said, "Finally, you like it!" She said that because she asks to go there all the time and most of the time we say no because we don't really like to eat there very often. Then she said, "It's like hundred of Care Bears dancing in my dreams!" Ha ha! She is so funny!

Corbin is walking!

We have been waiting for several weeks as Corbin slowly showed signs he would be ready to walk soon. He took his time, like Heidi did, to have the courage to try it on his own. For awhile now, he has even taken 2 or 3 steps at a time, but always went back to crawling after that. Finally, yesterday he was playing with a ball and would stand up, throw the ball, and then walk to it for a few steps before going back to crawling. Then, Larry came home from a meeting and when he walked in, Corbin got excited and walked almost all the way to him! It was very exciting! Here is a little video of how excited Corbin is to be trying this new trick!

Also, a fun fact is that both our kids have taken some of their first steps in the Sullivans' home in Germany! Heidi in Chemnitz, and Corbin in Leipzig. :)

Days 22, 23, 24 & 25

Monday, June 24th

Having a relaxing morning reading the paper

Our main activity on this day was a meeting with the Sullivans and the interns about what we would be doing this week. There were 4 schools and one volunteer program that we were originally scheduled to visit this week, but one school cancelled because several of the teachers were sick there. We talked about what to expect at the schools and what we would do when we got there. Tuesday was the day it was going to get really busy, so Monday we tried to enjoy the free time to rest before it got really busy.

Tuesday, June 25th

This is the first school we visited. It was a middle school and we had a very large group of students from different classes who met in this room. First we got to introduce ourselves to all of them and then we split into smaller groups and got to talk to a few students at a time. We asked them questions and they asked us questions if they were interested in hearing about what our lives are like in the U.S. Then we invited them to a Baseball party that we are hosting in a park on Saturday. Afterwards, we will have a BBQ too.

As usual, Heidi quickly made friends with people

This is at the second school-6th grade. Here is Mark and Meagan talking with some students there.

Jon, Karen and Heidi (in there somewhere) had a very large group to talk to. I think a lot of the students wanted to talk to Jon. :)

After the schools and a nap time, Heidi and Larry were reading books

The door to the left of the Indian restaurant is where you get in to the Let's Start Talking Center- the windows at the very top are where the rooms are.

After the English Bible Group (Clint spoke) we had birthday cake for Allison's birthday!

Wednesday, June 26th

We had another school on this day at a vocational school so most of the students were anywhere from 16- 20-something years old. The ones I talked to said they were studying to be salesmen and women. They all worked at different retail type stores. We split into several groups again and switched around to talk to different students a couple of times. It was very good talking with them and again we invited them to our Baseball game and BBQ. I think out of all the students we have talked to, many were interested in coming. I am curious to see how many show up!

In front of the vocational school- there is also another school that meets in this building as well

Talking after we were done at the school

This is kind of typical of how school building look here. They are very big and old buildings. Very cool architecture!

Looking sleepy in the van

After sweating and being hot the first few days we were in Leipzig, we are back to wearing pants and jackets. It's gotten cool again! The weather likes to always keep us on our toes.

On our way to volunteer at the Geyserhaus

The boys are ready!

The Geyserhaus: This is kind of like an after school program. We played games with them and then we showed them how to make burritos and brownies. We had a lot of fun with them and then several of them played basketball and then a little soccer. They seemed to really enjoy our company. We also invited them to our Baseball game. I think some of them will come too.

Trying the guacamole

Cutting the tomatoes, onions and lettuce

Cutting olives

The spread looks good!

Karen and Corbin

Digging in!

Watching basketball

Basketball

Mark and Corbin playing

Heidi playing soccer with the kids

Thursday, June 27th

We had a morning devotional at the center with the Abercrombies, Sullivans and all the interns. It was good to have that time of worship and singing praises. We also talked about what everyone's plans were for the day.

After the meeting, since we had some free time, Larry showed us around downtown a little bit.

Nikolaikirche/St. Nicholas Church- it became well known in 1989 when peaceful demonstrations started here against communist rule.

Nikolaischule- Richard Wagner's former school as well as other well known people

This pillar is a reminder of the demonstrations in 1989

Part of the Leipzig University built to resemble a church that was torn down in this place in the GDR

Random little memorial to Michael Jackson

Cannon balls from the 30 Years War

Part of the old city wall

We found Darth Vader made out of legos at Karstadt, a department store

Playing at Karstadt

St. Thomas Church, where Johann Sebastian Bach was a music director and he is buried there.

This building is beautiful. You wouldn't think it was a bank.

Little cutie

This turned out so cute!! Taken outside the St. Thomas Church

Bach Museum

Outside St. Thomas Church

Inside St. Thomas Church

Bach's tomb

One of the oldest coffee houses in Europe

On our tour of Leipzig- the kids have seen enough. :)

City Hall