A few words...

yearning

2009-05-24T03:41:00.000-07:00

I want to yearn, to long, to beg for more of Jesus. I want to be more like Jesus. I want to cling to him like I used to cling to my Dad's leg when I was little. I would wrap both my arms and legs around him and hold on for dear life as he walked around the house. That's the way I want to cling to Jesus. There are times when I feel like I do and times I feel like I don't. It seems to me that the times when I feel like I do are generally the more difficult times... maybe just following a tragedy, maybe amidst loneliness, maybe just feeling a bit empty. I want to know Him more. I want to help others know him more.

The Zoo and a day full of Czech

2009-05-10T13:41:00.000-07:00

Greetings!

Yesterday was a beautiful day. It started with an extremely packed bus ride to the zoo. There I met some good friends to enjoy the great weather and amazing animals at the Prague Zoo. Somehow the otters almost always take the cake as the best part. They are always full of energy and playing around in the water. My favorite part though was the lions. I've always been drawn to lions. I remember doing a research project on them in 5th grade. Did you know that lions can run up 40 mph? Yes, it's a little bit weird that I remember that fact from 16 years ago... but what can I say? Lions are awesome. At one point yesterday, a zoo worker walked to the door where the lions were just on the other side... in an instant the male lion sprinted to the door, jumped up and put it's front paws at the top of the frame and roared (quite ferociously I might add). It was amazing. The wildness was beautiful. Lions to me are the most majestic animals. I used to want one... still do actually but I don't think it'll happen. I'm not sure if this makes sense, but I want to carry myself like a lion... Confidently. Not arrogant but confident, in who I am and who I was made to be.

After the zoo I went with my friends to see one of their families in a small village about 30 minutes from Prague. The whole day I was the only American around. My friends can speak English but often speak Czech. I like this because it helps me learn more. Most of the time with the family was in Czech. Again, difficult but good. By the end of the day I was exhausted. When I hear Czech I try not to turn my brain off, but really focus on what's being said. I listen for words I already know and also guess at what is being spoken about. I hope this helps my learning. It's a difficult but lovely language. The more I pick up the more I feel as if it's home here. Please feel free to pass on any advice you have for learning a new language. I'm taking lessons and studying some at home. And I'm open to any and all methods.

That's it for now. I'll be writing more soon.

love,

to run

2009-04-29T13:38:00.000-07:00

Well, soon after I moved to Prague I heard about the marathon that is in early May. I thought to myself, "Sure. I think I can run a marathon." Mind you, this is without any training. I think my optimism can carry itself a bit far sometimes. But I figured I'd get a few runs in about three weeks before the race and see what happens. So I did. My logic was that I get very bored with running and therefore, training for 3 or more months just isn't feasible. If I only give myself a few weeks, then maybe I can get a little bit of training in, run the race, and then be done. I ran about six miles on my first run. It hurt but not too bad. I ran about eight miles on my second run. This one felt quite good and I was feeling like the marathon was possible. Then on my third run I tried to do about 15 miles. I couldn't do it. I had to walk the last 3 or so miles. I was frustrated, thirsty, tired, and defeated. But who am I kidding? Why did I think I could go out and run that far? I'm not as young as I used to be, although I am still young. The result is that it looks like the marathon is a no go... maybe next year I can just be disciplined and actually train. We'll see. But I'm thankful that God has given me legs that can run. I'm thankful that I can see the beautiful river and trees that I run beside. I'm thankful that even though 26.2 miles is out of reach I can still enjoy using the legs and lungs that God has given me. I know that most of you probably think I'm crazy for even attempting to get ready for a marathon in three weeks. And I admit that I can't disagree with you. :)

Easter and the sound of music

2009-04-21T10:55:00.001-07:00

run, eat, and talk

2009-04-08T14:17:00.000-07:00

Today I got to go for a run with my best friend David. We didn't know exactly where we were going, so it turned into a pretty lengthy run. But that was ok, we went at a pace where we could talk the whole time. And then we went and had a great dinner and talk some more. I'm so thankful for this friendship because it goes deep so easily. That's not always the case... I know this for sure. But with David, it's easy.

I think the best part about our conversation (that covered many topics) was how we both feel like we were designed to be exactly where we are. We both live in Prague and we both work at hostels/hotels. It's a bit difficult to explain, but we are both confident that this is what God made us for. It's a dream come true to live in Prague. It's also a dream come true to work where you feel like your gifts fit perfectly. Now I'm not trying to say that we're the best managers or anything, but it's nice to feel like you're right where you belong doing exactly what you should be doing. We have God to thank for this.

Anyway, I hope that makes sense. I just wanted to put a few thoughts down before going to consult with my pillow till morning.

love and peace,

Praha

2009-04-06T09:03:00.000-07:00

I had such a great weekend. I met some new friends from all over Europe and spent good time with some old friends as well. My flatmates are wonderful people and I'm really enjoying getting to know them. And thankfully, they don't mind (or at least I think they don't mind) all my questions about culture and language here in Praha.

Last Friday David and I took a long walk all around the city. I know it's been said before but this is truly a magical place. I'm no photographer but I took a few pictures that I'll include here.

Each day I feel more and more at home. There's still the uncomfortable situations that arise: not realizing there was assigned seating in the movie theater, not sure why I couldn't buy the banana at the grocery store, spending 10 minutes staring at the yogurt section to make sure I wasn't purchasing some cheese or cream. But I love all of it. And I know with time I'll begin to figure out more of these situations and feel as if I belong here. I look forward to that. But for now, I'm going to enjoy these difficult moments with a smile and a little laughter.

Hostel Work

2009-03-26T10:11:00.000-07:00

Hi Friends!

I know it's been a long time, but I promised I'm going to make more of an effort to blog on a regular basis. For those of you who don't know, I recently moved to Prague, Czech Republic. I started training this week at a few hostels. Right now I'm training at Sir Toby's. It's a wonderful hostel on the north side of Prague (www.sirtobys.com).

It's crazy to think that I'm actually living here now. I've dreamed of living in Europe for almost nine years... and now it's here! As I rode the tram today I had to stop my people watching and thank God that I'm here. He has truly made a dream come true... my dream of living in Europe. I feel like I fit in, although we'll see if that's true. I've heard most Europeans can always spot Americans by their shoes. So, I bought a pair of shoes here and second hand store my third day here. It's not that I'm ashamed to be an American, I'm actually very proud of it. But I really want to adapt to the culture. I want to learn the ways of being Czech. I also want to speak Czech... I know that will take some time though.

I think I'm going to really love working at the hostels. I'm not just saying that either. I mean where else can you work and meet people from 10 different countries in one afternoon!

Please praise God with me for bringing me to Prague. I miss my family and friends immensely, but I'm confident I'm in the right place!

much love,

Daniel

it's Monday

2008-07-17T18:00:00.000-07:00

Well, it's Monday. There's nothing really significant about that, it's just that I couldn't think of another title for this post. Anyway, I just have a few thoughts. Last week, I had the privilege of learning about patience. On Monday, my day off, I woke up not feeling great but was excited about going to Panera to spend some time with the Lord and enjoy one of their beautiful salads. I was about a mile down the road when I noticed something loud outside my car and felt a bit of a jolt. I didn't get in an accident, which makes me very thankful. But I got a flat tire... two, actually. So there I sat in the wonderful Houston heat waiting for AAA. There was a super friendly man drive me to discount tire, where I sat for a couple hours. At first, it was extremely annoying... just totally jacked up my plans for the day. But I asked God a question, one that I wish I asked more. "What is it You want me to learn from this?" That's all I asked. And it wasn't necessarily a clear answer I was looking for, but it was the thinking I wanted. I noticed that it's easy for me to get into a routine and not think too much. This may sound strange, but I hope you know what I'm talking about. My job requires thinking, but that's not what I'm referring to. I'm talking about true, honest, deep thinking. The kind of thinking that is difficult to do with music on, or if there is music on, you don't even notice. With whatever comes my way throughout the week, I want to make sure I'm always taking time to stop and think. Think about the Lord. Think about how I can encourage someone. Think about things I'm thankful for. Think about where I spend my time.

Join me in taking time to think this week.

-dp

Last week: Part 2

2008-07-07T16:49:00.000-07:00

I know I mentioned that last week (which was actually now a couple weeks ago) was one of the craziest weeks of my life, so I'd like to share a little bit more about it. It was a fairly normal day at the office at Ecclesia when Chris got a text from one of our elders. He was asking Chris is he'd like to have dinner with a Nigerian King. This sounded like a good idea, so Chris asked me to invite the king to a dinner at Cajun Town with a few others from the church. I first had to call Jeremy to see how I was to address the king. He informed that I should refer to him as "His Royal Highness"... which took me some getting used to. As I drove to the hotel where the king was staying I had to practice addressing him as HRH.

I was nervous driving my little Honda Accord but grateful for a chance to meet a king and be his driver for the night. I picked up HRH and his two friends and we made our way to Cajun Town. Again, I was nervous... but the king was truly a delightful man. I gave him a bottle of water (I know, my mom taught me good manners) and he made reference to how I was similar to Daniel in the Bible as he served his king. This was very surreal for me, and quite fun. We had a wonderful meal... this place is a bit sketchy but has really good food... and I drove the king and his friends back to the hotel.

It was interesting being in the restaurant and how the people would look, but have no idea who the king was. This reminded us of what it was like for Jesus. He showed up as a king, but many didn't realize who he was. It was a neat moment for us. Although, I felt a bit under dressed in my tshirt, shorts, and flip-flops... Oh well, it was a good night with the king!

Last week: Part 1

2008-07-02T15:09:00.000-07:00

I have to admit, last week was one of the most interesting weeks of my life. I spent an afternoon in Bryan, TX purchasing a new scooter (150 miles per gallon!). There's a guy there in Bryan named Roger, who I met a few months ago through Breakaway... very nice guy. Anyway, he sold me a scooter and gave me a really good deal. I decided to name the scooter "Maverick" after Roger's golden retriever. I went to Bryan expecting to get a scooter... but I got so much more. Roger took my friend and I on quite the adventure. You see, he has this plane that lands on the water. It's not a pontoon plane, but rather, the body of the plane actually lands on the water. So he flew us (individually, because it only seats two) around and landed on a nearby lake. It was cool. But the coolest part was the conversation Roger and I had. He said that he thinks he'll go to heaven. What he's hoping for is to have a really good attorney at the pearly gates, and he'll let that attorney do all the talking. This was funny to picture and we both had a good laugh. However, I later realized that he may be more correct theologically than we realized. My hope is that Jesus is there at the gates as my attorney, and He tells the Father that I am with Him and then tells me "well done". What precious words to hear! So to recap, my day included a scooter named Maverick, a flight that landed on a lake, and a story about an attorney named Jesus.

Here we go...

2008-06-30T10:28:00.000-07:00

I think actually started a blog a few years ago but never seemed to post on it. Sadly, I can't even remember what the address of it was. Now I have a renewed sense of hope that I will actually utilize this blog. The purpose is more for myself than anyone else. It's to gather my thoughts and the end of day, to document some life stories and lessons in hopes of remembering them better, and to continually be writing about the things God is teaching me. I hope to use it as a journal of sorts, that I can refer back to and celebrate the journeys God has taken me on, always looking forward with hope to the day I see Jesus face to face. So, here we go... I think this will be fun.