Czech Holiday-Day Off Work-Brunch at Nikki's-Perfect!

I love lazy mornings- sleeping in, coffee in the french press, and knowing there is no rush to the days activities. Today we have a day off for Czech Holiday- St. Wenceslas Day / Czech Statehood Day. This holiday is for commemorating St. Wenceslas, the patron saint of Czech people and the Czech Republic, who was killed in September of 929 or 935. Czech statehood is also celebrated on this date. The city is very quiet because the weather is lovely and so many Czechs are away at their country houses for the long weekend. This makes it feel even more like a mini-vacation from the business of life. This morning, I invited a few friends to my flat for brunch. I had Mimosa's, french press coffee, and tea ready for them when they walked in the door. It was fun to finally have people in my flat for a gathering!
I made a flaky, crust egg, ham, and cheese pastry. It is so easy to make, and I have an incredible German-made oven that cooks things perfectly! Summer, this is your recipe, and everyone loved it!!
I also made fresh strawberry-walnut pastries. I bought a chilled, pre-made dough which I sprinkled with vanilla sugar, added fresh slices of strawberry and small pieces of walnut and rolled up. They baked up nicely and tasted really good. In the summer, I would make these again but I would add Rhubarb. YUMMY! (Even I was impressed with myself!)
I put my table together just last night. I have had it sitting in the corner of my house, in the box, since I bought and had it delivered on August 7. I decided to plan a brunch so that I HAD to put it together. Living in this flat alone, you don't really need a kitchen table because I can eat at my desk or on the couch. But it feels like my flat is complete- the dining area is homey- with my IKEA brand kitchen table and chairs, and the cute old country style table cloth I brought from Portland. (Looks good, huh mom?)
It seems I am an ok carpenter too- I put together every chair by myself and no one got hurt! ha ha IKEA really forces you to believe in yourself- "I can put this together, I can put this together". If IKEA was like Karate I would be a green belt going on brown. Put together a simple bookshelf, white belt; dresser and desk, yellow belt; kitchen table and chairs, green belt. Next up, I will order and put together the couch/bed for my spare room (brown belt) and finally, if you were to order and put together a Wardrobe you would be considered a black belt! I will never have to do this, nor would I want to... those wardrobes are huge! I think IKEA set itself up the way it does to purposefully drain your body of energy so that when you step out of the line with all the "over" purchases you made you immediately go to the hot dog stand to replenish yourself... that is strategic marketing! None the less, I will visit IKEA once a month when needed because it really is the cheapest place to get household goods in Czech Republic.
Last night, I went to church for the first time in a couple weeks. I had made a play list on my iPod earlier in the day called "Prepare Your Heart", with 6 worship songs that really speak to me and I think it really did prepare me to receive from the Lord. In the middle of the worship set at church, I found myself kneeling on the floor, head bowed and tears streaming down my face. I felt completely broken before the Lord. I was affected by the words we sang, "Lord, I give you my heart, I give you my soul, I live for you alone. Every breath that I take, every moment I'm awake, Lord have your way in me." I realized as I knelt before the Lord crying that I was in need of repair- my soul needed to be refreshed and I needed the Lord to know that despite my iniquities and selfishness, that I truly do love him and want to serve Him- with every breath I take. Since I moved to Prague, I couldn't help feeling like I just uprooted my life and re-planted it here. Sure I made new friends in a new city living on my own for the first time, but my spiritual life was beginning to collect dust. Last night, I was reminded by the Lord that I am not here simply to enjoy and re-start my life but I am here to serve him. I am going to get involved in a home group with some girls from the church, and I really want to get more involved in ministry opportunities here in Prague. I am not interested in holding back or wasting my life, I need to be involved in Kingdom work. It is moments of weakness like yesterday when I miss Portland and the community of believers I was a part of of. Please pray with me that I continue to rely on the Lord for guidance and trust that he moves me in the direction he wants me to go. Pray also for new doors of fellowship to open and relationships with believers to begin. I love you all, and keep you close to my hearts as always. -- Nikki