summer time= weddings, flowers, and being home

Autumn may be my favorite season of the year, but I have always loved summertime... especially when the sun is shining- it seems to make people smile.  Summer is the season of weddings... I have been to one wedding during my visit, and I now look forward to my younger brother marrying on July 3. As family and friends begin to arrive from near and far, I am thankful for the sunshine and the smiles that we are sharing to make this summer as memorable as the last. The trees are green and shading both the front and the back porch for family dinners and evening visits; mom's flowers are in bloom and her roses are perfectly fragrant. I enjoy being "home". Mom and dad still live in the house we grew up in- 6 people lived in  their modest, two level, 3 bedroom house! Year after year, we made it work, because the size of a house doesn't make a home, the people in it do.... No matter how many days, weeks, or months between visits  mom and dad's house always feels like "home." But I also feel like Prague has become my "home" over the past year. I feel more and more like my "home" is where my heart is and right now, that is in Prague. I am looking forward to no longer being the "newbie" in Prague. I have made dear friends, said good-bye to friends, grown professionally, traveled to various countries, learned a foreign metro/tram system, re-decorated my flat, bought a bicycle, survived Spanish class, found a church I enjoy, and I still have more discoveries to look forward to. It has taken time to transition but I feel like I have finally made myself a "home" in Prague. This summer- I find myself reflecting on the joys and the trials of transitioning into a new place- in the world, in my personal life, and  within my heart. Being "home", in Portland and with my long time friends is a reminder of the life we are to live in Christ...  as we search the world to find our way we can always remember that Christ is our guide... he lives in my heart, and no matter how far I wander, I can always find my way... home. 

verse on my mind... "Jesus said, "If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.'" John 14:23

Song on my iPod... "I was made for sunny days. I make do with grey, but I didn't stay. I was made for sunny days- and I was made for you!" The Weepies