New Things

We're going to Germany for Christmas ... the Nixon family, that is. Our new German family wants us to visit them so badly that they've bought us plane tickets. We are amazed, deeply touched, and so excited! We'll spend time with Kim and Matthias in their new home in Berlin, then travel to Wittgensdorf for the actual Christmas weekend to be with Matthias' family, and we'll get to see the friends of Matthias who came to our house for the wedding who live in Wittgensdorf. And we'll get to meet Kim and Matthias' house church family in Berlin who have welcomed our daughter so warmly. It will be new and very different to go away for Christmas. For the last 10 years or so we've had friends and family over on Christmas morning for breakfast and candles and stockings and liturgy. This seems to be our year for trying new things and be hosted rather than host.

Today Dave and I spent time with Kevin and Tracy talking about the future. There are some new ideas on the horizon for us to try out together in 2006. We're excited about that, too. And especially excited about continuing to work and share life with Kevin and Tracy who we started this whole community life thing with years ago.

Tomorrow begins advent, and with it comes the re-opening of our beloved St. Elizabeth building. I had the opportunity to share with Desiree the history of Vineyard Central this week, and after listening she said "Oh, now I understand why there's such a heart connection for you all with the St. Elizabeth building." I think some haven't heard the story of how God gave us this beautiful place ... all the prayers and sacrifice and love and prayers and candlelight vigils and sacrifice and prayers. It's sweet to re-enter this place tomorrow and expect Jesus together.

Come Lord Jesus.

Autumn

Autumn has definitely arrived. It was 80 degrees one day last week, then the next day it was only inthe 60's. Trees are changing colors, leaves are dropping. The house is chilly .... time to service the boiler and get the heat turned on. Changes in the season and changes in life ....

Kim and Matthias left for Germany a week ago ... just before the weather changed. I think this marked the finality of the "wedding season" and moved Dave and I into what's next for us. After a few days of feeling sad because it's finally all over, we're now looking toward the future. We're both trying to reestablish routine in our lives ... morning and evening prayers, exercise, better eating habits, regular bedtime, sabbath, etc. We got a bit out of whack over the summer and early fall. We've been recognizing the lack of these routines, resulting in low motivation and spiritual fatigue. Now we're trying to renew our exercise in all of the practices we teach others about. It's time to shape up and move forward.

We don't yet know how the internship will shape up, but we do know that God is still using us and the convent. We continue working with the Northern Kentucky Vineyard, developing relationships and mentoring community group leaders. And we have activity beginning to build in the house. Desiree will be back to stay with us for a month or so in early November. We're hosting a retreat for a group from the Northern Kentucky Vineyard this weekend. We'll be going to Utah the first couple weeks of November to be on staff for another Pastor Sabbath Retreat ... helping Vineyard pastors refresh and regroup. Carrie will be home for Thanksgiving and it will be wonderful to spend some time with her. Jon just finished his last cross country season and we're enjoying time with him during his senior year. There's a young family coming to stay with us for a week in late November, wanting to experience some of this community life. And we hope to travel to Germany for the Christmas holiday.

So though we're still hibernating a bit, enjoying this quieter time in our life, we have our eyes open for single folks who might be a good fit for the convent during this season of transition. We also have our arms open for folks who need a place to go for a day or a weekend, perhaps even a week, to retreat and be quiet with God for a bit. We're still watching, praying, listening ... feeling warm even though it's chilly outside, and basking in God's peace.

A Wedding, Part 2

And now it's all over. The friends and family have come and gone. Matthias and Kim are married and off on their honeymoon. The convent sits strangely quiet ... my son and I are the only ones home. The house is full of reminders .... sheets and towels that need washing, a shampoo bottle with a German label in the shower, rust colored roses in vases, a wedding program on the dining room table, a large pile of pots and pans in the hallway, bottles and bottles of water stacked in the kitchen, and a refrigerator full of wedding soup. The memories speak loudly of love and community and Jesus.

Our community of friends and family from many places: Cincinnati, Kentucky, Germany, London, Texas, Arizona, Georgia, Tennessee, Michigan, Pennsylvania ... all worked together to create a lovely celebration. People cooked, cleaned, raked, spread dirt, planted, shopped, delivered, carried, loaned cars, drove, planned, massaged, sang, spoke encouraging words, and most importantly, prayed. Dave and I experienced so many of the people in our life coming together in one place to share this experience with us ... friends from the past, family from around the country, new family from another country, neighbors, current friends whom we work with daily ... all of the people we love and care for. Together we shared a remarkable day on Sunday, a day of worship and joy and celebration. We watched a radiant bride, our child, walk down the aisle to her adoring new husband. We listened to Kevin's words of encouragement and kindness, and many of us were deeply touched by the spirit filled blessing of the two fathers. We were blessed with music and poetry and laughter during the reception. After the event, I came home and stood in the shower and sobbed ... a good cry, feeling deeply the overwhelming love of Christ shown through our community. We are so loved!

Today I drove our German friends to the airport in a 15 passenger van loaned to us by our friends in Kentucky. I let them out at the departure area and climbed down to say good-bye. I was in tears after the first hug ... saying goodbye to Daniela. I then gave hugs and kisses to Lissy and Daniel and Soren and Michael and Thomas L and Thomas W and Steffi and Chrissy and Claudia and Josias and Helmut and Ernst. Gisela was last .... Matthias' mother. We now share our children. Gisela has become my friend, even though we don't speak the same language. We seem to be able to communicate many feelings with our facial expressions and gestures. I got into the van to drive away and looked up at all of them standing on the sidewalk. I expected they would have turned away by then to go into the airport. But they were all waiting .... looking at me in the van so they could wave good-bye. And as I pulled away from the curb they all waved in unison. I was undone.

So now we rest a bit, then put things away and get the house ready for whatever's next. We don't know yet what that is. We're content to wait and see what God shows us. In the meantime, as we rest and pray, we are thankful. So very thankful. And we are so filled and overflowing with the love of the community of Jesus.

His peace to you.

A Wedding, Part 1

September has arrived. Along with it has come the first wave of family and friends to celebrate the wedding of Matthias and Kimberly next weekend. We've had a summer of rest and preparation, and yesterday, finally, Ernst, Gisela, Helmut, Daniela, Michael, Soren, Thomas, and Steffi arrived at the Cincinnati airport from Germany. We greeted each other with hugs and kisses and big smiles. We've had a little over 24 hours together and we've shared much laughter and many bilingual conversations, with someone translating either into German or English so all can understand. We share a love of Christ, and a love for Matthias and Kimberly, so we already love and respect each other dearly. It was wonderful to hear the house filled with the music of voices raised in praise to God this morning ... in German but easily understood as they were love songs to Jesus. And this evening as our friends were leaving to go see some sites in Cincinnati, a fresh cool breeze kicked in ... it feels like the beginning of autumn, the beginning of many things new. New friends, new family, new love. This week more family and friends will gather, coming from Germany, Texas, Michigan, Georgia, Tennessee, Arizona ... the convent is full of warmth and laughter and will continue to fill, perhaps to overflowing, with joy and love. I fear I may burst with joy and excitement!

A Different Season

The convent is much quieter these days. The Harris family moved out recently, moving into a house in Madeira in order to prepare for the birth of their 3rd child. Scott and Charlie are still with us in the convent.

We, the Nixons, have decided to take a bit of a sabbatical until the fall. Our oldest daughter, Kim, is getting married in September to Matthias ... both were interns with us last year. Matthias is from Berlin, Germany, so in September many of his family and friends will be coming to stay with us for the wedding. We want to have room in the house for this event, so we're not planning to have anyone else move in until after the wedding. We also realized that this summer is most likely the last one where all 3 of our children will be home with us .... Kim's getting married and moving to Berlin in September, Carrie's going to New York to attend RIT in late August, and Jon's entering his senior year of high school in the fall. So we want to have some time this summer to enjoy our family and focus on wedding plans.

Our house will be quiet for a season. We'll still have guests ... friends who come to see us, folks looking for a quiet place to retreat. And Scott and Charlie will still be here. But there won't be an official internship going on until after the wedding. Dave and I will take time to enjoy our family, and to soak in some of the quiet and seek God's direction for the next season in our lives. And as we enjoy this season, we'll also be looking forward to what's next ....

His peace to you.

Friends Coming and Going

We've had a lot of people in and out of the convent over the last couple of months...a great opportunity to exercise our vow of hospitality. After staying with us for the month of February as a guest, Charlie decided he'd like to stay a while longer. So he became an intern and will be with us for a year. Andrew has been in and out over the past month or so. He's with us as a guest on a month to month basis. Currently he's on the road with Over the Rhine but will be back in early May to stay a bit. We were privileged to have the Canipe family stay with us while they waited for their house in Norwood to be ready to move in to. Chad stayed for several weeks without his family, then Renee and the two boys, Colin and Aidan, joined us for the last two weeks. They moved into their new home a week ago, but we're glad they're just a few blocks away. And Stephen stayed with us for a few weeks while he was looking for a job in Cincinnati. He found one and left last week to go back to get his family in Minneapolis. They'll be moving into a house across the street from the convent and we're excited to have them as neighbors. Oh ... and Ryan popped in for a short visit on his way to join OtR for their west coast tour.

So now we're back to the Nixons, the Harrises, Scott, Charlie, and Andrew as our core household. We're looking forward to having Tom & Karen & Isaiah Wuest come visit soon, and after that Chris and Jeni Smith will be bringing some friends from Indianapolis to spend a couple of days with us. With the weather warming up we're having more time in the yard, both houses together, to watch the children play or share some ice cream or smoke a cigar. The rain and light snow this weekend chased us all indoors, but the sun came out again today and the kids were back at play in the courtyard. We enjoyed hosting our friends from Northern Kentucky this past weekend, sharing good food and wine and conversation and prayer.

Sharing life is good .....

Happy Birthday

Happy birthday, dear Joseph. Happy birthday to you!

Joseph is 5 .... today, not tomorrow. He thinks it's tomorrow because that's when his party is. But he's 5 today! His mama has been preparing all day for this party tomorrow .... actually all week. She's bought some plants and little jungle animals and other stuff for the kids to make a cool craft with. And I see those blower things on the pantry shelf ... you know ... the kind that you blow in and they make a noise and the paper rolls in and out. Gonna be a lively party! And today she's made pizza dough and chicken for sandwiches and cupcakes. This mama loves her kids : )

Happy birthday, dear Joseph. And happy birthday, dear Sara, too .... because you're the one who labored to bring Joseph into this world!