Johnstein!

Why do we forget... God's promises in/for our lives? OUR plans are so weak compared to what our God has in store for us. I have been reminded of this as the events of this current week have been harbingers of  disappointment  (because things were not going as I had planned), yet the  disappointment  never materialized, instead it was replaced by an exciting realization that my plans were nothing compared to what God had planned. Jeremiah 29:11 For I know the plans I have for you, declares the  Lord , plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. It's an amazingly simple verse...so much so that we often ignore the promise. We write this verse on cards to celebrate birth, graduation, and marriage...but really, it shouldn't be simply reserved for those occasions. It should guiding our steps and encouraging our wavering spirits on a daily basis. 

As you may have seen in the news, it has been ridiculously cold here in Europe. Austria has been fortunate to avoid the overwhelming snowfall and cold that some of the countries in Eastern Europe have had to deal with, but it has consistently been in high teens (fahrenheit) for the better part of the last two and a half weeks. As a result, our favorite swimming hole (the Alte Donau), has now frozen over. This past weekend we we spent some time on both Saturday and Sunday with members of our ICSV family as we ice skated and played some broomball on the very thick ice. This was definitely a new experience for Justin and I...ponds/lakes definitely don't freeze over in beautiful southern California. We had a great time, and even some new Austrian friends who accepted our invitation to join in on the fun. Photo by Tom Dahl Photo by Tom Dahl Photo by Tom Dahl

A wonderful thing about living in Vienna is its proximity to many other beautiful European cities. Really what it means is that we can travel to these places for next to nothing and on a very tight budget. We've been able to go to Salzburg, Austria (with my parents); Milan, Italy (father son getaway); Bratislava, Slovakia (day trip with students); Budapest, Hungary (getaway for Rebecca and me); and, this past week, Prague, Czech Republic (family trip for "Energy" break). We very much enjoyed seeing the beautiful buildings and historical landmarks that make up the skyline of the city. Europe has been in the middle of a bitterly cold end of January, and we were welcomed to Prague by a gentle snow fall...so we got to slip and slide our way through the city. Please enjoy some pictures from our trip: On our Ubahn platform waiting to begin our trip. Waiting on the platform for our train to Prague Kailyn's first big train ride (and first family trip) ...