February. It’s a wee tiny month but it’s been pretty full. I’ve met and made multiple new friends this month, which is always such a joy for me. There have been some new work possibilities to get excited about, we had visits from good friends from Brussels and Copenhagen, I gave my first sermon at our church here. And I ate kangaroo for the first time in a spontaneous winter BBQ with colleagues!
I’m reading…
Peter Enn’s fascinating book Inspiration and Incarnation. It’s part of Kelley’s “Reading in Transit” bookclub. I’m not sure I’d ever have picked up this book but actually it’s been timely for me – dealing with the swirling issues around the Old Testament in the Bible, how we understand it, what we know about it, how we read it and let it inform our faith and our lives. It’s not exactly a light read but it is quite readable. And I’ve learnt a lot.
And actually, that’s been it this month. It’s been a busy few weeks so less time for reading. But March includes the Easter break, and I have a small pile of books beckoning to me then, including some fictions that I’m itching to break open.
I’m watching…
No cinema visits this months, but Rasmus and I started re-watching The Lord of The Rings, extended version. Two of our Fridays evenings we spent watching the first two (complete with home made burgers and popcorn!). Gosh, are they long. But oh so good. We have the Return of the King still to come, but it’s the one I see least often and really do love, mostly for Eowyn, who is just so unbelievably cool. I love her hair, I love her dresses, and I love her courage in the face of the Nazgul and the Witch-King.
I’m listening to…
Our new Deezer subscription has let me rediscover some music I’ve enjoyed in the past but never owned – so now our playlist is full of Yael Naim, Coeur de Pirate, Laura Marling.
We’re also both loving the new album from Efterklang, which is a little more subdued than their last album but perfect background music for that last half hour of the day when you’re enjoying a whisky in a darkened room 🙂
I’ve also discovered Rend Collective Experiment. Someone described it as worship music for the Mumford & Sons Generation. I’m not sure it’s that great, but it is nice to listen to worship music that doesn’t feel so polished, so mega-church, so, well, fake.
I’m eating…
We did manage to eat pancakes on Shove Tuesday, after I desperately texted Rasmus to pick up eggs on his way home and we quickly made some crepes with mushroom & leek filling before running out to a meeting. It’s one of my favourite celebrations of the year so even this rushed observance of it was meaningful.
I also made marshmallows for the very first time, with my friend Melanie. We put together little Valentine’s gifts for some of our favourite ladies, and they were a great excuse to try making something I’ve always wanted to have a go at. They are actually remarkably straightforward to make. I used the River Cottage recipe (because the US recipes tend to use light corn syrup which we don’t have in Europe) and apart from the scariness of boiling sugar, it was not at all complicated. Definitely one to try again on a long rainy Saturday sometime.
I’m so excited about…
Serve the City Luxembourg held our second event on Saturday, and despite being the coldest day of the year, 25 people turned out to shower the people we met with acts of kindness. The enthusiasm that there already is on the facebook page and amongst people we talk to about our vision reminds me that we are, at our core, a human race that desires good, that longs for a better world, that embraces opportunities to do something positive for others. There may be much that is broken in the world, but there’s so much hope when people like this exist!
And this month we’ve also made the decision to take a big trip later this year. I’ll tell you more about it closer to the time and once our plans are more firmed up, but it’s something I thought we’d decided against until suddenly the world started bombarding me from all sides to reconsider. Well, I can take a hint. So we reconsidered and I’m so glad we did.
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I’m linking up with Leigh Kramer this month, for her “What I’m Into” post.