In Germany

I won't have any pictures of Laura's wedding for a while. When some friends send them to me, I will try to post a couple of good ones here. For those on facebook, it is much easier to see a variety of photos that people have already posted. Plus, I am tagged in some of those photos.

I wasted all of today in Germany by sleeping. We came into the city on Saturday morning and we went straight to bed and slept all day and night. Then Ben Weeks, Steve's nephew, came out to pick us up at 9:30am on Sunday morning. We had a great day with him and Leah's family! We had Jael's (Leah's sister) birthday dinner with the family --it was delicious! We had a wonderful assortment of German foods and their favorites. We got to see baby Sophie, who is so adorable, she can't even help but be perfect! and little Julien, now four, was a hoot. He is very verbal in both languages. He wanted more food than his father put on his plate. We all chuckled at him. He stood there on his chair, looked around and said, "There is nothing here to laugh at." with all seriousness. Of course, we laughed all the more. His father told him, "They are just laughing because you are so cute." which was true. He's a precious boy and very smart and active--as four year olds tend to be.

We got to go visit St. Elizabeth's Church. She was married to some rich ruler (I forget which one) but when he died, she went on to live a life of simplicity but work for the poor. She founded a hospital of sorts and was very generous and kind. A church was built over her burial spot and then later they dug up her bones to put them in the altar for veneration. I'm sure she would not be pleased! She wouldn't want a giant church in her honor or she could have built that. She would want to inspire others to serve the poor. I liked her. I bless her. I pray I meet her in heaven. They certainly built a lovely church in her honor and I had a peaceful moment of prayer amidst the mutterings of tourists around me.

Then we went to the Castle Marhlburg or something. I'll have to come back and correct that spelling. It was amazingly large. It was built on a hilltop. So interesting to see these castles jutting up in the sky. Their good vantage points are obvious. There were many delightful relics in the place. We went up and down miles of stairs. The stairs here tend to be in circles; definitely a space saver. There were some gorgeous tapestries. One of them made my jaw drop and I had to resist my strong instinct to brush my hand across it. It was maybe 10 feet wide and about 7 feet high. I was not allowed to take pictures and in that moment I was longing to break the rules and steal a photo. (The Holy Spirit gave me grace and I went away honorably.)
Steve enjoyed the armour and the shields. It was a beautiful place with a lovely view of the town below.

I had hoped to get up today to go to Grandpa's 80th birthday but my body refused to wake. I am still having shoulder/neck pain and it drains my already lazy body. I hoped all the sleep would help but it is there haunting me still. All prayers are appreciated. Drugs are not helping. Nothing seems to help. and then today I had that carpal tunnel issue in my left hand. Chronic pain is so unnerving! It leads me to compassion for people who experience far deeper levels than I can imagine. All over the world, even the rich are unable to soothe what ails them--and the poor? They suffer with so many ailments we quickly dismiss with this or that treatment. Pray today for those less fortunate than you. Pray today looking at what you DO have rather than focusing on what you want. Oh Lord, we are grateful to You. Oh Lord, grant us your mercy by the Holy Spirit in the name of Your Son, Jesus Christ, Amen.