“It is in vain that you rise up early and go late to rest, eating the bread of anxious toil; for he gives to his beloved sleep.” Psalm 127.2

Jen and I are having every morning a quiet time and in that we read the bible together and two devotionals. Most of the days we feel challenged or something we read got us thinking. One morning the verse above in Psalm 127.2 stuck out to me.

We are living in a city where it is normal for many people to work for at least 12 hours a day and the pressure to succeed or otherwise your company might be gone the next day. So that leads to even fuller and fuller days and that to more and more pressure to succeed. I come also from a culture were often high prices are paid for success; those German cars don’t invent themselves. So I myself understand this issue very well and have to deal with it in my own life many times. So when I read the word of Salomon in the Psalm above I see a clear contrast. Salomon is saying that God gives rest to his beloved children. A man that succeeded in many areas of his life sees the importance of putting trust not in our own works or the things we can do, but instead puts it in the hands of a loving father. That doesn’t mean he did not work or was just sitting around, no in no ways. But Salomon didn’t carry all on his shoulders to succeed but instead trusted God for that.

I believe to live a healthier life, we have to put more trust into God and his abilities and work with him instead of us trying to make it happen and with that carrying the burden of anxiety, crazy work hours, isolation and pressure of success. When we live a healthier life it will also strengthen our relationship with Him since we actually got time to spend with him and others in fellowship. We will be able to shine His light more in our workplaces and all other places we are going into because we are not exhausted and still have energy to give. We want to challenge us and you to think about this:

1. How does your life look like in this area?
2. In what areas do you might have to adjust your schedule and the way you look at work?
3. Which areas do you still have to surrender to God?
4. How could you set aside a day of rest?

Hey our friend

Ok I have to say I really love our San Francisco summer which started in September. We had wonderful days here and we are able to hang out with our neighbor friends at different places outside.

I was going on a Prayer walk one morning through our beautiful neighborhood and during that time got a new and deeper understanding of things that are going on under the surface. When you pray and see Gods perspective on things you understand better how to help a situation. Example: Your car runs makes a loud noise when you drive it and you decide the shocks are broken but don’t ask an mechanic who knows a lot about the topic. So you exchange them but then realize that it was not the shocks, but the engine was scratching because it was out of oil. Of course that is an extreme example, but we just want to point out that when you listen to God you can understand things better and also save yourself a headache J.

Don’t forget this week that you are amazing and loved!!

God bless you
Markus and Jen

Sometimes it is easy to find the negative or the bad. But this video blog wants to encourage us to find the good and the giftings! Be challenged and encouraged!

Hey our friend

Wow our time in Europe went by really fast. We celebrated my Dads 70^th birthday, visited my God son in Switzerland, spend quality time with family, had a day of meeting up with friends and supporters at the church building, had time to encourage and share with small groups and others to bring hope to people around them and then the trip ended by seeing a good friend of Jen in Amsterdam. But now we are back in San Francisco and get back on track. Thanks for your prayers!!

Have a great week!
Markus and Jen

A little while ago Jen and I watched the movie The straight story. It is a true story about a man who could only walk with his canes and then rode his lawn mower for 240 miles to reconcile with his brother after he found out his brother had a stroke. Along the way he is able to encourage and bring hope to people. Here are 2 things I took away from this film:

1. This man was not able to get a drivers license because of his eyesight. But it didn’t stop him from doing the right thing even if it looked crazy or impossible. He took what he had and used it. I believe that this is something so important to remember. We don’t always have the perfect lineup for things, but that doesn’t mean we should give up. We need to find the way in the impossible.  If God called you to do something he will make a way. Its really important to think outside the box and in that not to worry what others might think about us when we do that.
2. When he arrives at his brothers’ house after 6 weeks of riding his lawn mower his brother asks him, did you come here driving on this lawn mower? When he said he did his brother has a tear in his eye. It speaks volumes when he did the impossible just to come and see his brother. He didn’t even have to say a word, his brother knew that he truly cared about him and how important the relationship was to him. Its amazing when people see how much we care by our actions. Its often not the words, but many times it is the action that speaks so much louder. It reminds me of Jesus and how he went into the houses of people that were looked down on, not caring about his own image. Just imagine what volumes that spoke to the people he visited.

We want to encourage you and us to live our lives were we make the impossible possible with God. Live a life where we find a way where there is no way. We want to be people of action and of words that follow action.

Let us ask ourselves those questions:

1. What is holding us back from taking action?
2. Ask God to help you in that area to move forward and not to give up.
3. Ask God where you are supposed “to ride your lawn mower to”!

Hey our friend

We hope you had a fantastic week!! This will be our last week in Germany. Please pray for a good start back to life in San Francisco! Thank you so much!!

Don’t forget the lawn mower and to take action this week!!

Have a blessed week

Markus and Jen

…For when I am weak, then I am strong.  2. Corinthians 12.10

When we think about the word weakness it is often attached to things that are not so good. But when we look at the verse above it actually says the opposite. When we are weak we are strong. When you read the whole chapter you notice that Paul talks about a weakness in his life and how he asked God to take it away, kind of the logical thing to do. But Gods answer was different then he expected: “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” So the weaknesses in Paul’s life actually drew him closer to God.

It reminds me of a scene in the movie the Lion King. Simba, a lion cub, goes to a place where he is not supposed to go and he is being attacked by a group of hyenas.  While trying to protect his friend he roared at the attackers. But all that comes out is a weak sound. The Hyenas start to make fun of him and ask him to roar again. Out of fear he does, but this time a loud roar shakes the place which scares the Hyenas. The next thing you see is the father of Simba and how the Hyenas run away scared.

That is a great picture of Gods power in our life. When we realize that we cant do it on our own, he is right there. A place of weakness is a place of being humble. When we are humble, pride has to leave in our lives, and when that happens God can move. When we relay on His strength we stay also in an attitude of thankfulness because we realize how much the father loves us and how much He is moving with us. So if we deal with weakness in the right way and it drives us towards the father, weakness actually brings us to a place of strength.

We want to encourage all of us to look in all areas of our life to the father, the giver of strength.

1. Ask yourself were are your weaknesses?
2. Did you rely on God in those areas?
3. How can you start working more from His strength and less of yours?

Hey our friend

We hope you had a fantastic week!! For the next few weeks we will be in Germany so you will not get many updates from San Francisco, but please keep praying for our city. Thank you so much!!

Remember this week to look at God for your strength!

Have a blessed week

Markus and Jen