The Heymann Family Journal

I love you and miss you!

Once Juergen and I had visiting friends from America staying with us for the summer.   We took them to see the Zugspitze.   This is the tallest Mountain in the German Alps. It is nearly 3000 meters high.     We rented hotel rooms at a lake directly in front of the Mountain.   But we could not see the mountain because of the clouds that filled the valley.   Those clouds remained for the entire time we were there.   You could stand on the foot of the biggest mountain in Germany, and even touch it, but you could not see it with your eyes.   . But we knew the mountain was there.     I have often thought about this experience as a good illustration of   faith. Hebrews 11:1 “Faith is being sure of what we hope for. It is being certain of what we do not see.”  

I was just shopping with Sarah and Philip.   We are baking vegetable lasagna for lunch.   I'm trying to use up some zucchini.   I have allot of zucchini and my freezer is full!   But I saw this cute cactus at the store.   Had to have it!   It's so fluffy!   Well, not :) things are not always what they seem.   It is a very wet day.   Sarah has a big soccer game.   Jürgen comes home early to watch it.   Thank God it’s Friday, and school starts on Monday.   I am happy with my fluffy new cactus.  

I had a neighbor who always had a German flag flying in his yard (except when we are in the world cup, to fly a German flag is not normal in Germany). He took the German flag down on 9-11, and raised an American flag, at half-staff. I cannot explain what that acti on spoke to my heart. I think for a small time the entire world had sympathy for America. It hurt us all. I do not like how Bush pushed ahead without the total support of Europe. I was not opposed to the war, but I cried when he rushed into it so fast. And I think President Obama failed in helping to maintain that peace. Even passive Germany has now sent weapons to help arm Iraqi Kurdish security forces. But we should pray for our leaders. I think American Christians need to stop bashing President Obama right now, and pray. He still has the terrible job of sending our sons and daughters to war. My own sons are 16 and 17 years old. They are not Americans. I never gave them citizenship. I did not wa...

This morning I was thinking about seeds. If you plant a radish seed, you are going to get fruit in about 2 or 3 weeks. If you plant annual flowers you will have flowers for one season. But I have a magnolia tree in my front garden. It takes about 5 years for its roots to get established. But once it grows, it becomes a very large tree that can live for a few hundred years. Many churches are sewing radish and marigold seeds. They are getting quick “fruit”. And I am won dering why we don’t want our people to be trees? It takes years for trees to be “established”, but then they remain. In October we will be studying Bonhoeffer in our church. If you have ever read the cost of Discipleship you will understand he was not asking the church to grow radishes. “Cheap grace is the grace we bestow on ourselves. Cheap grace is the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance, baptism without church discipline, Communion without confession...Cheap grace is gr...

I just put Jessica on the bus.   She is so happy to be going to her workshop with the brownies her sister Nicole  made for her.   I hope everyone sings happy birthday.   Her joy is awesome!   It blesses me to see her happy!   I remember the years when I would mourn because my baby was so sick, and could not talk and thrive like other children.   It is an awful thing to grieve the loss of all your hopes and dreams for your child.   I’m sure it would have been easier to give up my life then to see her so broken.   But I’ve learned to yield all my dreams and hopes to a God that loves us both more than I can ever think or imagine.   And He has faithfully helped our family love and care for Jessica (and this is not always easy).   And her life is good, and to my great surprise so is mine.   It is not really a testimony of how wonderful Juergen and I are, although I admit my husband is the best person I know! ...