A Different Lifestyle

A Different Life Style

Thanks to Pastor Randy’s suggestion I have read The Good and Beautiful God and I am in the middle of The Good and Beautiful Life. Both of these books are written by James Bryan Smith. The goal of the first book is to make known God as Jesus knew Him, so that we may fall in love with Him. The goal of the second book is putting on the character of Christ.

The part of the books that has affected me the most are the exercises of spiritual disciplines. I am amazed that I am reading them here in Slovakia where these exercises have fit in so well with the life style here.

One of the disciplines is that of “Silence and the Awareness of Creation”. Here where I do not know the language I do not have the radio or TV on, so when I am alone in the flat, I am able to experience silence. In this different climate I find myself paying more attention to God’s creation and enjoying it.




The autumn changes in the square.

Then there is the discipline of putting margins or times without commitment in one’s life to replace “hurry sickness.” This makes room to enjoy life and to communicate with God in the middle of life’s business. Although people here say they haven’t done something because they are too busy, I see them making time in their days to eat dinner with their families, listen to a friend who needs some support and play with their children. They are making margins in their lives.

In the chapter about anger, the author speaks of the causes of anger, such as unmet expectations, not having control, and fear. I know that I am NOT in control of all the events in my life. I am only in control of my reactions to these events. A case in point is the fact that I have not been given the necessary VISA. What will happen? I know that at this point, I have no control over my VISA. What is going to happen? I don’t know. But I do know who is in control. I believe this is a discipline for me to give God the problem and leave it in His hands. Even if I am sent away from this beautiful country, I thank God for the blessings we have had here so far.

The spiritual discipline to help with anger is “Keeping the Sabbath.” Keeping the Sabbath is to trust in God and letting go of control of this part of life. As I read the details, I think that this is a wonderful place to try this discipline. On Saturdays, between 11:00 AM and noon, the stores close for the weekend. I don’t mean that some of them, I mean ALL of the stores and shops on the square close. There are only two restaurants open and the grocery store at the end of the square stays open until 4 or 5 PM, but everything else is closed. Here, the weekends are for families. Sunday’s meal is definitely a family affair.



This is the Martin Square at noon on Sunday.

We thank you, Heavenly Father, for leading us to this beautiful country, full of these beautiful, gracious people. Help us to grow where you would have us grow.
Continue to help us enjoy this country and the experiences we have here.

Reformation Day and All Saints' Day

The last school day in October was on Thursday,
the 28th of October. One of the fourth grades
that I work with was finishing their plant
project. They grew grass from seeds.
They had kept certain conditions (such as
water or light) from their seeds and
recorded how their seeds grew.



The other fourth grade had a day off from the
English. Their teacher had divided the class into
groups. Each group was to make its own scarecrow.
I wish that I had room to show all of the scarecrows.
It was a great project for working together and being
original.



The last period of the day was spent in a special
church service for the students. The subject was
Reformation Day. A choir sang some songs, including
“Lord I Lift Your Name on High, complete with hand
motions. Then the children had a holiday
Friday, Monday and Tuesday for All Saints Day.



During the Sunday church service,
the seventh grade class had a great original
play about Martin Luther’s nailing the 95
thesis’s on the church door. I cannot think
of a better way to teach about the beginning
of the Reformation than having the students act it out.



And then there was All Saints’ Day,
Monday, 1st of November. This is a state holiday.
The whole weekend is a time for families
to gather at their grandparents or parents’ graves.
It is in some ways similar to the Day of the Dead.
For weeks, flowers and candles have been sold.





This is the day that families go to the cemeteries.
They weed and clean up around the grave of
their loved one(s). They take the old flowers,
arrangements and candles away. These are
replaced with new arrangements and candles are lit.





Practically every grave in the newer part of
the cemetery had flowers on it.
The flowers were as far as the eye could see.



After you take care of your family graves, they you go to the graves of persons special to you. This is the grave of Pastor Jan Bohdon Hrobon, the father of Pastor Jan Hrobon of the Evangelical Church in Martin, and Bohdon Hrobon, the founder of the Bible School.

Besides the candles on the graves, there were
a couple of locations in the cemetery that
more candles were lit. My guess is that these
are lit in memory of loved ones who are
buried elsewhere.

On the Second of November, Gary and I went to a small town of Ružomberok.
(That is another story.) On the way back, we passed by a couple of cemeteries.
It was after dark and the candles were still lit and they were spectacular.

An interesting side note for me is that this is a holiday that the Communist
Regime would allow. For some reason, they did not associate it with the
Church.