Warning:  this post is incredibly jumbled.  My brain has felt sort of like a seven-lane highway recently, so I suppose what comes out of it is bound to reflect.  :0)

Have you ever heard of Ikea?  If you want to furnish a home/apartment/dorm/etc... you can literally find everything you need, including food.  It's gigantic, it's cheap, and it's generally cute.  Or at least standard.  Because of this, we spent lots of time there in the first several weeks after moving into our apartment.

One of the best things about Ikea is the cafeteria.  Yep, there's a cafeteria inside a home goods/furnishings store.  You'd really have to visit to get the full effect, but it's hilarious.  And what they're most known for are the Swedish meatballs.  You get, like, 97 meatballs, AND cranberry sauce, and fries.  And then you shop.  You can also buy frozen meatballs, if you want to make them at home.  Which you might want to do, because they're pretty tasty, and you do get sick of Ikea eventually.

The Bundestag, a government building.  People stand in long lines to get inside, and from the top of the building, you can see across the city...  It's so cool.  Sights like the Brandenburg Gate look small from up there.  Several weeks ago, our team climbed the dome and spent some time in prayer for the city and the students in Berlin.

I've heard the Tiergarten (which I think means something like "Animal Park") described as the Central Park of Berlin.  It's near the Bundestag, and it's a great place to go when you need some 'outdoors' in the city.  This precious couple-- gray hair, jackets matching, holding hands-- was walking around the park, and I couldn't help taking a picture.  That's the TV tower in the background.

Last Saturday, we attended a conference for Christian students, put on by Christian student groups in the city, ours (CfC) included.  What a neat day this was, as young people in Berlin gathered together to worship the Lord and learn about how to serve Him.  Near the end of the day, we spent some time in specific university groups, and tears came to my eyes as we joined students of Humboldt University in prayer.  What a blessing that He has brought these students to Himself, and that they are a light in this city!

What I've been learning from the Lord:

He is so good.

Sometimes I try to live on my own.  I don't rely on the Lord, and I think I can do it.  I think I can get by.  I want to laugh as I think about it, because that's so clearly false.

He knows that I can't get by on my own.  He knows that I think I'm so great but I'm really not... and He loves me anyway.  That's big love, you know?