Author Archives: Amanda Grassi

So, I’m sure you’ve all heard of writer’s block. Well I’d like to start this blog with a similar topic: a little something that I like to call “Blogger’s Block.” Its different from writer’s block because its not that I don’t know what to say or how to end a story. I have a million different things I could and would like to write about. No, my problem is going from “thinking in my head/conversation” mode to “explain what I’m talking about in writing” mode. Its a tough transition

Okay, I have T minus 24 minutes to write this blog because at the end of that time, Melanie, Danielle, and I are leaving for our 8-day Silent Retreat! We are all stoked to have this time to rest and to simply be with God. I wanted to put up a blog the other day letting you know what I’ve been praying about, but I just couldn’t get my ideas from my brain to the paper. It just wasn’t coming. So, I’m thinking that I’ll give you a little intro and then hopefully after the retreat I’ll be

Last week at bible study, we had Lectio Divina and discussed this Thursday’s gospel (the Feast of the Ascension: Luke 24:46-53). As I was listening, verses 51 through 53 struck a chord with me. “Then he led them out as far as Bethany, and lifting up his hands he blessed them. While he blessed them, he parted from them, and was carried up into heaven. And they returned to Jerusalem with great joy…” Let me try to walk you through my thought process with these verses. The first time I heard

I love analogies; especially agricultural analogies. It makes so much sense to me that Jesus often spoke in parables, because they take the abstract and make it tangible. Unseen truths of our human nature are materialized in front of our eyes and become undeniable.  Without them, I don’t think some of scripture would hit home for me as much as it does. Take John 15 for example; first, let me extract the analogy of the vine and the branches and simply look at what Jesus says and what my response

Just for fun, I thought I’d share some of my favorite aspects of life here in Süsterseel! 1) Pommes aka really, really yummy french fries that you can get überall (everywhere, that is) and they’re even an acceptable dinner side. 2) The bakery is a two-minute walk from the house and—if that’s not enough—they also drive through the street in a fun little car with all kinds of fresh baked goodies. I can walk 10 steps from my front door and get fresh Berliners! That leads me to number 3… 3)

So, long time, no blog. Sorry about that. This month has been absolutely crazy. March 3-16th Melanie, Danielle and I were in the States for LT staff retreat and then were blessed with the opportunity to visit our families for a week. It was, to say the least, blessed, hard, refreshing, and tiring. What a blessing it is to see those that you love and haven’t seen for some time, but how difficult it is to have to leave them again! This was the longest stretch that I had ever been away from home (6

Lately, I feel like there is so much I want to blog about and I don’t even know where to start. My sister recently surprised me and sent me The Magnificat Lenten Companion. I was super excited because it got here just in time for Lent (Fastenzeit in German— “fasting time”—interesting, huh?). It has a reflection on the gospel for each day, a little prayer and a suggested penance. Simple, but a great way to get some extra spiritual reading in and it gives me a little  challenge for each