I couldn’t resist sharing this.
Not too long ago, my dear sister (megs) sent me a link for this video by Jason Mraz. I wondered why, but within seconds of watching it I realized why she sent it to me. Mraz singing to his sweetheart from the streets Prague! They shot Prague beautifully and I love the song! Nothing like a little love in Prague…. Enjoy the vid!
Last week, my boy, Lisi, sent me a link for an article from the Times, entitled 36 hours in Prague, and asked, “Is this accurate?” Lisi, the easy answer, “Yes.” I can’t attest to knowing and/or doing everything, or knowing every restaurant, that the author of this article suggested but I would say that it is a very common write up on the city, I love and call home. I especially like that they included a section called, Art Town,
It might not yet rival Venice, but Prague has several new museums, galleries and biennales that have started to position it as a serious forum for modern art. One of the biggest is the Dox Center for Contemporary Art (Osadni 34; 420-224-930-927; www.doxprague.org), which opened more than 30,000 square feet of exhibition space last fall. It has a show opening on June 4 that will include an extensive exhibition from the Scottish artist Douglas Gordon. A more intimate space, the three-year-old Hunt Kastner Artworks (Kamenicka 22; 420-233-376-259; www.huntkastner.com) is a single-room gallery. Running through June 6 is an exhibition featuring photographs and installations from the young Czech artist Jiri Thyn.
This city has so much more to offer than the average tourist ever takes advantage of, i.e. like what I included above. So I love reading write ups like this, that include more than just the normal tourist things. Anyone planning on doing a 36 hour trip to Prague in the near future? I would recommend spending a bit more than 36 hours in this place, it deserves more than a mere 36 hours!
So it’s been no secret to you my readers, or my friends here, that I like having Starbucks in ‘my’ Prague. I also love that I have relationships with the guys that manage my usual store and the guys that are opening them here. Recently I read an article over at the Washington Post, entitled
A Starbucks State of Mind. It was interesting, here is a quick portion of the whole of the article.
By the same token, when you don’t have an especially nice place to live — if you live, for instance, in a dormitory — you might well prefer to spend your afternoons in an attractive coffeehouse. And this is where the Starbucks ethos meshes so well with the cultural history of Central Europe: At the height of their popularity, the coffeehouses of 19th-century Vienna, Warsaw and Budapest were famously frequented by people who didn’t live in particularly lush apartments and thus preferred to spend their time in rooms decorated like the salons of the upper classes. Hence the association of coffeehouses with poets, literati, revolutionaries and other assorted riffraff. Hence the attraction for students today. As for the stockbrokers, they are simply back where they belong: Many of the world’s stock exchanges got their start in coffeehouses, since merchants and traders were once outsiders, too.
Will the St. Bucks of Central Europe build an ethos that fueled “poets, literati, revolutionaries and other assorted riffraff” of the 19th century? I don’t know, but I love that they are here and I have the hook up from them! Booyah! Check out the whole article, click here.
And when he {Jesus} drew near and saw the city, he wept over it, saying, “Would that you, even you, had known on this day the things that make for peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes. For the days will come upon you, when your enemies will set up a barricade around you and surround you and hem you in on every side and tear you down to the ground, you and your children within you. And they will not leave one stone upon another in you, because you did not know the time of your visitation.”
I found myself at a point I’ve been at many times before. That point is a longing that I can’t explain. A longing that goes deeper than anything I know. This longing is for the city that God has called me to. Granted, I’m not Jesus. I just wasn’t greeted with palm branches and adoration proclaiming that I was indeed the Messiah. I’m not looking ahead knowing that I will be betrayed, left for dead by those that are closest to me, will hang on a cross in shear humiliation and more. That’s not me, that’s Jesus, clearly. Although there is an aspect of Jesus’ heart for Jerusalem, that I pray that I would have for this great city, Prague, that God has called me to.
There are three brief insights from verse 41 that can serve us, as believers, well for loving the cities that God has called us to. It must be noted that these three insights, are not, indeed, rocket science, but as I read them today and meditated on them, I realized I get lost in the shuffle of practicing them here in Prague.
Drew Near
Simple isn’t it. Draw near. All too often, the problems in the city (crime, homelessness, noise and more) keep us from drawing near to the city, and we find ourselves keep the city at arms length. That way we don’t have to get our hands dirty. So we keep the problems of the city at a distance and we scoff at the city and it’s problems. The whole time forgetting that there are people that God loves in that city. We need to be reminded that Jesus drew near in a way that we cannot even begin to understand in the incarnation – God, Himself, becoming flesh and getting his hands dirty mixing it up in the midst of sin-wrecked humanity. So my question for myself, and for you, is – Are you drawing near and loving the city? Or are you standing at a distance scoffing at the evil of the city, refusing to follow Jesus’ lead and entering?
Saw the City
It seems to be a very logical flow, doesn’t it? As you draw near to something, or someone, you then see what is really going on, you see the situation. As Jesus, drew near to the city, he saw it. He observed it. What was to come to the city, came to his mind. So as we, make the decision to draw near to the city, we don’t know what the future will bring, but we can observe. We can see where God is working. We can see desperate areas where God is desperately needed. We see. We diagnose. We then can pray. So how are you “seeing” your city? Are you “seeing” it purposely? What observations are you making? Where does it appear that God is moving? What areas need His touch?
Wept Over It
To follow the progression, as we draw near (enter) the city, we will see the city (make observations), then we will be moved and weep for the city (empathize, sympathize, move forward and do something). The four words – He wept over it – always move me. They move me to pray. First, to pray that God would give me a genuine desire to love ‘my Jerusalem’ (the city God has called me to and put me in), Prague, in ways that are out of myself, no matter what happens. It’s always challenged me that Jesus knew what the people in the city of Jerusalem would do to him in the days to come, he what ‘Jerusalem’ would do to Him and He still wept. He still loved in ways that I can’t. This is convicting as I find myself, secretly cursing aspects of the city, and people in the city when things don’t ‘go my way.’ Oh how fickle I am. Oh how quickly I can forget that apart from Jesus’ work in my heart, that I am just as vile, as the vile parts of the city that drive me crazy. I need God to continually work in me to get me to this point of weeping for Prague. So where are you in the ‘weeping’ process? Are you like me, secretly cursing the ills and evils of the city? How are you weeping over your city? As we weep, may God call us to action to see His Kingdom advance in our cities, and his radical love and grace break through!
So as we journey through Passion Week together, may we not forget the places that God has called us to live, work and play. May we follow Jesus’ lead and draw near (enter the city), see (observe where God is working or what areas need God’s touch) and lastly weep over it (being moved to make a difference in our cities).
Getting lost in loving your city? Here is a great post over at Church Planting Novice – 8 Ways to Easily be Missional.
I’m not arguing with Kerry Kubilius who writes over at about.com, but it was interesting to read her perspective. Here is, a portion of, what she had to say:
Today, Prague is a major destination for expats or would-be expats in search of the Europe that exists only as an idea in literature and pop culture. Prague attracts eloping couples and honeymooners with its multitude of romantic hotel hideaways. Individuals seeking serious nightlife can enter dark and intimate jazz rooms or party with a club scene that never sleeps. Many youthful backpackers experience their first real sense of independence in Prague, while established individuals savor Prague through its food, art, and shops.
Prague’s mystery, beauty, character, and history make it a must-see city. However, because Prague serves as the permanent or temporary home of sophisticated music lovers, spies, romantics, and the inspired, Prague’s inhabitants – real, imaginary, or historical – are what create its aura of sex appeal.
Hmmm… This isn’t why I’m here, but then again it is. Prague has had steady growth since the fall of communism and is once again on the verge of becoming a world class city, that will make a cultural impact in central Europe and the whole of Europe. Which would make it a reason, why I’m here. So I live in a sexy city. Yay!
(HT – ABC Prague)
It is true, I do “love fall“! This past Sunday, I left my flat (apartment) a little early before church to go for a prayer/photo walk in Prague. I still can’t believe this place is my home! It is unreal in it’s shear beauty, I prayed much for the city as I walked and snapped pics. I dream of this city being beautiful for more than just architecture, buildings, and etc. I wanted to share some of those pics with you and also let you know I’ve also added some pics to my flickr page for your viewing (click the link or go down to the lower right hand side of the page). Here are a few of my favorites and/or notables. Thanks for stopping by.
A few days ago my friends, the Syvertsens, posted a link for the J. Crew ad/short film, which highlights Prague! I just had to follow and post it on my blog as well.
