NC in the House

At the beginning of this week we had some house guests from North Carolina. These three ladies were part of a team that visited us here in Aix to see what we have been up to and learn about the work we are doing here. There were 9 people on the team in total, with 7 students and 2 adults. We had a great time hanging out with them. We showed them the ropes here in Aix. They learned a lot about culture and life here in France. They participated in some "cultural challenges" that included learning French vocabulary, the cost of living overseas, and navigating the streets of Marseille. The three team members that stayed with us even joined us one morning for our Beginner English class. Our class members were wowed by their accents. ;-) It was a real blessing having these guys with us, but their time here was too short. They were only here for five days before having to head up North to visit our friends and colleagues near the city of Nantes.

Chawarmas and the Origin of Man

Today I was sitting at my favorite chawarma shop having a chawarma. I don't really remember how the subject came up, but one of the guys that works there said, "I watched a program on TV last night that said that the first man on earth was from Africa. I think that is true." He asked me what I thought. Now I am no theologian nor am I an expert in Geography, but I believe the first man on earth was Adam and that his first steps were taken somewhere in the region that we today call the Middle East. Now the location is somewhat disputable. I can probably reference 12 different books with 12 different opinions on the matter for you to look at with the touch of a button. I think "somewhere" in the Middle East is a pretty safe assumption, and although that is close to the continent of Africa, it is not in Africa. So, I said, "I disagree." He retorted, "No it's true. I saw it on the television." I, of course, asked, "Do you believe everything you see on televison?" That brought a laugh out of the other guy that works there. The laughing guy is actually the owner of the shop. Anyway, the conversation continued further, and we ended up talking a bit about spiritual things and some other stories from the Bible before more customers came in. Who knew chawarma's would make for such interesting conversation? I am going back tomorrow to tutor the shop owner in English. Who knows? Maybe the conversation from today will continue.

Spring is on the way

In our back yard is this beautiful almond tree. It has just bloomed in the last couple of weeks. It doesn't stay like this for very long though. Over the next couple of weeks our back yard will be covered with these white petals. Then, by the end of March it will basically be just bare limbs again. Along with these blooms also comes the gentle, but very noticeable, hum of bumble-bees. They usually keep to themselves. Although they sometimes get confused and begin ramming themselves repeatedly into our closed windows. I don't mind it though. It means that Spring is just around the corner. Now don't get me wrong, I love winter, especially when it snows, but I am tired of being cold. I am ready for a little warmth.

Flowers for Joy

For Valentines Day I, of course, bought Joy flowers. Not just fancy flowers in a vase, but also some flowers to plant outside. We picked them out and bought them on Feb. 13th with plans to plant them on the 14th, Valentines Day. However, it was too cold on the 14th, about 45 degrees if I remember correctly, so we had to put it off for a few days. By the end of the week it had warmed up enough to brave the planting process outdoors. Now, Joy nor I either one really have a green thumb, but Joy likes flowers so we usually try to do a little something to brighten up the outdoors.

So far everything seems to be thriving. It has only been a couple of weeks, but our pots and flower boxes are looking good. Plus, actually having flowers in the boxes seems to keep the neighborhood cats from using them as a litter box!

We will keep you updated on the flower situation as it "grows".

Pun intended. ;-)

On Sunday night I led the worship during the service. It has been a long time since I have done that. It was great. Well, I think it was great. ;-) Regardless of what others say, it felt great. The Lord really met with us there for the entire service. I went a little old school for the most part and did some of my favorites. Well, some of my favorites that went along with the message. Let me put it like that. We did Shout to the North, oldie but goodie. We did Chris Tomlin's Kindness, one of my absolute faves. We did Your Love oh Lord. You can't go wrong with a little Third Day in the mix. We also did, Grace Flows Down and Amazing Grace/My Chains are Gone to finish out the night. Good times. I have to give a shout out to my good friend Hilary, who joined me. It was a good night.