Eat your McDonalds, and don't forget your vitamins!

disclaimer- all views are strictly based on my experience only

Ok, if you are expecting a lesson on French cuisine, I am sorry to disappoint. I love love love the bread, cheese, and pastries France feeds me. But if you were to ask me to give a short concise answer on what is French cuisine, I still can't do it! Google it, I am sure there are many French people who would love to let you know! But I will tell you what I have gleaned and observed here concerning food.

In general, the French have a very fixed schedule when it comes to eating- a light breakfast, nothing too substantial, but chocolate can be a part of this meal (yes!) Lunch is the big meal of the day, traditionally- workers generally get at least an hour for lunch. Fixing your lunch at home and bringing it to work/school is the norm. Then at 4:00, there is the gouter (snack) for school kids and possibly adults as well. And then dinner around eight or nine o'clock, which is generally lighter than lunch-pasta or soup are common.

The French eat more veggies than most Americans, I am pretty sure that is safe to say. And while the frozen food phenomenon is on the rise here, it is still much less prevalent than the U.S., same thing with fast food restaurants.

Something that has really impressed me is the fact that pasta with butter and maybe some cheese can be considered a complete meal. I am not talking about some woman on a diet, I mean that is a common dinner, from what I have seen. I feel like I have been used to being served/cooking too much food in comparison.

One of our French teachers told us two common stereotypes the French have of  Americans is 1. They all eat Mickey D's often, and 2. they take lots of vitamins. What do you think? I couldn't disagree, I mean personally I don't take vitamins, but when I am in the states, the dollar menu is hard to pass up! We will see when I go home next month how I handle fast food, I am not ready to commit to any swearing off yet, but I know that would be ideal for my body.

Happy Eating!

The Pressure of the Ordinary

Have you guys heard of "The Screwtape Letters" by C.S. Lewis? It is a book written in the form of a series of letters between a "demon-in-training" and his boss in Hell. I realize it sounds a little strange or frightening, but it is absolutely full of insights on human nature and our daily life with Christ.

I read it years ago, but being here in Europe has brought it back to my mind recently. Of course, of course, there are unbelievers everywhere, but I have just been struck by the number of "good people" around me who seem to have no interest in God or finding out more about Him. For better or worse, in the Bible belt I feel like every citizen is confronted with Christianity in many forms and fashions everyday- from billboards to T.V. evangelists and bumper stickers. But here, if I weren't a believer it would be much easier to pass the entire day without thinking about God. People pursue happiness in the form of good relationships with family and friends, providing financially for their family and giving to others- all good things, but none of them really the point in the end.
 C.S. Lewis really emphasizes the fact that Satan doesn't necessarily need to tempt us to do something evil to sin; he just needs to show us anything (no matter how ordinary) that will take our eyes off God.

Here are a few quotes from "The Screwtape Letters" -' this is a demon talking to another demon on how to keep a Christian from growing and maturing in Christ- the Enemy' is God in these quotes.


Remember, he is not, like you, a pure spirit. Never having been a human (Oh that abominable advantage of the Enemy's) you don't realize how enslaved they are to the pressure of the ordinary.”

It does not matter how small the sins are provided that their cumulative effect is to edge the man away from the Light and out into the Nothing. Murder is no better than cards if cards can do the trick. Indeed the safest road to Hell is the gradual one--the gentle slope, soft underfoot, without sudden turnings, without milestones, without signposts.”

Humans are amphibians...half spirit and half animal...as spirits they belong to the eternal world, but as animals they inhabit time. This means that while their spirit can be directed to an eternal object, their bodies, passions, and imaginations are in continual change, for to be in time, means to change. Their nearest approach to constancy, therefore, is undulation--the repeated return to a level from which they repeatedly fall back, a series of troughs and peaks.

I have just been thinking about this use of everyday nonsense to crowd out voice of the Holy Spirit a lot lately as I talk with international friends. I pray that God will use me and other people around them to help them to see past the "pressure of the ordinary" and find the Creator and Savior!

Hard Stuff

 This weekend I met a girl who was visiting the church I attend. For this post, we'll call her Molly. Molly lives in a nearby town in  government funded refugee housing. She is 21 years old, and comes from Rwanda. Her parents died when she was three, she was raised by a family that mistreated her. Later, Molly was told her grandmother was still alive, and she went and lived with her grandmother until the grandmother died a year and a half later, and she was alone again.
 All this time Molly was battling health issues herself. The Rwandan doctors diagnosed her with leukemia and gave her less than a year to live. Molly told me everyday for six months she woke up thinking it could be her last. After six months, she figured they must be wrong. When France granted her refugee status, the French doctors took her off the leukemia medicines and are now working on finding out what is wrong. She is still very weak and sick.
 How do I respond to stories like these? This girl is 21 and has had a life similar to that of Job. I know I will encounter more seemingly overwhelming heartbreak and need as I live and work in Africa- and I realize that I need to have a kind of plan so I don't just wallow in other people's misery until Jesus comes back. That doesn't seem like it would paint a very attractive picture to non-believers seeking the Kingdom!
So here is what I hope to do with Molly and future situations:
~Pray!
~Figure out what I can do, and do it
~Realize that I won't be able to fix everything
~Remember that God IS in control and DOES have a plan for Molly's life, and we don't know it right now, but that doesn't mean he doesn't know the plan!
~Use this amazing young woman's story to remind me of how incredibly God has blessed me, and help me remember that to those much has been given, much is expected.

France needs Jesus!! (and so does the rest of the world)

Well, here I am again, awake at an abnormal hour due to a weak moment and a can of Coca-Cola this afternoon.

God has been giving me all kinds of opportunities to share his love lately. I am not writing this post to boast about what I have done, because I really didn’t do much except be sensitive to the Holy Spirit and follow his leading, and pray I didn’t say anything stupid/confusing to the other person in the process- I know that last action isn’t very spiritual sounding, but it is true. 

So, this past week I have gotten to have a conversation with two women who follow two other major world religions, and two women who believe in nothing at all. While I will be interceding for all four women- I have to say my conversation with the two atheists has really left my thinking and praying. 

When I came to France, I was determined not to let all the hype I had heard about the spiritual decline of Europe taint my views. After seven months here, I can legitimately say from my experiences: it’s not hype, unfortunately it is true. While there exists a group of passionate followers of Jesus- the common mindset here does not set much value or seem to be interested in the existence of God in general, let alone a personal Lord and Savior. 

When I was talking to my two French friends about differences between France and the U.S., this of course was a main topic. They both (politely) expressed their incredulity about our nation still being so croyant (God-fearing, faithful). Unspoken translation: “When is America going to finally gonna get smart enough and move out of that phase like Europe has?”(The scary thing is the U.S. is well on our way in that process- but that isn’t what I am talking about right now.)

Here’s my question: When you move past the creator of the universe, what’s your next step from there?

I have thought about this -really-if I were to reject the idea of 1. Jesus as Savior and 2. A creator God in general I would likely turn to science as my God- I think that would be my tendency.  But science wouldn’t fulfill my affective side (I’d say soul, but that’s probably getting too spiritual for me at this point.) So I would begin searching, always searching, picking up things that offer comfort without accountability, only to set them down again due to lack of fulfillment. I would of course “be a good person,” but my happiness would still be based on the circumstances of life and seem a fragile thing.

Sound at all familiar? For me the above describes pretty much every non-believer I have met in my life.

Ok well, it is getting light out, and this is getting super long. I can’t think of a good ending, except-Lets go be lights for Jesus today! Love you guys!

Sister Time!

Well, Katie, Mary and Sadie got in at eight-thirty Saturday morning at the CDG airport. They were suffering from jet lag, eyes glazed over, trying to be happy and excited about being there, but really just wanting to sleep. I knew the feeling, and tried to reign in my excitement and enthusiasm to a tolerable level!

 

I had rented us an apartment for the weekend, it was next to the Arc de Triomphe! Such a fun location, and about the same as if we had rented a hotel in Paris, but the girls could get better sleep here.

We plunged into Paris, I had been studying the metro map, and semi-planned out our day. We walked down the Champs-Elysees- the famous massive avenue full of stores. It’s the place to cruise and be seen. Then visited the Louvre gardens and walked next to the Seine to the Notre Dame cathedral. Along the river are bookstands that sell old books and paintings and photos, that was really fun. 

We waited in the hour+ line to go up to the Eiffel Tower- learn from us and buy your tickets online and wear a jacket! But it was gorgeous, around sunset when we made it to the second story- the third was closed for repairs

Sunday we visited the Louvre museum and saw maybe ¼, probably closer to 1/5 of it- it is sooo big! Everyone had told me this, but I was still just floored when I saw it for myself.  

We walked around the Jewish quarter, saw some other cool historical sites I am forgetting the name of now around the area. We went and saw the Sacre-Coeur basilica that night, really pretty all lit up. 

My thoughts on Paris- it was amazing! The thing is I was with the girls most of the time- and I am gonna have a good time pretty much anywhere with them. The true test of Paris came on Friday when I got there a day early due to my forgetting about the time difference and planning an extra day of our trip- so I got to explore Paris all by myself- and I was still enthralled! The difference was I didn’t have anyone to say “wow look at that old building!” or “what language do you think that group of people we just passed was speaking?”

I can totally see why Paris is the number one tourist destination in the world.

After Paris, we took a train back to Chambery (around 3hrs). The girls stayed the night with me and took a train to Rome Wednesday morning. They came back to me on Friday, and stayed a motel here until the following Thursday. I took that week of school of and took them around to all my favorite places in this area. This leg of the trip was more relaxed and chill- better too because they had gotten over their jet-lag.

I am so glad the three of them came, it was a wonderful time together! 

Et viola! Thanks for reading!

We always have a choice

It is 3:30 am, and I am blogging because I sure can't go back to sleep. Spiritual warfare? Vanilla coffee from the machine this afternoon? A combination of the two? I don't really know. But I drafted this blog in my head earlier, and now I am putting it to paper (metaphorically speaking.)

"We always have a choice." That phrase has been rolling around in my head the last week or so. Like a lot of fundamental truths, it seems like an easy concept but actually has the potential to change lives if we truly embrace it.

And I get it, I'm 25, young and optimistic maybe. But I've seen enough to know know a lie from Satan when I see one.The hopelessness that I hear in peoples' voices when they talk about their lack of options seems to be a common denominator. That sentiment of  "I have no choice." Satan keeps using the same lie because we keep believing it. That's what he does- there's a reason he's called the father of lies.
To cite a few examples:
The kids I talked to who told me they just can't stop being violent. Lie- they aren't lying-they actually believe the lie that Satan is telling them
The girls who told  me cutting themselves was the only way to feel better Lie-"
The old people at the nursing home who are mean and cranky because life has no hope anymore Lie-"

The circumstances in all three of those examples were such that many people would lose hope. The kids and the girls often had been abused in some form or another; and I think we all can understand the hopelessness of life in a nursing home.

But the simple, profound, liberating, beautiful truth is that God always lets us choose how we will respond to our circumstances. I am not saying the alternatives won't be  messy, or scary,or just plain hard; but I have gotten the closest I have ever been to God through the hard, messy, scary times.
I mean if we want to talk lack of options and hope, check out these folks Corrie Ten Boom, Joni Eareckson Tada, or Horatio Spafford- these guys stopped falling for the lie of hopelessness, even in the face of seemingly hopeless lives.
And this goes for every hardship out there: bad day, alcoholism, porn addiction, really bad day, sickness, money troubles, etc.- We can't always control our circumstances, but we always control our reactions.
 We always have a choice.
We always have a choice.

I am a Christian, people should like to be around me.

So, here in France a lot  of the people I come in contact throughout my days are not in a relationship with Jesus. It has been a change from OK/AR/TX culture that I have grown up in, stretching, but only confirming my faith and trust in God.

Its crazy how people are different but really the same at the heart of it all. People are hurting, lonely, and scared. Depressing, but true- it has been this way since the Fall. I don't know how people without Jesus make it sometimes, life can be so hard. And when I hear my friends who don't trust in God say things like " yoga says everything will pass" or " I just have to be strong" I want to cry, I really do. I don't know how that could possibly ease the pain or satisfy their obvious search for deeper meaning; I don't think it does.

Which brings me to the point of this post: as a Christian, I have the source of  love, joy, and peace as my Savior and friend. I should act like it. Seems simple, but I don't think we really get it right all the time. Right now at French school, there are lots of people here from around the world, many not believers. There is a great temptation for me not to invest my time or energy into getting to know them or developing relationships- I know we won't know each other long, and will probably never see each other again. Plus, I am here to learn French, not hang out with other people who make the same mistakes in French that I make.

But, then I remember a magnet my friend has on his fridge in Inola, OK, it says "Bloom Where You Are Planted" and it has a smiling flower on it. I am learning French so I can go tell people about Jesus in Africa, so I am too busy to tell people about Jesus here? Something isn't right with that picture.

So, I try to show that unselfish, irresistible love that Jesus showed me to those around me. I find out what their passions are, their hopes, their fears, and troubles- and we talk about them. If I am brave I pray with them. If the Spirit leads I talk about my experiences with Jesus. It isn't rocket science; its much more important.