Today we are on our way to Bordeaux for a special youth-themed weekend where the local church is hosting national youth president Samuel Sheikadam. It’s been a long time since our kids have been able to be with other Christian youth so we’re hitting the highway for some youth fellowship.
I’ll fill you in on that next week, but for now, let’s talk about the week that was…
I’d been planning this for about a month now and the day came for me to begin putting together a medieval feast. It was originally supposed to be a Valentine’s Day affair, but scheduling meant it had to be pushed off until Thursday (the 15th) in stead.
I banished everyone from the kitchen – this was to be my gift to them. After weeks of running and seemingly scarcely being home, it was my way to tell them I love them.
Let me tell you about our small feast and what I learned from it.
This week we got to look at a big empty place.
You know the one. In fact, you’ve probably looked at that same space in the last several weeks… just like us. Curious?
Do you recognize the word “Belgien“?
You might not unless you speak German, although you’ve probably guessed – given the title of today’s post. It’s the German spelling of Belgium. I’ll get to why I used the German spelling but for now, suffice it to say that Belgium is where we rang in 2018… indulging in old memories and creating new.
Is it New Year’s yet?
Seriously… although we’re still two days away from Christmas, it feels like we’ve not even yet begun to really settle and enjoy the holidays. If you’re anything like me… there’s still a number of things to do before church tomorrow and Christmas on Monday, so I won’t keep you long. Let me give you 5 pictures that sum up our week…
It’s a FIRST!
This is the first morning of 2017 where I’m sitting, writing today’s post in front of a lit Christmas tree… and it feels wonderful!
I know that many people have been enjoying their tree for weeks already but artificial trees here – while they exist – costs an arm and a leg… (maybe TWO!) and aren’t as nice as back home generally. What’s more… having a real tree makes us feel just a bit closer to home, though we’re about 5,000 km away.
So I have a confession to make. Most of the time, I try to write posts on Friday night and schedule them for Saturday morning. This week however, it truly is a “Saturday morning over hot chocolate” kind of morning. The house is quiet and began with just me, Pollux (our dog) and a cuppa hot chocolate. Not a bad way to start the day.
It’s been quite a week. North America experienced Charlottesville, then Europe went reeling from Barcelona and Finland.
I don’t get it… but I do.
Grapes. Lots & lots of grapes.
I’ve always loved the symbolism and from the time I had my own home, had a grapevine planted somewhere in the garden. “Symbolism?”, you may ask, “What symbolism?”
In the Old Testament book of Numbers (13:23-25) the Israelites sent to spy out the promised land discovered a place of plenty. In particular, they found a grapevine that was producing so well that they clipped a bunch of grapes to take back to the rest of their countrymen as proof. That bunch of grapes was so big that it took two men to carry it on a stick. It was proof that God had provided a good place for them to enter, a place of provision… truly a promised land!
Inukshuks are stone piles, usually in the shape of a man, that mark a location and originated with Arctic cultures. Back home (though far from the Arctic), it’s not uncommon to see small make-shift inukshuks on the side of the highway, made by random passers-by who wish to leave a trace of their passage. The rock piles in this picture are on the eastern-most tip of l’île de Ré (Ré Island). They’re not in the shape of a man… but they were no doubt built with the same goal in mind: Beach goers stacked them as a way to mark their passage.
AIM Long 