The clock is ticking seemingly quicker than before and our time in Canada is drawing to a close. This time next week we’ll be in Montreal for services with the church in St-Laurent before taking to the skies on Sunday night. It’s hard to believe that things are winding down…
But I’m getting ahead of myself. Let me tell you a bit about where we are & what’s going on now.
This week we had a special treat…. a visit from long-time friends. The timing was perfect as the boys were on school vacation so there was no need to rush, do the school pick-ups, work through homework, etc. There was just a lot of fun & games as well as some great conversations.
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?
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!
The sun rises over the Vienne River in Châtellerault.
Today you woke up.
(Perhaps some of you are still in the process of waking up)
Maybe you found yourself mulling over yesterdays worries or last weeks failures; often times those things stay with us a while and oddly enough they are most present in our minds when we are trying to fall asleep or when we awake… potentially coloring our mood for the day.
I was recently asked a question and thought that the answer might benefit others who find themselves confident that God is calling them to short-term missions involvement, but they’re perhaps not yet quite sure where.
I’m applying for short-term missions. Do I indicate the country that I’m feeling or is there only a list of certain countries that the organization is recruiting for?
Well… I made my first visit to the Police station. …nothing major and they let me out after only 30 minutes later so all’s good! 🙂
Welcome to the last week of September. This is the place where I distill “the week that was” … making sense of it in my mind and sharing it with those who follow our story on a regular basis. Continue reading
AIM Long 