Gods that can be stolen...

"And now, though thou wouldest needs be gone, because thou sore longedst after thy father's house, yet wherefore hast thou stolen my gods?" Genesis 31:30

Raphael and I have been going through the book of Genesis, and we are reading about Jacob, his wives, sons, uncle/father-in-law... and stolen gods! If you don't know the story you can go here. It's an interesting story about twin brothers, sisters, love, lies, children, God and much more. Where we are right now in our reading we see in chapter 31 that Jacob left the place where he was living, took his wives, children, animals and... something else. Laban, his uncle/father-in-law/boss, didn't know he had left, so when he realized that Jacob was gone, had taken everyone and everything with him, and that his gods were missing, he was furious and pursued Jacob. When he finally met up with Jacob he told him how angry he was that Jacob had left like this, and in the above verse tells him that even though he knows Jacob wanted to return to his father's house, why would he steal his gods? Jacob didn't steal the gods, it was his wife Rachel... but that's not where I want to go. Isn't it a funny thought that Laban's gods could be stolen? As I was listening to a message this morning the pastor chuckled a bit as he mentions that Labans gods were stolen...but I have been thinking about it all day.

Can you if imagine if someone would tell you that God was stolen? That He was nowhere to be found? What kind of a god is it that it would let itself be stolen? That just implies that the one who stole the god is greater than the god. No? To some of you the concept of bowing to a little statue is foreign and a bit crazy... but to many people this is still a reality. They worship gods that were made by men, gods that don't see or hear and can be stolen. Others may not worship little statues, but they worship Mammon... money...glitter and gold. Or people... singing idols, movie starts. It's easy for me to look at people sometimes and judge them... and when it's easy to do so I know I have to examine my heart because I'm probably doing the same thing. Our jobs, our houses, a boyfriend or girlfriend, our bank account, our little electric gadgets could be our gods... I just had to picture how I would feel if the things/people I treasure were stolen or taken from me... would I feel like I had lost my gods? Would I feel hopeless? Would I pursue them without rest?

I'm happy to say that I too chuckled with the pastor because I know the God I serve can not be moved... but I have to make sure I keep Him as my only God. I can be thankful for the many blessings He has given me... but they are not my gods, they won't save me. Let's remember who holds our lives in His hands.

"...and thou hast praised the gods of silver, and gold, of brass, iron, wood, and stone, which see not, nor hear, nor know: and the God in whose hand thy breath is, and whose are all thy ways, hast thou not glorified:" Daniel 5:23

Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn't before...

“It came without ribbons! It came without tags! It came without packages, boxes or bags! And he puzzled three hours, till his puzzler was sore. Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn’t before! ‘Maybe Christmas,’ he thought, ‘doesn’t come from a store. Maybe Christmas . . . perhaps . . . means a little bit more!’

"Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel." -Isaiah 7:14

"For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace." —Isaiah 9:6

"Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying. Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us." - Matthew 1:22-24

"Maybe Christmas . . . perhaps . . . means a little bit more!

Fun with Colours and Red Hat

Just for fun!

I thought I would share what my husband and I have been doing these last two days. He usually asks me what I want to do in the afternoons, so I told him I wanted to draw and colour with him. He said he wasn't very good at it at all... but he would do it anyway. I'm not very very good at it either, but I still love to play with colours and draw and pretend that I'm good. So I told him that our first exercise would be to share a big sheet of paper and start drawing whatever comes to mind. We could draw anywhere on the paper, and even change each others drawings. It was funny because the first line he drew was pointy and mine was curvy. At the end he told me that he tends to draw the same things he drew as a child, and that even though he really enjoyed it as a child he got much negative criticism from his teachers, because they didn't think he was good... so he just stopped drawing. I told him I wasn't going to criticize his art and that it was just fun to do something with him, and to allow him to use "my space" on the page, and even change what I did. It's not something that is always easy.

The next day he asked if I wanted to draw something with him... :D... I said yes of course. This time I told him that he should draw something that he had never drawn before. He thought for a long while. I sensed it was kind of a hard thing to do, so I gave him another option. I told him to just pick up a pencil and start scribbling a line on the page without lifting the pencil until he had finished. He scribbled for a while, and then we were to draw what we saw in the shapes the line made. So we looked at them for a while and soon enough he saw a head, I saw a hat, and a building and hair. He saw flowers and mountains and a sun...and it was just a lot of fun again. Here are some pictures we took. It was so nice for me to see that he was into it and having fun and using colours with me. I was very thankful afterwards for the fun time we had doing this. What a blessing marriages can be when we see that we are to be a gift to our spouse...and when they see you as a gift as well.

Saturday: First drawing we made

Sunday: Me colouring the red hat...

Raphael very concentrated...

Voila!
The black lines on her face are some funky glasses that Raphael gave her...
I'm still not too sure about that, but ok.

How do they know?

There are about four posts that I have written for my blog in my head, but as I haven't taken the time to "post" them they will probably never get posted, but I thought I would take the time today to write a post... I have been quite busy in a physical, mental and spiritual way the last two weeks... I turned 30 about two weeks ago, and it has somehow slowed me down and is causing me to think about what it means to be 30, and if it really even matters. I don't feel old... I don't think I look old, but the problem is (and by the way, I am not saying at all that 30 year olds and above are old), but the problem is that I don't feel like I grow up. Just early this morning I was prancing about the house, collecting laundry in my new Dora bathrobe! And then I thought, "Wait a minute, you're 30 and you're wearing an electric blue Dora bathrobe with a pink belt? The one you just got last night! When you were already 30?! Why?"

Well, for one it fits me (kind of), and it's hard to find things that fit me, two, ... it was in a pile of good usable things for sale, and I wanted a bathrobe, and I love turquoise... and the pink belt that didn't originally go with it looks super cool. But wearing this doesn't make me look my age... not that I would go out like that, but "What would people think?" ..........

....

"Who cares?" you might think, but I do... I care about what people think, simply because they are thinking, and what people think shapes them... makes them who they are, and if people are going to think about us, then I want to give them something good to think about. Let's forget about the turquoise bathrobe with pink belt... who cares... and bear with me, I've been gone for two weeks and I'm 30 now!

A long time ago when I was 18 years old I went to India. I was not there by choice. Because of my illness, being paralyzed, learning to walk again, and not being fully recovered, my dad decided that we should go to India to see a famous guru that did miracles, and perhaps he could heal me. I was already a Christian and believed that there was only one God, one Savior, and that I was not to bow down before any god... so seeing the guru and being healed by him was not something I wanted to do even if it meant living the rest of my life as a handicap, but on the other hand there was my dad... a medical doctor that could not heal his own daughter because of this weird illness and was looking for any other way to bringing her back to how she was. That doesn't really matter, but I still felt like I had to obey him as he was my father and go with him. So I did, not easily but I did.

My dad and I stayed in a little village-like place where thousands of people from all over the world were coming daily to be near/see/talk to this guru. This guru had his own little airport, the place where we were staying had bakeries, shops, restaurants... it was alive. My eyes were wide open.Their logo... the five religious symbols in one... in other words, all religions are the same. As a 18 year old, and pretty much a young Christian I was determined to share with all about my faith and to let them know that I was not like them, and my God was not this guru. So I would go out looking for people to talk to, and tell them who and what I was, and guess what I heard? "You are a Christian? Oh, me too!" (big smile) The first time I heard this I thought "Really? Are you also here on an undercover mission like moi?" - but see... this is what I heard each time. We are all one and the same thing, serving One and the same God in different forms. There were times when my stomach just wanted to cry out (I feel in my stomach first, then my heart)... "no you are not, if you were you wouldn't be here serving this god." So, I had a dilemma, everywhere I went, I was just like everyone else and saying that I was a Christians made no difference, they were all "Christians" too. I had to wear the same kind of clothes as they did when I was there, and even if I walked around with my Bible I knew I wasn't standing out, so I cried out to God and said "Lord, if you are the one and only true God, and if those who trust in You are your followers, there must be a difference between your followers and those who don't follow you! Doing good, is not it, because all these people are trying to be good people. Eternal salvation is the difference but when you share and you hear that we are all Christians, and they all believe they will go to heaven... what is it that makes the difference?" Thinking that I was right and they were wrong was not good either. I didn't get an answer that night...

I wasn't really into Indian food because it was a bit too spicy for me, so everyday I would go out and eat at a hotel where they served fried rice with mushrooms. It goes like this... you go to a restaurant and you find a seat. It doesn't matter if there are three people you don't know at the table... if you found a seat sit down. So one day I went and found a seat at a table where there was an old lady. She was probably around 58 but I was 18 so that made her old to me back then. She was eating so I quietly sat across from her, and said "Enjoy you meal." She said "Thank you". When she got up to leave I got my fried rice and she said "Enjoy your meal too." and I said "Thank you." I ate, paid and left. The next day I went back to the restaurant with my dad. We were talking when this same lady came up to us and asked if she could sit with us. She told us her name, that she was Australian and that she spent all night thinking about me. She said there was something that made her think about me and she was trying to figure out what it was. When it hit her that it was love. She said that she knew I loved God and that I had love. I was shocked... I hadn't shared many words with her the day before, and she was telling us this. I told her that she was right, that I loved God. I didn't know much, I didn't do things right all the time, I wasn't perfect, but I did love God. We told her why we were there, that I wasn't a follower of this guru, and we shared about the struggles that we were having because of this. She was a guru follower. After our meal I left back to our room and my heart felt like it was 4 times bigger and faster. Somebody saw a difference, my prayer was answered. I jumped on my bed and opened my NIV Bible that I had at the time. I didn't know my Bible very well so I was going through the gospels, when I came upon this verses for the first time.

" A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another." John 13:35

I read it over and over, seeing the word love and remembering what this lady said, and again feeling like the Lord was near... with me.

I spent a whole month in India, met many people, had many great experiences, and left being in love with the place and people. On the day I left India there was a prayer that the Lord had not yet answered. Before going to India and while I was there, I was praying for the Lord to show me a real Christian in India. I wanted to meet a Christian while I was there. On our way to the airport, as I looked out the window and saw all the people, the shops, the dresses for sale, the elephants on the road, we slowed down a bit and passed a market where there were table after table covered with little Hindu gods... and in the middle of this line of tables I saw a man, walking with a wooden board on his shoulder and a white T-shirt that said, "Jesus is the way"... I just rested back on the seat having seen enough, and believing by faith that God had just answered my last prayer once again.

What does all this have to with a turquoise Dora bathrobe? I guess that even if we do our best to dress nicely for God's glory, try to look, walk, talk, and live in a good way... which is all good mind you... it's our heart that matters. People will judge us by our words, actions, physical appearance... and we can all try to control these areas, but God looks at our hearts, and there is something that people both young and old are sensitive to... it is "love"... real love, the kind that I believe can only come from above...

If you don't know Jesus... let me tell you that His life is the best love story ever told, an eternal one that involves you and your story too... As Christmas approaches remember how Jesus came in a humble way as a child, so we could all approach Him and not be ashamed... The rich and poor, the well educated and the not so well educated, young and old, the sick and the healthy, found their answers in Him... He is the way, come and see...

(P.S.) You can pat yourself in the back if you got this far ;)

7 weird things?

Well, Jessica just tagged me and as she is the first person to ever tag me I thought I would go ahead and do it. I have to write 7 random or weird things about me... I guess it's a good way of getting to know people a bit better. I can't think of weird things about myself, but I'm sure if I were to ask my brothers they would have plenty to say. Maybe even my husband.... hmmmm

Ok here we go:

1. My husband thinks it's weird I can't find anything weird about myself....okay

2. When I was 19 years old I was learning to fly a Cessna plane and tower control.

3. At 17 years of age, after being paralyzed due to TM, I had to learn to walk all over again.

4. I've been to Canada, the U.S., Mexico, Colombia, Venezuela, Peru, Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, Aruba, Curacao, Bonaire, St. Martin, the U.K., the Netherlands, Germany, Belgium, France, Italy, Spain, Monaco, Luxembourg, Austria, India... I've lived in 6 of these countries.

5. I love to travel, and would love to go to New Zealand, Australia, Israel, Brazil, Chile, Ireland, Norway, Russia, Finland, Sweden, Burundi... and many many more places.

6. I can read my husband's mind.

7. I wrote a story called "The One-eyed Princess" after dreaming it up.

Now, that I started I could probably go on as so many random and weird things are coming to mind... but I think that one of the weirdest things about myself... in the eyes of many people I have met and family even, is my faith in Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior. Yes, I believe that He is THE way, the truth and the life... weird?... maybe to some... but I don't want to live any other way.

Thank you Jessica for tagging me... that was a first for me. I have to tag 7 other people, but the ones I would tag have already been tagged or would not like to be tagged so that just leaves you Doug ;) .... hehe

Blessings to all...

Happy Thanksgiving!

Just wanted to wish all my U.S. friends a Happy Thanksgiving. I'm not from the U.S. but I love the idea of getting together with family, friends or church family to share a meal and give thanks for all His blessings. I read a great article this morning by a man I had never heard of before, but it really blessed me and I thought I would share it. I found it as I was reading Kristina's blog. It's a long read but worth it in my opinion. It's called:

"Thanksgiving, Praise & Joy"

There is much to be thankful for that if we were to take the time to list our blessings, we would see how richly blessed we are. I'm thankful that through my blog I have been able to meet and keep in touch with many wonderful people that have been a great blessing to me. Thank you!

How Beautiful....

My husband is good at updating my computer with cool open-source programs. Although it takes me quite some time (hours) to figure them out sometimes it's great when I can finally use them and have fun with them. A lot of times when I take pictures a verse comes to mind... I am so blessed by the beauty of nature that I can't help but think of the One who created it all. I just found a way of adding verses to my pictures so I think I will use it to post verses in the future...

God bless...

Thank You!

I just wanted to thank all of you who have prayed for my cousin. I don't have any news on how they are doing, but I believe that we can thank God for what He is doing through your prayers. I have been really touched by you all and so has my family.

Well, that's it for now... I've been kind of busy as I have recently started going to school to learn French and haven't found a lot of time to post, but I will see if I can take some time to post some more pictures and thoughts soon. Hope you enjoy the little Lavender field picture I took in the summer...

Blessings -

Praying for Francisco...

Dear Friend,
Just a request in case you might read this post. I have a cousin in Colombia who was in a terrible car accident. 5 were in the car; three young men and two girls. The girls passed away. One young man is in a comma, the other one seems to be well except for injuries to his legs, my cousin is conscious, slowly remembering people and things, and needs to be operated because of his injuries. Just as they and their families need prayer, so too many more people I know and you know need prayer.

I know that sometimes we don't want to pray because we don't know what to say, or we think God is angry with us, or we think He doesn't listen, or we don't feel like it, or we don't think we are worthy, or maybe you don't even believe in God... let's put ourselves, our feelings, our fears, thoughts and or anger aside... let's not think about ourselves for a moment, but remember people we know that need prayer. It could be your mom, or dad... your children, your friends... Let's be loving and bring them before the Lord... it is not only good for them, but it is also bringing us before the Lord and touching our hearts.

Could you please pray for my cousin if you feel led to? Or could you please pray for those you know are in need of prayer? Could you please just take some time alone with the Lord, on your knees and bring it all before the Lord? Could you please let me know if you need prayer too?

1/2 Year!

I can't believe I have been married half a year already. Time does go by really fast. My mother-in-law gave us a few pictures from our wedding days that I hadn't seen before so I thought I would show some. We had two wedding days because if you want to be married at a church you have to have a civil wedding first, according to Dutch law. So we did. We didn't invite anyone really except the three witnesses (our siblings and a friend of mine). My mom came, my aunt and uncle and a lady that worked with my mom because her husband works at the town hall and he told her I was getting married that day. So ok, fine.... One brother and my dad didn't make it unfortunately, but it's ok because we didn't really care so much about the civil wedding. It was kind of a funny day. I knew I was getting married on that day but I wasn't really really sure about the time, so I had to call them to ask again... then I wasn't sure if I had given the "right time" to my friend (the witness) and after calling her I had indeed given her the wrong time... an hour later! So the poor dear had to rush to get the train as she lived in another city. Oops. :( I knew what dress I was going to wear that day but I spent the morning looking through my mom's closet to see what I could put over it, and then as we headed out I broke a flower off of my mom's kitchen bouquet and put it in my hair. Raphael and my brother had to rush to the train station and pick up my friend, and then my uncle drove the rest of us to the town hall. My mom's friend and her husband were already at the town hall and as we were late she called to make sure we were still coming. We all got there at the same time... just a bit late, and parked in front of a supermarket close to the town hall. When we arrived we were about to enter the town hall the wrong way, until a funny man came out and told us we were supposed to enter through the "nice" stairs on the other side of the building. He mentioned he had been waiting for us so he could open the door for the bride. Most town halls in Holland have nice stairs where they usually take beautiful wedding pictures, so it must have been funny to him to see this group of people walking to the town hall, bride and all.

Once inside I was very happy, and it was just kind of cool. The lady that married us asked if she could speak in Dutch or if she had to do it in English for Raphael. Dutch was ok with Raphael... I jut had to tell him when to say "Ja!" After all was said and signed she took her hammer and with a "Bam" she pronounced us man and wife in the law, and congratulated us. So I think I hugged Raphael, and then we looked at her again...and she had a bit of a stunned look, and said "You can congratulate each other."... which I had just done, but ok... once more. I said "Congratulations!" and shook Raphael's hand...haha, the lady must have thought we were idiots. Oh well... it was a fun experience :) We should have invited her to the real wedding.

Both Bride and Groom were late... :( but happy :)

Our marriage lady, congratulating us ;)

I actually wore this dress before on my first wedding. See I got married some years before while a Senior in High School. For our Senior year we did a play called "The Taming of the Shrew" by Shakespeare and I was the Shrew! I got married in the play and wore this dress, and I thought..."If I ever get married for real, I will wear this dress again." That was years ago.

I just love the expressions on this pictures :)

I love you Amor!
You are truly a great blessing to me, and I'm so happy to be your wife... I'm definitely the one that "Married up" ;)
May God bless you always!

Two men went up...

Parable by Jesus

LOCATION:

Temple

CAST OF CHARACTERS:

Pharisee: played by Himself
Publican: played by Himself(a collaborator of the Roman Empire known best for collecting taxes)
Narrator: Jesus

ACT I

NARRATOR:
"Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican." [Enter Pharisee and Publican] "The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself..."

PHARISEE
[standing and looking up] "God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, [pointing at Publican] or even as this publican. I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess."

NARRATOR
"And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying..."

PUBLICAN
[Looking down and beating his breast] "God be merciful to me a sinner."

NARRATOR
"I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted."

- EXEUNT

Ref: Luke 18:9-18

Abased = lowered, humbled

Dear Doug...

Dear Doug,

Last week my husband and I spent some days in the mountains and as he loves to hike we went for a hike. I told him I was tired and didn't want to go for a long hike. So, after a light lunch in Valberg, a ski town, we went up to the mountains. These are not the really high mountains of the Alps... I was tired and the man at the gîte were we stayed saw that I had walking difficulties, so he suggested we go on a hike that was "flat", easy for my walking and not too tiring. When we got there we took a little "flat" path along the hill. It was so peaceful and beautiful. We walked for about 20-25 minutes and then we arrived at a lake were we sat down for a while. The weather was cool but sunny, so it felt just great. I told Raphael that if he wanted to go on and reach the top he could go and I would just stay there by the lake and have a nap. I hadn't slept well the night before, and we had been traveling quite a bit. So, he agreed to go on to the top without me and I stayed and had a lovely little nap next to the lake, in the sun, in the breeze... just in nature with no one around.

When Raphael got back I felt much better and we decided to go back to the car. I thought we would just take the same path back but he asked if I wanted to go another way. He took out the map and showed me how we could go back to the car another way. Not following a path, but just going down the mountain and then following the river. I didn't like that there was no path, and I kept asking him if he was sure about it, and at the same time I wanted to trust him and just let myself be led by him. I reminded him that I was a bit tired, but he assured me that it would be ok, that if I got tired we could just go up to one of the houses around and I could wait there while he went for the car. So off we went, down the mountain towards the river. It was very difficult to walk in some parts; I almost fell a few times, but I had a walking stick and Raphael was there to give me a hand when needed. At times I wasn't sure if he really knew where he was going, but I wanted to trust and follow him.

I thought about you and made sure to take pictures to show you. It won't look like much of a difficult hike to most people, but I'm sure you and I can appreciate that it does take a lot to go on such a walk. When we finished our hike and I looked back at all I had walked I thought that if Raphael had shown me beforehand how much we would walk I wouldn't have done it. I would have said "No way, I can't do it, I'm too tired for this!" And in the same way, just as for you I imagine, if God had shown me beforehand what I was to go through with TM, I would have said "No way! Not me, I can't... chose another or go alone!" It's a good thing He didn't show us right? I know it's not always a fun hike, sometimes you can fall, sometimes you are too tired to move, sometimes you think you are alone. Funny how sometimes life can be like a nice little flat path, and then after a little nap all of a sudden it's difficult to go on, it's not at all the same anymore... But isn't it great that He has brought us to a place where we depend on Him to go on... His helping hand, His guidance, His love, His company, His strength. I'm telling you to encourage you in your walk and show that even if we don't know where we are going but only have Him to guide us, He can lead us to really great places. When Raphael got home and shared with me that faith begins where we know we have reached our limits. It's when we know that we can't do it ourselves, like Sara laughing upon hearing that she would be a mother at her age! Anyway, just wanted to share this little "BIG" walk with you.

"Nice little flat path"

Lake where I took a nap :)

There I am!

Time to go back to the car!

Going down hill

Looking back at where we came from... up where the pine trees are.

Following Raphael

Moi! when we got down...

Then we saw some nice horses.

Coming to check Raphael out.

After following the river we started going up again

Nice grass :)

Looking back at where the horses were... they are somewhere behind the little lake

Up some more

And back on the nice flat path!

Fresh water to clean our faces and hands and drink some.

You can't see it but i had a big smile... :D

Now thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ, and maketh manifest the savour of his knowledge by us in every place.
- II Corinthians 2:14

So what do you do all day?

This is by far the most popular question I have gotten since I got married. "What do you do all day?" Second one... anyone wants to guess? "When are you going to get a job?" I'm not working for a "paycheck" so if I stay home "all day" what do I do? Hmmmm, I can just imagine what might go through some people's minds...

1. She sleeps in every day.
2. Watches tv while having brunch.
3. Puts music on loudly and dances wildly in her pajamas and socks.
4. Jumps on her unmade bed till she's hungry again.
5. Eats some more of what was put out for brunch.
6. Watches some more tv.
7. Looks out the window to see how many cars, dogs and crying babies go by.
8. Plays Solitaire on the computer.
9. Talks on the phone for hours.
10. Does her nails all afternoon.
11. Sings opera while taking long hot showers.
12. Pretends she's a goldfish in front of the mirror.
13. Looks all happy and pretty when husband gets back home.

I can laugh about it now, but it was kind of hard in the beginning when we were just married because even though I felt like I was doing as much as I could at home (cleaning, washing, scrubbing, ironing, decorating, and so on...) it was as if I wasn't doing anything really important as long as I was just a wife, just somebody that stays home all day. Learning to be a wife didn't come so easy either because once I was here with no one to manage and no boss to tell me how to do things, I didn't always know if I was doing things right, and it was very frustrating at times. But well... good news is that I'm extremely happy at home, I love learning all about the art of home keeping, and reading cook books, and I'm having fun trying to see how I can decorate the house, and getting some excellent advice from some sisters in Christ. My mom also came for a short visit which was a big help, and my Mother-in-law has also been very encouraging. I love getting to know my husband and searching my heart to see how I could be a better wife to him, and most importantly as my husband pointed out to me, I can make time to spend with God, to pray, to read His word, to listen to His guidance and believe it or not, sometimes I'm so busy at home I even miss to take time on this...which is not good really because He is my strength.

I guess the reason I'm writing about all this is because I have so many things on my mind lately. I'm learning so many new things and it's all related to my new role as a wife and manager of this house. And it's very important to me because I believe God has brought me here for a purpose, and if He has given me this home to take care of it is to bring glory to Him somehow... and I like that. So, if this is my purpose now, I want to do my best at it, just as I did when I was a teacher, and therapist, for the same purpose of glorifying Him. I want to be used by God, and right now my tools are not toys and paper, playdoh and markers, and scissors, but a mop, an apron, an old toothbrush, plastic gloves, a washing machine...can I do great things with these tools? Probably not, haha, but I just might if I offer them to God and let Him use them. Most definitely in fact. I mean, remember what He did with Moses' shepherding staff? He turned it into a snake in front of Pharaoh... and wasn't Moses used to shepherd His people out of Egypt, and...didn't Aaron's staff bloom now that I think of it? Now that would be cool, if my mop started to bloom, haha. But all joking aside, I know God wants to use me, and you, and no matter what we are doing right now, whether it's cleaning toilets or being the president of a company He CAN do great things if we let Him. Well.... that's enough for now... I think I will go back to jumping on my unmade bed...err, I mean scrapping the floor! \o/ Yay!

Home Sweet Home

After being away for two weeks it was good to come back home and to go to church this morning. Raphael had to work in Paris for a week, and after his mission we were able to spend a couple of days in the mountains. It was a very good time with family and each other, but it's good to be in our sweet little home. I am so blessed to be able to stay home and try to make our house a home... and trust me, I wasn't singing this tune some time ago when I didn't even know where to start. But well... it's time for bed now, but just wanted to post a few pictures I took this morning after church. We had lunch on the beach with some friends. It was a beautiful sunny cold day in Nice, and little Yann had tons of fun playing with Raphael. Yann is a lovely little boy, but he cannot stand pictures and makes it very clear that he doesn't like Paparazzi, or Mamarazzis either! :)

On Raphael's shoulders...

...in Raphael's arms...

...pushing Raphael...

...and running away with a big smile and a stone, after leaving Raphael exhausted on the beach...kids are great!

"et dit: Je vous le dis en vérité, si vous ne vous convertissez et si vous ne devenez comme les petits enfants, vous n'entrerez pas dans le royaume des cieux." - Matthieu 18:3

Mom's Visit

My mom was visiting me a week ago. I was very happy to show her were I live and what my life in France is like. During the weekend we stayed a night up in the Alps and then the next day my sweet husband gave us a 6 hour trip through the mountains back to the coast. I have over 100 pictures of this day. It wasn't snowing yet in the Alps, but two days after my mom left it started to snow and it is so beautiful when it snows. Maybe I'll get to go up there sometime soon again. The older I get, the more relationships I have, the longer old relationships last, the more I see of the world, the more in awe I am of God's love for us. A love comparable to the love between a loving husband and his wife, a father and a son, a mother and an unborn child, a potter and his craft, a shepherd and his flock, two good friends, sisters... how deep His love is and how present it is in all the good that surrounds us.

This is a waterfall in St.Martin-Vesubie. Sorry it's not very clear.

One of the many little village up on the mountains.

My mom fell in love with these mountains because they were redish/purplish/auberginish.

Mommy! I love my mom.

We wished we had our swimming suits to just jump in. Maybe next time.

Puget-Thenier

Raphael and I

Greoliers

Candy Shop in Gourdon

Gourdon

And there are still many more pictures to come... but not tonight.

Peace

...as a tree

"For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat cometh, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit."
<<Jeremiah 17:8>>

Who was I again?

I have been trying for months now to get back to blogging. First because some people have asked me for an update, and secondly because I do love to write and share about my life and my walk with Christ in hopes that it could bless someone else, but where to start? I really don't know as I kind of forgot who this single girl in Holland that started this blog was, after 5 months of marriage and living in France. It's kind of hard to continue when the character (me) has changed so much. I'm in a new country, I have a permanent house mate now, I don't work as a teacher anymore... but on the other hand I'm still the same person, I still love children, I still struggle with TM from time to time, and above all, I still long and desire to know God more and more each day.

I could write about so many things right now, about France, about my husband and being a wife, about my church, new friends, house-keeping (ehem), so many new things but the most important thing is that God is good, He is here and He is blessing me beyond anything I ever imagined.

I know people love pictures so I will let them do the talking and show you the places and things I see in France. I have tons of pictures so I will put them in groups and post a group each time.

Nice. as in Nice, France.... but also nice of course ;)

Nice is packed with tourists during the Summer... I wonder how busy it is the rest of the year.

A good friend of mine was visiting us in August. She took this picture of us.

It was very cloudy on this day, which is not normal here. This is the Promenade des Anglais.

Coast, old Nice, and balcony on the Château.

Old Nice

Russian Cathedral in Nice. This church building has beautiful colours.

Just a quick hi and thank you to Sis. Julie who has been such a great blessing to me, even from a distance. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. And to anyone else that is reading, "Hello and thanks for stopping by" :)

God blesses...