This morning we had our 3 year old's birthday party. I think there were 8 kids besides of our 3 present. 4 of them are school classmates of her. For all but 2 of the chldren, this wasBesides ourselves, there were 3 others with us specifically to help, plus 4 parenst. My wife did a great job running the party, although she was tired at the end.
For all but 2 of the children, it was the first time that they cam e to our place.
We've spent a good part of the evening getting ready for our son's birthday. It's tomorrow afternoon. Now it's time to go to bed.
samedi 31 janvier 2009
vendredi 30 janvier 2009
Friends from near & far
We're in full preparation for THE birthday party weekend. Tomorrow morning we'll have our 3 year old younger daughter's party, followed by a Sunday afternoon party the next day for our 7 year old son. Many of the guests will be first-timers to our home, which is an interesting and unexpected phenomenon.
Today after school I ended up picking up my older daughter, as well as one of her classmates who lives in our neighborhood. We got a phone call just a few minutes before school ended from the classmate's mother, whose 6 month old was sick. I was glad to be able to help in this practical way. I ended up having a cup of tea at their home after dropping the friend off, as the 2 girls were playing together well. It's nice to have connections in our neighborhood.
Yesterday I had a long phone chat with long-time friends Greg & Janie. Our phone plan includes free calls to U.S. landline phones, so it didn't cost us anything more. But it was good to connect.
Through Facebook, I continue to rediscover familiar faces from the past. I was just e-mailing a girl (now a woman married and with 2 kids) from a youth group in the mid-80s that I worked with. It's rewarding to learn what some of these former young people are up to now.
Today after school I ended up picking up my older daughter, as well as one of her classmates who lives in our neighborhood. We got a phone call just a few minutes before school ended from the classmate's mother, whose 6 month old was sick. I was glad to be able to help in this practical way. I ended up having a cup of tea at their home after dropping the friend off, as the 2 girls were playing together well. It's nice to have connections in our neighborhood.
Yesterday I had a long phone chat with long-time friends Greg & Janie. Our phone plan includes free calls to U.S. landline phones, so it didn't cost us anything more. But it was good to connect.
Through Facebook, I continue to rediscover familiar faces from the past. I was just e-mailing a girl (now a woman married and with 2 kids) from a youth group in the mid-80s that I worked with. It's rewarding to learn what some of these former young people are up to now.
lundi 26 janvier 2009
What is community?
Last night I attended what was the first of a series of monthly meetings for artists in Paris. This meeting is primarily for artists and those working in creative professions who are already Christians. It is an activity of la fonderie. One of its goals is to encourage them. Another is to allow them to meet each other. It doesn't have a name yet, although it will probably need to have one sometime. There were about 10 of us present.
After some reflections on "community," Steve asked us if we had felt community at la fonderie. I shared that I felt this "community" as Jessica's memorial celebration. Many shared that they hadn't really felt that la fonderie was a community. For some, it was more of a service to artists who came to different things at different times. Some felt that we could try to help encourage the development of smaller groups focusing on different arts forms, like web design, film, etc. Some felt that the larger gatherings of a mixed group of artists of different art forms.
One idea that came out strongly was the la fonderie is a network and that it's primary means of passing on info was through Facebook and through e-mails. It struck me that I was the primary means by which info was sent out. I hadn't realized how important my role in sending communications out was until then.
I think that at this point in time, communications is crucial to the success or failure of organizations and ministries. Understanding what tools are effective this month (and not necessarily last month or last year) is crucial.
After some reflections on "community," Steve asked us if we had felt community at la fonderie. I shared that I felt this "community" as Jessica's memorial celebration. Many shared that they hadn't really felt that la fonderie was a community. For some, it was more of a service to artists who came to different things at different times. Some felt that we could try to help encourage the development of smaller groups focusing on different arts forms, like web design, film, etc. Some felt that the larger gatherings of a mixed group of artists of different art forms.
One idea that came out strongly was the la fonderie is a network and that it's primary means of passing on info was through Facebook and through e-mails. It struck me that I was the primary means by which info was sent out. I hadn't realized how important my role in sending communications out was until then.
I think that at this point in time, communications is crucial to the success or failure of organizations and ministries. Understanding what tools are effective this month (and not necessarily last month or last year) is crucial.
dimanche 25 janvier 2009
Rest
This morning we attended again the church "Un Coeur pour Paris." One of its lay leaders gave a sermon on the theme of "rest." It was a good reminder of our need to rest on a daily basis, as well as on a weekly basis (a Sabbath). With today's culture, it is potentially easy to work all the time.
Our girls both enjoyed the children's Sunday School. Our older daughter said that she didn't want to go home. On the other hand, our son didn't do well in Sunday School, as he wouln't be quiet. As we are trying to teach home that good behavior brings rewards and bad behavior brings consequences, he didn't get the special chocolate after church, which the girls did. He'll have a chance to get his reward chocolate through good behavior tomorrow.
We had a good afternoon and evening together. I found some coloring pages and decorations based on the Snow White and Madagascar 2 themes my kids have chosen for their upcoming birthdays next weekend. It is amazing all the resources now available through the Internet.
Speaking of rest, I'm going to be now. I watched "The Patriot" this evening on French TV with my wife. While it's an intense film, it was enjoyable to finally see it.
Our girls both enjoyed the children's Sunday School. Our older daughter said that she didn't want to go home. On the other hand, our son didn't do well in Sunday School, as he wouln't be quiet. As we are trying to teach home that good behavior brings rewards and bad behavior brings consequences, he didn't get the special chocolate after church, which the girls did. He'll have a chance to get his reward chocolate through good behavior tomorrow.
We had a good afternoon and evening together. I found some coloring pages and decorations based on the Snow White and Madagascar 2 themes my kids have chosen for their upcoming birthdays next weekend. It is amazing all the resources now available through the Internet.
Speaking of rest, I'm going to be now. I watched "The Patriot" this evening on French TV with my wife. While it's an intense film, it was enjoyable to finally see it.
jeudi 22 janvier 2009
Date night, a parent's concern
Yesterday morning we had our first "official" team meeting with our intern Em. She's from Sydney, Australia and has been doing a good job integrating with our family and with some different ministry opportunities in Paris. Her French is at a good level already and she's intentional at using it, so there are endless opportunities for her. I've been helping coordinate her schedule and her main foci are our family, Quartier Libre (a ministry to children in the Belleville neighborhood), and la Mission Evangélique Parmi les Sans-Abris (a homeless ministry with a center near Belleville). She's also participating in GBU, a ministry to university students.
I spent some of yesterday creating birthday invitations for the upcoming ones of our son and younger daughter. He wants a Madagascar 2 theme, while she wants a Snow White / Princess theme. Fortunately, there are lots of photos, coloring pages, and other resources available on the Internet.
Em watched the kids last night so my wife and I could go on a date. We ate in an Italian restaurant in our neighborhood. We also had time to talk about life, including our children.
This morning I read the story in Luke 2 about when Jesus speaks with the leaders in the temple in Jerusalem when he was 12 years old. His parents hadn't realized that he wasn't in the caravan when they left Jerusalem. They had to return there, probably in a frantic state. When his mother rebukes him for not returning with them, he states that he must be about his Father's business.
As my son is nearly 7, I wonder how I would respond if he gave such a lucide response as a child. The text says that his parents didn't understand His response, but that Mary remembered this and treasured this in her heart.
We have some concern about how our son is doing relationally and in school. He's a smart boy with a good memory of events and names. He's physically well coordinated, which is evident in his progress in swimming, biking, and riding the scooter. He likes school and does his homework. His artwork has gone from scribbling to making some colorful and easily recognized objects. But he seems to have concentration challenges and doesn't always participate in the group work. He sometimes takes on more of the world's worries than a 7 year old should.
The 4 Gospels don't tell us much about Jesus' childhood. In summarizing Jesus' development, Luke 2:52 says that Jesus grew in wisdom (intellectually) and in stature (physically), in favor with God (spiritually) and with men (socially). We hope for this same development in all our kids.
We may try to organize a type of focused prayer for our son on his 7th birthday. If there is a spiritual situation linked with some of his current challenges, then we seek revelation and understanding about this. We also need God's wisdom in knowing how to best parent him.
I spent some of yesterday creating birthday invitations for the upcoming ones of our son and younger daughter. He wants a Madagascar 2 theme, while she wants a Snow White / Princess theme. Fortunately, there are lots of photos, coloring pages, and other resources available on the Internet.
Em watched the kids last night so my wife and I could go on a date. We ate in an Italian restaurant in our neighborhood. We also had time to talk about life, including our children.
This morning I read the story in Luke 2 about when Jesus speaks with the leaders in the temple in Jerusalem when he was 12 years old. His parents hadn't realized that he wasn't in the caravan when they left Jerusalem. They had to return there, probably in a frantic state. When his mother rebukes him for not returning with them, he states that he must be about his Father's business.
As my son is nearly 7, I wonder how I would respond if he gave such a lucide response as a child. The text says that his parents didn't understand His response, but that Mary remembered this and treasured this in her heart.
We have some concern about how our son is doing relationally and in school. He's a smart boy with a good memory of events and names. He's physically well coordinated, which is evident in his progress in swimming, biking, and riding the scooter. He likes school and does his homework. His artwork has gone from scribbling to making some colorful and easily recognized objects. But he seems to have concentration challenges and doesn't always participate in the group work. He sometimes takes on more of the world's worries than a 7 year old should.
The 4 Gospels don't tell us much about Jesus' childhood. In summarizing Jesus' development, Luke 2:52 says that Jesus grew in wisdom (intellectually) and in stature (physically), in favor with God (spiritually) and with men (socially). We hope for this same development in all our kids.
We may try to organize a type of focused prayer for our son on his 7th birthday. If there is a spiritual situation linked with some of his current challenges, then we seek revelation and understanding about this. We also need God's wisdom in knowing how to best parent him.
mercredi 21 janvier 2009
Presidential elections, money, leadership & contentment
On Tuesday I watched the inaugural ceremonies of Barack Hussein Obama (BHO), the 44th President of the U.S. On the positive side, I think it's cool to have a person from a "minority" background to have been elected to the most powerful position in the world. While I don't remember much about Martin Luther King, I do remember African American presidential candidate Shirley Chisholm in 1968 or 1972 and it seemed impossible back then. The fact that the 2008 elections took place without violence and that the turnover of power has gone smoothly are good things.
I appreciated BHO's having Pastor Rick Warren give the inaugural prayer, even though their views on some issues differ. I appreciated his prayer. BHO seems to so far be trying to be centrist and reach out to all sides.
On the negative side, I'm not comfortable with the views of some of the people he has selected to be on his leadership team, as well as some who are part of the inaugural ceremony. BHO's pragmatism will come out in the the policies that are signed and applied. I'm concerned about the blood on the U.S.'s hands that will come out if abortion rights are expanded unconditionally.
Anyway, many Americans and others around the world are hopeful that he will help solve the world's current economic crisis. I read yesterday that the British pound is at its lowest value since sometime in the 1980s.
While reading 1 Timothy this morning, I was struck by things the Apostle Paul said about money. One criteria for candidates for spiritual leadership is freedom from the love of money. If we have food and clothing, we are to be content with this. (I'm amazed at all the nice clothing that God has provided for us by friends, both Christian and not-yet Christian). Widows who don't have children to take care of them are to pray day and night for God to provide for them. People who are currently well off are still to put their trust in God, be thankful, and be generous. We come into the world with nothing financially and will leave it with nothing.
I'm struck by the attitudes of thankfulness, generosity, and dependency upon God that we are all to exercise regarding money. A lot of the world's economic problems would end if individuals would adopt these principles, rather than those of greed, materialism, and never being satisfied with what one has. We wouldn't spend just to have the biggest, brightest, newest, and fastest, just for for sake of having them. (Yes, I'm for quality and sometimes the cheapest ends us being more expensive in the long run). We wouldn't have be constantly living in credit card debt.
Having lived in a country run by socialist principles for nearly 16 years, I've seen some benefits, such as less expensive overall medical costs compared to the what it would cost in the U.S. However, I've also seen how it can discourage individual initiative and lead to inefficient and costly bureaucratic structures. My preference is to not continue to raise taxes, but to allow for individual initiatives of generosity, both toward non-profit agencies (like missions) that help people and causes, as well as churches, which also help people and causes.
I appreciated BHO's having Pastor Rick Warren give the inaugural prayer, even though their views on some issues differ. I appreciated his prayer. BHO seems to so far be trying to be centrist and reach out to all sides.
On the negative side, I'm not comfortable with the views of some of the people he has selected to be on his leadership team, as well as some who are part of the inaugural ceremony. BHO's pragmatism will come out in the the policies that are signed and applied. I'm concerned about the blood on the U.S.'s hands that will come out if abortion rights are expanded unconditionally.
Anyway, many Americans and others around the world are hopeful that he will help solve the world's current economic crisis. I read yesterday that the British pound is at its lowest value since sometime in the 1980s.
While reading 1 Timothy this morning, I was struck by things the Apostle Paul said about money. One criteria for candidates for spiritual leadership is freedom from the love of money. If we have food and clothing, we are to be content with this. (I'm amazed at all the nice clothing that God has provided for us by friends, both Christian and not-yet Christian). Widows who don't have children to take care of them are to pray day and night for God to provide for them. People who are currently well off are still to put their trust in God, be thankful, and be generous. We come into the world with nothing financially and will leave it with nothing.
I'm struck by the attitudes of thankfulness, generosity, and dependency upon God that we are all to exercise regarding money. A lot of the world's economic problems would end if individuals would adopt these principles, rather than those of greed, materialism, and never being satisfied with what one has. We wouldn't spend just to have the biggest, brightest, newest, and fastest, just for for sake of having them. (Yes, I'm for quality and sometimes the cheapest ends us being more expensive in the long run). We wouldn't have be constantly living in credit card debt.
Having lived in a country run by socialist principles for nearly 16 years, I've seen some benefits, such as less expensive overall medical costs compared to the what it would cost in the U.S. However, I've also seen how it can discourage individual initiative and lead to inefficient and costly bureaucratic structures. My preference is to not continue to raise taxes, but to allow for individual initiatives of generosity, both toward non-profit agencies (like missions) that help people and causes, as well as churches, which also help people and causes.
lundi 19 janvier 2009
Mission strategy of settling in
Last night I took my son to a swim class. It's at a local pool we pass everyday when taking our girls to their school. Our son has been swimming there since he was a toddler and we've had at least one kid in the 0-3 year old baby swim class for 6 years. The pool has been under renovation since last summer and just opened up last week.
When we arrived, we ran into 2 other kids and their mom and grandma whom we did a swim time with last year. Our son was thrilled to see them. We could see the kids in the pool from on overhead area with a glass window looking down. I enjoyed seeing the 2 adults again.
We'll invite the 2 kids to our son's upcoming birthday party. We'll probably celebrate his birthday and our younger daughter's birthdays on back to back days, as we did last year. It makes for a busy weekend, but everything stays clean and in order all at once.
Yesterday my wife spoke with the mother of one of our son's classmates after school. She learned this this mother lost a child in the same way our Jessica died.
In thinking about these 2 encounters yesterday, I recalled a class on urban mission I had in 1986 taught by Manny Ortiz. He didn't have a whole lot of theory he taught, but rather had us visit different projects in Chicago and report back on what we saw. The biggest thing I remember from that class was the overall text of Jeremiah 29.
Jeremiah 29 is written to the Jewish people in exile in Babylon. The word of the Lord for them was not to get ready to leave and return home to Jerusalem, but rather to dig in and settle down for the long haul.
In the New Kings James Version, it says:
I realize that some people's mission is more short-term, such as the Apostle Paul's. This is legitimate as well. But I think in Paris, as Louie Giglio wrote after Passion Paris, a challenge is for people to move here and settle in. For this place, settling in is often the place out of which outreach opportunities develop. There is usually no short-cut or quick and easy method to learning French and the local culture(s) here. To stay long-term here, one needs the encouragement and hope of God, as it can be discouraging sometimes.
When we arrived, we ran into 2 other kids and their mom and grandma whom we did a swim time with last year. Our son was thrilled to see them. We could see the kids in the pool from on overhead area with a glass window looking down. I enjoyed seeing the 2 adults again.
We'll invite the 2 kids to our son's upcoming birthday party. We'll probably celebrate his birthday and our younger daughter's birthdays on back to back days, as we did last year. It makes for a busy weekend, but everything stays clean and in order all at once.
Yesterday my wife spoke with the mother of one of our son's classmates after school. She learned this this mother lost a child in the same way our Jessica died.
In thinking about these 2 encounters yesterday, I recalled a class on urban mission I had in 1986 taught by Manny Ortiz. He didn't have a whole lot of theory he taught, but rather had us visit different projects in Chicago and report back on what we saw. The biggest thing I remember from that class was the overall text of Jeremiah 29.
Jeremiah 29 is written to the Jewish people in exile in Babylon. The word of the Lord for them was not to get ready to leave and return home to Jerusalem, but rather to dig in and settle down for the long haul.
In the New Kings James Version, it says:
During my nearly 16 years in France (and 15 in Paris), I've tried to follow this principle. While here, God has given me a wife (albeit, an American one) and 3 living children. We haven't married them off, but have tried to integrate them into French schools and other parts of this culture. We have tried to seek the good of Paris.4 Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, to all who were carried away captive, whom I have caused to be carried away from Jerusalem to Babylon:
5 Build houses and dwell in them; plant gardens and eat their fruit. 6 Take wives and beget sons and daughters; and take wives for your sons and give your daughters to husbands, so that they may bear sons and daughters—that you may be increased there, and not diminished. 7 And seek the peace of the city where I have caused you to be carried away captive, and pray to the LORD for it; for in its peace you will have peace. 8 For thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: Do not let your prophets and your diviners who are in your midst deceive you, nor listen to your dreams which you cause to be dreamed. 9 For they prophesy falsely to you in My name; I have not sent them, says the LORD.
10 For thus says the LORD: After seventy years are completed at Babylon, I will visit you and perform My good word toward you, and cause you to return to this place. 11 For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. 12 Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. 13 And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart. 14 I will be found by you, says the LORD, and I will bring you back from your captivity; I will gather you from all the nations and from all the places where I have driven you, says the LORD, and I will bring you to the place from which I cause you to be carried away captive.
I realize that some people's mission is more short-term, such as the Apostle Paul's. This is legitimate as well. But I think in Paris, as Louie Giglio wrote after Passion Paris, a challenge is for people to move here and settle in. For this place, settling in is often the place out of which outreach opportunities develop. There is usually no short-cut or quick and easy method to learning French and the local culture(s) here. To stay long-term here, one needs the encouragement and hope of God, as it can be discouraging sometimes.
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