Signs I've Been in France for A While

*I automatcially say hi or good evening to the owner/cashier of the stores I enter. And of course, say good bye as I leave.
*I don't smile at strangers or smile in public. (It's seen as being "up to something" and leads to mistrust.)
*I've stopped looking for the English side on labels on food items.
*Standing in line for less than 10 minutes is a nice surprise.
*I automatically dodge the dog poop on the sidewalk.
*I cross the street with confidence, no longer afraid that the cars will hit me. They'll come close, but they always stop.
*The sound of the city doesn't wake me up at night.
*I have my favourite selection of cheeses and chocolates.
*I freak out when I hear that it will get to -1 C below at night. Why did I send my winter clothes home already!

That's GREAT

I'm a great-auntie! My nephew and his wife Darcy had a baby boy on Feb 21st. Kaylo Brian weighed in at over 9 lbs. My first great-nephew! Also born on the 2 great-grandmothers birthdays. (Good timing, Kaylo!) Can't wait to meet him this summer, or at least see some pictures of him. I hear he has lots of hair already!
Man, it makes me feel old to think that my nephew is a father! (He's only a year and a half younger than me.)
Welcome to the family, to the world, Kaylo! I'll let you figure out which of the 2 is crazier...

NOTE: just got this picture today...check him out! For the first time on the blog....introducing Kaylo Brian!

Memorial to Tea June

This is the Heo family, cute aren't they? I was at the same language school with them. Have lots of fond memories of this family. They're Korean and were living in Africa. Tea June (husband) was a pastor/church leader. I say "was" because Tea June died in a car accident last week, leaving behind his 3 year old daughter and his wife Youn Suk, 2 months pregnant with their 2nd child.

Tea June was one of the most generous people I ever met, his laugh was infectious, as was his love for God. He was always ready to pray, to sing or to just chat and check to see how you were doing. A random memory: he had a cow shaped pencil case that he took to class with him every day. I can still see his grinning face, saying "Bonjoo". He will be missed. Greatly. But it is a comfort that he is in heaven, and that we will one day get to see him again. Perhaps with his cow shaped pencil case. : )

I've had time to deal with the fact that he's gone, that his family is grieving, and none of us can be there to comfort the girls. It seems so many of my friends are scattered around the world, it's times like this that I wish we weren't so far away.

Things like this just don't make sense in my eyes. Why would a man in the prime of his life, immensely gifted, with a young family to support, be killed in such a random event as a car accident? Why? I don't know. Probably won't ever know, this side of heaven. But what I do know is that God is loving, sovereign, kind, merciful, just and always wants the best for us. He also has His timing and His plan in mind at all times. Sure I have questions, and honestly, I was angry and upset for a while after. But I can rest in knowing that God is in control, that He is love, that He will work good out of this tragedy.

One good thing is that I've been able to talk to some "old" friends from school and that we're going to try to set up a memorial in honour of Tea June, perhaps giving a donation towards the language school we all attended together. And another good thing, I've been thinking more about eternity, life after death kind of thing. Not in a morbid way. In a sense of trying to make each moment count, to make each day count for God's agenda. Because you never know when it will be the last.

So if you knew Tea June, let me know if you're interested in giving towards a memorial offering. I'll send you the details.

Bus Drivers

I have a deep respect for the bus drivers of Marseille. Not only do they have to deal with insane traffic jams, insane drivers (mostly moped and motorcyclists), there is so much construction going on downtown, they have to weave in and out of contruction zones, pylons, barriers, illegally parked cars (because there is NO parking downtown). Today on the way home from the movies, we were trying to get in between one of the construction barriers and a parked car. The driver hadn't left enough room for the bus to get by. But our bus driver, determined man that he was, decided to inch past them anyways. People saw his attempt, came running to help move the barrier on our left (which he was scraping past). Then the highlight of the whole fiasco, the driver of the car on our right, came running, laid on the hood of her car, and squeezed her hand in between the bus and her car in order to save her driver side mirror. She laid on the hood as we continued to inch past, and she kept the mirror bent in enough so we could pass. Frankly, I wouldn't have risked my hand for a car mirror, but she was obviously fond of her car. Hopefully she learned her lesson not to park like that again. And all this happened without anyone swearing, losing there tempers, or rude hand gestures. Amazing.

Let the Nations Be Glad

I used to live in the Foothills of the Rocky Mountains, in Alberta, Canada. Then, just last year, I spent 6 months in the French Alps. Now I’m living in a big bustling city, feeling really far away from the beauty and majesty of nature. I miss the awe-inspiring view of the vast expanse of a mountain, especially after it has been lightly dusted with fresh white snow. The mountains always invoked in me a feeling of smallness, a feeling of the bigness of creation and therefore an acknowledgement of the Creator—God.

Here’s an excerpt from one of the (many) books I am reading now:
“Let The Nations Be Glad” by John Piper Pg 19,20 “Scientists know that light travels at the speed of 5.87 trillion miles a year. They also know that the galaxy of which our solar system is a part is about 100 000 light-years in diameter—about 587 000 trillion miles. It is one of about a million such galaxies in the optical range of our most powerful telescopes. It has been estimated that in our galaxy there are more than 200 billion stars. The sun is one of them, a modest star burning at about 6 000 degrees centigrade on the surface and traveling in an orbit at 135 miles per second, which means it will take about 250 million years to complete a revolution around the galaxy.
Scientists know these things and are awed by them. And they say, “If there is a personal God, as the Christians say, who spoke this universe into being, then there is a certain respect and reverence and wonder and dread that would have to come through when we talk about him and when we worship him.”
We who believe the Bible know this even better than the scientists because we have heard something even more amazing:
“To whom then will you compare me, that I should be like him?”, says the Holy One. Lift up your eyes on high and see: who created these [stars]? He who brings out their host by number calling them all by name, by the greatness of his might, and because he is strong in power not one is missing.” Isaiah 40:25-26
Every one of the billions of stars in the universe is there by God’s specific appointment. He knows their number. And most astonishing of all, he knows them by name. They do his bidding as his personal agents. When we feel the weight of this grandeur in the heavens, we have only touched the hem of his garment. “Behold, these are but the outskirts of his ways, and how small a whisper do we hear of him!” (Job 26:14) That is why we cry, “Be exalted, O God, above the heavens!” (Psalm 57:5). God is the absolute reality that everyone in the universe must come to terms with. Everything depends utterly on his will. All other realities compare to him like a raindrop compares to the ocean or like an anthill compares to Mount Everest.”