Perdu

I lost my wallet today. I'm not 100% sure but I think it may have fallen out of my pocket as I ran from the mall to my car in the rain. I tried to go back and check if someone may have turned it in but the mall administration office is only open during the week. So what to do...can't exactly sit and wait watching my accounts to see if someone decides to buy a few things on me...(I guess they can always use my cash for that if they want to). :) So I cancelled them which is a bit of a bummer in that I have to wait for new ones to make it all the way up here from the U.S. Still hoping and praying that someone will turn it in to the office and it will be there on Monday.

Incidentally, I checked on getting a replacement license....it says it could take up to 30 days. So my question is what do people do while they are waiting for their replacement license to come? Get someone to chauffer them? I guess most people could just go to the DMV and get their new one the day they needed it. I, on the other hand, am a gazillion miles away from the DMV office.

Is it ironic that I happened to be looking at these just before losing my wallet? They are way out of my price range but they sure are cute. I think these ones are my favorite. Ahh well, that's the story for today.

I feel old!

Yep, that's right. I feel old!

Tonight I went to "Une soirée de louange", otherwise known as an evening of worship, put on by the students of the Bible school. They are trying to raise money for the missions trips they will be taking in just a couple of months. Anyway, the way the whole thing played out just made me laugh. Until tonight, I've considered myself to be pretty open when it comes to music...I'll admit it, I love to blast my music and sing at the top of my longs. But clearly it's not the same type of music that these students like to blast. I decided to draw a little sketch to give you a picture of how it went down.

The first thing that went down was the separation of the young and the old...the young went to front and the old stayed in the back near the safety of their seats and to their great joy, as far away from the blasting music as possible. Yep, that's right, you can see me there at the back.

Then the jumping started. This being in the Pavilion, a building meant to be a meeting place for summer campers, it's floor was not exactly made to last for the next 100 years. In fact, it's made of plywood of some sort. So what we had was about 50 young people jumping in the "Praise Pit". This created the teeter totter effect. I didn't even have to jump. I just got thrown up in the air on the rebound. It was great (except for the part where I began to wonder if the floor could actually survive 50 jumping teenagers)! Just about that point my french teacher came by and together we threw in a little extra bounce - you know, just checking if the floor could handle two more!

Well, although it was loud and more than I could handle in parts, they did slow it down for the old people...plus they sang a lot of English songs too. Oddly enough, I knew more of the French songs than I did the English.

So there it is, I understand how my parents sometimes had a hard time with my music back in the day! Thank goodness, God can hear the intention of hearts and that's probably the music He's really listening to.

Check it out!

Cards, cards, cards...I love making them because they combine the joy of creativity and the joy of blessing others with a little note to let them know someone is thinking of them. My favorite blog for card making inspiration is that of Kristina Werner. She does a color challenge each week and I enjoy checking out the winning cards. This week is her 50th color challenge so I decided to play along. Here's the card I came up with using these colors. Happy 50th!

Girls Just Wanna Have Fun

All girls weekend this past weekend! My friends Chellaine and Michelle came all the way from Toronto to visit me and they brought Michelle's friend Monique along too. We slept in Saturday and then headed out to Quebec City. Can you believe it - this was my fourth time this year! But I did see some new things so here's a run down.

New: Seeing this very old street filled with little shops and restaurants with my friends Chellaine and Michelle.

New: This little sign for the "toilettes" - love it!

New: Finding this mast from a ship - great place to pose.

New: Staying the night...here we are trying to find a hotel...it almost turned out to be a real sketchy one too with colored florescent lights around the outside. Good thing we checked it out before committing.
New: Eating at the Cosmos Cafe...you must go should you find yourself in Quebec City because it is yummy!
New: Seeing the city at night. Beautiful!

A Documentary

Back in the summer of 2005, I was in the middle of my 2 year short term in Niger when Niger became the focus of the world's attention because of reported famine. Esther Garvi posted the links to this documentary that was done revealing the way that the media and aid organizations manipulated the story. They were living and working in the Zinder area where the famine was reportedly the worst. If you have a little bit of time, it's really worth watching. I especially like Part 6 if you don't have time to watch it all.



Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6

The Prescription

Last Friday, I had the privilege of talking to the Bible School Girls about being single and some of the things that God has taught me during this time in my life. I shared in French - always a challenge - so I'm glad for a teacher like Kathleen, willing to correct things at the last minute. But anyway, there was another woman there who was a former Bible School student who is now a pharmacist. She was amazing! I appreciated her honesty with the girls...very "franche" as they say in French. (frank) Plus, she had her own little pharmacist spin to it. At the end, she gave them all a little pill bottle with their name on it, as though they were receiving a prescription. It was filled with Jelly Bellies...but she included a little sheet just like you do with any prescription and here's what it said....

Mr/Miss
Order: 0235977: Blessed years of singleness
__________________________________________
WHY:

• That you may benefit from this blessed time (1 Tim 6:6)
• To allow you more time to serve the Lord (1 Cor 7:34)
• Because God loves you and knows what's best for you (Rom 8:28, Jer 29:11, 1 Thess 5:18)

HOW:

• Take with a smile (Phil 4:4, 1 Thess 5:16), one day at a time, one year after the other, for God's glory
• Take at the same time each day
• If this medication upsets your stomach, take it with a quiet time with the Lord in the morning

INSTRUCTIONS:

• Important!! Do not awaken love until it pleases (Song of Solomon 2:7 and 3:5)
• Seek the company of people who call on the Lord out of a pure heart (2 Tim 2:22, 1 Tim 6:11)
• Avoid idealizing marriage (major interaction with this medication!!)

IF YOU FORGET:

• If you miss a dose, take it as soon as possible
• If it is almost time for a the next dose, you can take both doses, this medication is not dangerous when a double dose is taken

POSSIBLE SIDE EFFECTS:

• Most people experience few or no side effects with this medication, but the following effects have been reported: nostalgia, anxiety (if so, read Ps 94:19, Jer 29:11), eagerness to date or get married (if so, read 1 Cor 7:8)
• You may also feel blue as you see all your friends get married
• If you feel that your soul is cast down then read these verses(Ps 42:5, 42:11, 43:5)

PRECAUTIONS TO CONSIDER:

• Do not let your thoughts wander (Phil 4:8)
• Inform your doctor (God!!) if you think that you have been taking this medication long enough (or for too long!)

The great Pharmacist, in Heaven...always open, always available
tel: Just pray
Wow! Great advice and creative to boot...I walked away from the time, thankful for all the things that God has taught me and continues to teach me during this time in my life!

Translation as per my loyal reader's request!

Once upon a time in a castle not far from here a little prince grew up. It was an exciting life with lots of dungeons and moats to explore. But there was a big problem with the little prince. He was very small - smaller than all of his friends...

and all of the princesses in the land. No princess wanted to marry him because everyone knew that a king needed to be tall and impressive. The little prince was depressed. Life without a princess was no life at all. What should he do?
One day he received "The Parchment." It was a newspaper from a country far away from his castle. In a corner of "The Parchment" there was a little wanted ad: "Wanted - a little prince to lead a little people. We will give you a little castle and a little princess." Without hesitation, the little prince decided to leave his land in search of the kingdom of the little people.

His family gave him their blessing. Before his leaving, his father gave him a gift.

It was a compass, a useful gift for someone who was going to find his destiny - the kingdom of the little people.
It was a difficult journey where he encountered wild and ferocious animals like Vinnie the vulture, who was hunted him looking for an occasion to make the Little Prince his dinner. If his friend, Three Feathers, hadn't helped him he would not have survived. Each time that Vinnie was close, Three Feathers would warn the Little Prince.
Finally, he arrived in the kingdom of the Little People. Everyone was happy. They ate fruit to celebrate the arrival of their new king who was tall and impressive in his new kingdom. Right away he married the princess and they lived happily ever after and had many children who were tall and impressive.

The End