Last month...

Well, another month is trying to get the best of me in getting this out.

So, I'll cut to the chase…

…well, just a quick report on the amazing worship time in Switzerland.

It's difficult to put into words how significant this felt and how great these 3 days were.  10 of us from our church went with a simple/vague agenda to worship the Lord for 3 days.  We were a group of 5 French, 4 Americans and 1 Welsh girl.  We ranged in age from early 60's to 17. The location was Christian retreat center named Laebeshuus (they're redoing their site at the moment) that is situated high on a hillside overlooking Lake Thun near the town of Thun, Switzerland with an absolutely stunning panorama of the snow-capped Swiss Alps in front of us.  There is a desire, in addition to being a retreat center, that this center become a place of constant prayer and worship.  It was in this context that our friends Rusty and Janet Richards organized this trip.  Laebeshuus was looking for worshippers and we were happy to oblige. 

There was also a desire that as many worship team participants at our church could participate as well.  Since some of those are young folks still in school, the trip was planned during the spring break here.  We had 3 youth with us and were extremely blessed to be able to share the time with them.  Their participation was key and there were also some strong times of impartation into their lives.  The detail level of planning was not done intentionally in order to give the Holy Spirit as much room as possible to guide us.  Our time was mostly spent in a small room (formerly a garage!) that is becoming their "worship center". We were able to set up a few instruments in there, a table for painting/drawing, and we still had a bit of space to "move" with banners and such. 

We also enjoyed getting to know each other around a generous Swiss table with great food in a wonderful facility.  We were able to take early morning walks and just stare in awe at the amazing mountain scenery with weather cooperating to give us a varied view of the landscape with mysterious clouds and brilliant sunshine all on offer in these 3 short days. 

The Holy Spirit was moving among us and we could feel the flow from one topic of prayer to another and different musical "scenes" taking place, all backed up by prophetic pictures that were simply flowing from the artists among us.  We felt used by the Lord as a group in praying for strategic things (different nations in Europe, etc.) as well as for each other and individual growth.  I've been involved in many different short-term intercession initiatives and it's always fun to watch the Lord create and bond together a team in a short period of time and it's especially fulfilling to watch that with young people involved as well.  I love watching their giftings coming into maturity and bearing fruit.  Very satisfying!

This month...

• Olivia on the road again - Olivia's 10th grade class is currently on a class trip with their German teacher to Vienna, Austria and Berlin, Germany - returning Saturday.  Please pray for their continued safety, good health, strong bonding and a measure of the Lord's heart for different lands.  
• Worship - This Friday night is our monthly 4-hour worship tabernacle.  At the moment there are only 2 leaders (myself and another gal) available and a lack of drummers too.  Typically like to have at least 3 groups for 4 hours. Pray that we find the Lord's perfect organization to create a worship environment that pleases Him. 
• Room strategies - Recently we've had some serious discussions about how to change our worship center so that it can be rented out from time-to-time.  This has brought to the fore several different, and opposing opinions about the layout of the room, how to best do the sound, how to protect equipment, etc.  These are things which need to be resolved to move forward into the next season of our stewardship of this building that is being renovated.  Please pray for wisdom and grace as we seek God's perspective in this whole matter and the ability to hear each other's hearts.
• Sozo training trip - Angela takes off with about 10 people from our church to attend an advanced Sozo training workshop in Nimes, France (down south) this Thursday.  This training is really an answer to prayer for the expansion of the team.  Angela's had the training but this will be an excellent team-building time for all involved.  Please pray for their travelling safety, team bonding and strong revelation during the training for this inner healing ministry. 
• School IT work - I've made some progress during this break but not as much as anticipated.  I need to get some specific things done by this Thursday before school restarts.  Additionally, I'm working on a "recruiting" effort to build the IT team by 1-2 people.  I really need to know how to go forward in this as I know that God's ways of recruiting are usually a bit different than ours. Please pray for effective work times these next few days and for the right direction in bringing in new people into this work.

May you be blessed!

David

Anyway, this morning, I was listening to a teaching, as usual, while washing the dishes and I figured, that if I just started typing, I could get some of my excitement out before I thought about how big a task it is! (I'm trying to trick myself! )

I was listening to a series of teachings/discussions by a guy named Skip Moen on the book of Matthew.  Skip is a theologian/Bible scholar who, while still teaching various theological courses at a university level, is also endeavoring to reach a broader circle of Christians with the message of what a Hebrew/Old Testament contextualization of the New Testament does to help us better understand Jesus, God, His Kingdom, etc.  I learned about Skip Moen because Bill Johnson from Bethel Church in Redding, CA mentioned him in a sermon about 6 months ago or so. 

The plug from Bill interested me because he made reference to some word/concept in scripture and then what the Hebrew behind all that really means and it really brought it to life.  I've experienced that before when I've discovered the original language meaning and cultural context of something in the Bible - typically something I thought I already knew/understood.  I've also experienced that in a more modern context by simply living in another country where another language is spoken - even though there is no disconnect in the temporal context. 

Language and cultural context are enormous!  I don't know how I can stress that enough - other than to say that I understand as well that it really has to be experienced to be fully understood (which is, itself a concept taken from a Hebraic world view!) These recordings of this study of Matthew are interesting because you can hear the discussion and the questions of the people in the discussion on the recording.  When he presents something that creates a cognitive dissonance in them that I don't personally feel, I realize just how far God has brought me these last dozen years or so outside of the American and English context - and how valuable that journey has been.

So, all that to say go have a listen yourself and expand your dimensions of understanding and knowing God and His plan for us and His Creation.

http://skipmoen.com/category/matthew/

The last week of March, we welcomed Willemijn from Holland, (despite my vow to never host another exchange student in a previous newsletter!) She was delightful and along with her classmates, participated with our students in a fun run to raise money for the persecuted church. We raised over 3000 euros, which is amazing, considering our school struggles to pay the bills most months!

On the occasion of my 50th birthday, Jesus used all of my local friends and family (and even strangers!) in myriads of ways to show me how much I am loved. After leaving everything and everyone familiar 12 years ago, I have never felt so rich. This gives me immense hope as I look towards the future (and all the unknowns that come with aging!) Here are 7 of my girlfriends from our church who celebrated with me one day at my favorite restaurant in Germany followed by a long soak in the local thermal baths!

One birthday blessing was getting a call to help one of our students with English homework - my first paying job after getting certified to teach English! He's a relatively motivated 14 yr. old boy who lives in our village, so it's easy money!

Noah was also home for his spring break and we had a delightful 2 weeks together in beautiful weather, while Olivia and David were still at school all day. During our 4-day Easter weekend, we held a 6 hr. tabernacle on Good Friday to lift up Jesus as King over France at the onset of presidential elections and we invited Alana and Nadine over for my traditional leg of lamb meal on Sunday. 

A few days later we picked up the Richards at the airport for their fifth 3-month stint with us. Janet and Nadine will be busy with sozo training seminars during this time. Right now our individual sessions revolve around just a few people whom we see every two weeks. The teen that we helped a year ago referred another teen to us who was barely functioning. After 4 sessions with us, having transferred to our school, and staying with a healthy host family during the week, she was able to attend a full week of school recently for the first time in years. She even participated in the fun run!

And that brings us to our own spring break and Paris. My old friend Corinne turned 50 two weeks after I did, and I hadn't seen her since she her father's funeral 18 months ago. She had sent me 20 roses and I wanted to take her to a gourmet restaurant run by YWAMers in the 19th arrondissement. She's moving out of Paris this year, so I decided I should take Olivia along while we still had free lodging, since her last visit was 11 yrs ago on outreach from Scotland and she remembers nothing! La Vie en Rose was playing during our boat ride down the Canal St. Martin.

During that time, David drove to a prayer house near Lake Thun, Switzerland with the Richards and some of our youth worshippers to fill a few days with worshipful musical and artistic collaboration and prayer. Guess who came home exhausted and who came back refreshed!

Next week Olivia leaves for another class trip with her German teacher to visit Vienna and Berlin. So far, she is the only 11th grader enrolled for next year, so she may do independent study while her classmates go off to public school. Ah, the ups and downs of high school in Europe!

Love, Angela

Last month...

With respect to our health in March, I'd just as soon forget the month - just a series of colds and recovering from colds. Annoying but it seems we're mostly over it now.

Nevertheless some really cool things happened:

• The multi-church worship gathering was really good. Though I'm not keen on ever playing an electronic drum set again, it was great to see the Spirit of God manifested with different nuances and colors of worship expressed by the different churches.  There was a real sense of being welcomed/hosted by the church where it took place.  There were very good connections that took place and I think it's something that can be built upon to help change the spiritual atmosphere in the region.
   
• Angela celebrated her 50th birthday in style - but I'll let her talk about that next time.  Suffice to say it was a success and the realization that she had about the network of friends that she now has here has been powerful and rather unprecedented in her life.  It's good to celebrate my wife!
   
• Our summer trip feels much more like something to be excited about than stressed about now.  Things are coming into place (though much remains to prepare as well) and as usual, God's plans trump ours every time!
   
• Perhaps I'm most excited about some growth/direction/movement as a result of some training we sent some of our young sound technicians to.  I see where God is providing people and training resources to help me move forward in refining the sound reinforcement effort at church.  It's still challenging for me in the organization/discipling areas, but I see progress and I'm encouraged and also excited about how elements are coming into place for the future - for growth in worship ministry in our area.  This is, in my opinion, vital as a foundational or "grounding" aspect of the various areas where God is moving us forward here.

This month...

• Worship - This month gets a good dose of time in and cultivating of the Lord's presence.  This Friday (Good Friday) we have as a holiday and so our normal 4-hour monthly worship gathering will be a 6-hour affair with a couple of groups invited from outside our church.  This will be a good follow-on to last week's 6-hour event in Mulhouse.  This month our friends Rusty and Janet Richards return to French soil and their presence always increases the worship activity in the area.  In addition they've coordinated a 3-day worship stint at a retreat center in Switzerland which wants to start a house of prayer (http://www.laebeshuus.ch/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=19&Itemid=21).  We will be taking several of our youth worship team members as well and really experimenting with creative expression in the Lord's presence.  This should be a very special time.  In addition, the technical side of our worship ministry is growing in the skills and experience of our young sound technicians.  God is putting together the building blocks He's been gathering and it's exciting to be a part of it.  Please pray that we, the so-called "experienced adults" would be examples of those who let the Spirit flow in full measure when we seek to celebrate the Lord in worship and pray that the rising generation here would really grow in their anointing to carry God's presence.
   
• Logistical Spaghetti  - While our peace level has risen a bunch about this summer, we do still have quite the list of details to finalize and would appreciate your prayers for the energy, motivation and clearheaded-ness to get the "t's" crossed and "i's" dotted!
   
• Sozo ministry - The 3-member official Sozo team (inner healing ministry) at our church, of which Angela is a part, has an interesting challenge.  They are raising up the next group of people to expand this crucial ministry.  At the same time, they are working on some really tough/urgent cases that don't lend themselves to observation by the rest of the team (things just too sensitive).  This is encouraging to see some of these really hurting people beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel, but at the same time the team is getting tired and progress to expand the team has slowed.  Please pray for discernment for the team to know the best way to proceed in expanding the team and treating urgent problems.
   
• School IT work - I've been making some significant progress in certain areas in the IT infrastructure at school but it's been largely new, urgent needs that have gotten most of my attention and not the most difficult infrastructure issues that need to be addressed to really arrive at the next level of effectiveness for student and administrative computing.  Please pray for my discernment as well to know which things to put my energies to and for blocks of uninterrupted time which really allow me to move forward in significant steps (interruptions may be from the Lord or simply distractions - I don't want to miss God opportunities nor be tripped up by distractions).
   

April showers of blessings on you!!!

David

I had good reason to be silent last month - physical attacks on both of us plus an extreme cold snap turned us into moles for much of the month. It was almost painless with a boxful of new, used English books to dig into from the annual book swap at Black Forest Academy, until the end of the month when David and I both crawled out of our holes just in time to help make the French Christian teacher's conference a success.

I was in on the food, of course, making 100 sack lunches to sell with Olivia's class, raising money for their spring trip to Berlin. This photo gives you a vague idea of the setting and how many people are involved in Christian schools in France, Belgium, and Switzerland. (300ish) The main speaker was an American, so Olivia was asked to be her hostess during the conference and also pitched in with food service. David supervised the setting up and tearing down of the sound reinforcement from our church, to this rented hall, and back again.

So after getting over that mountain, the next one staring us down was planning our summer trip back to the U.S. It was time to buy the tickets, but the details were overwhelming us. We hadn't been back as a family for 5 years, and the demands were much greater than when we visit individually. We needed house/cat sitters for 6 weeks and free private lodging to help us get through this extended family transition time (relating to Rachel on her own adult turf, battling random menopause symptoms, and returning without Noah!) We would also need a car of our own for a road trip to visit my parents and then a car for local use in Indy. I also desperately wanted some private spiritual retreat time in a comfortable place, as this does not exist here. Even though French retreat centers are located in beautiful isolated locations, they are obviously designed for the sole purpose of mortifying the flesh.

So we laid the whole thing on the altar, letting God put it together, or not, as He saw fit. We told Him that if He wanted us to go, we needed some details in place in order to decide on departure/return dates and we gave him a week to do it, nervously keeping an eye on ticket prices.

We are happy to report that our Father, in cooperation with His children, has gone above and beyond for us!

• That week, two families (that we trust!) contacted us, needing free lodging and a car in our area, perfectly timed during our absence!
  
• I had also "put out a fleece" by applying to attend a 4-day retreat for full-time cross-cultural North American missionary women at a luxury hotel in Denver. Because churches and fund-raisers subsidize most of the cost for the attendees, they only accept 100 applicants, you can only attend once in your lifetime, and there is always a waiting list. Free gifts, massages, haircuts, pedicures and counseling are part of the package. And guess what? I got the acceptance e-mail that same week and my parents covered my travel and fees as my 50th birthday gift! With those dates in stone, we were able to pinpoint a departure date.
  
• Then we sent out an e-mail about our car needs and found just the right one so the family can come pick me up in Denver, drive to NM, and then back to Indy via Texas. Rocky Mountain residents need to keep July 7-8th open and we'd love to see our friends in Texas while passing through!
  
• For our remaining 3 weeks in Indy, we were still waiting for God to provide the housing we needed, but we confidently bought our tickets, knowing that our Father would take care of this too. Since then, not just 1, but 2 wonderful options became available for us! And speaking of housing, my sister-in-law Jane has graciously agreed to keep Noah during his freshman year, so I'll spend some of that time fixing up his future bedroom.
  
  With Rachel and Noah both graduating from their respective schools on the same day on different continents, we are also planning a belated open house to celebrate and at last meet all of Rachel's radical friends in person! Her last quarter of school has been a busy one as she has already started working part-time for a marketing firm, has a couple of freelance jobs on the side, and is part of a worship band that has just cut their first album!

Finally, here's a quick snapshot of how God is also keeping our ministry visions moving forward here this spring, making mighty mountains out of our little molehills!

• Translation of the marriage course materials (mentioned in my Jan. newsletter) will happen, thanks to the French Swiss, making this event a real possibility for next fall, if travel schedules line up!
  
• Worship is growing! We sent 2 of our youth to a professional seminar for sound training and another group of youth attended a first-ever conference in Paris for raising up French youth in worship-leading. This weekend, our worship teams will be playing in another church's first effort at a 12 hr. worship tabernacle. We heard that it was quite a battle for them to get it organized, so we know we are pushing the enemy's buttons!
  
• The Sozo ministry is gaining momentum! My French teammate, Nadine, has just been named the national director for France - a necessary role as new teams start to sprout around the country. The team we are building in our church will travel together by train to get the advanced training from the Bethel leaders in May.  If anyone is interested, I'd be honored to do sessions while in the U.S. - It's so much more fun doing it in English! 

Looking forward to April!  

Angela

Last month...

Many thanks to all who prayed for the French Christian Education conference that happened last weekend!  Yes, it DID happen! 

As you may recall, this was in question since just a couple of weeks before the event we had not actually secured the venue.  Acting upon a prompt from the Lord, our pastor's wife returned to the local city hall to press the issue again - and she found favor!  So, though we had to go through some gymnastics this time with the mayor's office, the Lord intervened and we got the original venue that we had requested - which is the only one really in the area that would work for our gathering.

As with every large-sized event that I've been a part of here, I was again impressed with the expression of the Body of Christ working together to achieve a goal.  It is a beautiful thing! Everywhere I looked there was someone giving of themselves with excellence and some degree of sacrifice to make a certain aspect of the conference work correctly.  What's also very encouraging for me to see is the involvement of the youth, both current and former students, etc.  Nearly every situation where there was an adult working on something, there was a young person as well.  The beauty of the generations working together is also impressive.

During the event itself, there was the opportunity to hear testimony of how God is working in the various expressions of Christian Education in the French-speaking world.  This itself is really inspiring.  We count ourselves privileged to work with and near so MANY people who are concretely giving of themselves for the Kingdom and for the good of generations to come.

A couple of other items of interest this month:

• Noah next year - Noah was accepted for next fall at IUPUI and got a nice scholarship which helps immensely!  Praise God and congratulations to Noah!
  
• Sound Team - I finally got together with the young man, Benjamin, who will be my "right-hand-man" on the sound team at church.  He's still on board with the idea, thank goodness.  What's more is that God provided a weekend training seminar with an experienced sound technician that the church will send Benjamin and two others from our team to.  That's a big weight off my shoulders since, though I have some practical experience to share with the young folks, I've no formal training at all and don't really enjoy giving training either. So, I'm seeing a light at the end of this long tunnel.  Thank you Lord!

This month...

• Angela's 50th - On the 22nd of March we celebrate that wonderful event of 50 years ago when Angela broke on the scene!  She's still in the spotlight and going strong.  So pray for a wonderful celebration of her birth and 50 more great years! (hey, why not?!)
   
• City-wide worship - On the 24th of March, there will be a 9-hour worship celebration in Mulhouse, the large city just south of us.  Our church will be joining in.  Coordinating events like this can be interesting, due to different groups coming in with different technical needs and differing styles etc.  It's a really cool opportunity to lift up the name of Jesus together with other churches and hopefully opens the door for more such gatherings.  Please pray for those coordinating and those participating.  Pray that the presence of God would increase in Mulhouse as well as the expression of unity in the Body of Christ.
   
• Summer trip - As most of you know, we're coming home for 6 weeks this summer.  There is much to arrange and frankly, it is a challenge at the moment.  Whether it be how to take care of our house (and kitties!) or paying for rental cars or simply the price of the tickets themselves (which seems to have gone way up since money was set aside), there are a lot of unknowns at the moment.  I, personally, don't function well with that many significant unknowns.  God knows that, of course, and is happy to put me on special training courses to learn how to trust Him...Hey! I think I'm on one now!  Anyway, we'd appreciate your prayers for how to plan the time in the States.  Pray that we'd connect up with friends, family and people we don't even know but need to!  Pray also for our health and provision for all aspects of the trip.  Our God is able!
   
• Health - Both Angela and I were sick last week (yes, during the conference as well).  This week I still feel like cotton balls have been stuffed deeply in my ears and I'm still coughing at night.  We both feel better but the final vestiges of that "little flu" need to be GONE!! Please pray for our complete recovery and return to strength.
   
• Sound Training - The sound training that I mentioned for the three people from our church happens the 9-11 of March.  Worship (and in particular its musical expression) is a deep value with our church here and so sound reinforcement is crucial.  We've come a long way in the last few years but it seems we still have a long way to go.  Please pray that this training weekend would provide key puzzle pieces in what God wants to do to raise up a quality technical team to facilitate worship for Him.

Thanks everyone for your prayers!!!

David

Last month...

Last month when I wrote the prayer bulletin, we'd not yet sprung the surprise on Olivia that I was going to Ireland and that she was coming along - so, I didn't ask you to pray about it so as to keep the secret.  God, of course, was faithful and gave us a great Dad-daughter time.  The trip was an intercession trip with Operation Capitals of Europe so our agenda was almost completely planned out for us.  That's nice in the sense that we didn't have a lot of decisions to make and were able to take advantage of group rates for things, etc. 

There is, of course, much to see and do in Ireland that we didn't even touch on and one just doesn't go to Ireland in January for a tourist visit (not exactly the best of weather generally - and not for us either!).  So we're ready to go for another visit and even then, I'm sure we'll need to keep going back! I intend to blog about it but until then, you can at least check out some pictures on our gallery.

IT work at school continues to advance significantly.  I can really see new levels of effectiveness in what we're able to accomplish with technology in the school both in teaching and administration.  We've a LONG way to go (and much of that is because I'm only one person) but I'm really excited by the advances we've made recently.  So, many thanks for your prayers in that area.

This month...

• Christian Education Conference - This is my only prayer request this month.  Why?  Because we still don't have a venue! The conference will attract about 300 people who will be descending into our Alsatian valley the weekend of the 24th-26th of February.  How did we get to this point?  Well, this conference has been hosted many times here and those who request the municipal hall did what they had always done and received the same affirmative response as always that we could have the hall.  Then in December the local mayor's office said "no", the hall was booked and all of the sudden this looked like this was shaping up to be an "open-air" meeting in February! 
  
  Our pastor's wife has been looking at all the surrounding communities and we even considered our church building but nothing has worked out.  So she decided to go back to the mayor's office and press the issue of why they said "yes" and then "no".  She had an interesting conversation with an assistant and then was able to schedule a meeting with the mayor.  The mayor promised that they would discuss it this coming Monday night (Feb 6th - morning in the States).
  
  What is interesting is that this is a different local government administration from the last time that this conference was held here. There was a good relationship with the last administration, but the relationship seems to be non-existent with this new mayor.  Curiously, one of the themes of this year's conference is how our Christian Schools can be of service to their respective communities.  Personally, I think God's up to something here to bring this school into a new level of connection with the community and I believe that the devil is none to excited about that.
  
  The organizers here have peace about a solution for the venue problem - even though we don't see it yet.  Still, I believe it would wise to:
  
  1. Pray for this meeting Monday and for favor with the city council
  2. Pray for and bless the authorities of Guebwiller, France
  3. Pray for God's provision for the venue for this conference
  4. Pray for God's blessing on the conference at the end of this month

Until next month!

David

Our village invites residents to decorate their windows for Christmas and this year I signed up and did a Ps. 23 theme. I covered a tree with sheep, candy canes, snowflakes, and the first 3 verses on paper ribbons to remind passersby of the goodness of God. This newsletter will catch you up with us in the same vein...

The LORD is your shepherd, you lack nothing.

It seems that I don't feel a lack until God is ready to provide it. Whether it is home renovation or a haircut, just when I reach the end of my rope, He provides for it. We've lived with one high performing desktop computer all these years and it has been adequate until recently. With my approaching 50th birthday, and the invention of the tablet computer, my soul began to feel the void that this device could fill. I wanted something light and portable of my very own without having to wade through all of David's virtual clutter, but the iPhone was too small. Olivia was also fed up with her limping machine and started encroaching on our time on the desktop. During the holidays, while Noah was home and David was not working at school, it came to a head when we were playing musical desk chair almost 24/7! I let David know that "the cobbler's children needed new shoes" and waited for provision. It came flooding in from many sources just after Christmas.

So last week, my husband surprised me w/an iPad, Olivia got a new laptop (that she will share when we travel) and with Noah back to school, life has become very serene in the evenings! 

He makes you lie down in green pastures, He leads you beside quiet waters, 
He refreshes your soul.

This verse is a good image of our holidays. It started with a great Thanksgiving hosted by the Richards. Though Rachel stayed in Indy this year, we had a sweet time with guests on Christmas eve, with each other on Christmas Day, and then we welcomed 3 different friends of Noah's in the following weeks of his vacation time. We refreshed ourselves with lots of outings that we haven't had energy, money or time for in the last several months. (And if French films are shown near you, don't miss Untouchables -  a blockbuster here that is full of hope and joy and has the power to annihilate any traces of racism in your heart.)

He guides you along the right paths for His name's sake.

We continue to seek God about marriage ministry here. Our pastor is asking us to keep working towards this and as we initiate discussions with the Love After Marriage leaders in the States, we come up against the same French hurdles - translation of materials, a poverty-mentality, and fear of transparency - in order to come up with enough couples in leadership nationwide who are willing to be transparent, can afford to attend, and have a workbook in French! Only God can pull this off, and when he does, it will demand our full-time focus. We need the timing to be right, with so many other things pulling for our attention. In the meantime, I take solace in the Sozo ministry that is healing individual hearts so that ministering to their marriages will be more effective.

Even though you walk through the darkest valley, you will fear no evil, for you are with Him; His rod and His staff, they comfort you.

Looking back, I believe that all the gains we made last March at the marriage seminar were to hold us together for the turbulent months that followed with David's declining health. How wonderful it is to have my husband back, with new and improved emotional and physical energy available for us again (as long as he stays away from raw cauliflower!)

He prepares a table before you in the presence of your enemies. 
Despite the above mentioned setbacks, serving good food continues to be my favorite way to bless others. I volunteered to donate dessert for 60 at this year's teacher Christmas banquet. Lucky for me, the French appreciate small portions and I had it covered with 2 pumpkin cheesecakes and 2 pecan-date tarts, both new taste sensations for them!

He anoints your head with oil; your cup overflows.
Olivia was spoiled for her Sweet Sixteenth birthday this month: We bought her some clothes, took her out to eat, and then presented her with a card announcing that she was going on an 8-day father-daughter trip to Ireland! (We tried to capture the moment here.) She's visited a lot of countries, but this has been her dream destination for a long time. They will be attending teachings on the spiritual history of the land at a YWAM base there and then intercede on-site in Dublin and Belfast. (David will get to hook up with an old friend from his Up With People days one evening as well!) If you feel led to pray for their trip, the dates are Jan. 22-29th. I will also relish my week alone w/no one to worry about except the cats!

Surely His goodness and love will follow you all the days of your life, and you will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.
I am now living this out concretely with my new toy: the only worship music I listen to now is from the International House of Prayer live and archived on the internet from Kansas City and it cannot be downloaded easily. Living in a house with thick walls and lots of closed off rooms meant that I could only worship in our den, sitting in front of the desktop, which is very limiting (and distracting) for a housewife. Now, my favorite worship troubadours follow me all around the house! No more housework in silence, long sleepless nights, or neighbor negativity invading my kitchen! "Practicing His presence" just got a lot easier!!

Happy 2012! Angela

We had a great Christmas (missed you Rachel!) and ushered the New Year in with a worship tabernacle at church.  It's just been a nice vacation break…so good that I couldn't remember what day of the week it was today…pretty rare for routine guy like me!  We're also particularly thankful for an unexpected gift from our French church that covered the replacement of one of our refrigerators that had just breathed its last.

I think 2012 stands to be an auspicious year if for no other reason than for the elections/regime changes in several countries in the world (I know of at least the States, France and China and of course North Korea that just happened).  Then there are questions about finances, etc.  Times of transition are such key times for the Lord to accomplish much in our hearts and in redemptive history.  May He and His will have complete preeminence!

Last month...er...last year

• Friend in a coma - I really want to thank you all for praying for Tim.  He came out of his coma and came home half-way through December, about a week earlier than expected.  The applause that erupted when he came to church was soooooo sweet!  If you think about him, pray that God would get maximum mileage out of this shaking experience at this crucial age of his life.  God is so good!
• Christmas visitors - Seth (Noah's buddy from the States) has been having a really good and eye-opening visit.  He came laden with some Christmas goodies and will be returning with some fun stuff for his family as well.  We'll cram some more sight-seeing in tomorrow before he leaves Wednesday.
• College application - Seth helped get Noah's application in and now we're waiting to see what the school says, but it's nice to get that out of the way!

This month...

• Christian Education Conference - Technically, it's in February (i.e., I'll be asking again!), but this month is prep time.  Each year there is a Christian Education conference held for French-speaking Christian Schools.  This is virtually the only source of input and encouragement for Christian teachers in France.  The conference is held in different locations each year and this year it's here!  It's been hosted here before, but this year there is a challenge.  We just found out before Christmas break that the venue where it was to be held is NOT, after all, available.    So it's back to the drawing board fairly late in the game to find a venue to host 300 people.  Our church remains a possibility, but that comes with its own challenges, such as ongoing construction (a good thing that it's progressing, but disruptive for hosting a conference).  So, we covet your prayers for discernment about the venue and grace for all the administrative effort needed to prepare for the conference.
• School IT work - After several years of trying, I finally got our internal server switched at school over Christmas break.  Obviously, the real test will be when everyone returns to school this Thursday.  Please pray for a smooth transition and rapid resolution to any problems encountered.
• Marriage ministry - We want to see this happen, but we've got to get some items translated for it to move forward.  We can verify translations, but not being French, we can't initiate them (we'd screw it up too badly - easier for them to work from scratch than to fix our poor translations).  So we really need another French couple to be willing to join the effort and we need French native translators for translating the materials. Please pray for God's people in this effort and God's timing as we continue to dialog with the ministry leaders in California.

Many, many thanks for your prayers,

David

What's a "backstory?"

Most of you probably already  know, but I remember that the first context I heard that term mentioned in was in gaming (though wikipedia gives it a broader definition).  It refers to the over-arching narrative that has been crafted around the action of the game that can give the player more understanding of what's going on strategy-wise (the "practical" value of the backstory), but it's also a tool that facilitates a more immersive experience in the game.  Depending on how alive the imagination is of the gamer, they can really enter into what they are doing and what they are experiencing in the game. It enhances the experience.

The backstory to the Gospel of Luke

Imagine my surprise, having only a gaming context in mind for this word, to hear it come out of the mouth of "learned British theologian" NT Wright. In the this talk that he gave in 2010 as part of the British "The Big Read" project (various churches in Britain all reading through the same portions of scripture during the season of Lent), Wright gives the "backstory" to the Gospel of Luke.  It is vintage NT Wright - especially since he's all about "narrative."  It brings together many of his best themes and lays a rich foundation for approaching the reading of the Gospels (and indeed the Bible) but with a focus especially on the Gospel of Luke.  When he used the term backstory it really made me think of what a backstory does in gaming and how that applies to how we engage with God and His Kingdom and this incredible vehicle of communication that He's given us called the Bible.  My impression is that we are all too often stuck in the posture that I had with games.  I didn't bother with the backstory or anything else that is really necessary to engage with a game and plumb its depths as an immersive experience…and so it wasn't. 

Knowing and appreciating the backstory is a complete game-changer!