Constant Change!!

That’s not really an oxymoron! The only thing constant and sure in life (besides Jesus!!) is change! We are certainly in the midst of that right now.
A couple of weeks ago we received our April financial report from the mission and the news was on the sobering side. Our support for the month was almost half what we need for our budget. We’ve seen a real drop in giving since last September, yet this past month puts us in a crisis. What to do?
After much prayer and discussion, Margaret and I have decided that the best thing for us at this point is to sell our home here in France and help alleviate some of the financial responsibilities we have here. Housing costs are a big chunk of our budget. That will also free us up to move to the next phase of ministry, wherever that happens to be in the future. We’ve had a sense for several weeks now that we are in transition. We believe that will be for some other location in France. We are open and seeking the Lord about what to do after this year in the US.
So… pray with us for a quick sale of the house (Standard time for a house sale here is 3-4 months, once you have a buyer!), for the move that will follow (We’ve already found a great place to store our things while in the US.), and for a hundred small details that need to fall into place in these coming months. Continue to pray also for housing in the Atlanta area starting this fall.
We have our last family conference on Saturday at a church in Paris. Pray for the couples who will attend this conference on Communicating Better in Marriage. After that only three weeks until we go stateside! Lots to do before leaving.

Coffee at the Hardware Store, part 2

I just finished another “project” with my friend, Bruno. The project was to help him finish redoing their kitchen by tiling the walls. They had already redone the counters and cabinets. I was working on tiling the backsplash area. Since it wasn’t a real large kitchen I could put on the tiles the first day and do the joints and trim the second day. We chose a holiday weekend so he was free to help Friday and Saturday.
Same routine as before: going out the door of the hardware store he asked me if I wanted a coffee. I politely declined this time since I just arrived from home and finishing breakfast, saying I preferred getting started and then taking a break in an hour. Sure enough, when the hour finished he was starting up the coffee maker! Gotta love working without pressure! We visited and talked over coffee, then continued while working. Covered the usual guy stuff- cars, family, children, wives, then moved on the church while meandering around rock and roll and music before ending up discussing politics. Actually, quite a bit of talk for guys! Our days included an hour lunch break (which we managed to stretch into an hour and a half!) and, of course, an afternoon coffee break.
We have a friend who used to say, “Life is too short to eat burnt English muffins!” That is one way of looking at life the way the French do. Painting and tiling are not more important than coffee and sharing friendship. It’s not either-or, it’s both-and. I realize these past few weeks I have missed the usual comings and goings of folks around our home. Since the church stopped meeting last month, we don’t have the regular times of meeting people that were a normal part of our schedule. I find I miss that. I’m more aware than ever that we are here just for those encounters, those moments of touching another life, of listening to a sad heart or offering an encouraging word. We are, after all, relational creatures, created in the image of Him who is relationship.
Glad I love good coffee!