Ten Totally Trivial Tidbits

1. The boys just got home from skiing/snowboarding in the Alps. They had fun. I stayed home and read books and watched movies and knitted. I had fun, too. 
2. I preach this Sunday in both the French and the English service. We are starting a series on the Five Functions of the church: for example, the church as a school (a place of learning); the church as a hospital (a place of healing); the church as an army (a place that fights evil). My topic is the church as a cradle (a place that welcomes spiritual babies). 
3. Our house in the States needs a new roof. We knew this was coming...but still! 
4. As we begin to make plans for 2013 we believe a trip to the States is in order. We are not sure when this will happen, but we are looking forward to re-connecting with our loved ones on the other side of the pond.
5. I ran intervals this week, and I am still sore. By "intervals" I mean rather than running my usual 3 miles at a steady pace, I sprinted for one minute, then walked for three minutes, and repeated that cycle 7 times. Ouch. But a good ouch.
6. I fasted from caffeine, sugar, and alcohol for one week. I have not gone back to caffeine, and I have adjusted my thinking/habits about sugar and alcohol. Rather that thinking of wine and desserts in terms of "servings per day", I am thinking of them in terms of "servings per week." My new normal is to have wine with dinner 3 times per week and dessert once a week. I think its a good plan. 
7. My ONE dessert last week was a delicious dark chocolate "snail" with a creamy hazelnut filling that Graham gave me for Christmas. These "escargot" are only sold during the Christmas season, and they are one of my all-time favorite French treats.                                                                                                
8. I just finished reading the most delicious novel! Thank you, my dear mother-in-law, for introducing me to Ivan Doig! My fellow literature lovers, you have got to read The Whistling Season! It is incredibly well written, with delightful characters and a sweet, yet surprising story. 
9. I have memorized my first few verses in French. I will add a page to this blog where you can see which verses I am working on. Join me, if you want! You can memorize the passage in any language you wish, though I will confess that the first passages I have selected are very familiar--ones that I have had memorized in English for years; however, I wanted to have them in my heart and my head in French as well.
10. I have been praying about my "word" for the year, and I think I have my answer! But for the first time in my life it came to me in the form of a picture rather than a word. 

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