Ten Totally Trivial Tidbits

1. We've had ten people around our table for lunch every day this week. Some super amazing aspiring church planters are in Loches for a week of intensive training, and we've had the privilege of hosting the midday meal. Our dishwasher has been doing its fair share of the work!
2. On Friday I will fly to North Carolina to attend a gathering of the Leighton Ford Mentoring Community. I'm excited for this experience, which will better equip me for my role as a facilitator for the Mentoring Community that was just started by the Federation of French Evangelicals (FFE). Mentoring is a novel concept in France, so the goal of the FFE Mentoring Community is to train and equip mentors for emerging French leaders.
3. David is working on a 3000 piece puzzle. He promises me that he adds at least one piece a day, so by my calculations, I should expect to have a puzzle-in-process in my dining room until Chandler graduates from medical school--in like 9 years.
   
4. Last week I was the "Global Woman Highlight" for Thrive, an on-line magazine for women who work cross-culturally. Really, all it means is that I got to write a blurb about myself so that others can pray for me. But if you care to read what eloquent words I wrote about my eloquent self, feel free to click the link. Oh, the reason I got asked to be the "Global Woman Highlight" is because Thrive has published several articles that I've written--you know, which weren't necessarily, exclusively ALL ABOUT ME, like this little ditty. 
5. My allergies are so bad right now I could claw my eyes out, which would be one way to remove the aforementioned puzzle from my sight. 
   
6. I have been sleeping really well the past week. You might think that is a good thing. I find it slightly irritating. Why? Because I am accustomed to waking up at 3 a.m. and having three lovely hours to think and pray before I get out of bed at 6 a.m. But when the alarm goes off at 6 and actually wakes me up, I seriously resent the fact that I have to get up without having had my think-time. My whole day seems off! Not sure what to do about this problem, but since it rarely lasts, I'm trying to just endure these crazy 8-hours-in-a-row-of-sleep that I am getting. Maybe a little jet lag will throw me back into my regular sleep-deprived (but thought rich) pattern. Here's hoping?
7. I've been photographing food a lot lately because I want to make a cook book of favorite family recipes for Graham for graduation. The problem is I need to get past the "photographing food" phase to the "imputing recipes" phase--which is where the project loses all its allure for me. Perhaps I could recruit David to help, but then that could detract from the time he needs to devote to the puzzle, which might mean that the puzzle-in-progress in my dining room will be there long enough for grandchildren to one day help in its completion.
   
8. I'm reading Dallas Willard's Renovation of the Heart. Challenging, but good.
9. You know that verse that says that God can do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine? At this moment in my life, I believe that I am seeing God do immeasurably more than all I've asked or imagined--both in my personal life and in my ministry. It's cool, and it's all HIS work; yet, it hasn't come about easily. For example, leading up to this time I suffered about 4 months of panic attacks. When God takes you to the High Places, you have to walk on some pretty rugged terrain. My panic attacks have stopped for now, and I'm grateful. But if that's what it takes for me to experience a work of God in my life, I'd endure them forever. 
10. Jack is only growing in his belief that he is king of the world. Good thing he is loved, because he knows no modesty!
    

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