Friday Favorites, vol. vii

Yay, Friday!  We've had a really good week 'round these parts enjoying having Seth here with Lua and enjoying Paris together.  After lots of walking the kids and I are looking forward to a day at home.  I need to catch up on laundry and housework and prepare for the weekend ahead.  Our host here in Paris works for the American Battle Monuments Commission, the government agency that honors the sacrifices of American Armed Forces in part by caring for American Cemeteries in foreign countries.  There are a lot of big ceremonies taking place this Memorial Day weekend in France, and I'm helping by photographing at two of the ceremonies outside of Paris on Sunday.  It will be a full day, but I'm really looking forward to it.

On to my favorite things this week!

1.  watching the royal wedding with a newly-formed book club I'm part of

Weddings are just beautiful and special in all they represent, and I was glad I tuned in to watch.

2.  walking around Paris Sunday night with Seth and Lua

We typically try not to keep the kids out too late, but with the long summer nights kicking in and the nice weather and Seth having arrived, we made an exception to the rule.  It was such a gorgeous night and totally worth it.

Emily P. Freeman's The Next Right Thing podcast is always a weekly favorite for me, and last week's episode was about taking a hometown tour.  Paris is obviously not my hometown in the sense that I'm from here, but it is my hometown for this season, and I appreciated her gentle words:

"Whether you just moved to where you live now,

or if you were born in the hospital down the street--

the place where you live is part of who you are now.

This place holds your story, at least a piece of it.

This is the place where God wants to meet you,

for better or worse."

And her closing prayer was so good:

"Remind us that even as you are the God of Israel,

you are the God of our own hometown, too."

It reminded me of one of my favorite passages from the book of Acts.

"From one man he has made every 

nationality to live over the whole earth 

and has determined their appointed times 

and the boundaries of where they live.  

He did this so that they might seek God, 

and perhaps they might reach out and find him, 

though he is not far from each one of us."

- Acts 17:26-27 -

All the places you and I have lived, and where we live right now, are purposeful.

3.  meeting a couple from Denmark on Sunday

Speaking of all the nationalities and boundaries on earth, one of the joys I'm finding of being part of an international church in an international city is meeting people from all over the world as they are passing through Paris.  I'd never met anyone from Denmark before, and the immediate kinship you feel with other Christians is such a sweet thing, as is hearing about how God has used the places they've lived to cause them to seek him.

4.  anniversary date!

We abandoned the thought of a fancy Paris outing for Five Guys and a summer blockbuster.  I don't think we're fancy people.

5.  a long talk with my mom

This time difference thing makes it so difficult to connect with family back home, so I was grateful when K.J. took the kids out for the afternoon this week, and I had some quiet time to "phone home."  FaceTime makes you feel like you're sitting on the sofa for a nice long chat, and it was such a treat.  

Happy Memorial Day weekend, everyone!