I’m revising some old posts from our time in France to give you a glimpse of what our lives were like there, as well as to highlight some of the lessons I learned. I still don’t write publicly about how our time went there, but I’m comfortable with this week’s glimpse. I’ve kept the comments [...]

It seems like a lifetime ago that we flew to France as a family to explore our calling and see if that’s where God would have us serve. This picture was taken at Schipol Airport in Amsterdam. The kids did really well when we traveled, though they were all very tired. They were 10, 7, [...]

France had a way of beating me down. Not the whole country, but the sum of our experience there. We’d made friends who were leaving the country and decided to throw an enormous, lavish party. I didn’t really want to go. I was in that place where I’d rather stay at home, safe inside the [...]

John 12:24: “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.” This is our friend Rebecca who died in late 2008 from Malaria. Below is a report about her funeral and the result of it from [...]

I’m having another one of those dark days in France. Maybe it’s the rain pouring down on the tiled roof. Sometimes I wonder why God rains sorrow on our already-pitiful parade. I feel sorry for poor Job, enduring all that downpour. In the past several months, I’ve wondered WHY. Why has church planting been so [...]

Thank you, Lakepointe, for printing our banners! Julia wanted to help. She put candles in votive holders (with a smile!). We set up the room cafe style. This is how the table tops looked. The bulletins and other information was placed inside the buckets. Sophie and friends. Guitar player and worship friend, Barnaby! How the [...]

This was our postcard invitation we gave to the people in our community. Only 4 hours until launch!

Tomorrow is the BIG DAY! Our first Crossroads International Christian Church of the Cote d’Azur (say that ten times fast!) has its first official public gathering tomorrow at 3:30. Our team is running around like crazy people. I’m printing off bulletins as I type this. There are all sorts of weird fears running through our [...]

I feel a bit nutty these days, getting ready for our first public service this Saturday, writing under deadline, and being away from home far too many days. In the last 36 days, I’ve been gone 20 of them, all for church-planting related business. I just want to be home, and, thankfully, I will be [...]

Please forgive my yoda-speak. I’ve been thinking about that story where two women interact with Jesus–one named Mary, one named Martha. Mary sits at Jesus’ feet, adoring Him, listening to Him, being with Him while Martha bothers herself with tasks and weariness. Mary, I am not. And, therefore, merry, I am not. Martha, I have [...]