Those people under the stairs, they’re just calling their mom. Just go look under-the-stairs. Creepy? Charming? Well, this is where I called my mom from – on the free phone! and my sis.  And told my dad I’d met people here who went to the same school as he did in the back back back prairies of N.D. Just one year later, and they know some of the same folk, as in the pastor and his wife who did my baby dedication.  Now that’s not creepy, and might be called coincidental, but I think it’s our creative God having fun organizing ‘chance’ meetings. C?

So I’m in the south of France (I just love saying or writing that, sounds so rich) on vacation, and an urgent request has come for pictures.  I’m helping a friend out… have you ever been asked to help out and come along to Provence, land of medieval villages, yummy food, and cheese for dessert?  Say yes if you are Just in the radius of 5 miles or less is so much to discover, it would take much more than the 10 days we have to breathe it all in.

Walking down the street in St Paul 3 Chateaux, really charming, and the best food here is Slow Food.

mademoiselle, please come to my castle, ho hum, Oui? Although I know you already have one of your own.

1. 1/2 cup butter, 8 TB cocoa powder, melt together in a saucepan. remove from heat, add 1 1/4 cup sugar, stir, then 2 eggs (crack first), 2 tsp vanilla. Stir, add 1 cup flour, mix well. Batter is tasty, but put in 8×8 pan, lined with baking paper. Bake at 350 degrees (Fahrenheit) for about 25-30 minutes.  Not too long, or they are dry.  Yummy.  This is the reason I am blogging and not sleeping. Baking and good conversation with fun neighbor girl,  and shared love of IHOP(rayer). Crazy sugar cocoa rush.  Highly recommended.  Following day rations of salad, or fasting?

What is that mysterious thing that makes two people make a promise to each other for life?  Married people, engaged people have this quote “when you know, you know (that he’s the right one.)”  My single girl friends have certainly all heard this one, and have been at a loss to what it means… How do you ‘know’?  Then, suddenly, they begin to spout this wisdom, because – well, now they ‘know’. 

…inspired on my August roadtrip – KC to WY and back.  Some of the finer things of midwest life.  You must see the photos, but first, please imagine a pheasant bouquet.jpg.  That’s right, for all my hunting uncles and cousins and friends, this may be the stuff of dreams.  And, what is the best way to advertise a restaurant.jpg?  On the broadside of a barn?  Maybe!  (bummer, I can’t find the picture that matches this… it was in Iowa somewhere, and from the side of the road you see a barnlike building with RESTAURANT written in white on a red roof, surrounded by green fields. We didn’t eat there, but I’m sure it’s tasty.)

I loved just riding in the car and having memories of childhood float to the top.  What do you think when you see cows drinking from a puddle on the prairie?  I think, muddy swimsuit.  Who else swam in the cow ponds of North and South Dakota.  So refreshing!  We were at a friend’s farm, and it was a hot day, and when you are about 7, there’s nothing better than getting wet.  Flash forward to the present…. who wants to splash in mud and cow pee?  Maybe it has health benefits!    At the same farm we also collected frogs or toads by the bucketful, then counted them in the barn to see who won.  No, I don’t presently have warts on my fingers.  But that was so much fun.  Now I count ceiling tiles if I’m bored (Anyone seen that movie?) More inspiration will come the next time it’s ‘Roadtrip!’ 

So, here’s to the fields, which I miss, the Wall Drug signs and Gutzon Borglum.

I was just thinking of being original, and though I have yet to try the famous barbecue in Kansas City, I just know that I am a masterpiece living in Kansas City.  Oh, the boldness, you say, well check the Bible and smile yourself.  For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so that we can do the good things he planned for us long ago. Ephesians 2:10.  Put yourself in there – You are God’s masterpiece, individually and together with the church to walk in things that he thought of  before we could ever think! 

I have to make a list of all the desires and wishes that have become reality and are becoming reality in the last month.  One was to come to Bible school and learn, (and learning will just keep on going.) I am hungry to learn, and hungry to know God more, and to have him be truly first in my life.  I listen to kids pray here, and they are so desperate to be holy and live for God, and I know I  prayed that, too, as a kid, and want that desperation;  knowing that God meets us there, where we can’t be perfect, but he can.  That learning process doesn’t always taste like steak with barbecue, but maybe in retrospect it will.    So who’s hungry?

Monday- flew to the US (made it through all security checks I often feel like a criminal when I fly.  There is just such an atmosphere of ‘friendly’ suspicion. But safety is good… right

Tuesday- drove 16 hours with my sister to Gillette.  So nice to talk in a car! 

Wednesday- hung out with family and the best nieces and nephew. Discovered a new hobby. 

Thursday- Met my sisters boyfriend. Rescued a dog outside of Starbucks with a friend.  A schnoodle.  Made a big family dinner, which turned out to be part surprise birthday party… for me.  The best chicken ever (recipe- mix the odd dressing, marinade and juice, marinate, and grill until I think it’s not quite done)

Friday- more hanging out with sister, parents, family.  A night out with the girls with yummy Mexican food, laughing and some good catching up.  Somehow so many of us in Gillette at the same time.  Makes it seem like nothing has changed for the moment, but there is always ‘newness.’

Saturday- writing this piece and then cruising right out, 16 hours back…. will it be shorter or longer?  But first, enjoy some Krispy Kremes and coffee with sisses and bro, mom and dad. 

It’s bittersweet, saying goodbye again and again, to friends in Germany, to friends and family at home.  I’m looking forward to the time in Kansas City to know more the security of being at home wherever I am with my God. But I also love the adventure of being on the move and knowing new things are coming… yes!

The picture may say, that’s really good coffee, but it might be saying, I love falafel!  It was taken in Israel, in a cafe outside of Haifa, where our group had lunch.  I actually ate little pizza things, but surely wished for falafel.  I’ll add a recipe.  It’s Israel’s national snack (no, not manna), made of the stuff that’s in hummus.  Mashed up garbanzo beans or chick peas, spices, and then deep fried and served with veggies and sauce in a pita. And hey, I think the pic is pretty.

Last Saturday I went to visit some friends, and brought my digital camera with me, even though it had been kaputt (apparently broken, non-functioning) the last five weeks. It had been dropped, the lens was stuck, and something was rattling inside. It just didn’t work, man, and I was bummed. I had taken it to a camera shop in town, and had been told I could send it in and pay 15 dollars to have them say it was irreparable, or at least 100 dollars to have it fixed, if possible. I had decided to take it with me to the States and see if something could be done there, then on a whim, I brought it along to my friends and thought I would show it to them. I told them the story of my camera, but never thought to get it out of my bag. I was too busy admiring their really nice camera. ‘Is there sin in your life’, my friend asked, being a bit of a stinker. ‘Repent!’ So she was being a stinker, but I thought about something I wanted to get done that I kept putting off. I don’t think that was the reason, but anyway, this is the full story!

On the train ride home, I looked in my bag, saw my untouched camera, and smiling inside, had this thought. ‘God, wouldn’t it be great if I just pulled it out, turned it on, and it worked!’ Thought became action, and…. it works! I had it on video, so there’s a little clip of me telling the little boy with me that my camera works. Thank you, God! (And I really am thankful for my little Canon, and don’t have to have the Olympus from my cheeky friend.)

So I started a blog, and then didn’t write in it for the next 3 weeks, and then… after my sister really encouraged me in a non-nagging way…

I’m getting ready to move to the US next week, and the past 3 weeks have been so full of work, and thinking, planning here, planning there.  Now I’m getting the train tickets to get to Frankfurt on Monday, but on Saturday I have to take a girl, and come back again myself, meet with a few more people – who I really love – between Saturday and Monday, and then fly to Kansas City, (to spend time with more people who I also really love) and spend 4 months – how can I describe it… being with God, who really loves me.  And I know my life will change, I hope for a deeper relationship with God, for the discipline of practicing being in his presence.

In the meantime, it’s time to get things ready.  Is my desk in order?  Is everything planned as well as it can be for the next kid’s group?  Is my room clean!?  My house? Finances… Matt 6:33.  Packing… what to bring…  Go to the dentist, doctor… get teenagers to fix my computer…

It’s all really quite spannend (such a much better expression than exciting… but German).