Ok, I’ve not blogged in a while. Since the 21st, I’ve been busy either with other things or fine-tuning the non-blogging parts of the blog! (digests, comments, rss feeds, etc.)

Also, the idea of actually producing something erudite and cutting (vs. nothing at all) for my blog content has held me back a bit. So, to break out of silence, I’ll just write what’s been happening. Hey…that’s what I’m supposed to do with this anyway aren’t I!?

On the 25th, I headed off to the YWAM base near Paris to attend the annual YWAM France staff conference. I had not been looking forward to this for a number of reasons but it certainly ended up being a blessing. Transportation there and back was one of the challenges and I ended up just taking our car and praying that its way-too-loud-and-sometimes-losing-lots-of-oil engine would hold out for the trip (5 hours each way). It did fine, but the challenge certainly brought me into communion with God on the way there and back! ;c)

It was good contact time with the folks I already knew in YWAM France and a chance to begin to get to know others as well. If you know me, “connections” are something that I value highly! Also, if you know Angela, you’ll know that she is not quite as geared in the same way. So, it worked out well that she stayed home and held down the fort (not to mention a flea market stand as well) and prepare for “back-to-school” on Mon. the 29th.

I was able to return in time for Rachel’s violin recital after a 1-week violin camp. Drove right up to the location, walked in, and she was playing. Excellent timing and it sounded beautiful…and I was in no small way relieved that I’d made it in one piece and on time. It was a nice bow to tie up the gift of that weekend for me.

Since coming back, we’ve been trying to get back into the school swing of things. This is not just our kids but also Angela and me. Collège-Daniel is the Christian school where the kids go and it’s also where Angela and I putting most of our ministry efforts currently. Angela will be teaching both English and Music to the very young crowd there. This is a huge responsibility for her and a real opportunity to connect with these kids. I have volunteered to teach a 2-hour Worship Workshop every two weeks. I’ve yet to find out if anyone has signed up, but if so that begins on Friday! This is a big challenge for me but I feel it’s what God is asking me to do right now. I’ll also be watching the elementary kids every two weeks for 2 hours during their lunch and recreation. This has proved to be a very valuable time for connecting with those children and they have really won my heart (for the most part!;c)) I’m still helping out with various computer tasks at the school and Angela and I are still leading worship every Monday morning for the junior-high-aged kids there. For us, it’s pretty challenging, but we’re growing more and more as we do it.

We’ve also been struck deeply by Hurricane Katrina’s impact. We’ve been following the events as they’ve unfolded and are amazed by the enormity of what has happened. A friend of mine sent me a link yesterday to a site which had an extremely interesting article about the impact of a severely damaged New Orleans on the economy of the United States. Extremely thought-provoking reading: https://www.stratfor.com/news/archive/050903-geopolitics_katrina.php

While I can’t give a completely reasoned treatise on the subject, I’m struck mostly by the prophetic implications of Katrina and the Kingdom of God opportunities that it presents. While all too capable of entering into the fray of the “blame game” (see this excellent piece at the BBC web site about that subject) about the suffering that has happened in the aftermath, I’m choosing not to “go there” as my opinion (and I have lots of them) is that it’s a serious time-waster (and I have lots of them too!) when God has significantly more profound and important ways for us in the Body of Christ to be engaged in this circumstance.

Big enough entry for now. I promise to write more soon!