We had a few visitors for the two evenings. The lessons were good. The small choral was real good. Thanks for your prayers.
Filled up the van on Tuesday. 21 gallons for $180.00. Yes, $8.57 a gallon. Talk about sticker shock… Glad I get 29 mpg. Wish I got better…
It was time for Tuesday night Bible Study yesterday in Geneva. It was also “neighborhood†night, where people who live in big apartment buildings were supposed to set up a table outside their main entrance and share a glass with other tenants. The Geneva church meets in an office building across from a residential area. And even though the local neighborhood wasn’t pushing the neighborhood night, (I didn’t see any tables out anywhere), we decided to do something. I painted a big sign and we set up chairs in front of the office building. All us Christians gathered for a get-to-know you game, brainstorming and sharing on “loving your neighbor as yourselfâ€. We tried to accompany the passing honks through singing and praying. The we did what we do best: snack and get interested in each others’ lives. A few people walked by. All were invited for a drink. People hung out for another hour. We packed the chairs and tables up and headed home.
Tonight we start two evenings on “Building your life, choosing your architectâ€. We hope to have many visitors. Would appreciate your prayers.
Doubts: We were but 14 yesterday morning for our worship time. Jesus promised to be present, which still makes that reunion “extraordinaryâ€, even though I struggle to believe it.
Assurance: In our Bible class, several of us were reading passages on “the Church is the body of Christâ€. We then spent some time defining the different words, trying to see how they related together. For “churchâ€, up came “assembly, family, bride, gathering, body, nation†and others. Then one of our regular visitors whose only experience of church in the last 50 years has been “us†finally chimed in: “A haven of peace.â€
-Your comments on the biking post cracked me up. Sore rears and climbing hills outside of Châlet-à -Gobet (the highest point in Lausanne) and all. Come on over for a ride.
-Last night the mighty Manchester United beat the London club Chelsea to take the Champions’ cup, the European "Superbowl" of football (soccer). The final went to overtime, a shoot-out, and even extra shots in the shoot-out. I thought it would never end. Some of those players were in more than 70 matches this last season. Incredible. So football is over (till the European Cup, June 7!).
-My Irish buddy here works for IMD business school. Two days ago the school welcomed Warren Buffett for a conference. (I wonder how much he charges?) Anyway, my Irish buddy was the interviewer for the Education Network that he runs for the school. I tried to watch the webcast but RealMedia always rebels on my computer. (What’s the deal with my Mac and Real?)
So what question would YOU ask the richest man in the world?
-Wife and I attempt a 10K Friday evening in nearby Pully. A start, three laps, then a finish. I’m determined to make that finish!
I have a new bike that I bought just before Christmas. I have had trouble putting the miles on it since Wife and I have been running much more than biking, and it has been hard to impossible to do the two, especially with the colder weather we’ve had this Spring. When it’s cold and windy, it’s easier to run than to bike.
My average ride is about 30K, with a longer ride on a Saturday or Sunday afternoon (about 50K). I tried to map it all out on Google and here’s what it gave me. You can play with the map and see what kind of beautiful terrain the route covers. (But the map does not really work right. I can’t make it take all the small roads. But it’s not bad.)
Great things will be happening in Switzerland starting June 7 at 6 PM when the Swiss National Football Team (soccer) kicks off the European Cup Championship. This event happens every 4 years. Austria and Switzerland are the double hosts this time, which allows their teams automatically qualify and obligates government authorities to spend gazillions on stadiums and security.
This year, they’ll be no English speaking teams. Also, Ukraine is out, as is a former winner, Denmark.
Impossible to get tickets. There was a lottery and I have only heard of one person who won (and got to pay) and I don’t remember who that was. UBS will put up big screens all over Switzerland. You can pay $13.00 and watch a match with a drunken crowd which could be fun, except that it costs $13.00 and you’re watching a big TV with a crowd. Now, if they let me control the remote, that would be worth $13.00.
Geneva will host two of Portugal’s and two of Turkey’s games, two huge minorities here, giving them a “home field advantage†over Czech Republic, but not over the Swiss Nati (in the same group).
30 something percent of us Lausanne residents are foreigners and the unspoken rule is, foreigner or not, if your team wins, you drive around town waving a flag and honking incessantly for 3 hours, even if gas is over $8.00 a gallon. Yes, sports brings out the best in people.
If you come (call first), make sure you have your measles vaccination. There is an epidemic and all tourists are being warned. Me? I’m going to bed. I think I’ve got a fever…
Today is “new webpage dayâ€. With each seekers’ conference in Geneva, with the new flyer and the distributions that we do, we also prepare a new web page/site. Actually, I plan it, design it, write up the text and ask for suggestions. It’s not a bad process, and it allows me to learn something new and be relatively creative.
I’ve worked on sites with titles like: whatareyoulookingfor and whathaveyoufound (in French, of course). There was one called ibelieve and another called 3encounterswithjesus (also in French). I buy (or is it rent?) the domain names for a year, and when the year is over, the site goes on to dead domain heaven (Google archives, I think).
This year Robert Mc–, French professor from Harding, will speak the first evening on buildingyourlife and the second evening on choosingyourarchitect (both in French). I’m going to use the program Sandvox webpage builder. It’s got some nice templates and is easier to export than iWeb which is not very flexible when trying to publish.
I hope the webpage is more exciting than this post. Sorry.
It’s really none of my business, and I might should just keep my mouth shut, but when my parents got married on May 10, 1958 they had but 5 dollars in their pockets and an unopened box of Bisquick on their shelf. Dad had just started a job reading meters for Pacific Gas and Electric Company. Mom had barely emptied her suitcase from her cross-country bus trip from Little Rock to Fresno when they made the trip to the Preacher and tied the knot. Grandma T, if legend is correct, paid for the marriage license and the deed was done. Or just started.
I was born 11 months later. Sister 1 was born in June of ’61. Then after a very, very long timeout (more like a hiatus) triplets entered the family at the end of 1976.
Wife’s Father used to tell of a couple at the restaurant who had just ordered champagne. Glass in hand, the husband looked his wife in the eye and said: Here’s to 45 years of happy marriage. “But we’ve been married for 50 years,†she replied. “Like I saidâ€, he continued, “here’s to 45 years of happy marriage.â€
I celebrate not only the duration of my parents’ life together, but also their consistency. They’ve showed up at the plate for the next at bat, prepared to play, trying to put the ball into play. And they’ve always had the whole team behind them.
Had we been there on that May 10, fifty years ago, we might have counseled patience, reflection, perhaps told them to save up a bit of money because you never know what will happen next. (“I mean, at least wait till you’ve got two boxes of Bisquick and $200.00 in the bankâ€). And perhaps we would have been wise, and they all the wiser to follow our advice.
But it really was another world back then. And the Bisquick got eaten and the 5 bucks got spent. The surprises came. But their faith never gave out. And finally, neither has their love for each other.
And that’s an event worth celebrating.
I’m reading through the Bible texts that refer to Pentecost. Yes, this coming Sunday is Pentecost Sunday. (Don’t miss it.) In Britain they call it Whit Sunday. In the USA, it’s just another shopping.
I went through my files to see what I’ve preached for Pentecost in previous years. (Not to preach them again, I assure you. They weren’t that good.) Here’s the list:
2000: The Spirit in Luke 24 and John 20.
2001: The Spirit in John 14-16.
2002: Acts 2 and living in the presence of God.
2003: A church that brings blessing to the world.
2004: The first days of the church.
2005: The “needed†church.
2006: The church is the temple of the Spirit.
2007: The Spirit of Christ and his work.
This year I’m leaning to Peter’s Acts 2 sermon, especially on Jesus as Messiah and Lord, glorified at the right hand of God. But I’m not there yet. I’ve got 3 more days, and I’ll make use of them.
If you want to get in the Pentecost mood, why don’t you take a look at Greg’s posts from a while back. He had some great things to say about all the Jewish holidays (though Pentecost as a celebration of the giving of the law was first referred to in 270 AD).
Till then, Merry Pentecost Sunday!
May 1 was May Day, Ascension Day, and Wife’s B-day all wrapped into one. Plus we were at the Ascension retreat with 120 Christians in Ardèche, France. Wife got cake, kisses, cards and champagne, along with praise and hugs, from the whole group. She is much loved and held in high esteem.
We came home on Saturday evening, fired up the grill, started the lawnmower, and prepared for Sunday’s events. Although it wasn’t a "car show" (check out what the College church of Christ did in Fresno), after our Sunday worship, about 60 people from the church, from Geneva and from the neighborhood gathered to celebrate Wife’s year of jubilee. It was great fun. It was instructive to see how the different "circles" tried to mix…
Son 2 is left for Tunisia today. He and two others will spend some time with contacts in Tunis and elsewhere, visit with a ministering Christian family and discover the spiritual life of the country. God willing, he’ll be back in Europe early next week.