The posts to the blog are getting fewer and far between! As the last post said, I spent the week of June 9-13 attending the “Toolbox” conference at the London Institute for Contemporary Christianity. This organization was founded 25 years ago by John R.W. Stott as a way to help Christians understand and engage with the cure around them. Stott believed that all Christians should be in the Word and also in the world, seeking to transform the world through the Word. The conference was incredibly enlightening and I enjoyed making friends with people from England, Scotland, Ireland, America and even Sri Lanka.
Friday was my birthday and the conference group sang Happy Birthday and gave me a cake—they were all really nice and devoutly committed disciples. Many work in an environment where they are one of only a handful of Christians or they serve churches in a country where only 7-8% of the population attend church more than once a month. After the conference ended we celebrated my birthday at a great fish and chips restaurant and went to the Ceremony of the Keys at the Tower of London. It is a 700 year old tradition of locking the castle that now houses the crown jewels.
Saturday was a travel day—taking the train to Paris. We arrived in the afternoon and explored the area around Notre Dame. Sunday was Father’s Day and it was one of the best ever for me because I got to spend time with each of my sons separately. Jonathan and I went out mid-morning and did some exploring and picture taking. We climbed to the top of the Arc de Triomphe for some cool pictures. We all had lunch at a Chinese restaurant together and since it was Father’s Day they brought a couple of special things for me and since they mainly spoke French, they kept pointing at me and saying “for you, for you.”
After lunch I got to spend time with David walking around and taking pictures. We went to the Place de Concorde (where Marie Antoinette lost her head), the Arc and the Eiffel Tower. We had a great time and joked around laughed a lot. Later in the day, I also got to spend some time with Matt watching one of the many soccer games on TV (in French of course). It was a great Father’s Day.
Yesterday we finally got to the top of the Eiffel Tower. We saved time and money by walking up the first two levels (680 steps) and all agreed that it would have been worth the money to ride the elevator all the way. Before we left this morning we walked in one more huge, old church. I noticed something that I’d seen several times before, but this time it struck me as odd. They want you to pay to light a candle signifying a prayer (in Europe you pay for almost everything, even to use the bathroom). It occurred to me, I don’t need to pay to pray. Because of what Jesus did on the cross, I can talk to God anytime—for free. Thank God for the freedom to pray 24/7.
Friday was my birthday and the conference group sang Happy Birthday and gave me a cake—they were all really nice and devoutly committed disciples. Many work in an environment where they are one of only a handful of Christians or they serve churches in a country where only 7-8% of the population attend church more than once a month. After the conference ended we celebrated my birthday at a great fish and chips restaurant and went to the Ceremony of the Keys at the Tower of London. It is a 700 year old tradition of locking the castle that now houses the crown jewels.
Saturday was a travel day—taking the train to Paris. We arrived in the afternoon and explored the area around Notre Dame. Sunday was Father’s Day and it was one of the best ever for me because I got to spend time with each of my sons separately. Jonathan and I went out mid-morning and did some exploring and picture taking. We climbed to the top of the Arc de Triomphe for some cool pictures. We all had lunch at a Chinese restaurant together and since it was Father’s Day they brought a couple of special things for me and since they mainly spoke French, they kept pointing at me and saying “for you, for you.”
After lunch I got to spend time with David walking around and taking pictures. We went to the Place de Concorde (where Marie Antoinette lost her head), the Arc and the Eiffel Tower. We had a great time and joked around laughed a lot. Later in the day, I also got to spend some time with Matt watching one of the many soccer games on TV (in French of course). It was a great Father’s Day.
Yesterday we finally got to the top of the Eiffel Tower. We saved time and money by walking up the first two levels (680 steps) and all agreed that it would have been worth the money to ride the elevator all the way. Before we left this morning we walked in one more huge, old church. I noticed something that I’d seen several times before, but this time it struck me as odd. They want you to pay to light a candle signifying a prayer (in Europe you pay for almost everything, even to use the bathroom). It occurred to me, I don’t need to pay to pray. Because of what Jesus did on the cross, I can talk to God anytime—for free. Thank God for the freedom to pray 24/7.
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