Honestly, going back to Paris and dealing with all that had to be done while we were there sucked any extra blogging energy that I may have had out of me. But the good news is that I think that I’ve recovered…well at least I’m on the road to recovery.  To give an insiders view as to how my blog life goes…When I am in a situation that I don’t feel like I can communicate, I give up all together and stop communicating. Our time in Paris is nearly ‘incommunicable’…wow I wasn’t expecting that to be real word…So I haven’t even bothered to write about it since leaving.  

So the quick update of my life for the moment is this: We made it back to the USofA on Wednesday. We had drama on the trip (of course), but it all got worked out thanks to the amazing Lufthansa employee that delayed the flight for us to get Maisie’s paper ticket out of our suitcase…the suitcase that was on the plane. That is for another post. We’re recovering nicely from jet lag…well 2 of the 3 of us. Maisie has gotten sick and her sleep schedule is jacked up…well, it’s actually normal now for a baby!

So we get to get on with life and continue to lean into what the future may hold. We’re excited about this season of life and lessons we will learn with may come. We’ve already lost a bunch of support after the announcement of our season of life in the States, but we are confident that we are doing exactly what we are supposed to be doing…and that includes being confident that we made the right decision to leave Paris. (I thought that it was going to be difficult to leave Paris again. But this time I was even more ready to leave than the last.) We know that God has lead us to this place and we are excited (and freaked out a bit) that He is getting at stuff deeper in our lives than ever before. I can feel us growing up in a number of ways. I can feel myself being ok with letting go of control. I can feel myself trusting and believing. I can feel my hands opening to let go of my own plans for the future. I can feel my hands receiving ministry and my calling as a gift to enjoy, not a right to own. These are all good things…but things that I’m only learning through conflict, isolation, questioning, and self-doubt…the biblical word for this is pruning, but that just sounds too safe sometimes.   

We did get to go to Madrid and hang out with the CA team there. It was super refreshing and challenging. It was cool to see how they very much carry the same DNA as our church in Paris, but go about it in a way that suits their gifts and abilities. We were encouraged to spend time with a team that has a lot of experience and is doing really well. We were really impressed with how organized they were and how they are going about accomplishing what God has put them there to do. It will be interesting to see how/if these people will be a part of our lives and journey in the future! If you want to check out their church’s website click here: Oasis Madrid.  

 That’s all I have to say for now…Hopefully I’ll continue to find ways to communicate all that is going on! Maybe my random typings are some sort of attempt. 

Some of you have noticed that I haven’t written in a while. Some of you have even written to ask me to write….well it was my mom and mother-in-law! So I finally have a free moment that is accompanied by the energy to write…

So we’re at home in Paris…well, it feels like home, but it’s not anymore. We sit at the same cafés, see the same friends, eat at the same restaurants, and walk the same streets, but this is not home anymore…regardless of whether or not it feels like it.  It’s really strange for such a strange place to feel so normal. It’s also weird to be here and feel this way, yet know that our decision to leave was what was best for us. (The stuff we’re dealing with in the meantime is getting to a place that no other time could)

We have really loved being back in Europe. There’s just something about it that we love. I wait with eager expectation to see how God is going to use us here in the future.

Many of you know that we’ve had to move a bunch of stuff while we’re here. That has pretty much consumed my time and my thoughts for the last 5 days. After we brought our stuff into the city, things became a lot more complicated than I thought it would be. Frank and Dawn (and the kids) have been so gracious for letting us pile our stuff in their living room…and work in there every day sorting it! The shippers will hopefully come get it tomorrow…if not, I don’t know what we’ll do. (pray that they come!)

I’ll write more as I have time…thanks for keeping up with us…if anyone other than my mom and mom-in-law are!