What a week

The past week has been crazy, fun, and crazy fun. On Tuesday I had my first guitar lesson (fun) and went to a concert by one of our teachers who is really talented (also fun). The next morning I went to an info meeting for a local charity organization (crazy). Thursday night we had our Thanksgiving meal (fun) and I met some cool people from the states who are studying in various parts of Europe and Africa and all congregated here this weekend (very fun). Friday night I rode a bike into Paris (crazy and fun) to meet up with the crew so we could eat together and watch the light show at the Eiffel tower (fun!) Then we wandered the town, admiring Noël decorations until really late, and just barely caught the last train home. I don't think any of us were really paying attention to the time, so it was purely the grace of God. That was fun, except that we had to drag the bike back on a super packed train.
Saturday I got up early and wandered around Paris all day with a friend who is studying in Switzerland (crazy fun!). Thanks to the metro and a TON of walking, we covered three corners of the city, including the Sacre Coeur. We met up just after dark with some more of his friends, took a boat tour, ate some Chinese food (ironic, no?) and watched the light show on the Eiffel Tower. (fun!)
Sunday I was super tired but I was able to eat breakfast with some good friends so it was okay. Then I went to church and the service dragged on and on. 3 hours. And I understood about 30% of the sermon. Halfway through I was already fighting to stay awake. We had a good worship time before and after, though.
So I got home super tired, did my homework, and Skyped my parents when I should have gone to bed. So all day today I have been wandering like a zombie.
And now it is bedtime again. So I'm going to sign off. Hopefully I can get some pictures up tomorrow to show all the fun and craziness I have been having!

Thanksgiving today?

I remembered halfway through the day that today is Thanksgiving. We had class like usual, but tonight we are eating a big Thanksgiving meal. The kitchen was pretty crazy last night with the preparations but it will be fun to see the results.

parlevoufrançai?

Yesterday I realized part of why the French don't understand me when I talk to them in French- I talk too fast.

One of the most common French expressions is "Je ne sais pas," which means "I don't know."
My first professor pronounced it, "jun say pah." (with the j making more of a z sound than English, but you get the idea) My new professor pronounces it, "Ju neh say pah." Today I learned that both of them pronounce it slowly and clearly in class for the sake of us beginners. Out on the street, most French people say something that can best be replicated like this:

Shspa

To them, that makes total sense. Not because it's logical, but because that four word written phrase has turned into one really short spoken word that they all learned as babies. I think a lot of French is that way. And that is part of why, when I say a sentence one word at a time (even with the prescribed word mushing dictated by their rules of pronounciation), I get blank stares. They probably haven't heard it said that way in years, if ever.

Worse, I try to fit in better with the French by saying things quickly. Thus, I always say "Jun say pah" rather than "Ju neh say pah." But if I half-mush something that they whole-mush, it doesn't quite sound like either the original proper sentence or the whole-mushed sentence, so they are even less likely to recognize it.

But still, the main problem is mispronunciation. In church this week I asked a young guy, "Tu habite où?" A super short question. Straight out of our book. I pronounced it clearly. And he obviously had no clue what I said. I have said the exact same thing to teachers, students, all kinds of people around the school and never had any problem whatsoever. But now that I think about it, I realize that all along I have been pronouncing it too American. Too-ah-bee-too. The consonants and mushing are fine, but the first "oo" is supposed to sound like the german ü and the second "oo" is supposed to sound like I got punched in the stomach. At this point my memorized phrases and my phonetic knowledge have not mingled much. I have to convert memorized phrases into written words in my head, then analyze how they are spelled in order to figure out how to pronounce them. Hopefully with time I will get a better ear for proper pronunciation and pick it instinctively. If only French didn't have so many different OOish and UHish sounds...

Oh my

In class on Friday we had an interesting language clash. We learned that "poopay" is the word for doll. I found that somewhat amusing but I try to pretend I am mature while I am in class so I didn't show it. Then my friend David raised his hand and asked the teacher, "Quelle est la difference entre une poupée et une doudou? ("What is the difference between a "poopay" and a "doo-doo"?)" I started laughing. I thought he was playing around with poor Valerie, who never understands our English jokes. Then, as she turned to write some kind of explanatory illustration on the board (which surprised me), he blurted out, "Oh wait! J'ai une doudou dans mon sac! (I've got a doo-doo in my bag!)" That pretty much killed me. He then pulled out a stuffed animal that he had packed for one of his sons and we all learned the difference. "Poopay" is doll, "Doo-doo" is stuffed animal. And Valerie still doesn't know why we all thought that was funny...

For the Sake of His People

A friend and I were talking about the American church. My friend, it should be noted, has spent a lot of time in the jungle of Brazil, which has given him a lot more insight into American culture than most people his age. His thoughts on Social Security: "If I tried to tell a guy in Brazil about retiring, he'd laugh at me. He'd say, 'Yeah, I plan to retire at 55. I plan to serve God until then and then die and retire in Heaven.'" His thoughts on modern necessities: "Who am I to tell this guy he needs a better toilet when he has a roof over his head, clothes on his back, and people who look out for him? He used to be a naked and unloved nomad. Compared to where he has come from, he has got it MADE. He's the king."

Anyway, he and I were discussing how sad it is that America has so much wealth and doesn't know what to do with it. He talked about a recent church project in his area that cost an insane amount. We also talked about a megachurch in California that gave some second thought to their massive building project and decided instead to build an amphitheater. They saved more than a million dollars and sent the extra to people who needed it.

This conversation happened right around the same time that I was reading 2 Samuel 5 In this chapter the new king David defeats the Jebusites who live in Jerusalem. David will, during the rest of his reign, begin building that city into the cultural and religious wonder that it is to this day. Shortly after David takes possession of "The City of David," a foreign king sends supplies and workers to him to build him a house (probably more of a palace than a house). As a result, "David realized that the Lord had established him as King over Israel, and that He had exalted his kingdom for the sake of His people Israel." (v12)

A lot of American Christians realize the truth that God has blessed them and made them "king" over a certain territory physically or even spiritually. What a tragic number of them fail to grasp is that God has given them that wealth, position, influence, etc. for the sake of His people (the spiritual descendants of Abraham). David realized that all of this blessing was not because God liked him so much that he just wanted to make him happy. It wasn't just because God wanted him to be able to do more good things. It was because God wanted to bring honor to Himself through David and through the people David represented and had a responsibility to care for.

God wants to bless His people, not just their king(s). This completely changes the way a person views blessing. If God wants to bless me, I hoard. If He wants to bless His people, I see myself as a vessel of His provision to the body of Christ.

Ride On

I have been thinking a lot about bicycles lately, and this morning God showed me that people are like bicycles.

The first thing God told me is that He doesn't make junk. Every person He makes is a top-of-the line bicycle, not something you would buy at Wal-Mart. However, He has designed each of us differently. By way of illustration, I found a couple of the best bicycles in the world. First I found the Ellsworth TiRuth, a beast of a mountain bike made out of Aerospace Certified Drawn Seamless titanium tubing and hand-picked components. The tires are made out of two different types of rubber, a firm one down the middle for speed and a softer one on the sides for better grip. Every inch of this bike is designed to take punishment and offer maximum control as the rider hurtles down the side of a mountain.

Imagine if, every day when you woke up, you saw somebody riding this bike on the sidewalk to work. It never gets so much as a layer of dust on it, to say nothing of the dirt and mud and rocks it was meant for. Of it's 21 precision-set gears, 1 of them is being used. The big knobby mud tires are getting worn down by the cement. And the odds are, the rider is much less comfortable than he would be on a cheaper bike made for street riding.

Is there something wrong with the worksmanship of the bike? Not at all. It just isn't fulfilling it's purpose for existence. A lot of people are like that bike.

Then I got an even more disturbing picture in my mind. Let's look at the Trek Equinox TTX, made by the company that outfitted Lance Armstrong. It's sleek gray frame weighs 18.4 lbs, thanks to a top secret carbon formula. It is the latest in a long line of designs resulting from endless testing in a wind tunnel. It has sacrificed nothing in the pursuit of speed.

Imagine this bike careening through a mountain forest. The first rock would bend the front tire almost in two and send thousands of dollars worth of precision components flying into the air. A small boulder would shatter the fork and the aerodynamic frame would wrap itself around a tree at high speed, pitching the rider over a cliff.

In my life, I have seen a lot of "mountain bikes" on "sidewalks". I have also seen some bikes, intricate designs of God, destroy themselves in places God never meant them to go. The good news for the former is that their lives don't have to be as meaningless as they seem- there is a reason for the meaninglessness and it is called a faithless life. The good news for the later is that God, the Ultimate Designer, is also the Ultimate Fixer.

For me, this little analogy helps me to remember when I look at people how precious they are and how sad God feels when he looks at them and sees them living a life He never intended. And it challenges me to continue pursuing the paths He wants me to ride.

Pray

I have put some thoughts on these quotes on the bottom.

"The greatest thing anyone can do for God or man is pray." S.D. Gordon

"One should never initiate anything that he cannot saturate with prayer."  

"If I fail to spend two hours in prayer each morning, the devil gets the victory through the day. I have so much business I cannot get on without spending three hours daily in prayer.  Martin Luther

"The most important thing a born again Christian can do is to pray." Chuck Smith

"Men may spurn our appeals, reject our message, oppose our arguments, despise our persons, but they are helpless against our prayers." Sidlow Baxter

"Satan does not care how many people read about prayer if only he can keep them from praying. Paul E. Billheimer

"0h brother, pray; in spite of Satan, pray; spend hours in prayer; rather neglect friends than not pray; rather fast, and lose breakfast, dinner, tea, and supper - and sleep too - than not pray. And we must not talk about prayer, we must pray in right earnest. The Lord is near. He comes softly while the virgins slumber." Andrew A. Bonar

"Don’t pray when you feel like it. Have an appointment with the Lord and keep it. A man is powerful on his knees." Corrie ten Boom

"Talking to men for God is a great thing, but talking to God for men is greater still." E.M. Bounds

 "The men who have done the most for God in this world have been early on their knees. He who fritters away the early morning, its opportunity and freshness, in other pursuits than seeking God will make poor headway seeking Him the rest of the day. If God is not first in our thoughts and efforts in the morning, He will be in the last place the remainder of the day." E.M. Bounds

"No learning can make up for the failure to pray. No earnestness, no diligence, no study, no gifts will supply its lack." E.M. Bounds

"If the church wants a better pastor, it only needs to pray for the one it has."

"You may as soon find a living man that does not breath, as a living Christian that does not pray."  Matthew Henry

"There is not in the world a kind of life more sweet and delightful than that of a continual conversation with God." Brother Lawrence

“I would rather teach one man to pray than ten men to preach.”  Charles Spurgeon

"We have to pray with our eyes on God, not on the difficulties." Oswald Chambers

“Time spent alone with God is not wasted.  It changes us; it changes our surroundings; and every Christian who would live the life that counts, and who would have power for service must take time to pray.”  M.E. Andross

Make time to pray.  “The great freight and passenger trains are never too busy to stop for fuel. No matter how congested the yards may be, no matter how crowded the schedules are, no matter how many things demand the attention of the trainmen, those trains always stop for fuel.”  M.E. Andross

"Prayer does not fit us for the greater work; prayer is the greater work."  Oswald Chambers.

"It is not enough to begin to pray, nor to pray aright; nor is it enough to continue for a time to pray; but we must patiently, believingly, continue in  prayer until we obtain an answer;  George Müller

“Yes, worship of the loving God is man’s whole reason for existence.” A.W. Tozer

"Prayer is weakness leaning on omnipotence."  W. S. Bowd

"Since the days of Pentecost, has the whole church ever put aside every other work and waited upon Him for ten days, that the Spirit’s power might be manifested? We give too much attention to method and machinery and resources, and too little to the source of power."  Hudson Taylor

“Depend upon it, if you are bent on prayer, the devil will not leave you alone. He will molest you, tantalize you, block you, and will surely find some hindrances, big or little or both. And we sometimes fail because we are ignorant of his devices…I do not think he minds our praying about things if we leave it at that. What he minds, and opposes steadily, is the prayer that prays on until it is prayed through, assured of the answer.”  Mary Warburton Booth 

"It is in the field of prayer that life's critical battles are lost or won. We must conquer all our circumstances there. We must first of all bring them there. We must survey them there. We must master them there. In prayer we bring our spiritual enemies into the Presence of God and we fight them there. Have you tried that? Or have you been satisfied to meet and fight your foes in the open spaces of the world?"  J. H. Jowett

These quotes have really sunk in for me, as well as some advice I have gotten from friends, some conversations I have had recently, and things God has been telling me. I have, in the past, set aside a maximum of about half an hour per day for prayer. Most days was about 15 minutes. In that time, I primarily went through a list of names of people I regularly pray for. To be honest, it generally felt pretty distant and oftentimes I never really connected with God at all. I am determined to do my part to change that. I will never be the man of God I am called to be if I am not daily setting aside time to enter God's presence. So, I am now getting up an hour earlier than normal in addition to the Bible reading and prayer that I do in the evening. I look forward to seeing what God does!

What about you? The fact that you have read all these quotes means nothing. If you make plans to pray it means nothing. If you do it once or twice, that is a good. But regular prayer breaks down strongholds. There is no such thing as a "gift of prayer." Every Christian is called to pray. How else do we plan to communicate with the Christ we profess to follow? Let us pray.

Schedule

Yesterday I had supper with a couple here at school and afterward we played scrabble with French words scoring double points. It was a lot of fun.
Yesterday I also created a schedule for myself. Hopefully it will help me organize my time and make better use of what God has entrusted to me.
Today I bought a bike helmet and a tire pump and tomorrow I plan to begin my grand bicycle adventures. I still have to decide where those adventures are going to be... but that's half the fun. There are a lot of parks around here that are just a little too far for running, and even downtown Paris and Versailles are within one day's biking range. This week trees have been losing leaves rapidly so I am hoping to get some pretty pictures at either Versailles or another notable park while there is still some fall color.

quote for today

"What we presently know is not enough to form judgements"
-Dr. Carolyn Tennant

I got this from her book, "Front Line." It is in the context of Psalm 33:11- "The counsel of the Lord stands forever, the plans of His heart from generation to generation."
There are so many times when I just want God to tell me why. Or I feel like God isn't doing anything with me or through me. I have to remember that God works on both the large and the small scale, and in both the physical and spiritual realms. Many of the things He has given me to do will not bear fruit until I have moved on to something else. Some may not bear fruit until long after I am dead.

I have to remember that for thousands of years the Israelites served God and prepared for the coming of Jesus without even knowing His name. Most of them didn't even realize that the messiah would be God. Many Bible stories tell of people who did small things in obedience, having no clue what kind of long-term effect it would have. In the same way, I have to remember that no situation looks the same while I am in it as it does afterward. That is why it is so important to constantly seek the eternal "counsel of the Lord."

Prayer Group

We are starting a regular prayer group here at school. It meets on Tuesdays from 4:30 to 5:30. What else can you pick out from the French?

Choices

Some great conversations this week have gotten me thinking and praying about how to invest my time. I am in class 4 days a week and doing 8-12 hours of homework. That much is fixed, but even the way I do my homework is up to me. I like options but it can be hard to know where God is guiding me.

With school: Upon my return from break I learned that I could still jump a class if I really felt that I should. I would be going into the class having to play catch-up because there is no way I can learn three units in one weekend. Because the teaching staff shifted around during break, I have a hard time knowing how my learning would change if I were to switch classes. I like the teachers I have now, so I want to stay... but today we moved slowly and I once again started thinking about the jump.

For studying: My main weakness with French is oral. The top ways to learn oral, according to our teachers, are watching French movies/television and listening to French radio. Of the two, television is a lot better because the visuals help create context. However, it is hard for me to sit down and watch television without feeling like I have wasted my time. It is just the way I was raised, I guess. It doesn't help when I spend an hour and a half and then realize that I only got one or two new phrases, if any, out of the experience. Is it really going to boost my comprehension and pronunciation through the subtle exposure? Or am I wasting my time? I also have a bunch of books I can read. These could boost my vocab but they have no oral aspect. Or I can use Livemocha to boost vocab. Or I can make flashcards... it is hard to know what will work best.

With God time: Right now my God time is primarily Bible reading with note taking, followed by prayer. Should I incorporate more worship? Should I do it at a different time? I have always done it right before bed because I am awake then. But I generally don't have it in my mind when I wake up the next morning, so how much good is it doing me? Am I spending enough time with God? My relationship with God is the most important aspect of my life. Does my schedule reflect that?

With free time: The top 5 options for free time right now are 1. Photography 2. Running 3. Learning to play guitar 4. Writing (including blogging) 5. emailing and/or skyping people.

1. I have always loved photography and it can be very useful to communicate truth, life, and more to other people. Beyond that, it is a talent God has given me and one that I feel I have a desire and responsibility to improve. Furthermore, I'm in Paris. Millions of photographers would be jealous. There is even a remote possibility that I could make some money doing it...

2. Running. Running has no practical purpose except that it makes me come alive. I am more human when I am running on a regular basis. Running is the only physical regiment to which I enjoy submitting myself. I feel I have a responsibility to keeping myself in at least a general state of fitness.

3. This one is new. It's an idea that's nibbling at the back of my mind. There is a man here, a local pastor, who teaches guitar lessons for free. In French. So, provided I can learn by watching his fingers and catching every fourth word, It is an opportunity to learn an instrument I have wanted to play almost since I was born (ask my mom) and also get that ever-critical conversation with an actual French person. LIDL is selling guitars for 50 euros- very cheap for France. I'm thinking about getting one.

4. I enjoy writing but it is very time consuming. I have a number of ideas running around in my head, most of which require at least a little bit of research and planning. "A little bit" being enough to write an undergrad thesis...

5. Human communication. It is wonderful. It is necessary. It is even part of my job. It can also take up all of one's time very quickly. God is more important than people, people are more important than projects, and projects are more important than recreation, unless it is time for recreation. Like Sunday. But right now I am going to two French churches on Sunday, which is anything but recreational. It's work, and uncomfortable work at that.

Life is complicated. God, I look to you for guidance.

Parlez!

These past several days of recreation and impromptu photography classes have been fun, but now the break is finished and I have to review my verbs and nouns for class tomorrow. I realized as I ate supper that I never got around to re-posting the link to the Museum of Jewish Art and History, as I said in my newsletter that I would. So here it is: CLICK HERE

Today, shortly after I took those pictures of the tree out in the park, I ran into a man and his two dogs. We had a lovely conversation. Well, he talked and I nodded a lot and smiled. For the most part I had no clue what he was saying, but he was talking about the dogs. I think one of them was actually a stray and he was trying to figure out what to do with it. I hope that's what he was saying, because I told him I had no idea. He asked me about my photography and I showed him a couple of the pictures I had taken. He told me they were very pretty. I enjoy being humored...

During all of this I said about 8 words. Then a couple of women came over and one of them started talking to me, assuming that I had some idea what she was saying. They were all rather preoccupied with the dogs who were running around and playing with each other, so they hardly noticed my lack of verbosity. After a while I wished them a good evening and left.

But I couldn't get far. As I was crossing the bridge over the "moat," a four lane highway, the sinking sun and streaming traffic caught my photographic eye. I spent the next 15 minutes crouched against the railing with my camera, trying to get a record of what I was seeing. A man walked by in the middle of my efforts and seemed rather curious about what I might be doing with a camera above a highway. I gave him a hearty "Bon soir" and he returned it, then went happily on his way. I have found that "Bon soir" is a magical phrase that tends to make the French like me a lot more. Why? Probably because tourists don't know it.

I had another encounter in different park earlier today. I was taking pictures and a guy about my age came over and asked if I had gotten any good shots. I showed him some of them and he gave his general approval. Beyond that, I once again missed most of what he said. All told, today made me feel that Massy is a much warmer place then it can first seem to be. Especially if I have a camera, people will initiate conversations in the proper place and time, even if they would avoid eye contact when we pass one another on the sidewalk. Parks are a wonderful social "safe zone."

From Scratch

I went down to CORA today and decided not to buy a regular tripod. They cost more than I expected and I don't know if I want to drag one around everywhere. I bought a cute little table tripod instead that fits nicely in a pocket and does a moderate job of imitating a full-sized one. If I get a lot of low-angle shots in the coming months, you know why. I ripped off the packaging almost as soon as I stepped out of CORA and took a bunch of HDR photos. I have put one together with so-so results. It's going to take some time to get this down. It's fun to play with, though.

I took five pictures of the same tree, each one with a different shutter speed. Here is one of the five photos that I assembled together for my final image:

Here is what they look like, put together with levels and sharpness adjusted:
Here is where I play around to make it what I want:

There are a lot of things that don't look quite right, mainly the purple lining and the blur. The blur can't be helped because it was windy so I was taking a picture of a moving tree. The rest is the result of either not enough experience or not enough perfectionism. You will notice that after the first image we moved out of the realm of photography. I believe this technically falls into the realm of digital art. There is a ton to know, and at this point I'm just starting.

And more...

Okay, this was purely to see what I was capable of and hopefully learn something in the process. I took a boring and frankly horrible picture from my trip to Versaille:

and made it into a night shot using one of my many pictures of the moon:

Paris Yacht

There are boats all along the shore of the Seine. Without a tripod I couldn't get any good pictures of them, but I took this one so my dad could see it. Beautiful boat, isn't it? It has two gigantic bilge boards, one on each side. The masts fold down so it can go under the bridges.

First round HDR

Here is some fake HDR, more on the subtle side. I didn't have a tripod, so all of this is just digital. I think I'm going to finally buy a cheap tripod tomorrow (It's kind of silly being a photographer in Paris without one) and get some actual HDR shots. I wandered out to the park today and, despite almost no sunlight, was able to get some so-so pictures. It's just frustrating to me because what I saw through the viewfinder was so much more magical than what I see on my computer screen, with all of it's complexity and detail. There are two solutions to this. One is to accept that my camera takes poor pictures of reality. The other is to make my photos match my imaginative eye with the GIMP. See, a camera is rotten technology compared to the human eye. You have to expose a shot for either the sky or the grass; you can never have both colored correctly in the same picture because they have different brightnesses. However, with HDR you take three different pictures that are identical except for the exposure levels and then use software to combine the images. The result can be much closer to what the human eye sees... or you can push it way beyond that point to get stunning effects. That is where photography is no longer photography- it's digital art. So these pictures represent a gentle step into the world of photomanipulation. The neon leaves actually aren't HDRed at all. I just ran some filters over them. I've been doing that for years. The forest shots have various attempts at combining filters with general HDR theory. Oh yeah, and I post the leaves only for their general prettiness. It started raining on me as I was laying on my back underneath them and I got a bunch of water drops on the lens. Wrecked a perfectly good shot... oh well.

Giddy As A Schoolboy

I read up today on the fine art of HDR photography. We'll see how this goes...

In other news, if you haven't gotten my newsletter, let me know. I sent it out tonight.