December Daily {:31:} Photos, Photos, Photos

There are several orders of business today, this final December Daily.

First off, I updated the blog with details and photos for December 20, the day I went to Bethlehem.  And yes, I did sing O Little Town of Bethlehem while I was there!  :)  You can see that post by clicking HERE.

Second, (before I post my December Instagrams), I wanted to repost my favorite photos from 2013.  Here we go...!

Whitey making me laugh about something or nother when she came to visit in March.

Bastille Day Fireworks.  Epic.

In the late summer and early fall, I love this color of yellow sunlight that hits the Samaritan building for about 2 minutes a little after sunrise.  I sit almost every morning and wait for it.

Best sunset EVER.

This just makes me laugh every time.  And I love fog, which is so rare here.  It makes this formally San Francisco girl happy!

One of my two favorites of the whole year.  I love looking out at the Ferris Wheel!

Favorite moment of the entire year.  Boom!  War Eagle!

I'm always happy when I get to ride on a boat.  This was a particularly gorgeous day out on the water!

I will never, ever forget the time they flooded the city streets with sheep.  Craziest thing I ever did see.

Barcelona has the best clouds ever.  Seriously.  Wow.

And the most clueless tourists ever who refuse to move out of my view.

Favorite moment in Greece, and favorite photo from Greece, even though I didn't take it.

I love that time that the Artist jumped up to photobomb my picture in Athens...

She didn't get this one, though!

I loved this sweet moment of catching up with old friends.  I wish we'd thought to take a better photo of the three of us together.  Glad we at least got this!

Gah, I love this kid!  I love his pure joy here, and how much he loved (loves) the Eiffel Tower.

And saving the best for last, my favorite photo from 2013.  I ended up keeping this one as my iPhone wallpaper.  Will probably print and hang it someday.

Lastly, for those who aren't photo'd out...here are my December Instagrams.

Marseille's latest weirdness: random (perfectly good) chairs in the hallway of my building.  This picture is not the first time.  Today...there was a table!

I like our team's newest member!

Another Marseille weirdness: Replicas of famous ancient art combined with modern art all up and down my street.  An open air museum, if you will...

Cookies galore!

I still can't handle the cuteness!  Frosty the CheeseBall.

This is how the French do Christmas tree stands:

The picture taken moments before I caught my hair on fire by blowing out the candles:

Merry Christmas to all!

And Happy New Year!  May your year be easy and stress free, as was my time going through passport control!

Seriously though, thanks for sticking with me through 2013, and especially during December Daily.  I doubt I'll ever do that again!  (I don't know how some bloggers do that all the time, with awesome photos to boot!)  It was a good year, and I'm looking forward to 2014 being even better.  God is good, all the time.

50 books read + 6 countries traveled to + 1 kitchen finished + 2 lost sheep found + 3 types of classes taught at 2 different centers + 20 old journals read + 12 interns hosted - 3 friends left France + 1775 gifts counted + 365 days blessed + 1 steadfast loving God = 2013

December Daily {:30:} 1st Link to Dixie photos and 2013 in Review

Before I dive into my looking back at 2013 post, I do want to let you know that I began editing and posting photos from my Dixie trip today.  You can see the photos from December 19, the day I went to the Garden Tomb and the Western Wall and wandered all over the city by clicking HERE...

Now...tomorrow is New Year's Eve!  Wowzah.  I remember as a kid when adults would talk about how each year goes faster and faster, and now I finally get it.  This year does seem like the fastest one yet.

Here's my year in review:

1. I finished off my time in the US and flew back to France in mid-January. 
2. I celebrated Lent starting in February and it was so good. 
3. I went to Spain for a conference in March, and Tunisia for Easter in April.  
4. I hosted a team of college student interns in May and they rocked my face off.  
5. There was an exhibit of the jewelry our ladies had made at the mayor's office in June.  I was so proud!
6. I finished building my kitchen in July and August.  That was hard.
7. In August, I went to Paris to see the Real McCoys, hosted the Superheroes in my apartment, and went to Greece.  Best month ever!
8. September started work back and introduced a bunch of new work.  
9. I said goodbye to the Artist and the Bodybuilder in October after a sweet time in Barcelona.  
10. I went to Dixie in December.

Best books read:

• History/Biography: While the World Watched
• Novel: Pearl in the Sand
• Devotional: Journey to the Cross
• Biography: The Insanity of God

Favorite music:

• Natalie Grant's song In the End
• Matt Redman's song Your Grace Finds Me
• More Than Rubies, the entire album
• Anything bluegrass

Favorite thing watched: Auburn football.  Forget movies, I'll take that Iron Bowl game again and again!

Favorite blog posts from 2013:

• The Bunny Invasion
• Transhumance (when sheep filled the streets of Marseille)
• My (Almost) Big Fat Greek Wedding
• December 1st's Increasing Repeated Glories (video of Auburn's awesome finish in the Iron Bowl and reflections on football)
• Cast of Characters (where I introduce via photo all the regulars in my life)

Some lousy moments of 2013: when my table cracked in half, continued goodbyes, and some private struggles in my heart over some things.  Compared to previous years, this year was easy and light on the lousy, and for that I am thankful.

Some great moments of 2013: It was a fun year in Marseille, with lots of "cultural" events going on (like the time they set the Vieux Port on fire on purpose).  I loved Lent and the special time I had with the Lord during those weeks.  The interns were awesome and probably the highlight of my entire year.  I got to see a lot of special friends this year and that was a deep blessing.  And...I went to Greece and Dixie, which were both such great experiences!

Check back tomorrow for my final December Daily that will have my favorite photos from the year and perhaps a few more reflections on 2013...

December Daily {:29:} Bible Memorization

This morning, while I was at the X's, I finished reading a book of theirs called 100 Bible Verses Everyone Should Know by Heart.  For the past few years, I've written in December about choosing a Bible reading plan for the following year.  (You can read those posts HERE and HERE.  Or you can read a great article with several reading plan suggestions HERE.)  I'd already decided that this year, as people are thinking about New Year's Resolutions, to write about Bible memorization, and since I finished that book today, it seemed like today is a good day to write about that.

Beginning back in (maybe?) 2009, I had been using an index card booklet on a ring to memorize and review verses.  Back in February, when I quit Facebook, I decided I needed to replace it on my phone with something else, and decided on a Bible memorization app, since the index cards were cumbersome.  I tried out a few different apps over several months until I settled on two that I have been using since June and I love both.

One is Fighter Verses (by John Piper's church), and it's awesome.  Worth every single penny.  You can choose between different themes.  It gives you a verse a week with a bunch of different ways to go about memorizing it...including songs!  It's very fun.  I believe there might even be a kid version if you want to memorize verses with your children.  I use this app to add a verse a week to my repertoire.

The other app I use is called Scripture Typer.

It's probably the most expensive app I've ever bought (around $5).  I like this one because it helps me learn new verses, and prompts me to review old verses, and I can choose which Bible translation I want to memorize in: including in French!  I can make categories, and just review in them when I want.  I created a "This Week" category that I use daily to learn new verses.

With this app, I've been able to stay on top of my previously memorized verses, while constantly putting new ones into my head and heart.   Each time you correctly review a verse, it adds one day to the amount of time until you review again.  So when I've reviewed John 3:16 twenty times, I won't be prompted again for 21 days, and after that, 22 days.  You can see from the photo below that I didn't review for a few days while on vacation...oops.

So...if you're thinking about New Year's Resolutions, I encourage you (as always) to consider finding a Bible reading plan that works for you, AND...to consider beginning to be methodical and diligent about memorizing the Word of God.  He will use it to speak to you, to speak through you to others, and guide and protect you, and to encourage you.  I'm so thankful for the new technologies that make it easy and fun!  I really do love the Scripture Typer app and recommend it to anyone with a smart phone!  If you don't have a smart phone, then try finding a method that works for you (index cards?) and a plan to stay on top of it!

And...if anyone is wondering (for my December Daily) what I did today...I hung out some more with Mr. and Mrs. X, who drove me home to Marseille in the afternoon.  I unpacked, began sorting through everything from my trip, including downloading all my photos to my computer.  I'll begin editing and hopefully posting some tomorrow.  Lastly, I'm hoping to Skype with my family tonight.  I'll watch a movie and quilt until they get online.  Isn't vacation a wonderful thing?

December Daily {:28:} French Toast, Movies, Chill

Have you ever stopped to wonder what the French call things like French toast, French fries, or French braids? I can still remember asking my teacher in language school and having to describe how to make French toast so I could know what it's called. 

It's called pain perdu, which means 'lost bread.' French bread tends to get hard right away, so baguettes are not edible the next day, unfortunately...unless you make French toast. 

Which is what Mrs. X did last night for this morning, making the Pioneer Woman's overnight French toast. Yum. 

Now this is how to spend a Christmas vacation day: eat French toast, watch old Christmas movies all day, eat homemade pizza, play games. 

Which is what we did all day. It's a wonderful life. 

December Daily {:27:} Packages, Raclette, French

I started the day off by opening all my packages from America. Since my mailman is a punk and returns my mail to the sender, I've started having my packages sent to Mrs. X. There were three waiting for me! 

Mom sent stuff I can't get here, like all spice, corn syrup, Brillo pads, green chilies, and more. Thanks Mom!

Master Yoda and Princess Leah sent an Auburn t-shirt, a Christmas plate, thank you cards and more. Thanks bro and sis! 

Auntie K sent pecans and a cool quilt a day calendar, and more. Thanks Auntie K!

Later, we all went to the store to buy stuff for dinner. The X's have another guest staying right now, a French friend who moved to Africa and is home on vacation. She invited friends to join us for dinner. 

We ate raclette, which is a popular dinner party meal in the winter here. It consists of meat, potatoes and cheese. There is a machine that cooks the meat on top and melts the cheese underneath. 

Then, you put all that on top of potatoes. Voila! Easy and fun!

Afterwards, the friend showed us all her pictures from her new home in Africa. It was fun to see a whole nother world and way of life.

But being in vacation and all, I'm frenched out. Oof. This girl's brain is fatigué. 

December Daily{:26:} Security, Nobody, Aix

After one of the best vacations ever, the time had come to return to France. Bound called for a shuttle pick up for me, and they arrived early...as in I didn't even get to say goodbye to Bound's mom, only wave from the window as she came outside. That was a bummer. 

The shuttle picked me up right at their front door, and took me straight to the airport (after picking up a bunch of others as well.). I'd been warned that I'd probably have to go thru extra security because I was traveling alone and am a woman. Apparently, we single girls are gullible to terrorists' charms and could receive a gift of a bomb from our new charming boyfriend that we picked up while in the Holy Land. 

Sure enough, as soon as they asked if I was traveling alone, I was asked to step aside. A director was called over, who examined my passport extensively, asked me to take off my glasses so he could see if I matched my photo. (That's a first!) They asked for another ID, and asked a bunch of questions, including if anyone had give me a gift that could be a bomb. Nope. Christmas gifts, yes, bomb, no. (I avoided making a joke about the exploding pop rocks chocolate bar...)

Then, they went through my suitcase, pulling every single item out and running a magic wand over it. Everything, including dirty clothes. I asked if it was interesting to see what kinds of souvenirs all the tourists buy, and the girl responded that it's always the same old thing: mud and salt from the Dead Sea (which, oddly, I did not buy.)  After they'd gone through everything, they allowed me to repack my suitcase and check it. 

Next came security (the normal kind).  Because I'd been flagged (by a special sticker on my passport,) I had to go through another digging. They made me take off boots, scarf, sweater and bracelet (which one doesn't always have to do overseas like in the US.) Then they again went through my entire carry-on and purse, unpacking everything and waving the magic wand over it. They even thumbed through my journal. Ultimately, they took my toothpaste and let me go. 

Passport control went without a hitch, thankfully! Flight was fine. Once I landed in Paris, I was shocked--shocked--to see no one at all in the security line or at passport control. In all my years of flying, I have never once seen this:

Not even something close! Usually, there's at least 50 people in line! And tonight it was just me, at a major international airport! I don't get it. 

My flight was relatively smooth until we started our descent into Marseille, when there was some strong Mistral winds blowing. It was one of the rare times in my life when I got motion sick from the plane rumbling and tumbling in the wind. I had to hold the armrests and start breathing deep to keep from getting sick. Ooh wee. Love the Mistral, but not in a plane!

I'm happily tucked away in Aix now at Mr. and Mrs. X's house. 

December Daily {:25:} Merry Christmas!

Not having little kids around on Christmas morning can be wonderful because you get to sleep in and enjoy a peaceful slow morning, which is what we did. We read the nativity story from Luke and Matthew and discussed it for a bit before opening presents. Bound and her family gave me a DVD, a candle, a Piano Guys cd, stationary, and a pop rocks chocolate bar! Fun times!

I ate apple pie for brunch!

Bound and I headed back into the Old City for one last wandering around (for me).  I couldn't decide for awhile if I wanted to do the touristy thing and walk around on the city walls, or if I just wanted to wander and see the Garden Tomb and Western Wall one last time.  I opted for the second option.  I'm glad I did.  I took a bunch of photos...

In the Christian part of the city, there were signs on the walls in Arabic and in English...

What a blessing to my heart to see this in the middle of the Arab world!  Praise God.

Blown glass Christmas ornament bobbles that were just simply spectacular.

As always, I had to wait for tourists to move so that I could take a picture of a pretty door.

As we were wandering around, we stopped to look in the window of one of the jewelry stores that sells the widow's mite.  I hadn't planned on buying one (since that first day experience had shocked me at the price of them), but the shop owner encouraged us to come inside and look.  Maybe this place would be cheaper than the other?

Mark 12:41-44 tells this story: "And he sat down opposite the treasury and watched the people putting money into the offering box. Many rich people put in large sums.  And a poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, [called a 'mite'], which make a penny.  And he called his disciples to him and said to them, “Truly, I say to you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the offering box.  For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, all she had to live on.”

Archeologists have found plenty of those coins in Dixie, and many have been made into jewelry.  My parents and grandparents had sent money for Christmas, so I used some of that to buy myself a necklace pendant.  The store I bought mine from had a certificate verifying their authenticity and permission to sell the coins, and the seller gave me my own certificate detailing about my specific widow's mite that I purchased.  

It is a copper coin held in a sterling silver pendant.  The back has the symbol of an anchor on it.

The front has a symbol of a star. 

Some of the mites we saw didn't have the star in the center, or it wasn't as well preserved as others and you could barely see the symbols.   Here is a picture from the internet of a really well preserved, easy to see mite.  Source: http://www.newworldtreasures.com/images/7037.jpg

Thanks, Mom, Dad, and Grandparents for a beautiful and meaningful Christmas present!

More wandering in the Old City...

At the Western Wall, if you look just right to the trash can (in the bottom left), you'll see the fountain where the women can do their ritual washing before their prayers.

I've already been washed in the Blood of the Lamb, so I skipped the fountain and headed over to the Wall to spend a few minutes praying.  Very special moment for me...to stop being a tourist (like I had been the first day I went), and just be a believer.

As we were leaving, Bound pointed out this group of Dixie soldiers...who were all female.  Serving in the military is obligatory, for males and females.  It's a terrible photo, because I took it over my shoulder using my reverse camera lens.  We even saw female soldiers in skirts!

I forget what these are called, but you'll see them everywhere in Dixie.  It's a small container with some of the Torah written on it inside, and they are posted outside the doors of homes...and even at the airport!  On the ramp from the plane into the building, there was one!  In my previous apartment building, my neighbor had one, so I've seen them before.  I love the literal obedience to Deuteronomy 6:9, "You shall write them [these commandments] on the doorposts of your house and on your gates."

We went out the Damascus Gate and I was blown away by the awesome clouds.  Wowzah.

Right by the Damascus Gate is a park, and when I saw it filled with Muslim ladies sitting on benches, it made me smile.  (That's what they do in France in parks.  No matter what time of year it is, if it's not raining, you'll see them gathered outside at parks.)

Back through the market, still loving the awesomeness of the Old City.

On our way home, Bound pointed out this mosaic.  It's a map of the world, with J-town at the center.

We went to get felafel for dinner, making sure this time that I got it instead of schwarma.  So delicious!  My favorite part: the eggplant was fried to make it crispy, almost like a chip.  Yum.

The sunset was just spectacular on our way home.  How sweet of God to give such a precious parting gift on my final day in Dixie, and for Christmas to boot!

Then, we went to a huge Christmas party. So many people! I hung out in the kitchen with the other introverts and met a really nice girl, the daughter of the family throwing the party. They're friends with Thomas Kincade and have original paintings of his of J-town all over their house. That was cool. 

Now, to pack and fly back to France tomorrow. Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!