Living a life of Faith

    I have been going through a rough patch again (the roller coaster ride of language school), missing my family, feeling a little depressed, fatigued from so much studying. I know we just had a break, but other than visiting a few towns around here, I mostly studied! And now we are back to school, learning more material and studying hard for our exams for this section (A1). If I don't pass, I will have to repeat this all over again, and the prospect of that is definitely discouraging. So, this morning, the Lord woke me up early, and again I found myself prostrate before Him, asking for help. The good news is that He is always there to hear and encourage. I started my devotional time as usual with "My utmost for His highest". In todays reading, he speaks of living a life of faith. He uses Abraham as an example, who is definitely one of my top examples of leading a life of faith! "He went out, not knowing where He was going..." Hebrews 11:8. Here are a couple of quotes from the reading... "Living a life of faith means never knowing where you are being led. But it does mean loving and knowing the One who is leading. It is literally a life of faith, not of understanding and reason- a life of knowing Him who calls us to go. Faith is rooted in the knowledge of a Person." This is so hard for me, because I want to understand, and I like reason. But God is calling me to be a person of faith! This is a difficult journey, as any of you know, who are also striving to be people of real faith!
   Later on in the reading, another gem; "A life of faith is not a life of one glorious mountaintop experience after another, like soaring on eagles' wings, but is a life of day-in and day-out consistency; a life of walking without fainting" (Isaiah 40:31). Lord, help me to walk without fainting!
   I am always in a state of reading through the Bible. This mornings' reading just happened to be (you guessed it) Isaiah 40! Isn't it cool how when God is really trying to show us something, He does it in multiple ways. I personally think it's because we are pretty thick-headed and He has to hit us over the head multiple times before we get it!!!  So my prayer this morning is to run and not be weary, and to walk and not faint.
    Thank you for your prayers, and please continue to pray for me during the next 3 weeks as I prepare for and take my exams. Whatever the outcome, I want to become a person of stronger faith, trusting in who God is, and that He is in control.

Le Fromage Usine (the cheese factory)

I've been able to do a little sightseeing while on a break from school. One of the most interesting places I have visited is the small village of Beaufort, high in the Alps. In this town, most of the people are animal farmers, cows (vaches) and goats (chevres). The use the milk to make a variety of products, but mostly cheese. We got to tour the factory where they make the cheese, and watch the men at work, mixing the cheese, pressing the cheese, wrapping the huge wheels of cheese in cheese cloth. Then we watched a video of their way of life. Again, super interesting, and I understood quite a bit of the French spoken in the video. Then the tour ended in the store, where we got to taste and buy cheese. Yummo! They say the 4 food groups in France are; bread, cheese, wine, and chocolate. Oh boy, my waistline is feeling it. I gotta go back to eating salads or I'll be in big trouble. I will try to post some pictures of this little adventure, but for some reason I am having trouble getting them to post. So, check out my pics on facebook.

Gratitude

"Lord, you have given me so much, but I ask for one more thing; a heart of thankfulness".
Things I am thankful for today:
1) Being a child and friend of God
2) His word
3) my wonderful family- and a shout out to my son, Chad, who's birthday is today!
4) wonderful friends, old and new
5) living in France for a year; what a journey to live in a new culture and learn a new language
6) the opportunity to serve God in missions
7) French Bolangeries (the bread here is amazing)
8) the French Alps (every day I get to look out my window at magnificent mountains)
9) Having a rental car for a couple of weeks (YES! Freedom)
10) Skype- so I can keep in contact with those I love (can't imagine how hard it was for missionaries in the past to leave their families, and never see them again!)
11) A break from language school- so great to give my mind and body a rest.
12) the ability to listen to my pastor's sermons (in Riverside) on a podcast. I love going to the French church, but still only understand about 1/4 of the message, so to hear a message in my heart language is super important.
13) Homemade peanut butter (since peanut butter is rare in France, and super expensive, a friend here taught me how to make peanut butter in a food processor with just peanuts, a little oil, and a little honey. Super yummy!)
14) Hopefully, a chance to visit some nearby French towns this week (if only the sun will come out, and it will stop raining and snowing).
15) Cards and packages from friends and family back home- they mean so much!
Well, I think that's about it for now. Love you all, Sandie