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Hopes & Dreams

01 Saturday Mar 2014

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Storyline is amazing. I’ve taken pages of notes, and I’m sure my blog posts over the next few weeks will be filled with the things I am learning. Today we heard from Donald Miller, Jon Acuff, Mike Foster, Randall Wallace (Braveheart), Allison Vesterfelt, and a concert with Ben Rector. What a day! Tomorrow is even more exciting!

So many things stood out to me, but tonight before I crash into the bed, I wanted to sit on the balcony in the cool salt air and write. Share at least one thing with you. One nugget.

Mike Foster said this: ” Hope comes from putting your beauty and brokenness together.” This jumped out to me because conflicting ideas keep popping up in my life. A few years ago I went through a really hard time and the thing that comforted me was Job 23:10 “But he knows the way that I take; when he has tried me, I shall come out as gold.” (Job 23:10 ESV) and a song by Superchick, Beauty From Pain helped me to see that God can turn our negative turns into positive ones. That’s when I got the tattoo on my wrist that simply says beauty from pain.

Currently 2 Cor 12:9&10 is a verse that has been a huge comfort. In light of the bombing and all the pain that my family and so many others have been experiencing, I just love the promise these verses hold. “But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” (2 Corinthians 12:9, 10 ESV)

These opposing forces… Beauty from pain, strength in weakness, beauty and brokenness…

Hope.

Storyline

26 Wednesday Feb 2014

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As I sit on my first plane to Chicago anticipation is building. Ins few short hours I will be in San Diego and in two days I will be at the storyline conference! I have wanted to go to this conference for years, I can hardly believe it is actually happening. I will get to sit and listen to some of my literary heroes. People who have inspired my faith and my life. Bob Goff showed me that love should always be unconditional. Donald Miller taught me to dream and to change my story if I didn’t like the direction it was going. And Shauna niequist. She has inspired me for years. From the first day a friend handed me Cold Tangerines. Her life and stories have inspired me to live a fuller life. To work on deeper relationships with my friends and that life around the table is the best life of all. I can not wait to experience this conference.

I am hoping it will inspire me to write the next chapter of my life well. It is timely that I am going to this conference at a time in my life where my life is changing so drastically. My career is changing, where I live will change, who surrounds me is changing and some friendships are deepening and some will go away. This time in my life has been so different and so interesting. The bomb completely changed the trajectory of my path, and I know it will continue to put some twists and turns in this chapter. I am also confident that this conference will help me decide where my story goes and it will help me make the best story that I can.

I got here two days early and have been enjoying the hotel, the sunshine, and the ocean! At a friend’s recommendation, I started reading a book by Madeleine L’engle called The Rock That Is Higher. She wrote this book while she was in the hospital in San Diego after being in a tragic car accident. So far so many things she has said about being severely injured, being hospitalized for so long, and dealing with the repercussions of such a tragic accident have rung so true to my own life. I feel like I’m sitting here cheering her on and agreeing with every statement she makes and saying “yes Madeleine! I know exactly how you feel.” We would be friends were she still alive.

One thing in particular that stood out to me this afternoon in regards to forgiveness. It seems like more and more people are asking me about the bomber and how I feel towards him. Madeline’s response to the same question about the man who hit her with his truck…
“My focus was on recovering, returning to life. Come to think of it, I do not feel particularly kindly towards the truck driver who, as far as we know, still has never inquired if he hurt or killed the people In the little car he demolished. But I am happy to leave him to God. If there are lessons he needs to learn from this experience, well, he is God’s child, not mine, and it is up to God, not me, to teach him.”

So well said. That is my new response to how I feel about the bomber. In case you were wondering.

Storyline starts in the morning!!!!

France Day 7

19 Wednesday Feb 2014

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Today we are spending the morning on the river. Slowly sailing further and further south. The sun is shining and the landscape changes more each day. More hills, more trees, olives, vineyards.

There are so many locks. Some so big. 60 feet from top to bottom. People crowd the front and back decks of the ship to watch the slow descent. It is funny that they are so mesmerizing. They are so slow and make travel seem to take forever.

 

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For the lazy morning, we decorated Christmas trees in the lounge. There was one tree for each group on the boat. We are in the yellow group. It was ridiculous. People were going crazy and were being so competitive even though it wasn’t a competition.

We arrived in Viviers around 2 pm, and went into the town as soon as we could disembark. The roadway to the village was lined with stately sycamore trees reaching their knobby arms toward the sun. They really are the oddest trees I have ever seen. I absolutely LOVE them!

IMG_3494It was all so old. Uneven cobblestone roads sloped upward everywhere we went. The town encircled a hillside. All the roads led up to a gothic cathedral at its very peak. We climbed slowly. With my brace it was hard for me to traverse the steep cobblestone streets, but I made it.

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The view was amazing. You could see for miles. Clay roofs lay beneath us. Houses dotted the hillsides. Mountains loomed in the distance. Saint Vincent’s Cathedral was built around 1119 AD. The original one was built in 475 AD, but it was knocked down and restored by Saint Venance. The cathedral’s main room had perfect acoustics. You could talk in a whisper and hear it on the other side. Since we were the only ones in the building, Kim and I sang our hearts out.

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We walked slowly down the hill back in to the village. This town was famous for its pottery, so we visited a few pottery stores and even found some beautiful scarves at another local shop. I bought coffee mugs from a potter that were the most beautiful shape with dark chocolate and white colored glaze swirled onto them.

IMG_3577 IMG_3579 We walked back down the sycamore lined lane and sat on the front deck of the with Pete, Rebekah, Karen, and her sister-in-law, enjoying a bottle of French wine and watching the sun set over the river and mountains.

IMG_3605That evening there was a bread, cheese, and wine demonstration. French cheeses are delicious! Yum. It was so educational learning different ways to pair cheese with wine and breads. After dinner a French woman sang in the lounge. The old people danced. We sipped cocoa and relaxed on the couches. What a lovely ending to a lovely day!

 

France Day 6

09 Sunday Feb 2014

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Today we took a bus to Vienne. It was about 35 minutes from Lyon. Spent the morning with a tour guide leading us through Roman remains. There were old roman roads and a temple. It was so unexpected. I don’t know why I didn’t think about Roman rule in France, but I just didn’t.

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We also visited an exquisite church with stained glass and gothic carving and decorations. Amazing. I love seeing all the architecture that you learn about in Art History.

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There were so many different time periods of architectural history in this one small town. Sometimes all in one building. It was beautiful.

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We had free time to wander Vienne. We went to a book store. I browsed books in French that I couldn’t read. The cook books were beautiful. We stopped in a cafe for espresso then went to the Christmas village. We purchased macaroons and madelines and a crepe filled with nutella.

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YUM. I definitely fell in love with macaroons on this trip. They are the most amazing tiny cookies. Crisp colorful outsides and gooey chewy centers. When we returned to the boat we had to wait for a very long time.

IMG_3469 The dishwasher was broken so it had to be repaired. But eventually we were sailing again. Sailing to the south of France! The scenery is changing and is more mountainous and warmer! Olive trees began filling the landscape. The colors changed. It was no longer foggy and icy. The warmth slowly crept into our surroundings adding deep colors of browns, golds, and greens.

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We landed in Tain-l’Hermatige, a little deserted town to spend the night. It was completely empty.

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No one wandering the streets and no shops or restaurants open. When it was safe to disembark, most of us got off the boat to stretch our legs. Walking the streets of that ghost town it was amusing to only run into other Americans from the ship.

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Cauliflower Buffalo Bites

02 Sunday Feb 2014

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I made these for the Superbowl party tonight. We are trying to be healthier and some friends are gluten-free/dairy-free so I figured I’d give them a try and see how they turned out. Amazing! They can’t replace real wings, they just aren’t the same, but the flavor is great and they are a little crunch and all around delicious. They were a big hit! Best thing is that they are pretty healthy! Try it out!

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Ingredients

1 head cauliflower
1 cup almond milk
1 cup almond flour (fine)
2 tsp garlic powder
1 cup buffalo sauce
cooking spray
Blue Cheese Dressing

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit.

Chop the head of cauliflower into bite-sized pieces. In a mixing bowl, combine the almond milk, almond flour, and garlic powder. Allow to sit a few minutes.

Toss the cauliflower in the almond milk mixture. Shake off the excess batter and place on a baking sheet prepared with cooking spray. Bake in the preheated oven for 15-20 minutes.

Remove the cauliflower from the oven and toss in the buffalo sauce. Place the florets back on the baking sheet and bake for another 8 to 10 minutes. (I did almost 20 minutes at this point because I wanted them a little browned and more crispy-ish)

Allow to cool slightly and serve with blue cheese for dipping.

France Day 5

21 Tuesday Jan 2014

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Lyon…

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We took a bus tour of Lyon and got off at a few different places to take pictures and walk around. We explored an outdoor arts market with rows of beautiful artwork, pottery, and sculptures.

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It was still damp and foggy. A wet chill clung to everything around us. Our warm breath filling the air with little clouds that burst forth and then vanished. Even the stone buildings looked cold.

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This building is a complete mural. There are no real windows on the side. It is all painted on. Quite interesting. Lyon had many buildings with murals. Some had two real windows and one painted to look exactly the same so you almost couldn’t tell which were real and which fake.

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We were dropped off in the Place des Terreaux, one of the main squares in Lyon. There were two art museums and this city hall official looking building. The statue to the left was sculpted by Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi who is the same artist who created the Statue of Liberty. The sculpture is called the Fontaine Bartholdi and it depicts France as a female, seated on a chariot controlling the four great rivers of France represented by four wild horses.

From the Place des Terreaux, we walked back to the boat for lunch. We stopped at a market along the way and had baguettes and samosas. By this time the sun had come out and cleared away the fog. It warmed up a bit and we walked slowly back to the boat by the side of the river. Eating our baguettes and soaking in the sun.

After lunch we walked to the Christmas marked and wandered around. It was so crowded. It was so interesting to see all the different foods and crafts. We didn’t buy anything, but enjoyed people watching and looking at all the different booths. I went back to the boat for a silk demonstration. The city of Lyon is a huge producer of silk. They taught us about silk worms and the different production methods. A woman was there from a silk factory to show how the silk is hand painted. It was very beautiful. The scarves were very expensive. The processes is completed at the Hermes factory and Hermes scarves/silk are one of the most expensive brands of silk.

At night we had the Captains Dinner. We dressed up and had escargot, French onion soup, salmon tartar, crispy duck leg, apple tart, and lots of wine. Oh my, it was delicious. I even tried the escargot. Not my favorite thing, but at least now I can say I’ve had it.

France Day 4

13 Monday Jan 2014

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Up and early again today. After a quick breakfast we boarded the buses and headed to Cluny. On the way we stopped on the side of the road to look at this castle. Grand and majestic on the top of the hillside it stood, shining in the early morning sun, striking through the dense fog. It is owned by an 80-year-old woman and her boyfriend. Can you imagine living there at 80 years old? Apparently she only uses a few of the rooms.

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We arrived in Cluny, Saône-et-Loire, France. Home to Cluny Abbey, and a sweet little village. We explored the abbey first. Most of it has been rebuilt but a few of the original parts are still standing.

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Built in Romanesque Style architecture, Cluny Abbey was erected in 1000 AD. 90% of it was knocked down and has been rebuilt over time. Although originally occupied by monks, has been used for several different purposes over the years. It is currently used as a college.

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It was truly amazing. There is a woman buried there whose name was Ava (pronounced Ah-vah) So pretty.

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The Cluniac Prayer

O God
by whose grace thy servants
the Holy Abbots of Cluny
enkindled with the fire of thy love
became burning and shining lights in thy Church
Grant that we also may be aflame with the spirit of love and discipline
and may ever walk before thee as children of light
through Jesus Christ our Lord
who with the
in the unity of the Holy Spirit
liveth and reigneth
one God
now and forever

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After touring the Abbey, we had free time to explore the Christmas market and the village. Cluny was more hilly. We wandered the cobblestone streets, enjoying the colorful buildings, ornate churches, clay roofs, and many different shops. A man sat on the curb playing an accordion so his music followed us along the narrow streets.

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The Christmas market had all sorts of crafts and food. We sampled cakes and chocolate and drooled over the fancy French desserts. We stopped to get baguettes at a bakery, and slowly walked back to the busses enjoying the crusty bread.

IMG_3288 IMG_3291We got back to the boat just in time for lunch and as we ate, the boat started sailing down the river for the first time! Our river cruise has officially started! We headed to Lyon. It took about 7 hours of sailing. We had to go through several locks and that took a very long time. The boat itself didn’t go very fast. (20-25 mph) It was fun passing the small villages and towns. People on the shore waved to us and got so excited to see us passing by. The hillsides were covered in lush forests and rolling vineyards with skeleton grapevines standing firm in the cold wind.

Sailing was relaxing. We had a lecture about the French Waterways. A French lesson and then another lengthy four-course dinner with amazing food and leisure time sailing until bed. What a peaceful way to fall asleep. Water gently lapping the boat. It didn’t rock at all so I never felt seasick. Just a lovely floating feeling that softly lulled you to sleep.

France day 3

10 Friday Jan 2014

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No rest for the weary! After crawling into bed after dinner last night, a voice over the loud-speaker woke me up at 8am reminding us that there would be a tour leaving for Beaune. As much as I wanted to roll over and go back to sleep, I reminded myself that I might never be here again, and I didn’t want to miss any opportunities. So it was up, a quick breakfast and back to the horrid bus on which it felt like we had just crawled out of after a six-hour journey from Paris. (The busses weren’t really horrid, they were actually quite posh) The frost was still clinging thick to all the trees and plants. Everything seriously looked like a work of art.

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Beaune. Our first city to explore. As we drove out of Macon I got excited. The buildings were so old, and so beautiful! I could not wait to see all the quaint towns we would be visiting. When we arrived in Beaune, we walked the uneven cobblestone streets to the city center. Cobblestone streets and a leg brace that keeps your foot at a right angle are not exactly friends. I had a hard time. But Rebekah, on crutches, had an even harder time. We started off with a guided tour of the Hotel Dieu. An exquisite example of 15th century French architecture, this building was actually a hospital built for poor people in 1443.

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When we left the Hotel Dieu we had free time to explore the town. We went into several bakeries and shops before it was tine for lunch. We met with the group again and headed over to a local restaurant to our very first real French meal. In the true style of Julia Child we had Boeuf Bourguignon. I was so excited. Fresh and crisp French rolls with chewy soft centers,

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chilled French red wine that was smooth and rich, Boeuf Bourguignon with tender meat, creamy sauce and cheesy potatoes

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and the finishing touch a French Apple Tart that just melted in your mouth.

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We washed it down with sweet and creamy espresso. Everything was perfect and delicious!IMG_7891

After a perfect lunch. We walked over to a wine shop for a wine tasting. The shop was small and we actually went downstairs into the cellar. Completely made of stone with arches and old wine barrels it was like stepping back into time. We sat on benches and tasted reds and whites while instructed by our tour guide. It was so well explained and I really felt like I learned a lot about smelling, tasting, and experiencing new wines.

IMG_3234After the wine tasting we had a little more free time before heading back to the ship. We went to an antique shop which probably had antiques older than the United States. It was crazy. The shop owner followed us around the whole time. We poked into a few more shops and ended up in another patisserie. I bought a bag of macaroons. People. French Macaroons are to die for. I love them. I couldn’t get enough. YUM! 

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Back at the ship we gathered in the lounge for a French lesson. I am by no means any more gluten than I was before, but it was fun to learn better pronunciation and some other etiquette tips. Still tired from the time change, I barely could keep my eyes open through the two-hour four-course dinner.

Dinner and bed was the third day.