Paris, France

Recently my wife and I took a trip to Turkey (see the following blog). On our way home, we had an overnight layover in Paris. I was so excited about seeing this city. I studied the street map and the sites we wanted to see for about two weeks ... to the point that I had a very good image of inner city Paris etched on my brain.

Much to our dismay, when we arrive in Paris the pilot informed us that the temp. outside was 2 deg. C - that translates to 36 deg. F. Yuck! On top of that, it was rainy and windy. Yet, we were here and we were not about to let a little cold or wet weather dampen our spirits.

It took us about an hour and a half longer to get from the airport to the hotel; check into the hotel then get back to the airport where we bought transit tickets for the RER (the rapid transit system in Paris). I wanted to be at our first destination by around 12:30pm but it was actually 3:00pm when we arrived.

Due to being behind schedule, we diverted our trek from starting at the Arc de Triumph to Notre Dame since we didn't really plan to go up in the Arc but just view it, take a few pictures then make our way to the Louvre for some more pics then on to Notre Dame, where he planned to purchase tickets to go up into the bell tower.

Notre Dame was a sight to behold. This ancient church has some of the most ornate stone carving that I have ever seen on a building in my life. Not just a few here and there, but everywhere. The gargoyles at the top of the building were a site to behold as well. We went as high as they would let us go in this structure. Had it been a clear day we would have been able to see for miles. As is was, you could barely make out the Eiffel Tower due to the overcase skies. They say (or at least the song says) that Springtime in Paris is wonderful - don't you believe a word of it. It was miserable.

Not only was the outside structure fantastic, but interior was just as ornate. The stained glass windows were worth spending several mintues at each one (which if you did, you would probably be in the place about 3-4 hours).

One thing that I couldn't help but notice was the coldness of the building. Not just because it was cold outside, but just that sense of emptiness and lifelessness. I feel that everytime I see the image of Mary holding a dead Jesus on her lap or a crucified Savior on a cross. It's not that I object to the death of Christ, but I serve a risen Lord. I don't want to keep Him on the cross. I am thankful for the cross, but that is not the end of the story. There is so much more. Catholicism seems to want to keep Jesus dead and/or on the cross thus pointing the worship to Mary. I object this and find it offensive. When I see images like this I think of the old hymn, "I serve a RISEN Saviour, He's in the world today..."

From Notre Dame we made our way to the Pantheon only to find that it was closed so we then set our sites on the Eiffel Tower. It was everything we expected it to be and much more. By the time we finished with the Tower, we were colder than before, wetter than we wanted to be, tired from climbing (I don't know how many) stairs and hungry. On top of that, it was now 9:00pm and we had to be up early the next morning to catch our flight home. So we headed back to the hotel for a nice hot shower and good nights sleep.

The next day we flew West, which means that we were flying with the sun at a speed of about 550 mph, so we had about 20-21 hours of sun light. That makes for a long day in anyones book. By the time we finally crawled into bed, we had been up about 23 hours.

I did bring one memory home from Paris - a cold. So since I don't feel like working I decided to update this blog. I hope you enjoy the pictures. We had a great trip (in spite of the cold in Paris) and look forward to the next time we can go overseas somewhere. I love America and all that there is to do and see here, but there is so much history else where in our world that I am hoping to see before too long. In October I will fly to New Zealand and Australia - I am eagerly looking forward to that trip as well.

Thanks for visiting my blog - leave a comment if you so desire.

Ephesus

While in Turkey we took a side trip to Izmir, the location of the ancient city of Ephesus. Click HERE to see a short video. This was an amazing trip for me personally. To be able to stand in the theater where Paul desired to address the 24,000 capacity crowd, but was talked out of it (read Acts 18-20) by his friends was great. To be able to walk the roads where Bible characters like Paul, Luke and John walked; to hear stories of both Greek and Roman customs and laws made my mind race back in time.

At present only 15% of the city has been escavated, yet even at that, there was much to see. The library, as seen here, was the third largest library at that time in all of Asia. This is probably one of the most photographed sceens at Ephesus, yet pictures far short in doing justice to the magnitude of the architecture of this place. It is beyond imagination that a place as magnificant and huge as this could be built in the first place, yet alone without the modern technology we have today.

The carvings in the stone, still clearly visible, tells of the craft- manship of the designers and workers. This was indeed the trip of a lifetime for me. I shall never forget this day as long as I live. I look forward to making it back to Turkey in the years to come and seeing more of the ancient cities of Bible days.

Istanbul, Turkey

We arrived in Istanbul, Turkey the other day. It has taken a couple of days to get accustomed to the time change since there is an 8-hour difference from our home. I am guessing that it will still take a day or two to totally get acclimated to the different time zone.

Istanbul is nothing like we expected and yet, very much as we expected. There are many thing in Istanbul that reminds me of the states such as the modern mall. As you walk into this quad-level mall you feel as though you are in any major city in the United States. The major difference is that when we entered the mall, we had to go through a metal detector. That was interesting. As we left, it was the first time that I have ever seen a line where people were waiting to get 'into' a mall. :-)

The picture above is of the Mosque that is near by. As I am typing the "Call", know as the Call to Prayer is sounding. This "Call" sounds five times a day starting at 5:00am. Later this week I am hoping to visit the Mosque personally. I will blog more as time allows.

Venice, Florida

This past week I was in Venice, Florida with Bro. Larry Franck at Cornerstone Baptist Church. Larry is a young man doing a really good job in a retirement town. I would guess the median age of the residents in Venice is around 50-55.

Larry has been pastor for about four years now, his first pastorate, coming from a youth backround. In that four year time frame he has more than tripled the size of the church and now has a solid core to work with. The people of the church, although all are older than him, love him and respect him. It is obvious by the small conversations I had with several.

I had the honor of staying with a gentleman who recently lost his wife of some 53-years to cancer. I was a blessing to me to hear him talk of their love, to see tears trickle down his cheek as memories flooded back to his mind. I would see his eyes light up as he would talk about some of the fun times they had.

At one point, he apologized for being so emotional, as I was choking back my own tears I was thinking to myself, "I only hope that if I ever walk this valley, I will do it with the grace and passion that this man is displaying." I then told him that he had no need to apologize, that his feelings for her were precious and something to never, ever forget.

He shared a little of a lady friend that he recently met saying shyly, "I don't know where this is going to go." I laughed and encouraged him to let it go naturally, besides he needed someone who could do more than emphathize with him, he needed someone who had walked the same valley he was walking." He then told me how that she too had lost her husband, then remarried and within two years her new husband had also passed away. He said that they would talk and cry and laugh. I thought that it was great to see the Lord bring the right person into his life to minister to him, but to also open an avenue so that he could minister to her. They may never be more than friends, but they will no doubt help each other through some difficulte times.

Tomorrow, I will board a plane for Turkey (yes the country) and also have a stop over in Paris, France on the way home. I will post more about that trip when I return. In the meantime, God bless and have a great week.