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The center of the city, and a beautiful building. Less than a 10 minute walk.

I went on a photo adventure today around Toulouse. There will be more photos coming from various parts of the city.

Before I left for my year abroad in France I was doing the college church fair circuit at Bethel and Northwestern College in Minneapolis and I met this great guy named Tom from Navigators at the U of M. Don’t remember what church he was with but we were able to talk about the church and scripture at length when we were at Northwestern. I thoroughly enjoyed the conversation and felt like it helped me understand what I believed better but I left that day troubled with something. Why did I feel better when I fasted each week. It’s a question that really has plagued me. I didn’t have an answer, aside to say I felt off when I didn’t. Well several weeks late I was reflecting upon it and this is what the Lord revealed to me about it. Yes it may appear as a discipline and we Christians are scared of ‘legalism’ but that is a heart issue. Fasting is a lost blessing for your faith we all could desperately use. Here it goes:

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“Those who sow in tears shall
reap with joyful shouting.
He who goes to and fro weeping,
carrying his bag of seed,
Shall indeed come again with a
shout of joy, bringing his sheaves with him.”
Psalms 126:5-6

“Blessed are those who mourn,
for they will be comforted”
Matthew 5:5
“Blessed are those who weep now,
for you will laugh”
Luke 6:21

“A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up… Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop - a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown. He who has ears let him hear.”
Matthew 13:3-9

Considering that it has been over two weeks since arriving in country I was over due for my first truly challenging day. It wasn’t in a way I had been anticipating (though it almost never is). My skill with the language has proved more than adequate for the basics, I haven’t gotten lost, haven’t felt overly homesick, haven’t forgotten anything too important, and my body has been functioning normal with all systems go!

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It started sometime in the night and was still going when I awoke. Through-out the whole day it seems to rain and pour upon us. As I ran to make copies, went to get our long stay visa’s, and then left with more paperwork, walked to campus, walked to the bank, I cleaned the apartment, and through the party at our place. It kept raining, despite it’s apparent ringing of its self into nothing, there was always more to come. The day was draw out just as the rain. Once night had captivated the cityscape was the rain exhausted. The soirée was underway and much food was had.

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