Thursday 27 February 2014

deep well

a chat with Oswald Chambers this morning...


{source unknown}

This is sometimes what I sound like :
" 'But, Lord, the well is deep; You cannot draw up quietness and comfort out of it.'

No, He will bring them down from above.
{source}
We will come to Jesus as Comforter or as Sympathizer, but we will not come to Him as Almighty. 

The reason some of us are such poor specimens of Christianity is because we have no Almighty Christ. 
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We have Christian attributes and experiences, but there is no abandonment to Jesus Christ... 

You know it can be done if you look to Jesus. The well of your [our] incompleteness is deep, but make the effort and look away to Him."
--Oswald Chambers

I'm thankful God uses people like Mr. Chambers to give me a kick in the rear every once in a while.  I limit the Almighty God with my unbelief.  Just this morning I read the story in Mark 9 about the dad asking Jesus to heal his demon-possessed son... I like the dad's response, because it's often mine : "Lord I believe; help my unbelief."

Tomorrow I leave for Paris to lead worship for a women's retreat.  Sometimes I doubt that God could ever use such a cotton-headed ninny muggins sinner like myself.  Yet I believe He has already prepared good things in advance.  He truly is ALL-MIGHTY !

See you in a week - I'm going to miss my handsome.

Love Linz

Monday 24 February 2014

Dio + Clémentine Wedding

Félicitations Dio et Clémentine !!!
Nous sommes très contents pour vous !

First things first - isn't the back of this dress gorgeous?!!!  Good choice Clém.


French weddings have to go through the state first, so there is always a mini ceremony at the City Hall (La Mairie) before the "religious" wedding.


Driving through the streets of Marseille was quite fun for me.  It's DEFINITELY not Nice, but beautiful in its own way.


 Here comes the bride !


I love how in French weddings, the couple gets to sit the whole time - bonne idée !


 Clémentine's little brother, the ham, I mean the ring bearer.


 A church in Marseille (not where they got married, to clarify).


 Sun rays - bam !


 Port.


 Drive-by palace.


 Reception.


I love a man in a purple bow tie and top hat =)


 The beautiful bride !


 A fun table game - we all drew the person to our right... HAHA !


 Our table.


Spent the night in the country side (kind of) with a bunch of other people from the wedding... it was like camp all over.  Tonio and I got the top bunks ;)


 View from our bedroom window.


Brunch the next day with the newly weds.  Also another French wedding tradition that I love.  The day after the wedding, there is often a brunch to spend more time with the couple.


Heading back to Nice.  This mountain in front of us was spectacular.

You'll notice there are no pictures of the food or dancing... that's because I must have been enjoying BOTH too much to even think about my camera... the sign of a great wedding !!!

This couple loves the Lord, and it was so cool to witness the beginning of their adventure together.  It just gets better and better Dio and Clém with Christ as the center.  Love you guys !!!

Love Linz

Friday 21 February 2014

my 33rd

This was a very colorful birthday.
Come enjoy the colors with me...


vibrant mélange of flowers and scrambled eggs... both from my wonderful husband.


ready for a day of fun.



let's walk to the Marc Chagall art museum.



stained glass.



let the tour begin.



this was one of my favorites, called "La Route de Cranberry Lane" - it gave me such a feeling of peace and calm... i love the contrasting light from the moon and the lamp {the frame gave it some bonus points too}.



his symbols and themes from the Bible are pretty exquisite.



here is Moses and the burning bush and crossing the Red Sea.



Adam and Eve exiled from the Garden of Eden.



our trusty audio guides (just look at that man next to me - i'm a lucky gal).



before God breathed life into Adam // "The Dance."



the Song of Solomon collection dedicated to his wife "To Vava my wife, my joy and my enthusiasm." --Marc Chagall



a little walk around town after...   i loved this arch and these beautiful yellow flowers next to it.



home to open some cards and gifts {thank you Mom & Dad, Rob & Cricri, Pierre & Nancy, Elodie, Crystal, Stephanie, Uncle Mark & Aunt Kellee, Marie, Pia and of course my beloved}.
and thanks in advance to those who told me cards are in the mail !!!  i am so blessed by all those who love me.

age is funny... i actually forget my age, not because i'm losing my marbles but because i really don't care that much... all last year i kept mixing up 30-31-32... i think this year i can remember 33, just because it's one number 2 times - ha !  each year is a gift from God, so how can i possibly complain? =)

i look forward to many more years with the love of my life - it's fun getting "older" with you my tonio - i love you, and thank you for this wonderful day.  i thank God for you.

Love Linz

Saturday 15 February 2014

to the mountains

à la montagne
13 février, 2014


driving up the hill with Tonio


weeeeee !


a look back at the valley we just drove through


looks like it's going to be a blue sky kind of day


well, we traded the blue sky for these cool people - good trade =)
(me, Tonio, Julien, Florent, Sebastien) photo : seb


we hopped in the big box to the top of the mountain, and Seb closed his eyes so he got fake glasses =)


up, up, and away !


ready with my man


to carve up Isola 2000


the only thing is, we can't see very well


but it didn't matter because if we fell, we fell into fluffy powder


lots of powder


i'm this guys number one fan !


 lunch break at the hobbit hole - this chinese restaurant was completely covered photos : seb


as you can from this picture too photo : seb


going up for more


the mountains take my breath away every time =)


bam !  the hottest man on a very cold mountain photo : seb


selfie : feety


chains photo : seb



more chains photo : seb

a day in a white wonderland :: fun
makes me think of this :: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow isaiah 1:18
a white so pure and untainted :: it could only come from a perfect God
thankful for :: my relationship with the Creator of these mountains

Love Linz