Friday Coffee with PJ

It's Friday and I am enjoying some vacation time. In fact, as you read this we are on day one of our five night, six day road trip to western Pennsylvania. But we are not leaving an empty house behind! Our precious friends, Paul and Louise Klawitter will be staying with us for the next several weeks (they arrived healthy but exhausted this past Tuesday evening. Close to twenty four hours of navigating long security lines and trying to sleep in an overstuffed economy section on the plane have a way of wringing a person out!). Paul and Louise have been serving as missionaries in France (and now literally around the world) and we are honored to serve them now. 

So in their honor (and since I am on vacation and really don't want to write a new post - just being gut honest with you) I am posting a today something I blogged after returning from a trip to France back at the end of 2006 and the beginning of 2007. Enjoy! 

Merci pour les escargots! (Thursday, January, 2007)

Thanks for the snails? I wasn't so sure. I had never tried to eat a snail before. But I had heard that people did eat them. And our friends assured us that they ate them (and lived) and actually enjoyed them. So much so that they always feasted on snails during the holidays. So when they brought out a plateful of steamed snails, I knew I would have to be brave. I sure did not want to appear cowardly before a sixteen year old girl! 

As I scooped the snail out of its shell, I was hoping it would fall on the floor so that Marcel the dog would gobble it up. When that did not happen, I realized I had to go through with it. But there was something about eating a snail that just would not allow me to place this creature in my mouth. So, sixteen year old Elise came to the rescue. She took my fork, and pretending to be an airplane - she flew that snail right into my mouth (If you are a parent, you can remember those days when you tried that trick to get your kids to eat their creamed carrots or stewed green beans!). As soon as I tasted the snail (dripping with garlic and butter) I thought, "Wow! This is good!" So good that
the second (and third) snail followed quite quickly after that.

Sometimes all it takes is a taste. Les escargots taste good. Maybe that is why they are such a culinary delight to our friends. The book of Psalms urges us to "Taste and see that the LORD is good!"  (Psalm 34:8). 

Indeed the LORD is good - He is very good! I trust that today you will “taste” HIS goodness in a powerful way!

Thanks for stopping by . . . 
pj