Pictures from Lyon

We left Paris at 7am to head about a few hours south to Lyon. It was a nice small French town and not many people spoke English. We were left all on our own to find transportation, food, and even the hotel. It was a very interesting experience, however it gave you the real feeling of begin in France. The town was just like being in a French movie. I must say the most interesting part about Lyon was trying to order food reading a French menu and then waiting for the surprise to arrive at your table.

 

Funny story: We were having dinner and the waitress told us one of the meals came with goat cheese, however we didn't fully understand what she was saying. She proceeds to explain what goat cheese is and where it comes from. "You know goat, has girlfriend, girlfriend gets pregnant, has milk, from milk you get cheese." Let me just say we laughed the rest of the night. It wasn't that we didn't know what goat cheese was, we just didn't understand what she said. LOL 

 

Enjoy the pictures 

Pictures from Paris

First let me say I apologize for not posting sooner. I also took my video camera along for the journey so once I make it back to the states I will create a DVD and if you would like a copy I will share it with you.

The pictures below are from Paris. I must say Paris was beautiful and the French women are beautiful as well! In Paris speaking French is not as essential, because of the high tourism many people speak English although they would prefer to speak French.

Its amazing how things can work out for the good. When I first came to Edinburgh I couldn't find anyone willing to tour Europe with me. I made the eceuctive decison at that point to visit as many places as possible on my own.

I started going to the Chaplinacy and met a wonderful girl named Enid from Maylasia and her boyfriend Hamzeh  from Tampa FL. They involved me in all their trips and I didn't have to travel alone.

As the journey began today we used one of the cheap airlines called RyanAir. They are cheaper than Southwest. We flew to Paris for around 50 US dollars. Let's just say its cheap for a reason. The seats don't recline. You have to walk on the runway to the plane and load your own bags. I wanted to say are you SERIOUS. I was expecting the flight attendents to say during the safety message that "in case of emergency you are on your own!"

Once we were on the plane it seemed as if we were watching tv after 2am. The entire flight they were on the intercome trying to sell everything from perfume to lottery tickets to magazines. I think they were on commission. Lol

We arrived in Paris and began to tour and as we tired to find our way around as confused tourist, a nice lady overheard us and began to help. This was very different from what we were told about the French people.

The pictures should tell the rest of the story, but let me say we walked for about 12 hours straight trying to see as much as possible in such a short amount of time.

Trip to France and Italy

I am very excited about the trip to France and Italy. It is much deserved after all the hard work I put in studying. Just an update on the important part. My grades are good all A's and one B.

Below is an itinerary of the scheduled events.

I will have pictures and stories about the trip in each location. Pray for me and I pray for you.

May 9 arrive in Paris

May10 - Paris

May 11 - travel to Lyon and spend the night in Lyon

May 12 - travel to Milan and reaching Milan around afternoon and spend the night there

May 13 - travel to Venice and spend a night there

May 14 - travel to florence, drop the bags and travel to Pisa and back to Florence

May 15 - Florence

Mat 16 - travel to Rome

May 17 Rome

May 18 Leave Rome for edinburgh

Chapter 25

I have been away for a while. I mentioned in a previous blog (Chapter 23 “IN THE PROCESS”) that I was going through a transformation process. The transformation was a cascade of events; however I was speaking about taking my relationship with God to another level. I know I created this blog to tell about my experiences in Scotland (i.e. traveling), but you must understand that part of my experience is the growth of my relationship with Him. The 90 day process in over and I have now read the bible in its entirety.

I felt a calling a few months ago that said you claim to know me, but you have not read my word. I can not claim to be a true Christian if I do not know what is expected of me and know the history of what I believe. It has been an experience which is hard to put into words. I have grown tremendously in the process. I am in a place where I just want to Love and Obey the Lord and in the process I know He will unfold my future. As the old hymn says “There are some things I may not know, there are some places I can not go, but I am sure of this one thing, that God is real for  I can feel Him in my soul.” The spirit of the Lord is moving as I type and I know that things are being loosed and bound as I type.

I do not know what the future holds for me, but as long as I keep the faith and trust Him, I know it is part of the plan. I watched a sermon a few days ago as I was ending the 90 day process and it was clarification that good has been promised to me. Just know that once God blesses me the blessings will flow to everyone who is connected to me. For I believe that God does not bless you just to keep for yourself, but He blesses you to give to others. He is in the neighborhood and I left the door unlocked in expectation of what He has promised.

I have a trip to France and Italy planned for next month. Please keep a close look for the blog and the pictures.

Be Blessed. 

Chapter 24

As I ride the bus on my tour of the East Coast of Scotland my mind wonders about my future. I have heard several times from many people that it is more important to focus on your future than to worry about your past. Reminds of why the windshield is larger than the rearview mirror.

I find myself frequently thinking about the next move and how to plan for the next stage of my life. I constantly think about what would make me happy and how I can make an impact on the lives of others. However, I had to remind myself that I cannot actually plan my future, but I can prepare for it. Now that may seem weird to some and I think it requires a little explanation.

I personally believe that every person has a predetermined path in life and this path has the potential to be full of success. The problem most people face when they encounter tribulation is that they deviate from the path, because they think they have found an easier route (i.e. like trying to avoid a traffic jam). People are inclined to make decisions based on worldly possessions not considering the true desires of their heart. Every decisions made should consider the desires of your heart because the heart is your guide. When you let your heart influence the decision, you are inviting a supernatural spirit to direct your decision. The decision making process shouldn't be rushed and you should consider all factors.

This is the reason why I don't plan I just prepare. When you are prepared you can handle any situation which may arise. I never know which situation God will put me in, but I know that He will not put me in a situation where He cannot get me out. Furthermore, prepared people know that when they encounter difficult situations they are test to ensure you are ready for the next level (test will be the next topic). I also read somewhere that when you plan God laughs.

As I prepare for the next stage in life I know that it will be a part of a plan. While I can't control the journey I have the ability to enrich the experience. Which is the reason I don't waste time doing things I do not enjoy. I fill my time with the fruits of my passion. The journey is long and rough so why should I add more unnecessary trouble. That is the problem many people face; they are too afraid to follow their passion because of doubt and fear. It is complete nonsense to do something you do not enjoy or do it because it pleases society. I love when people tell me I cannot do achieve something because I strive and pray harder to show them wrong.

You cannot let the demons of this world distract you from your passion. Prepare yourself for the journey and fill the remaining space with passionate activities.

Chapter 23

It has been a busy last few weeks with classes, trips, studying, and other events and I have been fighting this luxury we call time. As the old folks say “there are not enough hours in the day,” funny part is that I use this saying too. Old soul trapped in a young body (Lol)!  I have a lot of blog ideas, but I don’t have the time to actually produce the finished products. As many of you know I am the type of individual that likes to multi-task and ideas always come to me at random times.

I have the opportunity to chat with various individuals on a number of different topics very often. They are from all over the world and come from different backgrounds and ideologies. It is amazing how in each one of those conversations, the perception of their current circumstance can vary. I discovered a various range of attitudes and emotions during these chats which intrigued me on several levels. As you can imagine when someone tells you a story their emotions change with each specific event. Depending on how favorable or unfavorable their perception of the outcome will modify their attitude. Why is it that every time something does not work to our advantage we change our attitude instead of counting it all joy? Why is it that we can not mentally comprehend that every event (good or bad) happens for a specific reason and a specific time? Do you really think if you put a little more effort, slept a few hours less, or paid a little more money your outcome would have been different?

The misconception of our perception of the circumstance can be explained by our inability to interpret a situation. We try to explain every biological and psychological event by using science and common sense, but the truth of the matter is you don’t have the intellectual capacity to interpret your situation in your human realm. You have to evolve to a spiritual/supernatural realm in order to see that you are truly going through a process with many stages.

Think about it from another point of view and I guarantee it will touch your life and your situation.  I know a lot of people have a fascination for fine wines. Well just in case you didn’t know wine comes from grapes which go through a fermentation and creative process. The fermentation process starts when yeast is added to grape juice. The yeast consumes the grape's sugar and converts it to alcohol and carbon dioxide. Every grape has its own variety of identifiable characteristics. However, it is the “winemaker” who creates the style and personality of the finished wines. The winemaker "guides" the winemaking process using a variety of techniques to best express His style in each wine. Essentially, each phase of life you encounter is part of a process to enhance and reveal unique characteristics which reflect your maker. Somebody just missed that!

The important thing to remember is that you are “IN THE PROCESS” but when you finish you will be better than the initial ingredients used. Furthermore, as with wine you get better with age because there has been time for you to improve your lifestyle and distinguish yourself from all the foolishness of your past.  The great thing I love about being in a process is that there are several levels. Macro-process (big picture) you can’t control, but the micro-process (components) you can influence. I recently embarked on a 90 day process to complete a task I felt was in my heart. I have seen the opposition come and try to distract my but I know that if for my good and once I complete the process I will be one step closer to being like “fine wine!”

Stop tripping over your right now and look forward to your not yet! Be Thankful that you are “In The Process!”