Paul won. Along with £100,000 for winning, Paul will now get to perform at some variety show for the Queen. He’s already said that £30,000 of his winnings will go towards reducing his debt, and then he’ll spend some on new teeth (I’m not kidding).

Simon Cowell has signed on as his manager, and he reportedly is already preparing to record his first album. I saw yesterday that he was on the Today Show in the states. Seems he’s taken the world by storm.

Here’s his performance from the finale.
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Cheers.

Okay, I wasn’t going to post about this, but I can’t resist. There’s a show currently airing here called Britain’s Got Talent. We haven’t watched it, but plan to Sunday night. It’s basically a talent show, with Simon Cowell as one of the judges. Yes, the American Idol Simon. He’s a brit you know.

So, there’s this contestant called Paul Potts. He’s a cellphone salesman from Cardiff. We didn’t know about him until we saw a clip of him over at Marc and Charity’s blog.

The first clip is his first performance from a few days ago. The second clip is his semi-final performance. He’s in the final Sunday night. We’ll, along with the Verlanders, let you know how he does.

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Cheers.

For several years we have had photos of Paris from an earlier trip hanging around our house and a large metal Eiffel Tower (compliments of Target) sitting in various rooms. It started when Harper was 3 saying she wanted to go to the “Eiffel Terror”. Knowing that we would be moving where it was easily accessible to visit, we promised her a trip there to commemorate her 5th birthday. So 2 weeks ago we boarded the plane for Paris to show her the sights. Despite the rain at times, we had a great trip visiting the Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame, Montmartre, Champs-Elysees, and doing lots and lots of metro rides. We tried many desserts, which was a favorite of Harpers and ate lots of baguettes. Each day we would try something new…chocolate flan, chocolate éclair, crème brulee, coconut tarte, tiramisu, and some unidentifiable dessert that seemed to have espresso in it, eaten by Harper at bedtime:). We collected several catalogues from fancy chocolate makers, which excited Harper more than anything. It was quite a hoot to see her carrying those throughout Paris. Brooks’s highlight was playing with his cars at Notre Dame. Since we have been home he tells us constantly that he wants to go back to “Note Dame” and “Ice Tower”. A highlight for Brad and me was the fact that we heard so many people speaking with an American accent. Since we have met very few Americans here, it was a treat to hear people speaking our home language. At one point in a restaurant we were surrounded by Americans, and I almost found myself hugging them for no reason. Anyways, Paris was fantastic. We were blessed to hang out with some friends, eat good food, enjoy a beautiful city, and show our kids an exciting place.

Julie
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The term “missional” has gained prominence in the last several years. It’s a way of describing a person, group, church, etc. of being “on” mission with God. This isn’t about just sending missionaries to foreign places, although that’s part of it. It’s about being involved in the work of God anywhere and everywhere that He is moving. And rest assured, God is moving in places all over the world. To live missionally we must go to those places, or perhaps stay right where we’re at, and get involved in what God is doing.

Anthony Bradley at TheResurgence.com asked the question earlier today, “Why does America have orphans if it has Christian churches?” It’s a very short article, well worth your time. And it’s just a fraction of what it means to be missional. Here’s the link.

Cheers.