Graysons In France

28June2009

We love BBQ

Posted by Rob under: Christian life; Family.

Yummy!

This is what we had for dinner yesterday evening. Two different types of sausage, beefburgers, chiocken, gammon, salmon and tiger prawns. I love barbecues!!

26May2009

Quick update

Posted by Rob under: Family.

OK, I’ve been terrible at keeping you up to date with news. So here’s a quick update.

The house has been on the market for two months, and in that time we’ve had around seven or eight viewings but no bites. (And no viewings at all in the last two or there weeks.) The market is just very slow. We’ve taken the step of dropping the price this week, in the hope of casting the net a bit wider and pulling in some more prospective buyers.

We really wanted to back in the UK in time for the kids to start the new school year in September, but to do this we’d have to have a buyer by the end of May at the latest (it takes three months to complete a sale here once you have a firm buyer). We’re all doing our best to trust God, but feel pretty powerless to do anything other than wait. I guess sometimes that’s where God wants us to be – at our most powerless. Not something we’re used to or that we enjoy; well, not me anyway. Please keep praying!

30April2009

Broken people made whole

Posted by Rob under: Christian life.

Ever wondered what it should really mean to be a Christian? It’s all about being found in our brokenness and being made whole in Christ. This video puts it really well.

Cardboard Stories from The Austin Stone on Vimeo.

29April2009

Yes, we are still alive!!

Posted by Rob under: Family.

It’s been over two months since I posted anything on this site. All I can say is that they’ve been a fairly tumultuous two months. So to anyone reading this – well done for still checking back in spite of the lack of posts!

The main reason it’s been a tumultuous two months, and why I haven’t posted anything because my thoughts and focus have been elsewhere, is that we took the decision a few weeks ago to take steps to return to the UK. We’ve been in France for almost three and a half years, and I honestly thought we would be here for many years more. But for various reasons, we felt that God was saying it was time to move into another new phase. This was by no means an easy decision to come to, and took much discussion, prayer, soul-searching and help and advice from trusted friends to whom we are very grateful. So, the decision is now made – all that remains is to do it! This is not as simple as it sounds since we have to first sell our house, which in turn is no simple matter, for reasons I’ll explain in another post in the next few days…

Anyway, it was Joyanne’s birthday last Friday, so we decided to have a couple of days away. We spent Friday in Paris (my favourite city in the whole wide world….though I can’t actually say I’ve visited many), and Saturday at Disneyland Paris. The kids were determined we needed to go there one last time before moving back to the UK. My mum is with us at the moment (she’s been here since mid-February and will be going back next week), so it was a great opportunity for her to see more of Paris and experience Disneyland. Here’s a video to commemorate our trip!

Our trip to Paris, April 2009 from Rob Grayson on Vimeo.

16February2009

Family service: love

Posted by Rob under: Church life.

Yesterday we had our second “Family Service” at our church in Le Havre. (We had the first one back in October.) The theme was “All you need is love” (yes, in English, named after the song), and we used video, music and our own version of a French game show along the lines of the old UK classic “Mr and Mrs”. Our aim was to keep most of the service light, humorous and fun, but then to have a serious challenge about the fact that God’s love demands a response from us, whether we already know God or not.

Below are two videos that we used during the service (in French only this time, I’m afraid). The first one includes four wedding photos of couples from our church (including us). The second one includes verses from Jesus declaration in the synagogue from Isaiah 61: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me because He has anointed me to preach good news to the poor” etc.. The text on the final screen is Jesus words: “Whetever you did to the least of these my brothers, you did to me.”

All you need is love from Rob Grayson on Vimeo.

S’il suffisait d’aimer from Rob Grayson on Vimeo.