In response

I keep up with one of my dearest friend's blogs because it's like sitting down for a late night conversation with her while she munches cheese and crackers and I drink caffeinated coffee. This latest made me think of my past two days of spending. I think about money a lot and this month has been no different, in fact more. For every euro I spend, it's like $1.50. It's also the holidays. As well ministry and social engagements have picked up, which have seen an increased expenditure to take or give things at events. But here's this...

I dug through the bottom-shelf no name brand chocolate rack yesterday preparing to make brownies. I couldn't find anything that was clearly marked useable for brownies, so I bought the "patissier" (pastry) chocolate that was marked down to 3 euros but still more than the cheapest. Here was my thought--I'm making these brownies and fudge for Christmas presents--for a GBU fete, for my French host family, and for L'Arche. They should have the best.

At the last minute I've been invited to join my previous host family the Prevotes for Christmas at their beach house up north. Their dog is named Aslan from the Narnia movie. They are non-practicing Catholics. I bought their kids an illustrated The Magician's Nephew and signed it with love from me...because I believe Aslan is on the move and I want to reinforce whatever presence of God and Jesus slips into their home.

I'm headed out shortly to a real French dinner with French people, in a French home, all in French, having been invited by a woman who is going to tutor me in French. In France you bring either wine or flowers to a dinner. I opted for flowers and went to the "Rapi'Flore" down the street from me and told them I have 10 euros; what can we do with that? We came up with a beautiful arrangement that looks Christmasy. I'm sure Madame Bataille expects no flowers or wine from a young American who wouldn't know better. But the best way to enter the lives and hearts of people here is to bless them by honoring their customs.

These three purchases seem frivolous to me and I debated each one of them. (I squatted on the chocolate aisle for 5 minutes comparing and thinking. I have thought about the present for the Prevotes since knowing of their dog's name. And I visited the florist, told her I was just looking, and returned later with a limit in mind.) I don't normally spend money on such things here--rent, bills, food, lunches with GBU women, and the occasional train ticket usually make it up. But these are my values--
1) Honor people with what you serve them to eat. When someone takes a bite of food in my home or something I've brought to a party, I want them to feel loved.
2) God uses the simplest of books to plant the most important of seeds, even for 7 and 5 year old children.
3) Honor invitations and count them as the gifts they are. Respond in kind.

Well, I must go to dinner but maybe your values are different than mine. That's okay. But there's this "poor missionary" mindset out there that even on a budget and bad exchange rate I'm trying to dispel. It's not that I spend frivolously. Everything that goes out of my wallet is pointed. It's not that I live above my means, at all in fact. It's that I inherently connect what I spend to first, is it being responsible and obedient, i.e., paying bills and tithe, and is it loving others...even in France, even as a missionary. I have a lot to learn about money, finances, planning, saving/spending, thinking about the future. But here and now I just wanted to share this short reflection. My friend's blog came at a perfect time that coincided with my latest actions.