London Debriefed

Here are a few highlights from our trip to London for those of you I haven't talked to already:

Day 1 (TUE)--We flew out of DFW that morning and arrived in Chicago where we had a 5 hour layover before our flight to London. Highlight: I finally finished reading book 7 of the Harry Potter series at the airport (awesome conclusion). We had an 8 hour flight to London and arrived there around 9am on Wednesday morning.
Day 2 (WED)--Checked-in to our hotel, toured West Minster Abby, took pictures of famous buildings (e.g., Buckingham Palace, Big Ben/Parliament, Trafalgar Square), and recovered from jet lag. Highlights: (1) We met up with Harry Katz (a member of the youth group at our church in New Orleans) for dinner at a great Italian restaurant near our hotel and walked through Hyde Park. While the first day was filled with many interesting and funs things, catching up with Harry was a big highlight. God is doing some great stuff in his life and it was encouraging to hear about it. (2) Later that night we went for a walk beside the Thames River and took night pictures of Parliament and the Tower Bridge.
Day 3 (THU)--We went to Wesley's Chapel and Bunhill Fields, the manuscripts room at the British Library, and toured the tour of London. Highlights: (1) The Tower of London is England's most famous prison and fortress. The tour guides are both funny and informative. If you are going to tour something in London that costs money, this is the tour I would recommend. (2) Bunhill Fields (Old English for "Bonehill Fields"). This old protestant graveyard is the final resting place for some of my heroes in the faith (i.e., John Bunyan, Isaac Watts, and John Owen). It was a big reminder that death is the end of all men (even those whom we tend to idealize).
Day 4 (FRI)--We visited the Tate Modern (Art) Museum, National Gallery, National Portrait Gallery, and the British Museum. Afterward we went shopping at Covent Gardens where we ate some amazing cookies (Ben's Cookies). If you go to London you should track down Ben's cookies (very good). Highlight: Seeing the paintings of masters such as Seurat, Renior, Da Vinci, Monet, and Van Gogh was surreal (you might say it left a real "impression" on us :). If you visit London you should definitely take advantage of the museums (even if for no other reason than that they are free!).
Day 5 (SAT)--We headed home. Highlight: sleeping in our own bed.



Miscellaneous Thoughts:

1. Continuity: London is a fun place to visit since it's history is so closely connected to our own country's. The experience is heightened by the fact that you can actually communicate with shop owners and people on the street since you speak the same language (well almost; e.g., Karen ordered "Raaanch" dressing at Subway and it took the guy a little while to figure out what she meant...as the saying goes: you can take the girl out of Louisiana, but you can't take the Louisiana out of the girl :)
   
2. Cultural Diversity: London is a culturally diverse place. Everywhere we went we heard people speaking a different language (i.e., German, Russian, Italian, Spanish, etc.).
   
3. Free stuff: While most everything (esp. food) costs twice as much in London, there are lots of things you can do for free. As I mentioned above there are numerous museums that you can visit for free. You even get a free newspaper when you walk through the subway (aka the "tube"). When you are at a restaurant be sure and order tap water. The waiter may look at you like you're cheap but it's actually very good and...you guessed it...it's free.
   
4. Transportation: The tube is the best way to get around the city. We purchased a three day unlimited pass and felt like it was a bargain. The maps and signs are easy to decipher. Plus as an added bonus you get to hear a guy with a cool accent remind you to "Mind the Gap" every time you get on the train.
5. Weather: The days are much longer there than here in the states since England is so much farther North (sunrise was at 5am and sunset was at 9pm). The weather averaged around 70 degrees Fahrenheit (I still can't make the conversion to Celsius on the fly :). It rained a little for two days of the trip but it didn't stop us from seeing anything nor did we consider it a nuisance.
6. Funny Facts: Instead of "Yield" signs they have "Give Way" signs. Jalapeño peppers are called "chilies." Instead of "Caution" signs you have specialized "Mind the _____" signs. Karen needed a band-aid while we were there but we had trouble finding them until we found out they are called "cushioned plasters." Native food is not that great and in some cases just plain weird (one place is famous for its Cornish hens that are stuffed inside a pig's bladder...when in doubt just order Fish 'n Chips).
   

We feel blessed that God opened the way for us to go. I pray you have been able to get away this summer to recharge and reconnect. I find myself eager for school to begin. If you want to see additional pics, visit my facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=166000031

In Christ,

Jonathan

Going to the land of Coldplay

For those of you who don't know K and I will be heading to London for a few days this next week. We have wanted to take a trip to the UK for a few years now and things lined up so that we could do that this summer. Please pray for us as we travel from DFW to Chicago to London (Heathrow) on Tuesday and Saturday of this week. We will be staying at a hotel near Buckingham Palace all three nights we are in London. Tentatively we are planning a day trip to Oxford on Friday to tour the city. Some of the spots we plan to visit while in London are: Westminster Abby, Parliament, the British Museum, the London Tower (and Tower Bridge), St. Patrick's Cathedral, Bunhill Fields (and Wesley's Chapel) and whatever else we can squeeze into the extra long days they enjoy over there during the summer (sunrise happens about 5am and sunset around 9:15pm).

London is 6 hours ahead of central standard time. If you need to reach us the best way will be by e-mailing my work account (jwatson@swbts.edu) (I will be able to use my phone for e-mail but voice calls will cost $0.99/minute...yikes!). For those of you wondering what the weather will be like: today's high was 74 degrees (Fahrenheit) and the low tonight is projected to be 55. We hope to publish lots of pictures on our Facebook pages when we return.

This past weekend we traveled to Little Rock to surprise my mother for her 70th birthday. Thanks to the work of my sister, niece, aunt, the graciousness of Bayou Meto Baptist Church, hard work of many others, and God's grace we were able to surprise her with a large group of people (87) who know and love my mom. She was blown away by the magnitude of the event and the love shown to her by those who came.

I praise the Lord for a godly mother who taught me His word and lived it out before my eyes. "Charm is deceitful and beauty is vain but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised" (Prov 31:30). God grant us the grace live each day in the righteous fear of You, to love you with all of ourselves, and to look eagerly for the appearing of Your Son, our Savior, Jesus Christ.

jonathan

Faith's Fruit

And behold, a man came up to him, saying, “Teacher, what good deed must I do to have eternal life?” And he said to him, “Why do you ask me about what is good? There is only one who is good. If you would enter life, keep the commandments.”He said to him, “Which ones?” And Jesus said, “You shall not murder, You shall not commit adultery, You shall not steal, You shall not bear false witness,Honor your father and mother, and, You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”The young man said to him, “All these I have kept. What do I still lack?” Jesus said to him, “If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” When the young man heard this he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.
(Matthew 19:16-22 ESV)

This past week the Spirit has been reminding me that the Christian life is a life of faith. The author of Hebrews tells us that "without faith it is impossible to please [God]" (Heb. 11:6). Not too long ago my pastor preached from Ecclesiastes 11 about faith's response in light of life's uncertainties. From verses 1-6 he demonstrated that faith results in bold and confident living and giving. At care group we looked at Jesus' encounter with the rich young ruler. While he had "kept" the law from an early age (cf. Lk 18:21) he still lacked something. As we discussed Jesus' answer the truth became clear to me: the young man had kept the outward forms of the law but Jesus' demand that he sell all his possessions demonstrated the true lack of the young man, i.e., he lacked faith.

While the text does not come right out and make this point for us, I think it is clear when put alongside other passages of Scripture. Apart from faith it is impossible to please God (Heb. 11:6). If the young man already had faith, this new demand that Christ made of him would have been met with a much different result. We know that Simon and Andrew "left their nets and followed him" and James and John left a family business large enough to have hired servants (Mk 1:16-20). Matthew was a tax collector and Paul was a man of great respect and power. Nonetheless, all of these men and many others left their former lives and trappings when called by their Master to follow him. In short, faith looks like obedience.

Jesus' demand to "sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me" was met by sorrow because the young man did not treasure Christ as much as he treasured his possessions. Dietrich Bonhoeffer writes, "Only the believer is obedient, and only the obedient one believes." Would that God would grant the genuine kind of faith that responds in obedience and joy.

In Christ,

Jonathan