St. Martinville aka Petit Paris

The teens and I headed out of Texas after Christmas for vacation. We left early Wednesday morning and arrived around 3pm in the St Martin Parish to hunker down for a few days in an old Methodist church from 1904. This 1400 square foot piece of southern Louisiana history is a perfect spot for creatives. St. Martinville, also known as "little Paris," is the site of the "Evangeline Oak," which was once believed to be featured in Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's poem about the Acadian expulsion. The tree is draped with moss and sits in a little park right along the Bayou Teche. Here is a great little blog about it's history: The Story of Evangeline’s Empty Grave: A Louisiana Tale. Toby and Rene' are not fans of seafood however we ate at a local restaurant called St John's and Toby and I tried Gator bits...they were yummers.



Bust of Longfellow

The next day we traveled to Lafayette's science and history museum where we spent at least 30 minutes experiencing Virtual Reality games. It was funny to watch them shoot arrows, fling planets and pet virtual animals.

Later in the evening we headed off to Baton Rouge to experience a 2.5 hour night ghost tour. In this private excursion, we loaded a small tour bus and bumped through the city listening to tails of history. We got off at certain spots for pictures and "hunting" using equipment to test for paranormal activity. We had frights, laughs and maybe even have some orb pictures. I'll let you be the judge. ;)  There were stories of the apparitions of Huey Long, Sarah Morgan and ghosts aboard the U.S.S Kidd who lost thirty-eight soldiers in a failed kamikaze attack. [that pilot haunts it also] We used Electro-magnetic field detectors and a voice recorder to scan for a ghost named Sadie, confederate soldiers, and a slain professor among others. See below for more pictures!

We are playing today by ear and going where the road leads us. So far though, it's been great to get away with the kids and be adventurous. I hope they catch that bug and continue to adventure for the rest of their lives.

Our AirBnB home while in Louisiana

Ghost Tour & Hunting

 

apparition in the upper right corner of the pic to the left 

Zoomed in on the picture I took.

This home had a red light on inside. You can see it in the right window next to the door. It gave a eerie mood for sure.

Sunday, The First Day of My Week

In American culture, we tend to view our 7 day week as beginning on Monday. Five days of work and the two that follow to rest and play. I think many Christians view Sunday worship as a period to their week. This morning, I am mediating on how different my week might feel with a perspective change in treating Sunday as the first day of my week.

I'll let you go to the net and research the controversy to draw your own conclusion about what "should" be considered our first day of the week however that's not my point here. This morning my mind is on what perspective I need.

As Megan Ryan said in the movie Kate & Leopold, "Sunday is the day before the day I work, so it gets poisoned." I've felt this way. Sometimes after service, a Sunday can feel packed with a dread of Mondays and all the "adulting" that comes along with the week ahead.

But, what if Sunday is my first day of the week? What if I framed my work week in a hug of rest and play between Sunday and Saturday. Then, Sunday can be the beginning of something new instead of the end...like when God created and when Jesus rose. Even if you are not a person of faith, maybe your week would feel different if the week was sandwiched between Sunday's relaxation and Saturday's freedom?

I don't know about you but, for me, this perspective change could be the balm.

As the Proverb says, "A Sunday well spent brings a week of content."