This Little Light of Mine

Friday night was date night. That's right, even though Greg and I have been married for over 20 years, we make it a priority to go out together once a week. Depending on the budget, it might be anything from dinner at a nice restaurant, to a quiet picnic in the park. Either end of the spectrum works for me, as long as it means no cooking or washing dishes! Yesterday's outing was a simple one, yet it was bursting with flavor...Mexican, fro-yo, and Gospel, to be exact.

• MEXICAN FOOD - Don't get me wrong, French food is amazing, but my most consistent craving is for Mexican food. We love El Sombrero on Rue Pizay, but because it was the end of the month and our budget was tight, this time we decided to try a little burrito place in the Croix-Rousse area called Tu Esquina. Right away I knew we'd hit the jackpot. It's owned by a Mexican woman, and the concept is similar to a Chipotle or Moe's, although the flavors are more authentic. You start with either a burrito, tacos, or quesadilla, then choose your meat & sauce, and finally order as many fresh ingredients as you like. I chose a vegetarian burrito (cactus instead of meat) and loaded it with rice, corn, tomatoes, guacamole, onions, and roasted peppers. The tortilla was obviously homemade, and the spicy picante sauce was delicious. We'll definitely return, especially since it was only 7 euros apiece!
• FRO-YO - My stuffed burrito left me feeling stuffed too, but I always have room for dessert. We found a frozen yogurt place near Place Terreaux called Yog Cafe that reminded me of the yogurt chains in the U.S. You make your own concoction, and it's priced by weight. I got a blend of strawberry and pineapple with granola topping...yum! 
• GOSPEL - We took our yogurts to Place des Terreaux and sat on the rim of the Bartholdi fountain. A choral group was performing on the steps of the Hotel de Ville (Mayor's residence & office). It didn't take long to recognize the words they were singing in English: "Down by the Riverside." I turned to Greg, "Isn't that a Gospel song?" We ventured closer. Sure enough, this was a Gospel Choir made up of mostly white French singers! They were AMAZING. Their sound was soulful and funky. They danced, they clapped, and they had the audience clapping right along with them. Later we found out that this group is called "Only Gospel Singers," and they are not shy at all about praising the Lord! During a jazzy rendition of the kid's song "This Little Light of Mine," they got the whole audience involved: the director instructed us to respond to the choir's "this little light of mine..." with the next line, "...I'm gonna let it shine." I had a huge grin on my face as I watched hundreds of Lyonnais belting out this Christian song. I started to wonder if they even knew what they were singing about. Unexpectedly, I choked up. I shed tears of joy, yet my happiness was mixed with longing...longing for the light of the gospel message to shine upon this city. 

Jesus spoke to the people once more and said, “I am the light of the world. If you follow me, you won’t have to walk in darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life.” - John 8:12

This Little Light of Mine

Performed live by OnlyGospelSingers, June 27 2014 in Lyon, France

Lord You Are Good

Performed live by OnlyGospelSingers, June 27 2014 in Lyon, France

(I first heard this song at an African-American church in North Carolina. 

It was awesome to see the crowd really get into this one!) 

Lyrics:

Lord You are Good

And your mercy endureth forever

Lord You are good

And your mercy endureth forever

People from every nation and tongue

From generation to generation

We worship you

Hallelujah, Hallelujah,

We worship you for who you are.

We worship you

Hallelujah, Hallelujah,

We worship you for who you are

And You are Good.

You are good all the time

and all the time, You are good.